It had been two days since Shuichi's talk with Hiei. He was still conflicted about their conversation. Hiei's story sounded fantastic.

But Kuwabara and Yusuke had confirmed it when he'd asked them about it. Shuichi wasn't sure what to think of that.

Shuichi had been sure to speak to them separately but both had given him pretty much the same story as Hiei, though from different perspectives, obviously. Yusuke, for example, hadn't known very much about Shuichi's capture by the Syndicate or the night of the theft. Kuwabara, it seemed, hadn't been involved with the Shooting Star much at all, but had known more about Shuichi's time training at the temple as a teenager than Hiei had.

Three different stories but the facts were essentially the same. They each had the ring of truth to them but it was a truth that Shuichi found difficult to wrap his mind around.

"Why did you want to meet here?" he asked curiously as he followed Yusuke into the small forest. It was situated in a park near the train station. A small piece of wild nature nestled amongst the tall buildings of the city.

"Hiei warned us that you might need a demonstration," Yusuke said over his shoulder.

"Yeah, and that's not happening in my apartment," Kuwabara muttered from beside Shuichi.

Shuichi began to feel a little nervous. Surely Yusuke and Kuwabara's abilities couldn't be that destructive? If they even had them in the first place. Shuichi still wasn't sure if he believed them.

Yes, it seemed that Yusuke and Kuwabara had injured Karasu somehow, seriously enough to put him in a coma. But there were plenty of ways that could have been achieved without the use of supernatural forces.

Yusuke stopped in a small clearing and looked around himself. "This seems like a good spot," he said as the other two joined him.

"Now what?" Shuichi asked curiously.

Yusuke grinned at him. "Can you go and stand over by that tree?" he asked. "We need a little space."

Shuichi obeyed, leaning against the rough trunk of the large tree Yusuke indicated. He watched as the two men moved to opposite sides of the clearing and faced each other, as if they were opponents in a boxing match.

"So, are we gonna spar or something?" Kuwabara asked.

"Nah. This forest isn't that big. Someone might hear us," Yusuke said. "We're just gonna show Shuichi the basics. You wanna go first?"

Kuwabara nodded, and then glanced back at Shuichi. Once he saw that he had Shuichi's undivided attention, he grinned proudly at him. "This is pretty cool, you know," he said.

He raised his hands and held them out as if he were holding something. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, his hands began to glow orange. The light grew to form a long staff. Or, given how Kuwabara was holding it, a sword, Shuichi realised. It crackled with energy as sparks flew from it.

Kuwabara swept it through the air. "I can make it grow longer, too," he said proudly.

"That is… ah… impressive," Shuichi said, struggling to find the words. There was absolutely no way to explain what he was seeing, except that Hiei had been telling the truth. At least about some things.

"Wait 'til you see mine," Yusuke said smugly. "Get out of the way, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara's sword vanished and he stepped over to Shuichi.

Yusuke pointed at one of the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. "See that tree?" he asked.

"Yes," Shuichi said.

Yusuke raised his hand and pointed his index finger at the tree. A blue glow formed on the tip of his finger. Then it shot through the air in a beam, continuing until it struck a tree. The vibration of the blow travelled through the ground and through Shuichi's body like a small earthquake. Shuichi blinked rapidly as the light faded. The beam had left a large, smoking crater in the trunk of the tree.

The wrong tree, Shuichi noticed with amusement. Yusuke had hit the tree next to the one he'd been aiming for.

"You missed," Shuichi pointed out as Kuwabara started laughing beside him.

Yusuke looked sheepish. "Just pretend I was aiming for that one, okay?" he asked with a charming grin.

Shuichi walked over to examine the tree Yusuke had hit. He reached up one hand, letting it hover just over the crater. He could feel the heat radiating from the burnt bark. Shuichi felt a little sick as he imagined what that sort of power could do if it hit a human. How could anyone survive it?

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Yusuke asked Shuichi.

"Yes," Shuichi conceded. If 'awesome' was the right word for it. He wondered if Yusuke and Kuwabara truly understood the dangers of the power they both wielded.

They'd had these powers for the entire time that he'd known them, but they had not told him. They'd kept it secret, just like Hiei had. His friends had all decided amongst themselves, without consulting him at all, that he was better off not knowing. That stung.

"If you don't mind, I have some questions," he said.

Yusuke groaned. "I don't get all the technical shit, okay?" he said. "If you really want to know the in's and out's of it, you'd better ask the old lady."

"Master Genkai?" Shuichi asked in surprise. That was the only 'old lady' he could think of in Yusuke's life.

"Yeah. She helped us all train our powers. She knows a lot more about how they work than we do," Yusuke told him.

