One

"-and word has come from the craters that someone's trying to make portals in, but whatever Kimiko seeded into the area a few months ago still seems to be working, so at best they get a view of the destruction, and at worst, absolutely nothing happens."

Koenma had never been allowed to be part of his father's councils before. He'd always been too busy stamping papers for the souls of the dead to even consider going and eavesdropping. Being invited to this one, overseen by Raizen, was definitely interesting...

Also heavily unnerving. He'd been too distracted by their idea of training for the past seven months to pay more attention to what was going on around them, but it was clear enough that he was an outlier there; Kimiko looked pleased, almost smug, and Koenma had to wonder just what she'd put out that had been so effective against portals. Hell, he hadn't even known she was researching that, and he was spending most of his free time in the library, reading whatever books she gave him.

"Any sense about where the origin is?" she asked.

"Reikai, unfortunately," Botan sighed softly. "Both Kiren and Luca seemed absolutely certain when I asked."

Koenma felt his stomach drop a little; the reason he was here, had been here for the past seven months... His father, King Enma. His father, and the choices that had been made that had almost lost him a budding friendship, among other things.

Maybe he had been avoiding the information as much as just not hearing it, but he knew enough. Enma had been brainwashing demons of lower energy strength and setting them on the humans of Ningenkai. Humans were collateral in this scenario; the real aim was to make the denizens of Reikai think that demons were savage, brutal, and needed to be conquered.

There was no denying that some demons were savage and brutal, who needed to be kept away from others, but they were a fairly low minority in the grand scheme of things. Most demons he'd had the privilege of meeting were cunning, smart, and while they might regard humans on a whole as a meal, there was enough collective sense that the humans as a whole wouldn't be descending into extinction any time soon.

Which meant Enma's desire for control continued to go thwarted, and the reasons for that at the moment were all tucked into the same room.

Koenma flicked a glance around at each of them, trying not to betray his nerves; Kimiko and Yusuke, Raizen's children, his friends. Jin and Toya, technically his guards, former shinobi, who now enjoyed the freedom to work as they pleased under Raizen's hand. Amber-Ember, the guardian Kimiko had assigned to him less than a year prior. Kurama, a human who harbored the soul of a demon. Botan, a former Spirit Guide of Reikai, who now used her ability to slip between worlds to gather information for them. Hiei, technically Yusuke's bodyguard, owner of the Jagan eye that could see whatever the wielder desired.

And Raizen himself, who sat at the head of the table, looking mostly unconcerned about the events that were likely to start taking place in his territory yet again. Then again, Raizen had the right to look calm; he and his friends had enough combined power to destroy Ningenkai if they wanted. They had destroyed a good portion of the mountains in Tourin after inviting Enma's pursuing army onto their turf. Not to mention the army.

He still wasn't entirely sure becoming their political prisoner had been the right choice, but it had been better than sitting in his office and trying to pretend that he wasn't involved in anything. And considering everything that had happened, he was lucky he had as much freedom as he did... The friendship that Kimiko had offered after everything had been unexpected, and he cherished the gift of it.

"We can't seed the whole of Makai with anti-portal wards, as nice as that would be," Kimiko was saying as he pulled his mind back to the events at hand. "For one thing, it does work both ways; they might not be able to get in, but we also can't get out. For another, Makai is just too damn big."

Big was an understatement. Sort of like saying a typhoon would get a person a bit wet. There wasn't much chance in any hell that Enma could even start taking control over parts of it; word had spread quickly through various territories outside of Tourin that Enma had tried to make Kimiko a hostage, and what little welcome Reikai apparitions had was thin enough that some places had chased them out entirely.

And yet, his father still seemed intent on trying. It was baffling.

"Eventually they're going to catch on that they can't make a portal there, and will try to find another space with thinner walls where it can be done," she continued, lightly tapping the table with her fingertips. "Or they'll try coming at us through Ningenkai, which, I'm kind of surprised they haven't tried that yet."

"There's too much chance that the humans will attack them too," Botan said with a small shake of her head. "Lots of Momo's people have taken their trees to Ningenkai for safe replanting, and they've told the humans that it was Reikai who started everything."

Yusuke and Jin both snickered.

"It's probably helped that some Tourin demons have been taking turns being guardians of towns," Kurama said, reaching over to cover Kimiko's tapping fingers with his own. "It allows the humans to understand that we have a vested interest in them not being caught in the middle."

