Epilogue: The Aftermath and a New Beginning

"Hey girl! Wait up! Akarui!" called a girl with long brown hair. It was Akarui's friend, Yuna. Yuna had brown eyes and was wearing a Meiou High uniform. Akarui turned around as she heard her name.

"Yuna, you know you don't have to be so loud." Akarui sighed at her friend, who just shrugged in response. Yuna then smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Aka, but I was wondering if you could come over today, we haven't hung out in forever." Yuna complained while still maintaining a smile. Akarui sighed and shook her head apologetically.

"Sorry Yuna, but I have a meeting to get to," Akarui told Yuna. Yuna's face flashed with disappointment.

"Is it your boyfriend again, that really short guy?" Yuna asked, mildly irritated.

"Not just him, some friends from America, Australia, and Mushiyori. Shuichi-kun, Yusuke, and Kuwabaka are going to be there too," Akarui explained. Yuna raised an eyebrow.

"I'm still unsure about you hanging out with the Great Urameshi, plus, your boyfriend almost cut me with a sword once. Honestly Aka, what do you see in him?" Yuna asked as she put some of her straight brown hair behind her left ear.

"I see many things." Akarui smiled before continuing, "but maybe we can hang on Saturday, kay?" Akarui suggested.

"Alright, but you better not bail on me this time! Got it?" Yuna waved her finger, in a warning manner, at Akarui. Akarui nodded and said goodbye, then started bolting down the street.

She was in a hurry. Everyone was getting together at Genkai's in about one hour, which didn't give her much time to get there. But now having control of her demon powers a bit better than she had five months ago, she could run almost three times as fast as before. She was pretty fast to start, too.

Of course, she was going to Genkai's whether everyone would be there or not. It was where she now lived. After that whole Teki thing, she had had her step-dad "meet" Hiei, who wasn't at all happy with how Akarui had been treated there. So Hiei "persuaded" him to let Akarui leave home and find a much nicer place to live. At least, that's what she told anyone who asked. In reality, a sword to the throat is classified as a threat.

Akarui took the train at the Shinkansen station to her home everyday now, so she boarded the train to see a familiar face. It was Hiei; he smiled and waved to her from his seat. She smiled back and sat next to him.

"Hiei-chan, I see you already boarded… Amazing, you're actually riding a train for once," Akarui commented, only for Hiei to shrug and then slip an arm around her shoulder casually.

"Well, I figured I'd spend more time with you, and I couldn't run there today because I twisted my ankle this morning." Hiei answered with a smile. Akarui gave him a skeptical look.

"You baby, your ankle can't be that bad, and besides, you never let that stop you before. I'm just going to guess you wanted to see," Akarui said with a cute grin as she snuggled into him. Hiei blushed a little; public affection was still quite new to him.

"Damn, foiled again," Hiei said with a grin, "Anyway, don't Kurama, Yusuke, and the idiot usually come on the train with you? Where are they?" he added after he paused for a moment.

"Oh, well Kurama left school early with a note. Yusuke and Kuwabara are always late," Akarui thought aloud as she sat up straight again. Hiei gave her a look that said "good point."

So the two talked a bit until the train came to their stop. But they still had quite a way to walk before they reached Genkai's temple. Soon enough though, Akarui and Hiei came to Genkai's and out in the front of her temple, they saw a tree. The very same tree from five months ago, the one that they'd fallen out of due to the bizarre spider incident.

They walked in the main entrance that went straight to the living room. Inside they saw Kurama, Yukina, Botan, Koenma, Melanie, Tasuke, and Jess. Everyone looked at the two that had just entered the room and silence fell. Suddenly, Botan and Melanie jumped up with smiles on their faces.

"Akarui! It's so good to see you again! I've missed you!" Botan cried as she hugged Akarui so tightly that the poor girl had trouble breathing.

"Good to see you again, how have you been?" Melanie asked as Botan continued the "hug of death." (She's the Grim Reaper, I'll bet she can actually do that!) Akarui started to go blue in the face from lack of oxygen. She looked pretty annoyed.

"You're acting like a dentist, asking me questions when I'm incapable of answering," Akarui gasped. Botan let go quickly. She looked rather sheepish now.

