Author's Note: I've had a really rough month. I won't go into details, but I've been dealing with a lot of stuff lately so I haven't been able to write much at all. I hope that I'll be able to keep updating this story regularly, and get back to updating my other stories, but there might be a small hiatus until things settle.

Now, enough of the sad stuff. Thank you to everyone reading, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Post Date: 29 November 2017

Word Count: 6745

Chapter Four
Honesty Is A Virtue

1991 March

"Alright, Nari, now give me the real details!" At Nari's blank look, Koto continued. "You know, the real details? About what you've been up to in Human World?"

"But I just told everyone everything over dinner," Nari pointed out. After everyone settled down, Celosia and Koto both fixed them all something to eat. Nari gave her full report in between bites, despite eating earlier with the Kuwabaras, because all of the running and climbing a mountain had made her hungry all over again. She hadn't left out any details, because she'd been talking to both her Auntie and her King.

"You seriously just followed that lug around all day?! You didn't do anything fun?!" Koto's lighter aqua eyes were wide in shock, and Nari felt the corners of her lips pulling down at her twin's shocked tone.

"Don't call him that! Kazuma is a great guy! Not a lug!" Nari quickly defended. Koto's eyes got a special gleam in them, and Nari was suddenly glad that the two of them were in her room instead of still sitting in the kitchen with the others. Nothing good ever came from her twin's gleeful look, especially when paired with an extra wide smile.

"A great guy, huh? You crushin' on that giant human?" Koto asked and lightly poked at the exposed part of Nari's bicep. Nari was quick to slap at Koto's hand, which only made her sister laugh before dropping to sprawl sideways across Nari's bed. After a moment, Nari sighed and kicked off her boots before falling onto the bed next to Koto.

"I'm not crushing on him. It's just…he's been through a lot, and he's only human. He shouldn't have to deal with all of this." Nari let her head fall to the side, and Koto turned so that their eyes could lock. She'd been prepared for her sister to tease her some more, but Koto actually looked completely serious for once.

"No, he shouldn't, but we've both seen how strong he is. He'll be just fine." Koto held the serious look for another moment and then grinned mischievously again while lightly nudging Nari in the side with an elbow. "Especially with you keeping a close eye on him."

"Oh, shut up! I'm not as boy crazy as you!" Nari shot back. To everyone else, she was the quiet and more thoughtful one out of the two of them. Only Koto could rile her up with one carefully crafted sentence and a simple facial expression.

"I am not boy crazy!" Koto yelled without really raising her voice, because they both knew that Papa had a kind of sixth sense when it came to them talking about anything that even hinted at them growing up. Nari rolled her eyes instead of arguing back and then turned so that she was looking up at the ceiling instead.

"I didn't tell them how I really knew Auntie. Or about you," Nari admitted in a quiet voice. She definitely wasn't ashamed of her aunt or her sister, but both of the Kuwabaras had seen Koto during the Dark Tournament. More importantly, they'd both heard Koto during the tournament. Her sister had just been doing her job, but she'd made a few comments that had upset the humans. Nari knew that Koto respected Team Urameshi at the end, but she wasn't sure if either of the Kuwabaras knew that.

"You forgot to mention that you're royalty?" Koto teased. They lived in the palace, they called the King Auntie, and they called the King's second and Corinth's general Papa. They weren't really treated as royalty, but they were jokingly called princess from time to time by the palace's inhabitants.

"It never really came up." That much was true. Kazuma never asked about her family, so she'd never brought it up.

"I know this is your big mission and everything, but can I give you a piece of advice?"

"Always," Nari answered automatically. Her and Koto seemed like polar opposites at times, but there was no one that Nari trusted more than her twin.

"Tell the big lu—I mean, tell Kuwabara about who you really are before you bring him here. He seems like the kind of guy who appreciates honesty and stuff like that." Koto's tone was easy and light, and Nari lightly bit on her bottom lip as she thought the words over. She hadn't exactly lied, but she had purposefully left details out. So that was lying by omission. Koto was also right about Kazuma being the more honorable type that valued honesty. She'd tell him the truth before they left Human World.

