Life returned to, somewhat, normal after Kari's return to the temple. She went back to training with Keiko in the morning and then with Hiei in the afternoon. Granted, there were some mornings when Kari didn't want to pull herself out of bed so Keiko would let her sleep. Hiei, however, was not so kind. The demon would barge into her room, rip the covers off of her, and command her to stop being lazy. In all honesty, Kari was grateful that Hiei would push her to be active instead of allowing her to wallow in her grief.
Within the first few days of August, Kari was smiling and enjoying time with her friends as she had before. All the while, Hiei had been there to keep her moving forward, especially during those moments when her grief would rear its ugly head. The two had never spoken of their little conversation in the woods but they didn't need to. Each understood that the other was there should they be needed. What they had was a sweet and strong friendship.
Koenma was all smiles and good cheer today. He was in his teenager form, he was back in the human world, and he was almost to Genkai's temple. In fact, Botan was having a bit of trouble flying straight with his constant fidgeting.
"Koenma, sir, please! Do you think you could stay still?" Botan begged as she flew her oar with Koenma balancing on the back.
"I am delivering very, very important intel today, Botan. A little excitement is more than acceptable," the prince retorted as he clutched a small purple folder to his chest.
I've never seen Koenma quite so happy. He must be genuinely thrilled over this, Botan thought. "I'm sure Yusuke will be happy to hear your news, Koenma, sir," she said aloud and offered up a smile.
"Hm? This information isn't for Yusuke," Koenma admitted as he tried to survey the ground below them. A large forest seemed to go on for miles and miles with trails and streams flowing through it. "Are we close?"
"Uh….yes, sir," Botan replied, confused.
Who could that folder be for?
"Alright, Keiko. I promise I won't drop you but you have to trust yourself, too, understand?" Kari asked. She and Keiko were in Genkai's training hall. Kari was on one knee with Keiko standing beside her.
"Ok," Keiko replied and turned her back to the girl. Kari leaned forward and placed her arm across Keiko's back.
"Alright, just follow your hands, like I showed you," Kari said and Keiko raised her hands over head. Slowly, she started to lean backwards and pushed against Kari's arm. Keiko continued until her hands hit the floor and she completed her back bend. "Good! Now, push!" Kari commanded. Keiko pushed off with her feet and Kari assisted, pushing up with her arm so Keiko's legs flipped over and she came back to stand.
"Good job, Keiko. You actually stood up that time," Kari congratulated and pushed herself to her feet, smiling.
"Yeah, but you still had to push me when I came up," Keiko sighed and looked at the floor.
"Yeah, but not as much this time. It was really a lot better. Right, Hiei?" Kari turned to the open door and cast a grin at the demon who had suddenly appeared. Hiei was silent, standing there with his arms crossed. Keiko looked wide eyed from Kari to Hiei and back.
"Aw! I still couldn't sense his energy," Keiko grumped and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. Kari half laughed and started to pull her hair up into a ponytail.
"Well, Hiei is masking his energy so it's a little bit harder to sense right away," Kari explained around the elastic between her lips. Kari removed the tie and began to loop it into her hair. "It's not gonna be second nature. Most of the time you have to really focus."
"If you're done chatting, I'm ready to leave," Hiei snapped from the doorway. Kari threw him a bemused grin and finished tying up her hair.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Kari replied flippantly before offering Keiko a smile. "I'll try to be back by sundown so I can help with dinner."
"That's not going to happen if you don't get moving," Hiei broke in.
Kari glared at the demon and started towards him.
"Who the hell pissed in your cheerios this morning?" Kari barked as she left the training hall and Hiei fell in step beside her. Keiko watched the two, still talking and throwing snarky comments at one another, until they disappeared into the treeline. It would suffice to say that she simply did not understand this bizarre friendship them seemed to have. To Keiko, Hiei could be rude, pushy, stubborn, and borderline cruel but Kari always seemed to just laugh it off. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she saw that Kari was a lot like Yusuke; she could forge a friendship with a demon so easily that it almost made Keiko's head spin.
