In the Wake of What Follows

Chapter Twenty-Five: Reunion

"You were great out there, Yusuke. Your moves were amazing. I don't know how you're gonna top that," Terra teased, the dry smirk on her lips doing nothing to betray how truly shaken she was. Kurama was the only to see her before she put her mask on tight and she would do her best to keep it that way.

Yusuke laughed. "Yeah, it seems like the weaker ones are getting smarter. First tournament everyone wanted to get a crack at me." He cracked his own knuckles as if to make a point. "Just wait until you see me fight for real. I'll knock your socks off."

"What about me, little mulga," Chuu winked, showing off his muscles. "How cool was I?"

"Me, you were okay," Terra shrugged, grinning when Chuu's face fell dramatically. "You gave Rinku a pretty nasty black eye. Is that something I'm supposed to congratulate you on?" she asked, half joking.

"Brat nearly strangled me with those damned toys of his!" Chuu scoffed, pointing to the harsh red lines around his neck. "He deserved a one-two-punch for the trouble." Chuu threw his arm around Terra's shoulder and pulled her in for a sideways hug. "But don't you worry none, mulga, my punches aren't as deadly as yours!"

"Why do you keep calling her Mulga?" Yusuke asked, eyeing the way Chuu continued to latch onto Terra with a discerning eye.

Terra rolled her eyes. "It's a type of snake. Native to Australia."

"And very, very poisonous," Chuu winked.

"Venomous," Kurama corrected.

"Yeah, well," Terra sighed, pushing Chuu's arm off her shoulder. "I'm not sure I count as either, technically."

Chuu laughed, a great belly laugh a little too large for her comment.

Jin came swooping in at that moment, having had to check the slots for the second round of preliminaries. For all their arenas and the number of people in each free-for-all, enough demons had entered that they needed to do three sets of fights to get through everyone. Jin blew his frock of red bangs out of his eyes, miffed. Seemed as if he still had to wait to fight, then.

A lot of the other demons she knew were likely up in this set, and more that the boys knew who she didn't were definitely fighting, so they were waiting in the stands for the matches to start. Rinku was off somewhere sulking for being eliminated so early, but it was tough whenever any of the real competition were pitted against each other so early. Kurama had pointed out to her that the winner of the first tournament actually lost his preliminary bought against the demon who had won the tournament the second time.

Luck of the draw had as much to do with winning this as skill, it seemed.

"Touya an' Shishi are ta duke it out," Jin whistled, hovering cross legged on an air made seat. "Natsume's against Yomi."

Yusuke let out a low whistle. Regardless of who else was in those matches, those would be the ones to watch., it seemed. "How do you think your girl's going to fair against Yomi?" Yuske asked Chuu, nudging his side with an elbow.

Chuu grumbled and pushed Yusuke's head away, causing the man to stumble and laugh. "She's not my girl," Chuu pouted.

"Oh, finally givin' up, are ye?"

"Or have you set your sights on someone else?" Yusuke asked, his eyes narrowed and voice sounding like a threat.

"I love a Sheila who knows what she wants," Chuu declared, hand over his heart like a pledge. He seemed a little sloshed and Terra wondered how much booze he'd already managed to consume that day. "So I'll never give up on loving Natsume. But what she wants is not-me. Gotta admit, it stings good. Deepest wound I ever did get. Suppose it's time to love her from afar and go after a different partner who can hold their own against me." Chuu looked down at Terra, a soft look in his eyes. "This one said she didn't want me dead. Most loving thing I've ever been told. What d'ya say? You and me. A good tussle."

Terra gave him a flat look. "Don't make me hit you."

Chuu only laughed again, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her in for another side hug. She let him, only because she trusted it didn't mean anything more than friendship and, honestly, Terra was starting to realize how much she missed being touched. Kuwabara, Yukina, and Keiko had all given her plenty of hugs since her return. Humans needed physical connection, and despite how she had secluded herself for so long, Terra was no exception.

"Hey, where's Hiei?" Yusuke asked, changing topics and looking around the stands as if Hiei was just going to come walking their way with a hotdog and popcorn like it was a ballgame. "He won his match without so much as a scratch on him, so he's got nowhere to be. It's not a party without someone sulking in the corner," he sniggered.

"Yeah, where is the bugger," Chuu asked, clearly still a little peeved at Hiei's actions regarding Alaric and Mukuro and this Goro fellow. "Suzuka talked to him earlier today, so he knew we'd be meeting up to watch the later sets."

Suzuka himself was nursing a busted lip. It was the worst of his injuries, but he 'couldn't possibly be seen in such a horrific state' and was resting up for the first rounds.

Terra looked to Kurama. For a moment, Terra felt as if it were the fox who could read her mind and not the missing party member. Kurama shrugged casually and addressed the group. "Hiei probably wants to avoid distractions."

He probably wants to avoid me. The thought was bitter, but a part of Terra was thankful. Hiei wasn't the only one to have left their preliminary match having killed opponents, but having seen that was startling. She looked around the stands, at the demons who had gathered for the crowning of their next King, for a trial by combat that tested the strongest of the strong. She looked around at the world she had stepped into and hated the gnawing feeling that she didn't belong here.