Kimiko cast him a small, soft smile, and Koenma stifled a flicker of envy. Not because Kurama so clearly had Kimiko's affection, oh no. Kimiko was much like a sister to him, and Yusuke a brother. Funny, considering he had no actual siblings... No, it was more he wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that sort of expression... from Amber.

Amber-Ember, who's fiery hair formed a halo around her face at the moment, and was saying nothing. He pulled his gaze away before she could notice him staring, and pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Not that they weren't pleasant; they were. He just doubted they were welcome.

"Have there been any specific attacks on those towns where Tourin demons reside?" Kimiko asked.

Botan consulted her notes, then shook her head.

"Not yet But a few of them suspect it's only a matter of time."

"It would be easy enough for Reikai to claim that they attacked the town to remove the demons, and the humans were caught in the crossfire," Toya pointed out in his quiet way.

The nods and grimaces around the table made Koenma wish he had something to contribute. There had to be something he could offer, otherwise, why would he be there?

"We need listeners."

Hiei, never big on words, surprised everyone by speaking.

"Care to elaborate, half-pint?" Yusuke asked dryly.

A crimson glower did nothing against Yusuke's smirk, and Koenma very slightly sat back in his chair; he wasn't entirely sure how their friendship stayed intact, really...

"Apparitions like Momo. Or earthwalkers," Hiei replied, a little sardonically.

"Eavesdroppers," Kimiko supplied, looking a little uneasy.

"I know of one," Kurama said after a moment. "I can get word to them, and perhaps they can get word farther out. If we are going to have a listening network, we'll need more than one or two."

"We can ask Momo ta help," Jin volunteered with an easy grin. "Maybe not herself-self, but I bet she can reach a few of her people."

"They're going to spend a lot of time being bored as fuck," Yusuke said.

"Better bored than unawares," Hiei retorted.

It was hard to argue with that point, though if Kimiko's expression was anything to go by, she kind of wanted to.

"Is that it then?" Yusuke asked, lacing his hands behind his head.

"That's all the information at the moment," Botan replied.

Yusuke cast a sidelong glance at his sister, who sighed a little.

"Okay. Kurama, you get in touch with your earthwalker, and see what they can get for you. Jin, you and Toya talk to Momo, and see if she can't at least try and recruit a few of her fellow apparitions for us. Koenma," and he jumped when she looked at him. "You need to make a decision on what you're doing soon."

"D-doing?"

"About your old man," Yusuke snorted a little. "Or are you just gonna let him do as he pleases, and continue trying to blame us for everything going wrong in Ningenkai?"

Koenma winced; all right, so maybe he had been trying to put that off. But he couldn't exactly be blamed for it; the idea of trying to overthrow his own father would have been funny if it wasn't frightening.

And it seemed more than marginally unfair to get that sort of scold from someone who didn't have the same sort of tumultuous relationship with their parent. Kimiko and Yusuke had never had reason to fear Raizen; for all his power, they were secure in the fact that his affection for them would outweigh his temper. Koenma did not have that same security... for all he had quietly rebelled in staying in Makai, he wasn't ready to face the consequences of that.

"No, but... what do you expect me to do about it?" he asked, trying to sound less resentful than he felt.

"Step up and stop him," Yusuke retorted. "That's what you're supposed to do when someone's making life shitty for others."

"Koenma, a wide-scale rebellion is going to happen whether you want it to or not," Kimiko said, shooting her brother an annoyed look. "It already is. If you come out on the side of the rebellion that's not with your father, you'll find more people in Reikai flock to you than you might think."

Yes, and that was terrifying too. He was less than a century old; how many of those people would be looking to try and rule through him?

Raizen leaned forward in his seat, and the entire air of the tabled changed, as they all turned to look at him, even Koenma. Strength, power, and calm certainty, with a hint of wildness, those were Raizen's most noticeable traits. A temper that could flash like lightning, a proud, arrogant attitude that was backed by skill, and an energy level that few beings could claim.

But the more time Koenma spent around him, the less unnerved by Raizen he became. Sometimes it felt more like he'd been informally adopted, and he'd had to stop himself on several occasions from calling the demon 'Dad'. He wasn't sure Raizen would be amused... though he knew Yusuke would probably fall over laughing.

