Chapter 10

"Shuichi? Are you feeling all right? You've barely touched your food."

Kurama started slightly and looked up from his nearly full bowl. "Oh. Sorry, mother, I'm just not very hungry right now." He picked up his chopsticks and prodded his rice. Shiori leaned forward in her chair.

"Is…something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all."

They sat in silence, listening as the clock ticked and soft music played from the stereo system in the next room. Kurama chanced a glance at his mother and found her smiling gently at him.

"I know you don't like to tell me very much, Shuichi," she raised a hand to ward off his apologetic look, "but just know that I'm always around if you need someone to talk to."

"I know, mother. Thank you." He stood and picked up his bowl, then stepped around the table to kiss his mother on the top of the head. "And I love you. I made some green tea sorbet this afternoon. Would you like some after you come back from picking up Avi?"

She reached up and squeezed his shoulder affectionately. "You spoil an old woman."

"Don't be silly. You are not." He winked at her and moved into the kitchen.

Kurama cleaned out his bowl and placed it in the sink. He stood motionless for a moment, then sighed sharply and leaned forward against the counter.

I should be-

He heard his mother's footsteps and swiftly moved to the refrigerator. She entered and cleaned out her bowl as well, then went to the hall closet to get her coat.

"I'll be back soon." She walked back through the kitchen on her way to the door, pulling on her coat. She stopped and turned as she took her purse off its peg. "Aunt Risha called yesterday, by the way. She wanted to know if you were planning on, um, bringing anyone to the party."

Kurama suppressed a wince. Many members of his new stepfather's family had been away for the wedding, and a rather boisterous relative on that side, Aunt Risha, had organized a huge party for the two families to finally meet. It was not something Kurama was particularly looking forward to.

"No, I don't think so."

"Well, all right. Ken should be home very soon with Shuichi."

"Sounds good. Drive safely."

She waved at him and walked out the door.

A few seconds later, Kurama heard his communicator beep in his room for the second time that day. Instead of going to answer it, he retreated into the foyer.

He was angry with himself. He was acting so…human. Not only that, but so…so teenager.

He had left Spirit World four days ago. And he still wasn't completely sure why...

Yusuke had taken Kate from him when they reached the room and brought her in to place her on the mattress, where Botan healed her. Then Botan had summoned her fellow ferry girl Kasmira and chased the two boys and Koenma away so they could wash off the blood and change her clothes.

Kurama caught one last glimpse of the unconscious girl before the door closed on them. It suddenly seemed like acid was flooding his stomach. She had been so terrified.

So terrified.

It wasn't long before he was stepping onto his street from a disappearing portal…

Kurama sat down at the kitchen table and ran a hand through his hair. Then he looked up at the wall in front of him.

"I was expecting you to come after me a bit earlier."

"Kurama, what is going on?"

The kitsune turned in his seat and raised an eyebrow at Koenma, who stood in the kitchen's doorway. "My stepfather and stepbrother will be walking in any minute."

"Just say I'm a fellow student over working on a biology project."

"Environmental chemistry."

"Got it. It's not like you to leave in the middle of a case, Kurama. At all."

The two supernaturals regarded each other silently.

Kurama shook his head and stood. "No. It isn't."

"I mean, Yusuke is still there, and honestly, out of the two of you, I would expect you to be the one to stay-"

"Yusuke is still there? With her?"

"He's hanging around. He knows the case isn't done, and besides, he loves the excuse to maybe miss some school. Listen, Kurama. I don't know why you left, and I know I can't force you to come back-"

"No, you can't."

Koenma waited. Kurama rested one hand on the back of his chair, put the other in his pocket and did the same.

Koenma finally sighed and took a step forward. "Seriously, Kurama, the thing is, I'm lost as to what to do about her. Up to today, she didn't talk to any of us. Barely ate. Just sat, stared at the wall and cried."

The same acidic feeling bubbled up inside him again; he fought for control as he gripped the back of the chair.

