I shut my eyes as tightly as I could before opening them again. It didn't work. I'm still in Japan. It must have been at least ten minutes of me standing in my old room back at Genkai's place, hoping it was all a dream. Feeling completely defeated, I started to unpack. As I started putting my clothes in my drawers I thought about how I got back here.
There he was. Standing there. Wearing normal human clothes. Hiei. My heart broke all over again as I watched him standing there. I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. And it appeared he couldn't either.
"Uh," I heard Trevor say as he looked back and forth between us. "Do you know him?"
"No," I said, looking back at Trevor. "I'll see you next week okay?"
Straightening my shoulders and lifting my chin, I refused to look at Hiei as I walked past. He just stood there, his eyes following me as I walked by, but didn't follow me. It confused me, but I refused to spend another second thinking about him in any way, shape, or form. I thought I was able to do it, that is, until Hiei appeared in front of me as I reached to open my car door.
I refused to speak to him so I only stared. He stared back for a couple seconds before finally speaking. "You need to come back home."
"I am home," I said, trying to reach past him.
He adjusted so he blocked my handle. "You need to come back."
"I don't need to do anything. If I need to do something, it's to drive home." I successfully pushed Hiei aside to climb into my rather gross PT cruiser. As I put on my seat belt I couldn't help but think that Hiei had let me push him aside. That was irritating.
As I drove home I could feel Hiei following me through the trees. Fuck British Columbia and their forestry, making it easy for Hiei to move around. I did my best to put my focus on the road rather than looking for Hiei among the trees, which was surprisingly hard. What was he doing here? Why was he here in Canada? Why was he wearing normal clothes? Were the other guys here as well? What the hell is going on?
It took me fifteen minutes to get back home and I had questions going through my mind the whole time. When I pulled into the drive way I more questions popped into my head. What was this Toyota doing here? Was it the guys?
I forced myself to take a deep breath before I climbed out of the car. Trying to be as quiet as I could, I entered through the side door and went into my room. If that's what you want to call it anyways. It was really just a small office, right next to the door and laundry room. Needless to say, it can get pretty loud around here sometimes. Plus, the room is so small that only a single bed and a desk could fit in here. That being said, I was forced to keep my clothes in my luggage bags.
Just as I started to put my books on the desk, Claire screamed out for me from the kitchen. "AJ! We have guests, make some tea!"
Right, and the evil step-mother couldn't do that herself? "Coming," I called back while trying to sound sweet. I sighed as I pulled off my coat to hang it on the back of my chair.
"Hurry up!"
Balling my hands into fists, I closed my eyes and pictured myself punching Claire in the face. Ah, much better. I started to work my way to the kitchen while trying to remain calm. When I finally reached the kitchen, I couldn't help but freeze in the door way. Shit. The guys were here, all of them. There they were, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke, sitting at the kitchen table…
I remained frozen as Kurama stood up and walked over to me. When he was within reach, he held his hand out for handshake. "Hi, you must be Aly-Jay," he said with perfect English. "I'm Kurama. I'm part of the the Tokyo Ballet company."
Whaaa-?
"AJ!" Claire snapped, bringing me back to reality. "It's rude to stare."
I shook my head slightly before taking Kurama's hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Silence.
"The tea?" Claire said. While she tried to sound sweet, it was clear she was getting really impatient.
I went to go set up the tea kettle while Kurama went back to his seat. As I started to put water in the kettle there was a knock on the front door.
"That must be the other guest," Claire said as she got up to answer the door. I felt my whole body go tense as I heard the door open. "Hello? Oh hi, sorry, I didn't see you right away. Whoa, you must be at least the same height as AJ."
Yusuke snorted at the comment while I actually slapped the palm of my hand against my forehead. I looked over at table and noticed that Kuwabara looked really confused. Looks like someone doesn't know any English. I really can't believe Claire sometimes. As Claire came back to the kitchen with Hiei I tried my best not to look over at him. My chest went tight as Hiei took a seat. Oh god, I feel Hiei's presence. All of a sudden the kettle got really heavy so it slipped out of my hand and landed in the sink.
"Careful!" Claire snapped before turning back to the guys with a smile.
I muttered an apology before pouring some of the water out and going to turn it on. As I waited for the water to boil, I went to go take a seat at the table. I looked over at all the guys—besides Hiei of course—in silence. Awkward…
"So," Claire started. "You guys are from the Tokyo Ballet or something?"