"If Enma finds his way to Tourin, we will deal with that," Raizen said calmly. "It's still the humans that are the most vulnerable, and likely to be caught in the middle. So if you're not willing to defy him for yourself, defy him for the humans."

Koenma swallowed a little, and bowed his head. He could hear the warning under the words; if he didn't decide soon, he would have the decision made for him.

"Father, was that really necessary?" Kimiko asked once everyone else had filed out. "He's having a hard enough time as it is."

"The boy has to choose," Raizen replied implacably.

"Yes, and he knows it," she replied, hands on hips. "It's not exactly fair to try and manipulate him the way you just did."

A thing smile crossed her father's face.

"If it was obvious to you, it'll be obvious to him. Maybe it'll be that kick in the ass that he needs."

"It just... seems unfair," and she sighed a little.

"It is," and the agreement surprised her. "He can't be allowed to remain ignorant forever though, you know this."

"I know..."

She'd allowed Koenma to deliberately ignore anything that might deal with confronting his father, thinking that maybe if they gave him time to catch his breath and balance, he'd come to the idea on his own. But it wasn't like she'd been subtle about the books she'd given; each of them had been about war, tactics, and survival. Things he was going to need if he was going to take over.

"So then, what will you do?" Raizen asked.

"Well, whatever choice he makes, we're all agreed that Enma needs to get kicked off his throne. Koenma's the logical replacement, but if he's not behind it, it won't go well." Kimiko sighed and ran a hand through her hair, absently twining some gold and black strands around her fingers. "Botan's working on a list of whatever Reikai nobility might make a good stand in, but because of how much care she's had to take, it's not a very long one."

"Does your brother have any plans?"

Kimiko snorted.

"Yuu, plan? Since when? That's my job, remember?"

Raizen's grin was sharp, and after a moment, she shook her head lightly.

"I'm not sure what to do with him right now, really... I suppose he'll get involved where and when he wants," and Kimiko shrugged. "Kurama's got experience in recruiting people for groups and things, so I'll leave that to him, and Botan seems to be working out really well with information gathering. I don't think we'll convince Momo to spy, but we might be able to get her to be the one they report to. I'll let Jin and Toya handle that unless they ask for help. Have I left anything out?"

It was actually quite helpful to talk with her father; Raizen had three or four lifetimes of experience on her, which meant he knew how to plan properly.

"Perhaps time to relax?"

...and then there were the days where he just made fun of her. Kimiko rolled her eyes in tolerant amusement, and lightly swatted his shoulder with a sheaf of loose pages. That he let her was telling enough; while he certainly did encourage play-fighting, it wasn't always safe to do so with him.

"You're hilarious. I'm serious."

"Perhaps a little too much so," and he reached over to ruffle her hair, making her yelp. "You've focused on training and giving subtle nudges to your friend. What about your other relationships?"

Heat crept up her neck, and she half-glared. While keeping Raizen informed of her activities with Kurama was sort of necessary, she wasn't inclined to go heavily into detail. He was her father, for goodness sake, and it was kind of embarrassing.

Not that anything really was happening. He was right in saying that she had been giving most of her attention to training Koenma, Botan, and Momo. But she and Kurama had agreed to carve out time in the evenings to talk, or just sit together, and at least half those nights ended with them sharing a bed. Not sex, just... cuddling. She was sleeping better than she had in years, and though she still had her nightmares, the were noticeably downgraded from what they had been. It had been a good six months since she'd woken up by clamping down the desire to scream.

It did make her wonder though, if Kurama's patience was running out. He seemed content to keep to her speed, their friendship and romance intertwining the way it did, but was he really? It was a question she would have to bring up to him later...

"They're fine. Nothing untoward is happening." She paused fore a moment, then nodded slightly. "Oh, though, Kurama would like to see if we could make a trip before everything explodes into action; he'd like to take me up to Edo to meet his family."

"You're taking-"

"I'll take To'o because I'm still not portal proficient, and I'll see if Jin or Toya want to come along, but I'm not taking a giant group of people," she interrupted, frowning at him. "Especially not now, when going out in a large group could paint a target more than a small one."

Raizen leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing. Kimiko crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest and stared back.

She knew it had been hard on her father, the idea that someone might have tried to hold her again, but unlike the first twenty years of her life, Kimiko had learned how to fight, had grown into her abilities, and also more into herself. While he had organized a way to get her out, she had planned her own escape, having been singularly unwilling to sit and wait. Raizen was still coming to terms with the idea that she wasn't helpless, but she was slowly starting to win that particular fight.

