Shuichi Minamino was tired.

It had been nearly a week since his return from the Demon Realm—the second triennial Makai Tournament had proven to be just as intense as the first, and while he had sustained a loss during the finals, Hiei had emerged victorious.

It had been with fierce pride that Shuichi had witnessed his dear friend's coronation, knowing full well that he would make a fine king for the world of demons. In truth, Hiei's victory had come as a relief to the now twenty year old Shuichi—this year's tournament had attracted almost twice the amount of competitors as the first, and there had been quite a few apparitions among the ranks who would have sought to ruin the carefully balanced peace put into effect by the realm's previous king, Enki.

Hiei may have come off as brash, even cruel at times, but he was no fool—his very first decree as king had been to keep all of the prior laws in place, understanding just how truly beneficial they had proven to be over the course of the three years hence. He had assigned a new overseer to the taskforce whose duties were to monitor the boundaries between realms and return all wayward humans to safety—a job that had once been his own during Enki's rule. He had also named his lover, Mukuro, as his head advisor. Shuichi believed that she would do well at such a position, now that she had managed to cast off her previously vicious and power-hungry mentality. The once self-proclaimed rightful ruler of Demon World, despite her prior faults, was a smart match for the new king—they shared a unique bond, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that they were well suited to one another. Shuichi had no doubt that her influence on Hiei would prove to be a positive thing.

While Shuichi was easily accepting of his dismissal from the tournament, Yusuke hadn't been pleased upon his own defeat, although he too was happy with the overall end result. He admitted that, had he been the one to triumph, it would have been a rather troublesome endeavor. Shortly after his return to the Human Realm almost a year prior, he had finally asked Keiko to marry him—she had readily agreed to his proposal, of course, and had been most unhappy when her fiancée had informed her of his intentions to participate in further tournaments.

Upon the rendezvous of Team Urameshi's key members within the Demon Realm, Yusuke had revealed to Shuichi that they had gotten into a heated argument in the hours prior to his departure. It was no secret that Keiko wanted Yusuke to remain with her in the mortal realm and forsake his participation, but the Mazoku hadn't been willing to agree to such terms. He was living a fairly normal life now, working as a cook at the Yukimura's noodle shop—he had even gotten his own apartment, and spent nearly all of his free time in Keiko's company. To participate in the tournament once more had been something he was actively looking forward to, and he believed it to be unfair that Keiko would attempt to refuse him such a thing.

Privately, Shuichi believed that their relationship, despite its many years, was ultimately doomed to fail. Yusuke would never be willing to part with the desires of his demon side, and Keiko would never approve of said desires. He was of the mindset that Yusuke himself had also experienced such a revelation, but was either unwilling to accept the truth or loath to act upon it. There was no doubt that he loved Keiko, but he couldn't force himself into the bland lifestyle she was insisting upon. Time would be the deciding factor for that ordeal. Yusuke was who he had always been—a notoriously stubborn individual who saw fit to live his life as he pleased—eventually, he would accept that his childhood love was detrimental to that concept and cast her off. It was either that or conform, and Shuichi would wager all the wealth in Demon World that he would do no such thing.

Much to his delight, Kuwabara had joined their group as a contender for the tournament this time around—it was no secret that he had been rather unhappy to be left out of the previous one. He had certainly earned the title of the strongest human fighter in the mortal world, and truth be told, he had no desire to be king. He had only wished to participate in the tournament for the sake of metaphorically stretching his legs, and he had done well, making it all the way to the semi-finals before finally being beaten. He and Shuichi had grown rather close over the course of the past year, as they were both now attending the same university—despite their different academic years and class loads, they often met up in the campus library to study or complete homework. Much like Shuichi, Kazuma also held down a part-time job while attending school as a full-time student—it certainly kept both of them busy. Seeing as the majority of Yusuke's time was occupied by Keiko, he and Kuwabara's friendship was still present, but undeniably not as close as before—but they made due as best they could, and cherished the time they did get to have together.

Fortunately, the second Makai Tournament had fallen during the course of summer break, and Shuichi had been able to devise a clever school-related excuse pertaining to his absence for the two weeks he was away. His mother hadn't questioned him, only wished him well and asked that he check in on occasion. His step-father hadn't been overtly pleased, for it was his café where Shuichi was employed, and thus he had to get creative with the schedule to have his shifts covered for the duration of his non-attendance—luckily, he hadn't complained much. Kokoda, his younger step-brother, had been sour towards him for leaving—they had made plans to attend a concert, and the event just so happened to coincide with Shuichi's trip, so they had been unable to go. He had promised to make it up to the teenager upon his return, but Kokoda had still been rankled at the cancellation. Fortunately, he had come around and had been happy to have Shuichi return home, hugging him tightly upon his arrival to the Minamino-Hatanaka house.

