Six

Summer in the city was almost too hot to bear some years, and this was was turning out to be one of them. Shuuichi could normally get by with wearing his usual long slacks and a t-shirt, but this year was simply refusing to allow that to be cool enough; he'd ended up having to resort to tank tops, even while working in the shop, to help remain cool. Tying his hair up had helped some as well, but in the long run, he found himself thinking rather longingly of visiting the beach, or even a mountain resort where it would be much less crowded and close than the ever-packed city.

Kimiko had been gone for a week and a half at this point. And even though he'd only known her personally for barely three, he missed her. She had called him a couple of times from what she'd called a 'clunky old landline' since her cell phone didn't have any bars so deep out in the mountains, and that had helped some... but he found himself wanting to see her. Waiting for the end of the week was starting to feel a bit harder than he'd anticipated...

It was a good thing, he decided, that Kokoda was willing to step in and run the shop. Shuuichi had the sense that with Kimiko as part of his life, his carefully cultivated schedule was likely to get a massive facelift.

Even as he let himself into her apartment to care for her plants, he found himself smiling a little at the thought; it was good to have an element or two in his life that was uncertain. It made things just a bit more... exciting.

"You didn't tell him on purpose, huh?"

Kimiko grinned at Shizuru, as they both watched Kazuma strutting around, making Yukina laugh.

"Nope~ I figured it'd be worth a laugh to see his expression, and I was right!"

The older woman chuckled a bit, lit cigarette hanging loosely between her fingers.

"You're getting sneakier," she said approvingly. "Used to be you and Yusuke couldn't lie to save your asses."

"Hey, Yuu still has a terrible poker face," Kimiko said blithely.

"I heard that!" her brother hollered in protest.

"I just have the 'be polite to the customer, even if you want to punch them' face," the brunette continued, smirking cheekily at Yusuke. "Helps a lot when keeping secrets."

"You keep many secrets these days?"

"Enough," and Kimiko shrugged a little. "But not as many as I used to."

Shizuru chuckled again, shaking her head lightly.

"At least none of them have come back to bite you in the ass, right?"

"Well, I try to not keep that sort of secret. Bad for my health and all."

That made the older woman snort, even as she dropped the end of her cigarette into the sand and stomped it out with her heel.

"Kiddo, with the way you fight, sometimes I think there's nothing that's bad for your health."

"Flatterer~"

"You're certain it's all right that I come up as well?"

"Of course it is, Shuuichi," Kimiko said, idly leaning against the wall. "There's plenty of room, and Master Genkai likes the company, even if she won't admit it. One more person isn't going to make that much of a difference in what's going on, and it'll be more fun, I think."

She heard him chuckle a little, and had to smile herself; it was nice talking to him like this, but she did hope he could find some time to get away. It was hot enough that everyone tended to vote for beach fun after Kimiko's training was finished... and sometimes even before then, leaving her—and sometimes Yusuke—to the ministrations of Genkai while they went off to have fun.

"Really, there's no problem if you want to come up. Blabbermouth Kaz has made everyone interested in actually meeting you too... is there a chance, you think?"

"Maybe. I will see what I can do."

"All right..."

Kimiko glanced up as Keiko waved to her from down the hall, then nodded.

"Looks like everything's ready, so I've gotta go now. I hope to see you soon, Shuuichi!"

"You take care, and enjoy yourself," he said warmly.

She sighed a little as she hung up, then padded down to join her friend; the movie marathon was going to be fun, at least. But she couldn't help thinking it would be more fun if she had a friendly redhead to enjoy it with...

Shuuichi adjusted the backpack he had slung over one shoulder as he looked up the number of stairs he was about to climb, contemplating again whether this 'surprise' visit was going to be as good an idea as he'd initially thought. Perhaps he should have told her... but it was too late now.

The air around here was definitely cooler, though the energy in the area felt... odd, somehow. A little menacing, and strangely warped, trying to push a strong 'go away' feeling, he realized. Understandable, knowing what he did about Master Genkai. The old woman was a fairly legendary former demon hunter, who had, for an unknown reason, decided to become a hermit some fifty or so years prior. He'd still be a demon-demon then, not in possession of his current human body, and his only thought at that time had been to be briefly relieved that, if he decided to cause trouble in the human world, he wouldn't have to find a way around such a powerful human.