"I'll take your advice under consideration. Now tell me what happened while I was away."

Koto immediately launched into a story about Papa and Auntie fighting right after Auntie told them where Nari had gone, and why, so Nari now knew why the West Tower was under construction. Papa and Auntie rarely actually fought, physically at least, but building structures did seem to get destroyed whenever they really did fight. Nari wasn't even surprised when Koto told her that everyone else just stood back and watched them go at it, because getting between the two of them never ended well. Still, it was comforting to know that nothing had changed during her brief absence. Home was still…home.

Two Weeks Later

"I don't like this," Papa huffed as he looked down at her. He was standing between Koto and Auntie, which looked a little funny since he was well over a foot taller than both of them, and Nari fought down a smile as she looked at the three people who made up her family. Well, she considered everyone who lived in the palace as family, but these three were more than that. Koto was her other half, and Papa and Auntie saved them and then raised them as if they were blood.

"I'm coming right back," Nari promised and smiled gently up at him. She knew that most demons thought her father was callous, which he could be in certain situations, but she knew him as someone who loved her and worried about her constantly. (He probably worried about Koto more though. Nari's twin definitely caused him to pull at his hair more often than Nari did anyway.)

"You sayin' you don't trust her?" Auntie asked and nudged Papa's side with an elbow.

"I'm sayin' I don't trust the fuckers she might run into on your mission." Nari tried not to fidget as Auntie's eyes brightened into a more red color, but her tail did twitch a little when she realized that Papa's eyes were growing darker and that the mountain under her feet was starting to shake.

"Tsubaki said it had to be her," Auntie growled. The mountain shook hard enough to make Nari stumble, and she raised a brow as Koto's eyes met hers. Koto mirrored the action, so Nari thinned her lips and narrowed her eyes just a little. Koto huffed and rolled her eyes, and Nari crossed her arms as Koto poked the back of Papa's shoulder. Because Papa had turned to fully face Auntie as they started to square off.

"So, would now be a bad time to tell you that my training has been suspended for a week or until it's proven that I wasn't the one who burned down the training shed?" Koto asked. Nari bit the inside of her lip as Papa blinked in confusion before turning around to fully face Koto instead, and she felt the little bit of tension in her muscles easing as she realized that the mountain was still. The air didn't feel quite as hot either.

"That was you?" Papa asked.

"Technically, they never proved that I did it either," Koto quickly pointed out. Auntie was smiling just a little, and Papa was still just looking down at Koto in confusion.

"But I've been rebuilding that shed," Papa said and pointed at his own face.

"Which is very admirable given your usual lazy attitude. Nari, now would be the time to run," Koto said loudly out of the corner of her mouth.

"Right! See you in a few days!" Nari called out before turning on her heel and jumping.

"Wait! Two days, or I'm comin' after ya!" Papa called after her. She could hear faint yelling after that, but she couldn't tell if Koto was being lectured or praised. With their father, either option was possible. Probably a lecture though if he'd actually been rebuilding whatever Koto had burned down.

"Thank you, Koto," Nari thought with a smile as she reached the bottom of the mountain. Her twin had provided the perfect distraction, and now it was time for her to return to Human World.

.xXx.

Nari stopped next to the apartment building and let her head fall back as she sucked in a few deep breaths, and her ears twitched as she focused on the top apartment. She could hear water running in the kitchen, and she knew that was Shizuru. The woman was humming quietly under her breath while she washed up. Kazuma was in his room; Nari could hear the quiet creak of his desk chair, and his window was open. He was either being thoughtful or neglectful. Either way, it made her life a little bit easier. After one last deep breath, she bent her knees and then pushed most of her strength into her legs.

"Oh, hey, Nari," Kazuma said quietly as she pulled herself through his window. She bounced against his mattress for a moment and then scooted to the edge, and Kazuma placed another book into his schoolbag before turning around to face her.