Koenma moved to the window. "This form of possession is genius. The demon can inhabit Kate's body without being detected, and can take control easily when Kate's unconscious. And unfortunately, I haven't a clue how she did it…or how to get her out. We're searching for a way. I've been waiting a bit before telling Dad; I know he'll want to see her, and I'm not sure what a sight like that would do to her right now."

He gazed out at the Minaminos' small backyard. "She's gotten a bit better, but it might be easier to get her to really talk to someone she knows already." He looked back at Kurama. "And, um, she asked for you this morning."

Kurama stiffened and averted his gaze.

Koenma folded his arms and leaned against the counter. He studied the kitchen floor tiles for a moment, then looked up again. "Kurama, if you don't mind me asking…what exactly happened in America between-?"

"Twenty minutes. I need to give my mother an explanation."

Koenma nodded and moved back into the dining room. Kurama heard his footsteps, saw the faint flash of a portal opening and closing, then the house was silent except for the clock ticking on the wall.

Twenty minutes later, he stood in Koenma's office.

"Last time I checked, she was sleeping. We'll wait a bit." Koenma drummed his fingers on the desktop for a moment, then his face lit as if he had remembered something.

"Oh yeah. You're kind of a wanted fox at the moment overseas."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I'll show you." Koenma switched on the screen on the wall, flipped through a few channels of static, and stopped on a news station that showed a blue-suited anchorman straightening his notes. He looked up at the camera. "And now, reporter Mary Curtis on the Fields kidnapping in Emmetsburg."

The same blonde reporter from a few days before appeared.

"Thanks, John. Police have launched a full-scale search for Kate Fields, a student from Jordan High, who was abducted from her Emmetsburg home four days ago. Her bedroom window was broken, and neighbors reported hearing screams and seeing numerous flashes of light from her family's backyard. We have here footage of her stepsister Lily Reed describing the intruder in the house."

Lily was shown sitting on an exhausted-looking woman's lap, whom Kurama could only assume was her stepmother Jill. "Seechi has red hair. He went to Katie. And a scary person…scary-" She burst into tears and buried her face in the woman's shirt.

Kurama was shocked. Had Lily been close enough to the action to see us? She could have been killed…

"Upon hearing Lily's testimony, a friend of Kate's who wishes to remain anonymous came forward with information. The kidnapper is now believed to be a red-haired young man named 'Shuichi'. There is some speculation that the abduction may be linked to the recent murders of four resident boys, but as of yet nothing has been confirmed by the police. Anyone with further information is encouraged to call the Emmetsburg police department at 899-"

Koenma switched off the screen and turned to him.

"I suppose I'm not welcome there anymore," said Kurama coolly.

"I guess not. Was there no way to be a little more discreet in the process?"

Yusuke's voice came from the doorway. "You try it with that demon. Crazy bitch seems to have a flair for the dramatic." He grinned at Kurama. "Hey, you're back!"

"That he is," said Koenma, glancing at a digital clock on his desk. "I'll check again to see if she's awake-"

Koenma turned the screen back on, and the anti-demon room crackled into view. "Kate- oh." The mattress was empty. They searched the screen for a moment before finding Kate on the far side, sitting against the wall next to the door. She was barefoot, dressed in white pants and a dark blue knee-length robe tied with a sash around her waist. Her face was tired and drawn, but her eyes had an alert, biting quality to them that reminded him of that night walking away from the bar.

"Listen, Shuichi, I don't need anyone to defend me."

She met Kurama's gaze with a stony stare as she stood. "So you're back. Woo-hoo."

Koenma glanced at Kurama, then looked back at the screen.

"We'll be there soon."

Kate stood in the doorway, leaning with one hand against the frame, when Kurama, Yusuke, and Koenma reached the room. She looked at the junior prince. "Ko…ah-"

"Enma."

"Yeah. Sorry. Lots of new names." She gestured towards Kurama. "Could we have a second?"

"Um, sure."

"Let's go, Koenma," said Yusuke pointedly as he shot Kurama a strange look. With an odd sinking feeling, Kurama recognized it as the look Kuwabara gave Yusuke once before Keiko gave him a sound talking-to.