Of course, then he'd suffered an injury at the hands of a different, extremely powerful human, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. In truth, he didn't regret it as much as he initially had...

The forest to either side was relatively nice and peaceful; birds were singing, and creatures were running through the brush as he climbed up to the temple compound. The soft breeze brought the scents of pine and some flowers to his nose; things that would make good medicine, he decided absently. The aura of 'go away' became strong as he climbed, and almost threatening, until he was almost at the top, at which point it simply vanished.

The temple was, in a word, large. It was also surprisingly quiet for the number of people Kimiko had indicated would be there. Cautiously, he set foot on the grounds, listening intently for sounds of combat, or conversation. He heard, sensed, and saw nothing out of the ordinary... or whatever might've passed for ordinary around here, and slowly turned, wondering if maybe he'd gone to the wrong place.

"If you're looking for Kimiko, Minamino Shuuichi, she's with the others down at the beach."

It took a great deal of control to avoid jumping at the crabby, creaky voice. Slowly, he lowered the backpack from his shoulder and turned back to the temple, to spy the old woman standing there. She looked moderately unfriendly, but the eyes that studied him weren't cold. Kimiko's thoughtful look, he recognized after a moment, but in a much older face.

"She said she hoped you'd come up," the old woman—Master Genkai, obviously—continued. "I think she expected to be informed first, though."

"Ah...well..." Shuuichi found himself at a bit of a loss.

After a moment, the ice seemed to crack, and something that was almost amusement crossed the old woman's face.

"Oh, relax boy. Of course I know who you are. Kimiko's mentioned you ever since you moved in. It's about damn time you two actually started talking, she was driving me nuts with all her waffling," and Genkai flapped a hand lightly in annoyance. "She can be bold as brass in a fight, but trying to get her to talk to someone she finds interesting is more like trying to hammer a nail into a steel pipe."

"Difficult at best, impossible at worst," he said after a moment, still feeling off-balance.

"Pretty much. Look, come inside, drop the bag into a room, and then take the west gate out; that'll take you down to the beach," and Genkai's expression changed to a full on smirk. "Or you could wait here and I could get to watch the show."

Shuuichi considered himself many things. Brave was occasionally one of them. But he didn't relish the thought of sticking around this temple to wait until Kimiko came back, so after a moment he picked his bag up again.

"Where might I leave this?" he inquired politely.

The beach was definitely the best way to beat the summer heat, Kimiko decided again as she waded in the cool ocean water. Keiko and Yukina were building a sand castle—their third—while Yusuke and Kazuma were shooting the breeze. Shizuru was lounging one a beach towel with a beer under the umbrella, and a cigarette in her other hand, just generally relaxing.

True, she still had to get up at the ass end of dawn and get her daily beating—training—in, but the hours of fun that followed were perfectly fun. Caring for the temple went a lot faster with all of them there, even if Genkai did grumble about the amount of noise they made. Kimiko knew full well, however, that her master didn't actually mean it; the fact that everyone was still there was testament to that much.

It still bummed her out some, however, that Jin and the rest still didn't feel comfortable meeting her human friends. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of the redheaded wind demon, and not even that of the rest of them once they learned Yusuke and the others were coming.

She sighed faintly, absently flicking stray hair from her ponytail out of her face. Maybe she'd be able to convince them another time...

It took some time to walk to the beach, which gave him time to reflect on how stealthy Genkai had been. He had been willing to swear that the temple had been utterly deserted, and then she had simply appeared. And not to all of his senses either, which was definitely unnerving. At the same time, he could easily see where Kimiko had learned her trick of muting her energy, even if he didn't entirely appreciate it being used on him.

But Genkai had said that Kimiko had talked about him. Had expressed a desire to meet him for... almost two years? It was a little strange, but somehow amusing. Kimiko, for all her forthrightness, was almost alarmingly cute when she turned shy. Not that he was going to indicate as much, not yet. He didn't want her to think he was being patronizing, after all, but it was amusing to realize that she had procrastinated on the meeting just as much, if not more so, than he had.