"Why not Amber?" he finally asked, his voice a soft growl.

It was probably as much concession as he was willing to give in the moment, and she relaxed a little, shrugging lightly.

"Amber is currently assigned to Koenma, and I think they have some emotions they need to actually sit and talk about... though who knows if either of them will actually broach the topic. With Jin and Toya, I can leave one of them to take care of Momo while the other joins us on a walk through Ningenkai."

She kept her tone practical, and was rewarded with a slight snort from her father.

"You think Amber-Ember likes the princeling?"

"I think Amber likes both Koenma and Botan, but doesn't want to say anything in case they're not as relaxed about relationships as we are," and she shrugged again. "It's not really my spot to interfere, though. They have to figure it out themselves."

That made him smirk.

"So, it'll take another century."

She laughed a little.

"It might. Permission granted?"

"...take your brother."

Kimiko rolled her eyes tolerantly. Really, she had expected that.

"All right, all right. Yuu did say he wanted to see what Edo was all about when it came up last time."

"And inform me before you go."

She snorted a little, and gave him a quick, fond hug. Her paranoid father was doing his best to let her take her own steps, and she couldn't help but love him for it.

"As if I'd do anything else."

Kurama had been waiting patiently at the end of the walkway for her, and smiled as she approached. It had been, he felt, a fruitful meeting; there was a good deal of things to be done, and Kimiko was the adept hand at assignments. Not a loud, bold leader like her brother, but a calmer, more thoughtful one. An interesting dichotomy, at least from his viewpoint.

She looked preoccupied, but when she realized he was there, color touched her cheeks and a small smile crossed her face.

"You didn't have to wait," she said.

"I wanted to," he replied, reaching over to relieve her of some of the paperwork. "I also wished to know if you brought it up with Lord Raizen."

Kimiko nodded, absently reshuffling a few pages as she fell into step beside him.

"He says we have to take Yusuke, but he didn't protest about me insisting the group stay small. Given a choice, I'd prefer to take Toya over Jin, because Jin and Yuu in the same group is bound to be loud. And of course, I expect he'll want to start in Heian-kyo to check on Kazuma..."

Kurama nodded a little in understanding; he'd expected that they'd have to take her brother. It put Raizen more at ease to have the twins together when they left his eye, or so he'd noticed.

"I don't object to including either one," he said with a wry smile. "Or the side-trip. Hopefully time with retain some consistency while we are in Ningenkai."

She groaned a little, and lightly shoulder-checked him for the reminder of how well that had gone last time. To be fair, it was difficult to pin down the time transition between worlds; while most days Ningenkai moved faster than Makai, there were days where they matched, or—as was the case seven months prior—Makai sped ahead while Ningenkai slowed.

"Which way do you think Koenma will lean?" she asked after a moment.

"I think he is an intrinsic leader, much like you," Kurama said after considering the question. "If young and untried. He might not entirely relish the idea of going against his father, but he'll likely come to the conclusion that it's unavoidable. Whether he'll like that conclusion or not, I cannot say, but I think he will eventually agree that someone has to take over."

Kimiko nodded slightly, going pensively quiet. Glancing over, he made a softly inquisitive sound to catch her attention. She blinked and glanced up at him, then flushed and shook her head slightly.

"Ah... sorry. I just feel bad for him. I mean, if Father was doing this, I'd probably be just as conflicted..."

"But undoubtedly you and Yusuke would come to the same conclusion. This is not a situation that can be allowed to stand. Lower strength demons being brainwashed to cause damage and chaos in Ningenkai is only the start... There are undoubtedly ways it can get much worse."

She grimaced a little in reluctant agreement, and sighed.

"Still. He's admired his father as a distant, somewhat terrifying figure his whole life. I don't want to shove him headlong into the mess if I can avoid it."

Kurama smiled a little, and leaned over to plant a small kiss on her temple.

"Yes, that is because you are kind," he said, chuckled a little as she blushed. "You and Koenma are quite a compatible pair. Were I a lesser person, I might consider being jealous."

It was a tease kindly meant, and she swatted him on the arm with her paperwork.

"Don't be a dummy, dummy," she huffed.

Kurama just chuckled and gave her another small kiss.

