Strength Unbounded

AU: *I do not own these characters or ideas, just the plot!* Some language notes in case you aren't familiar with Japanese family titles:

Kaasan/Okaasan – Mother

Niisan – Older brother

Imoutochan – Younger sister

Chapter 1 – Discovering Truth

Over the next two weeks, Keiko, Yusuke, and Kuwabara came to visit me every day. We usually sat around and talked. At first there was a lot of talking about me—they insisted that they be knowledgeable of me and my life—and then, I spent many afternoons just learning about them. Usually, Keiko would have to leave early to go and help her parents in their restaurant, and Yusuke and Kuwabara would stay and read me vulgar manga and regale me with epic tales of battles that couldn't have been possible, but I just enjoyed the creativity involved in their accounts of altercations of the spirit world. In time, I grew to love the three of them as my own siblings, and oftentimes, Seiji would sit in my room and pretend to read when my friends were there. He was very protective of me at first, and I knew he didn't really trust the boys, so he preferred to be nearby when they were around. He never said any of this to me, but he and I just understood each other.

The last night of my break, I was sitting in my room, finishing with copying Keiko's notes from that day in class. She and the boys had left quite some time ago, and the smells of Kaasan cooking teppan downstairs wafted up to me through my closed door. I paused for a moment, looking out my window with a dreamy expression on my face and blushing as I thought of the racy manga Yusuke had slipped under my pillow.

"Read it right before bed," he had suggested. "Let me know what you think."

I bit the end of my pencil, my teeth sinking sweetly into the rubber of the eraser. I hoped it wasn't an eighteen or older manga. He had given me one of those before, and I was so embarrassed when I looked at the cover that I hadn't even been able to open it. Keiko still didn't know about that incident. Sometimes, I thought there were things better left unsaid to Keiko.

I was still lost in my reverie when Seiji came in. I didn't notice him until he perched himself in my windowsill, his long limbs filling up the space and making him seem much taller than he was.

"Niisan," I said, dropping my pencil unceremoniously on the desk. "Did you need something?"

Seiji just studied my face, not deigning to answer just yet. I blushed, doing the same to him. Between us, there was no familial resemblence at all. Seiji was tall, rail thin, with perfect, shining, black hair and magnanimous, violet eyes that made him seem about ten years older than he was. His whole body exuded a cool, collectedness that I, myself, could never hope to possess. He was a born protector, and he had spent his life to date protecting me. The thought warmed me.

But if you looked at me, short, with long, untamably curly hair the color of Seiji's eyes and skin like the finest porcelain, the most you could say of me would be that I looked fragile. My own eyes, unnaturally large and very, very green, always seemed frozen in either fear or surprise, and outside of this, held a sort of sadness for which one couldn't quite nail down a cause. For this, I blamed my father, who had a rather somber visage. We all loved him for it, though, and my mother often commented that my eyes just went along with my temperament. My frame, though small, was proportional, and since entering high school I had sprouted curves to match my mother's bodacious form. Together, we were often told we were mirror images. The only true difference between us was that Mother's ears were pierced and she liked to wear lots of jewelry, where I was more of a purist. No, Seiji and I didn't look anything alike.

"Hitomi-imoutochan," Seiji finally began. He had a voice that was smooth and quiet, like an important man's voice. It made you hold your breath and will your heart to quiet, simply to hear him better. "You return to school tomorrow."

"Yes," I replied, standing and straightening my long, pleated skirt. Seiji turned away, a slight flush rising to his cheeks. I wondered why.

"Will you need me to walk with you?" he asked, seeming back to himself as I seated myself again on the bed. My cream-colored sweater stood out wonderfully against the deep purple of my waist-length hair, which hung freely over my shoulders on this day.

"Keiko was going to pick me up," I answered. "Besides, don't you have archery club in the mornings, Niisan?"

"Yes, but—"

"Don't worry about me." I smiled, cocking my head to the side. "You don't have to protect me all the time, Niisan."

Seiji looked at me bewilderedly for a moment. Then, after a long silence, he stood up suddenly, towering over me. "As you wish," he murmured, sweeping out of the room. I watched after him only for a second before standing and beginning to change into my night gown. How strangely for him to respond, I thought, but soon forgot it as I crawled into bed and fell asleep, excited for the day that was fast approaching.

