Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Paradox ❯ Jagan ( Chapter 16 )

Rating: NC-17

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

Warning: This chapter includes EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT. Readers who are under the age of 18 or are uncomfortable with such content are advised to read the R-rated version available at fanfiction.net under the same author and title.

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Chapter 16: Jagan

Something tugged at the edge of Kagome's mind, calling her to consciousness despite her best efforts to remain asleep. In her half-wakened state, she knew there was a reason she didn't want to wake up, and she really didn't feel like prying into it. But like all unwanted thoughts are wont to do, the recent memories of her encounter with Naraku's kugutsu and her hasty promise to Sesshoumaru rose to the forefront of Kagome's mind, and she silently cursed whatever kami had thought to play this cosmic joke on her. Stupid kami and their stupid sense of humor.

She'd returned from her shower that morning with a damp rag and a towel, determined to clean every last trace of Hiei's blood off of his body. His blood-spattered headband had to be removed, and the shirt had to be cut off of him. Kagome found herself grateful that Hiei hadn't been wearing the long, black cloak that she'd grown so fond of. It wasn't until the last of the blood was cleaned from his chest that Kagome had noticed the pale lavender of the Jagan eye regarding her actions curiously. How interesting, she'd thought to herself. The Jagan is awake, but Hiei isn't. After ridding herself of the evidence of Hiei's temporary death, Kagome had curled up next to him and quickly fallen asleep.

Resigning herself to the fact that she wouldn't get any more sleep right now, Kagome sat up and stretched, frowning as the soreness in her muscles provided yet another reminder of the previous night's events. The small room was fairly wall-to-wall with futons, and Kagome could see that she was the only one awake. It's going to take some time for them to recover, she thought, remembering Sango's last encounter with shouki and the week she'd spent in bed.

Hiei was lying on his back next to her, half-covered by a stark white sheet. A slight smile graced Kagome's lips as her eyes lingered on his face, realizing for the first time just how young he looked. She traced the pads of her fingers over his hand, gazing down at the deceptively delicate-looking and fine-boned fingers that could take a life in a heartbeat, whether with flame or steel or his own immeasurable strength. Goosebumps prickled the back of her neck as she trailed her hand lightly up his bandaged arm, feeling the restlessness of the dragon that was bound beneath the cloth.

He's so beautiful like this, she thought. Having never seen him asleep before, she was struck with the novelty of the sight: the dreaded Forbidden Child, completely unguarded and relaxed. So vulnerable. Unbidden, the thought danced through Kagome's mind that she could probably kill him right now with no trouble at all, with just a single flick of the blade strapped to her right forearm. She shook her head to rid herself of the disturbing thought, and instead focused on just how good he looked without a shirt on. The rosary beads around his neck were an oddly appropriate touch, standing out conspicuously against the paleness of his skin.

"Good morning," she said softly when she saw the Jagan slowly open, forgetting for the moment that it was probably afternoon by now. Hiei's chest continued to rise and fall rhythmically. "We'll let him sleep a bit longer, okay?" Her right hand reached out seemingly of its own accord, hovering for a moment over Hiei's forehead before she gingerly ran a light fingertip over the crease of the Jagan's upper eyelid, giggling when the lid drifted half-closed. "Oh, so you like that, do you?" She caressed the lower lid with the pad of her thumb, and the eye seemed to unfocus, reveling in her gentle touch.

"Stop that." Kagome jumped at Hiei's stern voice and yanked her hand back. He opened his eyes, turning his head to the side to narrow a disapproving glare at Kagome. "It is entirely too infatuated with you for my comfort."

"Oh, you think so?" Kagome asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously. She cocked her head to the side, a slight grin tugging at her lips. "What, are you jealous? If I'd known the Jagan was male, I would have refrained from such a physical display of affection."

Hiei groaned and rubbed his temples. 'I just woke from my first hibernation in months. Surely you can refrain from your childish antics for a while longer.'

"Are you saying you don't enjoy my witty repartee?" Kagome asked, stiffening in mock indignation. Hiei rolled his eyes. She obviously wasn't taking him seriously enough.

'You don't want to hear my answer to that right now. But no, I am not jealous. I am still unsure why the Jagan has shown such an interest in you, and I would be a fool to trust it.' He rose fluidly into a seated position, grimacing at the taste of sleep that still lingered in his mouth. He'd never get accustomed to it, what with the infrequency with which he hibernated. 'Now tell me what happened. The last thing I can recall is shouki filling the air.'

"You were all unconscious, everyone except for me. I killed the detachment with a hamaya, and then I carried you all up to higher ground. I contacted Botan with Yuusuke's communicator, and now we're all here." Hiei frowned. Kagome's eyes flitted around the room as she spoke, never coming to rest in one spot. She wasn't telling him everything. Hiei grasped her chin firmly and turned her head toward him, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"That isn't all."

Kagome tried to look away, but found herself softening at the disappointment in his eyes. "After I got everyone to higher ground, I was completely exhausted, and Naraku's kugutsu caught me unprepared." Hiei's eyes widened fractionally in surprise, and Kagome continued. "He threatened to kill you all, and then I shot the kugutsu with another hamaya."

Hiei wasn't satisfied with such a short explanation. Something didn't quite add up, but he couldn't place a finger on exactly what it was. "You are still leaving something out," he accused. Kagome broke away from his hand, scowling as she folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm not going to give you a word-for-word replay of everything, if that's what you're expecting," she snapped. "I really don't want to think about it right now. It wasn't the most pleasant experience of my life." She shuddered involuntarily as the memory of Hiei's death replayed itself in her mind. The sight of his lifeless eyes, the blood trickling down his chin, would remain forever ingrained in her memory: another life almost lost because of her mistakes. She tucked her legs up against her chest, resting her chin on her knees. Her yukata parted slightly, allowing Hiei to catch a glimpse of the bandages on her legs.

