Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yu Yu
Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.
A/N: Okay... I have to give
out a warning to anyone who happens to know Ookami-chan and her stories, that
I've wheedled a bit of future info on Turnabout out of her, and I'm branching
off a few ideas that she told me about. Basically, if you don't want a
couple spoilers to the end of her stuff, you may want to skip this. But
she gave me the express permission to use it however I saw fit. So, I'm
going to have to thank her for being so great and sweet about sharing the idea
and allowing me to use it.
To the rest of my reviewers, you
guys are lovely, and thanks for all those sweet things you've said about my fun
little fic. I'm glad you guys are enjoying reading it, and hopefully the
rest of it is just as fun for you to read. Kazusa's probably going to
kill me before I'm done, so we'll see. *cheeky grin* Really though,
you guys are wonderful, and thank you for taking the time to give me your
opinions. *^_____^*
~*~*~*~
By Any Other Name
~Lines in the Sand ~
"Sorry, guys, but I'm telling the truth," Kurabara took one hand out of his
pocket to reach for his cigarettes, saluting Hiei and Kurama when they both
took a step away from what they already knew would be an overpowering scent
when he shook one loose. "Takeharuka-sama is a real hardass, but he's
felt completely human to me every time I've been anywhere near him. There
are a few youkai in the complex, but they try to keep a low
profile. No fights, no nothing," he blew out a long drag and shrugged.
"We saw him ourselves," Kurama shook his head, putting a restraining hand on
Hiei's shoulder when he saw the way his friend was eyeing the hand holding the
cigarette. "Whoever was in that car wanted us to see that he was a youkai
and that he knew we were too."
"You're sure he was showing off?" Kurabara leaned back against the smooth metal
of his building, pushing his sunglasses up to a better rest on his nose before
he glanced up the perfectly flat, reflective windows to the blue sky.
"That's not his style... Why do you think he's got guys like me employed?"
"Hired muscle?" Hiei looked away, curling his lip in disgust and searching the
faces and minds of the humans around him almost as badly as Kurama, albeit for
a different reason. "Good to know you managed to find a job where
thinking wasn't listed as a requirement."
"Say what you want, Hiei, but I'm paid enough to take that kind of
trash-talking and smile about it," he grinned widely to prove that statement,
stroking one hand down the front of his tailored suit. "Takeharuka's the
top of the chain in a lot of circles, and he takes his business pretty damn
seriously. He doesn't associate much outside what he has to do though."
Does it bother you as much as it bothers me to see him speaking so... so...
eEloquently?' Youko
finished for Hiei, finally offering up a mental smirk at how unsettled the
shorter demon was at seeing the changes in Kurabara up close. Considering
how often he tried to avoid his sister's romantic interest to stop himself from
giving him a potentially fatal injury and upset her, he tried to keep his
distance. Yet, this new turn of events had them seeking him out,
and Youko was reveling in the change in discomforts.
I tell them you're trying to have a baby with a human girl, and you can't
find an appropriate one, Hiei shot him a warning look, eyes narrowed and
flashing furiously before he turned his attention back to the girls moving in
and out of the downtown financial district.
eWe will eventually kill him, right?' Youko was almost whining,
shifting restlessly against the edges of Kurama's mind when he resisted their
instinct to kick him for that reminder.
No, we won't, now knock it off and listen, Kurama reached up and rubbed
his aching head for a moment before hiding that telling motion under the guise
of sliding his hand back through his hair to push it over his shoulder. You
were the one whining about information, and Kurabara's our potential inside to
this Takeharuka person.
eRight, right,' Youko
obediently refocused on the other human they associated with regularly.
Yuusuke sighed, massaging the back of his neck with one hand as he glanced
around to be sure they were alone, "I'm more concerned about the other thing."
"What other thing?" Kurabara cocked his head, a frown creasing his brow at the
serious note in his voice. "Something I need to get time off for?"
"Not sure yet," Yuusuke shook his head negatively, stuffing his hands down in
his pockets. "The other day, when you had the kids for us, Hiei thinks
that he ran into a girl he couldn't feel. Like a ghost with a pulse or
something."