Shuichi wanted to laugh but held it in. It was just like Yusuke to learn how to do something but not bother to learn how it actually worked. The fact that it did work was good enough for him.

"I may do that," Shuichi agreed. If only to satisfy his own curiosity. And it would be nice to get another perspective on this madness. Perhaps Genkai could help clarify some things for him. His friends might be lying or keeping things from him out of misplaced concern, but Genkai had no such bias towards him. He hoped that she would be entirely honest.

-0-

Shuichi decided to go out to the temple the next day. It seemed as though the temple's owner was also embroiled in his friends' and boyfriend's mysterious world. It was mind-boggling. There were all these connections between his friends that Shuichi had never been aware of. Shuichi hoped that the old woman would have more answers for him.

Shuichi sat across from Genkai at the low table, a steaming cup of tea before him. Though Shuichi had not called ahead, the old woman didn't seem to mind his intrusion into her day.

"I've been expecting this," she muttered.

"You have?" Shuichi asked, surprised.

"Yes. These things have a way of coming unravelled," she said. "Maybe now we can finally get you sorted out properly."

"Sorted out?" Shuichi asked warily.

"There is something wrong with you," she told him. "And I think it is getting worse."

"Was it because of the artefact Hiei mentioned?" Shuichi inquired. "The Shooting Star? If it altered my memories, and it took my abilities.."

If he had them in the first place. Shuichi still wasn't entirely sold on the part of the story where he'd once been someone else. Someone named Kurama.

"What makes you think it took your abilities?" Genkai asked.

Shuichi was taken aback by the question. "It took Hiei's," he pointed out. "That is what he told me."

"So you think it took yours, too?"

Shuichi had the uncomfortable feeling that he was back in school, listening to his teacher leading him to what should have been an obvious conclusion.

And the conclusion was obvious, now that he thought about it. Hiei had assumed that the artefact had taken Shuichi's abilities because it had taken his own. Seeming to verify that fact was the fact that Shuichi had not used his abilities since the incident.

But he hadn't known he had them in the first place. Therefore, he'd never even tried.

"I might be able to do the sorts of things that Kazuma and Yusuke can do?" he asked. He couldn't keep a hopeful tone out of his voice. Dissecting how spirit energy worked from an outsider's perspective would be hard. But if he could actually use it himself…

"Possibly. What did Yusuke's Spirit Gun look like to you?" Genkai asked.

"Spirit Gun?" Shuichi smiled at the name. "A glowing blue beam," he answered.

"So, you saw it. Not just what it did." Genkai looked thoughtful. "If you had no spiritual awareness, all you should have seen was the tree getting hit."

"Is that confirmation that I still have whatever abilities I possessed before the incident?" Shuichi asked.

"Perhaps," Genkai said. "You used to be able to manipulate plants. I would suggest trying meditation in your spare time. It is key to unlocking spiritual power."

"There is something else I wanted to ask you about." Shuichi rubbed at his arms nervously. He really wasn't looking forward to this part of the conversation. He'd only shared this with Hiei and that had been difficult enough.

"I assume this is about the cuts on your back," she said dryly.

"How did you know?" Shuichi asked, stunned. "Did Hiei say something?"

"Hiei doesn't talk to me," Genkai informed him grumpily. "The blabbermouth was Yusuke."

Of course. Shuichi had not considered that Yusuke would share his suspicions with anyone else, but it seemed he had. Shuichi wondered at what kind of relationship existed between the old lady and Yusuke. He knew they weren't related by blood, but they seemed like family, nonetheless.

"Did the Shooting Star cause this as well?" Shuichi asked, relieved that he didn't have to explain.

"No. I don't think this has anything to do with the Shooting Star," Genkai told him. "I think it has a lot more to do with the Syndicate."

The Syndicate. The shady corporation that Karasu worked for. That Shuichi had, apparently at one time, also worked for. Did Karasu know anything about his past?

"After that business at the hospital, I spoke to Koenma," Genkai said. "He's looking into your situation, but it might take some time to uncover anything. Getting hold of Syndicate records is not easy."

"I am not sure I can wait that long," Shuichi admitted.

Genkai frowned thoughtfully.

"I don't know if there is anything I can do," she told him. "I work with the spiritual these days, not the physical. I suspect that your issue stems from a chemical imbalance in your body or something like that. I would advise that you allow Koenma's people to do a full examination."

Shuichi did not like the sound of that. He'd never met this Koenma person and had no reason to trust him, other than his friends' word. And Hiei didn't seem to like the man much.

Genkai read his expression. "Take someone with you," she suggested.

Shuichi nodded and took a sip of his tea. He supposed that it was worth a try.