Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Par Tout Autre Nom ❯ A Little Slice of Hell ( Chapter 35 )

Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.

A/N: My goodness… This chapter turned into the biggest beast yet!! -rubs head and shrugs with a nervous chuckle- There were just so much that had to happen, and I could have cut it in half, but well… it works better this way, I suppose. Although I have a terrible sinking sensation that I'm going to have to hide from Kazusa and a few more after this…

Ah, now to my usual thankings… My beautiful junkies, my reviewers, my worshippers. -giggles, that worshipping and kissing and all those things still crack me up- As you no doubt realize, I adore you and love you. You provide me with such entertainment and uber warm fuzziness with your sweet words and compliments. I love hearing what your thoughts are and what you enjoy, and I hope that you continue to enjoy this horribly twisted mess of a story that is being beaten out of my head. I really am having much too much fun writing it. ^__^

<~*~*~*~>

By Any Other Name

~A Little Slice of Hell~

Kagome sighed and brushed the back of her hand across her forehead as she tossed the long-sleeved sweater she had worn earlier off to the side, tightening her grip on Miroku's shakujou and lifting her eyes to the sun making its lazy way across the clear blue sky. She felt the ground shudder, drawing her attention back to Shippou as the centipede youkai they'd jointly ripped into no less than six pieces crashed thunderously to the blood-slick grass of their temporary practice field.

Five years ago I would have been sweating by now, she reached up to lightly touch her face, able to smell the noxious corruption in the black blood making her skin feel wet under her searching fingers, but fully aware of the absence of any other fluids normally caused under such lengthy exertions.

A sigh worked its way from her chest as she reached into the pocket of her torn jeans and removed a clean ofuda, passing along her energy in a crackle of violet and pink until the heavy paper took on a razor edge, "Seibai!"

"Hup!" Shippou flipped out of the way the moment he felt the spell she'd cast in that single ward sweep out across the clearing, gathering youki as it was forcefully thrown dead center to the remaining creature's heart. The magic made a wide arc, leaving the separate pieces of the first bursting into flames in its wake as a low, rumbling scream of denial and agony echoing down the mountainside. The ofuda's light grew stronger, forcing Shippou to hold up an arm and shield his eyes when the purifying energy incinerated the massive body as though it had never been.

He dropped silently to the ground beside her, grinning as he flicked the dual wakizashis in chiburi before he gave them a flashy twirl and stuffed them back into the sheaths at his belt, "Heh… that makes fourteen, Nee-san, want to stop for lunch?"

One brow kicked up, looking around at all the blood before she leaned her weight on the staff and gave him one of her most dry expressions, "How many times have we had this discussion?"

Shippou reached up and rubbed the back of his hand with a frown, "Eighty-six, but it's not so bad in this one with the wind blowing the right direction, we don't have to smell it and there are plenty of rocks to sit on."

"No."

He sighed heavily and nodded, "All right, all right, I guess I can wait a little longer while we find a spot with less guts and such in the grass."

"That's a good thing considering if I'm in the mood, I can tell you that we won't stop for another hour or more," Kagome chuckled, bending down to scoop up a smaller version of the pack she had once carted all over creation in Sengoku Jidai. "Honestly, Shippou, when did you start putting away every edible thing in sight?"

"Puberty," Shippou grinned widely, showing off the fangs he knew she thought were too cute to deny as he trotted after her with his tail flicking back and forth. "I hit a growth spurt and Kouga said I was worse to support than a whole litter."

"I believe it," she shook her head and shot him a look over her shoulder as he caught up and walked beside her up the unpaved trail leading deeper into the woods. "Do you have any idea what the grocery bill has been since you moved into the temple with us?"

He shrugged it aside casually, "I make enough to pay it, so why should I bother with looking at that? Shinju handles the finances for the most part, he's got the head for them, and they bore me to tears. I mean, c'mon… Miroku's know-how mixed with your restraint to stop him from throwing it away on little things like women and sake? He's practically a dictator that way, and we've never had problems."

"And here I thought Koji-chan handled accounting," Kagome laughed softly, unable to stop the smile that crossed her face at hearing Shippou speak so fondly of the shared traits present in her descendants. He said they always look… like it's a game to see what's there from Miroku and what's mine. But the way he speaks of Shinju…

"She handles the company stuff, but I like Shinju's style. He's the most like Kazenatsu from the ones that came before him," Shippou continued in a softer tone, sneaking her a look to see how she took that information before he continued. "Sesshoumaru even said-" he paused, looking uncertain for a moment before he shook off his qualms and continued, "he said that Shinju and Hitokaze might be reincarnations…" That Miroku might have pulled some strings to have them reborn so they could know you.

Kagome stopped walking, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath and tried to banish the sudden tightness that gripped her throat over what she could sense he couldn't say, Reincarnations.

"B-but we can't be sure of that!" Shippou rushed out nervously when he saw the expression on her face, blanching and nervously casting about for something he could say that would ease the pained look. "It-it was just an idea-!"

"It's all right, Shippou-chan," Kagome assured him with another quiet laugh, reaching out to grasp his arm and bring a stop to his stuttering tirade. "It's getting easier, knowing they were happy when they lived. And you're right… if Miroku has any influence of that kind, he would try to do something like that." He told me often enough that he never wanted his sons to forget their mother. He said… he would find a way to share it with me.

And a soul such as yours is easy to follow, my beautiful Tama.

Kagome's head snapped up, instantly alert to every nuance of their surroundings as Shippou went still in pure reflex, weapons in hand and placing himself protectively at her side at the tension suddenly radiating through her aura, "Kagome? Kagome, what is it?"