"Hello again, Kazuma," she said with a small smile. Her eyes flicked over towards his closet, where she could see two small packed bags. It looked like he was ready to go. She looked back over at him as she got to her feet, and she tried not to fidget as his eyes rose to meet hers. "Do you have any questions?"

"Your king, what kind of demon is she?" She hadn't really been expecting that, and her tail moved up to slowly curl around her waist as she answered.

"She's a cat demon, like me, but she's also an elemental. It's rare for an animal demon to also be an elemental without having an elemental parent, but she's a full cat demon with the power to create fire." It was rare, but it wasn't unheard of. Still, Auntie's fire was…chaotic. She could control it, but Auntie had told her once that she didn't have the same kind of control that a true elemental demon had.

"Fire, huh?" Kazuma mumbled to himself. Maybe he was thinking about Hiei? Nari had caught glimpses of the fire demon and she'd seen him fight during the Dark Tournament, and she was impressed by his strength. His personality left a lot to be desired though.

"Yes. Her brother is the same way. A full cat demon, but he can control earth." Papa's power was just as destructive as Auntie's, more so since he was easier to anger. Speaking of Papa, it was time for Nari to come clean. "He's my father."

"The king's brother is your father? The king is your aunt?!" Kazuma's eyes were wide as he looked up at her now, and Nari resisted the urge to bite her bottom lip as she slowly nodded.

"Papa adopted us, actually, after our parents were killed. So the king is actually my adoptive aunt, but I love them both as if they were blood family. So does my twin. Who's Koto." She said her twin's name slowly, and she watched as Kazuma recognized the name. He groaned before dropping his face into his hands, and Nari finally caved and lightly bit her bottom lip as she watched the tense line of Kazuma's shoulders.

"Crazy announcer Koto?" Kazuma asked after a moment. Nari winced a little at the description, even though Koto had been called worse during the tournament and after.

"She was doing what she was told, and she rooted for your team at the end." Most of the demons had been rooting for Team Urameshi at the end, because the other team had been trying to kill them all. Probably would have killed them all if it hadn't been for Team Urameshi. Kazuma snorted a little at that, probably thinking along the same lines as her, and then slumped back in his desk chair.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Kazuma asked.

"I'm the King's niece, and Koto is my twin sister. Nope, that's everything," Nari said and smiled. Kazuma huffed as he looked at her, but she could see something shifting in his eyes.

"Koto's your twin? So she's the same age as us? And she still announced at the Dark Tournament?" Kazuma looked both shocked and a little worried, and Nari bit down on her growing smile before answering.

"Yes. Papa wasn't too happy about her standing in the ring while demons tried to kill each other, but Koto was able to convince him that she could take care of herself. Of course, we had to wear energy suppressors while we were there so she was in danger most of the time. Koto's never been the type to run away from danger though." Nari loved her twin, more than anyone else in the world, but she worried about her constantly.

"So, you live in the palace with the king?" Kazuma looked a little more relaxed now, and Nari was glad that she'd told him the truth before they left. She had a feeling that him finding out after reaching the palace wouldn't have gone over quite as well.

"I do. Me, Koto, my father, King Eriko, and four others. You'll meet them." For the past two weeks, Auntie had been preparing her for Kazuma's arrival. So Nari knew what she had to do after they got back home, and she knew that it'd be a day or two before Kazuma met the palace's inhabitants. By the time he met them though, he'd know everything about them.

"All demons, I'm guessing," Kazuma mumbled. She knew it must be strange to him, being asked to go to a completely different world. One where humans rarely survived.

"They're good demons though, if that helps?" Nari knew that there were many demons that hated humans, she knew that there were horrible demons out there, but humans weren't perfect either.

"Yeah, it helps," Kazuma said with a quiet laugh. Nari smiled as she took another look around the room and rocked back on her heels, and it looked like Kazuma had been waiting for her. So he hadn't changed his mind or doubted his decision, not that she thought he would. Kazuma wasn't the type of person to go back on his word.

"Ready to go talk to Shizuru? I promised the King we'd be back soon," Nari said and looked back at Kazuma. He sighed before pushing himself to his feet, and Nari had to tip her head back to keep their eyes locked.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

.xXx.