She didn't think she belonged anywhere.

The lot of them, all the demonic wedding guests who Yusuke and Kurama had strong ties to, were going to meet up for a celebration for the start of the tournament. Dinner, drinks, and a good time were all promised. It was a bit before the meetup time, but Terra could already tell that it wasn't just her friends that were planning on partying tonight. Outside was beginning to sound like a festival.

They may be demons, but they still just wanted to have a good time.

Kurama and Yusuke had disappeared, off on whatever venture Koenma had given them on the sly. They promised to be back before it was time for dinner. Kurama had asked if Terra would be more comfortable waiting with one of their friends. Many of them were even staying at the same hotel. Terra declined, insisting she'd be fine on her own and that she wouldn't leave the room. She needed time with her thoughts.

Why had she come.

It was a question that kept circling her thoughts. She knew why she wanted to come. Kurama had teased that out of her over weeks of asking again and again. But why did she actually want to be here. What had she hoped would happen? What did she think she was going to get out of it?

She hated to admit to herself that she was hoping to find a place she wanted to stay.

For so long, Terra hadn't felt like she belonged in the ningenkai. But she didn't belong here either. It was clear as day. Terra caught sight of the musty orange sky that was darkening into a mossy green as night settled. A huff of derisive amusement left her lips. Day wasn't very clear here.

Terra had wanted to see Hiei. Maybe to reaffirm her feelings. To let herself know definitively if they were ones she wanted to pursue or if they were just jumbled mistaken emotions birthed from stress and proximity. Seeing him only made her more confused. She didn't know how she was supposed to like someone who killed. Accept them, perhaps, in this new world context she had come to understand, but like? In that manner? And yet, seeing him standing in the blood of his opponents, Terra had only thought that winning suited him. It was a thought that scared her. Who was she if she condoned those actions?

But, perhaps, just by befriending Kurama and Yusuke and Kuwabara, just by asking to come to this tournament, she already had condoned them. She already was that person. Someone who didn't see those deaths with the kind of gravity perhaps they deserved.

The vision of the lightning demon who had roamed back alleys of Tokyo and punctured the flesh of her arm with his teeth rushed at Terra's mind. She had killed before. Unwittingly, but killed nonetheless. Manslaughter. How often had she given that man any thought beyond what he had done to her? She never thought about what that demon had left behind. Who he was. What his death meant for those around him. Terra hadn't felt guilty. Only afraid. That realization shook her to her core.

Under the right circumstances, anyone could be driven to murder. Under the right circumstances, Terra would kill again. Perhaps even on purpose. Terra didn't want to be a killer. She wasn't a snake, mindless of the damage it can give when protecting itself with its venom. She had control. She had a choice. She -

The door to her room slammed open and Terra shot to her feet, heart racing and hand already wrapped around the naginata that was still capped with her custom design. Her heart only raced faster when she saw who was standing in the archway, eyes blazing and energy not as cold as it could be.

"What are you doing here." His voice was low, angry. It wasn't a question, but a demand.

The part of her that was always so irritated by his antics snapped. "What are you doing here? This is my room! And you just barge in? I could have been changing." She caught the way his eyes flicked up and down her fully dressed form and Terra bit the inside of her cheek. "How did you even get into our suite?"

"They shouldn't have left you alone," Hiei spat. "There's no security here. They expect you to be able to fend for yourself. The window wasn't hard to open."

They were twenty stories off the ground, but Terra supposed she should have figured Hiei could scale that with ease.

"I can fend for myself, thanks," Terra grumbled, letting her grip on the naginata lax. "You made sure of that, remember?"

"Don't get so full of yourself that you end up dead."

He was worried. It sent something fluttering down her spine, twisting her gut with all the confusion she'd been trying to understand before Hiei barged in. He was worried about her safety. That's why he'd shown up when she was alone.

Terra cleared her throat and focused her eyes on her fingers as they trailed some of the designs burned into the wooden staff in her hands. "We're all going to dinner later. Are you going to join us?" She worried at her bottom lip waiting for his response. He was quiet for so long that Terra feared he might have dashed away while her eyes were down. When Terra looked up, Hiei was still standing there. His sight was on her naginata, a cross expression furrowing his brow. "What?"

"What the hell did you do to it?"

She looked up to where he flicked his gaze. "I couldn't very well walk around the city with a bladed weapon, Hiei," she rolled her eyes. "I can always take the cap off, but it's not just decorational. I'm not a total dumbass."

"Could have fooled me."

She glared at him. This was a man she liked? What the hell was wrong with her? "You weren't my last teacher, Hiei." He locked eyes with her, lips flattening into a pensive line. "I know how to protect myself." The charms of the cap jangled against each other as moved the staff so that it made a small circle above her, the base of the wood never lifting from the ground. It was such a little movement, barely more than rotation of her wrist, but it was enough.

