InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Puppet Master ❯ Chapter 5

Title: The Puppet Master

Author: Bondage Fetish

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Lemons, language, violence and character death.

Theme: Dangerous Liaisons

Disclaimer: If I owned either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, I'd actually be rewriting both series instead of having to content myself with fan fiction of it. And no, I make no money off of this story.

 

Written for The Deadliest Sin's contest.

 

Chapter Five

 

“You wanted to see me?” Hiei asked the moment that he stepped into Mukuro's office. He'd been less than enthused when a servant had appeared, knocking on his door and pulling him from his sleep. He was even less than pleased over the fact that he'd been forced to shove his still hard cock into his pants, not even having the time to finish himself off from the dream that he'd just had. Right now all he wanted to do was take care of his aching body, and then ponder over what the girl had told him just before she'd disappeared. Now more than ever he was certain that it hadn't been 'just a dream', and he was more than a little impatient to confront the girl to find out just what the hell was going on.

 

Mukuro raised a brow when she heard the way that he bit out the question, but for the moment she let it slide. Based on his slightly ruffled appearance, she was almost positive that her summons had woken him up and it could easily explain his curt attitude. “It would seem that you have a visitor, but before I allow this little meeting to happen I desire to know why Yomi's second in command would come here directly to see you instead of just passing along a message.”

 

“Kurama's here?” Hiei asked, his voice not betraying his surprise. However, the fox coming here was one of the last things he would have expected the man to do, and he wondered just what he could have found that would be deemed so important as to require a personal meeting.

 

“Must I spell it out for you?” Mukuro asked, knowing full well that the question could provoke the apparition into actually talking for a change. “My question still stands, why would Kurama come here? I was under the impression that he'd fallen back into the routine that his human life demands.”

 

“I asked him to contact me,” Hiei replied with a shrug. With Kurama there, he knew there was no way in hell he was going to escape Mukuro's office without giving the woman some sort of information. In a way, she was right; it was so unlikely that Kurama would come directly to the fortress that even he hadn't anticipated the move.

 

“Come now, Hiei. We both know that isn't going to be enough of an answer. What is it that's so important that he needed to come here to discuss it? Especially given the recent instance of your trip to the Ningenkai, I know that you didn't venture deep enough into the human world to see him,” Mukuro said and laid her folded hands on the desk. Hypothetically speaking, she had him by the balls and they both knew it. It was well within her right to dismiss the kitsune without allowing this meeting to take place. Of course, Hiei would most likely find the earliest possible time to return to the Ningenkai to question the man, but that would take time that she knew he wouldn't want to waste; not if this was as important as it appeared to be on the surface.

 

This was exactly what he'd been expecting and he repressed a sigh of irritation. As much as he wanted to tell the woman to fuck off and mind her own business, that wouldn't get him what he wanted. As much as they respected each other, they both had their limits and she was still his boss, of a sort. If he prolonged this confrontation, she'd demand more information than he was willing to give just in order to be able to meet with his former teammate. “It has to do with the personal business I attended to when I eliminated those fools who crossed the border the last time.”

 

“Then perhaps it's time you filled me in on what that personal business is. If it has to do with your sister, surely you know I would understand your need to keep in contact with the human world. So this leads me to believe that there's something more to this,” she said quietly, knowing that if she were to outright give him the order to tell her, it would be ignored and once again she would be left in the dark.

 

For a moment Hiei was ready to lie and say that it did have something to do with Yukina, but he knew Mukuro well enough to know that she'd see straight through the lie. So instead of drawing this irritation out any longer than necessary, he decided to give her what she wanted, “During the fight, one of the fools mentioned something about a shrine in Tokyo.”

 

“A shrine?” Mukuro repeated, her face plaining showing her surprise, and skepticism, “What could two low class demons want with a shrine? Surely they had enough sense of self preservation that they wouldn't dare step upon holy ground.”

 

“That's what I figured, however I deemed it necessary to check out,” Hiei replied with a shrug of the shoulders. The look on her face was enough to tell him that he'd most likely escape this meeting with most of his secrets intact.

 

Silently Mukuro waited for him to continue, but when he said no more, she sighed, “And what was it that you found at this shrine? I trust you ran into no trouble since I didn't have to throw you in the regen tanks again.”

 

“The shrine had been burnt to the ground years before. I asked Kurama to look into it for me,” he said, unsure of how much more he should reveal.

 

That the apparition had seen fit to look into it himself, and then to ask the kitsune to look into it said that there was something more to this than what he was saying. She leaned back in her chair and regarded him silently for several long moments before speaking, “You wouldn't involve yourself in mere human matters. What was it about the fire that caught your interest, Hiei?”

 

Inwardly Hiei was cursing her perceptiveness and he knew that he wasn't going to get away without giving mention of the girl. It was just going to be a matter of laying and passing it off as if Kagome wasn't of any great importance and hopefully Mukuro would drop it. “The jagan gave me the image of a human girl that was somehow tied to the shrine. When I realized that the fire at the shrine had been created with demonic energy, I asked Kurama to look into it. Most likely the fool who was responsible is either dead or returned to the Makai a long time ago, but I needed to be sure.”

 

Now they were finally getting somewhere and Mukuro pondered over this newest information. Now it was beginning to make sense, in some odd, twisted way. It wasn't normal for Hiei to get involved in what seemed to be a trivial matter, but on the other hand, he would want to make sure that it hadn't happened while he was confined to the Ningenkai. Most likely Koenma would use that as an excuse to pull him back into service, regardless of the fact that Hiei had no interest in protecting the human world beyond serving the time he'd been forced into. “And you didn't see this as important enough to inform me of?”

 

“Frankly, no. As far as I could tell, the girl is of no great importance and I doubt that a shrine would be of interest to you. We've all got better things to do than worry about some foolish human girl who happened to find herself as food for some low level scum that happened across her. All I need to know is whether or not this is something that Koenma has in his files, waiting to spring on me when the next world crisis makes an appearance. Nothing more,” he replied and waited to see whether or not the answer was going to suffice. Downplaying the Miko's importance and laying all this trouble on Koenma's doorstep was likely to be his ticket out of this convoluted mess, but there was no way to be certain as to whether or not he was right, not until she spoke.

 

“All this fuss for nothing then,” Mukuro said, a slight grin of amusement settling on her face, “I still don't understand why you've been so difficult over the past few weeks for such a trivial matter, but I suppose your reasons are your own. Kurama's in conference room one. Do let me know how this issue resolves itself.”

 

Nodding his head, Hiei walked to the door and pulled it open, pausing before he stepped through, “You wish to know why I said nothing? It's a matter of trust, Mukuro. Treat me as a dog on a leash that has to answer your every question and you'll find just how quickly I can slip that leash. I answer to you out of respect, nothing more. I should not have to think about you, or look to you for direction every time I wish to do something that falls out of your scope of concern yet that's exactly what I've found myself doing as of late. That habit ends as of today, one way or another.”