"Yes," Kurama said. "We've seen some of Aly-Jay's performances while she was in Japan. She's an amazing dancer and we'd be honoured to have her join our company."
What are they getting at? I did my best to keep a straight face as I looked over at Kurama. I stayed quiet since I wasn't sure of what to say.
"Well isn't that nice of them, AJ?" Claire said with a fake smile. "Right, AJ?"
"Sure," I said as I got up. The water began to boil so I went to make the tea.
"Here, I'll help you." Claire got up as well. Say what? Help me? As I grabbed the tea pot Claire when to grab some tea bags. When we met at the island she leaned into me. "You should really take the offer." I looked over at Claire in shock. "I mean, think about it. You haven't danced in years; you're kind of out of shape. If anything, this is your only chance of getting into a dance school."
There we go, now she's back to normal. I only stared at her before taking the tea pot over to the table. Claire brought the milk and sugar and motioned me to go get the tea cups. "I've asked the other guys if they wanted tea, but I'm not sure of your answer," Claire said as she took a seat. "Would you like some tea, uh?"
I turned to Claire to let her know that Hiei doesn't know any English. But I was seriously surprised.
"It's Hiei," he said in English almost as good as Kurama's. "And yes, I would take some tea."
"Make sure you grab him a cup, AJ."
I couldn't help it any longer. I looked over at Hiei. Oh god, he was wearing a black wife beater and jeans, and he looked good in it. I couldn't help it; I imagined a different scenario of Hiei coming back. Of him pressing me against my car, leaning into me. All of a sudden Hiei looked over at me in shock. I frowned at him in confused before I realized his reaction. He was using telepathy! That jerk-face! While I continued to frown at him, I imagined a brick wall to block him off. Of course, I pictured that right after I imagined a rather large middle finger.
"Aly-Jay!" Claire snapped. "The cups?"
"Sorry," I muttered before getting up to grab them. I could see the guys through the corner of my eyes. All of their expressions screamed "awkward."
"Uh, would you like some help?" Yusuke asked in Japanese.
I replied in Japanese without even thinking about it. "No, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."
"AJ," Claire said while trying to sound sweet. "It's rude to speak Chinese when not all of us understand."
"It's Japanese," I said as I placed some cups on the table.
"Either way, it's rude."
I forced myself to take a deep breath before placing the other cups on the table. "So," I started, "The Tokyo Ballet Company or something?"
"That's correct," Kurama said.
"I'll go."
Tea didn't last much longer after that. Knowing that I agreed to go, Claire couldn't get me out fast enough. When I got up to grab my bags Kurama offered to help and no matter how often I tried, Kurama wouldn't take no for an answer. I tried to hide my embarrassment as he entered my room. I also tried to ignore Kurama's raised eyebrow when he watched my go to my luggage and refold clothes.
It took a total of ten minutes for me to finish and have all my bags in their rented car. Since the airport was an hour away, I decided to call my dad on the road. He works so much so I was a little surprised that he answered. While he did ask if I was okay with this sudden decision about a hundred times, he seemed to agree that this was the best choice for me. It was a choice that would be good for my health, both mentally and physically. I agreed.
We were almost at the airport when something caught my eye. "Wait, pull into there." I pointed to the Tim Horton's. How very Canadian of me… They seemed confused as they pulled into the parking lot. It didn't help that I practically climbed over Kuwabara to get out. I just went in and out so I could grab a tin of coffee. As a Canadian, I have to love this stuff, and I do. I'm not sure when I'll be back, and in case I don't, I'm going to need to enjoy a nice cup of Canadian coffee.
"Is that coffee?" Kuwabara asked.
I tucked it under my arm. "Yeah, what's it to yah?" I playfully stuck my tongue out at him which made everyone laugh.
Well, almost everyone.
A knock on the door brought me back to the present.
"Yes?" I called out, turning so I faced the door.
"There's some food on the table," Kurama said. "I figured you might be hungry after our travels."
I looked down at my stomach as it let out a loud growl. "I'll be down in a minute, thank you."
After I finished putting away the shirt I had in my hands I started to make my way downstairs. When I got to the bottom I could hear the guys talking from the kitchen.
It was Kuwabara's voice I heard first. "What do you mean I can't have any?"
"Did you see how skinny she is?" Yusuke. "It makes her look really unhealthy so we need to fatten her up a bit."
