by Ryoma
A warning. This part drags a little, but the story, and action, will pick up come the next part. This isn't like the other fanfics I have written for this series, and will be dark, with lots of fighting and violence, and will later feature a lemon scene. Otherwise, I don't know what will happen, so bear this in mind as you read, and read at your own risk (and only if you are at a proper age for when the lemon comes in). Thanks!
-Part 1-
"Hey you!" He shouted, watching the cloaked figure, who was slowly walking away from him, ignoring him. "Hey!!"
The figure stopped, shifting lightly, as if to look at him.
He shivered lightly. He could see nothing beneath the cloak, or beneath the hood. But he pressed on anyway, "You can't just bump into me like that, and not apologize."
There was a moment of unsettling silence, before an indistinguishable voice seemed to come from the depths of the cloak. "Then I apologize..."
The figured turned to move away again.
The man blinked several times, and decided against trying to get a better apology. This... Figure? Person? gave him a bad feeling, and he liked his life too much to risk it for an apology he wanted only to seem tough...
"Another letter." Mukuro frowned. "Saying the exact same thing."
"And it worries you?" Hiei said, looking up from where he had been looking over his katana.
"What worries me," she put the letter down on a nearby table, "is that the letters are becoming more frequent. That, and, no one's ever heard of this 'Kuromeru'."
"Or they haven't lived to tell, you mean." Hiei sheathed his katana, and looked over at the red-haired woman. She nodded, and he shifted to face her. "Do you believe the threat real?"
"It's real. At least to Kuromeru," Mukuro replied. "Jokingly threatening me is a bad idea."
"Jokingly threatening anyone is."
"But, they have to be a bit foolish." Mukuro tapped the letter with the tips of her fingers, as if to draw attention to it. "Threatening my third of the Makai? And with both you and I, some of the stronger fighters in the Makai Tournament here?"
Hiei shrugged. "Perhaps they feel they've some form of advantage over you and me."
"Probably. Though, what that is I don't know."
"You're not supposed to."
"Don't point out the obvious, Hiei." Mukuro watched Hiei smirk. "You're not quite funny."
"I don't intend to be," he replied. "If you want, I'll do some more scouting on this issue."
"No," Mukuro lifted the letter up, folding it carefully. "I'll send someone else out. It's better if you remain here."
Hiei nodded, watching Mukuro put the letter away.
He rested, sitting on the tree, back to the trunk of it, and legs hanging partly over one limb.
His senses were still awake, despite the deep strand of thoughts he was embraced in, and his katana was unsheathed and in front of him.
He was studying it with great intensity, and great interest, realizing all its different aspects, and all its different meanings, one of which was visible, another which he figured only HE understood.
His katana acted as a weapon, a defense against physical harm. This, everyone could see, could understand.
But it was the second thing that people didn't tend to see, didn't understand.
Not only did the blade act as a physical protection, it acted as an emotional one. It was a way for Hiei to distance people so he would not be hurt.
Hiei smirked.
The katana had failed in its second goal, slowly, over the years.
Kurama had been the first to get by the shield of the katana. He had helped Hiei, accepted him, and kept striving to be his friend.
Hiei was resistant to this. He didn't want, didn't need, a friend. Friends hurt you, betrayed you. They used you, then discarded you. Or, that's how Hiei had thought.
In the end, the charismatic kitsune had won, and Hiei had to admit he liked the friendship. It allowed him refuge, and somewhere to go when he needed a listening ear.
It still didn't mean Hiei admitted it to others, or made it easy on Kurama, either.
After all, he still cold-shouldered him, or took up an attitude. He knew Kurama knew it was an act, but he still did it anyway.
After Kurama, Hiei considered Yusuke the second to pierce a piece in his defenses.
He was quick to move, occasionally forgetting to think, but he was a good leader, and a good person.
His friends, and innocents, mattered more than anything in his life, and he'd sacrifice much, or everything, to ensure their safety.
This had been proven before Hiei had met Yusuke, and after. He had, needlessly it turned out, and without thinking, sacrificed his life for a child he hardly knew, just because a car was going to hit him.
Since then, he'd protected Keiko, and everyone, everything else, he held dear. He had occasionally fallen, but was never defeated. Never fully gave up.
Next in line for friends, though Hiei certainly wouldn't admit it to anyone, was Kuwabara.
Hiei fought him verbally often, threatened him, was threatened and harassed by him, but Hiei considered Kuwabara a friend, if by respect alone.