 

With that he stepped through the door and shut it quietly behind him. He didn't need to look at her to know that he'd stunned her with his words, but it was true. He'd found himself far too concerned with how she'd think or react to him doing as he pleased and frankly he was getting tired of it. He seemed to have lost sight of his own independence somewhere along the way and it was time that he reclaimed it. Mukuro would understand, or they'd part company, it was as simple as that.

 

His thoughts remained chaotic as he walked to the conference room that Mukuro had indicated, and when he finally arrived he was forced to shove them all on the back burner. He couldn't be distracted by thoughts of the future now, not when he needed to devote his complete attention to the conversation that was about to take place. Upon entering the room, he was met with the sight of Kurama sitting at the large table, a look of seriousness on his face. That in itself was troubling; he'd only seen that look in times of battle and he wondered just what the hell it was that the kitsune had found. “I take it you have news for me.”

 

“You could say that,” Kurama replied with a sigh. The mystery that the apparition had set him on had been more than complex and he still didn't have all the pieces before him, but he was positive that Hiei knew more than what he was telling him. That in itself wasn't exactly surprising, but it did hinder his own investigation more than he would have liked.

 

“I need to know exactly what you know about this girl, Hiei,” he said, fixing his former teammate with a look that dared him to lie to him. When Hiei hesitated, Kurama leaned back in his chair, “I've already combed the room and disabled the listening devices that were hidden. I seriously doubt that you want Mukuro or anyone else to know about this, otherwise you wouldn't have come to me.”

 

“Fine,” Hiei said after a moment and walked over to the nearby window to stare outside, “She has the power to invade dreams.” He'd come to that conclusion not long after awaking, there was just no denying it, not with the way they'd parted this time.

 

“You've been in contact with her then?” Kurama asked, surprise coloring his voice. Humans with specific abilities such as that weren't common, but they weren't unheard of either. If the miko had that power, it could explain why Hiei was so unsettled.

 

“Twice now,” he replied quietly, “and she's stated that she could do so again, if I reach out to her.” It had only been once he realized that it was, in fact, the girl entering his dream that he finally remembered why she looked so damned familiar. Those blue eyes should have been his first clue, but she'd altered her appearance just enough the first time that he hadn't made the connection. The woman truly was a minx to be coming to him like that, posing as a nymph that would be sure to get his attention.

 

Kurama's brow furrowed while he tried to decide just what it was that the miko could possibly want from his friend. It would take a considerable amount of power to mentally cross the realms like that. “Did she say why she choose you?”

 

“Because I'm a good fuck, I would imagine,” Hiei said with a snort. Somehow he doubted it was because of his sparkling personality. By all rights, the girl should shy away from him, yet she'd approached him the first time when he was bathed in the blood of his enemies. True, it was only a dream, but still... the girl had peculiar tastes.

 

“Wait... you mean she's coming to you to be.... intimate?” Kurama asked, staring at his friend in surprise. That hadn't been what he'd been expecting to hear at all. Anything else would have been far more likely; power, or perhaps the need for revenge but certainly not that.

 

Hiei rolled his eyes at the Kitsune's reaction. Surely by now the man had figured out that humans made no sense in the way they went about things. “I can't spell it out any plainer for you, Kurama. What have you found out?”

 

Kurama was forced to shake off his surprise over the revelation and concentrate his attention on the question at hand, “Unfortunately there wasn't much about the girl herself, but there were more than a few legends that surrounded the shrine and one of them might be of particular interest. Have you heard of the Shikon no Tama?”

 

The question had Hiei turning to stare at the kitsune with a blank expression before looking back out the window, “No, what is it?”

 

“It's apparently an ancient artifact of great power that has ties to the shrine. Centuries ago, there was a miko named Kikyo who had it in her possession up until her death,” Kurama said and began looking over the papers that he'd brought with him, “Apparently the person who killed her was a hanyou named Inuyasha and the jewel was burned with her body in an attempt to destroy it.”

 

The mention of the two names had Hiei's head snapping to the side in surprise, “Son of a bitch. What of the hanyou, what happened to him?”

 

Curious as to what caused that outburst, Kurama began rifling through the papers to find the answer, “You must remember that gaining this information has been difficult at best. I was unable to pinpoint the exact time of is death, but as best as I can figure, it was less than one hundred years after Kikyo's elimination. Why?”

 

“This makes no sense,” Hiei growled beneath his breath. The conversation that he'd overheard had specified that Kagome had been present with both Inuyasha, who had apparently been alive at the time, and Kikyo, who had somehow risen from the dead. If the hanyou had perished so long ago, then there was absolutely no chance that the girl had been present for the talk between the two women. Was it merely a contrived scene, meant to confuse him somehow? No, something told him that the woman wouldn't stoop so low, so there had to be another answer. “This jewel, what does it do?”

 

“What it did, apparently, was give its wielder immeasurable power and its said that it could grant any wish. However, the legends were quite clear that the jewel was destroyed when Kikyo's body was burned. After that, there was no further information on the artifact. Either it was indeed destroyed or someone went to great lengths to cover up it's whereabouts,” he replied uneasily. There was always a possibility that he'd missed something in his research, but somehow he didn't think so, not when he'd been so thorough in his investigation.

 

“Assume for a moment that the jewel was still around, could it be used for time travel?” Hiei asked, his brow furrowing in contemplation. It was the only possible answer that he could come up with, the only way he could see Kagome ending up in the same time period as the other two.

 

For a moment Kurama remained silent, thinking over the possibilities. He didn't believe that the legend regarding the jewel's power was necessarily true. Tales tended to grow over time and while it was possible, it wasn't likely that something of that power would be left in a human's hands. Finally he sighed, “Theoretically I suppose that anything is possible but I believe that there would be limitations. Why the question? Do you believe that somehow this girl traveled to the past?”

 

“Perhaps,” Hiei said but then switched gears, “Did you find anything regarding necromancy? Or is that something that the jewel would be capable of as well, assuming it could grant more than one wish.”

 

“I don't see why it couldn't, although I think I know where you're going with this. Assuming that Kagome somehow managed to get her hands on this artifact and wished herself back to the past, what purpose would she have in practicing such a dark art. She is a miko and they abhor such abominations,” Kurama said quietly. It was like pulling teeth to get the information out of the apparition, but it was still progress nonetheless.

 

“Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation and somehow, the dead miko was resurrected with a piece of Kagome's soul,” Hiei replied, his mind whirling with the implications. Things were beginning to make sense; the girl's wish for Kikyo to stay dead, the other woman's mention of Kagome being without a chunk of her soul. If he didn't know better, it sounded like there had been some sort of fucked up love triangle involving a reanimated corpse.

