Hello all! It's Friday, meaning time to write! I updated Home early again because I'm going home this weekend again, and will be busy visiting friends and such til Sunday night, when I will be catching up on all the work I should've done instead of write a fanfic. You guys must know that I love you.

Anyway, I was thinking about splitting this, but it all flowed better together. So, it's a bit extra long, but it continues. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 8

Jin walked Lira home, holding her hand the entire way while she continued to think about her life. Jin understood why she was so nervous and everything, so he didn't talk much to interrupt her thoughts. Besides, he had also gotten real close with her a bit ago, and he figured she was thinking about them too.

Jin found himself thinking back to that kiss. It was the best one he ever had, and by the look in her eyes afterwards, it was her best as well. He couldn't help but smile. He really liked this human girl, and hopefully she liked him too.

What Jin didn't know, is that Lira knew she liked him. What had her so quiet was what Genkai had told her before about her family being in danger. She wanted to kick herself from being away with Jin and Yusuke for so long. Kurama and Kaori had offered to walk Sage home and stay with him until she got back, but she had a bad feeling about everything.

Relief flooded her mind when she saw her house standing in one piece. Jin walked her up to the door and stood aside while she unlocked it, letting her enter first. "MOM!" she called.

"Kitchen!" was the reply. Sage came running out to see her, chocolate all over his mouth and fingers.

"Brownies!" he cheered, running up and jumping into Lira's arms. She couldn't help but laugh, glad that everything was fine. "Mr Miny-me had to go home, but Kaori stayed and made brownies with me and mommy!"

Lira laughed again at her little brother as her mother walked out. "Did all go well on your trip?" she asked, wiping her hands on a small towel. Lira froze, not sure of what to say, until Kaori came out.

"Oh, hey guys!" Kaori said. "I told her that you had to go see Yusuke's boss about getting Jin a job."

"Well way to ruin the surprise!" Jin scolded.

"How was I supposed to know it were a secret!?" Kaori defended.

"Maybe cause we told ya ta keep ya mouth shut!"

"Well forgive ma for relievin a mom o' worryin' about 'er daughter!" by now the two were an inch apart from each other, glaring into each others eyes.

"Uh, Jin?" Lira said, sensing a fight coming on. "It's ok. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Ok," he said, standing back up straight. Kaori lost her balance and fell forward, jumping up like nothing happened.

"How is it that you two are related but she has less of an accent?" Lira's mother asked. "I heard it just now, but I didn't hear one earlier."

"We're half-siblings," Kaori said. "I was sent to live with Jin and our dad when I was about five, so it's not as ingrained as his. Plus I came here before him and practiced not using it so people understand when I talk."

"I ain't that hard ta undastand…" Jin whined. Sage saw his sadness and reached out to hug him, making Jin smile and take the boy out of Lira's hands.

"Well, it's getting a bit late," Lira's mom said. "Kaori, would you like to spend the night?" Kaori bowed respectfully.

"That's very nice of you, but I should get back. Shuichi's mom invited me to dinner and I would break her heart if I didn't show. I'll be able to walk home. Besides, I wouldn't want to cramp my brother's style," Kaori said, smirking at Jin's slight tinge of pink.

"Alright," Lira's mother said. Sage reached out to Kaori for a goodbye hug, making her squeal and take him from Jin.

"You be a good little Sage!" she said, twirling around with him laughing in her arms.

"Bye Kaori!" he said happily. Kaori bid her farewells to the rest, hugging Jin before she strode out the house and trotted off to Kurama's.

"Well, dinner isn't quite ready," Lira's mom said, turning back to the kitchen. "You two relax, but don't teach Sage he shouldn't learn until he's a teenager."

"MOM!" Lira yelled, turning beat red and burying her face in her hands as she fell on the couch. She was rewarded by hearing her mom chuckle in the kitchen. Sage sat next to her on the couch, still licking chocolate off of him. "You should go wash up for dinner."

"But it's good!" he protested. Jin lifted him up and carried him to the bathroom.

"Come now, ya heard ya sis," he said. "Wash yer hands and face real good now." Lira chuckled, hearing the water running and Jin lecturing Sage about manners. After a few minutes, Sage came out, looking squeaky clean and frowning. He went straight to the kitchen to ask his mother for more brownies.

Jin came out soon after, sitting down next to Lira with a grin on his face. "Were you and your sister born with a knack for kids?" she asked him.

"Yep!" he said, sitting back and draping his arms over the top of the couch. Lira laughed, sitting back against him and finally feeling safe.

"You should get her to come over and babysit sometime," she said, making Jin chuckle.

"Ya know if she did, ya'd have ta worry 'bout her bein the one ta kidnap 'im," he said. The two of them laughed again, then suddenly Jin went stiff.

Lira looked up at him, and he was staring at the front door, his eyes looking blank for a minute, then firm. He stood, walking slowly towards the door, then opened it, staring out into the night. "Jin?" Lira asked, hesitantly standing up.

"Stay in the house an lock all ya doors and windows," he said without taking his eyes off of what he was staring at. "Do not come outside or let anyone in." Lira sensed something, a slight bit of energy, before Jin's slowly began to flare. It was a lot stronger than she ever sensed, even when they were flying. Whatever else was outside began to flare its energy as well.

