Disclaimer: Don't own anything really but in essence Mikai, Senkai, Carden, and Kubo. Cat owns Sotto; The A owns Asuka; The Last J owns Reijii; Mikey owns Lei; and Nicole owns Yuzu. Damn…I've just realized how many characters I really don't own…oh well, they're still my girls and I love 'em!
After a short visit and late lunch with his mother, Kurama ventured out to the area where Mikai's apartment building had once been. In all honesty he had been planning to stop by yesterday, but with Mikai asleep all day he was forced to stay at home, much to his disappointment. His deep green colored eyes scanned the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary but he could not spot anything, the bare ground appeared as if there had never been a building on top of it, no loose pipes, broken or leftover cement, nothing.
Kubo knows what he's doing, this isn't the first time he's done something like this. But why is it that his energy signal is so hard to locate?
"Senkai's younger brother. Yes, it seems that you're starting to remember, Kurama!"
Kurama clenched his fists at his sides as the memory washed over him, and he felt his stomach twist a bit. Kubo, Senkai. He knew those names well, he knew that they were siblings, but that was all he could remember of the two. Senkai was said to be in the city as well, so were they working for one another, and if they were, why had Kubo only shown himself?
"Kurama."
He perked at his 'other' name, and looked to his right. Reijii stood there, clad in a pair of jeans, and an overly large hooded sweatshirt. Rather than the goggles he had grown used to seeing her in, she had a simple pair of clear framed glasses that brought attention to her hazel colored eyes.
"Reijii…" Kurama blinked a few times, confused. "This is the first time I've ever seen you in public, I must say that the sunlight makes your skin stand out much better than the lights of reacting chemicals."
"Huh." She frowned and pouted. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you that I've perfected the device I gave you."
"Perfected?"
She nodded and removed a round object, around the size of the palm of her hand. "After studying the attacks that Kubo has unleashed, especially the one on this block, and talking with a comrade I've discovered that Kubo isn't using demon energy, he's using human energy, just a great deal of it." Reaching forward, she handed over the device she had been working on. "This will catch on to a high frequency of human energy, but you have to take care while using it. Even though Kubo uses the energy of three or five humans, there are people around that can reach that level during certain times. It's not one hundred percent accurate, I'm afraid."
It was a fairly simple device, but Kurama knew that there was a lot more going on deep inside then he could ever understand. Round with a brown edging, it appeared like nothing more than a compass with a thick arrow in the middle of the face which, at the moment, sat still, inactive.
"It's just…" She suddenly growled and crossed her arms. "I can't believe that a lone demon can manage to get out of my grasp! I've hunted down S class demons and yet I can't chase this asshole down!? What kind of mutant freak is it this time!?"
The redhead paused as he watched Reijii vent, and felt a slight smile come over his features. If there was one person he had kept in contact with through his thieving days, it was Reijii. A mad scientist by nature, she had caught the attention of Spirit World more than once, and yet she managed to remain down-to-earth and reliable.
Yet he something troubled him about her worlds.
Kubo had Reijii worried and unable to locate him? He hadn't needed her help while attending the Dark Tournament, but he did explain to her the magic used to bring him back to his Youko form once he had returned yet other than that he hadn't asked for her assistance during any other mission. What was it about Kubo that worried the people of the Spirit World staff?
"Anyways," Reijii began with a large and loud sigh, "I'm heading back home, I just wanted to make sure that you had that."
"Thank you," Kurama responded as he slipped the round object to his pocket. "I owe you more than I originally offered for this commission."
She waved her right hand and closed her eyes. "An IOU is fine, don't worry. I'm sure I'll be cashing it in some time during my long life." She sighed once more, and relaxed her shoulders. "I should get going. Keep me up to date, Kurama or—"
"I'm sorry, it's Shuuichi."
She paused for a moment, and she shot him a glare before the realization hit her. "Ooooh, that's right. Take care Shuuichi, and keep on top of stuff, if I'm left in the dark too much I tend to stick my nose in to things!"
He nodded. "Of course, Reijii."
With that said and done, Reijii offered a rather forced farewell, and then marched away from Kurama, most likely still steaming about the whole Kubo incident he figured. He watched his longtime friend disappear over the horizon, the smile never once leaving his face.
Now back to my human life…
He glanced at a nearby selection of shops, and found one that served food at a rather good price for the quality. Hum not a bad idea, he had all ready purchased a gift for Mikai that he hoped would cheer her up, but dinner with her sounded perfect. The dinner would give time to talk one-on-one, and perhaps he could get something out of her then. All detective work to the side, spending dinner with someone other than this mother or friends could prove rather interesting.