"That doesn't make any sense," he took a deep drag off his cigarette, holding
it up to stare at the glowing tip as though it held the answers they
wanted. "If it's alive, shouldn't the creepy eye thing have been able to
see it?"
With his back to them, Hiei felt safe enough to roll his eyes, Creepy eye
thing?
So you can't take the thug out of his blood all the way, Kurama shrugged that off. "Hiei
doesn't make mistakes like that," he pointed out to Kurabara, waiting for the
nod of agreement before he continued. "He didn't sense her and the
ecreepy eye thing' can't see her for some reason, but he's certain she was a
living human."
"This is bad news, isn't it?" he rubbed his chin, shoulders hunching forward a
bit as he tried to think of anything that could help them. "Doesn't
Koenma have anything to say about this?"
"Haven't asked yet," Yuusuke brushed that off. "We wanted to get your
take on this Takeharuka guy first before we started digging for anything that
involved Rekai. For all we know, he's just keeping quiet about this for
gods know what reason, and the second we do ask, it'll get our asses
shipped out on a bullshit mission."
"Makes sense," Kurabara grinned around the cigarette, straightening away from
the wall and starting to pace absently back and forth. "There's a couple
of pretty boys that give me chills, but they stay out of the way for the most
part. It's practically impossible to get any closer to Takeharuka than he
wants you to be, and that's why I'm on payroll. Nothing in, nothing out;
not without his express permission."
"Sounds like a real congenial bastard," Yuusuke snorted in disgust at the
politics of big business, and the way some of these corporate heads treated it
as thought they were the emperors of their own country. "What about away
from him? Anything feel wrong?"
Kurabara shook his head, "I can tell you that there hasn't been so much as a
rumor of anything remotely illegal that's linked to his name or his
businesses. I've overheard some complaints about spies who keep the more
major underlings in line, but that doesn't look like something any other
company of that size wouldn't do."
Youko latched onto that, leaning them forward eagerly and speaking from Kurama,
"Like investigators?"
Hiei snapped around and stared at Kurama when he sensed the shift, but he let
it slide in favor of waiting for the answer, You're thinking that kid we saw
is one of his? The one on skates who had photographs of the weakling
youkai in the square?
eExactly.'
"Plenty, but only a few
that he trusts for the really important jobs," Kurabara stubbed out the spent
cigarette and flicked it out into the street. "One of them is his nephew,
I think... or some type of family, has to be. He gets away with more than
anyone, and he's not afraid of Takeharuka like the others are."
Clever fox, Hiei turned more of his attention back to the conversation,
his own curiosity tweaked at hearing the potential lead.
eYou're acting like you've forgotten who you're talking to,' Youko
scoffed at that idea. eThis is my area of expertise, after all.'
Stop gloating and start talking, Kurama
rolled his eyes and nudged him hard to get him out of his preening stage.
Just because he has an investigator employed and rumored to be family,
doesn't mean it's the same kid we've seen in the neighborhood.
eMaybe not, but it's something to start from,' Youko refused to let that
skepticism get him down. "Red hair? Blond streaks? This long
and spiked out?" he gestured to his chin and prodded Kurabara for more details,
eyes flashing gold as his mind really got going.
"Goes by Takashima, we think," Yuusuke added when Kurabara dropped his chin
thoughtfully to his chest and made a vague sound.
"Wish I could tell you that too, but he never goes past security if he does
show up here," he sighed and gave them an apologetic look. "Takeharuka
keeps quiet about family except for the one niece who works as his
assistant. No press, no pictures. He has a thing about privacy, or
paranoia about their safety because of his lifestyle. Not to mention the
investigators aren't supposed to make what they do obvious."
Smart man... they're more effective when his men don't know what they're
watching for, Hiei grudgingly admired the strategy, even as he cursed the
foresight that made their inquiries more difficult.
Indeed. Remind me to compliment him later, Kurama took over when
Youko muttered in irritation and flopped back into his usual place in their
consciousness. "No rumors from the people they've investigated?" he
frowned in confusion at that uncommon feat.