It was decidedly true, however, that life was much more interesting now that they were friends. And if he was going to be introduced to what amounted to her family, then perhaps he ought to return the favor, and have her meet his.

The bluff that overlooked the beach was covered in spiky green grass, and allowed him an excellent view of the antics before. Laughter drifted up on the wind, both feminine and masculine, and he peered down curiously at the group. Kimiko he picked out immediately, in a crop top and shorts, was chasing a young man with hair as black as hers through the surf, and seemed to be swatting at him with... seaweed? That had to be her brother, Yusuke. Yukina was working on a sand castle with Kazuma and another woman with dark brown hair, who had paused to watch the antics of the twins and seemed to be laughing. The last woman was situated under a beach umbrella, and he couldn't quite make out her features, but he caught the faintest hint of cigarette smoke, and suspected that she had to be Kzauma's older sister Shizuru, which meant the other one had to be Keiko, Yusuke's wife, and Kimiko's oldest friend.

Shizuru was the one who seemed to sense him first, though Kazuma was not far behind; both of them turning within moments of one another to look upwards towards the bluff. Kazuma lifted an arm, and he could almost make out a bellowed greeting that caused the running in the water to stop as it caught Kimiko's attention. Before she could turn, Shuuichi moved away from the edge, and found the path that would take him down to where they were. Perhaps he had lost the full element of surprise... but then again, perhaps not.

"I'm telling ya, he was up there!" Kazuma protested, waving a hand at the now-empty clifftop.

"You sure you're not getting sunstroke or something, Kaz?" Kimiko asked skeptically. "There's no one there. And Shuuichi didn't seem like he was going to be able to get away at all, from what he told me."

"Not anymore, but there was someone," Shizuru said. "He had bright red hair, and he seemed to be watching us... Not with any malicious sort of intent, but he was kind of hard to ignore, Kimi."

Kimiko glanced back up at the bluff with a slight frown; had Jin come to spy? But no, she could usually pick out Jin's energy with minimal effort, and it almost always came with an increased breeze at the very least; while the air around them wasn't dead, it wasn't rushing with his sort of trickster antics either.

So then... could it be Shuuichi?

The idea made her heart jump slightly, but she pushed that thought away after a bit of speculation; surely he would have called to let her know. Or he would have said something. Surprises just didn't seem to be...

Her thoughts trailed off as a familiar redhead came around the edge of the bluff, and lifted a hand in calm greeting. Surprise fled in the wake of delight and glee, and she abandoned the faux-angry chasing of her brother to run for her friend.

He had thought he was prepared for any sort of greeting; stunned, happy, even exuberant. He was not prepared to be tackled in an enthusiastic hug, and almost ended up falling over onto the sand. Clearly, this vacation had relaxed her inhibitions some... or perhaps she really was just naturally expressive like this. Either way, after the initial surprise, it wasn't too hard to return the hug.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she half-laughed, half-demanded as she pulled away, and lightly swatted his arm.

"Because a surprise seemed like a good idea?" he offered.

Kimiko huffed. Laughed. Then caught him by the wrist and pulled him along to meet the others, something he had no desire to fight. If anything, he marveled at her forwardness, and found humor in her clear glee at seeing him so unexpectedly.

Her friends seemed to be a mixed bag for reactions; Yukina was giggling hard enough to have some trouble breathing, while Kazuma's expression suggested that he didn't buy the 'not dating' label Kimiko had thrown at him last month. Yusuke looked somewhere between wary and curious—Shuuichi could hardly blame him for either emotion, given what all Kimiko had told him about herself—while Keiko seemed to be having a hard time not joining Yukina in her giggling fit. Shizuru was probably the calmest of the three, not to mention the least confrontational; she hadn't even gotten up from her beach towel, but she was watching, and there was a palpable weight of amusement to her, even if it didn't overtly show.

A glance at Kimiko showed that she had registered the reactions of her friends and family as well, and was somewhere between embarrassed and happy.