8:00
And on the dot Kurama heard the front door open as Mikai entered the Minamino household, a black bag in her hands. "I'm not late am I? Sorry if I am, there was this jerk on the street that—"
Kurama emerged from the kitchen with two glasses in hand. "No you're right on time, Mikai. Come and sit down for a moment, I have dinner prepared."
"Really?" Mikai's eyes brightened.
He nodded. "Of course, Mikai."
She giggled a bit, and raised the black plastic bag she had walked in with. "I hope that it'll go down with some wine from the states," she said, returning his smile. "White zinfandel from Napa, California."
Hum, from the vineyards in Napa? Kurama paused for a moment as he thought it over, he had never had anything from Napa, the chance had never come up before and he wasn't about to let it pass him up! "Expensive," Kurama added as he walked over to her. "Did you have to go to a specialty store?"
She shook her head. "Nope! I've got family that live out there so they sent it to me. I thought that Yusuke wouldn't appreciate it as much as you do Shuuichi so I hid it from him. Want it after dinner?"
Kurama took the bag from her carefully, minding the weight, and made his way to the kitchen where he set it down on the kitchen counter. "If you want to, Mikai, I don't see why it would be an issue."
The young woman smirked. "Really? I would love to have someone around that I can drink with! Yusuke just complains and chugs it down!"
The redhead chuckled, and removed the black bag from around the cold bottle. The plastic clung a bit, but with a simple push the black bag moved away from the bottle, leaving small beads of water behind. It would be nice to have a decent wine, though nothing could really compare to anything he had during his life in the Makai on the level of taste as well as alcohol content.
"Sometimes its better if you leave it out rather then refrigerate it!"
"Of course," Kurama answered with a nod of his head even though he knew she wouldn't see it. "Take a seat at the table please, dinner is waiting for you."
Finishing up his business in the kitchen, Kurama walked back around and came over to the dining room as Mikai took a seat, She pulled up to the table, and her eyes widened when she saw the food sitting out in front of her.
"Did you go to all of this trouble?"
He chuckled as he sat down across from her. "I decided that a dinner out would be easier to prepare between hunting down demons, I hope it's all right with you."
She faltered for a moment, the excited look disappearing from her face. "You…spent money on me?"
Was there something wrong with what he said? He had spent some money on her, but nothing too out of the ordinary or outrageous. "Yes," he answered, "is something wrong with that?"
"Well…" She paused for a moment and bit her lower lip. "It's just that you're doing so much for me all ready, I don't feel like I should impose on you and your family anymore. I'm sorry."
"Mikai, it was no trouble, but if you're reacting this way, well I'm not sure if I want to show you the present I picked up for you," he said, his tone coming across as playful and curious at the same time.
She snapped her head up and looked him straight in the eye, her cheeks flushing. "You're something else, Shuuichi, something else entirely. Ya know all of this kinda feels like a dream. This whole being whisked away and hidden by you and Yusuke…and to come back to a place where someone has made dinner. Thanks."
He smiled at her as he took in the depth of her words. "I can assure you Mikai, this case has become rather interesting, and I'm sure that will grow more with time but for now let's eat before it gets cold."
"Oh!" She jerked up like someone had pocked her with a hot iron. "Yes! Thank you very much for the meal, Shuuichi."
"You're very welcome, Mikai. Anytime."
Now, to move on to something more important, something that had yet to be answered, in his presences at least. He needed to know about her powers, what lingered inside of her inching to be released. Perhaps if he pressed her far enough, he would remember something from his past life that would bright a new light to the mystery surrounding her and whatever powers she had.
"How long have you known about your powers?"
Mikai took a long drink from her water, before lowering it to the table. "Since I was younger. I can't do much, shields come up at the last moment and all of that but the self-healing I don't have control over." She cleared her throat. "You?"
"Since I was born."
In another life time.
He watched as she nodded her head and returned to eating her meal. They had gone about ten minutes or so of munching on things and making small conversation, but Kurama was on a mission here, and he wasn't going to let it escape him. "Would you like me to train you?"
Her cheeks lit up at his comment, and she gazed down at her lap. "Um, I'm not really in to my powers, so I don't know…How would you train me?"
"Controlling your powers and harnessing the energy to be used how you would see fit," he explained.
She looked back up at him, a brow raised towards her hairline. "That might not be such a bad idea. I've always been…well jealous of Yusuke and how much control he has over his powers but things are so hectic right now." She sighed heavily and glanced at the floor. "Maybe when things are over, is that all right?"
Kurama nodded slightly. "Of course, whenever you're ready Mikai. But don't you want your powers perfected for the confrontation with Kubo?"