"Not a peep, but then again, going against Takeharuka would be like committing
suicide," Kurabara sighed and looked at his watch. "He's influential
enough and rich enough that he destroys anyone who starts to spread unsavory
rumors, but he does have a real soft spot for kids. Probably because
they're too little to realize he's someone they'll eventually be afraid of."
"And you're certain he's felt human to you every time?" Hiei demanded again.
"Positive," he turned to head back inside, calling back over his
shoulder. "I'll keep my eye out for anything associated with our other
job, and I'll call you, but I have to get back to work."
Yuusuke nodded and lifted a hand in a motionless wave, "At any rate, if you see
Takeharuka today, tell him my boys say hello. Might give you a
conversation opening."
"You got it," Kurabara pressed his hand to the panel beside the handle-less
door, waiting for it to clear him and open. "Let me know what Koenma says
about the ghost girl thing, hn? If you want I can ask Kaze if there's a
spook in here who can help."
Kurama was instantly frowning, suddenly not so sure they had been asking the
right questions about just what he did within the massive corporation, "Spook?"
"Yeah, professionals," he tapped a finger to his head and grinned again.
"Spiritualists and monks with enough power that I get more than a tingle.
Maybe someone in here has hit the ghost thing too, since they mostly all live
around this location."
Yuusuke could feel his eyebrow twitch while Kurama folded his arms with a sigh,
and Hiei muttered a few less than favorable remarks under his breath, "You
didn't think it was worth mentioning that your coworkers have abnormally high
spiritual energy?"
"They don't use it the normal way," Kurabara snorted, waving at one of his
fellow guards as he passed the open doorway. "Besides, Koenma's not
worried about it unless they start screwing around with the barrier or the
humans in here."
"See what they can add," Kurama instructed in a crisp voice, setting his jaw
against the urge to throttle him as well. "Any information you can give
us will be helpful."
"I'll call you as soon as I hear anything," Kurabara nodded and gave them a
mock salute before he disappeared behind the windowless door with a heavy click
of the locks sliding into place.
"I'm going to kill him," Hiei spat out, turning to stalk away from the
building. "There's something going on in that place, but either Koenma
told him not to tell us, or he's too stupid to figure out he's in the middle of
something important."
"My money's on the first one," Yuusuke scowled up at the sky, making a mental
note to have a nice long talk with their boss about the little things that were
popping up lately. "He's talked to Koenma, that's obvious, but what the
hell could that pompous ass be trying to hide from us?"
eSomething the "youkai" shouldn't be a part of. Since Yuusuke's got it
in him too, and he didn't know-' Youko growled out, trying to impress an
urge to do something that would let off a little steam. eWoods.'
For the last time, no, Kurama
let his exasperation fill his voice. We have more important things to
do than roll around in the woods, and I'm not giving Hiei anything else to
start laughing about.
You actually should go suck up some energy out there before you let your energy
get low, Hiei
interrupted with a chiding frown. You don't seem the type to give up a
tail for the ki-boost if you're running low.
eI am not giving up my tails,' Youko
insisted in one of the most offended tones Kurama had heard him use yet. eAnd
my ki is just fine. I'm strong enough to stand for going a while without
feeding.'
We're fine, Hiei, Kurama
added when it looked like the hybrid was going to press the issue. I'm
not so stupid as to let myself be unhealthy for the sake of my pride.
eUnless it's a very special situation,' Youko couldn't resist offering.
Hiei turned his eyes upwards as though praying for patience, No one can ever
say that a kitsune doesn't have its priorities completely clear.
eThat's really saying something, isn't it?' Youko's voice was full of pride. eHow many other
youkai have such direction?'
That wasn't a compliment.
eSays you,' Youko
snorted. eYou're just jealous that I have such charisma while all you
have is dubious "little and cute" appeal from some weird girls until they get a
glimpse of the asshole that lives in your pointy little head.
"So what now?" Yuusuke folded his arms behind his head, oblivious to the
internal catfight between his friends. "Koenma's going to be out of range
for that celebration bullshit for another week or so, and we really don't have
anything to go on until Kurabara can get us more from his work."
