InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Blue Anshan ❯ Everything Changes 8 - Focus ( Chapter 45 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The Blue Anshan

By Alesyira

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho are not mine. I made a few OCs to fill in my gaps.

Summary: Putting things back where they belong

Chapter Rating: T - FLUFFFFFF. Also language, partial nudity, implied violence and owies... etc.

Author's Note: To those who read my deleted snip and went NOOO (lookin at you, jane), I hope what actually happens in this chapter makes up for it. :) I just really felt my original take was bad lmao. Also, there are some allusions to things that have happened that only Hiei gets to know about. Do not be alarmed if it doesn't make sense right now. It will, one day.

Arc 5 - Everything Changes 8 - Focus

"Wow, Shippo, is this barrier yours?"

He preened under her admiration, batting his eyelashes at her with a huge smile. "Tree-sama deserves our very best. One sec, lemme make sure that old baba has left." Shippo slid through the fiery shimmer and vanished behind the dim glow.

Kagome leaned backward to peer up at the tall, flaming blue wall and stroked her fingers along its intangible surface, testing the energies of its structure. She was amused at the traces of her magic laced throughout and intensely curious as to how he'd managed to pull it off.

He reappeared a moment later. "Ok, she's gone, come on."

The six of them (plus the currently-soulless body cradled gently in Shippo's arms) entered the empty clearing and approached the heavily damaged tree. Kagome felt an inexplicable draw toward its trunk, but she held back. "Oh, this poor tree. The damage must be healed." The words slipped out of her mouth in that strange accent. She didn't think she'd ever get used to someone else walking with her legs or speaking with her voice.

Shippo gave her a stern look. "Yes, but it's not safe to try anything until we fix what's making you sick, Mother."

"I do not understand, what is wrong with me?" Kagome was beginning to suspect that the old kitsune spirit could not remember new information while she remained outside of her body.

"Mother, there is another soul trapped with yours in a single body. I'm sure you can sense her."

"Yes... she burns."

"We are going to put things back where they belong so that you aren't sick anymore." He gave her such a sad smile Kagome felt her heart break. What if their efforts failed? Would Shippo only have this short hour with whatever remained of his mother before she disappeared for good?

"You know this girl? Is that why you carry her body?"

Kagome had been a little shocked to see her appearance magically attached to the body Kurama had been holding. Shippo had gingerly taken the limp form into his arms and carried it with such care and reverence that she thought she might cry. She couldn't imagine the pain of thinking that her mother was dead and gone only to find her in such a half-state. She needed to get home to her grandfather before it was too late.

The two of them stood amongst the roots of the Goshinboku and stared up at the damage. He sighed. "Yes, this person is very important to me. I really hope we can put everything back in order." He turned to look at her, and Kagome felt his desperate hope as he stared into eyes that belonged to his mother.

"Are you ready to try?" Shippo hoped that by making his mother think she was where she belonged and that they were going to take away the spirit that was hurting her, she'd be more open to allowing their efforts. He hadn't tried this particular kind of exorcism before, but he'd heard how hard some of them could cling to bodies that were not their own.

She found herself snagging her tail to pet it in a self-soothing gesture. "Should we not find a healer?"

Shippo sighed and adjusted his bundle to take up one of his mother's hands. Kagome withdrew into herself, feeling miserable and sick with worry and dread. Why was she worried? What did she fear? Were these her emotions, or those of his mother's?

"There is no time to look for a healer. The people we have here should be sufficient." She found herself looking around at the others that had joined them in the clearing. It was very strange to feel such strong unfamiliarity with each as the spirit met their gazes and nodded in wary greeting.

Shippo introduced the four others, indicating that Kurama would be helping with an issue plaguing the pretty blue vine and that Hiei would be helping to prevent Kagome's burn from harming her.

"This Kagome thinks he cannot do such a thing."

Appalled at being called out for her lack of faith, Kagome quickly interjected, "No, no… I just don't understand how he could do such a thing. It doesn't seem possible." She was careful to not think anything else about what might or might not work (or what she thought of the others in the clearing). How embarrassing to have her inner thoughts revealed so freely! If they'd made these plans with Shippo's input, surely they knew enough about their own capacity to decide what might work. She hoped.

Shippo smiled gently. "Don't worry, it'll work out okay."