 

Silently Kurama considered that statement, wondering if it was even possible. Technically, a soul wasn't supposed to be able to exist in two places at once, not for long anyway. The pain of such a separation would be unbearable, not to mention that they would still need a corpse to work with in the first place. “If what you say is true, it would explain why there's no trace of the girl now, aside from the fact that she's invading your dreams somehow. That could be explained if she'd somehow managed to get her hands on the Shikon. Artifacts were tricky and if she'd attempted to use it, it might have exacted a price for it's power, such as her body. All that would remain was a free floating spirit that might not have a reason to pass on. But again, everything indicates that the Shikon was destroyed. She couldn't use something that no longer exists.”

 

“But it does,” Hiei countered quietly and fixed the kitsune with an unreadable look, “and I know where it is. Tell me, if burning the jewel wasn't enough to destroy it, what would it take?”

 

“What do you mean it does? Do you have proof?” Kurama asked his eyes wide with surprise. If there was in fact an artifact out there of such power, the results could be devastating to say the least. Of course, there was always the chance that Kagome had been chosen as its new guardian and she was the only thing now that stood in the way of the demons who would seek to obtain it.

 

Hiei almost rolled his eyes at the eagerness that his friend was now showing, but he wasn't about to give up that information just yet, “Never mind that and just answer the question, can it be destroyed?”

 

“There's a chance, I suppose. Burning the jewel was supposed to send it to hell, but a normal fire would have not been enough to overpower the jewel's will. It would need to be something strong, with a desire that could overwhelm anything that the Shikon might want, assuming its a sentient being,” Kurama replied, wondering what the apparition had in mind.

 

Immediately Hiei's mind flashed back to the dream he'd had just that morning and the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd wondered why the dragon had chosen to get involved, and better yet, why she'd allowed it to. “The dragon could do it, and I'm willing to bet she'll allow it to.”

 

“You'd be taking a huge risk. The dragon could just as easily decide that it wants that power for itself; do you truly think that could control it?” Kurama asked, concern coloring his voice. If the Shikon was as powerful as legend stated, they could have one hell of a mess on their hands.

 

“That's just one of the things I intend to find out,” Hiei stated and then headed towards the door, “You asked where the jewel is located? Just across the border, west of the temple, there is a crevasse marked with the scars of an ancient battle. I will see for myself if your information is correct. If you do not hear from me within three days, I trust that you'll know what to do with the information.”

 

Kurama nodded his head in acknowledgment and stood, “In that case I'll inform Koenma and allow him to deal with it. Are you sure that you wish to go alone? I know that you have some sort of connection with this miko, but do you dare take the chance?”

 

“You leave that to me,” Hiei said and walked out the door, leaving his teammate behind. There were still so many answers that he desired, questions unanswered but they wouldn't be for much longer. As he walked, he wondered just what his plan of attack should be. Assuming that the girl was open to the idea of being freed from her prison, he still had the factor of the jewel to deal with. Letting the dragon loose in the Ningenkai was sure to draw Koenma's watchful eye, but he didn't know if it could be helped. He could always bring the Shikon to the Makai, but then he'd be forced to deal with the dragon becoming that much more difficult to control with all the demonic energy permeating the air. One way or another though, he'd get the job done. His journey to the outside world was briefly stopped when he saw Mukuro standing there, leaning against the hallway wall.

 

“You're leaving,” she stated, calmly taking in the resolve that blanketed his aura. Clearly whatever it was that Kurama had to say was what the man needed to settle his mind and set him on his current course.

 

Hiei nodded once and wondered whether or not she was going to attempt to stop him. If she did, it would be the final cut in the ties that they held for each other. He was accountable for his own actions and answered only to himself from here on out. “I'll be gone for at least a week, no more than two.”

 

“Does this have to do with the girl that you'd mentioned?” she asked, making no move to tell him that he couldn't leave. Something told her that they were at a critical point and she had to relax her control over him. As much as she wished to know what was going on in his life, there were times that she had to take a step back and allow him to do as he wanted.

 

“It does. Are you going to try to stop me?” Hiei asked curiously. It was strange that she seemed so calm, especially seeing as what he'd said to her in her office.

 

“No. Come back when you've resolved the issue,” Mukuro said and turned from him. She wasn't going to bother to tell him to be safe, or careful. Such things were impossible for him to do, but she knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. Somewhere along the way, she'd lost sight of that, especially after seeing how content he was with dying in the beginning. Now though, things had changed and she wasn't the one responsible.

 

~Sometime later~

 

Hiei found himself on the grassy knoll that overlooked the crevasse, the place where he'd first felt the Miko's strange power. It was strange, in a way it seemed like almost no time had passed since that day. The only thing different about this time and the last was that there were no intruders to deal with, no demons to kill.

 

However, there was an anticipation deep within him that had been absent the last time, and somehow he wasn't altogether certain it was all his own. Somehow he was certain that the woman knew he was here for something, it was just a question of how long it would take for her to show up.

 

“Kagome,” he murmured, “come to me. I know that you're here.” Yet as he stood there, there was no answer. The breeze swirled around him, teasing his skin with the comfort that it offered. Remained as alone as the moment that he'd arrived and he was growing impatient.

 

'Figures. I come here to settle this and the woman can't be bothered to show up.' Briefly he wondered if he should just begin seeking the spot where he was sure that the Shikon resided, beneath the rubble at the bottom of the gorge, yet as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he felt a gentle nudging on his senses. It puzzled him at first until he remembered her parting words to him.

 

Each time they'd actually met, it had always been when he was asleep. Was she not powerful enough to communicate while he was in complete control of his mind? The thought had him snorting in derision; if the jewel was supposed to be all that powerful, she shouldn't be bothered by such limitations. Still, he was willing to play the game, at least for the moment. Quickly he sought out the same tree that he'd fallen asleep in before, and closed his eyes. Yet sleep was elusive, especially with how keyed up he was at the moment.

 

It was then that Kagome took matters into her own hands, excreting her own control and plunging his mind into darkness. This time when he appeared before her, she had no intension to seducing him. Instead, she would answer his questions, and see what the future had in store for the both of them.

 

“I must admit, I didn't think you'd take me up on the offer quite so soon. I'm glad though,” she said at last, giving him a slight smile. Gracefully she lowered herself down to the soft grass and stared out into the distance.

 

“I'm going to skip the pleasantries and ask, just what the hell did you do to me?” Hiei said in response while staring down at her. Upon first glance, most people would overlook her as being a weak, pathetic human but he knew otherwise. To underestimate her would be foolish and he wasn't about to be caught off guard.

 

“I suppose that in order to answer your question, I need to explain my situation,” Kagome said wistfully, wondering if he was about to condemn her for what she was about to say. “As you might have guessed, I am in fact dead and my spirit is tied to this place.”

 

“And how did that happen? I already know that it wasn't because of the fire at the shrine,” he replied and crossed his arms. His statement was sheer speculation because he didn't have definitive proof that she'd used the jewel to travel through time, but it was a start.

