InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Shikon no Hiruiseki ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
I honestly don't quite remember exactly which of the 3 kings is in the west (Raizen is central) so I'll be using my best guess.

Shikon no Hiruiseki
Chapter 12

He wasn't sure on how he got under a tree with ridiculous flowers on his head and a small human girl smiling in his face. Although he would never had admitted it out loud, he had a weakness for children. Kurama had called him on him once and had some theory that it was because of his lack of a childhood, but it sounded like psycho-crap to him. It didn't change the fact that he couldn't raise his hands to a child.

He also had no desire to anger the demon lord that had taken her as his charge. He had only met the demon lord once before after the tournament. Sesshomaru's lands had fallen under Yomi's territory. Kurama had introduced them. At the time, Kurama had seemed interested in the demon lord (he did like pretty things), but Seshomaru had seemed more interested in Hiei, himself. Well, it made sense if he had met him in this period. At least he had had the wits not to mention it. Not like he could do anything about it now.

"Mr. Hiei looks very handsome with flowers in his hair, doesn't he? Do you like my crown, Mr. Hiei?" Even though he just glared at the girl, she seemed to take his silence as some kind of affirmative. She also had the gall to sit next to him, but at least she was finally quiet.

"Well, she sure seems to like you, probably 'cause your so short." Hiei didn't even bother looking at the half-breed. It was his koorime heritage, and there was nothing he could do about it. Why would he show interest in what the half breed was saying?

"Inuyasha..." The priestess once again sticking up for him. He didn't understand her interest in him. Maybe it was the Shikon?

"Priestess, this Sesshomaru has heard of a rumor of a group of demon bandits with unusual powers near his most western borders. This Sesshomaru has more important matters and will leave it with your pack to deal with." Finally, information worth having. Helping the priestess collect the shards would put them in a single place when he would be able to hide them from her senses.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru."

After a small but polite exit the group headed out toward the west. Hiei stayed by the kit and Kagome, as he really had nothing better to do and they were the least annoying of the bunch. The mutt had been clear in his dislike of Hiei, but the two humans from this time period were staring him down. He would like nothing than to whisk the priestess away and finish this quest post-haste, but he could not break the time stream.

So he was stuck walking at this nauseatingly slow pace. It had been days of small pitiful fights. He had managed to snag a mid-quality sword from a demon they had slain. It was longer and lighter than he had preferred, but it would do the job. He found himself vaguely unwilling to use his power of fire, not with the Shikon so interested and the mutt so jumpy. It would be difficult to hide just how much more powerful than the mutt he was.

And the Shikon was another matter. He could still feel it buzzing at the edge of his sight every time he turned his head. He had thought that this disquieting feeling would dissipate, but it was a constant white noise in his vision. Even though the priestess was being discrete, it was easy to tell she was aware of the Shikon's unwavering interest too. The volume it put off was in flux. It seemed to Hiei that the cursed thing was speaking, but no one could make out the words.

Speaking of the Shikon, Hiei had already sensed a small group of shards to the west. He had been monitoring there movement since the morning. One shard had already broken off and was heading for the group. The priestess had yet to mention it. At first, he had assumed she was waiting to raise the alarm until it was note worthy, but it seemed that she had simply not felt the shards yet. It was disconcerning that his senses were so much sharper when there was no clear reason why he could sense them at all. The best theory he had was that it was because he was outside the time stream.

"Wait," finally the priestess could sense the closest shard which was close enough to be there within the hour, "I feel a shard."

"Yes, these weaklings have been boring me."

"Inuyasha, we do not know the strength of our opponent. It would not be wise to underestimate the holder of the shard."

As the mutt began to argue with the slayer and monk, Hiei used the time to evaluate what he could about the opponent, which was irritatingly not much. The demon's power was slippery like water, and as he loathe to admit it, the power of the shard itself was overwhelming his sense of the demon. Damn the stupid tama.

"It's here." The priestess looked into the trees. Hiei could make out a figure within the trees. It was coming in slowly with it's arms spread out to indicate harmlessness, but Hiei was not fooled.

"Ohayo minna-san." The demon's voice was light and lilting. "I've been waiting for you guys. My name is Shinai, but the locals call me the Sage of Time Lake."

The demon was small and delicate. He had pale blue eyes that seemed a little to large. His face was elven and sharp and his hair was long and almost as light blue as his eyes. He was wearing the basic garbs of a priest, but in a royal blue. He seemed to have no weapons and had a happy little smile on his pink lips.

As the mutt pulled out his sword, the priestess stepped forward to greet the demon. Hiei's hair stood up on his neck. Even though he could sense nothing but the burning shard in demons forehead, his jagan was trilling a horrible warning.