A/N: I spent the day watching Yu Yu episodes, so I got back into this for a while. And a reminder to everyone in case you've forgotten or haven't seen yet: I use the manga version for this series. There are some things that happen that come from the anime, but for the most part, it's from the manga. Happy reading!

Chapter 9: Follow

Erev yawned and stretched as the sun's early rays caught her eyes. She shot up as she realized what day it was and jumped out of bed with an excited whoop. She would finally be able to go home. It was the two week mark of the beginning of her training and Takeo had agreed to let her visit home in lieu of her advancements.

She quickly dressed and pulled open the door to her room with a grin. She stepped into the hall and swiftly turned to the left as she felt the air shift. Erev moved just in time to deflect the stick coming down on her head. She wrapped her arm around Takeo's until his twisted far enough to drop the weapon into the crook of her arm. Erev grasped the stick quickly and returned his attack. Takeo caught it in his free hand.

He smiled at her and nodded. Erev returned the gesture. She had passed the test.

"Good job," Takeo complimented as they separated. "Very good job. You've improved greatly in a very short amount of time."

"Thank you," she responded. The two made their way into the kitchen where Renee was humming a tune as she finished her cooking.

"Have fun at home," Takeo said when they were seated at the table. "Don't forget to practice to keep up your skill. And I expect to see you back here to finish your reiki training."

Erev nodded with another smile. She would finally be going back home. She had started to get homesick. She missed her brother and mom, her friends, the arcade, school . . . .

She blanched and gripped the table as a horrible thought came to her. "Oh my gosh! School! I've missed so much school." She groaned as her head dropped. "I'll be so far behind. Think of all the work I'll have to do to catch up!"

The older couple laughed at her grief.

"Oh the woes of the young," Renee commented as she set pancakes on the table. "Sorry to say, dear, it only gets more complicated as you get older. This is a simple as your life's going to be."

Erev sighed as she slid four of the breakfast cakes onto her own plate. "Yeah, well, it's still not that easy."

"Of course not. Anything that's worth doing is going to be hard work." Takeo smiled.

"Yeah, yeah." Erev rolled her eyes. "I've heard this speech before, old man."

"You'll understand it one day," he said as Erev moved her concentration to her food. The girl really liked living with Takeo and Renee, but sometimes they got too . . . parenty. She hated lectures and Takeo liked to give them. A lot. That was just another reason she was happy to go home. No one there wanted to tell her what to do. Besides, Erev was smart enough; she could figure that stuff out on her own. She didn't need grandpa shoving life lessons down her throat, and she told him that when his speeches got too long or repetitive. It didn't affect him, though, and he continued anyway.

Erev left after breakfast. She ran down the dirt trail to Takeo's hideaway house and wondered at how she had thought the trip up there long and tedious. Now it seemed like a stroll through the park. She sprinted straight home.

Atsuko welcomed her back with open arms and many dramatic tears. Erev finally escaped her mother's grasp to take a long, relaxing bath. She hadn't been able to stop long enough to do that at Takeo's house.

"Keiko just stopped by," Atsuko told her as she stepped out of the bathroom. "She brought you your homework."

"Great! I'll get started on that right now," Erev said and retreated to her room, sitting at her desk and diving into the load of schoolwork waiting for her. She really felt like sleeping but convinced herself not to.

'I'm gonna sleep a whole week once I catch up,' she thought as she opened her trigonometry book. 'Nothing's gonna stand in my way from relaxing after all that hard work.'

"Hey, ma! I'm home." Yusuke's loud voice carried through the house. Erev looked up with a new smile on her face. The family was all together again. She glanced back down at her schoolbooks and decided it could wait while she welcomed her brother back. She would have plenty of time to finish it later.

oooo

"Erev," Atsuko called into her daughter's room, pushing the cracked door open all the way. Erev looked up from her textbook. "I brought you a snack."

She set the tea cup and plate of sushi on the desk. Erev smiled and popped one of the fish rolls in her mouth. "Thanks, mom."

Atsuko grinned and suddenly pulled her daughter into her bosom. "Oh, I'm just trying to help my baby girl stay smart! It's so nice to have such a genius in the family. You could be a doctor or a lawyer! Sometimes I can't believe I popped such different babies out at the same time. You make me so proud."

The woman sniffled and it looked as if she was about to cry. Erev rolled her eyes and patted her mom's back. "Thanks mom, but I really need to keep studying. I have a lot to catch up on."

"Oh, of course, of course." Atsuko pulled away and moved back to the door. She pulled it closed, leaving enough room for her head.

"My little genius," she exulted. Erev laughed. Atsuko slinked away at the sound of the doorbell ringing. The girl shook her head. Her mother had been paying a lot more attention to her children since Yusuke's death. She guessed it was a good wake up call for Atsuko. It was nice, really.

"Oh Erev!" Atsuko sung her name again. The woman rushed back into the room with a chestire grin on her face. She pulled her confused daughter out of her chair. "You didn't tell me you knew such a handsome man! If I was a few years younger I might steal him from you. He says he's here to take you on a trip!" The woman ended her relay with a squeal of delight.

"What?" Erev had no idea what Atsuko was talking about. "Who are you talking about? I'm not expecting anyone."

"Well go out there and look," Atsuko said as she shoved Erev into the hall and toward the front door. Atsuko stopped around the corner from the entrance and peeked her head around to watch. Erev grumbled her annoyance.

The door was left standing open and Kurama stood calmly outside. He smiled lightly upon seeing her.

