Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Paradox ❯ Hiei, Part Deux ( Chapter 4 )

Title: Paradox

Author: Somnambulicious

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer:
I don't own either
Inuyasha or YuYu;
Somebody else does.

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Chapter Four: Hiei, Part Deux

Last time:

So it was that Kagome was off-guard when she looked up to see a pair of bright red eyes staring down at her from the well's edge. She gasped, and her hand flew to the hilt of the wakizashi at her side.

"Woman," said an eerily calm male voice, "you have some explaining to do."

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Kagome's eyes narrowed in determination and she grasped the hilt of her sword, preparing to draw.

"I wouldn't do that. You will be dead where you stand before the sword is drawn," said the youkai at the top of the well. In a sudden black blur, the youkai was at her side, his katana drawn and pressed against her neck. Kagome tried to back away, but the pressure on her neck followed her. She swallowed and forcibly calmed herself. She could hear Sango's voice in her head as she remembered her training.

"You must know your enemy. If he is youkai, what type is he? If he is human, is he a seasoned warrior or a green one? Understanding the nature of your enemy is the key to discovering his weakness."

Kagome took a good look at the youkai holding a sword to her throat. He was shorter than she was, wearing some sort of a white-collared black cloak that fell below his knees. His red eyes were almond-shaped and narrowed in a hard, appraising glare. A white headband covered his forehead below a shock of black and white hair.

A lot of good that did, thought Kagome. She couldn't tell what kind of a youkai he was just by looking at him, so she closed her eyes and recalled Kaede's miko training, allowing her spiritual senses to scan the youkai. All she caught was a feeling of strong opposing forces before the pressure at her throat increased and she felt a trickle of blood roll down her neck.

Should I fight him? Inuyasha's words came back to her: "But now that you've got a decent sword, don't think that you can just run around attacking every youkai that pops up. Let the more seasoned fighters handle things." Kagome had been training for a year, but she wasn't stupid. She'd seen this youkai's speed in action, and he could kill her in the blink of an eye.

Hiei was beyond pissed. First the girl tried to draw her sword on him -- him! -- and now she was attempting to probe his mind. He'd waited all weekend for her to return because he just had to know where the portal took her. Hiei hated the idea that his quarry could flee to a place he couldn't follow and couldn't sense. He didn't want to kill the girl -- okay, some part of him did, but he'd get in even more trouble with Reikai, and he wanted answers from her. So he just pressed the blade of his katana further at her throat.

"Girl, cease your probing now," he said, his glare intensifying.

"Kagome," she choked out. When the youkai remained silent, Kagome frantically wracked her brain for an approach to the situation that would allow her to walk away with her life. He's conflicted. Probably an outcast of some sort. She thought back to her first meeting with Inuyasha, when he had tried to kill her. What could she have done differently then? Perhaps...

Kagome opened her eyes and smiled gently at the youkai threatening her life. "My name is Kagome," she said, maintaining that bright and sunny smile. "What's yours?"

Hiei didn't answer, but he did ease up on the pressure a bit in surprise. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had smiled at him like that, other than Yukina.

Encouraged by his response, Kagome decided to take her plan further. "You said you wanted an explanation. So what do you want to know?" she asked, as though they were two old friends having a chat over tea. She released her hold on the sword and brought her hands up in a gesture of peace. If he tries anything, I've still got the blade hidden up my right sleeve, she thought.

Seeing her complicity, Hiei swiftly released her and sheathed his sword. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall of the well.

"Where does the portal go?" he asked. Kagome wasn't prepared for this question; she had assumed he was after the shards, and she didn't have an answer ready for him. She hemmed and hawed for a moment before deciding that an honest answer would probably be better for her health; after all, youkai could smell a lie.

"It takes me to the past," she said truthfully. Hiei narrowed his eyes at her. It wasn't the answer he was expecting, but he didn't detect any deceit in the girl.

"When?" he asked.

"The Sengoku Jidai."

Hiei rolled his eyes at her. "I am unfamiliar with your human eras. How many years ago?"

"About five hundred."

That would explain a lot, mused Hiei. Five hundred years ago, there were no barriers, and taijiya were still practicing the art of youkai extermination. That would also explain the items in her bag.