"Okay, yeah, you can stop laughing at me now," she said, tone annoyed. "Gang, this is my friend, Minamino Shuuichi. Shuuichi, that's my brother Yusuke, friend and sister in law Keiko, and psuedo-big-sister Shizuru. And you already know Kaz and Yukina."

Shuuichi smiled politely, and bowed to the group. Yukina waved cheerfully, still giggling intermittently, and handily stopped Kazuma's comment before it started by asking if he could find some shells for the latest castle. Shuuichi's smile widened just fractionally as the ice maiden gave him a barely perceptible wink.

"Just friends, huh sis?"

"Yes, Yuu, we're just friends," she huffed, propping her hands on her hips.

Yusuke's skeptical look gained a mischevious edge.

"Sure didn't look like a 'friendly' greeting to me."

"I will throw you into the ocean," Kimiko shot back, and Shuuichi was quite willing to bet she was serious.

"Yeah yeah, you and what army?"

"Who says I need an army?"

Yusuke snorted at her, and that seemed to be all the impetus needed for his sister to charge. Shuuichi watched for a moment, shaking his head a little at the rather ridiculous antics that had set Keiko to laughing.

"You get used to it after a while," Shizuru commented lazily, chuckling a little. "Nice to meet you, by the way."

"Yes, it's nice to meet all of you as well. She's said quite a lot about you."

"She can be a right chatterbox when there's sufficient motivation, but she's kept pretty quiet about you," Shizuru replied, snorting in amusement as Kimiko landed a leg sweep that knocked her brother into the ocean, as she'd threatened. "Kazuma said plenty, though."

"Oh dear," Shuuichi smiled faintly, though his attention sharpened.

"Relax," she advised. "Kazuma's a blabbermouth, but he passed on what she said pretty faithfully. It's good she's got a couple friends in that city; we were all worried that she was just going to be a loner for the rest of her life, job or no job."

Obviously, Kimiko could say nothing about how they'd met. He was going to have to ask her how they should explain that... But not while they were around all her friends. And it wasn't hard to guess that Shizuru—and the rest of them—would want those sorts of details at some point.

"She seems more outgoing here than she did in the city," he said after a moment.

"Well, out here the only expectations are her own, and those of Genkai," Shizuru replied. "She doesn't have to push herself to fit in..."

Shuuichi nodded a little in understanding as Yusuke tossed his sister into the ocean in revenge, and was promptly set upon by Kazuma for being mean to a girl. Kimiko promptly dunked both of them, and he chuckled a little.

"And of course, present company encourages roughhousing," Shizuru added dryly.

"It wouldn't be a proper get-together if they didn't try to drown each other at least once," Keiko put in with a grin. "They never mean it, after all."

Shizuru chuckled a bit, taking a drag from her cigarette.

"They'll never grow up. But that's not a bad thing."

"At least they all seem to be having fun," Shuuichi replied, his smile softening a bit as Kimiko's laughter, mixed with that of her brother's and Kazuma's, echoed through the air.

"Keiko, c'mere and help me drown your husband!" Kimiko called, a wide grin on her face.

"What?!" Yusuke's protest was immediate. "Hey, don't get her involved! That's cheap!"

Keiko giggled and got to her feet.

"Coming!"

It felt, Shuuichi decided as he joined them for a late movie, like they had all been friends for years. After the initial wariness had floated past, Yusuke had proved to be just as straightforward as his sister. Of course, that straightforwardness had turned to threats if Shuuichi ever hurt her, but those had been quickly curtailed by the sister in question, and Keiko. Kimiko's irritability at her brother had lingered the entire walk back from the beach, and had ended up translating into a brief, almost startlingly brutal, sparring match that was judged by Genkai.

The fact that Kimiko had only barely won seemed to please both twins and master, though Shuuichi found it a bit odd. Still, having watched, he could see the difference between them; Kimiko's skill was from years of dedication. She was light on her feet, graceful and almost delicate in her movements. Elegant and precise, she fought much the way he did, actually.

