PART XIII. "Words That We Couldn't Say."

"We couldn't say them, so now we just pray them: words that we couldn't say."

- Steve Conte.

Koenma.

I'd wiped down the phone roughly six times already. Though it was only the disinfectant touching my ear that made me uncomfortable, I was itching to wipe it down again. The fact Kurama was taking his time answering was already telling of how the conversation would go.

He'd been particularly prickly with me ever since Aiko signed up for this. This phone call may earn me a bundle of vines through the mouth piece, lunging for my throat.

Finally, after a third try, he picked up.

"Hello?" His voice was laced with concern.

"Kurama, it's me," I replied.

"Ah." The concern disappeared immediately, controlled irritation taking its place. "Koenma, what a pleasant surprise."

"Likewise," I said quickly. "Aiko will be visiting soon."

His voice was flat. "Excuse me?"

"She said it was important. I'm trusting her decision."

"She cannot come here." I heard this tone of voice plenty of times, and I had to admit I didn't particularly like being the one it was directed at. "You of all people should know that."

"I know she can't—she shouldn't," I agreed, finding myself leaning against the glass window of the telephone booth. "But she is. That's why I'm calling you."

"So I can find her an escort."

I nodded despite knowing he couldn't see.

"If I may," he said, voice likely as stiff as his face at the moment. "I'd like to ask a question."

"Go ahead." He would have asked had I rejected him anyway.

"Have someone go with her," he demanded, tongue taut and ready to strike me through the phone. "If I cannot find someone for her, I'm assuming with your respected position in Reikai, you would be able to."

I felt my teeth gritting together. "I'm sure you can find someone for her."

"Thank you," he replied, voice laced with amicability. "For being so accommodating."

How Aiko could deal with the levels of pettiness Kurama emitted at any given time was beyond me.

"Of course. My track record is fairly clean, for things like this that is."

"Then." A soft click. I paused, unsure.

Then came the dial tone. He had hung up on me. Slowly, I set the phone back in its handle. Had I not had more pressing issues with my father, being on Kurama's bad side would have sent chills down my spine. Crisp morning air chilled my face, cooling the sweat that was slowly seeping through the pores of my face and neck. With a deep breath, I watched the people pass me by on the street. No. Instead, it was the fact that my father was being exposed abusing power to keep Reikai as the main authority mediating the realms.

Aiko.

"The air will be hard to breathe," Suzume told me as she rubbed the talisman onto my bicep. Its adhesive back pinched at my skin as she adjusted it to lay flat. Her quiet voice still managed to bounce around the cave walls. I figured Yukina had told her of this. "You'll feel lightheaded for a couple hours, but you'll adjust to it. Remember to stay hydrated and take frequent breaks until your breathing is back to normal."

"Right," I mumbled, trying to store the info in my short term memory... along with the seventy other facts and tips she'd thrown at me earlier.

"There's going to be a fall when you get to the other side," Koenma said as he walked up to the cave wall. "Don't be shocked, you could pass out with how hard it is for you to handle the air already. Jin will be there to catch you."

"Right." I hiked the backpack up to fit snug on my shoulders. "Jin."

I was sure Kurama mentioned him before. I worried, wondering if it was okay for him to send someone he was introducing to Yomi to be with me. In other King's territories.

With an outstretched hand and the exertion of some ki, a ripple began to form on the cave wall. Like something out of a science fiction film, a rip in the air occurred. It split and burst open furiously, a plethora of sickly colors exploding inside it. And from it, along with the sickly colors came a sickly, rotting smell.

Horrible at first, it then managed to become worse as I approached the portal. Heat radiated from it as well, only adding to the intensity of the stench. I rested my hand on the edge of the portal, where it connected to the fabric of our reality still. The warmth seeped into my skin—like a heating blanket. Holding my breath, jumping inside felt like opening an oven on a cold winter night.

Pressure surrounded me, suffocating me as the colors disoriented me. Vertigo? Dizzying, for sure. A surreal feeling, but it all was short lived. As quickly as I began registering my surroundings in the tunnel, I hit the cooler air of Makai.

The stench was still with me, buried in my nostrils, but that was the least of my reasons to gripe. Koenma downplayed the "fall" he mentioned—I was a good tens of thousands of meters in the sky. The realization knocked the wind out of me. With the smell of rotting flesh, my churning stomach was doing its best to crawl up my throat.