As it were, the fall semester of university was set to begin in just a week's time, and Shuichi felt as if he were ill prepared. He was enrolled for a full-time course load, but had realized that one of the classes he had signed up for had been deleted without explanation from his schedule, so he was on his way over to Chishiki No Eda to get the issue sorted out. Despite having healed satisfactorily from the wounds sustained during his bouts at the tournament, he was still rather sore, his limbs tender and back throbbing—it was potent enough that it had been cutting into his sleep, so he was fairly exhausted as he made his way down to the rail depo of Kaiden City, intent on catching the orange line into the nearby hub of Osaka. Most days, Shuichi would have opted to ride his bike over to campus—it wasn't a long journey, perhaps twenty minutes or so, but today, with the weather being bitter and gray and the deeply seated ache in his bones, he had decided to indulge a more convenient method of travel.

Fortunately for him, the train station was only a five minute walk from his university, but he marched quickly, for it was nearing lunch hour and he didn't want to have to camp out in the guidance office and wait to meet with a councilor. He was set to work the closing shift at the café that evening, and desired to squeeze in a quick nap between his obligations, so the faster he completed his visit, the better. Perhaps thirty minutes later, Shuichi emerged from the guidance wing, a pleased smile on his face—the cancellation of his course had been a bug within the university system, and his councilor had managed to correct the mistake with little hassle. Now all he had to do was make his way back home, climb back into the warm confines of his bed, and hopefully grab a few sweet hours of rest before work.

He was ambling his way through the quad when the minute vibrations of his phone caught his attention. He paused in his stride and freed the phone from the pocket of his slacks, glancing curiously down at the screen. It was a text message from his mother, asking him to stop by the market on his way home to grab some fresh milk and jasmine rice. Shuichi sighed at the unanticipated request, but quickly replied with his compliance.

The redhead was in the process of slipping his phone back into the confines of his pants when he casually glanced out across the quad, and caught an unanticipated flash of color against the stark gray of the main campus hall. Upon further scrutiny, he realized that it was another student, one he was unfamiliar with. This came as no surprise, for Chishiki No Eda was a large university with a vast student body. Still, he was almost intrigued—the campus was devoid of life, and the weather was proving troublesome—he actually winced as yet another howling gale of wind roared passed him, prompting him to clutch tighter at the lapel of his jacket. He began to walk once more, his attention vaguely drawn to the only other presence in the enormous courtyard.

As he drew closer, Shuichi realized that his unnamed companion was a petite female—she was either American or European, he could clearly tell so by the shape of her eyes and delicate heart curve of her face. She had long, wavy hair a striking shade of deep copper, and alabaster skin, dressed in a dove gray pea-coat, an olive green scarf, and form-fitting dark blue jeans, neatly tucked into calf length black suede boots—the colors she wore should have clashed poorly with the striking shade of her hair, but somehow managed to compliment instead. Upon closer inspection, Shuichi realized that she was quite attractive, with a tiny nose, rosebud lips, and a womanly sway to her hips as she sauntered forward, heading in the direction of the library.

Abruptly, she paused in mid-step, and turned in his direction, as though she could feel the pressure of his inquisitive gaze upon her form, her face filling with mild curiosity. A gaggle of fallen leaves shed by the many trees that filled the courtyard suddenly whipped around her person in a flurry of greens and browns, but she appeared unaffected by it. It was almost as if she were controlling the squalling wind around her like some sort of pagan goddess, a thought that only served to further his intrigue of her.

The girl stared over at him with wide eyes for a long moment before a warm smile crossed her lips and she raised her hand in silent greeting, unconcerned that he was a complete stranger to her. Even with the considerable distance still lingering between them, Shuichi could make out the odd hue of her eyes, a subtle combination of gold and green, ringed by thick, dark lashes, and the adorable collection of freckles that embellished her kind, welcoming face. Without warning or understanding, something deep within Shuichi's gut tingled, and his mouth went dry as he inhaled sharply.

The urge to speak to her came at him with unanticipated force, but he bit it back, uncertain about the sudden rush of want that had flooded his person in response to her friendly gesture. Instead, he raised his hand in kind, politely returning her smile for a lengthy second before she continued along on her way, breaking the gaze they had been momentarily sharing. He paused in his stride several yards from where their paths would have crossed if different timing had been in play, and glanced over his shoulder at her retreating form, internally curious.