Kurama cleared his throat to divert their attention. "Well, this area has been pretty thoroughly wiped of youki thanks to your quick thinking earlier," he mused. He stood a short distance away, looking around at the scattering of branches and burn marks. "We're all in agreement that this should be the place?" He looked around, but was met with a collection of shrugs or indifference. "Well then, we need to recharge this place to make it welcoming for the vine. It's not going to want to take root here without some energy to get it going."

Kagome looked at him in confusion. "How are you going to recharge this area?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her with the slightest tilt of his lips that had her taking three steps away from him in sudden comprehension. "Um, no thanks." Her face broke out into a blush. Kurama's smile grew wider.

"Geez, Youko. Is that the only thing you ever think about nowadays?" Shippo muttered. "You can't do that anyways. With my mother needing to be fixed first, you're the only one here that can guide the plant to its new setting. I can't do that either, because I have to focus on putting the ladies back as they belong." He nodded at the other males in the group. "Which one of you could do it?"

Yusuke had been toeing a massive branch out of the clearing with his hands in his pockets. "Wait, do what?"

"A strong release of youki, could be pretty quick." Shippo peered around at the ground, looking for a good spot to settled down with his precious cargo.

"Wouldn't be very quick if I was the one helping…" Kurama said, shooting Shippo a glare.

"What the heck are you guys talking about?" Yusuke interjected.

Kagome wasn't sure what they were talking about, but that one expression from Kurama had either been a very well placed joke or he had interesting plans in mind. "There must be other ways."

"Many things could do the trick, but this would be the most efficient and pleasant method."

Yusuke finally caught his meaning. "Oh hell naw, I can't do nothing like that, and neither can Kuwabara. We have ladies at home." He laughed and turned to the last member of their group. "Looks like it's up to you, shorty." Hiei gave him a deadpan look.

Shippo sighed loudly, adjusting the limp body in his arms. "Doesn't matter. Tree-sama says we won't be able to do anything at all unless the 'guests' can be convinced that being elsewhere is in their best interests." He gave her a knowing glance.

Kagome nodded slowly, considering. It was probably a safe bet that neither of her guests were going to want to budge, given the excess of power now available from the Shikon no Tama. She wasn't sure if Hiei had told his teammates about her…unique trouble. She glanced in his direction. He blinked at her, expressionless. 'Oh, he's so helpful.' 

"We will need to be near the location it will transplant to." Kurama walked the clearing and examined the ground critically. "I suppose any place here will suffice." He nudged a charred corpse with the toe of his shoe and it collapsed into ash. "Actually, right here. This will make for terrific soil."

Kagome cringed.

"I don't suppose you'd be ok with lying down in this spot?" he motioned at the vaguely person-shaped burn mark on the ground. She glared at him.

"No?" He sighed dramatically, but she could see the humor sparkling in his eyes. She was sure that by ruining his plans for a forest romp she'd spoiled his fun for the day, but he was trying. She pulled her hair up into a loose bun to keep it out of the way, then brushed a few twigs and stones aside to kneel in a very small patch of grass next to the dark mark.

"Wait, wait, you guys aren't really about to do that, right there, with all of us here?" Yusuke looked scandalized. Kuwabara gasped and turned bright red.

Yusuke started to visibly panic. "Come on, I was kidding. I did not sign up to watch you guys do it with our mission target."

"That's … er. No. No, that's not what's going on, right?" Kagome asked, turning to look at the mischievous kitsune that had knelt behind her.

He gave her such a smoldering look that she briefly wondered why the hell they didn't. Then he chuckled and shook his head, turning his attention to parting the gaps in the fabric along her back to expose the vine's points of connection. "Maybe next time," he purred, coaxing tendrils of blue around his fingertips as he examined the visible root structure moving beneath her skin. 'This is fascinating,' Kurama thought. 'And it causes her no discomfort. Maybe it numbs the nerve endings?' He traced a fingertip along the skin above a root and she twisted to peer over her shoulder. "You can feel this, here?" She nodded. He touched another spot, "And here?"

"Yes?"

"But no pain where it is attached?"

She lifted an eyebrow and shrugged. "No, nothing from the vine."

He estimated the weight of so much vegetation and how it it anchored itself to her. He peeked into the tears and openings in her shirt to see along her shoulder blades and ribcage, but needed a better idea of what he'd be dealing with. "I hope you don't mind; I'm going to need to see your whole back."