Kurama sighed and tried to ignore the insults getting thrown back and forth in
his head, turning to glance around the street before he shrugged and offered,
"We could always get a late lunch at the restaurant Keiko showed you."
"The one with the chairs?" he made a face, suddenly frowning when he realized
that had been a little too vague. "The uncomfortable metal ones."
"Yes, the one with the chairs," Kurama lifted a hand to hide his amused smirk
at the way that shut both Youko and Hiei up to start mocking the poor man
together. "I'm rather fond of their udon."
Yuusuke sighed and resigned himself to another uncomfortable afternoon, "Let's
go then."
~*~*~*~
Kagome sat on her heels in front of the altar in Shinju's temple, Miroku's
shakujou held vertically in front of her with one hand low on the staff and the
other poised just beside the enchanted metal. Shinju had promised her
that he would keep Souta occupied at the house, rearranging the furniture and
belongings they had moved in over the weekend, to give her the privacy she
needed for her ritual.
A faint smile touched her lips as she recalled the awed look on his face when
she'd requested his help with the layers and layers of traditional kimonos,
shaking her head and looking up at the symbolic artifacts, "He's so much like
you, you know, Miroku-sama. Just as charming and just as perverted."
Her eyes lifted to focus on the staff again, shaking off her past thoughts
before they could distract her from the concentration she needed, They
wanted me to be happy where I went; Souta and Shinju worry... they want me to be
happy as well, but I can't do that without accepting what's you changed in me.
Kagome sighed heavily,
rising to her feet as she felt the curl of wind ripple through her carefully
styled hair before moving down to weave through her clothing and brush along
overheated skin, "You wanted me? You've got me, but I'm calling the shots
this time. We are not going to repeat the past."
Her soul warmed, feeling almost like it was pouring out of her body to pool at
her feet in long, slow waves before the crackle of pink and white lightning
flashed out around her in a wide circle. Her hand moved higher, bringing
two fingers to trace the razor edge of the gold topping the shakujou, watching
the energy skip from it to her skin and back.
She exhaled slowly, eyes glassy as everything shifted around her, patterns of
ki flowing like iridescent mist to her gaze while the sparks around her feet
slowly drew out an archaic pattern as old as time itself, "You want to feel
them around us? I'll let you feel them, but I am not a mindless thing to
be tainted."
Quiet laughter echoed in her head, swirling through her conscious with soft
crystalline pings as the pink light cast the main room of the temple into stark
relief despite the afternoon sun filtering through the shoji. She could
feel it pulling inside her, reaching out to search for the youki near itself to
bask in the inhuman power it promised, the strength and the heat that it craved
so very desperately.
"We have a partner who can control it already, stop trying to get ideas,"
Kagome whispered, her brow furrowed in a sharp frown at the way it pushed at
her restraints. "I don't care how many unfamiliar auras are running
around that we can sense," her voice split strangely, like her lips had to
catch up with the actual sound. "I made a promise, and I don't intend to
let the thought of instant gratification get us into a mess that gets us in
over our head."
Kagome splayed her fingers, opening her arms out wide as the energy balanced
the shakujou perfectly in front of her, jingling the rings in the unnatural
wind melodically, "We're reconnecting with the feel of this time, nothing
more." This is... not as easy as I hoped it would be. How could
the feel of everything change so very much? Even the air is twisted.
She let her head loll
back, tilting her head from side to side as her energy seeped down through the
floor, pulsing in brightly in time with her heartbeat when she released it to
sweep outwards just below the ground, There's no way that I can purify the
damage here... but maybe we can help to prevent any more? After we find out
where the regional lines have been drawn and find the lord...