"The Underworld has assigned me to assist you on your next mission," he said simply. "I was ordered to retrieve you while Botan went to find Yusuke. We'll be meeting up with Hiei and go to Demon City from there. Come, I'll inform you of the details as we walk."

"Uhh," was her brilliant response. She glanced down at her school uniform. "Hold on a sec. I can't go out fighting in a skirt."

She started to walk back toward her room but stopped as she thought of something. Erev grabbed Kurama's wrist and pulled him along, passing her mother in the hall. She dragged him into her room, slammed the door shut, and pushed him over to the window.

"Don't turn around," she warned. "Just tell me about this mission thing."

He nodded and crossed his arms behind his back. Erev began to undress. "The Four Beasts of Demon City have issued an ultimatum to the Underworld. They want the barrier wall around the city to be dropped so they can gain access to Human World. A hoard of roundworm monsters, parasites drawn to dank, gloomy souls, has been unleashed under control of an Enabling Whistle. Our objective is to destroy or capture the whistle so the Four Beasts have no sway in the Underworld."

"'Kay, I'm done," Erev said. Kurama turned around and a surprised look crossed over his face. Erev grinned. "Yup, I snagged one of Yusuke's old uniforms before he threw it away."

Kurama looked away from the green school uniform and moved to the door. Erev followed with a grin. She had always wanted an excuse to wear her brother's clothes and now she had one. Since it was his uniform from last year and she had grown in that time it actually fit her quite well. She followed Kurama to the door, waving goodbye to Atsuko on her way out.

"Bye mom, see you later."

"Have fun, dear," the woman responded with no concern to where Erev was going or when she would be back.

She followed Kurama to an old warehouse. Hiei was waiting outside the door. He sent her a nasty glare and turned to go inside. Erev stuck her tongue out at his back. Kurama chuckled beside her and followed the other demon's lead. The three found the portal left open in place of one of the floorboards. Hiei jumped in first without a word.

"See you on the other side." Erev waved to Kurama and followed. She felt her stomach drop for a second before her eyes opened to a gloomy sky. She could feel the air passing quickly beneath her, but before she had time to realize she was falling she stopped. Erev looked up and saw that her jacket had snagged on a branch of the tree behind her. She glanced down at the ground, watching as a group of hooded creatures scurried away, and saw that it wasn't that far of a jump for her.

She also saw her brother and, oddly enough, Kuwabara standing up. They looked at Kurama and Hiei, who had landed safely on a different, larger branch as the two jumped down to the ground. Erev wriggled and squirmed but couldn't pull loose from the tree branch. She sighed.

"How embarrassing," she mumbled before speaking in a louder voice. "A little help here!"

The four boys turned to her voice. Yusuke burst into laughter and pointed a finger at her. Erev began to fume.

"Shut up and help me, you dork!" she shouted to her brother. Erev was eventually let down with Kurama's help. She 'hmph'ed as she stood in the group of boys and dusted her uniform off.

"Erev, why are you wearing my clothes?" Yusuke asked in a deadpan voice.

"I'm not talking to you right now, jerk," his sister responded haughtily. Yusuke rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He turned his attention to Kurama and Hiei. "So what are you two doing here?"

"Community service in lieu of jail time, you might say. We might even earn pardons if we help you three out," Kurama responded.

Yusuke grinned back. "Good ol' Koenma, unpredictable as ever! Kuwabara, allow me to introduce Kurama and Hiei."

The confused look disappeared from Kuwabara's face. He exchanged greetings with Kurama. Erev watched the interaction with a small smile. It was funny how guys made friends.

"You've got Kurama's angle," Hiei interjected. "But here's mine: I'm out to snatch the treasures and weapons the Four Beasts beat me to. So don't expect any help from me, got it?"

"And because you're Koenma's bitch," Erev mumbled under her breath. Kurama feigned his laugh as a cough and Hiei sent her a glare, baring his fangs. The other two didn't hear. She rolled her eyes.

"What's with the shrimp? He's coppin' a pretty high and mighty attitude!" Kuwabara said.

"Does a death wish cause you to speak that way to me?" Hiei returned. Erev watched in curiosity. She had just handed him a bigger insult, but Hiei didn't really say anything. She wondered why his attitude was different toward Kuwabara.

"You don't like it, runt? Tough toenails!" Kuwabara said as he moved in.

"Stop it, Hiei. We can squabble after this is finished," Kurama cut in.

Hiei turned his attention to Yusuke. "I still have a score to settle with you." He glanced harshly at Erev. "And you. I'll warn you once: watch your back."

"Yeah, whatever. Frankly, I'll take any allies I can get," Yusuke said. The troupe set off, heading for the large, odd looking castle in front of them. Erev moved to her brother's side. She swung her arms as she walked and laughed as she took note of something odd.

"What's up?" Yusuke said.

"I guess it's a guy thing. You all have your hands in your pockets," she responded. He looked. Sure enough, all four of them had at least one hand in the pocket of their pants. He shrugged.

"Guess so." A serious look suddenly spread over his face. He pulled Erev into a headlock and twisted his fist against her head. "And who said you could wear my uniform? You make me look like a girl."

"Ow, ow, Yusuke!" She tried to wriggle free. "You idiot! That's because I am a girl. Let go of me."

He finally released her. She smoothed down her hair and pouted. "Now we've fallen behind."

"Hey." Erev blinked at the serious tone in his voice. Yusuke turned his chocolate colored eyes on her. "Be careful in there, okay?"

Erev gave him a thumbs-up. "Sure thing. You too."

"Hey, you two!" Kuwabara called. "Stop hanging around, we've got a castle to raid."

"Coming!" Erev said. She sent another grin to her brother and ran to catch up.