"We're almost there!" Nari yelled and looked over her shoulder. Kuwabara blinked against the wind and looked straight ahead, but he could only see more rocky terrain under them.

"I don't see nothin'!" he yelled back.

"Just wait for it!"

They left his house somewhere around lunchtime, after Nari spent half an hour memorizing Shizuru's instructions about his schoolwork. His work had to be turned in every two weeks, and he'd have to show up in person to take his midterms and finals. Nari promised to drop off all of his work and to make sure that he didn't miss his tests, and she'd promised that her king didn't want Kuwabara to fall behind on his studies either. (Her king, who was actually her aunt. Kuwabara was still a little shocked about that, but not nearly as shocked about finding out that Nari was Koto's twin. He couldn't really see the resemblance.) Then, after Nari memorized everything and promised Shizuru for a third time, his big sis had put him in a headlock and forced him to make all the same promises. Which he'd already done.

After Shizuru let them both go, with one last reminder to Nari that the little demon would have to face her wrath if anything happened to Kuwabara, Nari led him to a portal that connected the two worlds. Nari was able to slip through because of her energy suppressors, and he was able to get through because he was human. They finally crossed over, and Nari had let him take everything in before they started towards the west. Apparently, the portal opened up along Alaric's barrier, in the south. Looking up at the sky had been…weird. He remembered some of how Demon World looked from when they chased after Sensui, but he hadn't spent a lot of time dwelling over how it looked. Which was a good thing, because the red sky was freaky looking.

When he told Nari that he was ready to go, she'd smiled up at him and then let out a sharp whistle. The large boulder to their left had moved, and Kuwabara had nearly toppled over when he realized that it wasn't a boulder after all. It had actually been a really big dark blue dragon, with scales and wings, and Nari had lightly petted its snout while introducing them. The dragon's name was Bunny, and Nari had blushed when she admitted to naming him when she was four. She said that without the dragon, it'd take them about two days to get to Corinth. With the dragon, it would only take a day and they wouldn't have to tire themselves out running.

Somehow, they'd both been able to nap while riding on the dragon's back. Kuwabara did fine with everything, as long as he didn't look down. He wasn't exactly afraid of heights, but the large height combined with the speed they were traveling at? Falling wasn't something that he wanted. The sun had been up for a few hours though, the sun was about the same size as the one in Human World but was a dark orange color, and everything under them still looked the same.

"Still don't see nothin'!" Kuwabara yelled. He heard Nari laugh and then her hand popped up over the line of her shoulder. She crooked one finger to ask him to lean forward, and Kuwabara carefully scooted forwards until he could look over her shoulder. He could also hear her better, even though the wind around them was still loud.

"Only a few people can cross the barrier, and I'm one of the few! It takes a combination of blood, energy, and the magic words!" Nari explained as she raised her hand to her mouth.

"Magic words?!" Kuwabara could hear the doubt in his own voice, and Nari laughed a little before biting down on her left index finger with a sharp canine. Kuwabara could see a streak of blood as she lifted her hand in the air, and she held her bloody finger out away from them. The green bracelet on her wrist was gone, and he could feel her energy starting to rise.

"Pao Eisodo!" The air around them turned bright red and seemed to shimmer, and Kuwabara was just about to ask what the hell was going on when the redness disappeared. He could finally see, so they must have passed through the barrier. Before, he had only been able to see the gray rocky flat terrain of Alaric. Now he could see several small mountains breaking up the landscape, several small towns and villages, and even a few green forests.

"Magic words, right," he mumbled as he looked around. The barrier kept people from being able to see any of Corinth, that was good to know.

"Welcome to Corinth! See that up there?" Nari used her still bloody finger to point way up ahead of them, but Kuwabara could easily see the tallest mountain in the distance. "That's Mount Jirou! Where the palace is!"