"No." She shook her head, still keeping her attention on the ground. "I don't want him picking up on me."
He watched her as she took a drink of water, and studied her movements. Where had the happy Mikai gone that had come through the door not more than five minutes ago? True Kubo was a depressing topic, but was that all that was really bothering the young woman? It was almost like became a different person whenever the topic of Kubo came up.
Clearing his throat, he figured that now would be a fine time to change the subject. "How long did you run in school, Mikai?"
She looked back up at the mentioning of that, and inhaled deeply. "Well I've always been a runner, in elementary school I would just run up and down the fields all recess long and I got on the team my first year of middle school. I stayed on, and in high school I got on the team easily but my grades started slipping and I got kicked off." She gave a nervous laugh. "I just can't sit still."
"So what do you do now?"
"Run the track at your school or Yusuke's whenever no one's around," she explained as she started munching away on her food. "How do you do so well during school while fighting demons, Shuuichi?"
He chuckled. "You manage to figure something out after doing it for so long."
Mikai giggled at his answer, and smiled. "I believe that wholeheartedly, Shuuichi."
"We have a problem."
Reijii nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice of Asuka, and thumped her fist against her chest as she choked on the mouth full of bowl of rice and beef she was busy munching down. Still coughing, she turned around and saw her apprentice stepping out of one of the many portals Reijii had placed in the town for her use, a frown on her face and shoulders squared. She swallowed what remained in her mouth, and sighed.
"First Kubo, now what?" Reijii asked, crossing her arms underneath her large bosoms. "Please don't tell me we have to reveal this to Spirit World, I've got an active warrant!"
Asuka cocked a brow, the serous moment shattered. "Since when?"
"Since," her mouth hung down wordlessly for a moment as she scanned her mind for memories, "twenty years ago, I think."
"For?"
"Conspiracy to commit murder or something," Reijii waved her right hand, dismissing the severity of the warrant, "just tell me why you've decided to join me in my office without sending a head's up."
Asuka moved her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, creating a sort of glint over the glass that made Reijii's eyebrow twitch. That did not fare well for what she was about to spill.
"It's about Senkai."
Whatever of her meal had made it to her stomach now twisted in her gut, promising to come up of the news didn't change and quick. She blinked a few times, looking at her sidekick that had been under her wing for ten years coming up eleven. Reijii had heard that name from Kurama in their first detailed meeting, and having someone like Asuka bring it up just meant that the situation had gone from code yellow to orange.
"What about her?"
"Yomi has started to send groups out to search for her that registers a low enough class to slip through the barrier, unnoticed."
Reijii's eyes widened. "Please tell me there's another Yomi in the demon world besides the one I'm thinking of."
Please! Come on I know I've got some good karma built up!
The brown haired librarian rolled her eyes. "Reijii, you know I mean the Yomi, one of the three rulers of the Makai."
Damn, damn, damn! Why the hell did it have to be him of all people? This meant that Spirit World was going to be all over this and there was no way in hell that she was going to get herself caught because of a commission to Kurama! Her mind whirled with the possibility of being caught and dragged off for death (or worse working for them again) when something smacked against her like a ton of bricks. Why the hell hadn't she thought of this in the first place? The muscles in her stomach and shoulder relaxed at the idea, and she managed to draw in a soothing breath.
"We're going to have to take care of those minions," Reijii said in a tone that no one could argue with. "We cannot have Yomi mingling with this case, the two of us are all ready involved enough."
Nodding her head, Asuka sighed. "I agree. I will head out in an hour and spike the energy serge enough for you to pick up on. After that, we'll meet up and determine the area where the most of them are gathering."
"Sounds logical."
"Just don't forget, we're not to mention names."
"Yes I know." Reijii flopped down in her plastic chair and slouched. "I know better than to let Kurama in on this, but do you think we could come to a time where we need to?"
Asuka ran her fingers through her hair, fluffing it for a moment before it took shape once more. "Hiei came to me wanting information on Senkai, but all I could come up with was the footnote that she and Yomi once had a connection. Eventually, if we are not careful, Hiei and Kurama may pick up on something."
"Or Yomi," Reijii added. Yeah that was what she needed, one of the three Makai kings chasing after her because she had information on someone he had some strange kind of interest in. "Whatever this is about, we're going to have to find out the connection between Senkai and Yomi before things get out of hand."
"Agreed."
Silence fell over Reijii's lab as Asuka stepped through the portal she had used to sneak in, leaving the blonde alone in her massive lab. Well shit. This had just gone from orange to red in a matter of seconds, and it was painfully obvious to the scientist that if she got through this demon raid, it was going to be by the skin of her teeth.