Vaguely embarrassed at her early reaction to unfairly pretty males but glad they were no longer going to attempt whatever 'youki release' activity Kurama thought might be necessary, she glanced around at the others in the clearing. "Yeah, sure." Being free from the vine was enough reward to put up with far worse things than a bare back.

It was laughable that the shirt had managed to stay on at all with how mangled it had gotten, and a few tugs later he could part the fabric completely. The vine wasn't just anchored at her spine. He could see thin traces of blue under her skin that ran across and threaded into the muscles of her back. He blinked and leaned backwards to take in the whole picture.

Scars littered the girl's skin. A set of three parallel lines here and a grouping of four punctures in a line there were clearly from claws on a hand at least the same size as his own. More than one semicircle of teeth and from what he could see at least a few individual puncture wounds. 'What the hell?' Kurama eyed his cousin in distaste. ~What madness has he been dragging her through?~

Kagome leaned to the side unexpectedly and pressed her fingertips into the ash remains. She felt the other spirit reach into the earth, the warmth of hidden life buried deep, the greens and blues and yellows of life sparkling just out of reach. She'd had this spirit's magic for months but had been unable to access or use it. The tingle of magic felt so familiar as it rushed from her fingertips into the soil, and she felt a brief yet profound sense of belonging to the forest. This was her home, her domain. This was all she'd ever need to be happy. Anything green and living within the spirit's reach responded with little bursts of joy, and Kagome couldn't remember the last time she had felt so alive.

"That definitely did the trick, but was not half as fun," she heard a quiet murmur behind her. She smiled, thankful for the spirit's intervention. She wondered how much Shippo's mother understood of what was going on around her. Sometimes, like now, as she retreated from her brief outreach to the surrounding forest, she felt like the spirit had disconnected from reality.

Shippo's eyes were closed and his brow furrowed in concentration as he focused. She felt the familiar brush of his energy sweep across her, lifting the hairs of her arms. "Ready," he murmured, brushing the false black bangs away from his mother's forehead to rest the fingertips of one hand against her skin. He hovered his other hand just over the skin of Kagome's arm, ready to bridge a connection when the moment came.

Kuwabara sat cross-legged close by. He had agreed to be Hiei's sight during this attempt, as their two resident energy manipulation experts, Kurama and Shippo, would be focused on their tasks. And Kuwabara was the only one that could see the light of the jewel.

Yusuke stood nearby, watching out for any trouble that might arise. "Yo, since we're doing an exorcism maybe we need a circle of salt and a priest or something?"

Kagome shook her head at him and sighed. "A kitsune barrier and a priestess is what we have to work with. No complaining." They'd probably be ok, unless the spirit decided to go on another angry rampage as soon as she had free reign in her own body again. At least it wouldn't be a jewel-powered monster the next time it happened, if this all went to plan. Plan? She chuckled nervously to herself.

Kurama leaned forward over the tangle of vines so he could speak right next to her ear. "Oh," he smirked when she jumped in surprise, "you'll want to take this, in case things go as planned." She turned to peek at him over her shoulder and her eyes widened in shock at his face so close to her own. He hummed in pleasure at the shift in emotions written all over her face. She was so easy to read! He could lean forward two inches right now and press his lips to hers and she would probably melt.

She managed to drag her gaze away from his and caught sight of the green leaf packet being held next to her face. She plucked it from his fingertips as he slid it closer to her lips, likely intending to hand-feed her the concoction. She scowled at his heart-melting smile and stuffed the disgusting mix into her mouth.

Kagome closed her eyes as she chewed (blegh) and tried to ignore the kitsune hovering right behind her. She was suspicious of his motives and felt like he'd jump at the chance to take advantage of any sign of weakness. And she knew that she'd probably let him do it because he was so appealing.

*It's part of his game.*

Kagome flinched at the unexpected voice in her thoughts. 'Sorry, yes… yes, I know…' she paused. But did she really know? There was so much guessing at motives. She had only known these people for a short time. She wanted to believe in the good of everyone, but she risked much to attempt this with people she barely knew. She was placing her life in someone else's hands, and with the jewel's power somehow unsealed, this could end badly.