"You are injured," he said angrily, lifting the cloth of her yukata so he could get a better look. Both knees were wrapped. "Did he do this to you?"

Kagome blushed prettily and swatted his hand away. "No, I fell a few times while I was carrying you guys out of the shouki. It's just a couple of skinned knees and a cut on my hip. Nothing to worry about." She shook her head and took a look around the room. "They're going to be out of it for a long time," she said sadly. "It might be a week before we can resume our search."

'Nonsense,' said Hiei with a dismissive wave of his hand. 'I was exposed to the same poison, and I feel remarkably well. This won't set us back more than a day.'

Kagome frowned, trying to figure out how to explain Hiei's good health without telling him the truth. "You were at the edge of the shouki cloud, and I got you out of the gully first," she said, gently resting a hand on his thigh in an effort to distract him enough so he wouldn't notice that she was lying. "The others were exposed for longer to a higher concentration of the poison. I don't think they'll be in any shape to get up anytime soon."

The smirk that crossed Hiei's face betrayed exactly what he thought of the situation. Of course, it was terrible that everyone was injured, and that their search for the hanyou would be delayed. Tragic, really. What a pity. But he was in good health, and Kagome didn't seem to be too worse for wear. Now, if he could just think of a way to take advantage of the situation... He scanned the room and noticed that the group's backpacks seemed to be missing. Perfect.

"Where are the packs?" he asked innocently, hoping that in her haste, Kagome had forgotten to retrieve them. He had to quash a wicked grin at Kagome's horrified gasp.

"Oh, no! I left them all back in Makai, and Hiraikotsu too!" She jumped to her feet and grabbed her wakizashi with one hand, and Hiei's hand with the other, dragging him out the door. "We've got to go back and get them! Oh, kami, if something happened to Hiraikotsu, Sango would kill me for sure!" Hiei fell into step next to Kagome as she rushed down the hallway, searching frantically for Botan. Yes, this was working out quite nicely.

Koenma nearly choked on his onigiri when Kagome burst into his office, ranting loudly about a flying bone and dull knives. He pounded on his chest in an effort to clear his throat.

"--and who knows what could have come across out stuff while we were gone! Sango is going to absolutely--"

"Ahem."

Kagome, surprisingly enough, quieted for a moment when Koenma cleared his throat, and turned her best imitation of Shippou's puppy dog eyes on him. "So pleeeease, Koenma-sama, can I get a portal to Makai so I can go and get our stuff?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Koenma said with a frown, brushing a few stray grains of rice off of his shirt. "If you were attacked while you were retrieving--"

"Hiei's coming with me!" Kagome yanked on the fire apparition's bare arm so that he stood next to her. "Right?" she growled between gritted teeth, leaving absolutely no room for argument.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Hn. I have no desire to remain in this realm any longer than absolutely necessary."

"Are you sure you're feeling up to that, Hiei?" Koenma asked skeptically. Hiei looked away and snorted. Of course he was feeling up to it. Koenma turned his eyes back to the miko, who was hopping from one foot to the other while she clasped her hands together. "Very well, then. I have no desire to give Yuusuke access to our platinum card again. I'll let you go retrieve your supplies, but on one condition."

Kagome gave a delighted squeal. "Anything!"

"I need to talk to you. Alone." Kagome immediately stopped jumping up and down. She had a feeling she knew what this was about.

"All right, but you'd better make it quick. Sango has this slow-working poison, and--"

"It won't take long, I assure you," Koenma said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Hiei, you may wait in the hall. Perhaps you'd like to find a shirt while I speak with Kagome." Hiei glanced down at his chest, realizing for the first time that he was bare to the waist.

'What exactly happened to my shirt? And my headband, for that matter?' he asked Kagome as he turned to leave the room. Kagome blushed.

'It got all torn up when I dragged you out of the gully. I had to cut it off of you. The headband must have fallen off in all the commotion.' Hiei turned and raised an eyebrow suspiciously before he shut the door behind him. He suspected that she was lying, but figured that the girl just didn't want to reveal her true motives for removing his shirt. With a smirk that was all masculine pride, Hiei leaned up against the wall and waited for Kagome to come out. If she really wanted him to run around shirtless that bad, well, who was he to argue?

"You may have a seat," Koenma said as he leaned back in his own chair. Kagome shook her head.

"I think I'll just stand."

"Your choice," Koenma said with a shrug. "Botan told me what she saw back in Makai. I want you to tell me exactly what you had to promise Sesshoumaru in order to convince him to use the Tenseiga on Hiei."

Kagome frowned. She really shouldn't have trusted Botan not to tell, but she hadn't had a choice. "What makes you think I had to promise him anything?" she asked innocently, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "Maybe he did it out of the goodness of his own heart."

Koenma barked out a laugh. "That stubborn old taiyoukai doesn't do anything for anyone without demanding something of equal value in return. Now tell me what that was. If you promised to give him the jewel--"

"I did no such thing!" Kagome said indignantly. "He asked for it, but I told him that was the only thing I couldn't give him."

"Ah, so you did promise him something in return. Now what was it?" Kagome scowled and shifted her feet, refusing to meet Koenma's gaze. He'd tricked her entirely too easily.

"It's no concern of yours," she finally said. "It's nothing anybody else has to worry about."

"I think I'll decide that for myself, if you don't mind. Anything that concerns you concerns me. The fate of the three worlds may very well hang in the balance, and with the responsibilities on your shoulders right now, I have to know what you promised him. Tell me."

Kagome's shoulders sagged in defeat. "It won't matter at all until after Naraku's defeated and the jewel is complete. He says that after it's all over, I'm to return to his estate in Makai and stay there as his..." She trailed off, and Koenma leaned forward, gesturing for her to continue. "As his pet," she mumbled under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm going to be a pet miko to that egotistical jerk for the rest of my life, okay? Happy?" Kagome shouted. Her eyes burned with the unshed tears that she refused to cry. "He said it was a life for a life, and that was the only way he'd agree to revive Hiei. I had to do it."