Her eyes narrowed, bringing her focus inward when the immediate area failed to offer up anything that could have possibly snuck past her mental defenses in such a way, lifting a hand to her heart as she painstaking searched for the source, You again…

Did you doubt that I would return? I told you to dream of me, but imagine my surprise to find myself facing a new opponent when I have come into your mind in the darkness.

Kurama, Kagome's eyes went wide, fists abruptly clenching under the urge to growl even as her mind told her rationally that the sound was not nearly as impressive from her throat as from a youkai's. You sick bastard… you're watching me dream about Kurama?!

"Kagome?" Shippou frowned sharply when she remained unresponsive, and even more when the woods around them slowly began to go still, a little at a time until they were completely surrounded by heavy silence.

He cannot satisfy you, miko, not the ways I can.

You're flattering yourself if you think you know anything about what `satisfies' me, onryou.

Ah, so you think to name me a spirit after all?

You're nothing but a voice making its way into my head, Kagome's eyes closed, unaware of the wisps of energy snaking up around her ankles as her soul instinctively called to the energy around it, gathering it closer. If you think-

The vagueness in her mind shifted, malicious jyaki pouring into her so abruptly that she stumbled back a step with a strangled sound, gripping her throat as her knees buckled and left her choking in the grass, I have told you that you should remember the man who should have been your lover, Tama… but you do not seem to be listening. To hear you speak so disrespectfully of your master-

We killed Naraku centuries ago, and he was never my master.

Naraku was a fool.

"NEE-SAN!" Shippou was on his knees at her side in an instant, one sword still held at ready as his eyes darted around the trees in frustrated anger, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders as he shook her in his effort to snap her out of whatever was happening. "Where is it? Kagome, where is it coming from?"

Yes, Tama, where am I coming at you from? Can you feel me? I can feel you; I can always feel you crying out for me…

Don't get arrogant with me, asshole, I'm not a toy and I won't be played with this way, this time Kagome gave into the urge to growl, lips pulling back in a twisted snarl as she forced her jaw to stop clenching long enough to let her suck a deep breath into her aching lungs.

"It's… inside my head…" Kagome managed to grit out when she sensed the way Shippou's panic was increasing at his helplessness, the hand over her heart pressing inward so hard that her nails left five perfect cuts through the fabric of her shirt and into the skin as the circle her fingertips had made shrunk with her clenching fist.

"That's impossible!" Shippou's eyes went wide in alarm.

I'll play with you any way that I please, the voice hardened again as her aura fluctuated and sparked with her intrinsic energy, purification heating the air around her to a point that Shippou automatically leaned away. I have been searching for you, Tama… calling for you since I found you again. Haven't you heard me?

Do not call me that disgusting nickname, Kagome seethed when she felt that presence tenaciously tighten its grip against her efforts to push it out. It wasn't true then, and it isn't true now.

But it is… the whisper came close at her ear, making her aura flare wildly as she rocked back on her heels, gripping her shakujou and pulling herself to her feet while she expanded her energy to melt away more of that crushing jyaki. Undaunted by its loosening hold, it pressed on, You were always the one they should have been hunting… so very precious, miko. Living beauty and raw power instead of a cold thing at war with its own souls-

I think I gave you too much credit, Kagome let out a bitter laugh and cut it off, straightening her spine as she heard Shippou whisper her name in confused fear at her side. She lifted her free hand to press her forefinger between her eyes and open her other senses until the weakness it was causing her faded away, You're no ghost. To say such things… to prove to me that you understand nothing, a ghost would at least understand what creatures that have walked the boundary of life and death can already see.

Oh I understand more than you care to admit to yourself, it assured her in a low, oily purr that made her chin lift in reflexive disgust, eyes glassy and vague when she felt the jyaki flowing steadily to escape her attack, collecting at a point beyond the ancient trees where the forest had again opened up to give it more space as it grew stronger with every pulse.

Shippou rose warily, both wakizashis again in hand as he faced the ripple that was expanding out from that space and sliding his feet into a wider stance before sneaking a look at Kagome's stoic expression when her skin started to pale and shimmer faintly, "What's going on?"

I will not allow you to ignore me when I have followed you for so long and fought so hard to have you for my own.

Come and get me then, Kagome abruptly spun the shakujou across the air in front of her, slicing the jyaki in half to interrupt its growth as the flood of her purifying energy poured through her soul and dislodged that hissing voice from her mind in one violent swoop. I don't hide myself from cowards.

"What the hell is going on?!" Shippou demanded louder, stepping back to come shoulder to shoulder with her when a faint glow followed the path the shakujou had made, pooling at one end and falling to the grass almost as if the very air had begun to bleed.

"I think we're about to have more than training," Kagome's jaw tightened as she regarded the odd vibrations making the natural ki around them bow outwards under an unseen pressure.

He slanted her a serious look when the wind changed direction, pulling towards the anomalous line amidst the stagnating jyaki, "From something that attacked your mind?"

Kagome nodding grimly, keeping careful watch over that spot as she jammed the end of the shakujou into the ground and reached into the bag to dig out the gloves Sango had left for her. After double-checking the hidden blades sewn into the forearm guards, she threw the bag carelessly in the direction of the trees and flexed her hands to be sure they were tight enough before reaching for the staff, "It tried… there's a difference. But it's not speaking in my mind, Shippou, that's the problem. It's getting in another way."

"Something we missed?" he stayed alert, trying not to show his discomfiture at how relaxed she seemed on the heels of the blatant assault, shaking his head as he cursed everything from the past that had developed this behavior.

"Something both sides missed," Kagome frowned deeply at the thought, forcefully cooling her soul when she felt a streak of heat chase a circle between her shoulder blades. "Dammit, and I was in such a good mood too."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Shippou let out a chuckle and smiled back at her, "Careful, Nee-san, they'll start to accuse you of spending too much time with me if you react to serious things like that."