*Stop second guessing. I've seen what your magic can do. Focus on right now.*

The air in front of her suddenly warmed. She felt as though she knelt before a fireplace on a chilly day. She could smell woodsmoke and something akin to cinnamon. She took a deep breath and savored the interesting scent. 'What makes you burn?' she asked. For someone to smell like that she pictured his outfits must always be catching on fire. She peeked through her lashes to see that he had knelt before her, mere inches away but not touching.

She could feel the tension and the hesitation in his response. *I do not burn.* This didn't feel like what he had been going to say, but she didn't press him on it.

*She cannot hear me.* He stated it as though he knew for certain. *Do you understand your friend's plan?*

She shrugged, feeling half-informed. 'The basics of it…' She understood only that he wanted to get his mother's spirit into the body at her side and then hopefully get the vine back in the dirt where it belongs. How was a different matter, entirely.

*You will attempt to direct the power you now possess away from your heart, which is where the spirit is hiding.*

Kagome grimaced. She wasn't sure how the heck that might work.

*I will make a mental shield within you, so that the spirit might have a place to avoid your magic.*

She still couldn't believe that he —or anyone— could do something like that. *I have used it to protect my third eye from your light, so it should work elsewhere similarly.*

She smiled. 'That weird thing in your head doesn't like my magic?' She sensed his irritation. 'Okay okay, I'll save the questions for later.'

*When your powers rise, she will seek shelter from the burn. Once I have fully blocked her from your light, I believe your friend can pry her loose without the jewel's influence.* Kagome nodded in understanding. *And if his idea is correct, then her youki will disappear from you as well, which means the vine might not find you to be such an appealing host.*

She sighed in relief. The idea that this all might be so close to ending…

*Focus. Try to manipulate the power.*

Her attention fell inward to the shimmering rainbow of power tingling throughout her body. She hadn't had a chance to examine the change before this moment. The energies of the Shikon no Tama had flooded her entire form, from the tips of her unnaturally red hair (why her damned hair?) to the dainty claws that did not belong on her toes.

Getting the power to obey her was like trying to collect water in a sieve. 'It… I think it needs something to focus on. I need something to focus it into.' She sighed, going through ideas that might concentrate power away from her heart and mind. She flicked a sharp claw against the tip of her finger, slicing the skin and allowing blood to well and drip. The power very briefly surged toward her hand and forced the injury to heal in moments.

She made a noise of frustration. She wasn't about to recommend he disembowel her to keep the jewel occupied long enough to extract the wayward spirit and trouble-making vine from their excessive energy source.

Hiei's Jagan eye was open and glowing brightly as he used Kuwabara's sight and his own observations to examine the behavior of the jewel. He had an idea, but it felt like it could have some kind of devastating consequence for one of them if he miscalculated the reaction of either her magic or the jewel's power. *I'm going to take your hand,* he warned her. The dragon tattoo on his forearm tingled ominously.

She made a small sound of agreement that turned into a gasp of surprise when he touched her skin. Something had caused his temperature to spike. The brief thought that he intended to burn her hand off to force extensive healing briefly crossed her mind.

Hiei audibly scoffed. *If I wanted to cause damage, the sword is much faster and requires less energy.*

She choked on a nervous laugh. His fingertips slid over the skin of her wrist and she tried to focus on the jewel's power rippling unconstrained throughout her. It was a little difficult to pay attention. His skin was unbelievably hot. And… vibrating? Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 'What the heck is that?' Her magic thrummed unexpectedly in her chest and the youkai soul within her winced in discomfort.

*Burn me.*

'What?'

A swell of malevolent energy emanated from his hand as his grip changed subtly, putting his palm face up to cradle her arm. It was a strange sensation. Most of the male kneeling before her felt neutral, a source of strong yet conflicting elemental magics, with a foreign sense of wrongness embedded in his skull and … there was now an unexpected something building in his arm. Her power reacted strongly to the direct contact with the malevolence, but she held it back for fear it would kill him outright.

*I've been through this storm before and emerged well enough to bring your magic back to you. Do not hold back.*

She bit her lip and peeked through her lashes at him, wanting to see his expression and look into his eyes. His two main eyes were closed, but the third eye was wide open and glowed fiercely in his concentration. It was a dangerous thing to ask of her, but he looked at ease in her presence. She took a deep breath and tentatively reached out with her magic.

Her soft exhalation brushed his neck the moment she stopped hesitating.