Koenma was absolutely astonished. He had suspected that the miko harbored a fondness for the fire apparition, but he had no idea that her affections ran this deep. "Why would you promise such a thing? Hiei's death was tragic, but it was through no fault of yours. Do you realize what you've done?"

"I knew exactly what I was doing, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Kagome's voice trembled, but her eyes were full of a determination and confidence that made her seem far older than her seventeen years. "His death was entirely my fault, and I couldn't bear to live with the death of a dear friend on my conscience."

"Just a dear friend?" Koenma asked. If his suspicions were correct, there was far more to Kagome's relationship with Hiei than simple friendship. Kagome stiffened and lowered her eyes.

"No," she admitted in a whisper. "Not just a dear friend." Koenma leaned back in his chair and hooked his hands behind his head, considering for a moment just how strange this girl was. Here she was, guardian of the Shikon no Tama and quite possibly falling in love with a hardened youkai criminal, and she had just signed her life away to allay the guilt that she felt over his passing, ensuring that she might never see the object of her affections again. He shook his head and heaved a sigh. If the poor girl wasn't already indebted to Sesshoumaru, he'd probably have offered her a job on the spot. Reikai needed such selfless employees who would so gladly sacrifice their own lives and happiness for the good of others.

"I wish I could tell you that I'm in a position to reverse this somehow, but I'm afraid I have no such authority. You're going to have to hold up to your end of the bargain."

Kagome nodded. "I understand that. I don't expect anyone to save me from my own decisions. I'm not going to back down. But you have to promise me that you won't tell any of the others. They'll just try to keep me from going, and we don't need any more fights with Sesshoumaru." Koenma nodded. He could respect that.

"Very well, then." He leaned forward and punched the com button on his desk. "Botan? I need you to open a portal to Makai for Hiei and Kagome now, back to the place where you found them. They're going to retrieve some things."

The door to the office opened, and Botan skipped in cheerfully, followed by a less enthusiastic Hiei, who'd been forced to spend an whole three minutes alone in her overly cheerful company. He shuddered. Oh, the horror.

"Okay, then!" Botan chirped merrily. "Are you two ready to go?"

"Can you wait just a few minutes?" asked Kagome. "I'm only wearing my yukata, and Hiei still needs to get a--"

"We will leave now," Hiei said firmly, cutting Kagome off.

"But--"

"Now." Hiei turned his most threatening glare on Botan, who jumped and quickly opened a portal. She was more than happy to get away from Kagome, who thankfully hadn't yet yelled at Botan for betraying her confidence. Koenma tossed Kagome a communication mirror so that she could let them know when they were ready to return; from the eager look in Hiei's eyes, he had a feeling it would be a while. Ignoring Kagome's protests, Hiei strode forward and pulled the girl through the portal with him.

When she'd closed the portal, Botan turned to Koenma. "Did she tell you?" Koenma nodded, but remained silent. After a few moments, Botan's curiosity got the best of her. "Well? What was it?" she demanded.

"It's out of our hands now. All we can do is wish her the best of luck."

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"What do you think you're doing?" Kagome shouted after the portal closed behind her. "Neither of us is dressed for--" Hiei clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her down into a crouch. 'What--'

'There are three youkai in the gully,' he informed her quickly. He paused for a moment, and Kagome could see the Jagan glow briefly. 'The fools are bickering over how best to divide your belongings. It seems that the taijiya's weapon is a major point of contention.' Kagome nodded and grasped the hilt of her wakizashi, preparing to draw the blade, but Hiei covered her hand with his own and shook his head. 'You are injured and far too exhausted to fight now. I will dispose of them.'

Kagome started to protest, but changed her mind when she realized that she'd only seen Hiei fight once, and that hadn't been much of a fight at all. 'As long as you let me watch, I'll stay out of the action,' Kagome said.

Feeling his ego kick up yet another notch, Hiei drew his own katana. 'Of course.' Hiei mentally chuckled. This was going to be entirely too much fun. He crouched in front of Kagome, motioning silently for her to get on his back. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and held back a giddy squeal when he leaped into the air, landing down in the bottom of the small gully about ten meters away from the quarreling youkai.

Silently sliding off of Hiei's back, Kagome quickly assessed the situation. The would-be thieves had yet to notice their arrival. Two of them were of a nondescript ogre-type, standing about two meters tall. One was a sickly shade of greenish yellow, with a single eye in the center of his brow and three short horns, one of which was broken off at the tip. He was barefoot, wearing tattered brown slacks and no shirt. The second ogre had mottled grey skin, with a crown of tiny, sharp horns that circled his head. He wore a shapeless brown robe and mismatched boots, and Kagome winced when he flashed a mouthful of crooked yellow teeth. Ugh. They really need some orthodontists around here. The yellow one gesticulated wildly at Hiraikotsu, arguing that it would be far more profitable to sell it and divide the money rather than keep it.

It was the third youkai, standing quietly in the background covered head to toe in a black hooded cape, who first noticed the two newest arrivals on the scene. She regarded them silently for a moment. The diminutive, bare-chested youkai bearing a drawn katana and practically radiating threat was interesting enough, but it was the female standing silently behind him that really caught her attention. Her unbound hair floated about in the light breeze, and her right hand occasionally twitched toward the hilt of the wakizashi at her side, but she made no move to draw it, instead watching the scene before her with eyes lit up with anticipation. The youkai felt a sort of kinship with this fellow female warrior; she'd come across so very few in her travels as a bandit. But that didn't mean that she'd give up her spoils without a fight.

The black-shrouded youkai snapped her fingers twice, silencing her two companions. "It would seem that we have company," she said, amusement coloring her voice. The grey-skinned male stooped down to retrieve a large double-headed axe, his wary eyes never leaving Hiei, and the yellow-skinned one drew the katana at his waist.