I looked out to the horizon, hoping Jin was around. Instead, I was greeted by the looming grey clouds in the distance. Red lightning crackled around it, illuminating the grey against the stark burgundy sky. The scenery eerily resembled Ningenkai, spare the hazy red sky that only made me wonder why it was that color.

I didn't have long to think about it before I realized the ground was closing in on me. Another minute or so and I'd be splat flat on the ground—after being punctured by all the trees branches I had to fall through along the way, of course.

Where was Jin—?!

Heavy hands took the brunt of my weight and dug into my stomach, knocking whatever wind was left out of me again. "Whoopsie daisy! I got you, girly."

A lighthearted, masculine voice echoed from above me before my vision went black. It felt like only a moment, but it must have been much longer. We were moving through the air, much higher than before I was caught. I looked around, twisting awkwardly in—hopefully—Jin's thick arms to see his face. I was greeted by an equally thick neck. Looking up, I found a boyish face adorning bright blue eyes—and a singular horn protruding from the forehead. Short, shaggy hair was whipped around by the wind.

"Ah, you're awake!" He grinned. "Worried about you for a second there; thought I may've crushed your innards something."

Still lightheaded, wind rushing in my ears, I struggled to form a coherent response to assure him I was fine.

"Don't try talkin'," he reassured me as my vision began blurring again. "Just rest; get yourself acclimated to the air here. It's easiest when you're asleep."

"Where?" I coughed. The air stung my throat now that I had a mouthful of it. "First?"

"Yusuke's." His voice began fading out as my eyes closed again. "He's the closest, and his territory will be safest for you."

An ungraceful landing jolted me awake. To be fair, it probably was graceful. Jin likely had been flying and landing all his life; he knew what he was doing, but good Lord was he not careful about it. A gasp caught in my throat as I looked around, disoriented. Strangely shaded trees with dark colors I'd never expected on a plant surrounded us. A few meters behind me, the dark green grass faded away into dirt. A desert trail lay ahead to rocky mountains on the horizon.

"How're you feelin' there?" he asked, looking down at me as I struggled to focus my gaze on him. "Breathin' better?"

I was, actually, but I was lost. He set me down. Strong, sturdy hands pinched my skin as they gripped me tightly while I wobbled. I only now began to realize where his hands lay—luckily for the both of us, they were on my arms.

"Yeah, I'm just—a little disoriented," I explained, hand finding its way to my head. "Where are we?"

"Outskirts of Raizen's territory," he replied, slowly letting go of me. "You'll be safe once you head in there—well, I can't vouch for fights. But you won't be eaten, that's for sure."

He couldn't come in because he was siding with Yomi. It'd be bad all around, of course. I nodded.

"I was told to give you twenty four hours before I tell Kurama you're missin'."

"Tell Kurama?" I looked up to him—and then realized I had to look up more. He was well over two meters tall. "How?" *

He gave me a silly, childish grin, and pointed to his wiggling, pointed ears. A black ear piece fit snug in his ear hole. "Only for emergencies, though. Don't want to let Yomi know you're here."

I sighed, finding myself smiling. "Alright. I'm sure I'll be fine. Yusuke will find me, if anything."

"Yeah, you do reek." He nodded simply.

"…Thanks, I guess." I turned away, taking a deep, sour breath, and steadied myself.

"You head straight on outta here. There will be a big rock tower in the distance," he explained. His large arm hovered over my head, pointing out into the distance, past the trees that shrouded us. "That's where Yusuke ought'a be. Or at least, where he'll come back to."

I nodded, following his direction. The air itself was hot, humid, and the smell was worse because of it. Walking became easy as I adjusted to the smell of it. The sun was high in the sky, obscured by dark clouds, when I first started walking. Throughout my journey through the rocky plains, weaving through the mountainsides, I felt eyes on me. Presences I couldn't quite pinpoint.

Seeing was hard, as dust winds picked up every so often, threatening a dust storm. Tense, on guard, I kept alert. Whoever it was, they followed me across the mountain range, never striking once—never so much as a fluctuation in ki. They were stalking me.