He had expected her purity to rise up and singe his flesh, to react against the dragon stirring along her arm. He had expected the dragon to draw the attention of the jewel, to have that danger focused briefly together away from her heart. He had expected to take that distraction of the burn to set up a mental barrier to stow away the kitsune spirit residing within her.

He hadn't expected that the jewel would follow her intention to reach for him and flood through his very being. His focus became razor sharp. The Jagan eye picked up every thought and feeling of the others in the clearing.

His teammates: their worries, concerns, hopes, dreams. He knew their strongest connections and their weakest points. Kuwabara's romantic undertones to his every action, saving the day, rescuing the helpless, devotion to Yukina, the ring he'd quietly bought a year ago as he waited for the right time to ask for his blessing. Yusuke's wish for peace and quiet with his girlfriend in constant conflict with his desire for action and adventure. Kurama's deep loneliness and intense curiosity just barely tempered by his humanity, his interest in this girl growing the more she shied away from his advances.

The girl's kitsune friend with his countless secrets, memories he'd thought well buried, now laid bare for his perusal. His existence had been pulled apart by unfortunate circumstances and the jewel's influence, restructured around this girl at an early age. He could sense her woven into the fabric of his spirit. He knew of the efforts the kitsune had made to protect her and entwine her life with his before she'd even met him. Before, the kitsune's disjointed thoughts had made no sense, but now he saw it all with perfect clarity, and every piece had its place.

The girl in front of him: she was open like a book, trusting yet wary, loyal and lonely, curious about him and exhausted with the games. Her strange history, the time traveling, the well on her family shrine, the magic intertwined with every facet of her life. Strange flashes of half-formed visions, events that had occurred but had not yet happened. Time was not yet done with this one.

The dragon roared in excitement, but his control had never been greater.

The Jagan swept outward, picking up tidbits from every living creature miles and miles and miles away. The omniscience was staggeringly beautiful. He shook free from the distraction and pulled his focus back to the problem at hand.

Only a moment had passed.

He was considered to be exceptionally fast during battle, but now time had become a sluggish thing with no effort on his part. Her purity flared along the length of her arm, slow like molasses. He felt the flailing spirit cringe against the burn of her magic, and he swept through her lowered defenses to loop his control around it. The possession was slow to react, even with access to the jewel's formidable resources, but it had no defense against this kind of magic.

*Now,* he commanded.

Shippo pressed his hand to her arm, and Hiei could sense that she reached for him as well. The flow of magic welled between the three of them, and Hiei watched in his mind as Shippo carefully ignored the appealing burn of her purity —he would have to examine the kitsune's strange reaction further— and efficiently plucked the contained spirit from the girl's physical form, pulling it quickly through himself to drop it into the shell of the female lying before him. All traces of the foreign youki chased along behind the spirit as she was returned to her own body, and then his connection to Shippo and whatever he was doing to help his mother broke off as he removed his hand.

He realized with a smug sense of satisfaction that she had not reached out for Kurama as he touched her to work with the vine.

Kuwabara's impressions of what had happened were just now manifesting in his mind's eye. Time had crawled by for him (and apparently the kitsune crouched to his side), while mere seconds had passed for the others around them. He wasn't sure yet if this was the result of the jewel's power enhancing a youkai's speed, or if something in its nature inherently allowed those under its influence to experience time differently. He had a while to contemplate the possibilities as he watched the glow emanating from Kagome through Kuwabara's vision. It flashed down her arm and into his like a strike of lightning filmed in slow-motion.

She'd looped her hair up to give Kurama room to see and work with the vine, but the rush of magic forced the strands loose and it briefly whipped up in the eddies of power to smack Kurama in the face. He laughed to himself as he watched the kitsune try to avoid the interruption to his concentration, but the power balanced between them quickly and her hair settled before it became obvious what had happened.

The brief surge of brightness between them had nearly blinded the human, but the sweep of green suddenly vanished from Kagome's soul and could only be seen in the shell of the girl lying on the ground. It looked like his part of their task had been completed, and now Kurama just needed to extract the plant so they could be on their way. Or so he thought, until she jerked forward and barely caught herself against his shoulder.

It was easier than she'd expected it to be, at first.

Once she'd released the hold on her magic, the kitsune spirit within her howled in pain. Shippo did something and suddenly she felt drained and off balance. A strange shaking sensation rippled throughout her body as the youki belonging to Hananoki chased the retreating spirit to its true home mere feet away. She could feel her features shifting and an intense ache ripped up her spine and she jerked forward against an unexpected spasm. Whatever immunity she'd held against the plant embedded deeply within her had vanished with the youkai attributes, and Kurama's concoction had likely just saved her life.