The land under them seemed to blur as the dragon picked up speed, and Nari cleaned her finger off on her shorts before looking over her shoulder to smile at him. She'd seemed a little tense when they woke up, but she looked completely relaxed now. Maybe because she was almost home? The dragon started flying closer to the ground as they got closer to the mountain where the palace was, until Kuwabara could almost reach out and touch the tops of some trees. The dragon landed on the edge of a small village at the base of the mountain, and Kuwabara followed Nari off the dragon's back a few moments later.

"Lady Nari! So good to see you back so soon!" a large demon called out. The guy had to be nearly seven feet tall, and the horns on top of his head looked to be about as long as Kuwabara's arms. Nari smiled up at him like they were old friends though, so Kuwabara stayed calm as he gathered up his few bags.

"It's good to be back, Akifumi! Will you take care of Bunny for me? I don't want to keep King Eriko waiting," Nari said with a small smile. The large demon smiled as well while bowing, and Kuwabara realized that Nari was blushing a little as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. So, she really was royalty. Good to know.

"Of course, my lady. Give the King my regards."

"Always," Nari said as Akifumi led the dragon away. Once they were gone, she turned around and smiled up at Kuwabara. "Time to climb the mountain. I hope you don't mind?"

"Nah, I need to stretch my legs anyway," Kuwabara answered and smiled down at her. He still wasn't sure what to think about everything, but he liked Nari. She'd been nice to him so far.

He followed Nari to the base of the mountain, where a very long and very steep set of stairs had been carved into the side. Kuwabara couldn't even really see the top of the mountain from where they were standing, and he already knew that he was going to be tired by the time they reached the top. There was no point in complaining though. He just needed to suck it up and start climbing! Nari went up first, and Kuwabara adjusted his bags before following up after her.

A little over two hours later, they finally reached the top. Sort of. They were technically at the top of the mountain, but there were a couple of people in front of them. Well, there were a couple of demons in front of them. Kuwabara could see over a few of them, but he couldn't really see why they were waiting in line because the steps were really steep. He could hear echoing laughter though, so the line wasn't for anything too bad. Nari was on the step ahead of him, but the steepness of the stairs only made their eyes nearly level instead of making her taller than him. She turned around once they came to a stop, and her dark eyes seemed a little brighter as she crossed her arms and smiled at him.

"King Eriko meets with anyone who needs to speak with her, but it shouldn't take too long," Nari explained.

"She makes people climb a mountain to talk to her?" He was sure that most demons probably didn't have any problems climbing a mountain, but it had to still be difficult for some of them.

"Not really, no, but it's an option for anyone that wants to speak to her. Most of the towns and villages elect someone to come speak for them, but King Eriko doesn't spend every day on the throne. She only sits on the throne for six months every other year. During the other times, she travels from town to town and talks to people then. She chooses two others to stay here to meet with everyone when she's gone." Okay, so the king didn't stay on the throne all the time.

"Why two people?" Kuwabara wasn't much of a politician, but he thought kings would enjoy being in power. It seemed a little odd that she would just skip out for a year and a half, and that she'd leave two people in control while she was gone. It was kinda cool that she visited the towns though.

"To keep things fair, and we have ways to contact her if we really need her," Nari said and then turned around so that they could move up a few steps.

Twenty minutes later, Nari and Kuwabara were next in line. They were at the top of the staircase, finally on top of the flat mountain peak, so Kuwabara could see everything. Four small demons were sitting in front of the throne as they talked quietly to the king, who Kuwabara could finally see clearly. He could see everything clearly, and his eyes kept getting drawn to the throne itself. It looked like the mountain had been scooped out a little so that the throne was situated in a groove, and the throne was shaped like a giant chair. A giant chair made entirely out of bones. Some of the bones were huge, but others looked normal sized. Maybe King Eriko wasn't a bad king, but she was sitting on a throne made out of bones and that was kinda creepy.

"Who's that next to her?" Kuwabara asked quietly. Nari looked over her shoulder for a second, looked out in front of her, and then turned back to meet Kuwabara's eyes over her shoulder.