 

“You see the scars there, in the earth?” she asked and pointed to the cliff that was only a short distance away. When he nodded she sighed and continued, “Those marks were created by the energy of a mighty sword, given the name Tetsusaiga. We were in the fight for our lives, and I just happened to get caught in the crossfire when that attack hit.”

 

“Great, we're dealing with a 'rocks fall everyone dies' scenario,” he replied with a scoff. Somehow it would figure that the only human woman that'd he'd encountered besides Genkai to be worth a damn had gotten herself killed in such an idiotic fashion.

 

The laugh Kagome gave was a weak one and she shook her head, “Not quite. I was the only one caught in the rock slide, even though Inuyasha was killed later in the fight. In the end though, he managed to take the enemy out, which was good enough for everyone else. With the amount of rock that had fallen, it was impossible for Sango and the others to retrieve my body, although they'd often tried.”

 

“Were they interested in your body, or were they after the Shikon?” he asked, scorn coloring his voice. Somehow he doubted that the people that she'd been friends with would try to move heaven and earth, just to retrieve her body when it was likely to be mangled beyond recognition. To say that there were several tons of rock down at the bottom would be a major understatement.

 

“Both, actually,” Kagome replied, shaking her head, “I can't blame them though. The Shikon isn't something that you want falling into the wrong hands. It's happened once already, and it would have happened again if it hadn't been for the fact that it absorbed my soul in the instant of my death.”

 

Well, that answered that question for him. The woman did indeed have the jewel and that explained the sheer force of power that she could exert when she so desired. Overall, it was probably for the best that it had happened like that though, he couldn't imagine the damage that would have occurred had the jewel been retrieved by someone with less than honorable intentions. “Do I dare ask how you ended up with the jewel in the first place? I've got it on good authority that it disappeared with Kikyo's death.”

 

“Your authority on the matter is sadly lacking in information I'm afraid, but that's in large part due to Shippo and Miroku's efforts. They did what they could to make sure that what had happened faded into obscurity, relying on spells and sutras to force people to forget. They had to in order to keep people from coming for the jewel,” she said quietly, reflecting on all the hard work those two had done. Even the Reikai was unaware of its existence, which was no bad thing in her opinion and she still wasn't sure how they'd managed to pull that one off.

 

“You still haven't answered my question,” he reminded her impatiently. He still had so many questions he longed to ask her, and he wasn't going anywhere until he had the answers.

 

“I suppose I haven't,” she said and shook her head, “I guess it happened because I'm Kikyo's reincarnation. She did instruct that they burn the jewel with her body, but that wasn't nearly enough to destroy it. When her soul was reincarnated, the jewel came with it and reformed itself in my body.”

 

That answer hadn't quite been what he'd been expecting and for a moment he stared blankly at her, “You've got to be joking. What'd you do, cut it out?” Better yet, how the hell did she know that she had it in her in the first place?

 

“Ripped out is more like it. When Mistress Centipede pulled me through the well, she sensed its power within my body. When she saw the chance to take it, she did,” Kagome replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Even though it was all ancient history, if she concentrated she could still feel the residual pain from the injuries that she'd sustained, even though she no longer had a physical form.

 

Something told Hiei he didn't even want to ask who this Mistress Centipede was. Instead he focused on the other part, the fact that she'd been pulled through the well. Now that he thought about it, there had been a hole on the shrine grounds that had been tainted with the feel of magic. “So then, that's how you traveled to the past.”

 

“Yes, you catch on quick,” Kagome said, nodding her head in approval, “It was a portal to the Feudal era, and that's where I met Inuyasha.” Even now if she closed her eyes, she could hear the way he'd screamed at her on that first day. Even now though, after all that had happened, she wouldn't have gone back to change things.

 

Hiei ignored the careless compliment that she'd tossed his way. He didn't want to even contemplate what Koenma must have been thinking, assuming he had been thinking at all, to allow a portal to the past to continue to exist. It was bad enough that there had been gateways into the Makai before the barrier had fallen, and look how much trouble that had caused him in the end.

 

But that was neither here nor there at the moment. He could contemplate just what that meant for them later, when he decided whether or not this needed to be reported to Koenma at all. Finally, after much deliberation, he took a seat down in the grass next to the girl although he didn't look at her, “I'm guessing you're going to tell me there is an easy explanation to how the other Miko gained a piece of your soul too.”

 

“I guess in some ways you could call it easy. Chalk it up to a crazy witch who thought that having the all powerful Kikyo's power at her fingertips would be a good idea. She didn't expect that she'd been reincarnated though, so when she recreated her body it was left as an empty shell; until she saw me anyway. After that it was a quick bath in her stinky potion and Inuyasha making a huge blunder that ripped my soul out. I got it all back by the time I died, but it wasn't easy to deal with in the meantime,” she said with a sad smile. She'd known that he was going to ask her that after having overheard the conversation that she'd been thinking of the last time he'd come to this place. Initially, she hadn't meant for him to overhear it but after it had happened, she didn't regret it. If nothing else, it told him a little bit about her, about the kind of person that she was.

 

Hie knew that she had to be oversimplifying the matter, but he wasn't going to call her on it just yet. It was enough for now, and he was ready to move on. He could always return to the subject and question her later. For now he was ready to find out just what she'd done to him from the beginning. Her answers up to this point had been necessary, but they gave no clue to just what she'd done, or why.

 

“The answer is simple, yet more complicated than it would appear on the surface,” she said and fixed him with her piercing blue eyes, “You wonder how I know what you're thinking right now. That ties in with the other, I assure you.”

 

“Then get to the point,” he bit out crossly. Even sitting here with her, he couldn't feel her probing his mind in any fashion and it was more than a bit vexatious.

 

“So impatient. You don't have anywhere to be and if it hasn't adversely affected you yet, it's not going to,” she told him with an impish grin. When he glared at her she rolled her eyes, “Like I said, my soul was taken into the Shikon the moment of my death. Unfortunately when that happened, the souls within were no longer in balance. The sheer amount of holy energy began to overwhelm the demonic souls that were trapped inside and I was forced to introduce outside youki, just to keep the jewel in balance.”

 

“And you did that by luring demons here to their deaths,” Hiei said, catching on to the situation immediately. It was clear that what she'd done had been out of necessity and he wasn't going to hold that against her. Aside from the invariable headache the whole incident had caused, at most it had cost him a bit of extra work. In return, she'd opened his eyes as to how restrictive his life had become.

 

“In a word, yes. There were very few ways to acquire the energy I needed, and that was the most expedient way to do it, until now,” Kagome said and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She'd seen the way that he'd stiffened and there was no doubt in her mind that he was waiting to hear just what this other method happened to be.

 

“You must understand,” she began quietly, “that we're vastly different creatures. You revel in the joy of killing and I only do so because there's no other choice. When you came here, I wondered if you were after the jewel as well, just like the others.”