So his skills had been out-distanced by Yusuke and the rest a while back, and he'd taken up a more scholarly position, but he was still Kuwabara, and it had never been his skill that impressed Hiei.
Actually, like with Yusuke, it was his personality. His honor, and his willingness to do what he needed to protect the things that mattered most to him.
This included Yukina. For that, too, Hiei liked Kuwabara. He made Yukina happy, had married her about a year ago, and was taking exceptional care of her.
He got a bit dumb, or unthoughtful, sometimes, but he tried hard to keep people's feelings in mind. His abilities aided him in this.
Hiei let a thin smile cross his face at this.
Kuwabara was able to understand emotion so well, but he was still human, and sometimes forgot to think on them before speaking.
Hiei sheathed his katana, running through a small list of those he would call 'friends'. Botan and Koenma, in their way, Genkai, Keiko, and even Mukuro.
Hiei smiled faintly again.
Somehow, Mukuro and he had grown close, closer than he would have thought possible. And closer than he had wanted.
But, it wasn't his choice in the matter.
Now he had, in some small way, grown to understand why Yusuke acted the way he did around Keiko, and Kuwabara, Yukina.
Yes. His feelings for Mukuro had gone from some form of adversary, to a friend, to far deeper.
Hiei wouldn't say love. Not yet. It was too strong a word for him at this point, though he suspected it to be the accurate word.
Even the word 'like' was too strong, and only Kurama had been told this part of Hiei's mind, and heart.
He had grinned, green eyes full of mischief, and Hiei had been tempted to take his katana to the long red hair Kurama had still not cut.
Kurama had then told Hiei to tell Mukuro, laughing as Hiei's face had gone a bit red.
It had turned into a majority of their conversation, and into a partial argument.
Kurama kept insisting that Hiei told Mukuro, and Hiei kept refusing, giving common human responses as to why not.
Such excuses as, 'It doesn't matter', 'She doesn't feel the same', and even, 'What if she doesn't feel the same?'
Kurama kept insisting that Hiei wouldn't know if he never said, but the Fire Demon was stubborn, and, in the end, Kurama had given up, probably figuring Hiei would handle it in his own time.
And he would. It would just take some time.
Slowly, Hiei stood. 'May as well get back.' He moved quickly back towards Mukuro's compound.
A cloaked figure watched the compound from a small distance away, unnoticed by the guards, despite standing out in the open where any passerby could have seen.
Then... Any passerby could not have seen them, either. This was one of their many skills, to become, in some strange way, invisible to the mind of all but the ones they wanted to see them, when they wanted, at least.
Quietly, the cloaked figure moved closer to one of the guards that stood nearby.
She dodged the swing nimbly, as she had every swing before it, and frowned softly.
She and Hiei had been sparring, as they did so often, for a while now, and she had noted that he wasn't doing as well as usual, as if something were on his mind.
After all, she knew he had been training. He never quite stopped, really, and had been practicing quite a bit since the letters from Kuromeru had started to pick up more and more.
Carefully, she returned her mind to the match, and grabbed Hiei's wrist as he swung at her again. She pulled carefully, moving him off balance, then threw him, causing him to crash to the grass of the garden they were in.
He sat up a little, and stood, preparing another attack, before she spoke. "What's on your mind, Hiei?"
He blinked, a little startled. "On my mind? Nothing but my usual."
"Then you're very out of practice," she returned, watching Hiei glare lightly.
"I am not out of practice," he growled lightly.
"Well, you sure aren't doing very well, even for fighting against me," she commented. "Usually you hold pretty well, but you're failing pretty miserably now."
Hiei just glared, frustrated at her words. It wasn't his fault his mind was running over too many things, and he moved at her again, swinging.
She avoided it, though not as nimbly as before, and smirked. "Ah, a bit better."
Hiei let off a small grunt, and kept up his attack, never hitting Mukuro, but doing better than he had in the beginning. His frustration at her words had given him a small advantage, and he almost hit her, before stopping his sword as a call came from the side.
"Lady Mukuro!"
She turned quickly, to watch one of her guards come up to her, a small sheet of paper in hand, and eyes very scared. He rambled off quickly, "I was standing guard with Siroshi, when I heard a sharp cracking sound. When I looked over, he was lying on the ground in a mess."
Mukuro opened the letter as her guard spoke, eyes widening at both what she was reading, and hearing.
"He was dead, and this letter was there," the guard said.
Mukuro nodded softly, and looked at the Guard. "You didn't see or hear anything?"
"Not until I heard the crack, no." He shook his head softly. "Something snapped his neck."