Either she was completely oblivious to his following stare, or simply disregarded it, but he watched her from afar until she reached her destination and stepped through the library doors. Upon her disappearance, it was as if he came too, awakening from the trance he had somehow fallen into while in the midst of her presence. Shuichi began walking once again, forcing himself to focus on the tasks that awaited him. However, even throughout the course of the train ride, his quick trip to the market and finally, his venture into the comfortable familiarity of his home, he found himself unable to shake the thought of her entirely from his mind. To make matters worse, he realized that he was entertaining the hope of seeing her again in the future, despite the odds of such an encounter.

He awoke later, feeling a great deal better, his nap having been more restful than he had hoped for. After a quick shower, he donned his uniform, and walked the four blocks over into the downtown district of Kaiden, making it over to the Koeda Café nearly fifteen minutes prior to the start of his shift. His step-father, Kazuya, fixed him with a brief nod in greeting as he walked behind the counter and headed to the back to clock in. Much to Shuichi's good fortune, his shift passed by rather quickly, with a small rush near supper, but little else. He was in the midst of finishing up the remainder of the evening's dirty dishes when his step-father appeared in the back and gave him leave to head home a few minutes early.

Shuichi was grateful for the reprieve, and did as he was bid, making it home just in time to greet his mother as she walked in the door, having worked later than her usual hours. Together, they cooked dinner, with Kazuya making it home just in time for them to sit and enjoy a family meal. Once everything was tidied up, Kokoda requested that Shuichi play some videogames with him, and even though it was hardly a favorite pastime of his, he willingly obliged. Some hours later, he returned to the privacy of his room and settled into bed, falling asleep within minutes of resting his head. For reasons unknown, his dreams were dominated by the nameless girl, with her fiery hair kissed by the wind, her verdant eyes, his name on her lips, spoken in a sweet, melodic voice he had yet to hear.

'"Shuichi…"'

. . .

It was the eve before the first day of the fall semester—the week had neatly flown past, filled with preparations, family obligations, and evening work shifts. Shuichi's step-father had been kind enough to allow him the night off so that he would be well rested for his morning classes, and for that, the redhead was grateful. He hadn't intended on doing much for the day, but a text message from Kazuma, asking him to dinner at the Yukimura's noodle shop, had thwarted that plan. Seeing as he hadn't laid eyes on his friends since their goodbyes at the conclusion of the tournament, Shuichi felt compelled to attend, and he was certainly glad that he had. He now sat in a booth alongside Kazuma, with Yusuke and Keiko perched along the opposite side of the table. Empty bowls littered the surface, evidence of a delicious lunch, while they sat there, enjoying each other's company and drinking warm matcha tea that was a welcomed comfort in sight of the poor weather outside.

"So Shuichi, you ready for class tomorrow?" Kuwabara inquired, taking a long sip of his beverage. "I know I'm not—summer flew by way too fast."

"Of course he's ready, it's Kur…Shuichi," Yusuke interjected, then shot Shuichi an apologetic glance. It had proven quite difficult for the Mazoku to become accustomed to using his human name, and while he had improved drastically, he found himself often slipping up and nearly referring to him by his old alias. Shuichi didn't find that he minded it too much—at least he was making a true effort to adhere to his request. It just hadn't felt right to continue going by the name Kurama for the time being—he had given up on that part of his life in favor of pursuing a mortal existence, one where he was Shuichi and Shuichi only. Not to say that Kurama for dead for the rest of eternity, but for now, he was buried down deep, not to see the true light of day until the time came when his human family no longer needed him.

Much like Kuwabara, he had no true desire to win the Makai Tournament and be named king of Demon World, but had participated simply for the enjoyment of doing so, as well as for the sake of his friends. He had worn Kurama's face for that short period, but had quickly returned it to its mental holding. Odds were that it wouldn't be revealed again until the coming of the next tournament, and that was three years in the future, if he decided to participate. As it was, he was on the fence about such a thing, knowing he couldn't truly commit to his human façade if he indulged in such a manner. But the time for that decision was a far way off, and for now, he opted to not consider it.

"I am ready, but truthfully, it was a nice break," he offered with a small smile. "This semester will be more challenging than the previous one, and I'm rather looking forward to it."

"I knew you were gonna say that!" Kazuma exclaimed, shaking his head. "What about you, Keiko? You ready for class?"

"I am, but Narau doesn't begin for another week," the tiny brunette said, stroking a stray strand of thick, dark hair behind her ear as she spoke. "I haven't even gone clothes shopping for the new semester yet. We should go tomorrow when you're done with your shift, Yusuke."

"Ugh, more shopping? We just went shopping earlier today!" Yusuke grumbled, his lips pulling into a deep frown of annoyance. "How many clothes do you need, anyway?"

