A Baby and a Blondie

Atsuko was quite surprised that when she got home at three in the morning, a girl was sleeping on their living room couch.

"Uwa! Yusuke brought home a girl and she's on the couch?!"

And so...

'Ah, so she's from the countryside who needs a little move-in help?' Atsuko mused as she had breakfast the next day with Yusuke and her guest. Breakfast was a large helping of fried rice with 'some bits' that were stimulating, Miso Soup(that has thickened soup somehow) that has nappa cabbages, leeks and shiitake, grilled fish in foil and taro nikkorogashi.

'Pretty much it.' said Yusuke. 'But first she needs an apartment before she can even furnish it and her parents are abroad, sooo we're gonna be loco-something.'

'Loco Parentis.' Shouhi deadpanned. 'I want a 2LDK one, Urameshi-san incase my brother visits.'

'Oh, we have that empty place next floor over we'd best hurry up and bag it from the landlord!' Atsuko exclaimed.

Thus, a massive shopping spree began after securing the place and Shouhi studied her new space, planning what to buy. Process went by for a week that Shouhi paid the Urameshis a million yen...through groceries that will be paid weekly until the million yen is added up.

She purchased electronics, appliances and furniture with choice decor that ensures comfort for all seasons and as she has no idea what clothes city human females wear, Yusuke roped Botan on the job.

During shopping, all Shouhi had on her, were yukatas and tatami zori.

And now, she's spending her days in her apartment, reading Kurama's old schoolbooks and since Yusuke skips school anyway, forced him to train his reiki in her apartment. After school, Kurama would come over to teach her Math and English, two things she can't learn on her own that Yusuke wound up learning...by ear.

And before Kurama comes, she cooks dinner beforehand.

They soon learned that Shouhi's idea of cooking, were dishes from the freaking Showa Era.

'These meals are quite old fashioned.' Kurama blinked owlishly.

'Huh? Really? They're from Genkai-sensei's heirloom cookbooks written by her mom.' said Shouhi, explaining away why Miso Soup aside, they were indeed, old fashioned dishes. 'She passed it on to me and told me to make my own spin to it. So my food texture and flavors are different.'

'Well, granny's old ain't she? I think we were born when she's in her sixties or later than that.' Yusuke snorted.

'Well, anyone with powerful Reiki have potential longevity and never...rusting unlike most seniors of today since powerful ki keeps cells alive and perky.' said Shouhi. 'Its why for a granny soon to be seventy, she's still a springy fighter but her power wanes with age...I watched that little tournament of hers from afar, when she blew those two self-proclaimed Hermits away with a holler.'

'She did say when in her prime, she could kill them by a mere stare.' Yusuke muttered.

'Well, everything that has a beginning, has an end. Life dies eventually and all form gradually withers and breaks. That's life.' Shouhi shrugged. 'Well, eat up before it gets cold. In my year-long time under sensei, I learned how to be a proper girl and a cook, things Hiei-san couldn't teach me since he dropped me off there. I lived like a boy with him but because I'm female and nearing mating age, I have to learn how, having two years left.'

'Er, Shouhi, Hiei's basing Mating Season based on physical maturity, when a youkai is old enough to have developed secondary sexual characteristics.' Kurama sweatdropped.

'What's that, Kurama?' Yusuke sweatdropped.

'Such as girls developing breasts and widening of their hips while for us boys, our torso gets bigger, our voice deepens and our...thingy between our legs gets bigger too.' Kurama coughed at the last part awkwardly in his explanation. 'But Shouhi, in human culture, that rule ONLY applied about 300 years and further backwards to ancient times for humans. Now, its illegal to marry underaged and its now a crime. So for example, you should marry when at least, before you're 25 years old. Around 23-25 ish as younger than that, anyone's still in school.'

'Ah...'

'Hiei wouldn't know that.'

'Oh, I have a lot of time then...I just can't see myself marrying either.' said Shouhi. 'I hate humans but sensei said that its too early for me to judge...she may be right...she was the first human to treat me kindly. I want to see what humans are more numerous...good humans or bad humans for me to decide.'

xxx

Outside the apartment, Yusuke's flat at around 9:45...