The two headed down the hallway. Kate watched them go, then turned back to Kurama looking resolved.

"First thing. I have a feeling I'm going to be here for a while, so I might as well know. Is it Kurama or Shuichi?"

"Well, it's both."

"O-kay. How?"

"I'm half human, half demon. My human name is Shuichi, and my original demon name is Kurama."

"There's the demon thing again. What. The. Hell. Demons exist? And…you are one?"

"Yes. We're also known as apparitions. We come from the Makai, Demon World."

"And that is separate from our world?"

"Correct."

"Then what is our world called?"

"Human World. Ningenkai."

"And where are we now?"

"Reikai. Spirit World."

She paused to absorb this information, then her eyes widened. "Wait, am I dead?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay, good. Who's Koenma?"

"Prince of the Spirit World. And Yusuke is its primary Detective."

"And that blue haired-girl?"

"Botan. A ferry girl…or you may know her as, the Grim Reaper."

Her reaction was the same as Yusuke's, or at least as far as he could tell from what Botan had informed him of. "SHE is the Grim Reaper?!"

"She leads the spirits of the dead here, where they undergo judgment and such."

"Um…all right. Botan. She's nice. Uber-happy, but nice."

She waited a few seconds, looked down at the floor and back up at him. "So…you told me the other day…what was happening to me."

"Yes. You've been inhabited by a demon-"

"Haya."

He stopped. "What?"

"Haya." She repeated it in a whisper. Her resolve faltered. "Th-that's her name. She told me."

Kurama watched her try to surreptitiously take hold of the door frame with her other hand, as if for support. His insides bubbled with acid again, and he found himself longing both to reach out to her and to run away. "She did?"

Kate nodded slowly. Her eyes lost their spark, becoming dark, empty and frantic. "What…what did I do?"

"You didn't do anything. You had no control over anything she used you for, Kate."

"But I remember everything…how could-?"

"Because she made you remember her own-"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. I've heard this." She was quiet for a moment, before she took a deep breath and let it out in a rush.

"Are you all right?"

She smiled sarcastically at him. Her eyes were the same again. "Yup, just peachy. Done crying, anyway; that's not gonna help me much." Her gaze suddenly sharpened. "Hey."

"Yes?"

"Why did you leave like that?"

Kurama stared at her. He couldn't answer. She continued, her voice raising in anger.

"You were the only person I knew here and you just left. Even if you weren't who I thought you were or whatever, that was NOT cool. At all."

"I'm…sorry."

"So are you gonna stick around now or what?"

He nodded. "I am."

"All right." Her voice lowered, and he could see relief in her eyes. She removed her hands from the door frame. "All right then."

"Koenma! I've found something!" George's voice came from around the corner, and Koenma's answered it.

"What is it, George?"

Koenma peered around the corner and looked questioningly at Kurama. The kitsune nodded quickly and Koenma and Yusuke approached him, George following and gesturing excitedly to the file he held. "Best thing we could have found at this point, I think-"

"WHOA." Kate stood in the doorway gaping at the blue ogre, who stopped and looked around self-consciously.

Koenma said helpfully, "Kate, this is George. He's an ogre."

She looked between him and George for a silent moment, then sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Fine. FINE. I'll take it. I'll take anything, just keep things rolling here."

George shrugged, then turned to Koenma. "It's an artifact called the Enkai. It's in the vaults, but it's very valuable and you'll need explicit permission from your father to use it."

Koenma grimaced. "Awww, really?"

"Well, sir, you can't blame him, after you let Kurama, Hiei and Goki steal the Artifacts of Darkness that one time-"

"HEY! You don't need to bring that up, thank you! That was a very painful spanking!"

Kate looked at Kurama quizzically as Yusuke sniggered. "Wait, you stole something? A…spanking?"

"It's a long story."

Koenma glared at the ogre. "Moving on. What does this necklace DO, George?"

"The same thing this room does, essentially. It suppresses all demon activity to the wearer."

Kate straightened and looked at George attentively. "Meaning I could walk out of this room and nothing would happen?"

"Yes, as far as we know."