 

“And if I had been?” Hiei asked, although he was fairly certain that he already knew the answer.

 

“Then I would have killed you without remorse,” she said firmly, but then her eyes softened, “I almost did anyway, you know. I had to be sure that you weren't after the Shikon, so I put you to sleep and searched to see just what kind of person you were.”

 

Indignation rose up in him then when it occurred to him that this... human had managed to not only render him unconscious but had searched through his memory as well. Being in possession of mind reading abilities himself, it had made him even more selective about what he allowed people to know about him. However, she'd managed to strip all that away in an instant. Yet at the same time, he was forced to think rationally instead of allowing his anger to rule him. Had he been in the same position, he would have ripped her memories away without a second thought and left her mindless if he saw fit. It was strange that she hadn't done so, and he wondered what had stopped her from doing so.

 

For a moment Kagome wondered if he was going to attempt to lash out at her, not that it would have done him any good. It would however damage what little of a relationship that they had, if it could be called that. “I'm not going to lie and tell you that I approve of the things you've done, or in how you've led your life. I do believe however that it's made you a stronger person, and in the end you turned out better than the Gods had intended. I think you can thank your friends, and your own sense of honor for that one.”

 

“My life is what I've decided to make of it, without anyone else's interference. So you've read my mind, what does that have to do with anything?” Hiei asked, not wanting to be drawn into a debate as to whether or not outside influences had truly made that much of a difference in his life.

 

“I've been tired of killing, Hiei, so very tired. But up until you came to this place, there had been no one that I could trust. Regardless of how they've come here, each demon has only wanted the power of the jewel. I couldn't trust them with the secret, I didn't dare take the chance. You were different though,” she said, hoping that he would see the truth of her words. Of course, there hadn't been any guarantees that her assessment of his character would be correct and she'd been prepared to take action to eliminate the threat should he pose one.

 

“So that's why you've been coming to me in my dreams. Funny, I thought only Kitsune were sexual vampires,” he said, shaking his head slightly and wondering why it was always him that had to deal with the strange shit. “How did you find me once I returned to the Makai?”

 

“Well...” she said, hesitating a bit. If he was likely to lose his temper over anything, this was likely to be it, “I sort of... created a connection with your mind that first day. “

 

“Of course, why didn't I think of that already,” he said sarcastically. He didn't even want to ask her whether or not she could break it since something told him that he wouldn't like the answer in the least. In the end, he supposed it was immaterial since she wouldn't be in that form for much longer. Maybe then he'd stop waking up with a tent in his pants, or worse, blowing his load like a thirteen year old human boy.

 

Kagome didn't bother to answer that rhetorical question, knowing that it was just likely to piss him off even further. Instead, she wanted to know more of why he'd chosen to come to her. She'd been vaguely aware of the conversation that he'd held with the redhead, but she wasn't altogether certain that it would work. More to the point, she'd gotten used to her existence, such as it was. For the jewel to be destroyed would likely mean the destruction of her soul as well and she wasn't ready to embrace that possibility.

 

As if he were the one reading her mind this time, Hiei began to speak again, “I suppose I don't need to tell you then that I've discovered a way to destroy the jewel.”

 

“I heard, although I can't allow you to do that. I may have been self sacrificing in my youth but to do so now would serve no purpose,” Kagome replied and looked up at the sky. It was true, a lot of things had changed in her during the centuries that had passed. She was no longer the same naive girl that she'd once been, and nothing would change that.

 

The answer didn't surprise him in the least, although he was a bit shocked that she hadn't made a thorough look into his thoughts about the matter. Either way though, it just meant there would be an instance where he was able to surprise her instead of it being the other way around. “It figures that you're not looking at the big picture. You would hold onto this existence, ignoring the chance to live again just so you can continue to wallow in your self pity while stealing the energy from others that you have no right to.”

 

“Excuse me?” Kagome said, bristling in indignation, “I am not wallowing in self pity here. What would you have me do, allow my soul to be extinguished without so much as a by your leave? You speak to me as if there's a chance I can live again, but I will not walk this Earth as Kikyo did. I will not be shoved into a body made of clay, living a half life just so you can be secure in the knowledge that the jewel is gone!”

 

“And here I thought you were smarter than this,” Hiei said with a sneer, “again you are blind to the potential that you hold in your very hand. Or was the legend about the jewel nothing more than a lie, leaving nothing more than a paltry trinket that you use to lure people to their deaths. Which is it, girl? Can the jewel actually grant the wish of the bearer or am I just wasting my time here?”

 

Kagome's hands fisted at her sides and she stood up to glare down at the demon, “Of course the jewel can grant a wish. But using it does nothing more than corrupt the jewel, which brings nothing but destruction! How many people have to die before you'll realize that the jewel only brings ruin?”

 

“Spare me the melodrama, woman. You're not using what little of a brain you have in that head. What part of destroying the jewel did you not understand? Once it's gone you'll no longer have to worry about what damage it might cause,” Hiei said, his scathing tone meant to cut deeply into the woman standing before him. She was running off of pure emotion now and in his opinion, she needed a swift kick in the ass to get her to start thinking again.

 

“What makes you think you can destroy it. Kikyo tried and failed to do so. You know what will happen if it doesn't work this time? It'll show up centuries down the line in some other unsuspecting girl and her life will be ruined when some demon comes along and takes it,” Kagome countered. It wasn't the idea of living again that was so unappealing, but rather, what would happen if she shirked her responsibility.

 

He had to admit, it was a valid question, one that he hadn't thought about. However, the answer wasn't that long in coming and his gaze softened ever so slightly, “You forget, I am the dragon now. What it knows, I know. If the jewel isn't destroyed, we'll take the appropriate measures necessary to retrieve it.”

 

The answer was a slight long shot, but he had no doubts that Koenma could indeed venture down into the pits of hell if necessary; hopefully it wouldn't come to that though. However, something told him that idea wouldn't need to be put to the test. He believed that since Kagome would be alive at the point that they attempted to destroy the jewel, it would merely return to her if it failed. If nothing else, she could remain it's guardian but in a more appropriate form.

 

“You really believe that, don't you?” Kagome asked, allowing some of her anger to dissipate. When he looked at her in slight confusion, she shook her head, “About the dragon. Yes, you may have mastered it, but do you really think that it bows to your whims just because you want it to?”

 

Hiei looked at her oddly then, wondering what it was that she knew about the beast. She spoke as if she had intimate knowledge of it and what it was capable of.

 

“The dragon is still a thinking being, Hiei. It has its own wants, and desires. I know this because it approached me, long before you came to me in the temple,” she said quietly. In a way, she wondered if the dragon would even acquiesce to the desire of destroying the jewel, or if it would take the jewel for its own.

 

Her way of thinking was... odd. The dragon wanted to feed, to kill. It didn't rationalize one way or another. It's knowledge was his own, yet something about her demeanor seemed off and he raised a brow at her, “Don't tell me that you've formed a connection with it as well.”