"Well, unlike you, I like to change it up from time to time instead of wearing the same shirt for several days in a row," she retorted with a mild scowl contorting her features. "And for the record, I don't have that many clothes!"

"C'mon, Keiko, you go to an all girls school, you don't need to impress anyone," Yusuke shot back, rolling his eyes. "And you own more clothes than anyone I know. Shopping sucks, can't you go with somebody else? I'm sure Shizuru would—"

"It's not about the actual shopping, you dolt, it's about spending time together!" Keiko barked, obviously off-put by her fiancée's unwillingness to agree with her. Without warning, she slipped out of the booth and rose to her feet, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring over at Yusuke with anger in her dark brown eyes.

"I'm going to get back to work. You have eleven minutes left on your break, so don't be late," she huffed, then spun around and stomped off towards the back of the small restaurant.

"Err…wow," Kuwabara offered quietly, his eyes wide at the heated exchange that had just played out.

"It's been like this ever since I left for the tournament," Yusuke replied dryly, shrugging his shoulders. "She can be such a brat when she doesn't get her way…"

"Well, on a good note, Yukina's gonna be in town in two weeks—Shizuru's letting her stay with us," Kuwabara announced, his face breaking out into a wide smile. "We'll all have to hang out together while she's here."

Yusuke appeared to lighten up considerably at this news.

"Good, maybe she'll take bossy britches off my ass for a while," he reflected with a hopeful grin. "Yukina likes to shop too, right?"

"It'll be nice to see her," Shuichi interjected before Kazuma could reply. "Perhaps I should get a message to Hiei once we have an outing planned, and see if he can join us?"

"He'll probably be way too busy doing king stuff to come," Kuwabara responded knowingly. He was still not privy to the fact that Hiei and Yukina were siblings, and out of respect (and fear) for Hiei, no one had dared to inform him.

"It's likely that he will, but an invitation does no harm," Shuichi offered, taking a hearty gulp of his finely bitter tea.

"Is Grandma coming, too?" Yusuke asked, suddenly curious. He hadn't seen his mentor in nearly a year, and although he would never admit it to anyone who asked, he missed Genkai's gruff manner and sarcastic remarks more than he ever believed possible.

"Nah, she's out of town for the next two months," Kuwabara replied with a shrug. "Visiting a friend in Italy, or something."

"Well, that blows," Yusuke responded, looking obviously disappointed.

"Seven minute warning!" Keiko's shrill voice suddenly trilled from the back of the shop, immediately prompting Yusuke to roll his eyes with contempt.

"Yes, boss!" he shouted back, furiously snatching up his cup and drinking down the last of his beverage. A long silence fell over the table, filled with palpable tension.

"Perhaps you should try talking to her," Shuichi offered softly, meeting Yusuke's hard stare.

"I'd have better luck getting through to a brick wall," the Mazoku responded bitterly. "I've tried talking to her—she just doesn't wanna hear it."

"That hardly bodes well…"

"No shit it doesn't."

"C'mon, Urameshi, it's Keiko! You know she'll get over it eventually," Kazuma offered, attempting to be reassuring.

"Yeah, after she's done being a total bitch about everything," came the harsh reply.

"Hey, that's your fiancée! You shouldn't call her that!"

"Well, that's what she's being!"

"Five minute warning!"

"Ugh, whatever!" Yusuke growled, throwing up his hands in defeat. "I'm just gonna head back now to shut her up already. I'll catch you guys later."

Shuichi and Kazuma waved their tentative goodbyes as Yusuke rose to his feet and stormed off into the kitchen, grumbling beneath his breath and looking on the verge of murder.

Kuwabara whistled softly, shaking his head. "Things don't look so great for them," he reflected quietly, staring down forlornly into his half empty tea cup.

"I'd have to agree. But that is the nature of their relationship," Shuichi replied with a sigh. "Rather volatile, but isn't that how they've always been?"

"I guess…it just seems worse than usual."

"I do believe that it is. She wasn't pleased about his participation in the tournament. Apparently, she's still in a foul mood over it."

"Seems so. I'm glad Yukina's not like that…"

"In that respect, you are quite fortunate," Shuichi replied with a small smirk.

"Speaking of girlfriends, are you still seeing that one girl? Kimeko? Or was it Kameko?"

