Ashes III Chapter 7 : Lian & Rian - Thieving Inc. Hiei was asleep. Everyone looked really nervous about it - no one had any desire to end up toasted by his newly-found uncontrollable powers. Wards, improvisations of the ones he had worn to control the Kokuryuha when it last rode his arm, surrounded the tiny, curled-up form. He had tried to remain awake for as long as possible until exhaustion had finally claimed him. " Looks like the wards are holding," Yuusuke remarked conversationally. " They’d better - I’m sure the shrimp will turn me into crisp first." Kuwabara sighed and looked longingly towards the general direction of Yukina’s room. " How long do we have to stay awake?" " Just for tonight - if the warding holds, Hiei will be able to use them like he did the IJuTaiHou." Kurama shifted uncomfortably in his position against the wall. This was not how he had envisioned spending the weekend - luckily, Shiori had been rather distracted by her romantic interlude with her husband and did not question too closely his decision to stay over at a friend’s place for the night. Grumbling to himself, Kuwabara got up and began to pace back and forth until finally, Yuusuke lost his cool. " Do you mind just standing still? You’re driving me insane." The fire demon stirred restlessly, growling something unintelligible. Concerned, Kurama watched an unconscious frown appear on his face as his hands tightened into fists. The wards Genkai had put down suddenly flared with a bright, incandescent light. Even standing the farthest away from Hiei - Kuwabara felt the heat hit him like a solid wave of water. The fire demon’s cold, dark aura twisted wildly like a living thing, and then settled as the wards kicked in, holding Kokuryuha’s powers in check. The heat ebbed away slowly, almost grudgingly as if it had been somehow cheated by not given the chance to fry them all… " Well, at least they’re holding." Yuusuke got up and moved over to the windows where it was cooler. " Just a few more hours - then we wake Hiei and catch some sleep." He yawned loudly. " Long periods of boredom punctuated by the occasional excitement from the fire-starter. I wish something would happen, just to keep me awake." " Be careful of what you wish for…" Kurama warned him. Uninterrupted, Kuwabara snored loudly in a corner of the room. Still yawning, Yuusuke went over to prod him awake but never quite made across the room… When he dropped into a heap on the floor, Kurama considered going to help him but…yawn…could not muster the energy to do so. What was that song? It made him want to curl up into a tight ball and sleep…but he could not…Hiei…have to stay…awake… With a sigh, Kurama drifted off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kurama was mostly asleep, which meant he was still partly awake. The human part of him had succumbed to the magical lullaby like the others, but Youko Kurama was made of sterner stuff - besides the magic had no effect on him. If memory served, it was a favourite youko weapon for subduing other species of youkai. Cracking open one closed eye, he caught sight of two small figures dropping down from the roof. Well, this was interesting - from the perked fox ears and gentle curve of their tails, it appeared the ‘ningen’ females from the restaurant were apparently about as much human as Hiei was an ice demon. Letting his human body relax as not to scare away these two intruders, Kurama watched as they checked the others to make sure the spell had worked. They were so deeply asleep that Yuusuke did not even stir when the younger of the two poked him in the ribs. " Stop that!" the older female hissed sharply. " Go check on the red-head." She padded over to where Hiei lay asleep, surrounded by the runes. " This shouldn’t take long." Take long? Were they going to hurt his fire demon? The younger one knelt down in front of him and touched his shoulder hesitatingly. Assured by his lack of response, she grinned and patted him on the head. Kurama smiled inwardly - never underestimate a sleeping youko. " Too bad you’re human," she told him with a half-sigh. " You’re pretty cute." Turning to her sister, she said, " He’s asleep…arrkk!" Her sentence ended in on strangled note as Kurama’s arm snaked around her neck and a thorn dagger pressed against her throat. " Rian!" the other one shouted in alarm. " Dammit, you’re suppose to be unconscious," Rian gasped. " I am - in a way." Kurama pressed the dagger lightly against her skin. " Get away from Hiei or I’ll give this one a short lesson in botany." " Lian," the one he held choked out, " you’re my favourite sister. Do_as_he_says." The elder sister inched away from the unconscious fire demon, watching them with fearful eyes. " Alright, that’s a start. Now break the sleep spell." Lifting a wooden flute to her lips, Kurama caught a calculating gleam in those slanted, fox-like eyes. It was a look he knew well - he saw it in the mirror every time he shifted into his youko form. Tightening his arm around her sister, he gave her a cold smile. " I know quite a lot about youko tricks. If you even play a single note out of tune, Rian here dies." Lian’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Chapter 8 : Truth Can Be Stranger Than Fiction " Look, there’s a perfectly good explanation for this misunderstanding." " Sure." Yuusuke folded his arms across his chest. He was still slightly upset over how easily they had succumbed to the magical lullaby. " You’re not human, are you?" Rian asked, sullenly. Her question was directed to the tall, slender