 

“You could say that,” Kagome replied with a shrug, “he approached me, looking for a contact to the outside world. You're right that it wants power and control, so I ask you, what possible reason would the dragon have for going along with this in the first place?”

 

'I wouldn't.'

 

Kagome jumped when the deep voice hissed in her mind. A quick glance over at the apparition revealed that he'd heard it as well and he looked less than pleased. “I suppose that answers that question then.”

 

'Unless...'

 

“Unless?” Kagome repeated, her brow furrowing in confusion. She'd expected an outright refusal but now it seemed as if the dragon wanted to bargain. It'd already gotten what it wanted, a gateway to the outside world. What more could it want?

 

'Destruction such as you speak of is unattainable. Control however, is a far more likely option. You wish to secure the jewel in a location which no one can venture?'

 

Immediately the scenery changed to that of the temple that they'd been in only hours before and the dragon rose up in a cloud of mist in the center of the room. But Kagome wasn't fooled by the change in location. They were still in the Ningenkai, near the jewel's resting place. This was nothing more than an illusion of the dragon's making.

 

“I'm not going to pretend that you'd do this with no benefit to yourself. What's in this for you?” Kagome asked, staring at the dragon's manifestation. As far as she was aware, complete control over the jewel was nothing more than a fanciful illusion. Keeping it in her physical possession was risky at best, and there was a great risk that it could be stolen, just as it had in the past. However, if Hiei and this creature hovering before her were right and it could be, at the very least, secured in hell, was it possibly a better option than the alternative?

 

'It's simple really, Miko. You've already agreed to my terms, this would be nothing more than an extension of that bond. My terms are freedom, pure and simple. In your current state, it's only slightly more extensive than what I had before the contract was sealed. But if you were to live again...'

 

“Aren't you forgetting someone?” Hiei bit out, irritated with the fact that he was being ignored completely. The turn of events continued to stun him after each turn, and he just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the Miko would even consider bonding with a creature such as the beast which rode his arm.

 

Kagome watched with bated breath when the dragon swung its head around to stare at the apparition. On one hand she could completely understand where he was coming from, but that didn't mean that the beast was likely to take kindly to his interference. It loathed the fact that it had been collared, and Hiei's words had done nothing but remind it of that fact.

 

'Your desires on this point, are immaterial, Master. This is between me and the girl. Life, and protection of the jewel in return for use of her body.'

 

“Like hell it isn't any of my concern. Are you forgetting that you are under my control. It's my will that calls you to the mortal plane, not hers,” Hiei snapped, not liking the direction that this was taking. It was as if his wishes were of no consequence and he was being dismissed entirely.

 

“Wait, you said you want use of my body, to what end? If you're looking to go on some rampage in the human world, you can forget it. Besides, I can't take the risk of placing the jewel in your... claws. The jewel remains purified only when its in my possession.'

 

'Is there really so great of a difference from what you have now? Strengthening the bond will only increase your power, allowing your link to the jewel to remain in place. Are you so weak that you would be unable to accomplish your goal, even under those ideal circumstance? My strength will become your own, just as your body will become my temple. Join with me, and your troubles will vanish beneath our combined power.'

 

The proclamation stunned Kagome, leaving her speechless. This was considerably more than she could have ever hoped for. If she hadn't known better, she would have accused the dragon of lying. However, it was impossible in this place and with the bond they already shared, its thoughts resonated through her head, impressing upon her the truth of its words.

 

Now she had a choice before her, something that she'd never thought she'd have. A chance to live again, something she'd never thought possible. It was there, ready for the taking, if only she'd reach out and take hold it. But did she dare? Already she could feel Hiei's misgivings, but to the man's credit he hadn't changed his mind just yet.

 

Cautiously she looked over to him, taking in his unreadable expression. She could see the thoughts racing across his face and she knew they centered around the dragon itself. He was worried that this bond would somehow supersede his own, diminishing the power he controlled. Yet she knew that it wasn't quite like that and she hastened to reassure him, “If you're worried about losing control, its not a concern. What is being discussed here holds no bearing on your control.”

 

Her words did little to reassure him, but there was more to it than just that. Back in his mind, he wondered if the jewel would somehow increase the dragon's power. Assuming that was the case and he remained in control, it would become more devastating in its intensity when the attack was unleashed. The potential was staggering and the benefits seemed to far outweigh the risks in his mind. Finally he nodded, and fixed the girl with a bored look, “Do as you please. I have no objections so long as you get on with it.”

 

Now that the ball was in her court, Kagome weighed her options. She could always have Hiei wish upon the jewel and then keep the Shikon on her possession, as she'd done before. However, now she knew that there were demons in her own time, and she didn't have anyone to protect her. Keeping the jewel safe would be next to impossible since it wasn't practical to carry a bow around modern day Tokyo. So the only other options left to her was to continue as she had been, living a solitary existence save for the brief amount of time that Hiei was willing to give her, or accept the dragon's offer.

 

In the end it was a hard choice, but she knew what she wanted to do. It might have been a selfish decision on her part, but there was no denying the burning desire within her; she wanted to live again. She wanted to regain what she'd lost all those centuries ago. She had no idea where she'd go or what she'd do once this was all over, but it was better than subsisting on the scraps that life had to offer to her now. Slowly she bowed her head and took a deep breath, “I'll do it. Do what you feel is necessary.”

 

Before the final word had left her mouth, the dragon had lunged, seizing her throat in its powerful jaws and piercing the delicate skin with its fangs. Pain erupted through her body and her eyes squeezed shut while she tried to endure the agony. Hot, sticky blood trailed down the slender column of her throat while the dragon drank deeply of her essence and she was left praying for him to finish quickly, lest she lose her resolve.

 

The action had taken Hiei completely by surprise and he stared incredulously as the beast wrapped its sinuous body around her own. Yet he knew that it wasn't attempting to kill her, far from it in fact. Even now her clothing was being burned away, reminiscent of what had happened the last time she'd been embraced by the dragon. A smoky mist rose from it's body and it began to seep into the Miko's skin, leaving a distinct mark behind once it had vanished. A near perfect replica of the famed dragon now twisted along her body, a permanent mark of the bond that they now shared. When she looked up again, he noticed how her eyes briefly flashed red before fading back to the vivid blue they'd been previously and he knew that the creature was watching silently from within her mind.

 

Once the pain had receded, Kagome shook her head. That had been something she could have definitely gone without experiencing. Physical sensation was something that she could indeed experience, although in most instances it wasn't quite as strong as it would be if she'd had a body. But this time, it had been damage inflicted directly on her soul so that the dragon could merge with her. She laughed without humor then, remembering the times she'd seen in Hiei's memory when he'd proclaimed himself to be the dragon. What then, did that make her now?