She could hear a voice nearby muttering, "hold her-hold her right there, I've almost got it…" as gentle hands guided a warm arm to wrap around her lower back beneath the lowest of the attached vines. She cried out in pain as roots began to dislodge from deep within her skin and muscles. She could feel each one as it tore free and she cringed, clutching the arm holding her wrist, the threat of whatever power had been vibrating down the length of his arm subsiding but already long forgotten. She was barely clinging to some semblance of control. *Focus! Focus on me. It's nearly done.*

She let go of his arm and clung to his shoulders with both hands. She really didn't want to kill these people. Her power bubbled up from her in reaction to her pain, causing the plant to jerk in agitation and fight against the process, pulling harder to rip from her skin while jabbing free ends into her flesh in retaliation. Gods she could just light up and make it all end. It would all fall away into ash.

Hiei made a noise of frustration above her. Kurama had his attention focused intently on pouring his energy into the plant to calm and coax it to its new home. Shippo leaned over the writhing form of his mother, his forehead pressed to hers as he worked to reconnect her energies. Neither Yusuke nor Kuwabara would be able to help him. He wasn't sure how strongly her magic would react against Yusuke's youki, and Kuwabara was frozen and awestruck at the light show. He wanted to be irritated, but if he didn't have so much time to process what his teammate could see, he might have been frozen with indecision, too.

With their powers both heightened from the jewel, he didn't dare risk trying to use his energy to subdue her. Her magic stung as it snapped against his skin, but he felt the foreign power sweeping through his body repair the damage as soon as it occurred.

He heard Kurama hiss in pain as his fingers got caught in her fire, but he knew the fox could take care of himself. Probably. He'd really rather not bring home Kurama in an urn.

"Fuck." He hauled the girl higher in his arms and snagged her dark hair in his fist, sending a silent prayer to anyone listening that she wasn't going to set him on fire or vomit in his face as he tilted her head back. Her eyes were open but unseeing as she grit her teeth and flinched through the onslaught of pain. He was briefly surprised by the blue of her eyes and her very human appearance. "Kagome." He said her name firmly and gave her a small shake. She gasped. "Focus."

She winced against another pain but stilled in his arms, staring up at him as she processed what was going on. He held her against him, looking down into her face. His third eye glowed brightly through strands of his hair as he monitored the power shifting within her. Another tendril came free from her back and she spasmed in his arms. He clutched her tighter.

"Never thought about how much this part might hurt," she whined. "I was unconscious when it made itself at home."

Kurama's voice came from somewhere near her butt. "The roots are barbed. I didn't expect this. I'm guiding it to release one section at a time. It understands it must leave you carefully if it wants to survive. I'd really appreciate it if you don't fry us."

She nodded shakily, wincing as the next tendril came loose.

"You should do something to take her mind off the pain." Kurama suggested offhandedly with a smile as he crouched over the struggling plant.

Her gaze dropped to the mouth that was inches from her own. She grit her teeth as the next stab of pain caused a tear to drip from the corner of an eye. She decided to distract herself with questions instead. Maybe he'd feel like answering this time, given the circumstances. "What's the deal with your arm?"

"Dragon."

Well, that word said so much and yet nothing at all. "Felt pretty evil."

"It is."

"Okay." She gasped at another tearing pain. "Where'd it go?"

He shrugged, and she felt the motion through her chest as his arms moved. Her face flamed.

"Why didn't my magic kill you?"

His warm fingers twitched along the skin of her back. "Do you want to kill me?"

"No, but—"

"The loudmouth, the other day… did you want to kill him?"

"I didn't think of him as a…" she cut herself off, unwilling to finish that sentence with the word friend. It implied too much about the way she'd started to view these people she'd known for such a short time. "He was an enemy about to kill me. I didn't think."

It was the first time any of them had heard her openly admit that she'd killed the youkai male. Hiei's mouth quirked at the edge just enough to reveal his amusement. She thought nothing of the admission, though. She stared into his carmine eyes, fascinated by the varying hues that could only be seen this close. When was the last time anyone had been this close to him to see these shades?