"Kanaka, and no. Our relationship had run its course, so I ended it, right at the beginning of break," Shuichi responded flatly. The mention of his former lover of almost a year put a decidedly bad taste in his mouth—it hadn't been an overly fulfilling union, and he had realized about six months in that he wasn't as fond of her as he first believed himself to be, but he had kept the façade going out of some misplaced sense of courtesy. His mother had quite liked her, but she was fairly vapid and their conversations were no longer stimulating to him—even the sex had become mundane. Unfortunately, this was commonplace when it came to Shuichi's relationships—things would start out promising, but then he would become bored. Perhaps it was because of his past as Yoko Kurama, where he had a different woman in his bed each and every night of the week—whatever the case, he had finally broke things off with her. She had cried, of course, and begged him to reconsider, but Shuichi had been adamant about their separation. She had taken the hint then, and stopped speaking to him, which had ultimately come as a relief.

"Damn, that's lame—she was pretty hot."

"Being attractive doesn't count for much if there's no substance to back it up, Kazuma."

"True…well, I'm sure you'll find another hottie soon—Chishiki No Eda got plenty of 'em around, that's for sure."

"I didn't think you'd be looking," Shuichi replied almost sternly, but his words were peppered with mild amusement.

"I'm not! I mean, I love Yukina with all of my heart and would never even dream about messing with anyone else, but looking doesn't hurt, right?" Kuwabara retorted defensively.

"No, I suppose it doesn't," Shuichi responded thoughtfully.

"Besides, none of those girls could ever hold a candle to my Yukina! She's perfect!"

A soft chuckle escaped Shuichi at his friend's declaration, while Kazuma suddenly dissolved into a full-blown explanation of why his beloved was without flaw. Shuichi tuned out most of his self involved conversation, instead silently considering the words from prior in their discussion. Kazuma was indeed correct—their university certainly hosted a diversity of attractive females, many of which who had already shown ample interest in sharing their attention with him. However, it was the mental image of the unnamed female from that day while walking the quad that suddenly appeared within his mind's eye, and Shuichi once again felt that strange tingle deep within the confines of his belly. He found himself wondering if he would ever encounter her again—there were thousands of students who attended Chishiki No Eda, and so many different schedules. It seemed in bad form to hope for such a thing, but he found himself entertaining the idea, nonetheless.

Not too long later, Shuichi and Kuwabara said their goodbyes, and each set off for home, heading their respective ways out from the noodle shop. Seeing as it was a Sunday evening, Kaiden City's downtown district was rather empty—it was just coming up on eight in the evening, and most of the shops had already shuttered their doors for the day. Shuichi walked in pleasant silence, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his overcoat as he ambled on. As night had fallen, the air had grown chill, but the wind had calmed itself, which came as a welcomed reprieve. He reached the end of his block, pausing to wait for the crosswalk, and staring mindlessly out into the distance. His gaze caught wind of an approaching form, and focused on it for a brief moment. Only then did his mind make the connection—it was the girl from the courtyard! There she was, plain as day, walking forth from the opposing direction. She was clad in the same gray coat, carrying a large brown paper bag bearing the logo of the local market across the front. Her copper hair gleamed under the light emitted by the streetlamps, lending it an ethereal glow.

Shuichi felt his breath catch in his throat, and his mouth went dry, even as he attempted to swallow. But before he was given the pedestrian right of way to walk, she stepped off the side walk, heading for the small apartment building that sat on the diagonal corner, having failed to notice his presence. He watched as she effortlessly made her way up the stairs, and paused in front of a door on the second floor, presumably to unlock it. She disappeared inside, pushing the door shut behind her. Thanks to his adept vision, he could make out the apartment number as posted upon the door in wide silver numbers—204.

Suddenly, Shuichi felt hot and cold all at once. So lost in his thoughts was he that he nearly missed the light for the crosswalk, racing across the lines with only seconds to spare. Slowly, he slipped past her apartment building, staring over it as his legs carried him onward. The odds that she lived on the very same block as he did were beyond scarce, and yet, it was reality, plain and simple. He hardly remembered the rest of his venture home—he nearly missed a greeting from his mother while walking to his room, abruptly feeling as if he needed a cold shower. Kokoda met him in the hallway, asking him to play a game, but he quietly refused, citing that he was tired and heading to bed.

Once within the sanctuary of his room, Shuichi forced himself to concentrate, double checking to make certain that his school satchel was packed and his clothes for the next day were laid out and ready to be worn. Content with his preparations, he headed for the bathroom he shared with his step-brother and took a quick shower. He felt more like himself afterwards, and treated himself to a cup of warm chamomile tea before retreating to his room for the night. Unfortunately, sleep did not come easily, his mind wandering sullenly through the extensive plane of his thoughts as he desperately tried to quell his over-active conscience.

He felt one thing was for absolutely certain—he would see her again, and it would be sometime in the very near future. The notion provided him a sense of comfort, and finally, Shuichi surrendered to the lull of slumber, the question of her name perched upon his lips.