Afternoon training hadn't been easy on him; Koenma's thoughts had been running wild since the mindday meeting, and it showed in how many new bruises he'd collected. Also the ringing head where he'd failed to block Yusuke's kick. It was undoubtedly only Kimiko's rules on not being overly exuberant that had kept him from any broken bones, and her expression as she made sure his skull hadn't been cracked wasn't exactly comforting.

"Well, you're not going to die," she said after a minute, sitting back on her heels, "but if you're not going to concentrate, maybe I should let you off early."

It sounded like an easy-out, but Koenma knew better at this point. Out early now meant extra work later, and he carefully shook his head.

"No, I can do this," he said, wishing he sounded more confident than he felt.

"Can you?"

He'd seen a variety of new sides to his friend since he'd started living in Tourin palace; she could be startlingly scathing in her honesty, even as she could be expressively compassionate. Right now, her brand of brutal honesty contained more than one question, and Koenma found that he didn't know how to answer the second one.

"...I can spar," he finally said.

Her skeptical look deepened, but after a minute she stood up, and offered him her hand. He did need it, so he took the help, and was up a moment later.

"Yusuke, pull your blows a little more," she said, dropping his hand and turning to her brother, who looked only slightly put out. "He needs to learn, not be thrown around the room because you're overly enthusiastic."

"Yeah yeah," Yusuke waved a hand lightly, moderately unimpressed. "Got it, whatever."

"Why is he helping today?" Koenma asked, trying to avoid sounding whiny.

"Because Kurama had to go find the earthwalker he knows.. knew, rather, and Jin is helping Momo with something," she replied. "Toya's doing some research for them in the library, before you ask."

It wasn't fair that Momo got out of training too, but Kimiko tended to go easier on the plum tree apparition due to the requisite replanting of her tree. Momo's recovery wasn't a straight line, especially seeing as her powers had been limited from the start. It still felt unfair, though. It just felt awkward, this business of learning how to fight.

"...Botan, c'mere and partner with Koenma for a bit," Kimiko said after a moment. "No headshots."

Botan, who had been sparring with Amber—and had taken to the training like a duck to water, which was also unfair in his mind—squeaked a little in protest.

"I shouldn't!"

"Yusuke and I get beat up by the monks in training all the time," Kimiko said, unperturbed. "Standard kata, no improvising."

The former Spirit Guide mumbled something under her breath that Koenma thought sounded uncomplimentary; whatever it was, it made Amber giggle slightly. Kimiko just glanced over, one eyebrow raising as she motioned Botan over; Botan came, but with clear reluctance, and Koenma was surprised to realize that he had never actually sparred with her in the whole seven months they'd been there.

"Begin!"

For all she looked unnerved by it, when the command came, Botan obeyed faster than Koenma. He had to throw up the block far more sloppily than he knew any of his instructors liked—he heard Kimiko's slight 'tsk', and Yusuke's annoyed snort—and wasn't exactly the most enthused when it came to actually stepping into the return pattern.

"Oh come on," Yusuke grumped a little. "Get in there, dude!"

It didn't click until they were halfway through the pattern of blocks and strikes, punches and kicks, that Koenma started to understand what was actually happening. Amber's judgment seemed to be focused wholly on the back and forth,the technical side of the fight, while Yusuke was all about encouraging—in his own way—moderate aggressiveness. Kimiko remained silent, simply watching, and in the moments before he or Botan committed to the next attack, he felt like she was weighing more than just the fighting skills she'd been laboring to teach him.

Of course, figuring out just what took moderately more thought process than he could spare in the moment, and it showed when he failed the block sequence and took a kick to the gut that knocked him on his ass again. Botan's yelp would have been funny if it hadn't been him she'd kicked. Amber shook her head a little as he wrapped an arm around his abused ribs, her expression somewhere between sympathy and amusement as Botan fluttered nervously, not sure what to do.

"Break?" he wheezed hopefully, glancing over at Kimiko.

After a moment, she nodded, and waved a hand slightly.

"Go on. Practice for today is done anyways."

Koenma didn't miss Yusuke's startled look, and as he accepted Botan and Amber's help in getting to his feet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd disappointed Kimiko in some manner. Kimiko simply walked over to the benches, picked up a towel she'd left there, and walked out of the room, absently draping it over her shoulders; after a minute, her brother followed.

"I'm sorry sir," Botan said anxiously as they headed for the benches as well. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," he said, trying to give her a reassuring smile. It was more a grimace, but he tried. "You hit a lot harder than I thought..."