"That's Tsubaki. She normally sits with the King during her meetings. She's one of the King's best advisors," Nari answered. Kuwabara looked in front of him again at the woman sitting next to the throne. She didn't have a chair. Instead, she was sitting on a large cushion next to the throne. She looked like she was the same height as Nari, but the top of her head barely reached the arm of the throne. Her long black hair was held up in two pigtails, and she looked completely human from a distance. Kuwabara couldn't see any obvious demon characteristics anyway. She was only wearing a black skirt and a thin long-sleeved red shirt, and he didn't see any fluffy ears or a tail of some kind.

"Tsubaki…the Seer?" He remembered Nari telling him and Shizuru about the Seer, because that was a conversation he wasn't going to forget anytime soon. The Seer was the one who thought he'd be able to stop a war.

"The very one. Don't be surprised if King Eriko calls her the Oracle though. That's what she likes to call Tsubaki," Nari said and smiled over at him. Kuwabara hummed and didn't look away. The king hadn't looked away from the demons in front of her, and she looked completely focused as she listened to them speak. Which meant that Kuwabara could really study her without her staring back at him.

The king…wasn't what he'd been expecting. He wasn't sure what to expect, not really, but he thought she'd look more intimidating. She looked small, especially sitting on that massive throne. Her brown hair was held back in a short ponytail, but short bangs hung down between her eyes and down the side of her face. She was short and looked thin, and her skin was pale. She didn't have fluffy ears on top of her head, but a fluffy tail the same color as her hair was wrapped around her waist. She was wearing black tights that stopped halfway down her calves, and the white shirt she was wearing was sleeveless and looked loose. He could see a yellow cloth belt wrapped around her waist under her tail, and she was wearing some kind of necklace around the base of her throat. Her feet were bare and were crossed under her, which was probably a good thing because he didn't think her feet would be able to reach the ground.

"Nari! Come introduce us to our new guest!" the king called out. The demons that had been sitting in front of her were gone, and Kuwabara could see their outlines entering the large building behind the throne. Nari must have noticed what he was looking at, because she quietly explained as they walked towards the throne.

"If visitors are too tired to start back home, they're welcome to rest here for the night. The palace is on the peak behind this one." Kuwabara hummed a little to let her know that he'd heard her, but he didn't say anything because they'd stepped up in front of the throne.

"He's quite tall for a human," the woman next to the throne said. Kuwabara looked down at her, and pale green eyes locked with his as she smiled. The smile wasn't cruel, but it wasn't exactly comforting either.

"Everyone looks tall to me. Even you, Tsubaki," the king said and looked over the side of her throne. So he was right about her being short. She even looked like she might be shorter than Nari. Closer to Yukina's height, maybe, which would make her a couple of inches under five feet.

"Then why am I the one with a crick in my neck?" Tsubaki grumbled. The king laughed as she slumped back in her throne, and she raised her chin as she looked him over. While she was sizing him up, Kuwabara quickly took in the few details he'd missed. Her eyes were the same dark brown color as her hair and tail, but the color looked like it was bordering between brown and red. The necklace was actually a metal collar, and there was an actual silver padlock at the center of the collar. Below that, he could see the top of a thick dark pink scar that started at the dip between her collarbones and disappeared into the vee of her shirt.

"He is tall. You didn't tell me he was tall, Nari," the king said and looked at where Nari was standing next to him.

"Sorry, my king. I didn't think his height was important." Did Nari always address her aunt like that? Or just when she was on official business?

"You're right, of course. Thank you for coming, Kazuma Kuwabara. I am Eriko Arakawa, and this is Tsubaki Himura. We are both honored to meet you," the king said and bowed her head. Next to her, Tsubaki did the same. Kuwabara waited for them both to straighten up and then he met the king's eyes.

"It's not like I really had a choice, did I?" The king smiled as she leaned forward and braced her elbows against her knees, and Kuwabara noticed that she was wearing one earring. In her left ear. Looked like a…small finger bone? What was with this woman and bones?

"There's always a choice, and you chose to come here. Thank you for that." She seemed completely sincere, and Kuwabara felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease.

"Well, I'm here. So now what?" Tsubaki laughed a little, and the king grinned so wide that he could see the sharp points of her canines.