red-head who was watching them intently. She silently kicked herself for not realising earlier that those emerald orbs were too vivid, too vibrant to belong to that of a mere ningen. " I am human…mostly. What are you using to hide your youko selves? I didn’t recognise you at the restaurant and I’m usually pretty good at that sort of thing." " That’s for us to know and for you to find out," Rian told him rudely. On the other side of the room from where the youko intruders had been trussed up, Hiei was examining the items they had removed from the both of them. Two mirrors - the one with a clear, reflective surface was a looking glass like the one Nuryko had; the other one was surrounded by more complex magicks, its surface blurred and cloudy. An invisible cloak lay neatly folded to one side, its subtly blending colours shifting like a living thing. Next to it was a comb, a few colourful hair ribbons, a book with wards on its cover, a transparent globe containing some strange bluish liquid, several handkerchiefs, warding paper and an assorted variety of thieving accessories. " How did they ever fit all that into a small pouch?" Kuwabara wondered. " Do you want to tell us what you came here for?" Kurama asked them. The younger one, who had apparently taken a real dislike to him, stuck her tongue out. " Well, that was certainly really mature of you considering you’re the one tied up." " Rian, stop that! You’re embarrassing me." Turning to Yuusuke, she said, " We never intended you any harm." Well…not ‘technically’ a lie. " What do you want with Hiei? He’s the reason you came here, isn’t he?" Kurama asked craftily. That damned cross-breed youkai was too perceptive for his own good - he would never fall for anything less than the truth. Weighing her options, Lian decided it was probably better to come clean - they were all in danger, even if the fire demon’s idiotic companions did not realise it. " We came to…ahem…*borrow* Hiei." " What?" the subject of their discussion snarled at them. " Well, it all started a few months ago…" [ FLASHBACK ] Shurei was one of those people that most youkai avoided - she was quick, merciless and very good at her job as ‘chief enforcer’ for the powerful crime lord Hitoare. Some foolhardy male, whose advances had been rejected by her, later compared her to a sword - perfect, beautiful but as cold as steel. Shurei had slit his throat for it. " Hitoare sends his greetings," she told the two sisters as soon as they had stepped into the living room. Lian and Rian exchanged surreptitious glances. What the hell was Hitoare’s enforcer doing in their home? They had not offended him in any way, at least not knowingly. In fact, they had been in another part of the Makai for the past few months, planning and carrying out a heist that had turned out quite well. " Would you like…some tea?" " That would not be necessary." Turning to the branching hallway leading to their bedrooms, Lian called out hesitatingly, " Jian, are you at home?" " I’m afraid your brother is not here." Fear chilled her to her very bones. The colour drained rapidly from Rian’s face - Jian was her twin, the only male of their litter of four to survive. He was the one she loved most - her older sisters always lectured and nagged her about her inappropriate behaviour but he was the only one who accepted her unconditionally, flaws and all. " You bitch! What have you done to him?" If it was possible, Shurei’s eyes became colder. " Jian is, at this very moment, enjoying the hospitality of my lord Hitoare. I’d advise you to watch that mouth of yours, child." " What does Hitoare want with us?" " Rumour has it that you two are the best thieves in the Makai, excluding Kurama." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ " I can’t believe she said that!" Rian protested. " Everyone knows we’re *much* better than Kurama." " Would you be quiet? You’re spoiling the mood." She cleared her throat. " Now, let me continue…" [ FLASHBACK CONTINUES ] " Hitoare wishes to obtain something…or perhaps more precisely, someone." " I’m sure you have thugs who specialise in that sort of thing." " Brute force would not be wise in this particular case. My lord would prefer deceit and deception - it would keep the fatalities down." " I guess you’re not worried about *our* fatalities," Rian commented drolly. " What…who do you want us to steal?" Something flickered in Shurei’s eyes - doubt, hesitation?…then it was gone. She doesn’t like this, Lian realised with a sinking heart. Anything that could make a cold-blooded youkai like Shurei nervous was bad news. " Well, don’t keep us in suspense." Whenever Rian was frightened, she was obnoxious. Right now, she was *terrified* for her brother. " A dragon…Lord Hitoare wants you to steal the Kokuryuha." " Great Inari," Lian breathed. Chapter 9 : Reflection of the Soul " Let me get this straight - Hiei’s Kokuryuha?" Biting the corner of her lip, Lian struggled with the explanation. " It would be easier to understand if you looked into the Mirror of Truth." Picking up the object in question, Kurama stared into its cloudy heart as it gradually warmed in his grasp. He saw colours - green and gold, red and silver, swirling together in a mad concoction of chaos. Youko Kurama’s reflection winked back at him as Minamino Shuuichi’s laughing green eyes regarded him with some amusement. " What do you see?" Rian asked, curiosity warring with dislike. Despite her animosity towards the red-head, she was filled with interest about his mysterious past and how he came to inhabit a human body. " I see…myself." Tearing his eyes away from the disturbing duo images of both his lives, he asked them, " Where did you get this from?" " Ahh…we sort of *borrowed* it from a wizard." " Stole, you mean," Yuusuke added. " Let me have the mirror." Hiei reached out his hand for it. For a split second, Kurama hesitated before handing it over - the truth was not always pleasant. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The fire demon saw himself, standing in a circle of faded light with his katana drawn, guarded, wary and always ready to face some unseen enemy. A dozen or so strands of different colours were wrapped around his wrist, all leading into the shifting shadows outside the light. …his soul… A thick, elaborately woven strand that was the colour of new ice lead to his twin, Yukina while a faded, almost invisible one trailed off to the fuzzy image of his ice demon mother. Kurama was there too, his bond was of a different colour - a dark forest green, and was woven into a pattern that was so complex, it would have been impossible to recreate in reality. …Hn. That damned fox… Yuusuke’s and Kuwabara’s links were slender but strong, a functional brown colour. They were others - acquaintances, comrades and others whose lives had touched his ever so briefly. Behind his mirror image, a shadow detached itself from the formless mass outside the circle. Hiei’s fingers clenched spasmodically on the Mirror of Truth as he watched the shadow step into the circle to confront him and saw for the first time, the creature who had been haunting his dreams for so long… …The Kokuryuha… They regarded each other, warily. Crimson eyes meeting the dragon’s burning orbs. A thickening strand of black coiled around his wrist, joining him to the black dragon. Even as he stood there, he saw the strand pulsing with a life than eclipsed all the others, except maybe Kurama’s. With a suddenness that caught him off-guard, the shadow dragon lunged at him, twisting its black burning form around his body. He felt an alien surge of youki as the dragon’s flames flared with new life. Instead of curling around him like when he bore the dragon tattoo on his arm, the Kokuryuha’s fire begun melting into his flesh. Frantically, he began to tear at it, trying to rid himself of the spreading darkness… Just before it disappeared completely inside of him, he heard a voice - husky, filled with dark promises, whisper in his mind… " You should have let go…" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The mirror dropped out his nerveless fingers. Only Kurama’s fast reflexes stopped it from shattering against the hard floor. " Hiei?" the half-youko whispered huskily, not daring to ask what was wrong. " No…not this." " What?" " In that last battle with Nuryko, Hiei held on to the Kokuryuha even though he had lost control of it. Somehow, in the struggle to reinforce his will on the Kokuryuha, a line was crossed - the Kokuryuha did not go back to where it came from…it stayed, trapped inside of him," Lian explained. " Now, it’s doing to him what the ice dragon spirit did to Nuryko." Hiei remembered the pain tearing him apart, it had felt like someone had used him for a pincushion for a hundred red-hot needles. " But you lost the Kokuryuha…" Kuwabara said, not quite understanding. " No." The fire demon stared down at his bare arm. " No," he repeated, " it’s *here*, inside me." He clawed at his chest and then stopped, shuddering. " Inside, becoming a *part* of me." Wordlessly, Kurama embraced the shaking fire demon. Seeing the shocked expressions on his friends’ faces, he flushed slightly but did not release him - this was more important than hiding the true nature of their relationship. After awhile, Hiei pulled away from him, his face once again impassive. " If Hitoare intends to steal the Kokuryuha, he must know a way of removing it from me." He gave the sisters a hard look. " We’re just lackeys," Lian protested. " What do we know about that sort of stuff?" " We need to get that creature out of Hiei. If Hitoare knows then we’ll go *ask* him - for Hiei and Jian," Yuusuke decided. " What about the Kokuryuha?" Rian asked incredulously. " Surely you can mean to bring *him* along - what if he turns on us?" The half-youko glared at her, wishing he had forethought to gag the disagreeable youko before she had blurted out her unthinking question. " Don’t push your luck," he threatened. " Right now, I trust him more than the both of you, Kokuryuha or no Kokuryuha." " You would," she grumbled. " After all, the both of you are…" " Shut up, Rian!" her sister snapped. " Don’t dig *my* grave while you’re at it." Kurama turned to Yuusuke, gesturing to the two sisters. " What do you think we should do with them?" " We’re going after Hitoare. Are you with us?" Yuusuke directed his question to the elder sister, she seemed to be the more level-headed one. " Yes, of course." " Do I have your word you wouldn’t try anything?" " Honour among thieves." She shifted her gaze to Hiei. " We will help you steal back Jian and search for the cure for your friend." " Alright," Yuusuke murmured. He gave the half-youko an inquiring look - Rian had antagonised him the most. " Kurama, are you alright with this?" " Honour among thieves," he replied. " Yes, that’s fine." Rian blanched. Staring up into the half-youko’s green eyes, she glimpsed a flash of gold. " Kurama?" she choked. " As in Youko Kurama?" Smiling like cat with a mouthful of feathers and cream, Kurama leaned down. " Yes, and *I* am the better thief."