 

It was probably something that was best not dwelt upon, or brought to the man's attention. Instead she glanced down at her body, taking note of the mark of the dragon that now branded her. Should anyone see it, they'd believe it to be an elaborate tattoo, nothing more. However, she knew better and those with high spiritual energy would be foolish to ignore the warning that it represented.

 

It took mere moments for her to concentrate and reform the clothing that she'd lost, yet again. As soon as that was done though, the scene abruptly changed and once again she and Hiei was standing on the grassy knoll. “So what do we do now?”

 

The answer came quickly, accompanied by Hiei's piercing glare, “We retrieve the jewel.”

 

The task, however, would be far more difficult than just speaking the words. If her friends had been unable to dig it out before, then it would be doubly difficult now. The rock had had time to settle, and worse still, more rock had fallen as the weather had taken its toll on the jagged cliff overhead. “I suppose you have an idea on how we're going to do that then?”

 

“Yes. I'll use my power to blast away part of the rubble. Once I've cleared as much as I can, allow the power of the jewel to flare. On my way here there were several mid level demons lurking near the border. They'll come if you call and finish the work for us,” Hiei replied quietly. It was the quickest method he could come up with, and he was sure that it would attract attention but they had no other choice. He had no desire to sit there for weeks moving rock when they could have it over and done with in a matter of minutes.

 

The plan seemed to be a sound one, with only one slight snag. “And once they reach the jewel? I assume I'm to drain them all at the last moment?” She couldn't afford to allow even one of them to touch the artifact. If they knew how to use it, there was a chance that they could make a wish, giving them complete control before she eliminate the threat. With numbers on their side, she could be at enough of a disadvantage to cause concern.

 

“Do you really think that the dragon would allow possession on the jewel to fall into some fool's hands? Should the time come, it will protect you,” he said quietly, knowing that it was true. Even if it wouldn't, he would be there and they weren't going to get past him.

 

“Good point,” she replied, more than a little relieved that her fears were groundless. It was putting a hell of a lot of trust in the two of them, but instinct told her that she was making the right decision. “Let's do this then.”

 

“Agreed,” he said and waited for her to end the dream. Awareness came to him slowly, but once it did he quickly shook off the remnants of sleep. He had a job to do, and not much time to do it in. Resolutely he began walking towards the edge of the crevasse, determined to get this over with quickly. Once he reached the edge, he peered down into the darkness. The gorge seemed to be bottomless, however he knew better than to believe such a foolish notion. One leap had him disappearing into the darkness, free falling in his quest to reach the bottom.

 

It came sooner than expected and he landed lightly on his feet. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and once it did, the sheer amount of rock stunned him. The miko really hadn't been kidding when she'd said it would be a difficult task to get to the Shikon, but he had no doubts as to his success.

 

The memory came to him of the time during the dark tournament when he'd tried to match the destructive force of Toguro's fist and the way the ground had caved beneath the impact. That was the exact method that he'd be employing now and he wasted no time in getting to it. Immediately he lept into the air and pulled his fist back, gathering as much power as he could to deliver in that one crushing blow before gravity began to work its magic, pulling him back to Earth.

 

The impact was devastating, shaking the ground beneath him and shattering the rock like it was glass. Shards of granite flew through the air, slicing into anything it came into contact with. Carelessly Hiei wiped away the trickle of blood that trailed down his cheek and surveyed his handiwork. Unsurprisingly, he'd made a considerable dent in the pile although he was far from finished. 'As long as the shock

wave doesn't incite another rock slide. That would be a perfect end to this fucked up day.'

 

Tirelessly he worked until he reached the more solid rock and his fists were bleeding. He'd reached the end of what he could do by himself; to go any further would be risking permanent injury to his hands unless he made it back to the regen tank in time. That was fine by him considering he didn't want to have to deal with waiting for shards of bone to mend itself. “If you're going to do it, now is the time, Miko.”

 

The sudden flare of energy knocked Hiei backwards and he scowled in her general direction, even though he couldn't see her. They were going to be lucky if half the damned Makai didn't come running, not to mention it was sure to attract the Detective's attention. Regardless, he saw no point in remaining there to be caught in the stampede that was likely only moments away. Quickly he made his way back up the side of the cliff and returned to what was quickly becoming his favorite resting tree there. Now all that remained was to wait.

 

But it wasn't long before he felt the first tell tale signs of demonic energy approaching and he smiled. They certainly weren't wasting any time and that was fine by him. Cautiously he moved farther up into the tree, concealing himself in the shadows and suppressing his aura. It just wouldn't do for these lowlifes to realize that he was there, not when it would make them hesitant to approach. This was definitely one time when his reputation would work against him, so it was best to avoid the problem all together.

 

So silently he watched and eventually they came, slowly at first. It didn't take much for their hesitation to leave them though, and soon they were amassing in greater numbers, answering the call of the jewel. One by one they disappeared into the gorge and he could feel their energy building as they blasted at the rocks. And off in the distance he could feel the Toushin approaching at a breakneck speed, but so long as the man didn't arrive before he had the jewel in his hand, he didn't give a damn.

 

Deep within his mind he felt the dragon stir through Kagome and he knew it was almost time. The beast was hungry for blood, demanding the lives of the one who had come to possess its chosen.... Hiei's thoughts stopped for a moment as he pondered just what the hell she was to the dragon before he decided that it didn't matter, so long as the dragon got the job done.

 

It was then that the power surged forth and Hiei knew that it was time. The dragon's shriek was deafening as it erupted from the Miko's soul, lashing out at anything in its path. The screams of the dying filled the air along with the acrid stench of burning flesh. It was done, and now all that was left was to retrieve the jewel and make the wish.

 

Quickly he dropped down out of the tree, but before he could make it back to the gorge, the dragon met him half way. The regarded each other coldly for several long moments before the beast growled lowly from its chest.

 

'Now I shall be the one to make the wish and bring the girl back to the world of the living.'

 

Hiei's eyes widened considerably when he realized that the dragon held the Shikon in one of its hands and it had no intentions of handing the jewel over. To his surprise the blinding pink color hadn't faded in spite of the inherent evilness that lurked within the beast's heart. It was then that he realized just how powerful Kagome was, and his confidence solidified that this would indeed work. A pulse like a heartbeat filled the air and he realized that the wish had been made. Silently he waited to see what would happen; waiting for proof that the legends were true. So intent on watching the scene unfold, he never noticed that the dragon had vanished, taking with him the very jewel which had caused this mess in the first place.

 

A fine mist appeared on the ground, slowly at first but as the moments passed it quickly solidified and he realized that it was actually happening. Quickly he knelt down and reached out towards her, his hand connecting with solid flesh. The touch seemed to be the trigger for the Miko to take a shuddering breath, proof that she was indeed alive.