Shaking off her thoughts and questions, Keiko, too, left the training hall and went in search of Yukina. They had a lot to plan if they would all be leaving for the city in the morning.
"Why, exactly, are you all going back to the city? I thought that human school of yours wasn't starting back for a few more weeks," Hiei questioned and glanced up at Kari. He had three leaves before him, resting on the log between them. Kari had five leaves but it looked like two of them were going to crumble any moment.
"I told you, it's the Obon festival this weekend and we all have to go back. It's a tradition." Kari sighed as one of her leaves disintegrated. "I'm not excited about it either but it would be highly disrespectful not to participate."
"So if it's just a festival, why do you have to leave for three days?" Kari blinked and looked at Hiei's curious expression.
"Well, the big festival part isn't until the third day but there is more to Obon than just that. I have to go clean my ancestors graves and pay tribute. Don't demons have something like that?" Hiei glanced back down at his leaves.
"Some demons have a similar tradition," Hiei said. "Not all demons memorialize their dead though."
"Hm. Well, that's interesting," Kari conceded. "Sometimes I forget just how different demons are from humans." Hiei cast her a glance but Kari just shrugged and swept a tiny pile of ashes away from where another of her leaves had crumbled. She and Hiei were even now.
"You could come with us, you know?" she looked up and set those green eyes on him. "Yukina is going so you would just be here alone with Genkai."
"And what do you expect me to do in the city? At least here, I don't have to deal with too many humans," Hiei retorted with a scowl and one of his leaves burst into ash. Kari sighed and put her forehead on the log, exasperated. Hiei watched her carefully, unsure what had brought about this sudden mini-tantrum. Kari finally looked up, folding her hands under her chin and looking at him seriously.
"Ok, look. I…" Kari sighed again and put her forehead back on the log so all Hiei could see was the top of her head. She mumbled something into the wood that even Hiei's demon hearing couldn't quite discern.
"Sit up and speak if you have something to say," he commanded, her bizarre attitude starting to grate on him. Kari flung her head up and glared at him, her curls swinging into her face so she had to angrily brush them aside.
"I don't wanna go back to my house by myself, ok?" she barked and then crossed her arms defiantly.
"Hn. Then take Keiko with you," he replied cooly. Kari rolled her eyes.
"Keiko has family obligations of her own. Plus, she gets all...sappy when I get a little down and I don't want that right now." Kari pulled out her biggest doe-eyed look and batted her eyelashes at the demon. "Please, please, please, come with me. I need your jackass attitude to keep me from lighting the block on fire. I'm a danger to myself and the neighborhood in my tender condition."
Hiei was a little taken aback at her request but he didn't show it. He just let her stare at him with those odd, faux-sad eyes for a few seconds and contemplated what exactly he had to lose from accompanying Kari to the city.
"What's in it for me?"
"My undying gratitude." Hiei cocked an eyebrow at her, signaling that she needed to up her game. Kari sighed and rested her chin in her palm. "We can train in the clearing behind my house so you won't be bored." The demon didn't look convinced. "And I'll make those amazing double chocolate brownies you like so much," she added in a sing song voice and smiled sweetly. Hiei cocked a grin and leaned forward, staring her in the face.
"With vanilla ice cream."
"Deal."
Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan were watching Koenma pace the yard nervously. He was mumbling to himself and clutching that purple folder like it was a lifeline. Kuwabara scratched his head and turned back to Botan.
"So, Koenma didn't say anything about why he needed to come by today or why he wants to talk to Kari so bad?"
"No, he just said it was important. I've never seen him so riled up though. Do you think it could be something bad?" she asked the two boys.
"If it's so important he could just tell us instead of making us wait for Kari and Hiei to get back. Those two are usually gone until dark most days," Yusuke groussed. Patience was not really his strong point.