Strangely, they waited until I was out of the mountain range to make an appearance, when the sun was on the verge of setting. Though I knew I wouldn't be able to handle them—their ki was overwhelming—I feigned a brave face. He held a human appearance, the aesthetic of a monk.

Keeping my eyes on him, as he looked down at me, I trusted my peripheral vision to do its best in finding an escape route. Yukina said they didn't eat humans here, that we were treated well—in comparison to, well, being killed. So that didn't amount to much, nor did it reassure me.

Human trafficking and otherwise enslavement was definitely still an option, I was sure.

The landscape was not helpful. I wouldn't make it. There were no hiding spots.

"A human shouldn't be wandering around these parts," he said, his voice a trained baritone. "But you don't seem lost. What are you doing here?"

I was screwed anyway. "I'm looking for someone. Urameshi, Yusuke. I need to talk to him."

His hairless brows raised in surprise. "Lord Yusuke?"

Lord? I scoffed internally. Actually… that may work out better. "Yeah, we're friends."

He sized me up briefly, deemed me no harm—none that he couldn't take care of, at least—and turned on his heels to lead the way. "He should be at the tower."

I hesitated before following, but figured I was already in his trap anyway. I kept a large distance between the two of us, walking far behind him. He didn't bother waiting or slowing down, nor did he think to make conversation. He led me through the rocky plains in silence until we came upon a lonely, battered arena.

I began to feel more at ease around him. Yusuke definitely would be around here.

"He must not be awake yet if he's not down here," he said, continuing past the beaten cement arena. "Come, I will take you to the tower."

I looked past him, finding the grey, jagged stone tower to be much larger than I expected it to be. It was poorly designed; I wondered how it was made. Part of me almost believed that Raizen plowed his way through a large mountain until he came up with... that.

The ghostly passing of my name caught my ears as we approached the tower. I looked around, wondering if I was only hearing things. It passed my ears again, and I looked up, finding Yusuke leaning out of a window a couple stories up.

"What the hell are you doing here?" His voice was crystal clear that time.

I rose my voice. "We need to talk." I saw him lift his foot onto the rocky windowsill, and spoke louder. "Alone."

He paused, foot already planted and ready to propel him out the window to meet me, but went with his initial thought and pushed himself out of the window. I watched, in slight awe, as he soared down with ease and landed on his feet. Dust picked up around him as the ground broke underneath him, sinking with his weight and force.

My breath caught in my throat as he straightened himself; he truly was different—but strangely the same. Had he been transforming even before he left? He must have been; it was only in this realm that I could see it... and feel it. He was falling into this role of a Lord with the way he carried himself, exerted himself.

"Let's take a walk," he said, voice firm. I figured I'd get an earful on the way.

"I mean it," I replied, watching him walk past me. "Alone."

He stopped and looked behind him—behind me—to the monk that led me here. "You heard the lady. Besides, she's harmless for the most part."

Lackey Monk gave a curt nod and I followed Yusuke back out into the mountains. I trusted him to gauge when it would be fine to talk, and he took the hint as we began the steep slope.

"So, Kurama know you're out here?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Guess it's pretty important since he let you come." He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder to gaze down at me. "What's wrong? Barrier stuff?"

I nodded. "I need you to trust me on this when I say I need you to, uh… do what you can to ban people from going to the Dark Tournament this year."

He blinked a couple times, confused. "I'm not a fucking tyrant, Aiko. Besides, technically this isn't even my territory."

"You're a lord, aren't you?!"

"I can't control—wait. First of all, tell me why."

"I think… barrier reg is rounding up youkai at the tournament."

His voice rose as he closed in on me. "They get to stay until the day after the tournament as long as they're on the island!"

"I know, but I think they're rounding them up when they try to leave." I found myself slinking back; it felt like he was angry at me, as if I let this happen. I supposed, in a way, it was. I had taken so long getting to this point already...

"What for?" His brows furrowed.

"I don't know yet," I lied. If I told him the truth, he'd start a war himself. He was already fuming. "I don't know why, or what they're getting out of this, but I got a prisoner out and—"

"I can't exactly ban the millions of youkai in this territory from going to the tournament—"

"I'm not asking for a ban necessarily, but like—something!"

"That's really the only way that's going to work, Aiko."

"I don't know. What if you, like—" I pulled my waving arms back to my side and took a deep breath. "What if you made a tournament here?"

"Sounds fun but there are plenty of things wrong with that." He scratched the back of his head. "They go to the Dark Tournament because of the prize—they got gods to grant a team's wish. We don't."

"But—"

"Even if I manage to appeal to everyone in my territory, that doesn't stop everyone in Yomi's and Mukuro's territory from going."

"That's why I'm—"

"Going all around Makai, yeah. Figured," he sighed.

"Look, you don't have to come up with something right now," I said, hands finding their way to his arms. "Because of the damages last year, it was postponed until April. I just need to know you'll help me how you can."

He let my hands rest on his forearms and heaved an even heavier sigh. "Yeah. Yeah, you know I will. But you have to tell me, Aiko, you really don't know why?"

My grip faltered, and I tried playing it off by letting my hands return to my side. But he caught it, and I couldn't weasel out of it. "I have an idea, but I don't want to say until I know for sure."

"I'll try to think of something," he replied, after a long pause. "Where are you headed next?"

I shrugged. "Whose territory is closer?"

He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "That way is Mukuro's." And then pointed his index finger over my left shoulder. "And that way is Yomi's. I think Mukuro's is closer, though."

"Which route is safer?"

"They both eat people, so… Maybe Mukuro. Hiei would be able to sense you coming. You wouldn't have to go far into the territory, probably."

I nodded, and we stood in an awkward silence. It had only been months since we parted ways, but for some reason it felt like years. We were still friends, but different people, and surely it wasn't the same. A sinking feeling settled in my heart at that realization. I felt the corners of my mouth tug upwards as I bid him farewell.

A chill "be careful, Aiko." came from behind me as we parted ways.

And just like that, we disappeared from each other's lives. Later, when the sun was rising, I was in the air again. It was strange how different he was now, I thought, looking over my shoulder at castle that grew ever smaller. To be fair, I probably was too.

Mukuro's territory was more alive than Raizen's, in the sense of forestry—and…other things, too, I eventually figured out. I luckily didn't cross paths with anyone resembling the monks from Raizen's territory. I did, however, have to run for a solid half hour in the dead of night to get some wild, four-legged youkai off my tail.

I was able to give it the slip when I fell face first into a river. Had it not been nighttime in a pitch black forest I probably wouldn't have freaked out and flailed around like I did. After about a solid minute of rolling around I realized it wasn't more than a meter deep.

As much as I wanted to get out of the river before something else latched onto me, I had to wait for the creep to lose my scent and move on. Anxious, heartbeat loud in my ears, it was difficult to focus not only on the hellhound moving down the river, but on what may be lurking inside of the water too.

"It's gone." A harsh, semi-familiar voice seeped out from the trees above. I jumped, scrambling out of the river. As I pulled myself onto the damp grass, I processed where I'd heard it before. "But don't speak."

The voice echoed, bouncing around inside my head. A soft headache formed, a pounding against my temples.

"How am I—"

"Are you mentally challenged?" he snapped. I glanced around my surroundings, finding a small, glowing eye in one of the dark trees above. It was so dark, not even a silhouette of its owner came with it. "I said to not speak."

I'd never seen that feature before, but the voice and attitude were undeniably his. I never thought I'd be glad to be around Two Foot Tetsuo, but being in Makai and enemy territories alone was enough to make me desperate.

"If you don't have the respect to address me by name, I can leave your pathetic ass sniveling in the dark alone."

Wh—How did he—?

Suddenly, the headache made sense. The glowing eye—he had some ability to pry inside my head. Fear washed over me, and as I worried over what he could find inside my thoughts, I tried my best to not think of them. The only thing I didn't want anyone to know—

"Don't waste your time," he replied. "Anything you've thought of has already passed through."

Then that meant in my haste to shove away anything, he saw—

"I don't care who touched you," he growled. "It's actually one of the last things I want to talk about."

"You—"

"Think it, you dumb girl. Or do you want to be found by whatever else lurks in these woods?"

I clamped my mouth shut. "You can't tell anyone anything you saw." He must have also seen what I know about the Dark Tournament.

"I didn't see anything about the tournament," he replied, amused at whatever thoughts must have flickered in my brain. I hated how fast thoughts formed, how intrusive and uncontrollable they could be. "All I saw was you pushing away the big train scandal you were involved in—"

"Shut up!" I screamed, and slapped my hand over my mouth. Holding my breath, I looked around again, hoping I didn't ruin our stealth. "Don't talk about that. Please. Mock me and piss me off all you like, but that's off limits."

"Stop. You act like I care enough to rile you up." He shifted in the tree, the branch underneath him jostling as he settled himself in what I assumed was a comfortable position. "I care only about what you came here to tell me. It must have been important since Kurama actually let you step foot in this realm."

There was that word again. 'Let.' As if he could control what I did.

"Trust me. If Kurama didn't want you to do something, he would make sure you didn't."

"Tell yourself that, I guess," I scoffed outloud. "Since you've already made yourself cozy in here, how should we go about this?"

"Just think about whatever it was you wanted to tell me," he replied. "You don't need to control your thoughts as they come. It would make anything you want to hide a bit harder for me to catch, but I will catch them."

"Then what's the point?"

"To let you feel like you had a chance." How nice. Not.

"Then please, don't tell anyone about what you see. About the tournament or otherwise." I was putting my trust into someone that didn't care about my well-being at all. Had it not been for my connection to Kurama, I could very well still be hiding right now or worse—injured or dead. But what he was waiting for had nothing to do with my connection to Kurama—at least, not from his point of view. "I haven't even told Yusuke everything."

There was a long, worrying pause. Finally, he replied. "Fine."

Surprising, to say the least. Any interaction I'd had with him thus far included me wanting to rip all the skin off my body and set myself on fire. It showed he at least understood the gravity of the situation.

Settling into the damp grass, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "How should I do this, then?"

A less abrasive tone accompanied his instructions. "Start where you think is best. Just think; don't bother controlling."

It wasn't until now that I realized how hard it was to truly control thoughts. Of course, it was only because I had things to hide that this was more difficult than it would be otherwise. Images flooded my head; glimpses of my past whirred past me and were shoved away as quickly as they appeared. A gnawing, nauseous feeling surfaced in my stomach at the knowledge this stranger was getting, but I told myself this needed to happen. It was probably the safest way to get the message across.

Finally, once I was able to concentrate properly, I let him drink in the images that passed by. Snippets of dialogue, as best remembered as possible, accompanied them. A poorly told story, in my opinion. Natsume, the tape, Kurama, the dealership… I did my best to keep it as linear as possible.

When I caught up to…the other night's events, I opened my eyes to look up at the glowing silhouette in the darkness. He didn't react. I wondered if it was time for us to part ways now; he didn't seem the type to say goodbye.

"The girl, Natsume. Does she have a father? What does he look like?"

His questions took me by surprise. A brief, blurry image of her father flickered in the back of my mind in response. He wasn't someone I saw often, so the details were fuzzy, but I remembered the neatly groomed mustache and the five o'clock shadow that graced his square jaw. Natsume took after him in an eerie way, physically and mentally.

Confused, I asked. "Have you seen him before?"

"Chapter Black," he replied, flooring me. "She was there with him, in the other room."

Everything I'd had Kazuma working for—Hiei was the one I should have asked! But, of course, it'd never crossed my mind. How did he even get his hands on the—?

"Koenma gave it to me," he answered. "He said it was better than destroying it like his father wanted. Besides, it was my payment for helping defeat Sensui."

Oh, that annoying, dumbass Prince. He did something right! Thank god.

"Can I—"

"No, you can't see it."

Worth a shot. "But you're positive it was them? You're sure of it?"

"I wouldn't bother telling you if I wasn't."

"If needed, would you be able to find the part on the video where you saw them?"

"Not if it results in the video being confiscated, no."

"Look, you little edge lord: that's key in proving Reikai is corrupt. It makes so much sense that they'd want it destroyed! You'd get it back eventually, I'm sure."

There was another pause.

"It was about three thousand hours in," he said. He watched that much? Since the incident with Sensui? I wasn't about to do the math but that didn't seem possible. "I played it with the fast-forward feature on. The first thousand hours was primitive human bullshit."

I found myself slumping to the ground, strangely relieved. The confusion of when I ever stood up was overpowered by the feeling of stress being lifted off my shoulders. That could be used to sway Reikai.

"Please, Hiei, you'll get it back!" I didn't know thoughts could come out gasping, but there I was. "That could sway Reikai's public! That's why they want it destroyed, so please—"

"Quiet."

I stopped, confused. I was already speaking with him telepathically, how else was I supposed to be quiet?

"It's your responsibility to get it back to me then," he said. "If it gets lost in Reikai, I will make you pay."

If he was willing to go through the trouble of giving me it, he wouldn't actually… do anything to me, right? I was given a silent answer to that: the sheer aggression manifesting from his perch on the branch.

"Of course I'll do my best to get it back to you," I replied. "It's yours now, after all. I don't know when it will be, but you'll get it back." I paused, hesitant to push my luck with him. "Can I ask… for one more favor?"

He responded quickly. "You can try."

"If possible, can you do something to keep youkai from going to the tournament this time around?" He didn't reply, so I kept talking. "They pushed it back until the spring. I don't know how things work down here but maybe you can ban entry to Ningenkai—"

"That's not my problem."

"But if we can keep youkai from going, there'd be less victims—"

"Anyone going to that island is ready to die, whether as a spectator, bidder, or fighter. Their lives are not my problem."

I wasn't sure why I thought he'd agree, but I had to try… and I did, at least… Yusuke said he'd try, and Kurama definitely would try too. Two out of three trying was better than nothing.

"Start making your way back to Jin," he said. It startled me that he knew I was with Jin, until I remembered how we had been the entire time.

"But…wouldn't it be better to get it now, while I'm here?"

"It wouldn't be wise for you to come with me to get it," he replied. "I'll reach you before you make it back to Jin. I'll find you."

He always did seem to appear out of nowhere, so I trusted his judgment. Besides, he knew he'd be in hot water with Kurama if he let something happen to me when he could have prevented it.

"Go." His irritated voice faded from my head, and with its disappearance came a raging headache.

With a sharp pain between my eyes and a pounding at my temples, I began struggling to my feet. His abrupt departure, after having taken up so much space in my head, was like temperature shock. Coordination was lost on me as I stumbled through the forestry towards Jin, hoping I remembered the right way.

One hand clutched my head as the other tried feeling the bark around me as I passed trees. How much time had passed since Jin dropped me off and I left Hiei…? The forest was so dark, and my eyelids…? Heavy.

I leaned against a tree, steadying my breathing and hoping I could regain myself in the next minute or so. If I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed, I'd feel better…

Seconds later, wind was roaring in my ears again. Heavy lids opened without much effort, and my eyes scanned my surroundings—I was in the air again. Familiar arms—I looked up to find Jin holding me. When had I—?

"Ah, Hiei brought you back," he said, noticing I was awake.

I fidgeted, unsure if he heard my thoughts. There was no way he had telepathy too, right?

"Why're you lookin' at me like that?" he frowned, brows furrowing.

Cautious, unsure of what to believe anymore, I feigned a smile. "Nothing. Just confused. Are we headed to Kurama's?"

"Yeah. Oh, and in your backpack, Hiei slipped something in there." I perked up at his comment. "He said to tell you three thousand and one, and twenty-five."

Three-thousand and one hours, and twenty-five minutes.

Jin shrugged as well as he could while holding me. "Dunno what it means, to be honest with you. He said you'd know."

I sighed, silently thanking Hiei… Part of me hoped he couldn't hear me still.

Kurama.

While Yomi's hearing was impeccable, it would be hard to sense one human's ki in his territory. Still, I wanted to meet her as far away from Yomi's headquarters as possible. That was a feat in itself, as Yomi would be curious where I was wandering off to alone. I often stayed close by, only leaving the area around the headquarters when I was headed home.

They were behind on schedule. Jin should have been here with her late last night. It was taking every drop of resolve in me to stay put, calm. She likely visited Hiei first, which would explain the change in plans. Plus, I told Jin to only contact me if there was an emergency. Perhaps I should have included changes in plans, but I couldn't risk him getting wind of her being here. The sun was setting again without her here.

Gandara could be an intimidating city. It held towering buildings and technology that rivaled both Ningenkai's and Reikai's. The architecture was kept humble despite the overall air of intimidation. Once inside Yomi's headquarters, though, the air of intimidation skyrocketed to that of arrogance. In the outskirts, it was forestry and shanty villages. There, I stood atop a quaint hill, overlooking the setting sun as I did the night before. Luckily, tonight, I could see the faint speck in the sky—Jin, with Aiko clutching to him as she piggybacked.

I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders as relief flooded through me. They reached me slowly, surely due to my anticipation. Aiko let go of Jin and approached me with a tired smile.

"No trouble, I assume?" I asked.

She shook her head, rubbing her temple, but didn't answer me. After a moment, her hands began moving as they did when she was at home. Despite realizing immediately why she was signing, I was for some reason still surprised. I was thankful I actually cracked open the sign language book a few times before.

"I'm fine," she heaved a sigh. "I dealt with Hiei first. Yusuke said his territory was closer."

I remembered the pages well, but the motions were rusty and hesitant. "I'm glad you got that out of the way, but a warning would have been appreciated."

The tired smile turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I'm doing what I can to not speak at all in this realm. The last thing I need is for this to get out."

A soft breeze picked up around us, nudging her matted hair against her dirty face. I glanced to Jin, who was stretching leisurely behind her, watching the sunset.

"Which is?"

"Reikai is setting up youkai at the dark tournament to capture them and arrest them." The accusation was bold, but she held a straight, confident face. "I wouldn't doubt they're framing them outside the dark tournament's territory either. I believe it's to keep Reikai in power."

"They need Ningenkai's help for that. Why would they help?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I think it has to do with how they handle things in the camps, but I can't figure it out… yet."

"Then you suppose we should do what we can to prevent youkai from attending the tournament," I replied, and she nodded. "The decrease in crime reports should prove a correlation."

She blinked once, then twice, and laughed. "I… actually didn't think of that, but you're right. I wanted to keep them from becoming victims. Will you do what you can to try and prevent them from coming?"

I felt myself smiling, appreciative of the simpler things. "I can try to think of something. I assume Yusuke agreed to try as well?"

She nodded. "Don't bother expecting Hiei to help."

It didn't register the first time, but I realized she was addressing him respectfully now. "What happened in Mukuro's territory to make you call him by his name?"

She seemed fine, aside from haggard. Nothing more than dirt, and a few cuts and bruises littering her exposed skin. Her lighthearted air disappeared and she looked away from me. "We came to an understanding, I guess. I'd rather not talk about it."

Before I could change the subject for her, I heard soft footsteps on the grass at the bottom of the hill. I let my guard down around her, and of course, I'd pay for it. I looked over my shoulder, sending a warning glare to a semi-familiar face from Yomi's tower.

Though I overthrew Shachi, some of his henchmen still hadn't relinquished their respect to me. A wicked grin spread across his sickly green, leather face as his claws slipped casually into the pockets of his leather huntsman jacket.

"A guest?" he cooed. "Yomi would love to meet her."

"There's no need for that," I called back, standing in front of her to shield her from his prying eyes. "She was just leaving. A shame."

"No, Yomi insists."

I glanced from him to the empirical tower in the distance. Despite being dozens of kilometers away, I knew he was staring back, and I knew he could feel the heat in my gaze. Behind me, Aiko shifted to make a run for it. Purple flames ignited around her hands in self-defense. I held my hand out for her to stop.

If she ran, they'd attack like wild dogs. Though they were repressing their ki, as I paid better attention, I could smell the odors in the air. There were significantly more than there were minutes ago. I cursed myself for dropping my guard, because now I had to choose which was the lesser of two evils.

I could risk her running, being captured, and me being utterly powerless at the hands of Yomi with her in his clutches. Or I could play vacation with Yomi and let her visit the headquarters on the off chance she wouldn't leave. Either way, the risk was too high… At least in the tower, Jin, Chu, Rinku… everyone would already be there. I had a better chance of protecting her in there than I did out here.

I turned to Aiko, who looked up at me warily.

"I suppose we have no choice then," I replied, keeping my gaze on her. With furrowed brows, she let the ki die from her hands. She wanted to trust me, but she could see it in my face—she knew it well enough—that I was still calculating, because I didn't trust this decision.

A/N:

* One meter is roughly three feet.

Sorry this took so long. Things are still hard. I'm not sure when the next will be out.

Regardless, I hope this chapter was satisfying somehow even if it was shorter than I planned. I haven't really written Hiei in such a long time, I hope it was alright.