Kagome reluctantly decided that they should at least give the bandits an opportunity to leave without a fight. "I thank you for watching over our belongings while we were called away," she said with a slight bow. "We'll just retrieve our things and be on our way." Hiei glanced back and scowled at the girl; really, she was entirely too nice for her own good.

"What the hell makes you think we're just gonna give it to you?" asked the grey-skinned youkai. "We found it fair and square. You shouldn't have left it unprotected if you didn't want to lose it."

Kagome groaned. Why couldn't she come across one nice youkai in Makai? Just one? "I wasn't given much of a choice in the matter. If you know what's best for you, you'll lower your weapons and leave us immediately. My companion here is not nearly as patient as I am. Leave now if you value your lives."

The two males glanced back at their leader questioningly. Her smile was hidden from view by the hood of her cloak, but the rich, deep laughter that filled the air left no doubt about what she thought of Kagome's threat. "Very well, then. I could use some entertainment. Boys, you can ghost the male. Leave the female for me."

"You're the boss," the yellow one said with a casual shrug. He made to lunge forward, but stopped short when Hiei disappeared. "What the--"

All Kagome could see was a black blur and a flash of steel, and then Hiei was standing behind the yellow youkai with one hand in his pocket, his back turned to his would-be opponent. The youkai stopped speaking mid-sentence and stared down in shock at blood pooling around his feet, before he suddenly collapsed in a pile of neatly severed body parts. Kagome mentally calculated how many strikes Hiei must have made to have such an effect, and her jaw dropped open in amazement when she settled on a number. Eighteen?!

"Great job, Hiei!" Kagome cheered. "If you keep that up, we'll be out of here in no time!" Apparently, the grey-skinned youkai was less than amused. He turned and snarled at the blue-haired girl, -- How dare she imply that I will be such an easy kill! -- brandishing the battle axe at her. In a flash, Hiei was standing between the two of them, his katana leveled at the ogre.

"Your fight is with me," Hiei said, his voice cold and emotionless.

"If you're so eager to die, little man, then I won't disappoint you!" He raised the axe over his head and swung it down with both hands. When the head of the axe struck the earth, there was a blinding flash of light, and a streak of lightning snaked out over the ground, cleaving the earth as it went. Hiei dodged with no trouble at all, glancing back to see Kagome sprint to safety. His opponent freed his axe from the earth with a grunt.

"That's just a taste of what I can do! You won't find it so easy to dodge at close quarters!" Hiei shook his head slowly. Really, what was it about holding an axe that made youkai overconfident? And this fool didn't even have a Battle Aura to back it up.

"Amazing. Your lack of intelligence is far exceeded by your lack of skill with that axe. Tell me, how long had its previous owner been dead before you stumbled across his corpse and stole his weapon?"

"Just- Just shut up!" The youkai started to raise his axe again, but suddenly found that he couldn't move his arms. "What the fuck?" He looked down incredulously to see three glowing bands wrapped tightly around him. The youkai struggled fruitlessly against the bonds as he was lifted into the air. He looked back up to see the Jagan eye glowing red in Hiei's forehead. "You little freak! Let me down!"

"It would be incredibly easy to kill you right now, but that would hardly be sporting, and I believe my companion is expecting a better show than that." The bonds dissolved, and the grey-skinned youkai dropped to the ground with a yelp. "Now I expect you to put up a decent fight. If you make me disappoint her, I will be forced to draw out your torture. Fight well, and your death shall be quicker and far less painful."

The ogre growled low in his throat and charged, cleaving the air where Hiei had been standing. He whirled around to find the shorter youkai standing behind him with his eyes closed, his hands clasped behind his back. The grey-skinned youkai swung again and again, his frustration growing more out of control each time Hiei simply side-stepped the blows, never once opening his eyes.

"Coward!" the youkai shouted. "Why won't you fight back?" By this time, the ground was almost completely ripped up, and Kagome found herself thankful that the thieves had piled all of her friends' belongings off to the side.

Hiei easily dodged another swing of the axe and opened one eye, tilting his head to the side. "Idiot," he said, his tone practically dripping with condescension, "are you really that eager to hasten your own death?" He nimbly ducked under the ogre's claws. "This is starting to get boring."

"Then draw your weapon! Stand and fight!"

"I don't need a sword to defeat the likes of you," said Hiei. The grey-skinned ogre swung his axe downward once more, and Hiei leapt back and to the side to avoid the strike, skidding to a halt a few meters away. "Jaou Ensatsu...Rengoku Shou!" At Hiei's shout, Kagome was shocked to see a burst of orange flames surround each of his fists. He flexed his arms once, curling his lip up in a smirk at the fool who dared to attack him.

Hiei had to force himself to slow down enough for Kagome to see his attack, but even so, he was still too quick for the ogre. He streaked forward, past the axe that was still embedded in the ground, and sent a volley of straight punches to his opponent's chest, feeling the sternum snap against his right fist on the fifth blow. Two already-broken ribs pierced the ogre's right lung on the sixteenth punch, and the ogre's body was wracked by a violent coughing fit as his lungs filled with blood. At this point, death was only a matter of time.

Deciding that it was finally time for the mercy blow, Hiei snapped his right fist up in a quick but vicious uppercut to the chin, snapping his opponent's neck in a single blow. The lifeless ogre toppled to the ground, and Hiei landed gracefully next to the corpse. His fists had completely burned away the front part of the ogre's robe, leaving the creature's blackened, completely collapsed upper body open to view.

'You might want to be more careful with the last one. Something tells me she's a lot stronger than the other two.' Kagome's mental voice was laced with concern as she warily regarded the third and final bandit, who hadn't moved a muscle during the entire fight. She couldn't see the youkai's eyes, but Kagome couldn't shake the feeling that the last bandit was staring at her.

