Chapter One: Inimical Partners

The short black-haired demon glowered at the tall red-haired spirit. Kurama sniffed the air delicately – the prisons weren’t known for their cleanliness and obviously the guards hadn’t dared do anything like haul Hiei into a shower before bringing him out. Hiei’s lips lifted in a silent snarl as he noticed Kurama’s action. Kurama blinked at the hostile reaction – he’d just been curious. The week before, when he’d been talking to Hiei, the demon hadn’t been in such rough shape. Cheerfully, Kurama remarked, "Well, the first place we’re going is a bath-house."

This time, Hiei’s snarl was audible.

Kurama grinned at him and then switched his gaze to the portal operator, "Ready?"

The demon nodded, "Yes, sir. Programmed to Koenma-sama’s direction."

"Humm…" Kurama wandered over and looked over the technician’s shoulder. "Redirect that about 7 degrees south-south-west… Yes. There."

The technician made the changes and Kurama stepped up on the platform. He raised an eyebrow at Hiei, who still stood silently where the guards had left him. Still not saying anything, the short demon walked over and stood on the furthest transfer point from Kurama. Kurama shook his head but didn’t remark on it – at least the demon was there. 

He nodded to the technician and the world refocused around them, two balls of power and energy, one blue, one red, circling and searching. Kurama found the spot he wanted to land and rematerialized in his human body. Idly, Kurama wondered if he should use one of these transfer modes to reshape into his Yoko form. Then he dismissed the thought – his mother wouldn’t know what had happened to her Shuichi and he wouldn’t do that to her. With another switch of thoughts, Kurama looked around for Hiei.

After a search, Kurama finally found him over at the small lake, wringing out his cloak and laying it on the rocks to dry. Hiei’s hair was still spikily up in a black point, but shining with water drops and the white star brilliant. Now completely clean, Kurama could even see blue highlights at the edges of the black hair, showing how dull it had been before.

Without looking at Kurama, the demon unsheathed his sword and started testing the angle and balance, muttering under his breath complaints about the quality.

Kurama shook his head – the demon didn’t waste any time. Kurama hadn’t even known it was possible to take a bath in less than a minute. But the demon was certainly clean now. I guess he didn’t like being dirty. Kurama grinned at the thought. Who could have guessed that the rough-and-tough fire demon, the terror of those who knew him, the scourge and bane of those who crossed him, a blur of death and destruction – who would have guessed he was so fastidious?

"Stop laughing."

Kurama looked down at Hiei, the grin still upon his lips, "Why?"

Red eyes glittered up at him as the demon growled. Then he looked down at the sword again and cursed.

Kurama grinned and reached into his personal space to find what he’d hidden there. "Here."

Hiei automatically caught the sheathed sword that Kurama causally tossed at him. The red gaze eyed the fox spirit suspiciously for a moment before pulling out the sword and inspecting it carefully. This time, there weren’t any complaints. Eventually, Hiei looked up, "Where’d you get it?"

"Stole it."

With a nod, the demon belted it around his waist, testing the balance and using the two belts to position it exactly right. Then he glowered at the sword on the ground and a burst of demon fire flowed from his hand to melt it into a puddle of metal. "Cheap bastard."

That remark had to have been directed at Koenma. Kurama laughed lightly as he looked out around the land. "The oni is out this way."

Hiei scooped up his cloak and shook it out with a snap. Then he let it settle back around himself. Silently, he accompanied Kurama.

Kurama kept sneaking glances at his short partner as they walked. Hiei wasn’t being very friendly. Nor was he acting like he had when they had stolen the treasures. Of course, then, Hiei had been the one in charge. And Kurama had been the sulky, reluctant one. Kurama figured it was Hiei’s right to be silent and bad-tempered if he wanted, but a little conversation would have been nice! He’d gone to so much trouble to talk Hiei into this…

They went through another grove of trees and saw a village in front of them. And the oni. 

"There he…"

That was as far as Kurama got before the oni dissolved into a hundred sliced body parts, blood gushing out in an explosive fountain. Then Hiei was standing next to Kurama again, sheathing his sword and putting his cloak back on.

"That’s over," Hiei grunted.

Kurama glared at him. The stupid demon wasn’t even ruffled! It didn’t look like he’d gotten a single drop of blood on him, and he was standing there calm, not breathing hard, looking like it had been a stroll in the woods.

"What?" Hiei glowered back, "I finished the damn job. You said we could kill it!"

"You’re too damn fast!" Kurama snapped. Then he sighed, "Fine, the next one—"

"Next one????? What next one? You said one mission! One! I can go back to the prison now – this one is DONE!" Hiei yelled, his hair fluffing out in waves around his head and nearly dividing into two points like horns, but it never quite settled there. His skin kept wavering colors from the pale-hued flesh of his normal form to the bright green of his jagan power.