Amber snickered as he sank onto a bench, rubbing his stomach with a wince. Botan flushed, and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"That's what you get for not paying attention," the fire demon said, but her tone was practical, not judgmental. "You can't be thinking on other things when you spar, m'lord. You have to be in the fight, in the moment, or all you're going to do is get yourself further hurt."

"...how can I focus on this fight when it's the coming one that's got everyone's attention?" he asked after a moment.

Botan's pensive expression grew even more-so, and she looked down at the floor even as she took a drink of water. Amber just shrugged lightly.

"Given that you've been doing everything you can to avoid looking, the fact that you're now hyper-focused is your own fault," she said with a distinct lack of sympathy. "You can't bury your head in the sand and pretend nothing is happening. You've known for months that something would."

It stung almost as much as Kimiko's palpable disappointment, and he ducked his head a little, taking a drink of water to try and cover the fact. He couldn't deny that she was right, but it was a lot more complicated than that.

Wasn't it?

"So, why'd you cut practice?" Yusuke demanded once they were down the hall.

"There's no point if all he's going to do it be distracted enough to get a dented skull," Kimiko replied. "Might as well let him have time to think on what he's been ignoring. Maybe it'll sink in that he's got to do more than be passive in this situation."

"And what if it doesn't?"

She shrugged lightly.

"Reikai's gong to pick a fight no matter what we do. If Enma doesn't back the fuck off, I am willing to bring the fight to him."

It surprised him enough to make him stumble; Kimiko wasn't a pacifist by any stretch of the word, but her preference was diplomacy. Talking over fighting. Then again, considering she had almost been made a prisoner for the second time in her life, he could kind of understand why she'd want to have the ensuring fight on her terms.

Plus, taking the fight to Reikai would keep it out of Ningenkai, and away from the humans that would be nothing more than collateral damage when they got caught between. That was definitely something he wanted to avoid, since he was one hundred percent aware that his own friends would get caught up in the fighting.

Idiot Kuwabara couldn't stay out of a fight to save his ass, after all.

"Hey, so what happens if you do that and win?"

Kimiko stopped, and blinked at him.

"Come again?"

"I mean, if you, if we, raise this huge fuck off army, beat Enma's army to a pulp, and punt his corrupt ass off his throne, what then? Like, if pacifier breath doesn't step up and all?"

"...There's a few options in the upper echelons of Reikai society that aren't terrible," she said slowly, eyeing him suspiciously. "Why, what're you thinking?"

"...it'd be kind funny is all."

"Yusuke..."

Yusuke grinned a little, lacing his hands behind his head.

"I mean, if we're gonna go, might as well take it all, right?"

Kimiko stared at him for a full thirty seconds before palming her face, then reached out and swatted at him. Given that he'd anticipated it, he leaned back just enough so that she missed.

"We are not in this to take control of Reikai," she said forbodingly, amethyst-colored eyes narrowing. "Either Koenma steps up, or we find out who among Reikai would do a better job. Not us. What in the world made you even consider that?"

"Well, I mean, it's not like Pops is interested in retiring."

"You don't even like paperwork," she pointed out. "Informal as Father is, there's still plenty of it, and Reikai is the middle ground between life and death. I really, really doubt you'd like being in charge of that. I sure as hell am not interested; I get stuck doing your paperwork all the time as it is!"

"All right, all right, chill, it was just a joke!"

Well, it had mostly been a joke. Sure, he didn't want to rule Reikai, or even Tourin. But he could picture Kimiko and Kurama making a go at Reikai and not doing too terribly...

Speaking of...

"So, where's foxy?"

Kimiko rolled her eyes in tolerant exasperation; Yusuke only smirked. It was fun picking on her.

"Making contact with his earthwalker, I assume. Why?"

"Well, didn't he wanna go to Ningenkai? Have you talked to Pops about that?"

"Yes and yes. Father is very insistent than you come too."

Not really surprising, and Yusuke only shrugged slightly in agreement. Things just worked better when they stuck together.

"I'd like to do it soon, now that we've got permission," she continued. "Preferably before any of the projects decide they don't want to be juggled any more. Do you want to start with the Kuwabaras?"

"Hell yeah. Haven't seen that idiot in months!"