Another ripple of pain shot up her back and she jerked against him. *Relax. You're tense and making things worse.*

And he was right. After the first pains, she'd clammed up and braced against everything that was happening. She unclenched her muscles and focused on releasing the tension along her body. She allowed herself to go limp in his arms. His fingers twisted in the loose hairs behind her head, holding her in place. She could feel every inch of her front pressed to him. Muscles flexed as he adjusted his grip around her back. Hot fingertips against the skin of her waist. The next root that dislodged barely twinged.

Kurama made a small sound of victory. "Great, keep doing that. This shouldn't be much longer."

She heard somewhere nearby a choking cry in an unfamiliar voice. Hiei's gaze remained locked on her face. She mentally squirmed at his unwavering attention.

Less than ten minutes had passed for Kagome as she struggled to control herself against the pain of extraction. Days, weeks, months had passed for Hiei as time continued to crawl with the girl clinging to him. He slid through her memories, her regrets, her dreams, her fears, and reveled in her burn. *I do burn, sometimes, but only when I'm with you.*

Her mouth fell open. Okay. (That was probably the answer he'd been thinking of giving her earlier and it sounded highly suggestive—)

*I mean literally. Your magic leaves its mark.*

Her face flamed even harder. She couldn't be sure, but something in the set of his eyes seemed to imply he was laughing at her. 'I haven't been safe to be around people. I'm a little…out of practice.'

He quirked an eyebrow. *Your jewel continues to make you unsafe around people.*

She'd forgotten about the Shikon no Tama. This could be trouble. Possibly manageable trouble, but she'd need to prepare for the worst. It had been one of the reasons he'd been so close, to hopefully help her draw the power away from the other spirit and the plant. She turned her attention inwards and felt the jewel's magic thrumming through her and into him, and with this realization came the recognition that she could feel him. She wasn't sure what to make of the individual emotions, as they were shifting faster than she could recognize them, but the combination felt something like peace to her.

A tiny voice in the back of her head told her that sharing the jewel's power with others was a very dangerous thing, but she couldn't find it in herself to feel alarmed at sharing it with this person. As her brain and her heart connected the dots, she started feeling alarmed for other reasons, like why was he still holding her? She looked back up into his face. There was one final tug against her back and she suddenly had a full-body shudder.

"That was the last. It will take me some time to finish this. I know this is asking a lot, but Hiei, can you hold on for a few more minutes? Yusuke or Kuwabara, can you help bandage Kagome's back? That bleeding might go on for a while. We will need to stitch… a few…" He trailed off. The magic swirling through her body swept along her spine to repair the damage the vines had done upon their retreat. The bleeding had already stopped, and her skin was slowly sealing shut before their eyes.

Kurama looked up at Hiei in confusion. He knew Yukina had healing abilities, but had never thought that Hiei might possess the same. "Hiei?"

Kuwabara had the balls to whisper to Yusuke, "This must also be the power of love."

Hiei scowled at Kuwabara. "Shut up."

A muscle in his jaw twitched in irritation as his hands clenched into fists, and then Kagome made a sound he couldn't quite place. He'd forgotten he was still holding her and looked down to make sure he hadn't hurt her. *They incorrectly suspect I have healed you. If you wish to hold on to this ruse, I'd suggest you play along.*

The corner of her mouth turned up in a relieved smile and he relaxed his grip. Her face turned red again as she stared up at him. Why was he still holding her? (Granted, this was a nice change from angry and demanding answers.) This new freedom from her plant and a return to her somewhat-normal condition made her giddy. She wondered how he'd react if she…

Her breath caught in her throat as his gaze briefly dropped to her mouth. The moment passed too quickly. He helped her stand and then released her.

She shivered against the sudden chill of standing alone. She felt lighter than she had in a long time, and as another shiver rocked through her, she realized her clothes were incredibly loose and torn for reasons that no longer mattered. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to look at the plant that had helped and hindered her for nearly a year. The vine had curled happily into a little nest of some poor fool's charred remains, and Kurama beamed down at it as he prodded it with his ki.

A flutter of warm, heavy fabric settled over her shoulders unexpectedly. "What?" She turned to see Hiei had given her his cloak. "Why?"

Shippo chirped, "You don't have a tail anymore, and we could all see your ass through the gaps in that crazy excuse for clothes you're calling pants."

Eyes widening, she pressed her hand to her mouth, appalled.

"What? It's true."