"Sorry, 'bout that…" our favorite blue haired grim reaper apologized quickly.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, are Yu-chan and the lunkhead late again? And where's Genkai?" Akarui glanced around the room. Kurama sighed.

"Well, Yusuke is er… 'working out' and Kuwabara is finishing homework. They should be here shortly. How was the train ride here?" the red head fox asked politely. Akarui smiled and sat down on the couch next to Kurama and started chatting. Hiei sat next to Akarui, quite protectively, even though Kurama wasn't the kind to make a move on claimed woman. Melanie sat back down on Kurama's other side and the first couch was full. The second setting opposite from the first couch was full too. (Sitting left to right is Tasuke, Jess, Botan, and then Yukina.)

So after a while of talking and stuff, there was an eerie silence among them. Akarui then realized she didn't know someone in the room. The girl sitting next to Botan, the one with the teal hair. She was pretty short and had deep crimson colored eyes. Akarui tilted her head to the side a little and then glanced between Hiei and this girl, they looked a lot alike.

"Hey, um… are you two, like, related in any way?" Akarui broke the silence as she pointed at Hiei and Yukina. Hiei froze and then made a quick rebound by doing his trademark "Hn" followed by a glance at the wall. Yukina just blinked and shook her head.

"I don't believe so," she answered simply, and then added, "Oh, by the way, my name is Yukina."

"I'm Akarui," she replied as she thought for a moment, and then blinked as realization hit her, "Oh! I've heard of you! You're-! Mrmph mrph muh?"

Hiei had covered Akarui's mouth with his hand. He made a "shush" noise and Akarui then understood. Hiei didn't want Yukina to know about the whole sister thing yet. Yukina tilted her head now.

"I'm what?" the ice maiden asked curiously.

"You're that ice maiden that Kuwabara mentioned that's so pretty and stuff…" Akarui recalled a moment in the last few months when Kuwabara had been daydreaming about Yukina. Yusuke had been the one to hit Kuwabara in the head and tell him to stop fantasizing because it was bad for his health. Of course, Hiei was there, which is why Yusuke said that. Kuwabara insisted that such thought indicated a healthy young man. Though Yusuke had insisted that Kuwabara's thoughts weren't dirty enough to be healthy for a young man.

"So, anyone up for the beach?" Akarui asked boredly. She was referring to the shoreline at the edge of Genkai's property. It was nearly sunset, and the beach was really nice then. Botan, Yukina, Melanie, and Jess raised their hands. Akarui had expected at least two more hands, but they didn't go up. Kurama and Tasuke actually exchanged looks with Hiei and then looked back at Akarui.

"We were actually hoping that we could have a nice conversation with Hiei while you were all at the beach. We need to discuss something, you know, a man-to-man talk," Tasuke grinned with a look of mischief on his face. Kurama smiled and nodded his agreement. Hiei just raised an eyebrow and then looked at Akarui. He gave her an apologetic look but she smiled and shrugged. The girls then got up and left.

Once the girls left, the guys exchanged looks. Tasuke instantly jumped into an interrogation mode. "Hiei, so we wanted to talk about your relationship with Akarui, and what you think of it. So…"

At the beach, Melanie, Yukina and Botan were wading in the water and laughing when a wave would wash over their feet. Jess just sat at the waterline and dipped her toes in when the water came that far up. Akarui was watching the sunset, thinking of everything that had happened. It seemed so long ago, but it felt like only a day or two had passed. Yube was dead. Her best friend in the world, and the one of the only people that had treated her nicely before the big mission, dead.

Yube, you idiot. Why did you have to go and save my life at the expense of your own? Sure I had a cruddy life, but I had fallen in love and known it, I could've died happy. I really could have, Yube.

Akarui noticed that a tear was running down her face. Botan and the others all looked at her with concern.

"Akarui, are you okay? Why are you crying?" Melanie asked as the other girls walked over to surround Akarui. Akarui smiled at them all, and just looked back at the sunset.

"I just miss Yube-chan," Akarui said, not changing the focus of her gaze in the slightest. Jess, Melanie, and Botan all frowned. Melanie and Botan started crying right away, Jess just lowered her head and allowed her bangs fell over her eyes.

*At Genkai's temple*

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hiei yelled; annoyance was easily detected in his voice. Tasuke shook his head as Kurama sweat dropped.