"You're lucky I don't pull a Sesshoumaru and just try to level the whole mountain because it's the fastest way to victory," Kagome pointed out, snapping back into complete seriousness when the oppressive silence was broken by a low, drawing hiss that was too reminiscent to the sound of Naraku's miasma for her peace of mind. Who is this?!

"So much for not drawing attention to Makai that you're still around," Shippou grumbled under his breath when the air in front of them ripped in half with a high-pitched, metallic scream of something more than human. His nose wrinkled at the distinctive aroma of the youkai realm as a wave of over-heated air blasted through the grove with enough force to make the trees groan in protest.

Kagome could feel her soul give a heavy pulse in answer, reaching out just as the neutralizing magic that had allowed the barrier to be breached faded and let the jyaki gathered on the other side race out into the woods like a roiling fog, "Look at the bright side, Shippou."

Shippou let the last of his illusion vanish, gathering his own youki and sliding into a crouch when the portal cleared to show him the number of oni and youkai fighting amongst themselves beyond the tear, "You aren't wearing any of my good pants?"

She rolled her eyes, reaching into her pocket to dig out three ofuda and charge them with her power, "They might kill us."

"How is that a good thing?" he arched an eyebrow, obediently holding up his swords when she flicked her fingers and sent two of the charms to affix themselves to the blades.

"There's no better way to be sure we aren't getting weaker than to not let them," Kagome smiled coldly, drawing back her arm and throwing that last ofuda into the heart of the mass as hard as she could.

<::………::>

"Koenma, we have only just finished our last mission, you had better not be expecting us to leave again so soon," Kurama frowned as he eyed the deity pacing the length of his desk and muttering to himself as he reluctantly followed Botan into the office with Hiei and a darkly swearing Yuusuke in tow.

Koenma had barely opened his mouth to answer when a low chuckle had them all spinning around to see the monk from the Hall of Records leaning casually against the wall, eyes closed and arms folded deep into the sleeves of his robes, "And hello to you as well, Youko Kurama."

`Well, well… this is certainly an unexpected turn of events,' Youko brightened considerably at finding such a welcome distraction to the absence of Kagome, eagerly leaning forward to listen for what had brought on the impromptu meeting. `What could we have done that earned us another meeting so quickly?'

"Houshi-sama?" Yuusuke's swearing stopped instantly, looking up at the ceiling warily as his defenses rose at the memory of their last meeting.

He chuckled and drew one hand out to make an absent gesture that slammed the door closed behind them, "You will not find yourself judged unless you see fit to be disrespectful again, Yuusuke. As much as I enjoy reminiscing about the past, I do not have as much leisure time as I would like of late."

Reminiscing? Hiei frowned, sliding back a step in reflex as he turned to look at the worry on Koenma's face in speculation.

`Good luck getting an answer to that,' Youko snorted in amusement, following the hybrid's gaze and arching an eyebrow curiously.

"My humble apologies for using a method you find distasteful, but there were matters I needed to address," Miroku's eyes opened as a taunting smirk teased his lips for a moment until he settled back into that bland serenity. "Certain boundaries crossed-"

"I didn't know!" Koenma yelled back at him when the monk drawled those words and shifted his focus to their fidgeting boss. "You can't punish me for something that wasn't defined, Houshi-sama!"

Punish…Koenma?! Kurama's shoulders went lax in amazement, well aware he wasn't the only one who'd felt like he'd just been punched in the stomach. He summoned us for this?!

Three sets of eyes swung around to Koenma in disbelief as silence fell after that loaded comment, blinking as he grew even more restless under their scrutiny and pointed furiously at the monk to try and redirect their focus, "He tricked me!"

That perfectly innocent look was back on his face as he pressed his hand over his heart and protested, "Tricked you? Please! I am but a humble deity while you are the son of the great Enma himself… to suggest that one such as me would be capable of deception of that nature is simply laughable."

"You signed the agreement with your father, Koenma, don't blame my idiot husband if you didn't read it completely," Sango's voice carried through as the wall beside Miroku split in half and allowed the other deity to step through. The split closed seamlessly behind her as she set a hand on her hip and reflexively slapped the hand that came to rest on her backside.

Youko suddenly started to laugh, throwing back his head in their mind as his hands clapped down on his own hips and he sighed, `Ahh, I see. So that's how they do it.'

Do what? Kurama frowned in confusion, trying not to let his inner distraction show on his face as the higher beings stared at each other in a way that almost made them feel that they were the ones intruding despite the "invitation."

`Houshi-sama and Sango-sama,' Youko gestured with one hand. `They're faking certain parts of their behavior to make the tactic more effective.'

What the hell are you talking about? Hiei shot him a look of annoyance, silently demanding clarification as he returned his attention to the sputtering prince.

`Don't be dense, Hiei, I know you've watched those silly television shows when you thought no one was around,' Youko snorted, much more relaxed now as he waited for this little drama to unfold and offer up the real reason they'd been summoned by the confusing god-pair. `They're doing that good-guy/bad-guy tactic… Houshi-sama acts charming and agreeable while Sango-sama is threatening and volatile. It's a confusion tactic to distract Koenma from their purpose until he backs himself into the corner they've set up.'

"But you said the agreement was a transcript-!" Koenma started only to break off when Miroku made a dismissive gesture with one hand.

"I believe my words were that the agreement was basically a transcript of our discussion," he corrected without a hint of remorse for the deity's plight. "I suggested you read the terms I had outlined if you had concerns."

"It was enough paperwork to fill my office!" he slumped down in his chair, gripping his head in his hands with a groan of misery. "I don't believe this…"

"Fine print," Miroku's voice was positively cheerful as he snapped his fingers to summon up a single scroll and open it in front of them. "Right here under interfering with the gender of their offspring to suit your purposes."