She turned to the spirit prince. "And how soon can we get on that, Ko…ema?"

"You got it. And apparently, we need permission from Dad first."

"From Dad? Why?"

"Well, you see…my father is kind of the King of the Spirit Realm. Everything in that vaults belongs to him, and he does NOT like his stuff getting lost or damaged." He grimaced and his hand strayed to rub his bottom. "Believe me. But once we get his permission, we should be able to dig the necklace up. Then you can at least get out of this room, and we can work towards making you completely demon-free."

Her eyes lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds good. Let's do this!" She took a step outside the room and was met with a chorus of "NO!"s. She winced and jumped backwards. "Oops. Right."

"You just stay here," said Koenma firmly. "And I'll go talk to Dad…this might take a while, he's pretty busy. Kate, we might need to switch over the screen from his throne room to this room so he can make sure you exist and all that. Not that I would be seeing him about some made-up girl, since I try to avoid him whenever I can…but anyway, don't start getting undressed for any reason."

Kate raised an eyebrow at him. "Gotcha."

Koenma nodded to Kurama and Yusuke. "Hang out in this area, okay? I'd like you guys here when Dad decides to come through. I'll give one of you a buzz once he's ready."

The boys nodded, and Koenma moved down the hallway and out of sight.

There was an awkward moment as the three teenagers stood there, then Kate placed her hand on the doorknob. "Well, I think I'm gonna take a nap." She yawned genuinely, and a number popped into Kurama's head. Thirteen hours.

"See ya." She gave a small wave, then closed the door. As Kurama and Yusuke stepped away from the door, the fox heard the girl's quiet sigh, her footsteps, then silence.

After they had meandered down the hallway for a few moments, Yusuke said, "You know, I think maybe I should tell her about the Mazaku."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well," he said, scowling slightly at the floor, "I know what it's like to kill someone without having control over yourself. I think maybe it would kind of help her realize that it isn't her fault."

Kurama looked pained at this. "She thinks it is her fault?"

"Well, yeah. Which is stupid, but what are you gonna do? According to Botan, that demon bitch made her watch the murders from the inside out. She hasn't said much more than that…not that I've really talked to her. And it's not like I really expect her to open up to me, she doesn't really know me. Knows you better."

"I suppose so. Not much." Yusuke didn't miss the small smile that flickered over Kurama's face.

The Spirit Detective was oddly relieved. Fox Boy definitely looked better now than he had a few days ago…

Yusuke had watched Kurama stare at the door for a long time; then suddenly, the fox was practically sprinting down the hallway. Yusuke followed him to Koenma's office. Kurama entered and went straight to the prince's desk, where he began to punch button after button in sequence.

"Um…what're you doing?"

A portal opened in front of them, at which Yusuke gaped. "Wha- how do you know how to-?"

"Constant observation." Kurama moved towards the portal, and Yusuke ran to his side.

"Wait a sec! Where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

Yusuke grabbed his arm. "Home?! Why?"

Yusuke had never before seen the particular look Kurama gave him then. His eyes were a mixture of pain, confusion, anger, and…fear.

"Kurama-"

Kurama looked away, wrenched himself from Yusuke's grasp and stepped through the portal. It shrank and vanished as the baffled Detective watched. He shook his head and muttered, "Could things- and Kurama- get any weirder?"

Never seen him like this before…

Beeping interrupted Yusuke's recollections, and Kurama pulled his communicator out and flipped it open. Koenma's anxious face filled the screen. "So he wants to see her- head back to the room."

"All right." They turned back down the hallway. When they were a few feet from the door, Kurama heard Kate gasp. He hurried to open the door, and saw her sitting frozen in the middle of the room staring at the screen. He followed her gaze to see King Yama's shadowy, fierce visage filling it to the edges. He, Yusuke and Kate waited tensely, until finally the large black head gave a curt nod.

"I give my permission. Get this taken care of as quickly as possible, Koenma," he rumbled. Then the screen switched to static and they all relaxed.