"Speaking of, I have a question for you two," Botan said, gaining their attention. "Kari and Hiei...their friendship is weird, right?" Yusuke and Kuwabara blinked and looked to each other. Botan continued. "Well, think about it. They spend an awful lot of time together and we've all seen how they talk to each other. I've never heard Hiei so chatty with someone before. You guys don't think they're like...together?"
"Um, I'm pretty sure they are together everyday, Botan," Yusuke replied with a lifted brow. Kuwabara glared at him.
"I don't think that's what Botan means, Urameshi." Yusuke blinked and looked between the two, trying to discern what they meant. Suddenly, it clicked and Yusuke fell out laughing.
"What, you think they're dating?! Seriously?!" Yusuke cackled. "Last I checked, Hiei isn't the biggest fan of humans and Kari isn't exactly the boy-crazed type."
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Kuwabara agreed with his own laugh. Botan rolled her eyes at their obliviousness. Obviously, she would have to get to the bottom of this herself.
"Kari! Hey!" Koenma suddenly shouted as the girl and her demon companion came from the treeline. The spirit prince jogged up to the girl and tried to look suave but his excitement was just too much to handle.
"Uh, hey, Koenma. What brings you here?" Kari asked as she pulled her elastic from her hair and shook it out. Watching her run her fingers through her curls just made her even more lovely in Koenma's eyes and the prince couldn't help but blush.
"Actually, I have something I thought you would find very interesting," Koenma said with a smile and eager eyes, leaning forward so he was all in her face.
"Um…ok?" Kari replied with a cocked eyebrow and she leaned back slightly so he wasn't quite so close. "Well, we are having a big dinner tonight so why don't you stick around and you can tell everyone?" Kari said with a half hearted smile. Koenma's proximity was making her a little uncomfortable so she stepped gingerly around the prince toward Hiei. Koenma trailed along on her other side as the three began walking towards to the temple once again, gratefully accepting the invitation. Koenma continued to babble on about several nonsensical things and Kari listened politely. Neither of them noticed Hiei's tense jaw or the way he kept throwing glares at the prince.
Hiei was definitely not pleased.
"Wow! This all smells great. You are quite the cook, Kari," Koenma offered nicely as he took a seat to her left.
"Actually, Yukina prepared most of this. I just helped slice the vegetables," Kari replied as Hiei took the seat to her right and Kurama to his right. The group was all seated and the table was laid out with all manner of food. Soup and noodles and sauteed vegetables; everyone began serving themselves and chatting with their neighbors.
"You also helped with the beef," Keiko offered from across the table, casting a smile at her friend. Kari rolled her eyes.
"You could have seared it just as easily," she replied.
"Yeah, but it's more fun to watch you do it with your fire trick." Kari waved the comment away and took a bite of her food.
"So, Koenma," Kurama interjected, looking past Hiei and Kari to the prince. "What kind of news did you bring from the spirit world?"
"Oh, yes! Well," Kurama produced the purple folder and pulled out a sheet of paper. "I was doing some research in the archives and came across this." He offered the page to Kari and the girl took it, glancing at it. It appeared to be some kind of family tree, with her name at the bottom and her mother's and grandmother's above hers. It went back and back, a list of all the females in her family along her grandmother's side until it came to a blanked out space at the top.
"Did you look up all the women in my family, Koenma?" Kari asked with a raised brow.
"Well," the prince blushed," when we were processing your grandmother this was in her file. But look here," He pointed to the blanked out name at the top and looked at her expectantly.
"It's blank," she deadpanned.
"Yes, but don't you know what that means?" Koenma urged.
"Get to the point," Hiei suddenly growled from Kari's other side. Koenma jumped at the demon's interjection, but plowed on.
"It means that this member of your family didn't have a file in the spirit world. There is no record of their existence."
"Ok. So, did it get lost or something?" Yusuke chimed in, scratching his head.