"Why did the portal not work for me?" Hiei asked.

Oh, crap, he tried to get through? "The well only works for me," she replied.

In an instant, his hand was at her throat, yanking on the necklace there and twisting, nearly cutting off her airway. "You lie, girl. You said the one called Inuyasha would come for you."

Kagome's eyes widened. Has this guy been stalking me? "I didn't mean to lie," she choked out. "Inuyasha has a rosary that's connected to me. It allows him to pass through as well. No one else can get through."

Hiei released her once more. Too bad. Five hundred years ago... In such a place, I could be free of Koenma's hold over me. He had to find a way to get there, and this girl was his ticket. There was nothing holding him to this world, nothing he cared for, except...

Yukina...

His sister needed him. She would never know the lengths to which he went to ensure her safety, or the fact that he was her brother, but he'd sworn to keep her out of harm's reach. He mentally sighed. But still, such a place as this Sengoku Jidai would be teeming with youkai, just waiting for him to take his frustrations out on them with cold steel, and with no Koenma to rein him in...

Kagome had relaxed in the silence, though she was careful not to make any sudden movements. When the youkai didn't say anything for quite some time, she felt bold enough to speak again.

"Perhaps we could continue this conversation in a more comfortable place? That is, unless you just want to let me go," she said with another brilliant smile.

The smile caught Hiei off guard yet again, and something about it made him relent.

"I have more questions for you. Come with me," he said, and before she could reply, Hiei grabbed her arm and leapt out of the well, bringing her with him. With another leap, they flew through the open doorway and landed high in the tree outside her bedroom window. Hiei settled back against the tree, while Kagome steadied herself, straddling a wide branch. What is it with youkai and trees? she wondered.

"Are you sure you don't want to go inside? I could fix you something to eat, some ramen perhaps?" she asked, hoping her bribe would work as well on this youkai as it would on Inuyasha. Unfortunately, he didn't take the bait.

"Why do you go to the past?" he asked instead. It didn't make sense for the girl to leave behind modern comforts and safety to travel to a place brimming with bloodthirsty monsters. He would need to know more about this girl if he was going to go back to the past with her.

Kagome sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to come inside? It's a rather long story." When he didn't reply, Kagome sighed again and thought through how she was going to answer. She couldn't lie to him, but she'd tell him as little as possible. "I have a quest to complete there. I have to go back until I'm finished."

Hiei wasn't satisfied with her answer. "What quest?"

"I broke something, and now I have to fix it." If he was going to be short with her, well, two could play at that game.

Hiei glared at her, waiting for her to elaborate. When she failed to do so, he increased the intensity of his glare until he came to the conclusion that she wasn't going to tell him.

Finally, he growled out, "What did you break?"

"A jewel," she replied. Kagome decided that she was going to have to give him enough information to satisfy him before he let her go. She felt that something was holding him back from killing her, something he wanted from her, but that didn't mean that her family was safe just yet. She had no idea what this youkai was capable of. "A cursed jewel. I have to piece it back together before..." Before what? What could she tell him? "Before someone uses it for evil purposes and damns his own soul." It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie.

"Why you?"

"What?" Kagome asked, not understanding the cryptic question.

Hiei rolled his eyes in exasperation. He wasn't accustomed to talking so much, except with Kurama, but apparently this human couldn't read him well enough yet.

"Why do you have to do it? Why can't someone else?" he ground out, disliking the taste of so many words falling off of his tongue.

"Oh, that. Well, you see, I'm the only one who can feel out the presence of the jewel shards and purify them," she replied.

A thousand and one questions spun around Hiei's mind. How did she break it? Why was she there in the first place? Why is she training as a taijiya? What is the significance of the saimyoushou? But he couldn't bring himself to ask her just yet. He was getting a headache just from talking to her for this long.

"We will continue this later. Go inside. I will be watching you," he said, and suddenly the girl's entire demeanor changed. She lost the sunny facade, and for a moment, he could smell the fear radiating off of her.

Kagome nearly shook at the thought of this unknown youkai stalking her, perhaps threatening her family. She could deal with such things in the Sengoku Jidai, away from her innocent friends and family, where she had her friends to help her, but here? In modern Tokyo? What if he was one of Naraku's detachments? After all, she'd seen the saimyoushou with her own eyes.