"Okay. You need to go tell Yukina then, and Tensei. Once Kurama gets back and knows more about whether or not his earthwalker will talk to him, we can figure out where to go from there."

"Yeah yeah yeah. You and detail," he scoffed.

This time he let her punch him lightly in the shoulder.

"Someone has to be," she said tartly.

"Better you than me~"

"Remind me to drown you later."

He grinned and gave her a quick, one-armed hug before leaving her at her rooms and heading for his own.

"You look rather... out of sorts."

Koenma glanced up from the window he'd been staring out of, not sure if he was annoyed or glad to have someone else to talk too. Kurama, at least, could be trusted to be a fairly calm presence, who would offer informed opinions only.

"That's probably an understatement," he replied propping his elbow on his knee so he could put his chin in his hand. "I'm trying not to whine about it, though."

Kurama's chuckle was soft, as was the sound of him sitting in the nearby chair.

"I didn't expect that Kimiko would be pushing you about making a choice. She seemed very reluctant to force the issue."

"Huh? Oh, no, she hasn't said anything directly... Which is probably the weirdest part, since no doubt she really wants too," and he couldn't help cracking a half smile. "Amber did, though, and I hate admitting it, but I guess she is right. I haven't wanted to see, so I haven't seen."

"Kimiko thought it better to not thrust the fact that we are well aware of King Enma's movements in your face before you have a chance to regain your balance," Kurama replied. "As much as she can, she has been allowing your ignorance. Even when it annoyed her to no end, which, it has."

Koenma sighed a little, running a hand over his hair.

"I know. I still don't know what to do, though. I've thought about ruling Reikai, sure, but those thoughts were always some... nebulous distance and time away. Maybe if I'd gained the size of my father, for example... I just don't feel ready."

"In a situation like this, it's rare that such a thing happens," Kurama replied after a long moment. "But someone must step up to take King Enma's place; as his son, you are the logical successor, which lends itself to a share of both problems and advantages."

"Like who's going to follow a kid?"

He glanced over in time to see Kurama acknowledge that with a slight nod.

"Among other things. Some apparitions think you are as much to blame as your father for not seeing what was happening sooner. Others will try to influence you by claiming they know more because of their age. You may even find yourself relying more on the denizens of Makai than Reikai in the event that a hostile takeover succeeds."

Koenma grimaced a little then sighed, leaning back a little more against the wall.

"And there's always politics, internal strife, no doubt the office is in absolute shambles, and even if I make it back to Reikai, as a ruler, I wouldn't have the time to oversee it any longer."

Kurama's eyes flicked slightly to the side, the only warning he gave before Kimiko joined the conversation, having approached from a different angle.

"Do spirits really need that oversight, though?" she asked pointedly. "Even before Reikai settled, they seemed to find their way to the places they belonged. You've only been passing judgment on them for... what... sixty years?"

"...sixty-five," Koenma replied, ducking his head a little.

No matter that she was younger than him, she still seemed to have that... vibe of an older sibling. Or at least, that was what it felt like. He would have said motherly, except she was decidedly not that... and he couldn't remember anything about who his mother might have been either.

"Did anyone have the job before you?"

"I... I think my father did?" he said hesitantly. "It's... just the job I was given once I was old enough to understand that all the being filtering through the halls were souls of humans."

"King Enma's rule has only been for the past three centuries," Kurama supplied, clearly anticipating Kimiko's next question. The tiny smile she flashed him gave that much away. "Before that, there are few enough records, but I gather it wasn't a very stable land."

"The point is, Koenma, souls did fine before you arrived, and it's not the souls of the dead that you should be worrying about right now anyways."

"You're not being asked to take over a shaky leadership, in what's potentially a hotbed of hostile territory," he accused.

Instead of being annoyed, Kimiko half-smiled wryly.

"No, I'm not. And frankly, if I was in your shoes, I'd be just as reluctant about the idea as you are. Believe it or not, you do have a choice, Koenma. Botan and I have been busting ass to give you that. Or did you think the only messages I had her run were to the people watching the crater zone?"

Koenma blinked a little, and flushed a little as he realized he had been paying as little attention as he could get away with to outside information. Amusement lit Kimiko's face, along with resignation.

"Botan's been making forays into Reikai for me. Sounding out both the rebellion leaders, and the nobility as much as is safe. There's a small list of people who could step into Enma's shoes if we need them. We'd like it to be you, since you're the one who wanted the peace between the realms, but as long as I have someone who's not going to attack Ningenkai and blame us, if you don't want to rule, you're not going to be forced to it. If you want to stay in Makai, keep learning to fight, eventually go carve out your own territory, by all means, you can do that."

