DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN IY or YYH

Good Man

Chapter 12

Days passed and slowly Hiei regained a full range of movement in his shoulder and leg again. Both injuries still ached; but he could shove the pain down and compartmentalize it.

It wasn't the first time that he had to do so.

As it was, he accepted his sister's invitation to stay; after all, as much as he hated to admit it, the Detective had made a solid point that Hiei was in no condition to return to the Makai.

Plus, this gave Hiei an opportunity to study the interaction between his sister and the Miko.

It also seemed, to give the Miko a chance to study him….

Which she was doing right then…

He cast a glance around as he moved through his forms, forcing his body to stretch the sore and aching muscles of his injured limbs.

He could sense eyes on him and he could feel the girl's energy as she had come up the temple stairs; yet, as she had crested the stairs, her energy had condensed and nearly disappeared.

Yet the sensation of being watched had continued.

An annoyed growl rumbled in his throat; was she playing with him? Did she honestly think that he hadn't sensed her?

He had to concentrate more then he cared to; but he did find her, the Miko's energy hadn't disappeared, it had simply diminished…. Clearly this woman was used to hiding.

Not for long though….

.

Kagome had sensed the familiar aggressive energy of Yukina's brother as she moved up the stairs; fear had soured her stomach and nearly made her turn and run.

However, pride and pure stubbornness had kept her feet moving up the stairs rather than back down.

Yukina had told her that her brother would be staying; so really, it shouldn't have been a surprise.

Yukina had also said that Hiei had agreed to a tentative peace for the moment; which Kagome didn't believe in the slightest.

Souta had wounded him; his pride wouldn't allow for such an insult to go unpunished. It was only a matter of time before he tried again; this time though, she knew he wouldn't be caught unprepared.

Kagome knew better, this 'peace' between them was merely a chance for him to heal and study them without risk of being purified.

Kagome knew this; yet she had agreed to come to the temple to train with Yukina anyway.

Seriously, how did she survive her time in the Feudal Era? Only someone as ridiculously idiotic as her would go up to a temple where a hostile and extremely aggressive daiyoukai was living.

Clearly she had hit her head one to many times in the last few years.

That was the only explanation for her apparent rampant stupidity.

Yet… up she went.

As she crested the stairs, her attention was instantly drawn by the black clad figure in the center of the temple courtyard.

He was fast, she had to give him that; faster than she had seen in anyone other than, perhaps, Sesshomaru.

It wasn't the first time she had to deal with super-fast demons, she reminded herself. Most of the creatures she had faced during her travels were far faster than her.

How many times had she gone to run only to have said creature suddenly appear directly in front of her?

Too damn many to count.

So what was one more?

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of sun glinting off steel; before she could move or even flinch, there was a solid THUNK against the tree she was leaning against.

The long silvery length of a katana wobbled next to her face; beyond it, was the smug and barely-leashed violence of ruby eyes.

Vermilion clashed with sapphire as the two opposing forces glared at each other; both searching the others for something and finding it lacking.

Kagome didn't move as he stalked towards her; it took all over her control to keep her heart beating at a steady rate.

She couldn't, wouldn't, show this bastard fear; she had faced far worse monsters in her life then him.

"Do not play games with me, Priestess," He growled, casually pulling his blade from where it had imbedded in the tree, "You won't like the results."

"Who's playing?" she retorted, "I'm here to visit your sister…you're the one throwing swords around."

"Try to approach me undetected again," he stated coldly, "Next time I won't miss…."

Before she could come up with a clever retort, the short bastard was gone. Kagome glowered in the direction she could feel the little shit's energy disappearing.

He thought she was trying to sneak up on him? How dumb did he really think she was?

Wait, no, scratch that…. She was human…if he was anything like the other daiyoukai she had met in the past… then yea, he probably believed she was too stupid to live.

Brushing off the encounter, Kagome headed across the courtyard and into the temple.

"Knock, knock," she called, as she glanced around, "Yukina?"

"In here, Kagome!" Yukina's voice called from the kitchen; surprise, surprise.

"Good morning!" the chipper ice maiden called, "Have you eaten yet?"

"A little," Kagome replied as she made her way into the room to sit down, "But if you've cooked, you know I'll eat."