Koenma's head snapped up, eyes wide and frustrated as he shoved up out of his chair and came around the desk to yank the scroll from the monk's hands and scan until he found the line, "That's not fair! You can't put something so important in one line on the middle of a page of nonsense!"

Miroku reached up and rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic expression, "I'm afraid my organizational skills with legal documents are not as good as they should be. Sango-sama is so much better than I am at-"

Koenma let out a shout of helpless fury and shoved the scroll back against the monk's chest, glaring at him as he pointed an accusing finger directly at his face, "How can you say such things with a straight face, you- you- you fake!"

"Now, now… no need to be rude," he re-rolled the scroll and let out a sigh, shaking his head as it vanished into nothingness again and pasting on a lamenting expression. "My guilt over my ineffectiveness is already weighing heavily on my conscious, but-" his expression changed so rapidly to something dark and almost dangerous that it had the prince instinctively backing away, "a deal is a deal, Koenma-sama."

Yuusuke was the one to break the tension this time, clearing his throat as he struggled with the uncomfortable feeling of displacement he'd gotten from this bizarre argument they'd been dragged into, "What deal?"

"Koenma signed an agreement when we first ascended that he would not make inquiries regarding our family," Sango answered him, reaching up to massage her temples with one hand. "We have just discovered that he has been in violation of that agreement for quite some time now."

"Kurabara," Hiei folded his arms over his chest with a faint sound of understanding, slanting a look at Koenma to watch as he resumed his nervous pacing.

"First, yes, and now we hear that you three have been brought into investigations as well," she lifted her head to pin him with a disapproving frown that was made much more impressive by the dark curl of energy that momentarily streaked around her torso until the monk's hand came down lightly on her shoulder to calm it.

"So what does that mean?" Yuusuke reached up and grabbed the back of his neck, brows furrowed as he tried to follow the disjointed pieces of the conversation.

"Nothing much," Miroku replied with a shrug. "It only means that Koenma will have to remove himself from this position until-"

"NO!" Koenma spun around, his eyes dark with anger and looking far more serious than any of them had ever seen him. "My father left me in charge and I won't allow you to ruin all my hard work just because I didn't read one line in that thing! They weren't interfering with your descendants' lives in any way, so you'll have to pick some other way to handle this. Anything so long as it doesn't involve stepping aside where any idiot could start causing gods know what havoc-"

"Oh? Then you agree that it's a good idea?" Miroku's brows lifted in a show of delight, bringing a new level of confusion to Koenma's face as he blinked and tried to redirect his thinking. "Excellent! I'll arrange things immediately, you don't have to be concerned with details."

"Arrange? Details?" Koenma frowned, glancing around only to catch three shrugs to indicate they didn't have the foggiest idea what was going on either, and frankly didn't intend to get involved.

"Yes, yes, don't worry about a thing," Miroku made an almost comical motion with his hand to indicate he should put it out of his mind. "Verbal contracts are binding enough under theses circumstances-"

"What are you talking about?" Koenma demanded in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air and giving up on anything that involved this god making any sense at all unless he wanted it to.

The too-innocent expression had Youko snickering and waiting expectantly to hear the real aim of the discussion, tilting his head and propping his chin up on his hand, `This makes me wish I had been there when they got this agreement signed. That little bastard looks like he's ready to scream… or cry, crying would be fun to see too.'

Hiei's lips gave a suspicious twitch, Hn.

"Transferring the debt to my control," Miroku's voice had taken on a tone that clearly said the answer should have been perfectly obvious.

"What debt?"

"Their debt," he pointed over to Hiei and Kurama without the slightest change of expression.

Koenma very nearly fell over, completely missing the way the thieves were looking at the monk with wide-eyed astonishment, too consumed with letting out an ear-piercing "WHAT?!"

"Mm, no good? You're right, there's still the other two to worry about," Miroku used one hand to prop up his elbow and stroke his chin with a thoughtful expression. "Very well, Koenma-sama, you've talked me into it. I'll just have to take over all of them, at least until this matter is resolved to my satisfaction."

"You-!"

"They have no obligation to reveal anything they've already learned or may discover in the future to you in regards to this mess that you are only making more serious with your actions," Sango let out a snort of disgust at the way the blood had almost completely drained from Koenma's face. "And you are also forbidden from ordering them on missions that involve investigating our family now that we carry ownership of their sentences."

"I didn't agree to-" he was shaking his head and darting his gaze back and forth between the frozen detectives and the calm-faced gods.

Miroku held up a hand in his classic prayer position, "You said anything that did not involve you revoking your status. That opened a wide variety of selections to me…"

"And two youkai contracts with control over a group that deals regularly with sculpting our records is quite a bargain, is it not?" Sango arched an eyebrow in challenge, staying at her husband's side in a silent, and more than a little disturbing show of solidarity.

"Sango-sama, you can't do that!" Koenma turned to her with a pleading expression. "They protect the barriers, I need them here! I can't just pass them off like-"

"They can still protect the barriers when they're answering to a different set of gods, Koenma," Sango's eyes narrowed, purposefully leaving off the honorific as she turned to face him. "But I think you're the last person who should be giving orders in this situation and speaking of protection… or have you already forgotten why you are dealing with us again?"

"But to take-"

"There is a fine line beneath your feet, Koenma-sama."

Koenma froze, slanting a look find Miroku staring at him coldly, letting his irritation with the continued protests show clearly on his face as his fingers curled with the desire to show him with more than just his expression, "Houshi?"