The hooded youkai stepped forward. "I would say that was well done," she said, her voice low and sensuous, "but those two probably could've been beaten by a blind and armless kodama. As much as I'd like to see your male in a true fight, I'm far more interested in you, my dear." She lifted her gloved hands and slowly pulled back the hood of her cloak before she shrugged it off altogether, and Kagome found herself returning the stare of one of the most beautiful creatures she'd ever seen.

She had to be at least two and a half meters tall, with pearlescent, scaled skin that seemed to ripple as she moved. A full mane of silver hair cascaded over her shoulders all the way down to her knees. She was clad in only an ankle-length, filmy green circle skirt and a silver plate of armor that covered her chest and abdomen. As she seemed to glide forward, studying her opponents with steely blue eyes, Kagome could see the triangular tip of a tail swishing back and forth beneath the skirt. Her face was a paragon of aristocratic perfection, all clean lines and high cheekbones, and Kagome's eyes trailed down the slender column of her neck to rest on the circlet of black fangs that rested against the youkai's collarbone. Kagome shook herself out of her stupor when she finally noticed a pair of swords hanging at the youkai's hip, a wakizashi and a katana.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the youkai said with a mocking bow. "I am Izumi of the Water Serpents."

"You lie," Hiei accused. "That kind are far too busy lording themselves over the sea-bound youkai to risk sullying their imperial manicures with such lowlifes as these," he said, gesturing to what remained of the two ogres.

Izumi shrugged, the light glistening off her scaled shoulders in a rainbow of pastels. "It matters not whether you believe me, little firefly. As I stated earlier, I am far more interested in your female companion." She circled Kagome slowly, trailing her eyes over the miko's body in a way that left Kagome feeling like a horse at an auction. "There are so few female warriors these days. Tell me, airashii-chan, what of your lineage? I cannot seem to place your particular type, nor can I sense your youki."

Kagome shivered under the intense gaze of the serpent youkai. 'What do I tell her?' she asked Hiei, her mental voice rising in panic.

"That is no concern of yours," Hiei snapped. "Your fight is with me."

Izumi ignored Hiei and locked her gaze on Kagome's crimson eyes. "Your bearing and musculature show your potential as a warrior, airashii-chan, but since I cannot feel your youki, I remain curious about your true abilities. I will fight you in one-on-one combat, and first blood chooses her own prize. You, no doubt, will decide to take your belongings, but I can assure you that my prize will be far more interesting. You may not want to delay the inevitable and instead allow me to draw first blood without a fight at all. I'm certain you'd find losing infinitely more rewarding than winning in the end."

"Why is that?" Kagome asked, struggling to keep her voice from quavering.

"I seem to have lost the last of my pathetic band of thieves today, and I am in sore need of replacements. You, my dear, shall have the privilege of being my second in command. Even the weakest of fighters would be superior to the thugs your companion just killed. We'll have to get you some more appropriate clothing, of course," she said, eyeing Kagome's patched yukata with distaste, "but I'm afraid even that would fail to rid you of the stench of that male you choose to associate with. A pity. Perhaps sharing my bed would be a quicker solution. I'm certain you will find the experience pleasurable."

Kagome gaped at the beautiful youkai. Is she...is she actually coming on to me? Hiei, meanwhile, had just about run out of patience. It was insulting enough for the female to dismiss him completely, but the way she was looking at Kagome was unforgiveable. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin when Hiei seemed to materialize in front of her, blocking her from Izumi's gaze.

"I told you your fight is with me. Touch her and be assured of a long and painful death." Izumi frowned at the short youkai who was so rudely blocking her view.

"I still await her answer, little firefly. This is a matter between females, of no concern to you."

Luckily, Kagome had finally found her voice. "I'm going to have to say no. I promised my companion here that he could fight the three of you, and I won't go back on my word to him." And I seriously doubt that I could beat you, she added silently.

Izumi, however, wasn't about to give up. "No matter. I'll just dispose of this male who dares to stand in my way, and then we can fight to our hearts' content." Kagome slowly backed away as Izumi drew her two blades and dropped into a fighting stance.

Hiei unsheathed his own katana; while the water youkai's youki attacks would probably be limited here on the parched plains of Makai, she could no doubt summon enough water from her own body to douse the mortal flames of his Jaou Ensatsu Rengoku Shou. With the amount of youki he could sense from her, Hiei knew he couldn't afford to take this opponent lightly. He didn't wait for her to attack.

Hiei started at half-speed, aiming a horizontal slice at Izumi's throat that was designed more to gauge her abilities than to immediately kill. She parried the blow easily with the katana in her right hand, and Hiei had to put some effort into dodging a quick stab from the wakizashi in her left. He ducked around behind her and struck faster this time, only to be simultaneously blocked and attacked again.

Soon a pattern arose in their artful dance of swordplay: Hiei increased his speed with each blow, and Izumi flawlessly matched it every time. In less than two minutes, all Kagome could make out was two blurs of black and white flitting up and down the gully, pausing occasionally for a split second before they became too fast for her human eyes to see once more.

"You seem surprised to meet an opponent who can match your speed," Izumi said as she ducked under Hiei's katana, striking out with her own but finding no purchase on her opponent.

Hiei didn't reply to her taunt. He was actually having to concentrate on not getting killed in a swordfight, something that he couldn't recall ever happening before. Any youkai as fast and as skilled as Izumi was a force to be reckoned with, but her added skill with the second blade was coming close to putting him at a disadvantage, a situation Hiei was not at all comfortable with. He couldn't afford to play around. This was going to have to end quickly.

Hiei made up his mind when she managed to nick the cuff of his pants with her wakizashi. She was entirely too dangerous to fool around with. Leaping high into the air, Hiei fed his youki into the hilt of his sword and summoned up the blackest flames of the Makai with a shout of, "Jaou Ensatsu Ken!"

Izumi's eyes widened in shock when she felt the heat of the flames even from a distance, flames that her waters could not hope to quench. He was dropping too quickly for her to completely dodge, so she attempted a block with her katana and twisted to the right, praying that she was wrong about that fire.