"Go tell everyone else to be on guard, and be careful." Mukuro said, ignoring the look of fear, and curiosity, the guard gave her related to the letter.
"Yes, Lady Mukuro." He ran off quickly to tell the rest what he had been told, as well as what had happened.
Mukuro frowned, looking over the letter again, and barely noticing as Hiei came to stand beside her.
"What is it, Mukuro?" He asked, and took the letter as she handed it to him, eyes widening as hers had done but moments before.
As he read, she paced slightly, frowning in worry. "I can't believe that someone could get past the guards so easily. But, I guess this gives us a hint of why Kuromeru has been so cocky?"
Hiei nodded gently, folding the letter up. "Yes... So, he's coming soon, it says."
Mukuro nods. "The problem is, when? How long will they hang around on the outskirts of the compound? And why does this letter suddenly state they're after ME, and not my section of the Makai?"
Hiei shook his head lightly. "You were probably the intention to begin with. But, if Kuromeru had stated this, it would have been a very bad idea for him." Mukuro nodded her agreement; Hiei spoke again. "It seems to me it would be safer though if you remained with company."
"Volunteering?" Mukuro asked, smirking slightly.
Hiei grinned slightly. "I'm curious about Kuromeru, so yes."
'What is it with girls and bathing constantly?' Hiei thought, staring out Mukuro's window as she was in the bathroom, taking a bath.
Things had been quiet so far, since the letter that afternoon, but it was really quite difficult to say if that would last through this night; and it was also difficult to say, if it did last through the night, how long it would be before Kuromeru made their move.
It was definitely apparent now that Kuromeru had some small advantage in comparison to them, able to kill Mukuro's soldier without his friend seeing or hearing a thing.
Hiei looked over as Mukuro came out of her bathroom, body covered in a robe, and eye still covered by the lens.
She had shown him that one time what she looked like without the lens and without clothing, and he had found himself more enthralled than disgusted, as many might have been.
Then, he wasn't able to see but through the Jagan and only had so much caring at that point for his life.
Mukuro moved to her bed and sat on it. She looked different presently than she normally did. She looked less sure, and more afraid.
This was common, actually, when Mukuro was around Hiei. Or, at least, anymore it was. She trusted him well enough that she would allow him to see a different side than most would.
And, unknown to Hiei, though it would have made it far easier on his life, Mukuro felt the same as Hiei, right down to the not really wanting it to have happened.
But fate is fate, and love is love. You can't easily beat, or outrun, either. They almost always had their way.
"How will we handle tonight?" She spoke, looking over at Hiei, who looked at her, eyes faintly questioning. "I assume you are wanting to stay here, in case Kuromeru is to show up?"
"Yes." Hiei responded, watching Mukuro quietly. "If you are worried of the sleeping arrangements, then don't. I'll sit in a chair or somewhere. You know I'm used to it."
Mukuro nodded lightly, not wanting to fight Hiei over this matter, turning off the lights, then lay down. She closed her eyes softly. "Keep your senses open."
"I will," Hiei grunted, and she heard the rustle as he moved to one of the chairs, not bothering to pull the curtains that let in moonlight from outside. "You make sure to keep YOURS open." He warned.
Mukuro smirked at that, and rolled over, carefully, and slowly fell to sleep.
Hiei watched her quietly, amazed by the way she looked in the moonlight, before moving himself to a more comfortable position and dozing, senses open to their full.
Their movement was slow, and very quiet.
It didn't need to be, since their cloak made no noise, and no one could see them presently, but it was best to keep up on their training. After all, it was never sure when their invisibility power would be rendered obsolete, and normal fighting would be the law.
Slowly, they moved to the sleeping figure on the bed and looked down.
As was to be expected, Mukuro was asleep, unaware of their presence, and her 'guard' was asleep on a chair nearby, also unaware of their presence.
But they were sure if their ki were to leak out, then the little fire demon would feel them, and possibly Mukuro as well.
So, quietly, they moved and injected something into Mukuro, making sure she remained asleep, then lifted her, Mukuro's form disappearing.
From curiosity, they let their ki leak some, and saw the fire demon's eyes open quietly, scanning the room. Seeing nothing, he stood, and moved to where he felt the presence.
They shut their ki down again, and watched the fire demon frown, now not sensing them. Slowly, they brushed by him, and kept walking as the sword cut the air behind them.
Reaching the door, which was still open, they turned, and let their invisibility drop, and their ki again leak out.
The fire demon turned to the ki, eyes widening as he saw Mukuro, and he glared. "Kuromeru." He hissed, and growled as the cloaked figure nodded.