Kurama grinned, not worried. None of the jagan eyes had appeared on Hiei’s skin yet, so he was just upset, not angry. "One mission," he replied calmly, "We’re still on it. I got the list of targets from Koenma before we left." He pulled it out of his pocket and studied the scroll carefully, "Several of them are here in China and the closest is just seventy miles that way," he pointed to their right. "We should be able to get there before nightfall."

Hiei opened and closed his mouth a few times, his skin still shifting colors. Then he snatched the paper out of Kurama’s hands and looked at it. Finally, he glowered up at Kurama, "There are over three hundred targets on this list." For his evident anger, his voice was remarkably calm. The eye of the storm.

Kurama grinned down at him, "Yeah. I figure it’ll take us about a month to finish up this batch and then we can go get another list. If Yusuke doesn’t have a mission for us by then, that is."

In the act of putting the scroll in his pocket, Hiei paused. Slowly, he looked up, "Yusuke?"

If he’s even half as intrigued as I am, it’s as good a lure on Hiei as it was on me when Koenma used it. Kurama feigned surprise, "Didn’t I mention that? When we’ve done a few jobs for Koenma, he’s going to partner us with Yusuke."

The red eyes turned remote and cold, "You."

"Huh?" That hadn’t been a reaction Kurama expected.

"Koenma was going to pair you up with him. Don’t even try and assume I was included in that."

Well… It was true, Koenma hadn’t said anything more about it after Kurama had brought Hiei in… But Kurama could talk him into it; he knew he could. After all, he’d talked Hiei into joining him, hadn’t he? Kurama was the best thief there was – and he always got what he wanted. 

"Hey!" Kurama started running, "Wait for me!" The fire demon was a barely seen blur in front of him.

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Kurama dropped to his knees, panting heavily. In between pants he glared at the black-clad demon calmly standing on the hill overlooking the ravine. The demon didn’t look even the least bit winded! Kurama was exhausted. They had run the entire way… And he was sure the short demon had been keeping the pace to exactly the fastest limit Kurama had. He’d thought several times of stopping and walking, but he didn’t put it past Hiei to have killed the rouge demon before Kurama could even get there.

Eventually, he got his breathing under control. Kurama stood up and gave a pointed look at the demon. Hiei turned around, his expression mildly innocent, "The demon is over by that cave. It looks like it had a good feed yesterday and was sleeping, but it’s rested now."

A good feed? Kurama stepped up to look. There were bones and skeletons tossed out neatly in a rubbish pile to one side of the cave. Human bones. The demon was sitting on a rock, sunning itself in the early afternoon light. It hadn’t bothered to take a human form and the lizard-like creature’s scales gleamed in the light. Its tail beat gently on the ground next to it.

Kurama turned back to look at Hiei. The demon was sitting on a tree branch and looking bored.

Kurama tapped his foot on the ground.

Hiei looked over, puzzled, "What?"

"The demon?"

"I got the last one."

True… Kurama glanced down in the ravine. It had been awhile since Kurama had really had a chance to play the way he liked to. And Hiei was just too fast. Kurama grinned. Okay – he’d show the little fire demon what a real hunt was like! And he would dance like he hadn’t for years.

As Kurama walked down in the ravine, Hiei watched. ‘Glided’ would be a more accurate term. The fox had taken the tasking to heart and his hair was fluffed out and if he had his fox ears, they would be perked up. As it was, Kurama’s youki wrapped into and around the plants in the area, masking his movements, camouflaging the stealthy approach.

Kurama stepped out in the rocks and waited for the demon to notice him.

So what was the point of the sneaking? Hiei shook his head.

The demon laughed. Kurama stood there calmly. The demon taunted him. Kurama replied with easy, piercing barbs. The demon flexed its claws and sharpness flew from his fingers at Kurama. Kurama leaned to one side and let them pass him by. The demon used both hands and angled the targeting. Kurama leaped up in the air and somersaulted over the mobile claws. The demon rushed to attack directly. Kurama dodged. The near-misses were numerous.

Hiei snorted in disgust. That fox. He’s limiting himself deliberately. He’s waiting for each of those until the last possible moment. All he’s done so far is bounce around – what’s the point in that? But Hiei continued to watch. He watched the smooth, graceful movements. The contained power. The flexibility and elegance. The economy of motion that still flourished dramatic precision. The grin on the delicate face and the bright green eyes. Is he ever going to attack?

The demon turned and paused before rushing in again. Doubt flickered over its features almost too quickly to be seen. Confidence replaced it and it rushed to attack again. This time, as Kurama stepped to one side, he struck out with the side of his open palm. There was a brief glow at his hand as he focused his rei in the instant. The blow surprised and staggered the demon, leaving an opening.