She trailed off when her
vision swam under the overwhelming sensations she had denied for so very long,
stubbornly gritting her teeth and curling in slightly to keep herself under
control. A wrong move now would send the searching energy in an upward
flare, and there was no chance in hell that any of the youkai she was feeling
in a fifty mile radius wouldn't be drawn that that kind of burst like moths to
fire. Not to mention explaining to thousands of humans seeing something
they had stopped believing existed centuries ago, Focus, Kagome... just
another moment-
The underground spiral shifted, bringing a flush of color to her cheeks and a
liquid sheen to her eyes with the rise of heat and power, crackling in the air
around her and making the rings clang together with more speed.
Everything seemed disjointed to her starving senses, the sound of heaving
breathing reaching her ears as though being heard from someone else, like a
shell. It felt like a roller-coaster, like the bottom dropped out of her
stomach when it tilted, trying to lift up and lick along the senses of the more
powerful youki she could sense, but she forcefully yanked her hands back to her
heart, "NO!"
She could hear the shriek of rejection in her head, that sense of defiance that
she quashed with almost exhausting effort until its resolve buckled and
reluctantly obeyed her unspoken command to contract and return. Kagome
knew she was panting, her knees giving out to drop her hard onto the floor as
she fisted her hand against her chest in reflex to the swelling magic.
She gritted her teeth against the pain of the energy flowing back into her a
piece at a time. Every breath seemed torn from her burning lungs, keeping
her concentration centered through the familiar tricks and twists; the efforts
to gain control and call the powers to them like the old times...
This is not the Sengoku Jidai, Kagome pressed one palm hard to the
bamboo floor, closing her eyes as she felt the heat penetrate and warp the
wood. We're strangers here, and we will not behave in so careless a
fashion when we have only just opened our senses to feel the difference in the
youkai and the ki surrounding us.
Some of the reluctance
faded, bending to her will as the energy she'd released seeped back up into the
temple and began to reabsorb in long whips of crackling magic, I am the one
in control now.
The magic seemed to snap
violently, snaking back to its origin with a speed and force that arched her
back as far as bone and tendon would permit. Kagome let out a sharp cry
before she could get her vocal chords under control, the spasm rocking through
her from head to toe as each new feeling and sensation arrowed down her spine
and out through her blood. Her arm snapped around, bracing her weight up
behind her and letting her head fall back to take the strain off her neck when
the pain died back down into the more familiar pulse of heat.
Vague, grasping tendrils of that same white light seeped back up through the
floor, fanning out to retrace the symbol around her before wrapping back around
her body like a lover, pushing back into her skin with liquid ripples until the
last of it had finally faded away inside her.
The sound of the shakujou striking the ground jolted her out of her trance,
bringing her other hand around to catch her balance before she fell back
completely and pushing herself back up dizzily, That... was more intense than
I thought it would be. But if he's here...
Kagome let out a shuddering breath, rolling forward and letting the tension
melt from her spine until her forehead rested on the floor in front of her,
hands loosely curled on either side of her face. Her body was too
sensitive, pulsing uncomfortably heavy with the rapid pace of her heart as she
held herself carefully still rather than aggravate the condition trying to
move. There would be plenty of time to settle into all the sensations it
was echoing through her before Shinju and Souta returned, eyes drifting closed
in an almost trance while she reached out and rested her hand on Miroku's staff
for comfort through her disorientation.
Let's see if this will make me happy, Miroku-sama.
~*~*~*~
Takashima slowly let the hand holding the camera lower, grinding his teeth
together in frustration at the urge to go to Kagome's side. She looked
like a princess, with the colorful layers of kimonos draped out around her with
more grace than the most skilled professional could have accomplished in a
controlled setting. He could see the faint glow to her eyes, the vivid
blue that she always displayed after letting her power out like that.
When her body was exhausted, her mind would drift to places in her memories
behind those openly expressive eyes to occupy her while she dealt with such
excess, raw feeling.
It was a fight not to go to her side and lift her head into his lap, fingers
itching to stroke through that silky hair while he talked her back from that
place she went to alone time and time again, Stay out of sight... that fucking
bastard thinks that's the best way to handle it? She's more vulnerable
when she thinks she's alone!
His hand clenched on his
camera, accidentally snapping off another shot even as the prints formed out of
his magic, and served to remind him of just what he'd decided to do.