"No, that's not possible. Every human and demon soul has a record in the spirit world. If there is no record of a being that can only mean that they are a citizen of the spirit world." Koenma leaned over and pointed to the date next to the blanked out space. "This date precedes even my existence."
"For real?" Kari asked. Hiei leaned over her shoulder and glanced at the paper. Koenma reached back into the folder and pulled out another sheet.
"Yes and it's not just any date. That date coincides with a great tragedy in the spirit world. The destruction of an entire kingdom." Kari took the sheet and saw that it was a scanned image of some kind of seal. Two dragons, one light and one dark, were circling around an emblem that looked like a roaring fire.
"That's the seal of the Kingdom of Arai, an ancient kingdom that fell from power centuries ago. The story is that they were attacked by an unnamed enemy and the ruler vanished from the spirit world altogether." Koenma explained matter-of-factly. "It was said that the royal family of Arai were the first dragons so their people were often gifted with an affinity for fire."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying Kari is the descendant of a dragon?" Kuwabara asked. Hiei stiffened at the question and looked over at the girl, who had still not looked up from the paper. She had a curious look in her eyes, brow furrowed in concentration.
"No, Kari isn't a dragon," Koenma continued and Hiei tore his eyes away from the silent girl. "But her ancestor is likely a denizen of that kingdom who sought refuge in the human world. That would explain not only Kari's powers but also why almost all the women in her family had heightened spirit awareness." Koenma glanced down at Kari, expecting to see her impressed with all the information he had gathered but she was still consumed with the scanned image he had handed to her. He waited a beat but it appeared like she hadn't been listening. Had Hiei not nudged her in the side she might have never looked up.
"Oh...uh, yeah. That's cool. Thanks, Koenma," she finally murmured and offered up a half smile. She deftly folded up the image and shoved it into her pocket for later.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all," Koenma blushed. The group soon fell back into their meal and discussed a multitude of topics. Hiei noticed that Kari was mostly quiet throughout the meal and he could feel her energy changing ever so slightly.
She is worried about something, the tiny voice suggested to him. Hiei cut another glance at her and silently agreed. Her smile wasn't reaching her eyes and the heat coming off of her was nervous and flaring. He would have to see what was wrong with her once Koenma was gone.
Hiei felt a small pang of anger as the spirit prince garnered Kari's attention again with some story or another. He didn't like the way Koenma fawned over her or tried to make her laugh. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he wanted that damn Koenma gone.
Eventually, Koenma did leave. He and Botan had important business in the spirit world so they were not able to stay overnight. Koenma took an extra moment to say goodbye to Kari and went so far as to promise he would be returning soon. Kari merely thanked him again for the information and then they were gone.
With dinner long over, the group decided it was time to get some sleep. They would be leaving on the morning train for the city.
Hiei was about to follow Kari towards her room, to demand to know what she was so concerned about, when Kurama stopped him.
"Hiei, do you have a moment?" the red asked coolly. Hiei cast him a short glare but shrugged. "That story Koenma told us about, the dragons. Do you know anything about that?"
"Hn. No, I've never heard of such a tale," Hiei confessed. Kurama nodded, understanding.
"I thought as much," Kurama sighed. "It has me worried though. Kari's power is rare enough without adding some ancient kingdom into the mess." Kurama cast a glance at Hiei, trying to find any kind of reaction. "Anyway, I had another question. When will you be returning to demon world?"
"Why does that matter?" Hiei retorted.
"I'm sure you have to return to the border patrol soon. I believe you might be able to find some more information on this Kingdom of Arai while you're there." Kurama explained.
"I'll be going back in a few weeks," Hiei said, turning from his friend to signal that he didn't wish to continue the conversation. Kurama continued anyway.
