Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Perfect Competence

Hisoka the magician was bored. His usually menacingly glowing eyes were dull with boredom as he let out a long yawn that he didn't bother to cover with his hand. Water dripped from the soaked wet red hair as he swept his hair up as he stood still, enjoying the water sprouting onto his body from the shower.

It had been a while since he heard about Gon and Killua, and his tag with Chrollo was no luck as well. Truly his life was boring. There was nothing, absolutely nothing going on in his life besides his endless wait for his precious fruits to ripe until they were worthy killing, and unsuccessful attempts to locate the vanished leader.

How did he, of all people, end up in such situation? With just a towel around his waist, the magician stepped out of the bathroom and stepped closer to the huge window to enjoy the view outside. There must be some worthy entertainment out there somehow, right?

A deep chuckle erupted from deep down in his chest, and it soon turned into maniac laughter as he stood there naked and excited. It didn't matter if he was bored now. He was going to hunt down those unripen fruits waiting to be picked, and he won't stop until the very last fruit on this planet is crushed under his feet. What happened mere seconds after his moment of insanity was something Hisoka could never expect.

Higurashi Kagome had no time to think. She let one of her arrows fly as one of the low level demons approached her from behind, intending to rip her throat out and devour her flesh. It had been a while since she was engaged in such a large battle after Naraku's defeat.

The reign of peace seemed to last until just few months ago, another demon rose to power intending to cause massive destruction. And to be honest, Kagome was getting tired of facing the evil. Of course, it was her duty as a priestess to protect the village, but what she just didn't get was why did all these evil forces wanted destruction and to conquer the world? The power and the glory were mere illusions in the face of death. Why not just enjoy what was given to them and live a decent life?

Another demon lunged forward for her neck and Kagome effortlessly sliced the demon using her hand with her purification energy. From far, she could hear the loud battle cry of Inuyasha as he swung his gigantic sword, which effectively destroyed most of the demons that swarmed around them. Sango and Miroku stayed back at the village to kill any demons that managed to reach there. She fiercely looked up at the dark sky where the new Naraku was observing the battle with a smirk on his face.

"You coward! Come down and fight us yourself!"

"If you insist, priestess."

Jurou, as the new Naraku identified himself, suddenly appeared in front of her, and she instantly tried to move backwards but failed when Jurou grabbed her arm forcefully. His claws dug into her arm painfully, and she winced as blood started to seep through her white haori.

"Don't touch me!"

With an angry yell, Kagome let her power lose to purify the intimidating demon, but failed as he simply jumped away from her before her powers could do much damage. Kagome gritted her teeth in frustration. She heard Inuyasha call out her name, but she was too focused at the enemy in front of her. One slip, and Jurou wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

"I've been thinking about what I should do with you, priestess. Although you aren't exactly the most skilled fighter, your powers are still a nuisance to me."

"So what, you are going to kill me? I'll purify you to ashes before you even lay your finger on me, demon."

"You always lack creativity, priestess. Simply killing you won't do. I want more. I want to hear you scream, writhe in pain until you beg me to kill you. Ah, it's going to be so wonderful seeing you getting crushed under my feet like a simple bug."

"You bastard!"

Kagome notched an arrow and let it soar to the demon standing few feet away from her and smirked with satisfaction when the purification power surrounding the arrow caused Jurou's body to blast into pieces. Kagome moved fast towards the falling pieces of Jurou to finish him completely before his body regenerated. A rush of raw power from Tessaiga killed all the low level demons blocking her way to Jurou, and Kagome inwardly thanked Inuyasha for the support. In no time Kagome was in front of Jurou's damaged body, with her hands glowing dangerously.

"This is the end, Jurou!"

"Not so fast!"

Sudden gush of wind surrounded Kagome and Jurou, and Kagome gasped as she recognized the path to Meidou opening from the empty space of Jurou's body. Had he planned this all along? She didn't know, but she couldn't drag Inuyasha into Hell with her. No way. There was a wide smile plastered on Jurou's face, and Kagome knew then. If she didn't kill Jurou at this moment, Jurou would somehow come back from the Meidou and find a way to destroy what she and Inuyasha tried so hard to protect.

"Jurou! Face death!"

Pulling out a small dagger she hid inside her haori, she left her ki flow into the object before piercing Jurou's head with enough force to crack through his skull. There was a loud, painful scream before there was burst of energy that surrounded Kagome and Jurou, and before Kagome knew what was going on, darkness started to eat her as Meidou grew larger by each second. She watched as the pathway to Hell sucked up the remains of Jurou, and she knew her end was drawing near.

"Kagome! Damn it!"

Kagome thought she heard Inuyasha screaming her name, and she smiled in relief, knowing that Inuyasha was safe from the Meidou's reach.

'Farewell, Inuyasha.'

There was burst of energy along with bright light, and Hisoka silently wondered who could have snuck up on him suddenly. Even before that, how didn't he know someone with such great aura? Still standing naked with just a towel covering his private, Hisoka felt his blood boil from the unexpected entertainment. Whoever this Nen user was, his power was something worthy defeating, and in a split second Hisoka had his cards ready in his hands, prepared to engage in battle. However, what he saw after the light vanished left him confused.

"Where…what…who are you?"

A girl soaked in blood stood there with a dagger-pierced head in her hand, her brows furrowed in confusion. Then, without warning, she collapsed, leaving Hisoka clueless as ever. And that was how Higurashi Kagome and Hisoka met.

revised: 6/27