"You have put my treasured family into incomparable danger again after we have been striving for so long to obtain this peace, Koenma-sama," his eyes narrowed fractionally as the air around them took on a severe chill. "You are lucky I do not permanently take away your pet, makeshift-taijiya detectives since you have proven yourself so inadequate in planning for every possible risk in your impulsive choices."

`I'll even forgive him for calling us pets for this,' Youko's smile was just as cold as the air, not the least bit surprised by the imposing aura the monk had begun to exude and satisfaction rolling through him like a rush of adrenaline. `Who the hell is this person to be so powerful and important that even Koenma defers to him?'

He can't possibly be a lesser god, Kurama agreed, his voice still soft with the surprise and bemusement of hearing that the debt he owed to Reikai no longer belonged in Koenma's hands.

And what reason does he have for doing this? Hiei's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. For going to this trouble to gain control of our contracts to Reikai when it's suggested he could demand more?

Youko snorted, disgusted with both of them, `You're breathing in too much of his power if that's not clear as day… we're getting close to something he doesn't want anyone else to know, we have to be. It's his way of protecting his family when he knows that we won't be satisfied with less than the truth. He could have stopped Koenma anytime after he sent Kurabara to work with Takeharuka, but he waited.'

That's just it, Fox, Hiei growled at him in annoyance. Why did he wait until we were this close?

Probably to annoy Koenma, Kurama lifted a hand to hide the smirk Youko reflexively offered.

`He wanted to watch us first,' Youko corrected them with a sigh, sounding much older and wiser than he generally allowed himself to appear. `That first time we met him, and he hit us with the ofuda, do you remember? He told us he was more interested in seeing our soul. He wanted us to get to this point…'

I'm going to guess from your response, that you don't know why, Hiei tried not to do something so telling as sigh, but from the violet eyes pinning him briefly to the spot, he was certain this secretive deity was fully aware of their uncertainties.

Not yet… and somehow I doubt he intends to tell his reasons so easily, Kurama let out a faintly bothered sigh.

`Course not, that's not his style,' Youko chuckled and stroked a hand down their soul in a soothing fashion. `Relax, Kurama. This is still a good thing, I'm sure of it. He and I understand each other, and he likes us or he wouldn't be spending his advantage over Koenma in this way. He could have simply devised a way to keep us out of the matter entirely.'

You're sure of that? Hiei demanded tersely, hands clenched at the sudden vagueness of their positions. No matter what aggravation they suffered under the neurotic prince's orders, there was at least a pattern to the madness that they had settled into, and after so long of effectively being at his beck and call, it had become tolerable in its predictability if nothing else.

Youko nodded, for once not giving into the urge to tease, `Absolutely. Trust me in this, he's including us in his plans for a reason when he didn't have to.'

Koenma shifted nervously from foot to foot under the unblinking violet stare of the censorious god, clearing his throat as he tried to defend, "The human soul deserved a chance to complete its destiny."

"Onigumo made his choices, and he deserved to suffer the consequences for them," Sango folded her arms over her chest, mirroring her husband's expression with the single exception of the visible anger making her eyes glow a muted scarlet. "He changed his destiny the moment he allowed the darkness in his soul to guide his heart and devour him."

Miroku turned his head, whispering something softly in her ear that had the tension easing slightly across her shoulders before he turned back to Koenma with his pleasant smile back in place, "My apologies… but Vengeance is not a forgiving god, as you well know. And I'm afraid that as much as I have enjoyed this meeting Koenma-sama, my wife and I have important matters to attend to in our own circles."

"And my detectives?" Koenma looked dizzy, leaning back against his desk with a forlorn look in his eyes.

Miroku paused, tapping a finger to his lip thoughtfully before he shrugged and smiled disarmingly, "I suppose there is no harm in allowing them to continue their current employment. However, if I find information that you have attempted to use my servants to uncover private matters in my descendants, my punishment will not be so forgiving. Is that clear?"

At the moment, he looked much more suited to the child's body he had left behind when his energy had restored itself, shoulders hunched and a downright petulant expression on his face as he nodded, "I understand."

"Then we're finished here," Miroku swept a hand behind him, shadows gathering into a dark portal as Sango sent one more warning glare over her shoulder and passed through. "Give my regards to your father, Koenma-sama. I'm sure you'll be speaking with him soon."

The portal closed the moment the monk had followed his wife into that swirling darkness, pulling strongly at the air until a shiver passed steadily through each silent man in turn and left them staring at the place it had been with expression ranging from disbelief and amusement to open suspicion.

"What in the fuck was that?!" Yuusuke recovered with an explosive shout, rounding on the deity who had dropped his head in his hands as soon as they were alone again. "Oi! Koen-"

"My father is going to kill me!" he wailed out, completely ignoring Yuusuke's demand as he shoved himself back to his feet and started up his rapid pacing again. "This is… this is inexcusable! I've never lost a contract."

"You weren't exactly a shining example of intelligence there, you know," Yuusuke nearly groaned at the anticipated theatrics, setting his fists on his hips and scowling angrily at their now sort-of boss. Or at least, he thought Koenma might have lost the position… it was hard to tell with his head feeling so fuzzy.

"You don't get it, do you?" Koenma snapped at him, pointing an accusing finger at the unmoved detective. "If Houshi-sama decides to win an argument, that's the end of it! No one in Reikai has ever successfully fooled him, even if they can get over their fear of Sango-sama's retaliation."

"So what exactly does this mean?" Kurama inserted before the two of them could get into another of their infamous arguments. "If I am understanding correctly, Houshi-sama found out about Kurabara's activities and has taken over our supervision as payment for your lapse of an agreement regarding his family?"

Koenma blinked at him, shaking his head as he seated himself on the edge of his desk and lifted both hands to rub his temples, "It's worse than that. He's taken the debt you and Hiei owe to me for your thefts, and that means he has control of your repayment."

