Yusuke: We are gathered here today to mourn the lose of Shonoki Um-Oof (gets hit in the head with a rock)

Shonoki: (scratchy voice) I'm not dead you twit!

Yusuke: You might as well be. You look like hell ran you over, backed up and did it again! (Ducks as rock flies over his head) Ha you mis-Ack! (Gets hit in face with an iron)

Shonoki: (still scratchy voice) Baka, I can still kick your butt. I'm losing my voice at the moment and I feel like crap, but I'm still going to update. I got such good reviews, how could I not.

Hiei: She doesn't own anything pertaining to YYH.

Shonoki: Thank you Hiei.

Hiei: Hn.

Ayame and Hiei walked back into the house. In the living roomto see only Miu in the room. She was on her cell phone, and looking pretty happy.

"Alright...yes...yes...Put him in a hotel...how long...alright...Ayame'shouse...she's umm..." Miu looked up at a very confused Ayame at this point.

"She's been busy...uh huh...okay see yeah then!" Miu hung up the phone and smiled cheerfully. "Guess who's coming to visit us tomorrow?" she asked.

Ayame crossed her arms and closed her eyes momentarily. "...Shinami! Shinami is coming to visit!"

Miu continued smiling and shook her head. Hiei watched as Ayame's eyes lit up with happiness.

"Another friend of yours?" He asked while taking his spot on the window. Ayame nodded then took a seat on the couch.

"Shinami is well, basically my sister in law. Her and my brother were in engaged before the incident. We used to stay with them a lot after my parents died too. They're like my second family. Shinami is a tracker too, so she'll probably want to spar while she's here... Miu, where are the others?" she asked casually.

"They went to get their stuff. Naoko said that it would be best that we stayed the night so that you two don't back out on the dare." Miu replied. Ayame twitched, she had hoped that they'd forgotten.

"I hope Shinami hasn't changed too much over the years." Ayame tipped her head back so that she was facing the ceiling. Closing her eyes, a memory flashed through her minds eye.

(Memory)

"Come on Ayame, it's not that hard. You don't want to get left behind on the next mission do you?" A tall girl with long ebony hair and crystal green eyes asked. A younger, six year old Ayame shook her head no.

The two were training in a backyard. "Riku doesn't want me to go, he says I'll only get in the way. He said that I'm not strong enough to fight like you guys." Ayame pouted a bit.

The taller girl smiled and put her arms around Ayame. "You're only as strong as you think you are little one. She looked up as a boy with short white hair walked into the yard. "What are you two up to?"

(End memory)

Ayame brought herself back to reality. Her brother had been gone for awhile now, and Shinami took it just as hard as she herself did. Miu cleared her throat to get her friends attention.

"Umm, Ayame, there's something else you should know. Shinami isn't coming alone." Miu said slowly and cautiously.

Ayame looked down at her friend, tipping her head to the side. "Are her parents coming too? They're welcome here if they need a place to stay." Miu shook her head. She started to get a little fidgety as well.

Hiei caught a sudden spike in Ayame's energy. He looked over and noticed that her eyes had lost the glint of joy and had been replaced by a look that he knew well.

"No." Ayame stated flatly. The look that Hiei had picked up was one of almost pure hatred. "He's is not welcome here under any circumstances. He can go stay in a cardboard box!" Ayame eyes started toflicker to their orange color as she spoke.

"Ayame, maybe Sota's changed through the years. I'm sure you and him can come to some sort of-" "No!" Ayame shouted, cutting off Miu.

"Miu I don't mean to snap at you, but people like him don't change, they just get worse." Ayame started to leave the room. "I'm going to go change for bed. You guys can figure out were you want to sleep. I'll deal with Sota tomorrow...if I have to. Goodnight."

Ayame disappeared upstairs. Hiei looked over at Miu who was staring at the floor. "Sota is Shinami's brother." She said, answering the unasked question. "He's had a...thing...for Ayame ever sense they were kids. She never could stand him, Riku always threatened him when he wouldn't leave her alone. We started calling him her stalker."

Hiei sat silent, nodding when Miu looked over at him, signaling for her to continue. "After Riku died, Sota tried to force himself on Ayame. He said something to her about Riku not being around to protect her anymore."

Miu pointed to wrist, "Ayame left him with a really nasty burn that day, and she probably would have done worse if Sage and Koji didn't find them. They beat him up later though." Miu let out a sigh. "Ayame hasn't seen him sense that day."

Hiei looked back out the window for a moment before getting up and heading upstairs.

The rest of the group came through the door as he passed it. "Going to bed Hiei?" Naoko called with a grin. "Don't forget the dare." Hiei continued up the stairs. "Hn."

Ayame cleared a few drawings off her bed and gently set them in a wooden box. She had already changed into a T-shirt and pajama shorts. As she was picking up more sketches and drawings one of them fell and slipped to the door. Hiei looked down and picked it up, studying the picture. It was of a shadowed figure sitting on a tree limb. There was writing underneath. Hiei started to read it, but was stopped when Ayame grabbed the picture.

"It isn't finished yet." she said as she put it with the rest of the pictures. Hiei walked over and looked in the box. There was picture of a girl sitting on a broken bridge that was covered in ivy and vines. The girl looked to be crying, as she had her knees tucked under her chin, her head rested against them as rain came down. It was actually kind of depressing.

"You draw a lot." he stated as Ayame put another stack of papers into the box. She nodded. "It's a good past time. Most are ideas from dreams, or things I've seen before. Some are just my way of showing how I feel." Ayame pointed to the one of the girl on the bridge. "I drew it after Riku's death. It was basically how I felt, alone, sad, depressed, like my life had shattered for the second time in my existence." She gave a slight snicker and put the cover on the box.

"Now on to the problem at hand...which bed are we sleeping in?"

Hiei: You're leaving it there?

Shonoki: (Nods) yep.

Hiei: Why?

Shonoki: Because I need a cliffhanger, and if you don't like tough cookies.

Hiei: Hn.

Shonoki: I hope you all like the chapter, this is the fastest I've typed and updated ever. Two updates in row, Wohoo I'm on a roll. R&R plz!