THE WAY BACK TO YOUR ARMS

CHAPTER TWO

White flakes of crystallized vapor fell from the sky, hitting the snowdrifts noiselessly. It had been snowing spontaneously for days; quite a feat, given that it was just two weeks and it'll be spring once again. Some blame this strange weather patterns to global warming, while others shrug and complain about the inconveniences.

A drop of snow fell again from the dim sky, slowly descending onto the skyway. A car happened to pass by, catching that pinch of snow onto its roof. The wipers waved from side to side as more snow fell. The driver cursed under his breath at the almost zero visibility of the weather, earning him a glare from the young woman beside him.

"You shouldn't have agreed with mom," She said angrily, remembering the night before when the young man beside him told her that her mother is throwing a feast for her eighteenth birthday. Hitome Urameshi sure missed her parents, but to have her boyfriend plan something without her knowledge irked her. They were supposed to celebrate it together, just the two of them, in a mountain lodge somewhere in Japan. She was surprised when she saw him packing their things and grinning sheepishly at her while announcing the venue for her birthday celebration.

Haruma Sasaki freed his left hand from the steering wheel and gently touched is girlfriend's chin. "Come on, Hitome. I really wanted to go to that mountain lodge as much as you do, but I thought this'll be a good opportunity to announce our living arrangements to your parents." He explained softly.

Hitome almost smiled at the sincerity of his voice. There is really something in him that always melts her anger away. "Ah, so you said yes without even asking my opinion? Haruma, we've only just moved in together. That doesn't give you the right to decide on everything. I thought we weren't going for the traditional type of family?"

Haruma hung his head in shame and defeat. One of the things he learned from their two year relationship was 'girls are always right'. Even if they aren't, then they'll make it right as hell. And if ever you digress, you'll lose the woman you loved. He loved Hitome very much that he's willing to face her father's wrath when they arrive at their house at Kamakura. He loved her very much that he's willing to be the wrong even if he's right. A relationship with a stubborn woman was never easy, especially if she has the genes of Mr. Yusuke Urameshi.

"I'm sorry, babe. It was just… I'm afraid of your parents," He said in a low voice.

Hitome had to cover her mouth to stifle the laughter that was about to come. When she saw the sheer trepidation on her boyfriend's facial expression, she coughed the laughter away and tried to comfort him a bit.

"Did dad threaten you or anything?" She asked.

"No. Your mother told me he was on a mission."

"A mission? Did she say when he'll come back?"

Haruma shook his head and watched as his girlfriend pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. She sure do look cute whenever she does that.

"He's still on one of his damned missions even on his eldest daughter's birthday," He heard her mumble silently. Haruma smiled sadly, checked the road before looking into her eyes for a brief moment. He took a hand from the steering wheel again to caress Hitome's cheek. His girlfriend leaned against his touch, enjoying the warmth of Haruma's hand. As Hitome smiled with closed eyes, Haruma knew he's already forgiven.

"In case you lovebirds have forgotten, I'm still here," A confident female voice said from the back seat. The couple jerked away from each other at the sound of Haruma's sister's voice. They did forget.

Hitome veered from the impending topic by looking for ay landmarks along the road. The blush faded from her face when she saw the familiar restaurant of her mother's parents. Although she was upset because of her father's absence, the thought of her mother and siblings excited her. It's been a year since she last went home. Ever since Hitome entered college, she's been busy. Moving in to Haruma's apartment made her even busier, but it gave them more time for each other.

"We're halfway there! We just have to get through a forest, and climb a flight of stone steps and we're there," She stated, a wide smile on her face.

Saiha Sasaki, Haruma's sister and Hitome's bestfriend since her Junior year, rolled her eyes. "A forest and stone steps? Hitome-chan, you never told me you lived in a shrine,"

Hitome grinned sheepishly at her bestfriend, "Let's just say I forgot. The shrine was formerly owned by my dad's master. When she died, she left the shrine and the entire land to my dad and his friends,"

Saiha squeezed herself between the six-inch space of the front seats, "Your dad is a detective, I didn't know he had a master. Seriously, Hitome, do you really have a house here or did you just made up that fact? And, your dad has been changing his job everytime I ask you," She asked slyly. "Are you even human? You could be an alien, for all I know,"

Haruma glared at his sister, "Sai-chan! Hitome is human, I assure you. Just please, shut your trap again and give us peace. You've been doing a good job on shutting up since the start of this trip, why break it now?"

Saiha glared at his brother, "You want me to shut up again so the two of you can ki—" Her sentence was cut off when a box of tissue collided with her forehead, making her fall back to the back seat.

"When you're told to shut up, shut up," Hitome said, smirking smugly at her bestfriend.

Saiha glared at them while rubbing her forehead. For some reason, Hitome was stronger than an average Japanese female should be. She noticed it when they were still in Junior high. Hitome was a new student at their school that time, so the bullies' fists still itched for her. She saw as Hitome kicked their pathetic asses and went home like nothing happened. Ever since then, Saiha made an effort to be close to Hitome and protect her from the bullies. No one else have to know that Hitome has superhuman strength, even Haruma. But since Hitome already moved in their home, she doubts that Haruma is completely clueless about it.

Just as Hitome had said, the pavement road started to disappear and soon they were driving on a dirt trail. Tress lined either side of the trail, while snowcapped mountains seemed like a few kilometers away. Saiha wondered what it was like there during spring or summer. So far, she was starting to enjoy the view.

The stone steps came into view not long after. It seemed to go on forever. 'Whoa…you must be able to fly to make it to the top of this stairs. Or, you can fall upwards…Wait, is that even possible?' Saiha wondered as Haruma parked the car underneath a huge tree. There were other cars also. There were a total of three, in fact. 'There aren't that much guests after all' Saiha re-adjusted her earmuffs before they got off the car. Haruma opened the car's trunk to get their luggages. They didn't bring that much, just essentials ad some extra clothes. They were just planning to spend three days and two nights, at the least.

"Ah, I missed Genkai-san's temple!" Hitome exclaimed as she began to run up the stairs, leaving Haruma to carry her luggage. "I remember one time when I fell on my ass on these stairs." She said, eyes drifting back to the past.

Saiha laughed. "My overactive imagination can picture your pathetic image in my mind!"

"I didn't know you have a mind," Hitome shot at her, starting a playful banter.

"You might've damaged your brain when you fell here. Seeing that your brain's on your butt,"

"At least I have a brain. Unlike other people,"

Haruma only sweatdropped at their repartee. 'Why do I even bother listening at them? They've been like that ever since,'

The banter never ceased, Saiha kept it going to keep her mind off the lengthy flight of steps. She was getting tired, but when she saw Hitome's ease, she was challenged. 'She's not carrying anything, ayway, so she has the advantage.'

Hitome kept the chuckle to herself as she watched Saiha try to hide her exhaustion from her. 'That girl…She just always has to be challenged to do her best…'

"Is that the entrance, Hitome?" Saiha asked, pointing her finger towards the huge wooden doors. Hitome nodded and pulled her phone from her pocket.

"Hey mom! We're already here! Uh huh. Yep. I'm with my friends. Can you ask Uncle Kazuma to open the gates? Okay. Bye." Hitome ended the call and then turned to Haruma and Saiha. "Come on, my uncle's gonna open the gates already."

"Why don't you just open it yourself? I'm sure as hell you can," Hitome gave a warning look at her bestfriend.

'Looks like Haruma doesn't have any idea that his girlfriend is stronger than him. She could even carry all our bags if she wanted to,' Saiha thought.

Hitome took her bag from Haruma and whispered some words to his ear. Saiha rolled her eyes at them, and waited for the tall wooden gates to open. She can't wait to see what the shrine looks like.

But as she stood there, there was suddenly a strange wave of electricity that coursed through her veins. It only lasted for a nanosecond; it was even faster than her thoughts. Her big black eyes widened as her body still tingled from that sensation. Almost in an instant, she knew someone's watching them from afar. She felt funny. Especially when the gates started creaking open.

"Oh, even Uncle Hiei's here. It's just my dad who's missing." Hitome mused.

The name rang throughout Saiha's ears, her heart raced as the gates opened in an agonizingly slow fashion. Her eyes were longing to see what's on the other side.

Her black eyes met those stunned crimson orbs.