"Not to mention removing you from your desired investigation," Hiei couldn't resist the dig to see just how the prince would react.

"It isn't fair!" Koenma railed again. "And now when Father finds out, I'm as good as dead!"

"Your father has lost to this god before," Kurama shrugged when he saw the way Hiei was fighting the urge to let his eyes roll in complete exasperation.

"But Houshi-sama's family are the last ones who ever saw the Shikon-no-Tama, and I was supposed to find out if they succeeded in destroying it," he admitted wearily, shoulders slumping in defeat. "It took five hundred years just to find a way that I thought he hadn't covered, but now this!" he gestured expansively to indicate the current situation. "Do you have any idea how long it's going to take just to recover from this?"

There was a beat of silence before three sets of eyes narrowed on him in different stages of anger, "Just when were you going to get around to telling us that?"

"I couldn't risk it with how closely they were watching ever since that human was reborn against their wishes," Koenma shook his head miserably. "It would have been suicide for all of you."

Kurama opened his mouth to ask for clarification when a jolt suddenly ran through his system, sending him back a step to catch his balance against the wall. His eyes went wide, flashing from green to gold to red and back so quickly it was little more than a flicker a split second before he was lifted bodily off his feet and slammed against it hard enough to shake even the floor.

"Kurama!" Yuusuke shouted in alarm, twisting to find the source of the attack while Koenma shot to his feet and Hiei darted forward to reach for the kitsune when he crumpled to the floor.

A shudder ran through his system, twisting him involuntarily into a fetal curl until his shoulders heaved and he let out a single, hacking cough that sent a spray of blood out across the floor, No… no, this is-?

`PORTAL NOW!'

Kurama? What the hell-? Hiei winced back from the force of that snarl, gripping his head with one hand to shake off the effect as the kitsune shoved himself up to his feet, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth to clear away the blood.

"Open a portal, Koenma!" Kurama hissed at the wide-eyed ruler furiously, his energy rising in a dark spiral around him as the weakness melted away as though it had never been. "I have to get back. Now!"

"What's happening?" Koenma looked at the tense, baffled expressions of the other two detectives, involuntarily backing away from the murderous rage that he could practically taste radiating off the kitsune. So quickly… What's going on?

"Kurama?" Yuusuke pressed when the youkai shook his head violently.

Fox?

"Kagome is bleeding."

<::………::>

Kagome pushed herself back to her feet before the oni could follow through and catch hold of her again, yanking the shakujou free of the remains it had lodged in before she was taken by surprise. She spun it around to sever the hand arcing towards her, brows furrowed in concern at the strange chill humming through her blood, Something just happened… when it hit me. Why did that ki flare-?

The vine at her throat retracted abruptly, lashing out with a loud crack as it met with the knee of the towering youkai and sliced through the entire limb to bring it crashing down to a more manageable height, I guess that answers that… shit, it might tell Kurama that I-

But the thought broke off abruptly, eyes lighting up when the oni twisted to catch itself on the remaining hand and revealed two feathered ends protruding from its back from an attack it had suffered earlier, "Shippou! If you're in the mood to play a bow for me, it would probably be helpful right now!"

"Arrows?" Shippou called back at her across the confined space of the illusion shield they had raised to hide the tear from curious eyes, flipping back away from a lashing tail and glancing in concern at the blood on her face.

"I just found a couple," she promised him, pivoting to duck under the swing from the other arm and counter with and open-handed punch to pierce the tough hide, feeling her thumb brush a rib as she determinedly shoved her arm all the way in to the shoulder to reach its heart before letting loose a small burst of power. Enough to kill it, but not risking dissolving the body when she needed those arrows for herself, Gods, that stinks… but better to clear away some of this if I want to keep this pace up.

"Got it! Let me give us a little room," he nodded in understanding, sending foxfire sparking down the blades as he vanished into the center of the latest wave for a more aggressive assault.

A tingle raced down her spine, sending a ripple of something pressing at her barrier from behind, and she made an impatient sound as she ripped her arm out of the smoldering body to leap back before it fell on her, "Great, just fucking great. Shippou! Pick it up, we might be drawing more of them from this side too!"

"You make it sound like I'm in here for my health," the kitsune snorted, using the charmed blades to with all the grace of a dancer to cut down the rest of the youkai who'd managed to pass through. Once the grove had cleared to make it easier for Kagome to use her more powerful attack, he darted back and flicked a leaf out of his shirt to set on top of his head, "One bow, coming up."

She snatched him out of the air when he "poofed" into a much more impressive bow than he'd managed at his first attempt to appear as that weapon, unable to stop the faint smile from crossing her lips at the thought even as she knelt and yanked the two mostly intact arrows out of the oni she and the rose had taken down, "This is the best I can do… let's just hope it works."

"It always works," Shippou responded in a tone that easily translated his exasperation.

Kagome chuckled, stringing the arrow with rapid precision and feeling her aura flare up beneath the empty shield, pouring out into the blackened shaft as she drew back and released in less time than it took to blink, Let's get to the source of this kind of gathering… Youkai don't swarm like this without direction.

Just the way he remembered from the past, Shippou watched the simple arrow seem to burst into flames that grew stronger as it streaked across the upset earth towards its target, shivering at the sheer amount of purifying energy he could feel radiating from that blinding light. From inside his illusion, he grinned widely as the light passed the barrier and lit up like a flare, burning away the youkai it contacted and continuing in a wide swath almost as effectively as the Kaze no Kizu, "Ha! Got `em!" And that should give Sesshoumaru a heads-up from that side. No one has arrows like Kagome, not anymore, and especially not ones that can grow stronger from inside Makai.