Great… I took a deep breath before heading into the kitchen. As I started to enter Yusuke and Kuwabara started to head out. Wanting to see how they'd react I asked, "Aren't you guys going to have anything to eat?"
"Nah," Yusuke said as he waved me off. "We've already eaten."
Before Kuwabara could say anything, Yusuke started to push him out the door. I watched them leave before turning back to the kitchen. Kurama was still there and had placed a plate on the island along with some chopsticks. He smiled at me softly which made me want to slap him... Annnnd now I feel guilty. While I know Kurama is trying to be nice and everything, I couldn't help but feel like they were all pitying me. I don't like it.
I took a seat where Kurama placed the plate as I thanked him. After taking a look at all the food on the table I started to slowly fill my plate. It all smelled so good and it took all my will power not to start shoving my face.
"Excuse me," Kurama said as he headed to the door, "I need to give my mother a call."
Since I had food in my mouth as he left, I only nodded at him. I took a couple more bites before looking back at the doorway. Hoping the coast was clear, I threw my will power out the window and started to eat at much as I could. By the time I was done almost everything was gone and in my stomach. Although, I probably should have taken my time. I made sure all the dishes were washed and that the left overs were in the fridge.
When I finally left the kitchen, I noticed that all the guys were in the living room watching TV. Had they been there the whole time? I took a seat on the couch's arm, next to Kuwabara. I looked down at him before saying, "There's some left overs in the fridge if you're still hungry."
His face lightened up as if Christmas came early. "Really?"
I nodded and felt the side of my lips curve up in a half smile. After I watched Kuwabara rush off to the kitchen I risked taking a look at Hiei at the window seat. He was watching me so I quickly looked away and at the TV. The longer I stared at the show the more uneasy I began to feel. My stomach began to ache so I rubbed it while I winced.
"Are you okay?" Kurama asked.
"Yeah, I just-" I didn't get a chance to finish. I quickly covered my mouth and ran upstairs to the nearest bathroom. Thankfully my speed was still "normal" so I made it with time to pull my hair up before I became sick. I've made a horrible mistake by eating too much and too fast.
As I began to wash my mouth, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Are you okay?" Kurama asked.
"Yeah, sorry," I called back softly. "I just ate too much. I guess my body isn't used to it."
"You sure?"
I splashed some cold water on my face. "Yes."
I heard Kurama head back downstairs. Wanting to make sure my stomach had settled, I stayed in the bathroom a little longer by brushing my teeth and using some mouthwash. When I was sure I wasn't going to be sick again I headed back downstairs. I had barely made it into the living room when Kurama handed me a glass filled with a carbonated drink.
"It's ginger ale," he said. "It should help with your stomach."
"Thanks," I said as I grabbed it. "Some things never seem to change, huh, Kurama."
He just smiled at me softly. I took a seat next to Yusuke as I began to sip my drink. It wasn't long before I began to feel restless and awkward from the lack of conversation.
"So," I started as I put my glass aside. "What has everyone been up to? How's Yukina? Genkai?" As soon as I said Genkai's name all the guys seemed to avoid eye contact. "What? What is it?"
"I have to... go... somewhere," Yusuke said as he got up to leave.
"Did I do something?" I asked after he left.
"No, of course not," Kurama said out of comfort. "But I guess now would be a good time to tell you why we've brought you back."
"I agree," I said, giving Kurama all of my attention. "So what's going on?"
"Well, a few things have happened while you were away."
"I'm not surprised. I've been gone for two years. But stop beating around the bush," I said with impatience. "What's happened?"
Kurama looked away for a second. "Genkai has passed away."
It took a couple seconds for the news to sink in. "Genkai passed away? How?"
"It was just her time. She was much older than she seems."
I looked down at my hands. I couldn't believe it. It always felt like Genkai would live forever. "I'm sorry I wasn't here... when it happened."
Kurama waved me off gently. "I'm sure she would have preferred you to not be around. She wasn't really much for crowds."
"True..."
"There's more." Kurama said so I motioned for him to go on. "Genkai left a will and she's left you and Yukina her land."
What? Did I hear that right? "...What?"
"Well, technically she left it to all of us, but she was very clear in making sure that you and Yukina keep an eye on the place. To make sure that we don't make a total mess." He smiled at me softly.
"Um," I said. "Okay?"
"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. It shouldn't be too much pressure or anything."
