Authors Note:Hey all :) So first off, many, many thanks to Just 2 Dream of You for the review! any who are interested should be thankful because without that review, I might not have got the motivation to get the second chapter done. Second, this chapter is a lot shorter, and its mainly just to give you a glimpse of Sayuri's home life and family. Again, the more reviews, the more motivation I have to write.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, only my own OCs.
"Well Yusuke, it looks like you're finally all healed up." Sayuri said as she checked all of Yusuke's injuries.
"Finally! I hated having to stay in bed." He gave Sayuri a pointed look.
"She is one of the best healers I know Yusuke, you should thank her for taking the time to treat your injuries. If she hadn't found you in the Makai you might have become demon food." Genkai chastised Yusuke for his behavior. He scratched the back of his neck.
"Heh, that's true," he turned to Sayuri. "Thanks for all your help."
"It was no trouble. Though now that you are all healed, I believe its time Sukiri and I return to our home. Who knows what we'll find when we get backā¦" Sayuri smiled and said goodbye to everyone.
"Thank you for teaching me about fighting Kurama. I'll keep practicing and then maybe someday I'll be as strong as you." Sukiri said while giving Kurama a giant hug. A gentle smile slowly spread across his face as he returned the young demon's hug.
"Come on Sukiri, Koenma will open a portal for us." Sayuri beckoned Sukiri with her hand. A portal opened for the two sisters and they turned and waved as they walked through it.
"Sayuri, where have you been? Do you know how worried we all were? We thought for sure you and Sukiri had been kidnapped!" Aiyumi said sternly to her older sister, her fuchsia colored eyes burning with anger and relief at the same time.
"Sorry about that Aiyumi, but honestly, you of all people should know that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and Sukiri." She gave her sister an apologetic hug.
"That's not the only thing I'm mad about; you left Kin and me with the twins this whole time. Do you know what it was like dealing with them without you here? They are driving me up the wall and all this stress won't be good for the baby!" Aiyumi covered her mouth the minute the words left her lips.
"So you are pregnant." Sayuri said with a sly smile.
"You knew?" her sister questioned with a shocked look. Sayuri chuckled.
"Of course I had my suspicions. You were showing signs of it before Sukiri and I left." She gave her sister another hug, congratulating her.
"Sukiri-chan!" a large golden colored body flew across the room and tackled Sukiri out of the chair she had taken residence in.
"Ow! Chizu you fat lump of lard!" Sukiri screeched in protest at having the lion's forepaws on her chest, pinning her uncomfortably to the floor. Chizu growled at her, baring her fangs in a playful challenge. Sukiri struggled for a minute, but stopped for a moment and then twisted around while grabbing one of Chizu's legs and pulling, flipping their positions so that Sukiri was on top.
"Hah! Take that!" Sukiri shouted in victory. Chizu shifted back into her human form and stared up at her.
"Hey neat trick, where'd you learn it?" Chizu shoved Sukiri off and stood up, offering a hand.
"Youko Kurama taught me." Sukiri said in a smug tone as she took Chizu's hand.
"Did you say Youko Kurama?"
Sukiri turned to look at Hideo and Kin walking down the stairs. Kin walked over to Sukiri and gave her a hug while Hideo ruffled her hair.
"Yeah, he taught me some stuff while we stayed at Genkai-san's temple." Sukiri smiled gleefully.
"Genkai's temple? What were you doing in the ningenkai?" Aiyumi asked.
"Why don't I contact Akari and Izanagi, and I will tell you all what happened so I don't have to repeat myself." Sayuri said and went to get a hold of her best friend.
When Akari and her mate Izanagi arrived Sayuri went to greet them, but was given a soft shove to her shoulder by Akari.
"You bitch! Don't ever disappear without letting me know where you are going ever again! I had half a mind to contact our old clan and have them search for you! You should be glad I didn't otherwise they would have skinned us all for bothering them." Akari grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to return her best friend's greeting. Izanagi chuckled and gave Sayuri a loose hug.
"What she means is she's glad you're safe." Akari glared at her mate, promising retribution for undermining her little speech.
"Come to the kitchen; everyone's waiting for an explanation." They walked through the winding hallways that were once natural passage ways in the mountain before they turned it into a house. When they walked into the kitchen they were greeted by a three-way wrestling match between Chizu, Hideo, and Sukiri. Kin had Aiyumi on his lap in a chair, both watching idly as the three youngest members tumbled around swearing at each other.
Sukiri was the first to notice the arrival of the two dragons and untangled herself from the twins, rushing to give them each a hug and kiss on the cheek.
"Chizu, Hideo, stop fighting now so we can hear exactly what happened to Sayuri and Sukiri." Aiyumi said to the still wrestling siblings. They reluctantly stopped and took up seats at the large wooden table, waiting to hear the story.
Sayuri recounted the events starting from when she took Sukiri out to the forest, and ending with her stay at Genkai's temple.
"Didn't those four win the dark tournament? How could they have gotten beat so badly?" Akari questioned Sayuri.
"I didn't ask about what happened; I didn't think it was any of my business." She replied. The three young demons resumed their wrestling match, eventually tumbling into another room.
Aiyumi watched them leave, and then posed another question, "All but Kuwabara are demon, correct?" Sayuri nodded. "And you said that it took Hiei almost two weeks to heal from his injuries?"
"That can't be right; he should have healed much faster. And the same goes for Yusuke. Why did it take so long?" Akari asked after catching on to Aiyumi's train of thought.