"Don't get cocky so soon," Kagome murmured, attention fully focused beyond the portal with the other arrow nocked and pointed at the ground in a ready stance. "I didn't bring any arrows with me and they'll probably kill the archers on that side to keep me from scavenging any more now that they've seen what I can do with them."

"If they're that smart," Shippou muttered, not willing to let her dampen his enjoyment over the success of her attack.

"Baka," her lips quirked in affectionate censure, closing her eyes as she drew her focus inward, forming a more direct path to reach out for the source of directing strength hovering amidst the recovering youkai. "There is always a leader… kill that one, and I can scatter the others at least long enough for the jyaki holding that portal to heal over and close this." Come on, damn you! Show me your face!

You think it will be so easy, Tama? the voice chuckled when it felt her reopen her mind to its presence, trying to draw it in and trace it back. I know you too well…

"There," the arrow was in flight before she'd even finished the word, flaring again with its rush of power as she reached out a hand after it to hone it's flight down more precisely.

Shippou switched back to normal with the last arrow in flight, tossing his head as he found the shakujou imbedded in the ground just above the smoldering oni and moved to retrieve it, using his foot to pry it free and hold the length balanced across his toes rather than come in contact with the steaming blood, "Did you find it? What is it?"

Kagome started to answer when her body jerked as the arrow found it's mark, hissing and stumbling back with her hands gripping her head at the piercing chime filled the air, echoing over and over through her soul like a tuning fork, A… a kugutsu!? What the-?

"Kagome!" Shippou blanched dropping their weapons to grip her shoulders and prevent her fall, turning a dark scowl through the portal as the mass slowly began to regroup and press forward again. "Goddammit!"

"This could get bad," she pushed out of his arms, bending down to pick up her staff and give the kitsune a pointed look to retrieve his own weapons as well.

"Suggesting it was ever good?" Shippou's eyebrow kicked up as he obediently held out his hands to call back his wakizashis, checking the ofuda around the blades to be certain nothing had started to peel them loose.

"It was better until I hit a kugutsu," she only just then seemed to notice the blood coating her right arm, making a face at it for a moment before simply ignoring the detail as unimportant to their circumstances.

Shippou had taken a step forward only to freeze and turn a disbelieving stare back on her at that word, "No way… No way! He's dead! There's no fucking way-!"

"Calm down!" Kagome reached out and grabbed his shoulder, breathing out a heavy sigh and rubbing her mouth on her shoulder to wipe away the blood given the state of her hands. The ki surged at her through the portal again, prompting her to draw in a deep breath and wrap those pulsing layers around her like a shield, "It's not him. I would feel it… but they know-" she broke off, spinning around and lifting the shakujou just in time to deflect the broken claws of the same oni she'd killed not five minutes ago.

But the force of it was still enough to send her skidding back across the ruined ground, keeping her defenses up while her eyes lifted with a sinking sense of realization, "Oh shit…" It is still dead, but- Someone's manipulating the body. "Shikabane Mai."

"Great," Shippou unconsciously echoed her earlier sentiments, gritting his teeth as his expression turned serious in regards to the number of dead youkai that could be potential fodder for that technique, "just fan-fucking-tastic." What the hell? Everyone who can use that attack should be long dead!

"Suck it up, Shippou," Kagome eyed the oni critically, searching for the point of control that she needed to disconnect as it swung clumsily again and forced them to jump farther away from the portal. "It can always get worse." It's driving us… whoever's directing this wants more to make it through before we can engage them.

"Yeah," he muttered under his breath. "They could start throwing bombs."

The ground just behind the oni exploded as if on cue, completely obliterating the creature while it knocked them off their feet to slam hard against the trees lining the battlefield. Kagome recovered first, coughing at the smoke in the air as she stood and turned a scowl on the swearing kitsune, "Just had to say it, didn't you?"

"How the hell was I supposed to know?!" he demanded with a cornered expression. "I was just saying-"

The whistle of air gave them enough warning to shield their faces against the next blast, bracing themselves to stay upright as the wind whipped violently around the destruction-widened grove, but it still took a few coughs to clear their lungs before they were back to glaring at the advancing youkai.

Kagome briefly shared a long-suffering look first with Shippou, and then up at the sky, "Somewhere a god is laughing at us right now."

"Yeah, well, I hope they choke on it," he growled out, sinking to a crouch as the attack began again.

<::………::>

Kurama raced through the trees, taking to the branches to speed along his progress and growling in irritation at the way Hiei kept pace effortlessly beside him, The rose I gave her had strict instructions to alert me in any way necessary if Kagome was ever in danger.

So knocking you off your feet and into the wall was necessary? Hiei snorted, but he could feel his ki rising, adrenaline flooding his system at the promise of a decent fight to work off all their frustrations with the gods and bureaucracy of Reikai.

`It didn't have time to plan, so it simply made a connection,' Youko didn't sound the least bit pleased at what that suggested. `It reflected to us what it felt happening to Kagome.'

You sure that didn't kill her? Hiei asked seriously. If it was enough to do that to you, we might be wasting our time.

Kurama stumbled from the effort of reining in Youko's response to that, gritting his teeth hard enough that he could feel a searing jolt of pain radiate down into his jaw, She's alive, Hiei, don't suggest she's not!

I'm just being realistic- FUCK!! he slammed into a solid force mid-jump, hissing at the energy that crackled out from it and burned along his skin until he shoved away from its surface and landed on the ground, eyeing the shimmering air suspiciously. A barrier.

They're close, Kurama stopped beside him, absently feeling backwards to the signatures of Yuusuke and Kurabara much farther behind as he stepped closer and held out his hands to get a feel for the barrier's composition. This isn't the weak point… but it's near here. I can break it if we can find it.