"By turtle he meant-" Kurama started translating the sugar-coated words Tasuke had used, which was pretty much the reason he was there.

"I know what he meant and the answer is no! But even if it was yes, I wouldn't share it with the world, let alone you!" Hiei yelled at Tasuke. Tasuke sighed, and then he started again.

"You're sure? Not even just the turtle's toe?" Tasuke asked, knowing he would only madden Hiei more. Hiei gave Tasuke his best 'you better shut the hell up or I swear I'll kill you' look. Tasuke frowned and gave up; he had this sinking feeling that Hiei really wanted to kill him. Kurama sweatdropped and sighed as he decided to leave the room.

As the girls were entering the temple, they heard some noise behind them. Loud yelling and thumping. The group of girls turned around to see something interesting/entertaining. Yusuke was beating Kuwabara over the head and Kuwabara was yelling at him to stop so he could finish his homework.

"Yusuke, Kuwabara! Great to see you guys!" Akarui was the first to greet them with a smile. Yusuke looked away from his victim-…err… his friend and smiled back at Akarui, Botan, Yukina, Jess, and Melanie.

"Hola chickas!" Yusuke greeted. Kuwabara smiled at Yukina and rushed over to her, dropping the homework he'd seemed so intent on finishing.

"Yukina! It's great to see you again, have you gotten taller?" Kuwabara said, sounding pretty shy, which surprised Akarui, but then she smiled. That idiot doesn't know this, but someday I might end up being in-laws with him. Great… I hope there aren't any funerals right after a family reunion… Akarui thought this with much amusement.

The group walked into the living room. Hiei and Tasuke, who seemed to be at eachother's throats both froze and looked at the group. Yusuke grinned. Akarui and Jess sweatdropped. Their boyfriends hated one another, or they just had a weird way of saying they were friends.

"Hey Tasuke, looks like you've achieved the same status I have with Hiei, did you ask him about his sex life?" Yusuke asked jokingly. Tasuke nodded as Hiei slowly let go of his neck in the presence of Akarui, not to mention Yukina.

"Yeah, can you believe he's still a virgin?" Tasuke asked with an amazed grin. "I mean, he's probably over one thousand years old and he's still never done it!"

Yusuke looked at Hiei's evil glare. Kuwabara didn't really bother to snicker, for he was talking to Yukina about kittens.

"Hiei… that's pretty pathetic… but then again, that cat incident…" Yusuke started only to be silenced by a sword at his throat. All this time and Yusuke wouldn't let him forget about telling them about the cat. Hiei grinned suddenly, but still held the sword there.

"Well, tell me this: Why are you still a virgin then?" Hiei (not literally) took a stab at the detective's pride. Tasuke gasped.

"Yusuke, you're one too?" the brown haired, Yusuke-like teenager started laughing.

"Okay… who else wants to leave the room while hormonally-challenged boys are talking to eachother about their sex lives…?" Jess said and left the room. The other girls left.

In the Akarui's room, the girls were just sitting down. Akarui sat on her bed. Yukina chose to sit on the foot of the bed. Botan sat in the computer chair at the desk. Melanie and Jess both took seats on the floor next to the bed.

"So Jess, Tasuke's a virgin too, right?" Akarui asked. Jess sweat dropped.

"I came in here so we wouldn't have to listen to that sort of talk! And yes, he is…" Jess answered. There was an eerie silence after that, and then the girls started giggling.

"Goodness, our boys are so stupid sometimes, but we love them!" Botan said in her usual cheery voice. The girls nodded their agreements.

There was then a knock on the door, then it opened a crack and the girls smiled at their favorite red headed fox. Kurama smiled back, though he was wearing an apron with an adorable fox chibi on it, it did not make him look any less of a guy.

"Hello girls, how was your walk on the beach?" the fox asked politely. He now walked all the way in the room.

"It was fun Kurama, we had a splash fight," Melanie told him. Kurama smiled.

"That does sound fun. I just came to tell you girls that dinner is ready. Genkai and I have been working on it since you left, it's a barbecue," Kurama said, sounding rather pleased with himself.

Well, that explains the apron… The girls all sweat dropped as they thought that. They all got up and headed to the backyard. (Well, I'll just say backyard because it's behind the front entrance to the temple.)