"Ah thank you so much for dinner, Shuuichi!" Mikai added as she took the final sip of her wine. "It was wonderful to have someone treat me for once!"
Kurama nodded his head and followed her lead as he finished off his glass of wine. When he lowered his glass, he glanced over in Mikai's direction and saw a red tint on her face from the alcohol. She handled it quite well, she didn't seem tipsy at all even after half of a full bottle of wine. He, however, found the wine from California rather entertaining, Mikai had insisted it was under ten dollars yet the wine he had tasted for under ten dollars might as well have been sold as vinegar.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Kurama smiled and stood. "Would you like to see your present now?"
"Present?" The flush on Mikai's face darkened as her eyes widened. "Really Shuuichi you've done a lot for me all ready, I don't want to impose—"
"It was no problem really," Kurama pushed his chair in. "Come, follow me to your room."
He moved away from the table, and without hesitation she followed behind him. The look of shock on her face was well worth the present itself, but, as always, there was a meaning behind his choices. Mikai had a fondness for plants, and if there was a chance that she was a plant manipulator like he was, then perhaps the plant he had purchased her would flourish even though it was out of season. The plant had been in rather poor condition when he discovered it, but he had given it enough energy to last overnight, if it lasted longer than that then Mikai had to have some kind of influence. Kurama needed something, anything that pointed him in a direction or gave him a hint of who Mikai was and how she knew Youko Kurama.
When they made it to Mikai's door, he opened it for her, and she entered first with a smile on her face. As soon as he walked in, he heard her gasp and watched her clamp her hands to her mouth.
"I hope you like it," Kurama began, "it was a bit hard to find a healthy bas—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Mikai whirled and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He paused as the young woman gripped a bit tighter while a laugh left her, a sweet, happy noise that made a smile tug on the corner of his lips. But what was he to do at this moment? Hug her back? It was a sweet gesture, one that he had only shared with his mother, was it right to share it with someone he was supposed to be protecting?
Yet his thoughts shattered the moment he took a breath in, and caught a hint of vanilla on Mikai; soft, calming, gentle. The smell wasn't enough to overwhelm him, in fact it wasn't until she was pressed against him that he picked up on it even with his great sense of smell. He hadn't smelled it before when he carried her back to his house, but then again the only thing that entered his nose back then was the smell of copper.
"Thank you so much," Mikai whispered as she pulled away from the hold, her smile still beaming. "I've missed my plants so much! And it's so strange not to have something to take care of, thank you again." She paused for a moment, and bowed, her hair falling in front of her face in a thick curtain. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's coming over me! I'm just so…happy."
"Don't be sorry, Mikai," Kurama said in a gentle tone of voice. "I'm glad that I could make you so happy."
She stood up, and threaded her fingers through her dark brown hair. "I owe you one, Shuuichi. Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Mikai."
The day broke like any other, the sun rising in the east and the dew slowly evaporating under the heat of the sun. Kurama's eyes opened and saw the numbers 8:34 AM staring back at him from the clock sitting on the desk a few feet away. The sounds of rain pitter pattering against his roof had come to a halt, and by the look of the day through his window it appeared as if the town was finally going to get a break from the rainy weather. Perhaps an omen of the fight tomorrow?
"Meet me in the park in four simple days from today with Mikai and I will reveal everything to you."
What could you possibly have to reveal to me?
Throwing the covers back, Kurama moved away from his bed and changed in to a long sleeved form fitting shirt and simple pair of jeans. Finished with that, he made his bed, brushed his hair and teeth, and made his way downstairs to check for messages from his mother on the answering machine. The gentle voice of his mother filled the room when he pressed the 'play' button, telling him that she would be home tomorrow afternoon at the latest and that she loved him. Smiling, he erased the message and glanced towards the table where he and Mikai had shared a pleasant dinner.
"Oh her! She's got a power that I need! You'd better protect her, Kurama, I assure you that I won't stop at anything to get my hands on her!"
Was that all he was worth to her? Just a source of power? Was he just going to throw her life away in order to get to his sister, Senkai?
Life should never be thrown away.
Sighing from his darkening thoughts, he moved to the kitchen and prepared a small breakfast, enough for two just in case Mikai decided to come down in time. He ate his breakfast in silence while reading over the events in the local newspaper, keeping an eye out for anything relating to demon activity.
When noon rolled around and Mikai had not made an appearance, Kurama glanced up at the staircase; what if he woke her? She healed during sleep, but she hadn't been injured to his knowledge so waking her shouldn't bother her, after all he had a slight idea of what he wanted to do for the remainder of the day, and lingering in the house was not on the list.
And, of course, there was always that basil plant to check on.
