Disclaimer: I don't own YuYuHakusho.

Chapter Twenty-One: Mixed Emotions

Rune looked over several papers on the table with the heads of the army. He was in his half demon form.

"Master Rune. We must secure the subject before the others do." Marsden commented.

"Yes I know." He said keeping his eyes on the papers. "How are we on patrol?"

"Good my Lord." Ammon spoke up. "If anything foreign stirs out there, well that will be it's last movement."

"Good. I like where we're headed." Rune shuffled the papers together. "I'll look at these more closely. Until then keep up the work."

The soldiers stood, saluted and left.

Treffen appeared from the shadows; he was clapping. "What a performance."

Rune looked up from his seat.

"I'm very impressed little brother." He sat and put his feet up on the table. "I don't think I could have done a better job."

"What do you want Treffen?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to see you in action is all."

Doubt was written on Rune's face. It was quiet for a few minutes until Treffen got up. "Actually, I did want something." He looked at Rune. "I was wondering how Angel was taking your new position." He left chuckling evilly.

Kurama stepped off the bus. He looked up at the steps to Genkai's Temple, takin note of the solar lights placed at every fifth one; something new.

At the top he noticed a soft glow coming from the main room. Sighing deeply he went to the right, over to the garden. What if Reiko was wrong? Could he live with this last light of hope being diminished?

"Kurama?"

He looked up barely too numb to show his surprise. "Oh, Yukina. I'm sorry. I..." He didn't want to be noticed that he was here. But he forgot that despite her living in the human world, Yukina was a demon.

"Reiko went to see you didn't she?" Her eyes soften. "Why don't we have tea?"

A few moments later they were sitting in a smaller room off the main hall. Yukina poured Kurama some tea, then poured her own.

"Is Kuwabara coming?" Kurama felt he needed to make small talk.

Yukina smiled, shaking her head. "He went to bed about an hour and a half ago." She took a sip. "We had a group of people today who wanted a tour."

"So it was busy? That's good." Kurama also took a sip. He forgot how good Yukina could make tea. He smiled. "The last time I had this..." He stopped.

"Cassandra and the children were with us." Yukina knew what he was thinking. "Reiko told you about the flowers and I'm guessing you want to see for yourself?" She looked at him. He was staring at his cup on the table. "You're relunctant because you fear she may be wrong but your heart has already jumped to the hope that she's right and that they are alive."

Emerald eyes gazed up at the ice apparition. Her appearance makes her look vulnerable but she was a strong demon. Yukina got up. "I want you to see something and I want your opinion on what you think it could mean."

Angel walked through an old forest. The trees were bent, crooked, and rotten. This was the Dying Forest. A place where no demon dared to trespass. This was the living area of the Elder.

Elder was not human and yet not demon. Angel figured that Elder was a female, probably beautiful once upon a time. She was an old old blind woman who knew almost anything about Lycans and Death Dealers. Her own past remained a mystery however and as far as Angel understood it very few knew that Elder resided here.

Up ahead there was an upside down u-shaped hut made of mud, sticks, and other natural items. Though no one came around nor ever imagined harming this seemingly helpless old woman, there was a ten yard perimeter barrier just in case. It was here Angel knelt and waited.

Kurama inspected the orange-pink flower Yukina had isolated from the flowerbed. They were sitting in the room that she named the Garden room, since the garden was just outside the door.

"It just sprouted out from the ground." Yukina commented. "I know I helped plant them but did you put in a seed that looked like that?"

Kurama put the flower down. The aura surrounding it was unfamilar. "No."

"Is it an Identity flower?"

"It is and that's what odd. They don't just bloom out of nowhere without a planted bulb."