"Please, can't we just finish this now? Then you can be on your way. It's obvious that you find my presence annoying," she added hoping that her self-deprecation would earn her points with the youkai. When he didn't answer, Kagome decided to try another tactic. "I have a lot of youkai after me. I can't be certain that you won't hurt me or my family. Please, can't you just leave me alone? You must understand, I have to protect them. I won't put them in harm's way." Her eyes glistened with tears.

Hiei frowned. There was no way he'd acquiesce to her request, but something she'd said struck a chord with him. She's trying to protect her family... He shook his head. He wasn't going to leave until he had his answers and a way through the well, but those things had to wait.

"No," he finally said firmly. Kagome sighed in defeat. This youkai was dangerous, Sesshoumaru-dangerous, but something about him... If she could just be certain that he wasn't Naraku's detachment, she just might be able to sleep at night. She took a deep breath, knowing that her next request was going to shock him.

"Then let me see your back," she said.

If he'd been anyone else, Hiei would've fallen out of the tree in surprise. But he was Hiei, cold and unemotional, so he barely raised an eyebrow at her audacity.

"My enemy carries a certain mark on his back," she explained. "I need to know if you have it. Please. Otherwise I'll have to summon Inuyasha." She hoped her bluff would work. There was no way she could 'summon' the hanyou without going through the well, and she had no doubt that the youkai was fast enough to stop her from doing that.

Luck was with her. The last thing Hiei needed was a full-out brawl with an inuyoukai in the middle of Tokyo. Koenma would have his head for that. He wasn't certain whether the girl could, in fact, summon her protector, but he didn't want to chance it. He leaned forward and inhaled deeply. Sure enough, the scent of an inuyoukai clung to her. She wasn't mated to this Inuyasha, but she was obviously close to him. Inuyoukai were notoriously possessive, and if she was a friend of this Inuyasha, he would fight for her. Sighing heavily, Hiei turned his back to her and raised his cloak and shirt, baring his back from his waist to his shoulders.

Kagome caught her breath when he actually complied with her wishes. She let her gaze linger on his well-muscled back, drinking in the defined lines and smooth skin from his shoulder blades all the way down to his lower back, where a pair of black pants hid the rest of him from view. She was so caught up in the sight that she almost didn't hear his exasperated voice.

"Satisfied?" Hiei asked when the girl didn't say anything. He turned his head slightly and smirked when he saw her staring, wide-eyed, at his naked back.

"Huh?" she asked, shaking herself from a daze. "Oh, yes. You don't have the mark. But please, don't hurt my family?"

"Ch," was all the reply she got, but she interpreted that to mean that he wouldn't. After all, if he was planning to use her family against her, surely he'd tell her in order to elicit her cooperation. He wasn't one of Naraku's detachments, and he didn't have a jewel shard to control him. From what little Kagome already knew of the youkai, he didn't seem like the type to follow Naraku -- or anyone else, for that matter -- willingly. He hadn't tried to take the jewel shards from her, either, and suddenly, Kagome didn't feel as frightened of him as before.

"All right, then," Kagome said, the smile once again returning to her face, "I'm going inside. Do you want something to eat?" He didn't reply, and Kagome took that as a 'no.' She carefully climbed down the tree and went to retrieve her bags from the wellhouse before going inside.

Hours later, Kagome had finally finished the history paper and was ready for bed. She peered outside. She couldn't see the youkai, but she knew he was out there. A strong wind shook the branches of the tree, and Kagome went to get something out of her closet.

Hiei was curious when the girl opened her window and tossed something onto a branch below him. He reached down to retrieve it, and was surprised at what he found.

The girl had given him a blanket.

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The next morning, Kagome awoke to find the blanket folded neatly and lying on her windowsill. She looked out through the window, but couldn't see the youkai from last night. Maybe I won him over with my sparkling personality, and he decided to leave me alone, she thought wryly. With her luck, that was highly unlikely.

Throughout the day, Kagome continued to peer over her shoulder, certain that the dark youkai was following her, but she never caught so much as a glimpse of him. What did he want with her? How did he find her? By the time she arrived at the dojo that afternoon, Kagome was exasperated. Part of her was glad that the youkai hadn't bothered her all day, but another part of her was strangely looking forward to seeing him again.