Kate shook her head and collapsed onto her mattress. "No crazier than the rest of this, I guess." She glanced at Koenma, eyebrows raised. "So when do I get my new artifact?"

"You sure there wasn't a tasteful silver anti-demon ring anywhere in that vault, Koenma?" said Kate sourly. She had pulled her curly brown hair over one shoulder, and now examined the thin golden chain around her neck in the small mirror Botan conveniently carried in her kimono.

"A silver ring?" asked Yusuke quizzically.

Kate shrugged. "Well, I don't like jewelry much in the first place, but I prefer silver- and rings- if it has to be anything." She glanced at her right hand and frowned slightly, saying almost to herself, "I guess I lost it."

She let her fingers stray to the small stone affixed to the chain. It glowed a fiery red. "I wonder if this thing has any purpose, or if the jeweler just felt like adding some color."

Koenma squinted at the jewel. "It looks to be an indicator of the demon energy being repressed."

Kate bit her lip, pinching the stone hard. "Well, I hope it is." Kate looked around at the group as she stepped towards the door. "Because here I go!"

She hesitated in front of the door, then looked at Kurama and Yusuke. "Shove me back in if I start to hyperventilate, all right?"

The boys nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and stepped across the threshold. Yusuke, Koenma, Kurama and Botan all unconsciously moved an inch or two towards her as she stood motionless, a hand still resting on the necklace.

Then she let out the breath she was holding, opened her eyes and smiled tentatively. "Unless she's humoring me, I think we're good."

Kurama felt a wave of relief as Koenma spoke. "Well, that's one hurdle cleared. You're not stuck in one place anymore…but we still have to figure out a way to get her spirit out of you for good."

George, who had been standing close behind Koenma the whole time, started mumbling urgently about huge amounts of paperwork; the prince rolled his eyes and followed his assistant reluctantly down the hall. He called behind him as he went, "Botan, look after her for me, and we'll all meet up later!"

Botan began trilling at that point about taking Kate for a proper tour of the palace, and proceeded to tow the girl away. The brunette sent an amused grin back at Kurama before the girls disappeared around the corner, and his heart warmed as he smiled back.

A dark thought shadowed this lighter feeling. He couldn't believe how…insecure he had been about her being upset with him. When had he cared about something like that?

There could only be one reason…

He took a quick, deep breath and submerged the thought, replacing it with last week's affirmation. I've overcome this before. I can do it again.

Even as he thought this, he looked down the hall to where she had been and couldn't help but smile again. At least for now…she's safe.

Yusuke watched Kurama standing by the windowsill, gazing vacantly out at the landscape. He decided to voice his observation; he was kind of curious about what Kurama would say in response, anyway.

"You look happier."

Kurama seemed to snap out of a reverie. "Hm?"

"The other day, you were so…I don't know, Kurama. It was really weird. I'd never seen you look the way you did-"

Then Yusuke suddenly realized something. "Wait. I have, once. When you saw your mom in the hospital, right after the doctor said…right after he said she wasn't going to make it."

The kitsune's eyes darkened. "Quite possibly the worst moment of my life."

Yusuke chewed his bottom lip for a second, then grinned helpfully and clapped the demon on the back. "Well, we got through that one together, didn't we?"

Kurama finally smiled and looked back up at Yusuke. "Yes, we did. I'm sure I've told you before, but you do have my eternal gratitude for what you did that night."

"Ahhhh, don't mention it. You know how much I love throwing myself into crazy situations involving death!"

"I do."

"And the rest of this one shouldn't be too hard. No more mismatched fights, anyway. Now we just have to figure out what's going on with this demon. How the hell do we get her out?"

Kurama nodded. "Indeed."

Kurama sat up quickly, heart pounding and drenched in sweat yet again. This dream had been even more vivid than the last…

The world was dark. Then, as if a spotlight had switched on somewhere above, her body was illuminated lying on the ground. Facedown. Her hair fanned around her head. She was still.

And a puddle of blood seeped from beneath her…

He slowly lay back down, put his hands behind his head, and stared up above him at the bulbous plants waving gently in a nonexistent breeze. Something told him he wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon...