"What the hell is that thing?" Isamu was dumbfounded by a large blue beast that resembled a phoenix. I was little confused myself but I kept my mouth shut so as not to be rude, Isamu had already accomplished that task.

"That's Puu," Yusuke explained, walking forward to stroke the beast's head. "He's my spirit beast, my inner self I guess. He guards the temple whenever we're gone. Can't trust Grandma to keep this place secure."

"I heard that, dumbass," a grouchy voice spoke from the doorway of the temple. "For that, you can pick up the presents he's been leaving all over the place." An old woman that seemed to be half my height was standing next to an ice apparition that was only a few inches taller than her. Genkai and Yukina, more likely.

Kuwabara perked up. "Hey Yukina, did you miss me?" He ran over to ice apparition and took both of her hands into his. It was kind of funny seeing such a large man standing next to a tiny girl, he looked like a giant and she looked like a doll.

Genkai walked over to the Spirit Detective. "So who are these two?" She looked over at Isamu and me.

"That's Isamu and his little sister Chie. They ran into some trouble and now they need to stay here while Chie recuperates."

"I hope you don't expect this to be a free stay."

Isamu answered. "What do you mean? These guys told us you would take us in. We can't return to Makai until Chie is better."

"I wasn't talking about her, I was talking about you. She's weak, a blind man could see that, but you're in perfect health. So if you want to stay here, I need you to work" Her face was expressionless but I could tell she was waiting for my brother to refuse. Something about her made me think she did not hold very high expectations for strangers. And why should she? We just met her, she had no idea who we were or what we could do.

"Alright," he responded a bit hesitantly. "What do need me to do?"

"I'll have a list for you tomorrow. Right now, you should take your sister inside." Yukina walked up to us then. "Follow me." Her voice was small and sweet.

Isamu had his right arm around me while I had my left arm over his shoulder so he could support me. Walking up the long staircase that led to the temple had exhausted me since I insisted on walking unaided. About halfway up, I was on my knees gasping for air. I noticed Kurama wanted to help but Isamu shot him a glare that made him back off.

When we entered the temple, both my brother and me could not help but stop and look around. There was large statue of a deity opposite of the entrance, candles positioned at the foot of it and stands with candles leading all the way to it. Yukina turned around when she heard us stop and gave us a concerned look. "Is everything okay?"

Isamu nodded, lost in thought. I answered. "We've never been inside a temple before. We didn't know it could be this..." I trailed off, unable to finish.

Yukina nodded in understanding. "Makai doesn't have a lot of temples. This is the second one I've been in and it's in better shape than the first."

"I always thought the ice maidens had pride in their temples," Isamu said.

"We did once but that was before my time. Now only the Elders worship and assign priestesses. I was meant to be one when my one hundredth year came."

"Do you regret leaving?" Isamu asked.

Yukina shook her head and smiled. "No, I enjoy Ningenkai and I love everyone here."

My brother's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Can you just take us to Chie's room now?"

"Isamu," I chastised. I saw Yukina seemed hurt by his abrupt change before she adopted a cold, emotionless state. She wordlessly signaled us to follow.

She led us to a small room with two bedrolls on the floor. There was an open window that looked out into the garden. "I thought you feel better if you had a good view of the garden," she offered timidly, her hurt feelings seemingly vanished.

Isamu lowered me down onto the bedroll closest to the window. "Thank you, Yukina," I replied, giving her a smile. "We really appreciate the thought."

"Being as close to nature as we already are here," Isamu explained. "Chie should feel better in no time. We draw strength from the surrounding environment, part of the reason I hate cities."

Yukina nodded. "Let me know if you need anything. I'll be outside finishing chores." And with that, she left.

I shifted around on the bedroll until I was facing the window. Isamu leaned against the frame and took in the fresh air. "I like this place."

"Of course you would." He closed his eyes and let the wind toss his hair around.

"You need to give these people a chance. They only want to help and it's obvious they're trying to build a bridge between humans and demons."

"They can try but it won't happen."

"You know Yusuke is a half demon?" He looked at me then. "His very existence proves otherwise. If anyone can improve the relationship between the two species, it's him. He already has a mixed group of humans, demons, and even that spirit Botan."

"You're too optimistic. As long as there are strong demons like Yomi and Mukuro who need to feed on humans, there won't be a truce."

"There are many ways to solve that problem, brother. There is always a peaceful solution."

"Sure," he answered sarcastically. "Just like there's always a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. You have so much faith in humans, it's blinded you. Even after all we've been through, you still don't think humans are capable of doing horrible things."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to. We stick to our own kind because they don't treat us like animals. If another demon attacks us, they attack because they see us as a potential threat."

"How is that not like being treated like an animal? Humans fear animals that threaten their survival."

"We don't skin our enemy and show it off like a trophy."

"No, but we fight each other to see who is the strongest and wear our victories like medals. I don't like our kind, brother. To be honest, I loathe demons and everything about us. I have very few exceptions: you, mother, father, Yukina, and Kurama."

He scoffed at that. "Kurama? He's not a demon, Chie. Not anymore."

"He used to be and that's what matters. He learned to feel compassion just like humans. Demons never change, we'll just keep fighting and breeding until all intelligence disappears and we become animals."

"So what? You wanna be a human?"

I shook my head. "I'm too much of an animal for that."

"And you don't think I'm an animal?"

"I know you're violent and irrational sometimes. But underneath it all, you do it because you care for me and don't want anything to happen."

Isamu's eyes darkened and he walked to the door. Without turning, he said, "And look how well that turned out."