Kurama was shocked when he saw Kagome, her arms covered in bruises and a welt around her neck, as though someone had tried to pull her necklace off of her. He hadn't heard anything from Hiei since Friday night, and Youko was peeved at the lack of information. Kagome had missed two classes over the weekend, and Kurama had assumed she'd been training with the taijiya.

'Hiei? Are you there?' Kurama searched out his friend as the class warmed up.

'Ch,' came the recognizable response.

'So what happened? Did she meet with her taijiya instructor?' Kurama asked.

Hiei was silent, unsure of how to answer. He didn't particularly like lying to Kurama, who was the closest thing he'd ever had to a friend. But on the other hand, he didn't want Kurama to find out about the portal just yet. Besides, Hiei was still harboring a grudge against the fox for roping him into this mess in the first place.

'No,' he finally answered, 'the girl was ill all weekend.'

Kurama frowned at the response. 'Then where did she get those bruises, and the welt on her neck?' No answer. 'Hiei,' he asked slowly, 'did you attack her?'

Hiei wasn't happy with the fox's question. He hadn't really attacked the girl, just used a bit of...persuasion to get her to comply with his demands. If he'd truly attacked her, she'd be in Reikai right now, sorting out her options in the afterlife.

'No, fox. She was wrestling with her brother, and they got a bit rough,' he finally replied.

'Her brother?' asked Kurama. 'An older brother? Is he the one she's afraid of?'

Hiei snorted. 'Her younger brother. I doubt he could kill a snail, let alone hurt the girl.'

Youko was losing patience with Hiei's evasiveness. 'He's hiding something from us, Kurama. Find out what it is.'

'Then why are you still following her?' Kurama asked. 'I thought you said you'd quit if nothing interesting happened this weekend.'

Hiei cursed himself for not anticipating that question. He couldn't come up with a convincing answer, so he settled for his usual response to questions he didn't like.

'Ch.'

Kurama gave an exasperated sigh. During the private lessons with Kagome, Youko had grown more and more certain that her style of fighting was that of the taijiya, and Hiei's discovery of the catsuit only confirmed his suspicions. But Hiei wasn't forthcoming with any more details. He'd just have to let Koenma wrangle the truth out of the fire apparition. Youko laughed at that thought. 'You think Hiei's going to open up to Koenma? Some genius you are, college boy.'

Outside the dojo, Hiei watched the class progress through a window. He didn't miss the girl's blushes when Kurama would smile at her, or her nervousness when he corrected her form with gentle hands. Is she falling for the fox? For some reason, he disliked the thought. After all, he reasoned, the girl was his ticket to a world where he could wreak havoc without consequences, and he didn't want the fox dampening his fun.

Now that she had resolved things with Inuyasha, Kagome found herself viewing her sifu in a slightly different light. He certainly was handsome. And strong. And limber (she wasn't sure she liked where that thought was going.) And intelligent. And handsome. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks every time he smiled at her, and when he touched her to slightly correct her form, Kagome suddenly felt nervous and flustered. Don't be stupid, Kagome, she scolded herself. Just because you're not going to be Inuyasha's girlfriend doesn't mean that you have to like the next guy that comes along. But he is handsome...

Kagome's reaction to him didn't escape Youko's notice. He was preening and goading Kurama to take more liberties with the girl. Ooh, slide your hand a little further up, Youko suggested when Kurama grasped Kagome at her waist and shifted her position toward the centerline. Kurama just ignored him.

As Kagome left the dojo, the sun was sinking in the sky, casting a red hue over the cityscape. About halfway home, she was startled when the dark youkai suddenly appeared at her side, as though he'd been there the whole time. She was oddly glad to see him.

"Hello there, mystery man," she said brightly. Hiei scowled at her. "Don't like being called a 'man,' do you, youkai? Maybe if you'd tell me your name, we wouldn't have this problem."

He supposed there wasn't any harm in telling the girl his name; giving into this small request might make her more willing to talk to him.

"Hiei," he said quietly, staring straight ahead as they strolled toward the shrine.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Kagome asked with a smile.

