The next morning was strange.

His question from yesterday—What the hell am I doing here?—returned with a vengeance.

What the hell was he doing here?

He'd spent months here training, but…well, that had involved being woken up at the crack of dawn and, well, training.

He wasn't here for that now.

He was here for…something else. Maybe.

All of which left he with absolutely no idea what to do next.

Shishi took a deep breath, trying not to have any expectations of what the day might bring.

With that, he stepped outside.

Good thing he'd had no expectations.

Something whizzed past his face, and only reflexes honed by months of Genkai's training kept him from getting a lovely black-and-blue shiner to go with his purple eyes.

"Finally up, lazybones?"

Shishi could only stare. Genkai was balanced on one finger on a stone pillar not far from the building that held the visitors' bunks, and was using her free hand to toss chunks of rock in random directions.

"Catch!"

Shishi's hand shot up and caught the rock a few inches from his face, using his own energy to counter the force of its speed.

"Hmph. Maybe you have gotten slightly better. That was a reinforced throw—though I guess you didn't want to have that pretty face all banged up."

Shishi blinked.

"Yukina should still have some food for you if you hurry. Though you'll need to be on time if you want breakfast in the future—consider this my thank you for letting me feel like my old self again."

"You're…welcome." Shishi turned to go, and then back for a second.

"Good morning to you too," he added, throwing the rock back at her.

Genkai grinned and punched the rock in midair, shattering it.

"Hurry up, and I might consider showing you around the parts of the temple that you never had time to see before."

Shishi just waved back over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, you're up!" Yukina said as he walked in. "Master Genkai said you might be late getting up. I saved you a plate." She handed it to him as he sat down at the kitchen table. She paused, and then added, "I hope it's more to your liking."

Shishi, a mouthful of whatever that yellow substance was already in his mouth (it was better than it looked), abruptly remembered the last time he'd mentioned her cooking to her.

Swallowing, he said, "It's…good."

Dammit, did he have to?

"I…apologize for insulting your meal before."

Yukina smiled. "That's all right; it was pretty terrible. But…thank you." She looked at him a second longer, and then nodded slightly to herself.

"Oh, and Master Genkai wasn't kidding when she said to hurry up."

Shishi was all too familiar with the training grounds, visitor dorms, and common areas, but Genkai was right—there was a lot he'd never gotten around to seeing.

"Yeah, if you're going to be sticking around for a little while, I suppose you'd better know what you're getting into."

She showed him much more of the grounds—he hadn't realized just how large the compound was. She took off at top speed, hands clasped behind her back, chatting as if she were standing still.

"And here's where I have to warn human visitors to stay away from—too many dangerous demons."

Shishi's eyebrows wrinkled. "What dangerous demons?"

Genkai laughed roughly. "The handful of D-classes that hang around down there."

Finally, though, the tour ended back at the main building.

"And here's where I fill my time when I'm not tormenting hapless students or rearranging the geography of my temple." She pushed open a set of large, ornate doors, to reveal…

Well, something. Shishi had thought he was reasonably familiar with human technology, but had never seen anything quite like this set of blinking contraptions.

He stared at them. "What exactly do you do with them?"

Genkai grinned wickedly. "You'll see."

"Die, Goblin!"

Shishi felt like he was being blown away by her vehemence. He had hardly thought she was a pacifist—he'd never been that out of touch with reality—but her violence surprised him.

And to be honest, he found it a little insulting. Why was she more intent on defeating this tiny representation of a goblin on a screen than she had been on fighting him?

"And that's Goblin City."

"You certainly seem to take it seriously."

"Don't underestimate the importance of being good at video games. I once helped save the world playing this game."

Shishi raised an eyebrow. "Never heard about that one."

Genkai seemed to relish the opportunity.

"Oh, didn't you? I supposed I had better remedy that…"

They were still there hours later when Yukina came to find them.

"Jump! No! Why won't it go where I tell it to?!"