She was sincere, but he could hear under her words; sure, he could do that, learn to fight, bring people under his banner and make a territory either in, or near Tourin of his very own... but she would be disappointed in him if he did things like that.

And he would be disappointed in himself.

"How... do you know what to do?" he asked after a long moment. "To make a choice like this?"

"Do you want more people to die, just so King Enma can justify trying to take control over Makai?" she countered. "Koenma, I respect that your relationship with him is complicated and convoluted, but Yusuke's right; in a situation like this, the answer is plain."

It was. He just didn't want to acknowledge it. He did not want to go up against his father.

She sighed, and lightly rested a hand on his shoulder.

"No practice for a while. Take your time and think about what you want. When you've decided, I won't be far away."

She squeezed his shoulder slightly, then turned and tipped her had at Kurama. The redhead nodded, cast Koenma a sympathetic look of his own, then rose and followed her out of the library.

"...do you think I was too harsh?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"I think Koenma will realize that practice has only been allowing him to not focus, and he won't know what to do with his free time," Kurama replied, loosely wrapping his arms around Kimiko. "He may cast about for advice, but in the end, he will make the proper choice."

She sighed a little, curling into his hold so that she could read her head on his shoulder.

"Did you have any luck?"

"Possibly. My ally had a number of dead drops that may yet still be in use. I'll check back in a few days and see if they've checked any of them."

Kimiko nodded a little.

"Not long enough for the trip...?"

"I would certainly prefer to have this done before we visit Ningenkai and my family," he said with a small smile. "It would be rude to focus on something else."

"Mmm... I see your point. Yusuke said he'd come, and also that he'd like to see Kazuma, so it's likely that we'll be there for at least two weeks, if not more. To'o isn't enthused," and she smile wryly. "He says it's moved on to winter in Ningenkai."

"Well, that will be interesting. We might see snow in Heian-kyo, then."

It might also take them longer to walk to Edo, though that would depend more on if they were trying to keep things low-key or if they were just going to cut travel time by being themselves.

He nuzzled at her gently, smiling a little as she snuggled closer.

"...Kurama?"

"Mmm?"

She hesitated, and he got the sense that she was picking her words carefully. Given her blunt, occasionally harsh honesty, when she picked and chose her words, it meant that she was trying to say something specific, but also that she didn't want too much to be read into what she was saying.

"This... is okay, isn't it?"

And sometimes it meant she didn't have the words to articulate, simply because some subjects got skipped over.

"This...?" he prompted.

She made a slight gesture, that encompassed them curled together on the couch, but not much else. Still not terribly articulate, but he had a sense of what she was asking. Their relationship was still complicated, convoluted even with the honesty she required from him. But he thought they were getting somewhere, no matter how slow.

"I enjoy holding you," he said simply. "I can wait until you feel ready to ask for more."

Sex had been a sort of currency when he had been a proper demon. He had used it to get information, and also to earn those first brushes of Wish Blossom power that they hadn't understood. That she shied away from it now was hardly surprising, and he would certainly admit to plenty of human sentiment in wanting it to be the right moment.

Getting to curl up with her at night, when she was at her most vulnerable, was more than enough. Being trusted to help calm her after a nightmare threw her awake, being allowed to hold her close and know he was a source of comfort, not a source of anxiety... he would not have chosen to rush things if his life depended on it.

After a moment he pressed a light kiss to her temple, smoothing some of her hair back from her face when she didn't relax.

"Do you want more?" he asked softly.

The silence grew thick as he watched her face intently. Kimiko was not bold unless she was angry, at which point it was best to usually just get out of her way. But the rest of the time she was actually fairly shy, with a strong tendency to watch, to learn before she stepped in. He liked that calm, quiet quality in her... except sometimes it held her back, and she needed gentle pushing to actually say what it was she wanted.

It felt rather like an eternity before she nodded a little, nervous, hopeful, possibly even a little wistful.

"Not... tonight," and he could hear the regret in her voice. "I have to talk to Father about it first, or he'll over-react, but... I... I think I'd... that is..."

She trailed off, a blush coating her cheeks, and he lightly kissed her forehead.

"When you are ready, I am here."