Natural Habitat

Hiei tightened his grip on the sword knowing better than to let it slip from his hand now in the midst of battle lest he be shred apart and utterly devoured by his enemies. The blood, sweat, and flesh-soaked blade in the koorime's hand waited silently at its master's side, hungrily anticipating the next attack upon some other fool. Hopefully the next one to be cut down would actually be worthy of a death by the blade, unlike so many others that were swept aside like pieces of useless scrap paper.

Lo and behold, in the next moment the leader of the band of thieves stepped out of the masses into the path of Hiei's sword meeting it with his own loyal blade. The two fought one-on-one as Hiei had intended from the beginning. He had long since grown tired of mindless killing. If the leader had revealed himself sooner instead of hiding behind his weak little army, this could have been over. Hiei would have what he came for in the end, so why prolong the inevitable?

Both warriors threw well-aimed blows at each other sending white sparks flying through the air. If this battle to the death were not so intense with the two demons flaring their auras and successfully causing some bloody injuries to one another, it would appear as nothing more than a small firework show. Then, one fatal mistake…

The leader of the thieves sank to his knees, Hiei pulling his sword back to him now covered in the blood of a worthy opponent. This demon would not live much longer. Hiei had to ask now.

"Where is it?" he hissed.

"I no longer have it," the leader admitted, accepting his defeat.

"Liar!" Hiei spat. His longing for this man's blood was almost greater than his desire to find his lost treasure.

"I do not lie," the leader said calmly, looking into the blazing pools of blood that were Hiei's eyes. "It was stolen from me shortly after I obtained it. I do not know the name or face of the man who took it as he covered himself completely with wrappings and seals, but I know he was far more powerful than anyone that I have ever encountered in my long years of living."

Hiei did not speak, but he did continue to glare at the man. Katsuone was his name, Hiei remembered. This demon was feared for his brutality and large number of followers, and yet after over three hundred years of living up to his name, here he was at the mercy of a much younger demon. Katsuone's soul was just as black as Hiei's but he would not tell a lie that was so pointless. If what the leader said was true, Hiei had no more interest in him. He turned to leave to search out the next part of this never-ending trail, but Katsuone spoke.

"You are powerless against him," the leader said quietly. "You will never see it again."

In an instant Katsuone was dead, a pile of dismembered body parts. Those smart enough had already fled the scene, leaving the less fortunate demons to be wiped away effortlessly, some just by the flare of the angry fire demon's aura alone.

"Feh, the cowards," Hiei muttered, staring after them. He adressed the now deceased Katsuone, "You lost your power when you put your faith in such lowly followers. How disappointing."

The wind carried the stench of blood over the battle grounds and tore at Hiei's already tattered and abused brown cloak. At first he inhaled deeply, embracing the scent as he decided on his next move. He had no enemies to fear at the moment. To most, it would be suicidal to attack an angry demon of his caliber.

His thoughtless gaze then fell to the corpse of the bandit leader who was cut in half at the waist, missing all four limbs, yet his head still remained attached to his shoulders. Beheading his primary opponents was not Hiei's style. In fact he found it rather insulting to separate a warrior from his head. Wrinkling his nose in disgust he then used his foot to flip the edge of Katsuone's cloak so that it covered the leader's face which stared up into nothingness.

I will get it back! Hiei thought furiously over and over again.

For now though, he would sleep. The sun was setting and the battle had given him wounds that would need to heal. If he wanted to begin his search tomorrow, it would be most efficient to regain energy. He did not have to go far before he found a suitable tree in the nearby forest, drifting off high in the safety of the large boughs.