"I told you that you'd like him," Tsubaki said and glanced over at the king.

"Yeah, and you're never wrong. I know," the king said while looking down at Tsubaki. Then she straightened up and met Kuwabara's eyes. "I thought about easing you in, maybe let you get to know the others before telling all, but Tsubaki said it'd be better to tell everything from the get-go. Not about the war to come, but about us. About who we are and how we came to be here."

"What's so important about me having a history lesson on you?" Kuwabara was there just in case his friends decided to go to war with each other, so why did it matter if he knew all about Eriko and the others that she lived with?

"Because you'll never care about any of us if you don't know us, and you can't save us if you don't care about us," Tsubaki said quietly.

"Plus, it's a really good story." The king's grin seemed a little sharper than before, and her eyes were starting to look a little more red.

"If you say so," Kuwabara mumbled. He wasn't sure what he expected his first meeting with the king to go like, but it definitely wasn't this.

"Nari, take him to the palace. Straight to the archives." Nari must have made some kind of facial expression, because the king sighed and ran a hand over her face. "Your father and I might have accidentally destroyed the hallway where the guest rooms are, so Isamu is making up a new room for our guest. So start in the archives. Lunch is already there waiting for you, and I'll have someone bring you two dinner."

"What about Papa and Koto?" Oh yeah, Kuwabara totally forgot that he was going to be living with Koto for a while. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Right now, they're both training the army to keep them out of the house. I'll make sure they don't bother you later." Nari straightened up and walked forward, and Kuwabara watched as the king leaned forward and held her hands out.

"It's good to have you home, sweet girl," the king said quietly.

"I'm happy to be home, Auntie." So Nari didn't always call her king, that was comforting. The king let Nari's hands go, and Nari moved to stand next to the throne. Then the king's eyes were on Kuwabara again.

"Nari will see to it that you have everything you need. While you're here, she's the one that you need to go to if you have any questions or if you need anything." He nodded and started to follow after Nari, but the king's voice made him pause after he was standing next to the throne. "Oh, and Kuwabara?"

"King Eriko?" She smiled a little as she looked up at him, and he couldn't get over how young she looked. He knew that she had to be a few centuries old, but she didn't look any older than Shizuru.

"While you're here, please try to think of Corinth as home. Nari might be the one responsible for you while you're here, but we're all happy that you decided to come. And if anyone bothers you, tell me directly and I'll handle it."

"You got it," he said and then added on, "King Eriko."

"Just call me Eriko," she said and waved a hand. Nari smiled up at him as he turned his head around to face forward, and he jumped a little as she reached forward and loosely wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

"We'll see you later!" Nari called out as she pulled him along behind her.

"I'll make sure you get dinner!" the king yelled.

"And make sure you tell him the real stories! Not the fairytales!" Tsubaki added.

"So, what did you think?" Nari asked him once they were away from the throne. They were walking through the building behind the throne now, and a few demons were seated around the open space. They were talking to the other demons around them and didn't really pay them any attention, so Kuwabara thought over his answer as he trailed along behind Nari.

"She was different than I expected. If she hadn't been sitting on a throne, I wouldn't have ever guessed that she was a king," he said honestly. He knew she had to be strong, but she hadn't acted tough and he hadn't been able to feel her power. She'd seemed pretty nice too.

"She's never been the type to flaunt her title," Nari said as they walked out of the back of the building. There was a large stone bridge at the edge of the mountain peak, and he could see a larger building on the other mountain peak. "That's the palace."

"That's where you live?" That place was huge! He was definitely going to get lost at least twice.

"Eight of us live inside. Trust me, you'll be thankful for the space after a few days," Nari said with a quiet laugh. She was still holding onto his wrist and pulling him along behind her across the bridge, and he couldn't take his eyes off the palace that was getting bigger as they got closer.

"Oh yeah. Do your father and aunt fight like that all the time?" Eriko said that they destroyed an entire hallway, which was probably a lot of property going by the size of the palace.