Takashima swallowed hard, pulling his jacket open to carefully set the camera
down into the side pocket and patting it when the bulge vanished
completely. One hand convulsively gripped the slim branches of the cherry
tree he was hiding in, looking through the open shoji to her prone form was an
absolutely tortured expression fighting the indecision in his eyes before he
swore and leapt over the fence separating the gardens from the outer yard that
would take him to the street.
His hand snapped up to tear a leaf from one of Shinju's trees as he stalked
past the temple wall, setting it on his head and letting his form melt to a
less recognizable, if not still overly attractive young man. It wouldn't
do for someone who could recognize his face to see him leaving the monk's home,
not with his new guests, and not with his intention to go straight to the
corporate building.
Maybe now he'll let us snatch her up, now that she just more or less
announced that she doesn't have it in mind to pretend it never happened, his
frown eased slightly as he crossed the street, feeling safe enough to flip
through the images he's stolen of Kagome during her "moment." There was
no way he could use the excuse that she wasn't trying to connect once he got a
good look at these, and even he seemed to be bothered by the lethargic
disconnection that she experienced after a spell. If I hurry, maybe I
can-
The thought was cut short when a man suddenly darted out of the alley in front
of his, knocking hard into his shoulder and making him jump back in
alarm. He felt the soles of his shoes slide across the concrete for a few
paces before the traction gripped and held him still, eyes wary and narrowed on
the human in case that hadn't been completely unintentional when they widened
and he straightened, "Urameshi?"
Yuusuke's attention went from the others he'd nearly careened into to the boy
who suddenly seemed to be looking around nervously for something close by,
"What the hell-? Do I know-? OI!" he yelled out, taking a useless
step forward when the boy turned and vanished into the foot traffic with
stunning ease. "Dammit, who was that?"
Kurama still had a hand on Hiei's shoulder, preventing the hybrid from all out
killing Yuusuke in public just for the hell of it for taunting him about being
the uncle to a bunch of little Kurabaras, "Save it, Hiei, now isn't the time or
the place for what a fight between the two of you looks like."
"I'm not going to fight him, I'm going to put his head through a wall," Hiei
returned calmly. "And then I may light him on fire for my own enjoyment."
Kurama rolled his eyes, but inwardly he was snickering just as badly as Youko, eYou
have to hand it to the little runt, he's fun to listen to when he's grumbling
at someone else.'
We can do that later in Makai, Hiei, really, Kurama shook his head as they caught up with Yuusuke,
suddenly frowning when he saw him crouched down in the middle of the
sidewalk. "Yuusuke?"
Hiei was more direct, slipping out from under the kitsune's hand and striding
up to snatch the little Polaroids he could see him glancing at out of his
grasp, "What's this?"
"Give that back!" Yuusuke shot up, making a grab for them and swearing blackly
when Hiei very casually dodged his attempts without ever taking his eyes off
the picture, brow furrowed in concentration.
"Where did you get these?" Hiei suddenly demanded, snapping a hand up to catch
the punch Yuusuke had just thrown and squeezing hard to get his attention
focused on his question.
"Ow! Fuck, Hiei, let go!" he hissed and pulled at his hand. "I ran
into some kid who was looking at them. Probably his girlfriend or
something, but I've never seen a costume like that."
Kurama's curiosity peaked, feeling Youko's ears perk up inside him and all out
encouraging as he moved around behind Hiei to look at the four pictures fanned
out like cards in his fingers, "Costume?"
"Yeah, like one of those princesses in an anime or a samurai movie," Yuusuke
rubbed his hand with a sour glare at the youkai frowning over the prints.
"See? I didn't think anyone wore shit like that anymore unless it was a celebration
or a temple or something."
eThat's not a costume,' Youko was grinning, excited and whistling in
appreciation at the obvious time and effort this woman had put into her
clothing.
How can you tell? Kurama's
brows drew down when Hiei nodded, still scowling at the images and continuously
looking back to the picture of her face through the delicate twists of the
shakujou.
eYou can just tell,' Youko shrugged, drawing his attention to a wider
shot where the ties and sashes were visible. eLook at the way its
tied, and the layers she used. Either that's a damn good photographer, or
she's used to dressing herself up like that more than just casually. Even
the way you can tell how relaxed she is in- hello, what's this?'