Yusuke, by contrast, seemed to fight by instinct alone and was much rougher in form. The fact that she managed to pin him and seemed quite proud of this fact, suggested the Yusuke's natural ability still gave him an edge, even though it was part of her profession, and she trained in a semi-regular manner.

As the movie progressed, and everyone became sufficiently absorbed, he kept his attention out for the brunette who had yet to actually join them. When she didn't appear, and the movie was half-over, he decided to go looking for her.

He left the movie room quietly, and quickly traced Kimiko's energy outside. Under the light of the half-moon, he spotted her half-sprawled out of her room. Her long hair was loose, and from the way it fell, he judged it to be still damp from the bath. She was dressed for comfort in the warm evening air, and she seemed to be... reading? Curiously, he approached. She stiffened slightly, then relaxed and glanced up at him with a faint grin.

"Movie get dull?" she asked.

"I was looking for you," he replied, sitting down on the walkway. "I thought you intended to join them?"

"I've seen that one a thousand times, so I thought I'd do something more useful," she admitted. "I train my body and reflexes during the day, and if I have the energy, I study less... lethal techniques at night." Kimiko paused, and gave him a thoughtful look. "Wanna help me practice?"

"That would depend on the type of practice..."

"Oh, like I want to hurt you," she chided, clearly amused, and offered him a look at what she was reading over. "Here, see? It's a pressure point chart. I usually practice on myself, or with the help of a friendly. They're still playing least-in-sight, though, so I'm pretty much on my own."

A pressure point chart it was indeed, with helpful notes alone the sides indicating what would happen to the arm, leg, or other appendage if done properly.

"...this is a medical chart," he said after a moment's scrutiny.

"Uh huh."

"You practice?"

"Sort of. Knowing how to heal works pretty well with fighting. I can use these on myself to help slow or stop bleeding, or I can use them on someone I'm fighting with to take them down in a non-lethal manner. It's hard to walk when your legs won't respond," she said, her expression gaining a hint of mischief. "Or, post-fight, if they were only reacting, I'll patch them up to show that I'm really not that terrible a person. It's done me a good turn or three before."

He chuckled a little.

"I would believe it. As I've said before, you have a good heart."

He saw her blush a little, and wave a hand slightly in embarrassment, and couldn't help the faint flash of mischief. It really was quite fun to throw her off-stride like this. But not too much, caution warned, not so hard as to push her away.

"All right," and he offered her his arm. "Show me."

"So, what are your intentions with my sister?" Yusuke asked as they sat in the training hall.

Kimiko's hearing was good enough that, even though she was sparring with Genkai, she managed a split-second glare at her twin before being forced to refocus on her master. Everyone else was still sensibly in bed, but the four of them had risen with the dawn; Kimiko to practice with Genkai, Yusuke for the same, and Shuuichi because it was a habit. Being able to watch and be impressed by the sparring was just a lucky bonus.

Shuuichi just smiled faintly, and lightly shrugged.

"We are friends," he said simply. "It's too soon to know what might happen next. Nor, I think, is it your business."

Shuuichi had thought hard about how this conversation could go, and had spoken with Kimiko as she'd practiced on him the night prior. While the young woman had been irritated at the thought, she had agreed that her brother wouldn't drop it just because she kicked his ass in a spar; she'd spent the majority of her school years doing her best to take care of him, and now that he was settled, he was starting to return the favor. True, he couldn't do it much since they no longer lived in the same town, but he would do what he could, when he could, and it was always... difficult.

Yusuke looked a bit surprised at the firmness of the reprimand. Not offended, at least. More like he had expected something other than what he'd gotten. That had been Kimiko's advice; firm and calm threw Yusuke when he was expecting—goading—confrontation. Not, she had added, that she expected Shuuichi to be the sort to fall for Yusuke's attempts.

He appreciated her confidence in him. Though it was true; Yusuke's baiting was blatantly transparent.

"But you seem fond of her in a more-than-friends sort of way," he pressed.

"Considering that we are sitting here, watching your sister spar with a master that is well known for her skills, your concern seems... ill placed," Shuuichi pointed out in amusement. "Any unwanted, unwarranted advances are libel to be severely punished."