"I hope not." I tried to make it sound like I was joking but I don't think I was very convincing. There was an unsettling feeling in my stomach and I needed to do something else to get rid of it. I got up and started to head to the stairs. "I'm going to go finish unpacking."
Through the corner of my eye I saw that the window seat was empty. When I double checked, I saw that Hiei was gone. Where did he go, and when? I pushed the thought aside and made my way to my room. I took a quick look around and felt like something was different, but I wasn't sure what it was. It probably took me way longer than it should have but when I turned to place my kobo next to my bed I saw it. It was my pointe shoes and they were lying on my pillow. I didn't take them to Canada with me so I didn't unpack them, and I'm pretty sure they weren't there before. Who put them there? Then I got an idea.
I rubbed my stomach, hoping it would help me tell if I was up for dancing. It felt fine, and I was feeling a little restless. Could I even still dance? I guess there's only one way to find out. I searched through my bottom drawer to see if my ballet attire was still in there. Since I didn't take everything with me back to Canada I'd hoped it would be; and it was.
After I got dressed I made my way to my usual place to dance. I bumped into Yusuke on my way and stopped to talk to him. "I'm sorry," I said to him after I gently grabbed his arm. "I know you were close to Genkai."
"It's okay," he said, avoiding eye contact. "Shit happens."
We stood there awkwardly for a couple seconds. I couldn't just leave with that being said so I tried something else. "So, what have you been up to?"
"Nothing really. I opened that ramen shop that I was talking about."
"Really?" I was surprised. "That's amazing, good for you."
"Thanks. I usually work evenings though, when people get off work."
"Sounds like good business."
"It can be. Keiko comes to see me every now and then."
"So you and Keiko are still together?"
"Yeah..." he said, suddenly going sheepish. "I kind of made her a promise when we were kids."
I raised an eyebrow at that and grinned. "Oh? What kind of promise."
Yusuke smiled and scratched the back of his head. "That I'd marry her."
I actually clapped and laughed softly. "That's really sweet. And you plan on keeping that promise."
"Yeah," he started to go red. "I mean, I do... well, uh."
"Ah," I said raising my hand to make a 'stop' motion. "I get it. You don't need to say another word."
Both of us laughed softly before we went our separate ways. Whoa, Yusuke really has grown up over the past two years... I opened the door to my usual place to dance and sighed softly. Nothing seems to have changed.
Because I haven't had a good stretch since I've left I took the extra time to warm up my legs. Plus, my shoes had stiffened up from the lack of use so I needed to break them in again. When I finally put on my shoes I did a couple more exercises to make sure my shoes were broken in and that my ankles were warmed up.
Unfortunately, when I stood up I got a better view of myself in the mirror. I knew I lost too much weight while I was gone but I actually looked sick and I didn't like it. When I raised my arms up I could see my ribs poking through my leotard. I quickly lowered my arms again and looked over at my iPod. I knew the perfect dance that fit my mood, hopefully I remember it.
I put on the music of my Dying Swan variation and let my body follow the music. I closed my eyes and just let my body do what it needed to do. By the time I was done I had to lay on my back and take a deep breath. While I had considered this place my home, I didn't feel the same anymore. My body felt like it was getting ready to run off again.
No. I can't run off again. They made the effort of bringing me back and I can't throw their work away so quickly. I had to stay, I had to work on my powers. I've obviously been dealing with some personal issues so running away probably wouldn't be the best thing. But space sounds good... Having some personal moments would be a good idea.
After taking a deep breath I sat back up to take off my pointe shoes. Not ready to head back to the house, I started to make sure that my shoes were broken in completely. As I sat there, cross legged, my mind began to wonder. Unfortunately, the longer I began to daydream, the less focus I became on my pointe shoes. Back the fuck off. I'm done with you!
I continued to bend the arches of my shoes, but as I did so I heard a ripping sound. Surprised, I looked down at my shoes and noticed that I had bent it too far, causing the insole to rip off. I gasped in surprise as I stared at the two pieces. I've had these pointe shoes for years and now they're… gone. What am I going to do? Pointe shoes cost a hundred dollars and I don't have that kind of money… Well fuck.
Something caught my eye as I reached for the other shoe. Frightened, I quickly turned to see Hiei standing in the door way. How long as he been standing there? Was he reading my mind?! Just in case, I tried to block him from my mind.