"What are the saimyoushou?" he asked unexpectedly. Now it was her turn to answer some questions.

Kagome's sunny mood faltered. She'd almost managed to forget that the hell insect had shown up in her time. "Spies," she finally answered. "They are the youkai spies of my enemy in the Sengoku Jidai."

"Why are they here?"

"I don't know," she said truthfully. "Maybe it has nothing to do with him. Could be a coincidence." Then the full extent of his question hit her. "Wait, they? Have you seen more?"

"Ch." He had seen one flying outside of her school earlier that day, but he'd killed it without the saimyoushou detecting him, purely for the fun of slaughtering something. Now he was glad that he did. There were few things he hated more than being spied on.

Kagome correctly interpreted his response as affirmative, and she shivered. Maybe having this Hiei stalking her wasn't all bad.

"You are going back soon," Hiei said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"I'll be going back on Friday night, as usual. I have to go to school during the week, and it's been a year since we've seen...our enemy, so I've been staying here during the week until he shows up again."

"You will take me with you." That caught Kagome off guard.

"What? Why?" she cried. "You can't get through anyway."

"The rosary allows Inuyasha to pass through."

"Yes," said Kagome. She didn't like where he was going with this.

"Then you will make me a rosary," he said, as if it was the logical thing to do.

Kagome shook her head. "No. You won't like it." Hiei raised an eyebrow at her, and Kagome elaborated. "The fact that Inuyasha can pass through the well is just a side effect of the magic. That's not the real purpose of the rosary. The first time I met Inuyasha, he tried to kill me. My miko-sensei put the rosary around his neck, and I used it to subdue him with a word of subjugation. All I have to do is say 'sit' and he crashes to the ground."

Well, that didn't sound appetizing at all. Hiei considered his options for a moment. The only other way he could think of to bond himself to the girl wasn't an option. He wasn't about to do that with some human girl, no matter how attractive or powerful she was.

Hiei surreptitiously considered the girl walking beside him. Dressed as she was, in black stretchy pants and a t-shirt, she was passably attractive, but nothing to really catch his eye. On the other hand, last night when he'd first seen her at the bottom of the well, wearing taijiya armor, with her hand on the hilt of her wakizashi and her eyes flashing in anger... Hiei banished the image from his mind. There was no way he'd ever take a human mate. But she didn't have to know that...

Kagome, meanwhile, was busy congratulating herself for her cleverness. She took his silence to mean that he didn't like the idea of wearing a rosary of subjugation, and thus wouldn't be following her through the well. So his next statement shocked her to no end.

"There is one other way of connecting myself to you," he said, his eyes flashing momentarily. Kagome didn't like the way he said that. Connecting...he couldn't possibly mean...could he?

She stiffened and turned her full wrath on Hiei. "No way! There's no way I'm going to do that with you!" She was practically fuming, and Hiei felt her ki spike in anger.

He leaned closer to her and spoke in a whisper. "I don't need your permission," he said. Of course, he wouldn't take her by force, even if he had wanted her...which he most certainly did not. He wasn't a good person by anyone's standards, but even Hiei had his taboos, and rape was one of them. Still, he was surprised when Kagome shook her head.

"No," she said softly, "I don't believe you would do that." She fervently prayed that she was right.

Hiei glared at her. She's either incredibly insightful or incredibly stupid. "Then you will find a way to make the rosary acceptable to me," he said, crossing his arms.

Damn. Kagome didn't like the way things were going. "Why do you want to go back with me so bad?" If he had a rosary like Inuyasha's, she could subdue him if he became a threat, but she didn't like the idea of him being able to cross back and forth between eras without her supervision. She tried to remember what Kaede had told her about Inuyasha's rosary...

''Tis the rosary that allows him to pass though the portal, child. Through it, he is connected to you, and the portal recognizes this,' Kaede said.

'But I didn't make the rosary or cast the spell, Kaede. You and Kikyou did. Why isn't he connected to you?' Kagome asked her.

'Ah, but he is connected to me. I cannot subjugate the hanyou like you can, Kagome, but it is his connection to me as well that allows him to pass through the well without you. Through the two of us, he has an anchor on both sides that allows him to pass through at will.' Kagome thought about this before she asked her next question.