When they got there, all the guys were out there too. Yusuke and Tasuke both had large bumps on their heads. Kuwabara had a black eye and a fat lip. Hiei, well he looked fine, except for the irritated tapping of his foot and the bruise on his cheek.

"Wow Hiei, did they actually get you?" Akarui asked, sitting down next to him. Hiei looked at her with a smile, and then he tilted his head towards Kurama.

"No, Kurama came in and 'broke up the fight' because we have to come and eat the nice meal he and Genkai made us," Hiei mocked his fox friend. Telling Akarui this only seemed to increase his irritation.

"Aw, you're so cute when you're irritated!" she said in her sweet voice. Akarui then hugged him. Hiei blushed slightly.

(Haha! Hiei, she is soooo turning you on with that cuteness act!) Shut up! Wait… What the hell are you doing here! (I'm here because I feel like it. Besides if you don't admit that you're turned on, it will be considered denial and you get to spend another long while with me until you admit it! Yay!) Okay, whatever. Just go away so I can enjoy my dinner! (Fine, but don't forget dessert! Bye! Seeya soon… maybe!)

In Spirit World, Koenma was just entering his office after grabbing a snack in the kitchen. He saw his blue ogre, Jorge Saotome, messing with a small device on his boss's desk.

"Ogre, what are you doing? That device isn't for playing around! It hasn't been tested yet!" Koenma began to lecture Jorge.

"Oh, Koenma Sir, I'm sorry!" Jorge back away from the device quickly. "But if it helps, it works very well. I've used it a few times… and well… let's just say that Bob has done a good job." Jorge twiddled his thumbs as Koenma walked over to his desk, set down his food and then looked at the device.

"What have you been up to? I do hope you haven't been abusing our technology!" Koenma pointed accusingly at Jorge as the ogre chuckled nervous.

"Hiei?" Yusuke poked at Hiei with a fork because he had suddenly dazed off. "Well guys, it looks like I have to poke his third eye out to get his attention." Yusuke held the fork in a stabbing motion.

Hiei glared, for he had tuned in on Yusuke's last sentence. Hiei tapped Yusuke on the shoulder with his finger and the shoulder of Yusuke's jacket suddenly ignited in flames.

"Agh! Damn you Hiei!" Yusuke yelled and panicked.

Botan, Tasuke, Kuwabara, Melanie, Kurama, Jess, Genkai, Yukina, and Akarui all laughed.

(This is where the theme comes in. Cue music.)

Running in a crowd in a faceless town, I need to feel the touch of a friend.

In the countryside I wonder far and wide, the isolation gets me again.

Yusuke tries to put the fire out to no avail. Now the others start to worry and Kurama pours a bucket of water over him. Kuwabara had tried to help too, but a soda isn't a very pleasant thing to have spilled all over you.

I don't know where to go, when I feel like crying, oh my.

I want to open myself, do something new; I want to stop- and grow up a bit.

Then suddenly, my power and confidence start swelling up magically erupt, and it's all because of kindness that I feel from people I don't even know.

By now, Yusuke is chasing Kuwabara with a fork, ready to stab his eyes out. Botan tries to calm Yusuke down by offering him a hamburger with ketchup. Of course, she's still holding the ketchup bottle, so when she jumps in front of Yusuke, he crashes into her and she accidentally squeezes the ketchup out of the bottle and onto Yusuke's pants. She then starts running in circles with Kuwabara to escape Yusuke.

Then suddenly, my intuition and my wisdom grow, and then I know. But most of all I sense compassion's wield in to strangers wherever I go. Thank you for waking me up!

Yusuke, Botan, and Kuwabara all run off. The others then shrug. Well more food for them. Kurama sits down with Melanie, Tasuke sits down with Jess, and Hiei sits down with Akarui and they all smile at each other.

"Well Hiei, looks like a happy new beginning!" Akarui looked at Hiei. He smiled back at her.

"Yeah, it is."

Everyone looked at Yusuke chasing his two friends in the sunset background. Akarui's pendant shone brightly.

End of Story

Me: Well I'm satisfied and very proud of myself! This story is the first among my collection to be completed. I'd like to thank my good friend Reioko for encouraging me to continue this story. I always hoped to write a sequel to this story. I'm not sure whether I will or not at this point, but I'm still interested in continuing. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this work of fiction.