"Hah! KO! Looks like I win again, prettyboy."

"How in this world do you manage to control it with such…idiosyncratic controls?"

"Years of practice." The corner of her lip twitched, and she sounded smug.

"Hn."

"Does that mean you give up?"

"Not on your life." Shishi picked up the controller again. "Bring it on."

"Excuse me," said Yukina. "Perhaps you should delay this game? Dinner's getting cold."

This particular dinner (which, contrary to Yukina's warning, was still hot) was filled with polite conversation punctuated by pauses that just barely edged into "awkward" territory. Everyone was guarded, trying to figure out their place in the suddenly altered dynamics of this minefield that had previously been known as "mealtime".

"So," said Genkai after a silence that had gone on a heartbeat too long, at least for the one member of the dinner party who had a beating heart. "I hear the political situation in Demon World has taken a turn for the bizarre."

"You could certainly say that." Wait, wasn't politics supposed to be the opposite of a safe topic among humans? "Your student certainly shook things up."

Genkai snorted. "Oh, don't go laying that at my feet! He was already a hopeless dimwit when I got him. What I did was mitigation."

Yukina broke in at that point, probably trying to forestall an argument. "Everything seems to have worked out for him well enough in the end."

"Indeed. The first time he really fails at something major is going to be rough on him." Genkai sighed, and then smiled. "And I don't usually say that about people who have already failed at living twice."

Shishi changed the subject at that, since at this point he would very much prefer to keep the conversation light, and discussions of mortality rarely did that.

"And what have the two of you been doing up here?" He was honestly having trouble imagining what they got up to without a houseful of energetic demons on the loose.

"I've been enjoying my retirement," said Genkai. "Yukina has probably been dying of boredom."

"Oh, no," said Yukina quickly. "It's quite pleasant up here. I like the quiet."

"I've tried to teach her video games, but she's just too compassionate to get into them properly."

"I'm sorry," said Yukina, looking down at her plate.

"Don't be, child. I don't wish that everyone was like me—I wouldn't wish that on the world at large. Your compassion is your greatest asset, and if the price for that is not enjoying a few silly video games, that's a small price to pay." She smiled. "Besides, you're really quite excellent at the karaoke."

Genkai looked up at their newest guest with a calculating look. "Though it is true that we were running a bit short on topics of conversation. That problem, at least, you've solved."

"…glad to oblige," muttered Shishi, not quite sure how to take that one.

That silence went on for several breaths, and Shishi cast around for a new topic.

"So…I trust the weather around here has been pleasant?"

Those first days were filled with that same kind of not-entirely-unpleasant wariness, at least for Shishi and Genkai. Yukina, for her part, seemed to have already come to whatever conclusion she was going to make.

The other two, however, were still reserving judgment, trying to sound each other out after they had, perhaps, revealed more than they intended to.

It was a time of chances taken and chances given, where either of them could have ended whatever this was at a moment's notice, but neither did.

Instead, things slipped quietly into a pattern—not quite a new normal, but shifting that way.

Mornings—at least after a breakfast he made sure never to be late for—were Shishi's own, spent exploring the compound, or reading (the temple had a surprisingly well-stocked library), or even slipping back into Demon World to visit the others.

But he always came back before noon.

Noon quickly became their daily sparring time, and he wouldn't want to miss that—even if it did always endwith his defeat. (He did avoid letting her steal all his energy, however—he did have some standards.)

After that, they would eat with Yukina and then play video games—sometimes with Yukina, sometimes without. Either way, even with the enthusiasm Yukina lacked, Shishi was by far the worst player.

After most of a fortnight, however, it was starting to feel just a little bit like home.

Shishi was almost asleep, under the influence of a particularly grueling match earlier, when he abruptly realized that he'd left his sword in the common room.

Shishi blinked. Had he really felt comfortable enough here to forget?

Unfortunately, now that he remembered, he found the thought much too nagging to ignore.