Her prayers went unanswered. Hiei's flame-shrouded katana sliced through the steel like a hot knife through butter, and Izumi thanked whatever kami were out there that she'd at least managed to twist out of the katana's path. She tossed the wakizashi to her right hand and stood her ground, waiting for his next attack. He had put her completely on the defensive, and all she could do was hope that she'd manage to find an opening in his defense before he cleaved her in two.

Hiei lunged forward and swept the sword down in a diagonal arc, forcing his opponent to take to the air in order to avoid certain death. Izumi couldn't execute an attack from her position, but just as she began her descent back to the earth, the red glow of the Jagan caught her eye, and she finally realized how she could beat this opponent.

With a solid plan now in mind, Izumi charged forward to meet Hiei's attack halfway. She ducked under his sword at the last second and flicked her left wrist upward, shooting a wide stream of saltwater directly into Hiei's face.

The distraction only lasted for a split second, but it was all the time she needed. Her wakizashi flashed once as Hiei leaped backward. He'd managed to avoid a killing blow, but the damage was done. The black flames of the Jaou Ensatsu Ken immediately evaporated.

The Jagan was injured.

Kagome watched in horror as Hiei dropped to his knees, clutching his head as he cried out in pain. The slice was shallow, and no longer than a couple of centimeters, but the shrieks of the Jagan filled his mind and drowned out every other sensation. He didn't see Izumi stride forward with a confident smirk on her face, lifting her wakizashi for one final sweep that would end the fight for good.

But the Jagan felt the approaching youki of the one who had the audacity to attack it, and just as Izumi began the downward arc that would have ended Hiei's life, the Jagan unleashed a flood of raw youki that struck her dead center in the chest. Izumi's mind didn't have time to register what had happened before she was slammed into the wall of the gully and knocked unconscious. Her skin seemed to ripple and twist before she dissolved into a clear, viscous puddle that seeped into a crack in the earth and disappeared from view.

Kagome rushed to Hiei's side, terrified that she was going to lose him for good this time. His body shuddered beneath her hands as he fought to regain control of his mind. Kagome reached into her pocket and pulled out the communication mirror.

"We've got to get you back to Reikai," she said, her voice trembling. "The healers there will--"

"No!" Hiei's hand struck out blindly, knocking the mirror out of Kagome's grasp and sending it flying.

"But you're injured! We've got to--"

"No." Hiei panted and lifted his head to look Kagome straight in the eye. It took a great deal of effort for him to speak. "You will do it. You will heal it."

"But-- But I've never done anything like that!" Kagome stammered. "I don't know how! And my power, it will purify the--"

"You are a miko. You were born with the power to heal." Hiei lifted his hand and clutched at her shoulder. His words were slow and deliberate. "You must suppress the purifying power and use only your reiki."

"But I don't know how!" Kagome cried. "I have no idea what you're talking about! Reikai's healers are much more experienced, and they can--"

"They will not do it."

Kagome's brow furrowed, the confusion written all over her face. "Of course they will! They healed Kurama and Inuyasha, so why wouldn't they--"

"They will not touch the Jagan. I am certain. They are too afraid of its powers."

Kagome tried to shrink back away from him, but his grip on her shoulder never wavered. "I'm not trained that way, and if I accidentally killed you--"

"Drop your mental barrier. Let the Jagan into your mind. It will guide you and take what it needs to heal." His slid his shaking hand to the back of her neck and peeled off the ofuda that blocked Kagome's powers, ignoring the angry spark of holy energy that burned his hand. "You must do this now before I completely lose control. You will not kill me. I trust you."

Kagome's protests completely died when those last few words passed his lips. She had the presence of mind to single out her memories of Hiei's death and her promise to Sesshoumaru, pushing those thoughts into the back of her mind and forming a secondary barrier around them before she dropped her primary mental defenses and waited for the Jagan to take over.

Even through the haze of its blinding pain, the Jagan recognized the sudden flare of the powerful ki it had been pursuing for weeks. Kagome tensed and squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden intrusion of a foreign entity into her mind, forcibly pushing back the instinctual urge to shove it away. Memories of her terrifying ordeal under Tsubaki's control flashed before her eyes, but Kagome reminded herself that this was different, that she had to let the Jagan access her powers if she wanted to heal Hiei. She completely relaxed her mind and body, slumping forward to rest her head on Hiei's thigh.

The Jagan was instantly aware of the small corner of her mind that remained inaccessible to it, but focused on the more immediate task at hand. The sheer amount of raw power coursing through this girl's body was even greater than it had suspected, a whirling mixture of reiki and something akin to sei kou ki. The blue sei kou ki-like energy flared and burned when the Jagan tried to pull at it, so the eye instead sought out a tendril of reiki and tugged, separating enough of the energy to heal its own wound.

Kagome felt her hand jerk upward, her forefinger coming to rest directly on the smooth, moist surface of the open Jagan. For the first time, she recognized the duality of the power within her as, in her mind's eye, a thread of pink energy, separate from the pulsing blue, snaked up her arm and into her fingers. She gasped when she felt the tingling energy jump from her finger to the Jagan, flaring briefly before her arm dropped bonelessly to her side.

The unbearable pain vanished in an instant, and Hiei shook his head to clear the fog from his mind. The Jagan was still coursing through Kagome's mind, practically humming as it seeped into every last pore. Hiei shuddered at the sheer amount of pleasure the Jagan was broadcasting to him, feeling the pure, unadulterated delight that the Jagan found in exploring the vast foreign territory of this strange creature's immeasurable soul. The eye found something at the very core of her being, a pulsating energy unlike anything it had encountered before, and zeroed in on it, wrapping itself around this new sensation.

Hiei knew he couldn't let this go on any longer. If he allowed the Jagan any more access to Kagome, he might never get it to let go. With a feral snarl, Hiei reached out with his own youki and pulled the Jagan back, ignoring its pitiful whimpering as he forcibly ripped it away from Kagome.

