Understanding

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Ink Burns

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fanfiction, produced according to the principles of transformative fair use as put forward in US copyright law, and abiding by the custom and practice of fan-produced work in Japan, where the source texts were created. No author is in any way affiliated with any of the creators of the source texts, nor with the companies who distribute their products, nor any other rights holder, and these stories were not authorized by either the creators or the producers. Ink Burns is a fan site and the material here is freely provided for the enjoyment of fellow fan-community members; there is no commercial infringement.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US license at the Ink Burns fanfiction archive (http://alltrees.org/archive/).

Published on 2005-01-07 15:03:41.

Attributions can be made by author's name and a link to the archive.

This ebook edition was published on May 16, 2012 by the Ink Burns fanfiction archive.

Understanding

Lucifer visits Rikkai. Drama, I-3

Renji, along with the rest of the team, was starting to get used to Mad Hatter's elusive, mocking presence among them. He supposed he should have known that would be the signal for a fresh turn into strangeness.

Today's strangeness started innocently enough with a voice none of them had heard before. "So this is where you've been, lately." A tall figure stepped out from under the shadow of the trees by the courts.

Hatter's face lit up even as she turned. "Indeed, my lord," she answered, stepping toward the man. The entire team stared as she sank to her knees at his feet.

"And are you enjoying yourself?" he asked one brow tilting up as he reached a hand down to pull Hatter back up.

"Immensely," she purred.

The man's eyes traveled over them all, ending at last with Seiichi. Renji tensed, suspecting who this must be, but Seiichi met the gaze coolly and only nodded.

"Lucifer, I presume," he said, quietly.

A crooked smile turned up the man's mouth, and he looked back down at Mad Hatter. "How calm. Have you finally found one you couldn't break, butterfly?"

"One hasn't been trying to break him," Hatter protested, looking up through her lashes. Genichirou, standing beside Renji, twitched, and Renji leaned against his shoulder for unobtrusive support and restraint.

"No, only my teammates," Seiichi put in, sharp and not particularly amused. "I hadn't realized it was an actual hobby."

"One seeks the truth and shows the truth," Hatter answered, voice suddenly harsh. Her head dipped almost to Lucifer's chest. "Few see it, even then."

This time, Renji noted, it was Niou's turn to pull Yagyuu back when he stepped toward Hatter.

"Belial," Seiichi and Lucifer murmured at the same time, in the same tone of mild exasperation.

Their eyes locked over Hatter's head for a long moment before Seiichi sighed. "So," was all he said, though.

Hatter cast a narrow look over her shoulder at Seiichi, but let the exchange go with a faint shrug. "Are you down here to visit her?" she asked Lucifer.

His eyes hooded. "Alexiel will be mine when she returns. For now, Setsuna and Sara belong to each other." His mouth tilted again. "Actually I was going to see what Michael is doing."

Mad Hatter threw back her head and laughed, eyes sparkling again. "Oh, can one watch?" she begged, hands clasped under her chin.

Personally, Renji would have been a bit alarmed by her grin, but Lucifer merely brushed his fingers through her wild hair. "If you like."

It was the first time they had seen Hatter's wings. The corner of Renji's mind that catalogued things observed that they were feathered, albeit black, not the bat-style wings that seemed traditional for demons in artwork. The rest of him was gaping at the sky along with his teammates.

Except for Seiichi. Who stood with a hand on his hip, the other raised to press between his eyes. "Hatter-san, you little idiot," their captain muttered.

Renji's brows rose. That was very much the tone Seiichi used about Akaya sometimes.

Interesting.

End