"Not all the time, but Papa was worried about me going off on my own. He's got a bit of a temper." A bit of a temper? That sounded like an understatement, but Kuwabara wasn't going to argue with her. It was her family, so she knew them better.

The palace was quiet when they stepped inside, and Nari didn't slow down to let him look around much. The front door opened into a foyer, with several hallways branching off of it. Nari turned to the right and went down a hallway, and they reached a staircase at the other end. She started pulling him up the stairs, and Kuwabara counted three sets before they turned off to start walking down another hallway. So they were somewhere on the third floor. At the end of the hallway, Nari opened a large wooden door and pulled him inside of a massive room.

"Library?" Kuwabara asked as he looked around. There were giant bookcases lining the room, several smaller bookcases throughout the room, and a lot of comfy looking chairs and couches with tables around them.

"Yes, but we're going to the archives," Nari said and kept walking. Since she was still holding onto his wrist, Kuwabara was pulled along with her. She turned to the left and pulled them to the far side of the room, where a smaller door was. The door opened when Nari nudged it with the toe of her boot, and this room was smaller than the library but looked about the same. Lots of shelves, lots of books, and some comfy looking furniture.

"The archives, huh?" he asked as he looked around. Nari pulled him over to a large couch and finally came to a stop, and he looked down at the table in front of the couch. Food was spread out across it, along with two glasses and a really big jug, which was a good thing because Kuwabara was starving.

"The door is usually locked, but Eriko left it open for us. Have a seat," Nari said and gestured to the large couch. Kuwabara shrugged his bags off and carefully placed them on the floor as Nari moved to the other side of the room, and he slowly sat down as he watched her. She opened up a glass case and trailed her fingers along the spines of some books until she found the one she was looking for, and he heard her make a quiet aha! before she spun around to face him.

"History lesson?" he asked her. The book she was holding was huge and looked old, and she smiled as she started walking back towards him.

"You're lucky. There's rumors and stories about what happened, but only a few people know what actually happened. Like how Corinth was formed. Most people don't know how Corinth came to be, except for the people who were there. Koto and I only know because we were allowed to read this," Nari said and held the book in front of his face as she sat down.

"You mean Eriko formed Corinth?" That would definitely explain how she became king. Nari moved the book into her lap as she nodded, and she tapped her fingers against the front cover.

"She did. Before I start though, I think we should eat. Sound good?" He was curious about the king who'd asked him to come to Demon World, but he also felt like he was starving. So, yeah, food first sounded like a good idea.

"Sounds good."

Ending Note: Another chapter down! I know this might seem like a filler chapter, but I wouldn't write it if it wasn't important. This is a set-up chapter. In the next chapter, I'll start explaining backstories. Eriko's, Makoto's, Nari and Koto's, and a few surprise characters as well. I don't know how many chapters it's going to take, but I know I'll have fun writing them. Also, since the next chapter is gonna have Eriko's backstory, Raizen will be in the next chapter! So that's definitely something to look forward to.

Okay, it's late and I'm tired, so please feel free to ask any questions if there's something that doesn't make sense.

backoff22: I'm glad you're looking forward to more Kuwabara! Because I don't think he gets enough appreciation, so I'm going to have a lot of fun with him in this story. I'm really liking Nari, because she's almost like the anti-Koto. There's a good balance between them. (I'm not too far behind on your story? Awesome! I promise that as soon as I get free time, I'll get caught up. I need to know how Kohana and Hiei are doing lol) Thank you so much for the review!

SakiHanajima1: I'm so happy you like Nari! Because you know I always carefully plan my OCs, but I put a lot of work into the OCs for this story so I feel super protective of them. That part in the anime always makes me sad too! I mean, I'm glad that Kuwabara got to be normal, but I missed him in the last arc. Shizuru will definitely go to Demon World later on. That's already planned. If I can find a way to bring her in sooner, you know I will because I love Shizuru. I love their little family! Because Makoto is a big scary guy, but he's like a giant teddy bear with his little girls. (Which Eriko mocks him for, but she totally spoils them too.) I'm so glad you're liking the story, and thank you for the review!