 

“It.... worked,” Kagome said through chattering teeth. The feeling of being alive after so long was a foreign one and she hugged her arms around her body in a desperate effort to keep warm. Moments later she was surrounded by a soft, black cloth and she realized that Hiei had given her his cloak. “Thank you... for everything.”

 

“Hn... you can pay me back later,” he said flatly. He wasn't interested in her gratitude, not when there was other things that she could use to show her appreciation. The nights that she'd left him hard with desire stood out starkly in his mind.

 

The thoughts from the apparition slammed into her, and Kagome found herself chuckling weakly, “A pervert to the end eh, Hiei? Don't worry, I'd come to like the arrangement that we had so maybe we can work something out.”

 

The implications of what she just said had him scowling. It wasn't the offer of sex that had him displeased, but more that she still knew just what the hell he was thinking. His voice was flat when he spoke again, “The bond is still in place.”

 

Slowly Kagome nodded, “It would seem so. I don't think this is something I can undo, not with the way that we're both bonded to the dragon. It's something that we're going to have to learn to live with.”

 

“Figures,” Hiei said with a snort. That was one of the things he'd been afraid of from the start of this whole convoluted mess, so it really didn't come as a surprise to him. He was just going to have to take it out on her ass, literally if he had any say in the matter.

 

“What the hell is going on here?”

 

The shout had both Hiei and Kagome turning in surprise. They'd been so wrapped up in the aftermath of her resurrection that they hadn't even noticed the fact that Yusuke had come up on them.

 

Silence reigned over the clearing for several long moments while Yusuke processed just what the hell he was looking at. When he finally spoke again, his voice was tight with disbelief, “You've gotta be shitting me. Kagome, where the hell have you been?”

 

“It's a very long story, Yusuke and... I'm tired. It's been a long day,” Kagome said, giving him a weary smile. She really wasn't up to repeating the entire tale a second time that day. Surely Yusuke would understand that much. The grip on her shoulder tightened ever so slightly and she glanced over at Hiei. It was then that she knew that he would take care of the problem. In the meantime, it was time to go home, wherever home was.

 

“Yeah, I bet,” Yusuke replied and eyed her critically. He would have had to have been blind not to notice that she was almost nude, save for Hiei's cloak. It was an awkward situation to say the least. The glare from the hybrid certainly wasn't helping matters either, and he quickly yanked his gaze up and off of her bare legs. “So uh,, you gotta place to go then? Cause I hate to tell you, the shrine is gone.”

 

“I know. Hiei told me,” she said quietly, not wanting to go into any more detail at the moment. “Can I stay with either of you, at least for the night? I'm not sure where to go at this point.” That much at least was the understatement of the year. With the shrine gone, there was nothing left. It would be difficult to resume her previous life, but she was certain it could be done. Explaining her absence to the authorities however, would be more than a little difficult. Once that was done she knew that there was some money left by her family that she'd be able to access, if nothing else. It would be enough to get a place and pay the bills until she managed to get a job. Even so, it didn't change the fact that the sheer uncertainty of her future was more than a little daunting.

 

“I don't think you want to stay with Hiei. That place is more than a little creepy, not to mention there's plenty of um... people there that probably wouldn't appreciate you being there,” Yusuke said, scratching the back of his head uncertainly. Without knowing just what she knew about demons, it was best not to take any chances. He really didn't want to have to ask Hiei to wipe her memories because of a blunder. 'She's going to be lucky if he doesn't have to do that anyway. Without knowing where she's been, there's no telling what she's seen.'

 

“How kind of you to offer your place to her, Detective,” Hiei said with just a touch of sarcasm in his voice. While the man had a point about taking her into the Makai, the girl would be in little danger now that she had a self appointed guardian, Hell, he doubted he'd even have to play babysitter to her in that case. Anyone stupid enough to approach her with less than honorable intentions would find themselves as dragon fodder.

 

“Yeah, uh... I guess you could stay with me,” Yusuke said, taken aback by Hiei's statement. He really hadn't given any thought at all to the idea of her staying at his place. It was only a one bedroom apartment with a pallet on the floor. “But... there's something else. I mean, I know you don't want to talk about it now, but you're going to have to speak to the authorities eventually. They'll probably want to put you in the hospital for observation and all that crap. Do you want to do that now, or wait a couple of days?”

 

“She'll go tomorrow,” Hiei said before Kagome had a chance to weigh the pros and cons of the question. It was going to be hard enough to deal with them without adding additional complications on top of it. If they were to learn that she'd been found, yet no report had been made on it, it wouldn't look good. It might even lead to suspicion that perhaps she was one of the ones to cause the fire.

 

“Wait a minute, don't I have a say in this?” Kagome asked and crossed her arms stubbornly. All she wanted was a chance to get her bearings, to become accustomed to her new body. That at the very least was going to take a couple of days. What would they think if she wobbled into their office like someone who had been abed for the past several months?

 

“No, Hiei's right. The sooner this gets done, the better off you'll be. They still haven't solved the fire and while I know you weren't the one who did it, they don't,” Yusuke said quietly. While she might not like the idea, he could see the wisdom in it. In a way it was strange, he'd never thought that he'd actually be the one advocating going to the police. 'Shit, the world must be ending.'

 

“We'll then I hope that one of you two have a good suggestion on what I should tell them. I don't think they'd believe me if I said I'd been trapped in a jewel for the past several centuries!” she said and stamped her foot for effect. That little statement had the desired effect, and to her, Yusuke at least looked as if he'd been smacked. Maybe now they'd actually start thinking instead of just carting her off to the police without even a half-assed plan in place.

 

The outburst had Hiei resiting the urge to rub his temples. There was no doubt about it now, he was seeing what Yusuke would have been like it he'd been born a female. How in the hell he was going to deal with two of these types of people, he'd never know. 'And here I thought she didn't want to answer his questions about what had happened.' Regardless, he didn't want to have to sit there any longer than necessary while the Toushin gapped at her. Sooner or later Botan, or worse yet, Koenma himself would show up. Wearily he stared the both of them down, “Don't ask, Detective. I'll fill you in later. In the meantime, you'll fake amnesia, Miko. If necessary I'll use the jagan to help you. Now, if you two are finished, let's get the hell out of here. I have no desire to have to answer the Reikai's questions just because neither of you can pull your heads out of your asses long enough to realize just how much attention we're sure to have attracted.'

 

Even though the apparition had a point, Kagome glared at him anyway, “Has anyone ever told you that you're an insufferable jerk?”

 

“None who have lived to finish what they were saying,” he countered with a glare, “Now if you don't mind, let's go.”

 

Shaking his head, Yusuke watched the apparition dart off, without the girl, in the direction of the apartment. “Well, I guess it's just you and me. Want a ride?”

 

“Just keep your hands to yourself, 'kay? I'm sure Keiko would have your head otherwise,” Kagome said with a grin. Even though her lover had all but dumped her on one of his friends, she really didn't mind. It just meant that she had that much more time to catch up on old times with him.