There was a yelp from Kimiko, who tumbled end over end across the floor, making both young men wince in sympathy. She righted herself before she hit the wall, at least, and went straight back into the spar, a wide grin on her face. Shuuichi stifled a chuckle; she was stubborn all right. It was, in its own way, endearing.

"...yeah, okay," Yusuke finally grumbled a little. "That is probably true. Still-"

"I'm quite certain if you finish what your about to say your sister will not only stop sparring with Genkai, she may well come after you," Shuuichi interrupted, feeling more amused by the moment. He'd done this a couple of times before, but this sort of conversation was usually paternal in nature, not brotherly. It was no less annoying, but given that for a good chunk of their lives, they had only had one another, he was quite willing to ignore it. "She is quite capable."

"Damn right!" Kimiko interjected, blocking a flurry of strikes from Genkai. "Quit being a fusspot, Yuu, I'm not a kid, you know. Ack!"

Shuuichi winced a little as she ended up on her back again, the controlled tumble ending in a deliberate sprawl of surrender as she gasped for breath.

"Ooohhh... that was mean, master."

"Teach you to not pay attention during a fight," Genkai said, a smirk on her wrinkly face. "Yusuke, you're up."

The young man in questioned grinned a little as Kimiko rolled onto her hands and knees, and bounced to his feet to go take his turn at getting his ass kicked. Shuuichi started to get up as well, worried about Kimiko, but she waved him down and managed to stagger upright, making her way over to where she had left both a towel and some water. She was limping slightly, and he could see numerous new bruises dotting her arms, but she seemed uninjured otherwise. He was, in fact, willing to swear that she was pleased by the outcome.

As Yusuke and Genkai started their spar—the old woman wasn't even breathing hard, Shuuichi noticed with some trepidation—she made her way over to him, and flopped down, towel around her neck, and water bottle half-drained already. Slowly, and carefully, she started doing some cool down stretches.

"I don't know that he'll back off entirely, but thanks for trying," she said, keeping her voice low.

"I have no desire to cause a rift among siblings," Shuuichi replied, smiling a little at her thoughtfulness, and kept his voice soft as well, easily lost under the sounds of blows being exchanged. "Though I admit, I'd prefer to avoid being on your bad side more than his."

Kimiko shot him a grin.

"That's fair. I'm the soul you're stuck putting up with, after all."

He shook his head a little.

"You're my friend," he said simply. "Friends don't 'put up' with one another."

"I dunno," and her tone was teasing now. "Sometimes, that's exactly what happens with Kaz."

He chuckled a little, this time shaking his head wryly. Regardless of what she might think, he enjoyed the time spent with her. If he hadn't, no doubt they both would have found ways to discourage coming together.

"What's to be done today?"

"Mmmn... Well, Yuu and I will trade off until about ten, and then those guys'll do whatever, while I work on the new kata I've been assigned. Lunch, and then if I don't take a nap, who knows?" And she shrugged a little. "That's the nice part about a vacation like this, and friends like these. We can all do as we please here, together or apart. And I know that no matter how she might complain about the noise, Master Genkai likes having us up here."

Shuuichi smiled faintly and nodded. It certainly sounded like she was enjoying herself, bruises and strains notwithstanding, and it was fascinating to see her interactions with friends and family.

"How long can you stay?"

"Ah... to the end of the week, if that's not a problem. Possibly a bit longer if Kokoda is enjoying himself as being the acting manager."

Kimiko's grin became quite a bit brighter.

"Awesome. Everyone except Yukina-chan is going to be leaving in a couple days, since they all have lives and jobs to get back to." After a moment, the grin turned into pure mischief. "Maybe you can spar with me?~"

"Ah..." Shuuichi considered the thought cautiously; it wasn't that he didn't have hand-to-hand skills, but he admittedly hadn't kept up with them as much as his plant-based skills. "Perhaps."

She laughed a little, and despite the uncertainty of the idea, he couldn't help but smile. It would probably hurt... but if the idea he had percolating in the back of his mind was to bear any fruit, it would probably be good to dust off his neglected skills.