"Put...your barrier...back up," Hiei growled. He breathed a sigh of relief when he sensed the walls around her mind rise once more, shielding her from the grasping youki of the Jagan. But he grew worried when she continued to remain unresponsive, limp as a rag doll with her head in his lap.

'Kagome,' he called out to her, sliding his hand under her head and turning her face toward him.

"Mmm?" Kagome's eyes fluttered open, and she grinned lazily up at Hiei. "Hey. That-- That was just...incredible," she murmured, her words slow and slurred. Hiei's eyes widened as she lifted her hands to entwine her fingers in his hair, tugging slightly downward so that she could press a feather-light kiss to his forehead.

'Rest assured, it will not be happening again.'

"Huh? Why not?" Kagome asked, struggling to sit up. Hiei gently pulled her into his lap and tucked her head under his chin. He ignored her question for a moment and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply and thoroughly enjoying the fact that he could now smell her properly. "Hey! I asked you a question!"

'It does not want to let go of you. The Jagan has never experienced a mind like yours before, and there's something there that it wants to use. I do not trust it.' Pulling the girl tighter to his chest, Hiei realized just how unique a creature she was. He could search the three worlds a thousand times over and never find another like her. She had willingly allowed the Jagan into her mind in spite of the horrible memories of the kuromiko's invasion that were still fresh and painful to her. He needed time to process everything that the Jagan had shown him, but he was certain that this girl...this girl was special indeed, unlike any other.

Kagome splayed her hands over Hiei's bare chest as she replayed the fight in her mind. I almost lost him again, she thought, remembering just how close Izumi's final strike had been. If he hadn't retreated at the last second... Kagome shivered. The greater threat of Naraku loomed before them, inescapable and deadly dangerous. She could very well lose her own life in the upcoming battle, and even if they were victorious, her debt to Sesshoumaru remained. For the first time, Kagome understood exactly how Miroku felt. She lifted her head and paused for a moment before leaning forward to brush her lips lightly over Hiei's mouth.

The kiss was tentative, searching at first, but quickly grew in intensity as Kagome's hands drifted over Hiei's shoulders and down the muscled expanse of his back. Hiei responded in kind, maneuvering the girl in his lap until she straddled his hips, her legs wrapped tightly around his back. One hand fisted into the hair at the nape of her neck, tilting her head to deepen the kiss and slip the warmth of his tongue past her lightly parted lips, while the other slid under her yukata and brushed against the soft skin of her thigh.

"H-Hiei," she breathed as he gripped her hips and pressed his arousal up against her center. "Is this-- Are we-- Now?" In response, Hiei slipped his hand under the fabric that sheathed her hips, and his nimble fingers quickly found the swollen protrusion nestled in the cleft between her legs. He rolled the bud between his fingers, and she gave a small cry against his mouth, digging her fingers into the flesh of his back. She felt rather than saw the smug grin that crossed his lips.

'This is what you want.' Kagome shivered at the absolute conviction in his mental voice, and he slipped a single finger past the barrier of her hymen. 'This is what you need.' Her inner walls grew slick under his skillful ministrations, so he slipped a second finger in as well, careful to stretch but not break the delicate membrane. His own arousal increased at the thought of bathing his cock in the blood of her virginity.

With a heated growl, Hiei yanked Kagome's yukata down over one shoulder, and she shivered when the cool air hit her bare breast. 'You are not wearing the breast bindings,' he noted with approval as he clamped his mouth down over a rapidly stiffening nipple.

"Didn't...have...time," she panted out, rocking her hips against his hand, still straddling his lap. With a start, Kagome realized that, once again, Hiei was putting all his energy into pleasuring her, and he wasn't getting anything in return. She was nothing if not generous, and so she trailed her hands down his bare chest to the twin belts that circled his waist. She fumbled with the buckles for a moment, and a low groan escaped Hiei's lips when her hand accidentally brushed against the bulge of his arousal.

With the belts out of the way, Kagome easily slipped her hand beneath the waistline of Hiei's pants. She palmed his shaft with a trembling hand, delighting in the texture of silk over steel. His hips flexed involuntarily, and she grasped him in her hand and pulled lightly. His eyes glazed over at the sensations those tiny, sword-calloused hands wrung out of him, and Kagome quite suddenly felt like the most powerful being in the three worlds, to be able to make the stoic fire apparition quake with need.

Kagome let out a frustrated moan when Hiei pulled his warm hands away from her, but her disappointment quickly faded into nervousness when she saw him slip the waist of his pants down past his hips. He extended his blunt fingernails into sharpened claws and quickly shredded the fabric of her underwear. Kagome caught but a brief glimpse of his erection before he lifted her up to position himself against her slick folds.

Bracing her knees against the hard ground, Kagome squeezed her eyes shut against the inevitable pain that was to follow. Hiei's insistent command, 'Relax,' filled her mind, and she barely had time to comply before he tightened his grip on her hips and pulled down. The tip of his shaft strained against the sheath of her maidenhood for a moment that stretched into eternity before it abruptly broke with an inaudible snap.

No stranger to pain, Kagome allowed but the slightest of whimpers to pass her lips. She felt him flex his hips to slide further into her, her inner walls stretching around him to the point that she was certain he would cleave her in two. Just when she was ready to scream, "No more!" and pull away from him, Hiei relaxed his grip on her and leaned his head against her chest, his short, shallow breaths warming the bare skin of her breast.

"Is it...all the way in?" she whispered, and she was relieved to feel him nod.

'Just...just be still for a moment,' he pleaded, certain that the moment she moved, he would lose all control. Gods, but she felt exquisite, her inner muscles clamped almost painfully tight around his shaft. 'Relax,' he said again, and to his relief, bit by bit, her clenched muscles eased around him until he felt free enough to move.