'So if I made the rosary, cast the spell, and subdued him, he could only go through the well with me?' she asked.

Kaede nodded. 'That is what I believe. I cannot be certain, for such magic is fickle.' It was that day that Kagome had started to search out magatama and mala beads, and she made several other rosaries in private, in case Inuyasha's ever broke, or she needed to get her friends through the well in an emergency.

Kagome roused herself from her memories when she realized that Hiei hadn't answered her question, so she repeated it. "Why do you want to go with me?"

Hiei didn't really want to answer her, but he had to admit that he needed her cooperation for this. "I am curious," he said truthfully.

By now, they had reached the steps to the shrine, and Kagome stopped and considered the youkai standing next to her. If he was telling the truth -- and she suspected he was -- and if she could control him to some degree with a rosary, perhaps she could let him go with her, and he'd lose interest and leave her alone. But then again, Inuyasha would have an absolute fit.

"How good are you at hiding yourself?" she asked, and in the blink of an eye, the youkai vanished. Kagome gasped and turned around, looking for him, and he suddenly reappeared, exactly where he'd been standing.

He smirked at her wide-eyed look. "I am only seen if I wish to be."

"And your smell and youki? Can you hide that too?" Kagome took his offended expression to mean that he could, and she came to a decision.

"Very well, I'll make you a rosary, but there will be certain conditions." Hiei wasn't pleased with that, but he decided to hear her out. "Since I will make the rosary, cast the spell, and speak the word, your connection to me will be stronger than Inuyasha's. You can only pass through the well when I do." Hiei considered this. She spent two out of every seven days in the past, which was plenty of time for him to kill a few dozen youkai, at least, so this wasn't entirely objectionable.

She continued. "Two, the rosary must subdue you. For one thing, I don't know another way to make the connection. And I'll need some sort of protection in case you do decide to hurt me or my family." Hiei frowned at this, but he couldn't see any way around it. The girl would be a fool to see him as anything other than a threat.

"And three, you must hide your presence from my friends. I travel with a hanyou, a kitsune pup, a taijiya, and a very powerful houshi. If you let your guard down for even a second, they will sense you, and I don't want them to know that you're there." Hiei raised an eyebrow at her odd choice of companions.

"You will make the subjugation as weak as possible. I will not be slammed into the ground," he said.

Kagome nodded. "I didn't think so, and you'd probably kill me the first chance you got if I did," she said, smiling faintly at him. "I will make it so that you freeze in place for a few seconds." Hiei almost smiled then, glad that the girl didn't know about his Jagan eye or the Kokuryuhaa yet. Even if he couldn't move physically, he wouldn't be helpless by any means.

Hiei nodded to her. "You will finish this rosary by Friday."

Kagome smiled. "Are you sure you don't want something to eat? Mama always fixes way too much food for dinner, and I think we're having homemade ice cream for dessert." The ice cream tempted Hiei, but he refused to ask her for food. If he wanted some, he'd sneak inside after dark.

Kagome bid Hiei goodnight and went in the house, greeting her family with her usual post-school-and-workout exuberance (which wasn't very exuberant at all.) Hiei settled onto his favorite tree branch for the night, but he was disturbed when the annoying ferry girl appeared on her flying oar.

"Hiei! I finally found you! Koenma is ready for your report now," said Botan cheerily. Hiei scowled at her, but she'd be darned if she'd let him get to her.

Without a word, Hiei followed Botan through the portal and into Koenma's office, where the Reikai prince was waiting with obvious impatience, along with the rest of the team.

"Now that all of you are here," Koenma began, sending a pointed look in Hiei's direction, "I want to know what you've found out about the girl. Kurama?"

"The more we see Kagome's fighting style, the more Youko is certain that she is taijiya. She shows up to class with odd bruises and has unexplained absences from school," Kurama said.

Koenma nodded before turning to Kurabara. "Did you get a chance to observe her?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," said Kurabara. "She has very strong spirit energy, as strong as a demon, but it's the opposite."

"Kurabara said it felt pure," Kurama supplied.

"Pure?" asked Koenma. "That would make sense. What about you, Hiei? You've been following the girl all week, right?"

"Yes."

"Have you found anything interesting?"