'Hiei told me her past.' said Kurama, having tea in the living room. 'He forgot the town name and where it was, but it was where he found Shouhi as a child when he was looking for Yukina-chan. He sensed and heard her thoughts, finding her at the playground with injuries from school bullying. Her mother isn't exactly mother-of-the-year either.'

'She was an airheaded, cheerfully-oblivious and also tactless woman, not seeing her daughter's social issues in her opinion but when Hiei checked, she rewrites reality in her head because she can't accept the bitter truth, unwittingly blaming her daughter for things that wasn't her fault in regards to her suffering caused by a seal in her powers that affected her body too.'

'That seal ruined her life and also, Shouhi saw humans as monsters to those they deem their lessers at a young age. Alone and friendless, and an unhappy home she willingly ran away with a stranger who showed her a sliver of kindness. Its lucky she met Hiei, not some criminal into child trafficking for that rumored Black Market for organs or Child Pornography or Snuff Films, her fate could've been worse. Not all kids just like her is that lucky.'

'That's why she hates humans, huh?' Yusuke mused. 'She met the worst first, not the good. Her mother may have been good at first but ever since school happened...'

'Well, they say that to those one deems inferior, those so-called stronger tend to show their true colors towards them as a form of torment to feel strong.' said Kurama softly. 'That, or coldly show disdain and apathy. Shouhi, growing up a youkai and just as misanthropic as Hiei shows disdain to her own kind due to what she put up with. Genkai-shihan may as well indeed, be the first human who showed her kindness before her mother's changing...then met you and Kuwabara...and considering temple interaction, decided you're good humans too. So now she made it her goal to find and meet good humans...what she'll do to bad ones is ambiguous...'

'Er, she'll definitely kill them or deliver a fate worse than death. That old baldy Tarukane's good example.' said Yusuke. 'Botan observed the mansion again, he's somehow found decapitated and its not Shouhi, she's in my house the whole time.'

'Someone killed him.' said Kurama.

'Yup, wonder who did?'

'Beats me. We'll investigate tomorrow.'

xxx

By the end of May however, a small infant sat in a bar, drinking beer.

On his table is a folder.

"Its been several years. I don't think there's hope she's alive now." Reborn thought.

He was originally hired to train Vongola's last heir...only to find a depressed, drunk woman saying she's been missing for five years, never coming home ever again. Police never found her so she has been a depressed drunk, and pretty much let herself go and the house is in a bad state of neglect.

He had to call Vongola to an emergency and Sawada Nana, the wife of the External Advisor, had to be hospitalized with good reason.

What a way to start his next job, starting with what may as well be a fruitless hunt.

He tried photo editing many times using Nana and Iemitsu's DNA and a picture of the heiress, having many photo results on print on what she may possibly look like.

Oh yes he looked everywhere...

But none bore fruit, not even news of girls found dead.

He sighed.

Even he knew defeat when he saw one, and his idiot student is also in Tokyo to make some idiots pay for double-crossing him on a deal made. At least that's one student that survived...

xxx

'Ahh, man that sucks.' 21 years old Dino grumbled. 'Try to cheat me will he?!'

'Maa maa boss, we got what's ours in the end.' Romario chuckled as they walked down the streets, wanting a good drink. 'Deals are based on trust but its of ill-breeding if one breaks a deal...shows us that they're not good doing business with.'

'Yeah, honestly.' Dino scowled. 'Making me come all this way when I'm so swamped with backlog work dad couldn't do due to illness...taking out my irritation on that guy was good stress relief. Let's go to a bar. I wonder what Japanese Bars are like...' he said excitedly when he bumped into someone. 'Wah!'

'Kyah!'

"Kya?!" When Dino looked at who he bumped and fell onto, it was a very cute young girl, clearly half-half with milk chocolate brown hair and brown eyes wearing a Yukata with iris flowers on her person. A hairpin, kimono prints and actual flowers on her arms. 'Oh! Sorry!' he apologized. 'Was in deep thought there...' he said, helping her up.

'...number 11.'

'Huh?'

'I'm doing an experiment to see who's more numerous. Good humans or bad humans.' said the girl. '65 others I met either yelled at me abusively or glared at me. 11 people with you being eleven showed me kindness.'