"Wonderful!" she replied, piling a plate high with food. Kagome smirked; it was obvious that the korime had yet to get out of the habit of cooking for a large group of people. Or maybe she was just use to cooking for demons with ravenous appetites?

"Hmm…." She muttered, her pale eyes glancing outside.

"He's headed up the mountain," Kagome stated, surprising her friend, "I think my presence offended him."

"Oh…he left without breakfast…." Yukina stated sadly as she turned around with another plate; her eyes widened as she looked at Kagome, "Kags, what happened to your face?!"

"Huh?" she replied, intelligently, "What do you mean?"

"You honestly don't feel that?" Yukina demanded, reaching over to gently touch her cheek. Immediately there was a sharp sting at her touch.

"Ow…" Kagome grumbled, reaching up to feel the area herself, surprised to find a long thin scratch along her cheekbone, "Well...now I do..."

Apparently Hiei hadn't missed completely with his little flying sword act. Jackass.

"Hmmm," Kagome muttered, more to herself then to her friend, "Clearly we need to work on shorty's 'hello'….."

"Hiei did that?!" the korime snarled, eyes suddenly glowing; the cup in her hand suddenly shattering into a gazillion frozen pieces of ceramic and coffee.

"Easy there, killer," Kagome laughed, taking the now useless handle from her friends grasp, "It seems your brother thought I was sneaking up on him…he made a point of letting me know that he knew I was there…."

Slowly the furious glow faded from her friend's eyes, "Still," she muttered darkly, "He promised…"

Kagome stood and got the broom from the corner and started sweeping up the frozen mess on the floor, thankful that it had yet to thaw.

"I'm alive and reasonably unhurt," Kagome stated with a shrug as she swept everything into a dust pan and threw it away, "I didn't even realize he drew blood until I got in here…. So no harm no foul."

"You are being very generous," Genkai's gravelly voice said from the door.

Again Kagome shrugged, "Had he wanted to kill me, he could have," she said, "The fact he didn't means that he's holding to his word. Dealing with demons is always an iffy business…. I've learned to take what I get."

"Still," Yukina protested again, her lips pressed in a hard thin line, "He promised to behave; threatening you isn't 'behaving'."

Kagome sighed and looked at her friend; it wasn't the first time that she realized that Yukina simply did NOT think like a demon. Perhaps it was because – as demons went- korime were a passive species? Maybe it was because she was female? In Kagome's experience male demons tended to be far more aggressive than females….. Maybe it was the lack of testosterone?

"Yukina, he's a demon," she said, "With the exception of you and a few others, ever demon I have ever encountered was violent. It's in their nature. Even InuYasha, who I love dearly, threatened to…and even attempted to kill me on several occasions. Demons are cold, vicious and ruthless…. That's just what they are…. It's like expecting a shark to be something other than a shark. They are built to be the ultimate predators…. Everything about them is created to kill and destroy. How you turned out to be such a sweetheart I have no idea. Sure, there are demons out there that have some compassion – but they are few and far between. Until you earn a demons respect; they have no use for you. So, honestly, if all your brother does is threaten, I'll be a happy camper."

"You think he'll do more?" Yukina asked; her eyes resigned.

"I think that we injured his pride," she replied, "And that is unforgivable to most demons. The fact that he even considered a truce is a testament of how much he cares for you… so perhaps that will give me enough time to earn his respect. If Yusuke was able to earn his respect; then given enough time, so should I." Then, just to get a grin out of her friend; she added with a wink, "Besides, I'm cuter then Urameshi, so it shouldn't take nearly as long…."

Just as she had hoped, the remark startled a laugh out of her friend.

"Conceited much?" the korime teased; Kagome grinned, shrugging on false bravo like a coat.

"Oh come on," she laughed, giving her hair a playful fluff, "I'm allowed a few conceited moments….. Especially if it's true…."

In reality, Kagome was well aware that she was not anything special. With the exception of Hojo, the only males who had ever expressed interest in her had wanted her due to her ability to sense jewel shards – not because she was any particular treasure.

Combined with the fact that she had been competing for her crushes affections against a dead woman….. And constantly compared to said dead woman…. It was a small wonder she had some self-esteem issues.

No matter how fake her confidence had been; the ruse had worked and her friend's smile once again lite the room.

.