"She has a taijiya outfit and carries hamaya at times. She was going to go camping this weekend, but she was sick and stayed home." Koenma nodded, but Kurama frowned at Hiei's short report. He hadn't told the Reikai prince anything that Kurama didn't already know. 'Something happened over the weekend. That's when he started hiding things from us,' observed Youko.

'Hiei? What's going on?' asked Kurama.

Hiei just smirked at Kurama and remained silent. 'Oh, now I know he's hiding something from us.' Youko seemed to waver between joy at yet another challenge, and exasperation over the Hiei's sudden desire to withhold information. Kurama agreed, but he could only hope that the fire apparition would eventually open up to them again.

"I looked up the girl's file," Koenma was saying, "and that's why I'm not surprised to hear that she has powerful spiritual energy. She is the reincarnation of a powerful miko by the name of Kikyou who lived during the Sengoku Jidai." Hiei's curiosity was piqued. That's the time period she travels to, he thought.

"Kikyou was the last guardian of a powerful artifact known as the Shikon no Tama," Koenma continued, pointing at a screen that displayed a round, pink jewel. "She died to protect it from an evil hanyou, and took the jewel with her to the afterlife." Hiei frowned. A jewel? It was too much of a coincidence. But if this Kikyou had taken it with her to the afterlife, how did Kagome manage to find and break it?

"I don't think she's a threat to us, since her energy is pure and her former incarnate was a miko, but I'd still like to know how she's been trained as taijiya. Kurama, Hiei, I expect you to continue investigating her. You're dismissed," he said with a wave of his hand.

"There is one other thing, Koenma, sir," said Kurabara, and both Hiei and Kurama flinched. They really didn't want Koenma to have any more information than necessary. "At the dojo the other night, she made Kurama kill a wasp for her. She called it a 'saimyoushou,' and it scared her. I think it was a youkai."

Koenma slammed his fists on his desk and stood, glaring at Hiei and Kurama. "Why didn't you two think to tell me this before? This means she knows about youkai! I want to know exactly how she came across this knowledge and what she's being trained for. I expect you two to have answers for me within a week. Is that clear?"

"Ch."

"Yes, Koenma."

Hiei, Koenma, and Kurabara left through a portal, but Yuusuke remained behind, off in his own little world. Koenma wanted to speak with him privately, anyway.

"Yuusuke, I'd like you take over supervision of this mission, since these two seem bent on keeping information from me," said Koenma.

Yuusuke was startled from a very nice daydream involving Keiko and a jacuzzi when Koenma made that unexpected request. "Aw, damnit, Koenma! You know I'm busy with school and the wedding plans! Can't these guys take care of it themselves?"

"Obviously you haven't been listening, Yuusuke. This is more important than your other concerns. Anything interesting enough to make those two deceive me has to be dangerous, and I want to know exactly what's going on."

"You're sending me to spy on them?"

Koenma frowned at his choice of words, knowing that Yuusuke would never want to betray his friends. "No, I want you to supervise them. You don't have to report to me unless something arises that is a threat to the Ningenkai or the barriers. I won't ask you about anything else."

"All right," said Yuusuke, "but when this mission is over, we're going to have a little chat about that salary increase I've been asking you about." Koenma nodded, and Yuusuke left, wondering how he was going to spy on two of the greatest thieves in the three worlds without getting caught.

*********************************************

Botan's portal had taken both Hiei and Kurama to Kurama's apartment in Tokyo, since that was where Hiei usually spent most of his time in Ningenkai. But to Kurama's disappointment, Hiei had sped off without a word as soon as they'd arrived. He rolled his eyes and settled down for a long night with his biochemistry textbook.

Kagome's house was quiet and dark by the time Hiei returned. The ice cream Kagome had mentioned earlier was tempting, so he snuck up to the back door, looking around to make sure no one was up and about. Two small objects set on the ground beneath the Goshinboku caught his eye, and he went to investigate.

The first was an insulated container full of warm soup, which Hiei promptly dumped out on the ground. He was far more pleased with the second: a large bowl of ice cream, set inside a larger bowl full of slowly melting ice. The girl had obviously gone to some trouble to feed him. Why? Hiei shrugged. That didn't concern him. He had ice cream to eat.

Edited 17 May 2005