"Are these the only ones he dropped?" Hiei's eyes speared Yuusuke to the spot
before he could get annoyed with their silence and pipe up again, bringing that
picture of her sprawled out on the floor to the top of the little stack.
"Yeah," he stuffed his hands into his pockets and scowled. "He had more
though, like a handful, but I doubt he realized he dropped them."
"What else happened?" Kurama arched an eyebrow when Yuusuke turned his focus
back up the street, most likely the direction this ekid' had gone.
"He knew who I was," Yuusuke shook his head in confusion. "Said my name,
looked around, and took off like someone was pointing a gun at him. I
don't like this, you guys, there's too much that's suddenly happening around
here that can't be explained."
"This is her," Hiei murmured in the following lull.
eHer who?'
"Her?" Kurama's brows rose, wondering at the strange sense of anticipation that
went through him and fully aware that while Youko was responsible for some of
it, the rest was all himself.
"The eghost,'" Hiei snorted, finally passing the pictures back to Yuusuke.
"Sonofabitch," Yuusuke's eyes widened, twisting away from Kurama when Youko
took over their hands to try and take them for his own perusal. "You're
sure? It's the same girl?"
Hiei gave him a particularly dry look.
"Right, right," he rolled his eyes and took a closer look at the pictures that
showed her face clearly. "What do you think she's doing? Posing?"
I don't think she knew she was being photographed, Hiei put in his
opinion. The edge of the long shot is framed by shoji screens... they
were outside of wherever she was and waiting for her to turn the way they
wanted.
So your ghost girl has a stalker? Kurama
frowned sharply at Yuusuke's efforts to hoard the pictures, finally just
grabbing his wrist and taking them back.
"Was it the same investigator?" Hiei tried to get a feel from the area or off
the images, more than frustrated when that same nonexistent aura met his
senses.
Yuusuke shook his head again, glaring at them both for their strong-arm tactics
over the clue that he'd found without them, "It wasn't Takashima. He was
younger, natural hair, and dressed a lot more conservatively."
eMaybe another investigator?' Youko pondered distractedly, tracing a
finger over the image that looked as though she had fallen asleep on the floor,
her hand wrapped around the staff in front of her. eWhy don't you find
a girl who looks like that when she's sleeping? That's a face I could
definitely get used to waking up in the middle of the night and having some fun
with.'
Hiei's lips twitched at the
supremely irritated growl that suddenly filled Kurama's mind, glancing back to
watch the flash from green to gold and back as the two started in on each other
over their taste in women, It's too bad you won't eventually separate into
two bodies. You would make a good couple all on your own.
eKill him.'
Tempted.
"Now I need a beer," Yuusuke grumbled and turned around to check where they
were in relation to the restaurant. "This is giving me a fucking
headache."
eHe has no appreciation for the beauty of a complex puzzle,' Youko
turned up his nose, but still didn't argue as they followed him.
He also has a wife and two sons, Hiei needled just to hear them growl
again. And he's not even a kitsune.
Hiei, will you shut up? Kurama
turned a glare back down on him behind Yuusuke's back. I'm fully aware
of his family status.
Just thought I'd check, Hiei
smirked, slanting a look back the way he'd come one more time. You're
out of girls again, aren't you?
eYou wouldn't be so disrespectful if we weren't surrounded by all these
humans,' Youko made
their hands itch to wrap around his neck and snap it to be rid of that damn
insufferable little smile. eAnd we are never "out of girls," you
little prick, we're just moving on to new ones.'
Which ones? he prodded
smugly.
I wasn't aware I had to run my list of potential girlfriends past you, Kurama
set his jaw, feeling his eyebrow twitch.
And here I thought we were friends, Hiei almost lost control of his
mental laughter at the furious glare that earned him, folding his arms behind
his head and sauntering off after Yuusuke. Don't fall behind, fox.