"What is it?" she asked. Jin turned and looked at her firmly.

"Elderberries," he whispered to her before shutting the door behind him.


I was going to end it here, because they're almost long enough to be their own chapters, but I've read too many cliffies today (you know who you are!!!), so I figured I'd write the "next chapter" in here too.


"WHAT!?" It was too late. She saw the wind pick up momentarily out the window before dying down, meaning Jin flew off. Lira locked the door, then leaned against it, confused as her mom came in.

"What happened?" she asked. "Where's Jin?"

"He just ran off," Lira said. "He should be back soon." Her mother walked up to her, while Sage stayed in the kitchen.

"Kaori told me about…those things coming after you," she said in a low voice. Lira merely sighed and looked down. "Is he going to be ok?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Lira said, more to herself than to her mom. "He said something funny before he went out though."

"What do you mean?"

Lira furrowed her brow as she remembered. "He said not to let anyone in, and when I asked what he saw, he just whispered-" there was a crash outside that made both women scream and jump away from the door, holding each other.

"LIRA!"

"Jin?" she asked, looking back to the door and seeing red hair in the small window.

"Lira open the door!" he called back, his voice full of pain. Lira hesitated, and her mom ran to the door.

"Mom no!" she said, pulling her back before the bolt slid open.

"Lira what are you doing!?" Jin's voice called. "I'm bleeding and I need help! Please let me in!"

"Lira Tocashi! You can't leave him out there to die!" she scolded.

"That's not Jin!" she whispered. "His accent is gone and he told me not to open this door!"

"Lira please! If you love me open the door!" Lira froze, eyes locked on the door. How did he…? Was it really Jin? She inched towards the door, leaning against it.

"What did you say?" she asked. Suddenly, a banging was heard on the back door, making Sage run in screaming to his mom.

"Leave that door locked!" Lira ordered, running to the kitchen. She saw, surprisingly, Jin's face in the window, with blood coming out the corner of the door.

"Are you alright?" he called in. Lira looked to him hesitantly, worried about the accent.

"Who are you?" she asked slowly.

"Lira, it's me. Listen, don't open the door for the other one or he's gonna kill ya. He can't get in cause I had Kaori put wards around your house to protect you, but you can't open that door til I tell you, do you understand?"

Lira nodded, as did Jin, who ran off around the front of the house. The other Jin disappeared as well, and the sound of a fight could be heard just outside the house. To make it better, rain began to fall, making it even harder to see what was going on. Sage began to cry, so his mother carried him upstairs, telling him it was all going to be ok.

Lira wished that she had someone to hold her. She had just gotten close to Jin and was already on the verge of losing him. A face in the window made her scream and fall back on the floor.

"I got em," he said with a small smile. Lira skeptically looked at the face.

"How do I know you're the real Jin?" she asked. She got a smile in return.

"Elderberries."

Lira ran to the door and flung it open, helping Jin limp inside. Outside she saw a body of someone dressed exactly like him with brown hair, as well as two others in black.

"It were a shapeshifter," he said with a wince as he hobbled towards the couch. He fell to his knees a foot short as Lira knelt by him. "The other two hid their energy, luring me out while he tried to get inside." Lira tried to choke back tears as she looked Jin over. He was starting to bruise all over, and had a number of scrapes and gashes. "Do ya think ya can heal me?"

"I don't know h-how," Lira cried. Jin smiled at her.

"Sure ya do, you just don't know that you know." He kneeled facing her taking her hands into his. Lira was afraid and Jin looked like he would pass out at any moment. "Close your eyes and focus on my energy. Don't panic, I ain't going ta die or nothin. You'd just do me a big favor." Lira nodded and closed her eyes.

She could see his energy, though it was much lower than earlier. It was more like red electricity flickering around him than the steady stream of energy. "Now focus on yours," his voice said to her. For the first time, Lira saw her energy, a soft white that radiated from her body. Where her hands held Jin's, the energy mixed.

"What do I do?" she asked.

"The sparky energy is my life energy, which is why I can't use it to heal myself. Concentrate on moving your energy to my wounds, but not your life energy." Lira nodded and focused. Her blue energy began to move over Jin's body, turning red as it left her and became part of him. Though her eyes were closed, she could feel her energy closing his deeper wounds and working towards the more shallow ones.

"Lira?" she opened her eyes to see her mother on the stairs behind Jin, staring at her in awe.

Wait…

She was glowing. It was a soft white glow that wasn't blinding, but made her skin look like a light bulb. Jin was also glowing white faintly, and now Lira could see the gash on his face dissolve away. Jin opened his eyes and smiled. Suddenly, Lira felt her energy stop blending with his.

"That's enough," he said. "I don't want to drain yer body entirely. Thank you." Lira merely stared at him, amazed at how he had just saved her life and would not even let himself be fully healed.

Lira's mom slowly made her way down the stairs as the glow subsided. "What happened?" she asked softly. Lira looked up to her, too amazed to get a sound out of her throat. Jin's grip loosened on her hands and she met his dazed eyes.

"Don't ya worry, I just need to get some sleep," he reassured her with a smile. His eyes crossed slightly before closing and he fell forward into Lira's arms.