With a sigh, he rose and slid the door open, stepping across the courtyard to retrieve it.

The light was still on, he noted, but didn't make much of it.

At least, not until he got close enough to hear the voices that went along with it.

"…seems like he's really changed," Yukina was saying softly.

"Heh. I can't claim to understand it, either," Genkai said. "From trying to kill me to fancying himself in love with me."

Shishi turned to go back, but then didn't move.

Oh, hell. He really wanted to hear this…but…wouldn't that just prove that he hadn't changed?

The long silence between the two women didn't help his indecision.

"Master Genkai," said Yukina finally. "I was wondering…can you tell me…what is love?"

Shishi straightened up.

Genkai gave a low laugh, and Yukina hastily added, "It's just that…my people are so cold-hearted that I never got to learn."

"I'm sorry, child," said Genkai. "I wasn't laughing at you. It's just that what you're asking is the biggest of the Big Questions among humans. We've been debating the answer pretty much forever."

There was a sound like a chair creaking, and then Genkai continued. "Besides, I don't think you know as little as you think you do. Tell me, did your mother love you?"

There was an even longer silence than before, and when Yukina's voice broke through it, it was even softer than usual.

"I…don't know."

There was another pause, but when Genkai made no move to fill it, she elaborated.

"She…tried very hard to keep the elders from killing my brother. She begged them not to, said she would take both of us and never come back…"

"She was willing to risk her own life to keep her children safe. That's love, Yukina."

Yukina was silent again.

"She…loved my brother."

"How do you mean?"

"He's the one she wanted to save. Once he was gone, she…she took her own life."

There was another creak of the chair.

"Child…did she leave you alone?"

"No…she made sure her friend would take care of me."

"Then I say she loved you. She loved both of you, and when your brother died—or she thought he did—she blamed herself. She may even have been afraid of causing something equally terrible for you."

Yukina took a deep breath, but didn't say anything.

"I can't say her choice was the best way to show it, but think of it this way—even in the worst time in her life, when she wanted nothing more than make it all go away—she still made sure that you, her only daughter, would be safe and cared for."

Yukina's breath caught, and something small hit the floor with a clink.

"And this friend of your mother's, did she love you?"

"I don't know."

"She took you in, cared for you, didn't she? Even knowing how you might be treated by the others?"

"…yes," Yukina nearly whispered. "And…she…she didn't care what I was. She even told me about my brother, and understood when I had to search for him—she even helped me leave."

"Now you're getting it," said Genkai. "She cared for you without caring what you were, tried to understand you even when she couldn't understand what you were going through. She let you do what you needed to do, even if it caused her pain. That's love, child."

There was a long pause during which Shishi knew he should leave, but couldn't.

"I…I think I see." There was a slight rustling noise, and then, "I should probably go to bed."

Genkai's chair creaked again. "Get some rest, child."

Yukina's soft footsteps faded away, and the light in the windows was extinguished, making the pale illumination of the moon seem suddenly brighter.

Shishi turned to make his way back across the courtyard, but was stopped by the sound of a door sliding in its track.

"Learn anything interesting?"

Well, damn.

"That was not my intention."

Genkai chuckled, and Shishi realized that she didn't sound angry.

"I honestly can't say I blame you. I've done it far too many times myself. I'll reserve judgment until I see what you do with what you heard."

"I said I didn't mean to! I just came back to get my sword!" He hesitated. "When did you realize I was there?"

"That's for me to know and you to fret over."

Shishi scowled, but before he could object, she added, "And what did you think?"

He paused, not sure what to say. What did he think about what, exactly? Did she think he'd heard more of whatever they had been saying about him? Did she realize he'd heard any of that? Or was she asking what he thought about her definition of love?

He turned away, staring at the moon.

She cared for you without caring what you were, tried to understand you even when she couldn't understand what you were going through.

And then he understood.

"I first knew," he began without preamble, "the first time I really saw you."

He gave a humorless half-laugh. "Not that I figured out what I knew until later, but I suppose that marks as good a starting point as any."

There was a slight rustling behind him, and he knew she was sitting down on the porch—the same place he had been all those months ago.

Shishi was silent for a long moment. He'd never thought he'd even try to put words to this, but somehow the quiet darkness of the night was drawing it out of him.

"I'd…well, I'd just realized what an utter asshole I was."

Genkai made a snorting sound, but didn't say anything.

"I was still trying my best to blame you for all my problems—as if I'd have been any different if I'd won—but then, I accidentally saw something you didn't mean me to." Shishi bowed his head and gave her a chance to break in, but she remained silent.

"I saw…emptiness. Hurt. And for the first time in my life, I wanted something that wasn't for me. I wanted…I wanted for whatever was causing that look in your eyes to go away."

He took a deep breath. "And then, after I came here…you told me you didn't want to be alive. When you said that, I wanted, more than anything, for you to have a reason to live."

He turned back toward her. "And that's why I 'fancy myself in love with you'." He looked at her, waiting for her to make her move.

She took her time about it, giving him a long look with an odd expression in her eyes. Shishi could have sworn he saw the angle of the moonlight change before she spoke again.

"Perhaps you really have come to care for me—but I still don't understand. I seem to be everyone's favorite granny around here—why not that?"

Shishi raised one hand, and then let it fall limply by his side. "I don't know."

He turned away again and gave a bitter laugh. "Perhaps I'm simply another demon who never learned what love was. I don't even know what I'm holding out for—I know perfectly well that you could never love someone like me."

Shishi stared fixedly up. Why were the stars in Human World so much more beautiful than those of his homeworld?

"You really have changed."

Shishi blinked, and looked halfway back—she was shaking her head.

"I never did expect the young, arrogant idiot I fought to turn into someone with any kind of awareness or compassion."

She stood, and then added, "I must admit, you have made things rather more interesting around here. There may yet be something to this whole 'living' thing."

With that, she turned and slipped back inside, sliding the door shut behind her.

Shishi stared at the door for what felt like a very long time, before finally turning and making his way back to the room with his bed.

He was almost asleep again when he realized he'd forgotten his sword.

Dammit.

While Shishi was griping to himself about his lack of weapon, Genkai found herself in the middle of a dark night of the soul unlike she'd ever experienced.

Indeed, the only time that came close was the time when she'd had to watch Toguro slowly lose both soul and body to the dark taint of vengeance.

But this wasn't like that. This was somehow…backwards.

Genkai had barely moved since she had stepped back into the house, and was still standing with her back to the door, hands clasped behind her.

Why?

This was starting to…matter.

Maybe some of the dimwits' idiocy was starting to rub off on her. Nothing like this had really mattered to her in a very long time, and she greatly preferred it that way.

Letting everything slide off her made life so much easier, and right now whatever made her life easier was a necessity.

Or at least…it had been.

The realization slipped slowly over her that things had changed ever so slightly.

For so long, everything had been grey, and only her significant force of will had kept her going day after day, reaching for one small goal after another, had kept the dark clouds pushed away with the force of action.

Yukina's choice to live here had helped a lot, giving her both a companion to talk to and a surrogate daughter who depended on her to adjust to Human World.

But now…

She had been needed by one person or another for most of her life.

But it had been a very long time since she'd felt wanted.

Genkai shook her head sharply and stalked off towards bed.

No. It was a very bad idea to let herself get caught up in this nonsense. The temptation to let herself get caught up in the feeling of wantedness was strong, far stronger than she would have expected after so many years alone, but even if she were interested…what would happen when he finally came to his senses, finally realized how much of an idiot he was being, going after her of all people? No, far better to stick to her original plan of not letting things stick to her, and just wait for this to blow over.

But that didn't mean couldn't enjoy the attention while it lasted.

When Shishi woke up the next morning, he didn't immediately get up.

Instead, he lay there, staring at the ceiling, hair splayed over the pillow in a false, tangled mockery of a halo.

Only the barest hint of light snuck in through the windows, leaving the world in that cool, surreal phase of morning that still held so much of the power of the night.

He was still thinking about last night, trying to figure out what it all meant, but the logical portion of his brain still seemed to be asleep. Instead, he was left with the slightly rustier portion that dealt with impressions and vague senses of things.

And the vague impression he was getting was one of mistrust.

The logical portion tried to break in and tell him that of course she didn't trust him—he'd tried to kill her the first time they'd met.

But right now, that part of his brain wasn't strong enough to overcome the sense that that wasn't was this was about.

Indeed, he'd gotten the impression that she might actually have grown fond of him.

But it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. She could never trust him, because she didn't believe him. Or perhaps it was the other way around—she couldn't believe that he had really come to love her, because she couldn't trust his own judgment of himself.

Not that he could blame her for that. It had taken him weeks—or months, depending on when he started counting—to even admit the existence of this feeling, much less trust it.

And he was living inside his own head.

She wasn't.

He'd never be able to prove he was serious.

The light grew warmer as it crept along the ground, taking with it the last remnants of that strange state of mind that characterized the deepest parts of the night.

But the ideas remained there, waiting for the logical portion of his mind to take their turn at tackling them.

With a sigh, Shishi pulled himself up and pulled his hair back into its usual ponytail.

He'd figure something out.

But while the logical portion of his brain attempted to work out a solution to this newly-defined dilemma, life went on.

Today's notable activity was a sparring match with Yukina, whom Genkai had been training while she lived here—which Shishi hadn't realized before, since she'd taken a bit of a sabbatical to teach her other six students, before their time limit hit.

Yukina, while still not as skilled as the six fighters, was still significantly better than Shishi would have expected. Indeed she was perfectly capable of carrying on a conversation while sparring, at least at the unarmed half-strength level they were sticking to.

The conversation had turned to Yusuke, who was still in Demon World, helping settle the shift in the balance of power.

"Yes, he does seem to be a little impulsive," said Yukina, twisting aside to dodge a hit. "At least from what I saw. I never really got to know him." She continued around, using her momentum to aim for Shishi's other side. "I got to know Keiko fairly well, though."

Shishi blocked the blow and struck with his other hand, which she danced away from. "Keiko? Ah, Urameshi's…girlfriend?" It took him a moment to pull the term out of his memory. It was a state that Demon World didn't have an exact analogy for. People might become lovers, if they weren't mortal enemies (or occasionally even if they were), and occasionally there were pairs who combined being lovers with the kind of mutual trust that was so rare in Demon World. But there really wasn't the concept of a more innocent type of relationship, or of the kind or relationship that was more than physical but less than unambiguously permanent.

"Yes," said Yukina, deflecting a blow with a half-spin. "She came to watch the Dark Tournament. She was afraid Yusuke would get himself killed." There were a few moments of silence while she concentrated on sparring.

"I spoke to her recently," she continued. "She's about to give up on Yusuke coming back for her at all." She glanced up. "He proposed to her before he left, you know." Shishi didn't, but he didn't particularly care, either. He simply made a vague sound of assent while dodging another blow.

"She thinks he did it just so she wouldn't leave him for someone else while he was gone, that he thought she wouldn't believe him otherwise. She thinks he's going to want to stay there forever."

Shishi glanced up at that.

"Should she not think so? After all, isn't a demon's place in Demon World?" There was a slight edge of bitterness in his voice that even he didn't quite understand.

Yukina shot him an odd look, almost distracted enough to let him get a shot in.

"I have made a life here, and I don't see why others should not. Things are changing—for the better, I think."

"Perhaps."

They continued sparring in silence, motions speeding up as they focused on the match.

Yukina struck, Shishi parried and struck back. Yukina spun around, the martial arts outfit she'd borrowed from Genkai whipping around her knees.

Shishi tried another attack while she was off balance, but Yukina saw it coming and pushed away, throwing herself over completely and rolling up into a defensive position a few yards away.

There was an instant of silence as each tried to anticipate the other's move.

Then the silence was broken by a slow clapping sound.

They both looked up to see Genkai standing on the porch watching them.

"Nice job, Yukina," she said with a smile—a permanently sarcastic smile, true, but that didn't make her praise any less genuine.

"And thanks, prettyboy," she tossed over her shoulder as she turned to go back in. "I never thought I'd see the day where have enough grasp of the essentials to help someone else train."

"Any time," said Shishi flippantly, choosing to ignore the barb, mostly because he couldn't think of anything to throw back at her.

"Now both of you get on in here. I made lunch."

"It just helps cement my belief that all demons are complete and utter nitwits."

Yukina had turned the lunchtime conversation back to the political situation in Demon World, and it was Genkai's turn to weigh in.

"Of course," she added after a moment's deliberation, "so are all humans."

"Ah," said Yukina with a smile, "So no present company is excluded?"

Genkai hesitated for an instant. "The jury's still out on that one," she answered with a flip of her hand. "I may have had a chance to outgrow that phase."

"So nitwittery is a state of life?" asked Shishi. "I was more under the impression that you thought of it as a communicable disease, or possibly a heritable trait."

"It is," said Genkai instantly. "All of the above, and then some. Unfortunately, the three people who weren't born with it have already contracted it, and almost no one lives long enough to outgrow it."

"Even in Demon World?" Shishi couldn't quite hide the smirk.

"Especially in Demon World, nitwit. It takes a hell of a lot longer for near-immortals like you, and you have this habit of getting yourselves killed before you have a chance to learn from your mistakes."

"But everything does seem to be turning out for the better," said Yukina, ever the peacemaker. Not that it ever helped.

Genkai snorted. "Yusuke was born with a double dose of nitwit, from both worlds. He was just also born with more good luck than most small nations are allotted, and seems hell-bent on using it up as fast as possible."

For an instant, Shishi pictured Yusuke's spirit gun as powered by luck instead of spirit energy, and almost snickered at the image. Instead, he nodded sagely.

"Indeed, I suppose it would require a double nitwit to ever think it was a good idea to settle worldwide politics with a winner-takes-all fistfight."

"And a master of serendipity to actually pull it off—and even then, only because he was trying to convince an entire world full of other nitwits."

"I don't suppose saying I only participated because I was bored would save me any face?"

She snorted again. "Not likely."

"Do you think more demons will want to live here?" asked Yukina, still trying to tone down the verbal sparring match.

"Could be," said Genkai, relenting. "I've known plenty of demons in my time, and some of them would really be more suited for Human World. Then again, I've known humans who might very well have fit in in Demon World." For a moment, her eyes went distant.

"I wonder if anyone we know will come?" Yukina's voice was just the tiniest bit too cheerful as she tried to pull Genkai back.

Genkai smiled, looking back at her. "Perhaps, child. Then again, with the barrier down, there aren't really any obstacles to having friendships between the worlds."

"Which reminds me," said Shishi, "what are your thoughts on the level of nitwittery in Spirit World?"

Genkai nearly choked on her snort.

"Oh, don't even get me started!"

Shishi yawned as he got ready for bed, the night's waning crescent of a moon providing barely enough illumination even for his demon sight.

His mind was still working on the one dilemma he'd found while living here.

The longer he stayed, the harder it was to imagine living anywhere else, or with anyone else. How could he go back to living away from her constant snark and verbal sparring?

For the first time in his life, he was able to think of some place as "home".

Except that, really, it wasn't.

It was hers, and he was only a visitor in her life. She had only to say it, and he would find himself adrift again.

Shishi sighed and flopped onto the bed, closing his eyes and doing his best not to think about that unpalatable possibility, with limited success.

She didn't trust him, couldn't bring herself to believe that he was honestly in love with her.

Shishi threw his arm across his eyes.

It wasn't like he could blame her for that. It was still hard for him to face the word. Even after he had become entirely certain of the meaning behind it…the word itself was still intimidating.

In Demon World, love was something to be feared, something that made people do foolish, risky things, like pledging your life to someone, trusting that they would never turn around and stab you in the back. Or else someone else would learn of the bond, and use one of the pair to force the other into a corner. Either way, that kind of trust usually ended badly for those involved.

So, no, he couldn't exactly blame her for not putting her trust in him.

But he wanted it, more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life.

Shishi rolled over, determined to ignore everything and just sleep—and to keep ignoring it tomorrow, and just enjoy the day as it came.

Something was prickling gently at the back of his mind, but he pushed it away and let the blessed thoughtlessness of sleep surround him.

An idea had been growing on him.

That odd prickling had kept coming back over the next few days, insistently making its presence known, until it had forced him to recognize its identity as an idea.

It was a stupid idea.

Shishi dismissed the idea instantly the first time it made itself known, brushing it aside while questioning his own sanity, and went on with his day.

And then it popped up again.

No, no, still a stupid idea. Go away.

It did, but it didn't stay away. The foolish idea kept coming back, dancing around his futile attempts to banish it like Genkai dancing around his futile blows in sparring.

After a week of steadfastly ignoring the idea, Shishi finally recognized something.

He'd done this before.

Trying to ignore or avoid an idea that just wouldn't go away? That was exactly what he'd been doing the entire time the six fighters had been training.

Well, hell.

Still, the alternative was actually acting on the foolish idea, which was out of the question.

Maybe this time, it would just go away.

Another week later, he found himself standing at Kurama's door.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He raised his hand to knock, and then let it drop—the third time he'd tried.

Why the hell was he here?

He knew the answer well enough, of course, but it felt better to grumble about it. If he feigned ignorance, then he wouldn't have to take responsibility for this stupid, foolish idea.

Last time, he'd hidden his stupid idea until it was forced out of him, and it felt like it had nearly killed him in the process. This time, he was going to learn from his mistake, and get some advice before this new stupid idea burst out of him, while he was only almost being nearly killed by it.

Or at least, that was the idea.

Now that it actually came down to it, he was strongly considering just clamming up until he burst again.

He raised his hand decisively.

And let it hang there.

Decisively.

Why wasn't his hand knocking?

Oh, right.

He actually had to move it.

Right then, Shishi never could figure out if it was "fortunately" or "unfortunately", the door opened, and Kurama's redheaded form was looking out at him. Shishi belated realized that he'd probably felt his demon energy from a block away.

If the fox was surprised, he hid it well.

"Good morning, Shishiwakamaru. Is there something I can help you with?"

Shishi folded his arms, trying to look nonchalant and mostly just succeeding in looking nervous.

"I was hoping for some more information."

Kurama studied him, and then called back over his shoulder, "Mother, a friend's come to visit. I'll be back in a little while."

After receiving an acknowledgement, he closed the door behind him and gestured to Shishi.

As they started walking, Kurama asked, "And what were you curious about this time?"

Every word that Shishi had ever learned seemed to drain away through some suddenly-opened grate in the bottom of his mind.

What the hell was he supposed to say now?

With a supreme effort of will, and lips that were suddenly made out of sandpaper, Shishi managed to pull three relevant ones back out.

"Human marriage customs."

Holy HELL, had he just said that out loud? He was a bigger nitwit than Yusuke. He should really just find the least awkward escape route and head for the hills.

Kurama stopped walking.

Shishi scowled at the ground, but held it. It was too late to leave now.

And besides, he'd be damned if he'd gone to all this trouble not to get an answer now.

"I see." The redhead resumed walking.