Bracing his hands against the smooth skin of her backside, Hiei lifted her hips, sliding almost all the way out of her before pulling her back down again, reveling in the sweet, slow friction that made his jaw clench and his eyes bleed a darker shade of crimson. Kagome relaxed further as the painful burn eased, quenched in the healing balm of her own natural lubrication.

The sensation of intrusion ripened into such an acute feeling of fullness, of completion, that Kagome wondered why she'd denied herself this for so long. She gripped Hiei's shoulders and added her own thrusts to his rhythm once, twice, before she found herself abruptly slammed to the hard ground on her back, Hiei's fists planted on either side of her head as he plunged into her at a much quicker pace. Had she thought him beautiful while he was sleeping? Kagome found him to be positively breathtaking as he was now, the muscles of his shoulders rippling under a fine sheen of sweat, his eyes locked onto hers with a piercing intensity that made her tremble.

Kagome was so deliciously slick, so incredibly tight around him that Hiei couldn't help himself. Despite all of her training, her body was still soft and pliant beneath him, such a contrast to his own battle-hardened physique. Realizing that his own inevitable release was nearing, he dropped to one elbow and slid his other hand down between their joined bodies. The coil of fire wound even tighter in Kagome's belly when his thumb brushed against the pearl nestled in her folds, eliciting a startled yip from the girl. Hiei decided that he thoroughly loved the way she sounded, so he pressed his thumb harder against her, and she choked out his name in a throaty moan that pleased him even more.

The white hot heat between her legs grew until she was skating on the razor edge of climax. For one brief, unbearable moment, Kagome was certain that she'd drop dead if she didn't achieve the completion for which every pore of her being screamed, and then her world exploded as she toppled over the edge. Her entire body shook from the sheer force of her release, her tremulous cries muffled against the bare skin of Hiei's chest.

When her dull fingernails dug into the flesh of his back, Hiei finally achieved the brink of his own release, tossing his head back with an unintelligible shout as he pumped his white hot seed into her core. His thrusts quickly lost any semblance of rhythm, dissolving into a series of frenzied jerks as the pulsating flood of his own orgasm washed over him. Finally spent, Hiei collapsed on top of Kagome with a fully sated sigh.

Neither of them knew how long they lay there, bodies entwined on the cold, bare ground of the gully. Time stood still for the two of them, as Kagome ran her hands lightly up and down Hiei's back, smiling faintly at the way his breath tickled her ear. Ever so slowly, Hiei felt himself soften and contract, until he slipped completely out of her, and the moment was over.

He lifted his head and brushed the hair away from Kagome's face, searching her eyes for any sign of remorse, but he found only contentedness there. Satisfied that she wasn't going to scream and run away from him, he slowly eased himself off of her to rest back on his haunches between her legs. Kagome stretched her arms up over her head and let her eyes drift shut, an idiotic grin spread across her face.

Hiei was about to stand and dress himself, but a spot of color caught his eye. The twin smears of blood on her inner thighs stood in sharp contrast to the smooth, creamy paleness of her skin. It was with a fierce swelling of masculine pride that he noted the slight bruises that already colored her skin under the crimson streaks. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose into her soft nest of curls before licking away every last drop of her maiden blood, savoring the sweet, coppery tang on his tongue.

"Wh-- What are you doing?" Kagome asked, lifting herself up to rest on her elbows.

'Cleaning you,' he replied, as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

"...oh." She shrugged it off as another one of those weird youkai things and turned slightly on her side so that she could sit up, wincing at the dull pain in her nether regions.

'Don't exert yourself too much.' There was no mistaking the amusement that danced in Hiei's eyes, or the conceited smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Kagome rolled her eyes and huffed, fully convinced that Hiei was a certified sadist with an ego that would put any taiyoukai to shame. 'Men.'

'I'm certain you have no lingering doubts about my masculinity.' Kagome's blush was all the answer he needed. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap, brushing his lips across the nape of her neck in a slow, lingering kiss. With his arms wrapped around her, he inhaled deeply, enjoying the way her scent was now mingled so thoroughly with his own. 'Mine,' he growled.

Kagome snuggled further into his embrace and nodded. "Yeah," she whispered lazily.

'And you had best not forget it.' Now that he'd had her, now that he'd tasted what she had to offer, Hiei was certain that he wasn't going to let go of his prize for a very long time. Her head drooped until her cheek rested against his shoulder. 'Kagome?' He chuckled when she failed to respond.

Hiei took a moment to indulge in the odd feeling of peacefulness that washed over him. Still, something nagged at the back of his mind, something about what the Jagan had shown him during its perusal of Kagome's mind. He was sure there was something important about the strange swirling of energy that the eye had found in the center of her soul, but he couldn't quite place what its significance was.

It was a little difficult to maneuver his pants back up over his hips and buckle the belts with the slumbering miko in his lap, but Hiei managed. He wrapped her yukata more securely around her tiny frame before he stood and carried her over to where the communication mirror had landed on the bare ground. He frowned for a moment, debating whether to take her back to Reikai or remain in Makai for a while longer. But the smell of the dead youkai (not to mention the heady aroma of Kagome's own human blood) would doubtless attract other youkai to the area soon, and he couldn't leave those damn packs unguarded.

With a heavy sigh, Hiei bent down and retrieved the communicator. When he flipped it open, Botan's shriek assaulted his sensitive ears.

"Hiei! What took you so long? The others are already waking, and Inu--"

"Open a portal now," Hiei demanded, cutting her off. "Send a few of Koenma's lackeys to retrieve the packs, and make certain they do not leave anything behind."

"Wha--" Hiei snapped the communicator shut before Botan could ask any more annoying questions. He took one last look around the gully, and something caught his eye, the glint of sunlight off of obsidian. With a slight smile, he pocketed the object before leaping up to the grassy plain. The whirling portal appeared in front of him, and Hiei stepped through, bracing himself for the confrontation that was sure to follow.

Edited 17 May 2005