Green-gold eyes skimmed along what they could see distorting the air, attuning his other senses to the foliage around to help guide him towards the appropriate spot. A faint hum had him turning right and taking to the branches again as he stayed close enough to let Youko continue to filter his power across the surface until the kitsune let out a sharp command to stop. Kurama had just reached forward to lay his hands on the barrier obediently, watching the odd, iridescent ripple warp and clear to reveal what was really beyond its walls when a glint ahead of them caught his eyes. Brows furrowed, willing the distortion to settle faster, only to feel his mouth opening in a startled gasp the moment it did, Oh my gods…

Hiei blinked, and then blinked again, scowling as he leaned forward and demanded, "That's-?"

`The most beautiful thing I've ever seen,' Youko cut in with one of the darkest growls Kurama had ever heard come from his other side, involuntarily shivering as his eyes flashed gold under the force of emotions rising in them. `Now maybe you'll listen the next time I tell you to look at the hands,' he chided softly, riveted to the scene in front of them as they watched Kagome rip her arm out of the chest of an oni easily five times her size, blood arcing high when she jumped to avoid being crushed.

There is no possible way that miko is normal, I don't give a damn if she was raised by every taijiya known to the Ningenkai and Sesshoumaru, that is just not possible for a human, Hiei snapped out irritably, pointing at the irrefutable proof they were finally seeing to verify they had been lied to regarding her skills.

Kurama felt the blood drain from his face when they watched Shippou change into a bow, pressing his fingertips harder against the barrier and ignoring to burn it caused against them as she removed an arrow from the oni and shot it towards the tear in the barrier, Neither is that…

`Not a very good miko, my ass!' Youko shouted out, his voice thick with amazement at the power spiraling so visibly around that borrowed shaft as it disappeared beyond the portal, and then again when she fired a second time. His eyes narrowed critically as he watched her change stance, holding up her hand to flare in time with her arrow and proving just how much control she held over her abilities, `Those things were soaked in the blood of an oni, shot off a transformed kitsune, into Makai and they had that much power?! Sweet fucking gods, Kurama, our lover is incredible! Focus! We need to get in there! I want to hear what she's saying, touch her face, watch her fight- Dammit, Kurama, hurry up! We have to be there!'

You may want to hurry for a different reason, Hiei's frown deepened, reflexively closing his hand over the hilt of his sword. That dead oni just got up and went after her again.

Kurama's head snapped up, eyes wide as he watched her barely block the attack and shout out at something to Shippou, trying to ignore Youko's primal growling at the way the changed angle finally gave him a clear line of sight to her face, taking in the way it looked set into such fierce lines and streaked with more blood, But that's impossible!

Yeah, well, she doesn't look too surprised, so if we want answers, that's our miko to get them from, his brows lifted suggestively, jerking his head towards the barrier again to remind him that they were waiting on his skills to open the thing in the first place.

`Back off, hybrid, it won't take long now that I've got the pulse of it,' Youko shot back, reaching deeper with Kurama to blend them together and start unraveling the threads of the spell. `It's from a kitsune, that's why we couldn't see anything through it, and this proves Shippou's stronger than we thought… He's the one who made this, but… there's something in it that isn't quite his.'

So he had help.

`Exactly,' Youko nodded, eyes flashing as he forced their hands to press through the weakening wall and start prying it open.

Hiei opened his mouth to actually speak when they nearly lost their footing on the branch at the wave of heat escaping the small opening, snapping his attention down to see the pair of fighters hit the trees hard, Explosives-

"I see them!" Kurama hissed out, bracing himself and forcing his hands deeper at the panic rising up under each new attack. Dammit, were they trying to get themselves killed? Why aren't they running away!?

Those two don't seem to be the running type, Hiei beat Youko to the observation, shaking his head and letting his muscles bunch in preparation to spring the moment the barrier was wide enough to allow him in. He was faster than Kurama and they both knew it, and that made him the best chance at saving those two if an attack went wrong before they were completely inside.

I'm going to kill him for putting her in this kind of danger, Kurama gritted out, letting out a grunt of exertion as he expended more force to widen the hole. Then I'm going to beat her, and then I'm going to kiss her, and then-

Move, she doesn't see it! Hiei was suddenly gone the same instant another explosion rocked through the ground, wincing against the burn of power against his shoulders at the too-narrow hole, but still managing to force his way through as he blurred towards Kagome. He slammed her behind him just as the youkai he'd felt through the smoke attacked, closing his eyes against the haze to listen for it's position and slice through it the instant it was within his range.

"Hiei?" Kagome's eyes widened in alarm when the dust cleared enough to recognize the youkai standing in front of her, katana still poised from his counter-attack and obviously waiting for her acknowledgement. That… damn, it was like watching Sesshoumaru move! I almost didn't feel it-

"Hello, miko," he glanced back over his shoulder with a smirk, showing he'd been there long enough to see the proof of that title.

She tensed, rising to her feet and opening her mouth to respond when Shippou's horrified shout had their eyes snapping up just in time to see the next explosion rip apart the ground directly in front of the hybrid.

Kagome sucked in a sharp breath as the sounds around her went eerily soft, feeling the sudden pulse in her soul when the air instantly twisted until it almost seemed as though everything was happening in slow motion...

A flash of detachment gripped her mind, rendering her unable to do anything but watch the shockwave of force knock Hiei off his feet and send him backwards. His shoulder hit her square in the chest, hard enough to knock her own feet out from under her, but the pain she knew she should have felt just wasn't there. And even though it should have done something, hitting her didn't slow his momentum in the slightest, simply carrying her with it as they continued through the cloud of black smoke until they were brought to an abrupt stop when she felt an unyielding surface of stone crack against her back.

This is going to be painful…