He stood, and advanced up the stairs, listening to the carpet mold around his socks as he did so. Kurama came to the guest room door, and knocked with his right fist, his index finger out a bit more than the rest. "Mikai?" he asked. "Mikai, may I come in?"
No answer.
Twisting the knob, Kurama pushed the door open and entered the room. The blue and white covers curled around Mikai in awkward positions, some sheets covering her bare legs and others leaving them out in the open. Her hair spread out like a fan on the pillows his family had provided, and he could see her clinging to her pillow in her sleep.
Should I…see what she's dreaming about?
He watched for a long moment as Mikai moved underneath the covers, the thought of touching her and seeing her dream running through his head. True he wanted answers about her powers, but was it right of him to break through her powers and see? She dreamt of Youko Kurama, but…
A sudden power serge struck the redhead and he turned his head towards the basil plant he had set out the night before. Unlike the sickly plant he had left for her, the one looking back at him had no blemishes staining the leaves, and he could smell the aroma from where he stood. No…the plant he had given her the day before could not have recovered with just the energy he had given it, Mikai had to have contributed. When?
Yet he didn't sense any kind of spiritual energy on her.
She's influencing the plant…but how?
Mikai jerked in a violent manner, and she opened her eyes, her hands clenching the blankets underneath her. Out of breath, she looked around the room and locked on to the redhead. "Shuuichi?"
He whirled, and shot a hurried smile in her direction. "Good afternoon, Mikai. I was just coming to make sure you were all right."
"Oh!" She perked and ran her fingers through her messy hair. "I'm fine, I always sleep in on the weekends, and it's the only chance I really get!"
Kurama chuckled, dismissing the plant for the moment, he would have to inform Hiei of that later. "I understand. It's just that I was planning on heading down to the local bookstore and I was wondering if you'd rather call Yusuke then spend the day at the store."
Her smile brightened, and she sat up in bed, the covers pooling her lap. "I'd love to!" she cheered. "I haven't been able to get to a bookstore for awhile now, I'd be more than happy to go with you, Shuuichi!"
The enthusiasm spilling from her made the smile on his face grow even more. Besides his mother, he rarely had a partner when he made a venture to the bookstore. "You're more than welcome to come."
"Just give me fifteen minutes and I'll be ready!"
"Of course."
With a nod, Kurama left the room and made sure to close the door before making his way down the stairs. Another spike of energy hit him as soon as she reached the last stair, and he turned his attention to his living room where he spotted the source: Hiei.
"Yusuke wants us to meet at the moron's place to discuss what our plans for tomorrow are," Hiei said, his voice low as if the prospect of being with the others was some kind of torment.
Kurama sighed. "I doubt we'll be able to come up with much, information on Kubo and Senkai have been had to come across."
"Tell me about it."
The redhead blinked, watching Hiei for a moment. Since when had the demon gone for more information? He had a source somewhere? Kurama had never heard of Hiei using someone else as a source, usually the stubborn demon took the time to research subjects on his own. This was new.
"She isn't dead yet, is she?"
He shook his head. "She's recovered fully from the incident with Kubo, and we're heading out now to a local store to get out of the house."
"Hn." Hiei raised a brow. "You seem excited, Fox."
"Hum?" He tilted his head a bit. "How so, Hiei?"
Hiei turned his back to his partner and closed his eyes for a long minute. "Watch her, Fox, she's got a weird aura that I haven't liked since the day I met her. Human, spiritual, or demonic, I can't tell at this stage."
"Are you…scared?"
He scoffed. "Hardly."
And with that, Hiei left through the backdoor in nothing more than a blur of black and dark blue. Kurama paused for a moment, digesting Hiei's words when something snagged in his mind; how long had Hiei known about Mikai's strange aura? Kurama had barely picked up on it when he woke up in her apartment. Yusuke didn't seem to pick up on anything, so that set up a conversation for later but other than that Kurama was at a loss. Kuwabara couldn't really help at the moment, so who was he to turn to? He had never heard of any friend she had…
"Shuuichi?"
He perked at the sound of his human bound name and saw Mikai standing at the bottom step in the outfit she had worn the night she went out with her aunt. It looked just as nice as it did that night, but he couldn't help but wonder how many clothes she had left over from losing her apartment. It couldn't have been that much, she had only packed an overnight bag along with her uniform.
"You okay?"
"Yes." He forced a smile and nodded a bit. "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
He offered her his arm, and she moved forward, wrapping her arm around his. Kurama could feel the warmth of her body even though his shirt, and strangely enough it brought up goose bumps. Ignoring the feeling for the time being, the fox demon led Mikai towards the front door. "Then follow me."