It was well into the evening before Kagome felt the fire demons signature approach. Tracking him though, was like attempting to track a fire-fly; one moment she could sense him, then he seemed to disappear only to reappear at a different point.

She grinned at the thought as she knelt to gather tomatoes from the temple's garden.

How oddly appropriate…. She though chuckling at her own twisted cleverness, He was always flitting about like a fire-fly…

She knew if he ever heard her call him that; her death would be slow and torturous. Still, it was hard to be frightened of someone she likened to a 'fire-fly'…

She forced herself not to react as he landed silently on the temple roof; she could easily see his silhouette reflected in the koi pond beside her.

The quarter moon that provided her enough light to gather a few vegetables for sinner; cast the demon in shadowy contrasts. Just as that night in the alley so many months ago; the shadows seemed to cling to him. His eyes glowed a familiar demonic red in the darkness.

He crouched above her like a gargoyle; her shoulders itched from his intense gaze.

Was he being deliberately obvious? Or did he really believe that she couldn't sense him? She scowled at the reflection in the pool.

Fool probably did believe she was clue-less to his presence.

Hiei watched at the priestess moved slowly through the shadowed garden that Kurama and Yukina and painstakingly worked on every spring.

She moved quietly; her steps barely making a sound on the tiny white pebbles that lined the garden paths.

She didn't seem to notice his presence as she knelt to add some of the red fruits to her basket; almost as an afterthought, she sat on the edge of the pond, her fingers lazily trailing in the water's surface. From his vantage point, he could clearly see the flashes of white, red and orange as the koi danced around the ripples her fingers made.

He sneered; pathetic…how powerful could the girl possibly be if she couldn't sense his presence? If he wanted, he could kill her now and save himself future headaches….

His hand tightened along the hilt of his katana, the temptation to eliminate the meager threat she posed riding him hard.

Closing his eyes, he forced his hand away from his blade; as much as he wanted to kill the girl…. He had given his sister his word. Ordinarily he would have no qualms breaking his word; but he refused to become a liar in his sister's eyes. His twin asked him for so little; he couldn't bear to disappoint her in something so…trivial.

He glanced back down at the human woman, surprised to see her looking directly up at him. A smirk curled her lips as a single eyebrow arched upward; annoyed at being discovered, he glowered at the priestess.

Unperturbed, the woman's smirk grew as she blew a mocking kiss towards him before deliberately turning away and disappearing back into the temple.

A low rumble vibrated his throat at her blatant challenge. The harsh sound of wood splintering broke him from his red haze; glancing down, he realized his claws had sunk into the worn wood of the temples roof.

He took a deep calming breath, forcing his temper back down; he could sense Yusuke and Kurama coming up the temple stairs….it wouldn't do for those two to see him in such a state.

Already Yusuke watched him with a strange glint in his eyes; the Mazoku was plotting something, of that he was sure.

He leapt from the roof to the branches of his favorite tree; wrapping his disinterest and boredom around him like a cloak.

She wanted to challenge him did she? Fine.

The priestess and he would have their contest of wills; but not tonight, and not with an audience.

The smirk that curled his lips was cold and vicious as he thought of the possibilities.

.

By the time that Yusuke and Kurama crested the stairs, the smile had vanished and they were greeted by Hiei's typical cool distain.

However Kurama had known Hiei far to long to miss the strange glint in his friends hard gaze whenever his eyes settled on the priestess. The fox smirked; Hiei was planning something, and whatever it was... he would be there to bare witness to it.

A/N: I once again apologize for taking so long to update. The last month has been fairly hectic, and now the Reading Program has begun at my work, so I won't have the time I normally would to write. Also, it doesn't help that my mild obsession for the game Dragon Age 2 has been getting in the way. What can I say, I love dark broody characters with tragic tortured pasts...and if any of you have ever played DA2 you know a certain white haired elf fits that bill perfectly. So sadly my muse has been off playing with elves and dwarves, dragons, mages and Templars. I know... I know... like I need any more distractions. I can't help it though; I'm a slave to my muse...and apparently she has ADD... so yea... If I ever get more then a few random scenes written I may post some of the DA2 fics. Would anyone even be interested in reading those? It doesn't seem like that fanfiction genre has a very large reader pool. Oh well... I'm off to do...who knows what. As always, please remember to REVIEW!