"It was a very rare type of poison that inhibits the use of one's demon energy. Assassins sometimes use it if they are going against a particularly powerful demon to weaken them and raise their chances of success. It's difficult to obtain though, because the key ingredient that's needed is a rare plant that blooms for only a couple days of the year, located in only one area of the Makai that most demons are too afraid to venture to. I found slight traces of it in all four of them, but since Kuwabara is human, it didn't affect him." Sayuri explained this to them, and then got up to start making dinner. The others looked at her expectantly so she paused for a moment. "What is it?"
"Did you inform Genkai about this?" Akari asked.
"Of course." They continued to look at her. She scowled a bit at them. "What?" she nearly hissed in annoyance.
"Well what do you want to do?" Izanagi piped in.
"Do about what?"
"The obvious fact that the former Reikai Tantei is being targeted by what seems to be a top notch assassin." Aiyumi spoke this time. A wall seemed to come down around Sayuri and she schooled the features of her face so that it was a blank mask.
"We are not going to do anything. I've informed Genkai of the possibility that they are being targeted so they can handle it. Yusuke is lord of Tourin, Hiei is heir to Mukuro's territory of Alaric, and Kurama is Yomi's commanding general, they will be targeted often and it is none of our concern." The finality in her tone gave no room for argument. The four demons in the room were taken aback by Sayuri's behavior; she had always been one to offer any kind of assistance to those in need, and her absolute refusal to be involved in this was surprising to say the least.
Aiyumi silently got off Kin's lap and started helping her sister make dinner. Kin decided to lighten the mood by announcing that he and Aiyumi were expecting.
"Kin! I wanted to tell them." Aiyumi pouted, shooting an adorably frustrated look to her mate.
"Heh, sorry Hun." He said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Congratulations! And how's the new house coming along? Do you have a nursery or will the baby be in your room?" Izanagi took a seat next to Kin and Akari joined the females in making dinner.
"we are setting up a nursery, though I don't know if it will be finished in time for the baby, so he or she might have to bunk with us for a little bit." Aiyumi said while cutting up vegetables.
Sayuri relaxed now that the subject had changed, and the night continued with a light atmosphere and a delicious feast.
"Will you and Izanagi be spending the night?" Sukiri asked when Sayuri told her that it was time for bed.
Akari smiled but shook her head. "We have some business to attend to early tomorrow so we need to be heading home." They said their goodbye's and departed from the mountain home.
"Sayuri, will you come shopping with me tomorrow for baby stuff?" Aiyumi laid a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder.
"Of course I will. It will give me a chance to pick up some fabric and beads." Sayuri then said good night to her sister and finished putting away dishes then headed to bed herself.
In the morning Aiyumi and Sayuri set off to the market, taking a winding path down the mountain. They spent the day together, away from the daily racket of the house, talking, shopping, and having a small lunch by a small pond just at the base of the mountain where the house was located. When they returned to the house their ears were instantly filled with the bickering of the twins. Kin was working on building a crib for the baby, creating more noise on top of the bickering. Sayuri and Aiyumi sighed in unison and went to put away their new merchandise.
"Kin, do you know where Sukiri is?" Sayuri asked offhandedly when he paused in his work to kiss his mate.
"Yeah she said something about training and scampered off to that empty cave lower on the mountain. She's left about an hour and a half ago." He said then turned back to Aiyumi.
Sayuri nodded to herself and then thought about whether or not she should go check on her youngest sister. The only way to get to the cave Sukiri was in was to enter a pathway from the living room and then navigate through the maze-like tunnels correctly. It was the same as when you needed to get to the house, so they were very well protected from wanderers, who almost always got lost. If she isn't back in time for dinner then I will go and find her. Sayuri decided and went to her work room and started making clothing items with her new fabric and beads.
"Sayuri, dinner is ready." Sukiri called from the doorway a few hours later. Sayuri looked up at the clock with a surprised expression.
"Oh, did I really spend that long in here?" she got up and stretched her cramping muscles then looked back to Sukiri. "I see you are back from training, how did it go?" she asked as she walked with her to the dining room.
"Really good, I worked on the things Kurama-san taught me, and I tried to take my demon form, but I didn't get it." Sukiri sighed in frustration.
Sayuri was tempted to frown, but kept her face neutral. "It's alright, we can try again some other time, but don't work on your demon form unless I'm around. Sometimes things getā¦complicated."
The young demoness gave her sister a confused look. "What do you mean by complicated?"
"Just promise you won't do it unless I'm with you, ok?" Sayuri gave her sister a small reassuring smile.
"Alright, if you say so, but I still don't understand." She looked down at her feet with a pensive expression. Sayuri ruffled her hair to try and ease her thoughts.
"I'll explain it to you someday." She said quietly, ending the conversation as they entered the kitchen.
"Sayuri! Hideo broke one of my fingers!" Chizu whined as she came running into the kitchen followed by her twin brother.
"She deserved it! She broke my toe!" Hideo sent a glare to his sister. She shoved him and yelled,
"That was your own fault! If you had just moved your foot when I told you-"
"Enough. Come here both of you." Sayuri said, slightly vexed at their constant bickering as of late. They stood silently in front of her with their heads down. "You two are behaving like children. You both are over seventy years old! If you can't learn to act your age then I will send you to live with Akari and Izanagi." She threatened, knowing that if the twins argued like this at their house they would be facing two very short tempered dragons. Both of their eyes' widened and they nodded saying they were sorry.
"Alright everyone, come get some food before it gets cold." Aiyumi called from the table. The rest of the night was quiet and peaceful.