Doing my best to ignore him, I gathered all my stuff and headed for the door. As I tried to squeeze past him, he grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop. When I realized I couldn't pull away, I glared at him.
"What?" I snapped. "Have something you need to say?" Hiei continued to stare at me for a couple seconds before letting go and looking away. "That's what I thought."
I adjusted all the stuff in my arms before heading back to the house. After changing and putting everything away, I looked around my room. My window had been repaired, my lamb replaced. I closed my eyes and imagined my kidnapping. Feeling scared and angry, I looked over at the leg of my bed that I had tried to grab, my bedside table, the window.
You don't have control because you were too weak to fight him.
Confused over reality and my dreams, I looked down at my wrists, and more specifically, my bracelets. I don't want to be weak anymore. Grabbing a cardigan, I headed into clearing where I had spent my summer two years ago. Unfortunately, I bumped into Kurama when I got down the stairs.
"Oh good," Kurama said. "There's something else that I needed to tell you. Here, take a seat."
I followed Kurama to the couch. "It's going to be serious isn't it?"
"I guess you could say that." Kurama paused for a second. It seemed like he was trying to gather his words. "There's another reason why we had to bring you back."
"Oh...kay." There wasn't anything else I felt like I could say. It felt like it wasn't going to be good news.
"You've received an invitation while you were gone." An invitation? That's what he's making me feel worried about? "From demon world." Oh... that can't be good.
"What kind of invitation are we talking about here?"
"You remember what the Demon World Tournament is, right?"
"Yeah," I said with a little nod. "It's what Yusuke organized, to find a ruler for Demon World. You have to fight for it, right?"
"I guess you could say that." Kurama paused again. "Well... You've been invited to the tournament."
Why did he seem so serious about this? "Okay. I've gotten an invitation, that doesn't mean I have to actually go, does it?"
Kurama scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh. "Not exactly. This kind of invitation is different. This is something that you can't really turn down."
"Like the Dark Tournament?" I asked. The guys have told me many stories about their "invitation" to that.
"Something like that." Kurama looked around the room for a second.
I narrowed my eyes at him before saying, "You're not telling me something. I can tell."
He smiled at me softly. "I sometimes forget that you're a demon and can sense that kind of thing." Is that how I could tell? "But you're right. There is something else. It was Mukuro that invited you."
I felt my whole body freeze, and I really hoped my face did to. I didn't want my expression to reveal my true feelings. It took me a few seconds before I could say anything. "Mukuro is one of the original three rulers of Demon World, right?"
Kurama gave me a soft look. It almost looked like he was disappointed in me. "You know you don't have to hide anything from me."
My heart actually broke a little. He's right, I shouldn't hide anything from him. Kurama has been nothing but kind to me and I haven't really treated him with the same kind of respect. I got ready to let everything out but the moment I opened my mouth I realized I couldn't do it. If Hiei could be heartless with... whatever we had, so could I. There was obviously nothing from him, so why should there be anything from me.
Suddenly angry, I stood up and headed to the door. "I know. I'm not hiding anything. Now, I was going to head for the walk so I'll... just go do that now."
Kurama stood up as well. "Wait, there's something else." What, is she fucking pregnant? I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath. I'm not taking this very well. "Mukuro left you a physical message. Here." Kurama pulled out a glowing orb of some kind.
I forced myself to reach out and take it. This was a message? "What is it?"
"It's a Spirit of Words. All you need to do is smash it against a wall of some kind, close to the ground. It will show a shadow version of the person giving the message. I can only assume this one will show a shadow of Mukuro."
"Alright," I said as I looked down. It took a lot of will power not to grab it too hard and break it right here. I put it in a pocket and headed out the door. Anger was running through my veins as I made my way to the clearing. Every time I heard or thought of Mukuro I couldn't help but imagine ways of killing her. Wait... was this anger or just jealously...
I made sure I wasn't being followed since I didn't want an audience. The closer I got to the clearing the more anxious I became. I wasn't sure this was going to be a great idea, but it had to be done. I can't be running away for ever. It's time to face my demons… Literally. I had to fight for this.
When I had finally gotten to the middle, I took a deep breath and looked down at my wrists. It's now or never, AJ. It's better sooner, rather than later. Oh god, just do it. I took another deep breath before finally reaching both hands across to the opposite wrists. I touched the inside of both bracelets and watched them fall to the ground.