"Kari will be safe here." Hiei stiffened ever so slightly. "What with her hanging around with Yusuke and Kuwabara, demons wouldn't dare try to attack even with her amount of spirit energy. Plus, with the added attention of Koenma, there shouldn't be any reason to worry."
"I'm not worried about anything," Hiei replied before he blinked out of sight. Kurama stood there, taking in the shadows of the night, and thought. He could tell Hiei was lying.
Hiei appeared outside Kari's door and he rapped three quick times.
"Just come in, Hiei." He heard Kari reply from inside, so he obeyed and nudged open the door. She was sitting on her bed and appeared to be intently reading something on her laptop screen. The page Koenma had given her was laid out on the bed.
"What are you doing?" Hiei asked. From her demeanor at dinner, he had made the assumption she was upset about something; but Kari had an air of determination about her.
"Come here and close the door," she said, still not looking up from the computer screen. Hiei complied, rolling the door closed and proceeding to move to the side of the bed she was sitting on, closest to the wall and her window. Kari snatched up the paper and held it out to him. "Ever seen this?"
Hiei took the page and looked it over.
"No. Have you?" Kari shook her head 'no' and continued to click away, looking. "What are you doing?" Hiei asked for the second time. Kari sighed and looked up at him.
"I'm looking for an old story my gram used to tell me about two dragons but I can't find a trace of it anywhere," she admitted. She looked to the paper in his hand and back at his face. Hiei had an eyebrow cocked at her, showing he wasn't sure what she was talking about. Kari sighed again and snapped the laptop shut.
"Ok, so the story was about these two dragons, right?" Kari said as she took the paper back. She pointed to the black dragon. "There was a black dragon, who was consumed with night and darkness," her finger shifted up the page to land on the white dragon, "but there was also the white dragon, who was the light of the his life. Gram said they roamed the Spirit World together, content to spend eternity with one another." Hiei leaned back on the windowsill, listening intently as Kari continued.
"Then there was this king, a mad king, who wanted the white dragon to be his queen. So, he tried to sway the white dragon to abandon the black one for a life of comfort and power. When the white dragon turned the king down and said she would never leave the black dragon alone, the king decided that if he couldn't have her, then no one could. He sent an army to attack the black dragon, who always defended the white one; but while he was busy fighting, some of the king's men found the white dragon." Kari stilled for a moment and looked down. "By the time the black dragon came back, it was too late. So," Kari blinked and looked back to Hiei, "the black dragon has roamed the spirit world alone, looking for the white dragon's spirit; so they could be together again," Kari finally finished.
"Ok, so what does some old fairytale have to do with that?" Hiei said, after a moment of silence, and waved a hand at the paper.
"Well, think about it," Kari replied and began ticking reasons off on her fingers. "Koenma tells us about some ancient kingdom, run by dragons, in the spirit world. Said kingdom was destroyed by a powerful enemy and the ruler vanished. He brings this," Kari waved the paper about, "and says its the seal of this weird place. And finally, a story that my gram told me, about a black dragon and a white dragon, can't be found anywhere online."
"You're forgetting that Koenma insinuated that you are somehow connected to this ancient kingdom," Hiei added.
"Ya know what? This whole thing is so weird, I'm not even going to entertain that notion right now," Kari replied as she ran a hand through her hair. "Seriously, though. I think….I think my gram knew a lot more about my powers than she let on."
"So, what are you going to do?" Kari heaved a sigh, leaned back on the wall, and closed her eyes.
"What is there to do? My gram is gone so I can't really go asking questions. And I don't have any other family so it's just a...dead end, I guess." Kari glanced over at the demon. "You think I'm reading too much into all this?" Hiei was silent for a moment, thinking.
"I think," he said, looking to her intently, "there is no such thing as coincidence." Kari grimaced and closed her eyes again.
"Yeah, me neither."
Author's note: Oh, things are getting interesting? I wanna hear your theories! Submit a review with what you think might happen next! Meanwhile, Chapter 11 is in progress. Keep an eye out.