"May I ask..." Kurama considered his words, "who…inspired this interest?"

Dammit, he was not going to make this easy.

Shishi licked his lips. Already past one point of no return…

"Genkai."

…and another.

The redhead's eyebrows disappeared into his hair at that, but as he considered it, he slowly nodded.

"I see."

This time Shishi stopped walking.

"Well?" he demanded, doing his best to act like the fox owed him an answer. It beat the alternatives, anyway.

Kurama considered.

"I would need to know a great deal more about the situation before I could even consider offering an opinion."

If you want my advice, you'll have to satisfy my curiosity.

Shishi scowled harder.

Dammit.

After he had explained far, far more than he ever wanted to, he waited to hear Kurama's opinion.

The fox, of course, took his sweet time answering.

Shishi crossed his arms again, tapping his foot in impatience.

Not nervousness.

No, he was just impatient.

Finally, the fox spoke.

"I cannot predict her reaction based on what you have told me."

Shishi growled.

"However…"

Kurama smiled.

"It can't hurt to try."

That was how Shishi came to find himself clutching a little velvet box and feeling like a complete idiot.

Why in any of the three worlds had he decided to act on this?

It was an incredibly stupid idea, and it could definitely hurt to try. What if she said no?

…what if she said yes?

That thought spurred him onward.

He just had to find the perfect moment.

"What took you so long?"

"Nothing."

"Hmph. I was beginning to think you'd left for good."

Her tone held its usual gruffness, but…was that an undercurrent of relief?

"Of course not. I just had some…business to attend to."

"Heh. Care to share with the rest of the class?"

Shishi smiled.

"Perhaps later. But wasn't I running late for something?"

In response, the woman took up a defensive pose.

"Indeed."

It was a good match, leaving them both exhausted.

They had actually fought it to a draw—the first time Genkai hadn't won outright.

"Heh," panted Genkai, "either you've gotten better, or I'm getting old."

"It's definitely me," said Shishi, equally breathless.

She aimed a punch at him.

"What can I say? I've had a great teacher."

Genkai's hand stopped in midair, like she wasn't sure what to make of him.

"You're not my student anymore."

"Well, that's fortunate."

She narrowed her eyes at him, not sure where he was going with this.

Shishi put on his best debonair expression, willing it to keep the fluttering in his stomach at bay.

"You were wondering where I was earlier?"

Slowly, she nodded.

Shishi rose to his feet, and then dropped down on one knee in front of her.

Disbelief flooded her features…disbelieve, and…anticipation?

Shishi reached into the deep pocket where the box had been safely hiding, and slowly pulled it out.

"Genkai..." he said, carefully opening the box and holding it out to her. "I would be honored…if you would marry me."

She stared at it, and then at him, utterly speechless.

Shishi held his breath.

"Shishi…" She shook her head in disbelief. "You…really weren't kidding."

"No. I meant every word, and I'm not going to stop meaning it."

"You mean…you want…" She lifted a hand trying to organize the words that usually flew so readily to her tongue. "Even though…"

"Yes. You. As you are."

She looked at him, his offer and request hanging in the air between them. A thousand thoughts were running behind her eyes, ranging from disbelief to uncertainty, to something that might have been wonder.

But as the roiling whirlwind started to subside, something else grew until overshadowed everything else. Exactly what was hard to say, but it seemed to fill her with a kind of brightness—something that Shishi suddenly realized should have been there all along.

Finally, she gave a shrug of careful nonchalance.

"What the hell," she said. "Yes."

It took a disbelieving instant for Shishi to process her words, and he found himself completely unable to do anything.

She was really…?

A wry smile spread over Genkai's face as she saw his reaction. "Not like I have anything better to do."

Before he could remember how to move, Genkai's resolve seemed to crystallize. She reached out and grasped the hand he still offered.

"You know, it's been far too long since I've had a partner in crime. I think…I think I might be able to get used to this."