But instead of pursuing, Kurama stepped back out of the way and waited again.

Hiei raised an eyebrow.

The demon paused for a moment while it studied Kurama. Then, apparently deciding the blow had been by chance, it rushed again. Kurama dodged again. Once, twice, then another strike. This time, the look on the demon’s face was between astonishment and anger. And then it started again.

The dance had changed now. The demon tried to retreat. Kurama would not let it. Pinned in, contained, taunted. The supremely confident arrogant look on the demon’s face turned to tremulous fear. There was nowhere it could go. The fact of its defeat was in its eyes long before the end.

Hiei watched grimly as the demon went down under Kurama’s attack.

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Kurama came back laughing, green eyes sparkling. He found Hiei seated next to a crackling wood fire that was burning with slightly transparent green flames. Kurama raised an eyebrow as he settled down, "That was fun."

Hiei said nothing, staring into the depths of the flames.

Finding a plate near the fire, Kurama pulled the food to him. "Now, that was a proper fight!"

"Took too long," Hiei grunted, not turning his gaze.

Kurama paused in mid-bite, then shrugged and continued eating. In-between bites, he stated, "It’s all part of the dance. One must work up to it, set it up, watch for the proper reactions – and only when you’re absolutely ready, then… then is the moment for the kill."

"Still took too long."

Kurama wrinkled his nose, annoyed. Actually, he’d rushed the fight a bit. Because of nightfall coming up, and because Hiei had worn him out making him run the whole way here. The demon could show some amount of appreciation for a proper dance! The rest of his meal was eaten in sulky silence.

Kurama lazily stretched near the flames. The demon fire was more than simple flame and he enjoyed the feel of the rei licking between the boundaries of there and not there. Burning and not. Deadly and invisible, impossible and silent. Unless you could hear what was not there – the crackling of flames burning combustibles that were not physical. If you could hear that, then it was a fire like any other. A part of the demon world, contained in the human. Idly, Kurama wondered how Hiei had managed to tame it down to something resembling a campfire. But after all, Hiei was part fire-demon. That much was obvious to anybody who could read Hiei’s aura. Hiei didn’t use his fire power often, but it was as much a part of him as the jagan.

Hiei got up and started to blur away.

"Where are you going?" Kurama roused himself out of his abstractions. There was still another point he had to make to the demon. He’d been putting it off, but…

Hiei glanced at him, motionless, not shifting any further away. His face was near invisible in the night air, and attention focused instead on the sharp white star in his hair. "Tree."

"Huh?" Kurama sat up and crossed his legs.

"I’m going to be sleeping up there," Hiei pointed at one of the tall trees next to them.

"Umm…" Kurama’s gaze drifted up and up… "How high?"

Hiei shrugged, "To a good watch-station."

So – he wasn’t planning on cutting out. He was going to spend the night and the next day spend another day of target hunting with Kurama. But the demon didn’t look happy. Not that Kurama could read anything from the impassive face. But he knew… "Before you go," Kurama rustled around in his private space.

Hiei frowned in annoyance. What the hell was the stupid fox up to this time? And then he froze in complete shock as Kurama brought out a document. It wasn’t that the document looked terribly familiar. It was that Hiei could feel his youki on it. He could feel his soul. Hiei hissed in amazement and involuntarily took a step closer. With an effort that had sparks flying from his skin, he stopped himself and forced himself to look at Kurama and not the document.

The spirit fox was looking sadly but steadily at Hiei. He hadn’t really wanted to do this, but he knew there was no other way. Not if he wanted to accomplish the rest of his real tasking, his challenge to himself. Kurama held the document out, "Here – this is yours."

Hiei swayed forward another step and forced himself again to stop. Nervously, he licked his lips as he glanced from the roll of paper to the fox. "Did Koenma give it to you?"

Kurama barked a laugh, "Of course not!" His hand was tired from holding it still. Reaching out, he laid the paper down on a rock between them. Then he settled back to wait.

Hiei’s hand reached out to touch the paper and then he jerked back. His gaze focused on the emerald eyes of the fox and stayed there. "Why?"

Why indeed? Kurama held the red gaze steadily as he answered, "Because you should be free."

Lips curled back from gleaming fangs as Hiei snarled in a manner that would have done a cougar honor. He batted the paper into the fire and watched it burn.

So did Kurama. The flickering green flame became shades of purple and black as it ate at the substances within the document, burning the compact into nothingness. It was no more. When Kurama finally looked up, Hiei was gone. With a long weary sigh, Kurama rolled up next to the fire and tried to go to sleep. When he finally did, his dreams were of a silver fox running free in the woods.