'That's a rather weird and morbid survey.' Dino sweatdropped, and somewhat freaked out.

'I hate humans but sensei said those I meet are a mere drop in a bucket...but humans caused me nothing but misery...wait, why am I telling you this?' the girl ran away.

'...weird girl.' Dino scratched his head.

'And a morbid one...must be from a sad upbringing she has no faith in people anymore.' Romario shook his head. 'But still, her experiment may either prove her wrong or disappoint her terribly. She may have the misfortune of meeting nothing but bad people and missing the good guys by a hair. But...'

'Yeah. That girl, we gotta take her in.' Dino frowned. 'She can't be on her own, bar time can wait!' they ran after her.

xxx

Shouhi was frowning.

Being a trained psychic, the two she bumped earlier felt something from her that got them worried about her and now trying to catch up to her.

Why?

Its not like she has anything important, right?

She was lucky to have met up with Kurama who was on his way to her apartment.

'Shouhi?' Kurama could hear her heartbeat pound that she was anxious and ran a marathon at that, so he got worried.

'Someone's following me.' Shouhi frowned. 'I'm going to see why before I decide to kill them.' Kurama stiffened.

'Human or youkai?' had he had his hackles still he would have raised them. But as a human, he can only stiffen.

'Human. What about youkai followers?'

'Well, there's this event that happens every 50 years.' said Kurama. 'A Fighting Tournament wherein the prize is an anything-goes wish to members of the winning team...the survivors, that is.' he said. 'And I'm wary of youkai stalkers and masking my ki as much as possible. We have a month remaining to avoid getting caught.'

'Ah, didn't know that...'

'Now you do. I also warned Yusuke and Kuwabara so they know better. Because deaths are real. Very real.' Kurama said grimly. 'They also look for Human Guest Team members as youkai enjoy seeing human deaths, the gorier the better.'

'Yikes.'

'So yes, suppress yourself. They tend to recruit Class-C humans for this shindig. Slow death because they're somehow competent, they say.' he said before his eyes fell on Shouhi's flowers. 'That's a lot of Irises...'

'Well, I went to the Iris Festival...I was curious what the hype is all about...besides, long before my femininity lessons, I always liked flowers.'

'Ehehe.' Kurama chuckled. 'Can I have one? I could use some extra weaponry.' he said as Shouhi held out her flowers. 'They're fertile flowers bound to have seeds by now since they're in season today.'

'The leaves do look like blades don't they?'

'Yup. Its what I want them for.'

In ten minutes, near the apartments...

Dino and Romario caught up to them.

'Hey, wait!' Dino called out as the two.

'It's them.' Shouhi told Kurama.

'Let us talk to you, please!' Dino cried in a rush. 'It's important!'

'...what could be important?' Kurama asked him.

'Uhm, we need to tell her in private. We have laws about this. Even under a tree will do as long as we're not overheard.'

'Fine, but I'll be watching from a distance.' said Kurama sternly. 'She's the little sister of a friend of mine.'

And so, not that Kurama'd care, being a former canine, he STILL has the abilities of one. His sense of smell scented things from the two foreigners.

Blood. Gunpowder. Exposure to fire. And expensive perfumes in a bid to cover it all up, but they're not fooling him.

As to what he overheard...it was regarding Shouhi's unique powers.

It was questions on her abilities, before an explanation away...and she happened to have two types from what they felt, and warned her well because they indeed, have laws such as these 'Vindicche' showing up to haul lawbreakers to 'ven-di-care' and never see the light of day again, a force feared by the whole community...to those who broke rules that is, they have an uncanny tendency to appear anywhere, any time.

The blonde wasn't lying when he was genuinely worried about Shouhi, even giving her a business card.

Little did they know that this meeting, is a key to something much bigger.

xxx

'You heard everything didn't you?' Shouhi asked Kurama.

'Too easy. After all, I am a fox. My bodysuit will never change that.' said Kurama as they went into her apartment for her lessons. 'But still, its intriguing. Never thought your flames can do those.'

'Me neither...I thought I can just burn everything I want dead.' said Shouhi softly. 'I'll try training this power out every before tutor hours starting tomorrow.'