-=--=---=----=-----=-----=----=---=--=-

The next morning, Keiko was five minutes late to pick me up, but she came with Yusuke in tow. "Sorry we're late," she cried as she came up to the door. "Yusuke wasn't up when I went to get him this morning."

"That's alright," I assured them, picking up my satchel and box lunch as I trotted down the walkway toward them. "It's not far. We'll still be on time."

"Great," Yusuke intoned, sarcasm dripping from his voice. I dropped back behind Keiko, holding out the manga he'd given me. He pocketed it surreptitiously, whispering behind his hand, "Was it good?"

"Very," I answered, conspiratorially glancing at Keiko. "I liked the part where the protagonist's strength increased because he thought his friend had died. Very inspiring."

"Tell me about it," Yusuke said, rolling his eyes. There was an odd edge to this comment, but he seemed to mean it. I wondered what it could mean, but before I could ask, Keiko told us to hurry. I smiled apologetically at Yusuke, running a few steps to catch up to my other friend. We met Kuwabara outside the gate and walked into class together. I met Kuwabara's friend Okubo, who seemed very kind-hearted, if a little dim. As I took my seat, the teacher whispered a "welcome back" to me right when the bell rang.

The day passed without much event. I talked with Keiko and the boys on our class breaks, and we ate lunch together on the roof. At the end of the day, Keiko had to go straight home, but Yusuke asked me if I wanted to go over to his house. I'd never been to a boy's house before, but was assured when he said that a friend from a different school would be there. At least I wouldn't be going alone.

"You coming, Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked. Kuwabara blushed, scratching the back of his head with a goofy grin.

"Well, Urameshi, any other day, you know I would," he hemmed, "but I, uh, have some stuff to take care of and I—"

"Goin' to see Yukina at Genkai's temple?" Yusuke inquired bluntly, an exasperated look coming across his face.

"What's it to you?!" Kuwabara snapped defensively, flushing a bright red color.

"Whoa, whoa, I never said it was anything at all," Yusuke replied nonchalantly. "Go see your girl. We'll see ya later."

We parted ways, Kuwabara heading toward the bus stop in a huff. I looked up at Yusuke, realizing this was the first time I had ever been alone with him. It was surprising to me that I wasn't uncomfortable.

"Who's Yukina?" I asked Yusuke as we walked toward his apartment at a leisurely pace. He looked at me from the corner of his warm, brown eyes like he hadn't expected the question.

"Aw, some girl we met once when we had to go out on a job." Jobs were what they referred to their stories as. They always involved demons and apparitions and Reikai. Apparently they took these stories more seriously than I'd thought. "She lives with my old teacher at her temple on the hill now."

I said nothing, just mulled this over in my head as we walked. I wondered who this girl really was, why he didn't feel the need to really explain anything about her. I was sure it wasn't important, since Yusuke wasn't really the type to hide things. I tried to push the idea out of my mind as Yusuke let us into his apartment easily.

Inside, his friends were already there. One sat on the couch, wearing a magenta school uniform. He had startling green eyes very similar to my own and a shock of red hair that framed his fine, boyish face, giving him a very refined and beautiful air. He sat with his legs crossed, sipping hot tea.

Across the room, a boy only a little taller than me, dressed all in black with shockingly black, spiky hair stood by the window, looking out. He turned to look at us and I nearly gasped. His black hair had a pure white starburst in it around his forehead. He wore a white cloth on his forehead, making his scarlet eyes stand out even more against the whiteness of his skin. His had very angular features and an expression that read with contempt as well as angry curiosity.

He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

"Who's the girl?" he asked Yusuke in a rough voice, without looking at me at all. "She looks like—"

"I don't think we need to mention that just yet, Hiei," the redhead interrupted, standing slowly. He came forward, smiling almost demurely at me. "My name is Shuichi Minamino. Friends call me Kurama."

"And the tiny bundle of rudeness by the window is Hiei," Yusuke added, throwing his school bag down. "I swear, sometimes you are worse than the idiots my mom brings home, Hiei."

The dark-haired wonder didn't respond. Instead, he turned and glared out the window. My heart beat very quickly and I couldn't remove my eyes from him. Then, suddenly, I was hit with a very strong dizzy spell. I felt a sense I had never felt before, like tendrils of something or someone I didn't know were wrapping around my throat and choking me. I dropped to my knees, feeling weak. Again?! I thought as Yusuke rushed to my side.

"Hitomi!"