Hiei's startled look was enough to feel as if she'd won this round. He had been right, when he handed her the naginata so long ago. The sacred wood was an extension of her. With the skills that Yamamoto had taught her, Terra was able to go a step further than merely extending the reach of her energy.

It crackled like static around her. It wasn't a color of light like Yusuke or Kuwabara's. She wasn't even sure if it was the manifestation of her spirit energy, or if it was a second hand stretch of it that came from the staff and the charms she'd attached to the top. Regardless, Terra had been testing her powers with the naginata, and was able to successfully make a barrier around her that no demon would be able touch.

Terra dropped it as soon as she was sure Hiei knew what it was. She could make the barrier, but it was best not to over exert herself showing off in case she actually needed to use it in the coming days.

Hiei stood taller and snarled. "That won't help if they're faster than you." As if to make his point, between one breath and the next he had crossed all the distance between them. The toes of his shoes pressed against hers and she could feel the heat of his body like lying in a patch of sunlight. Her lungs were on fight in the most pleasant way. She pulled back reflexively, only to be stopped by the strength of his grip on the naginata when it didn't follow her movement. His red eyes burned so cold and Terra swallowed all the emotions she couldn't quite name.

"I knew the risks when I came, Hiei."

"So I ask again. Why are you here?"

Terra stared at him, reading in his eyes the months of their absence from each other. The red seemed to dance like embers of a fire. For the first time since Kurama said Hiei had feelings for her too, Terra was likely to believe it.

"Why are you so angry about it?" she asked.

It was a calculated question. Either he admitted that he was worried, admitted that he cared about her enough to wish she was safe, or drop the subject all together. Terra knew Hiei wasn't stupid. The sparks in his eyes screamed his anger at the trap of words. Her heart sank. Hiei would never admit to affections.

"I just thought you weren't as much of a fool as you apparently are," he huffed, taking a step back.

"Well, I've never been accused of being too sensible," Terra snarked back. "You coming to dinner then? If you've got no other reason to be pissy?"

Hiei didn't say anything, but he also didn't disappear in a flash like he was want to do. It was some kind of sign, at least. To what, she wasn't sure.

"The detectives are almost back," he said, the word detectives falling from his lips like a rotten bite of fruit. Hiei didn't seem to be any happier that Yusuke and Kurama has accepted a job from Koenma than Keiko was. "It'll be less annoying to join you then to have them bother me later as to why I was here."

Terra almost asked and why are you here? to challenge him again, make him confess the emotions neither of them were ready for. She kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to push Hiei, and the flicker of realization that she wasn't ready for this was enough to wish she had dropped the subject before it was brought up.

It felt stifling all of a sudden. The distance between them felt too small even with all the distance Hiei had taken. It was the room, she gathered. It was rare the two of them were anywhere besides the high ceiling dojo or outdoors. The walls felt as if they were closing in.

"Do you think this place has rooftop access?" she wondered, peering out the window.

"I think if you ask they'll say no."

Terra didn't dare to look his way. There was a playful smile to Hiei's voice that was sure to disappear if she risked catching sight of it. "I've never been one to ask for permission," she smirked, thinking of all the times she climbed up the temple even when expressly told not to. "Just wondering how to get up there."

Hiei smirked and stalked over to the window. He had a dominating presence as he looked out at the makeshift town below, hands in his pockets as if he were some bored prince observing his subjects. "The same way I got in here," he told her, as if it were obvious.

She snorted. "Not all of us can run so fast they defy gravity." If he'd come in through the window, that was the only option unless Hiei had recently grown a pair of wings. She looked out to where Hiei had cast his gaze and sighed, a wistful sound that surprised her, even as she spoke with it. "If I had your speed, I'd be unstoppable."

It was a silly statement. There was nothing she wanted that she would be stopped from obtaining as it is. Terra had no use for being unstoppable, and even still, something like Hiei's speed wouldn't be cause to make her such. But when Terra shifted her eyes to Hiei, his eyes were on her. He had a strange expression, one she'd never seen from him, as if he were debating something and confused about the conclusions he was coming up with.

"Perhaps."

He looked her up and down and they stared at each other for one charged moment, the white noise in her head telling her that something important was happening.

And then the door to the suite busted open and Yusuke's voice filled the room with his cries of hunger while Kurama's gentle reminder followed that they would be getting dinner shortly. Yusuke stopped by Terra's open door and didn't seem at all surprised to see Hiei at her window. Yusuke smirked. "Hey short-stuff. Getting grub with us?"

"As long as you bathe first," Hiei replied with only a slight barb to his voice. "Wherever you went smells worse than most of the makai."

Yusuke went off to his room, cackling. Kurama, apparently, didn't offend Hiei's senses. They joined him in the living room, whatever tension between herself and the fire demon washed away by the others' presence. "What did you find?" Terra asked.

Kurama carefully sat down, folding one leg over the other. He seemed pensive but not dejected. "Not much of anything, I'm afraid. But today was only preliminary," he chuckled at his own joke. "I'm sure we'll learn more with more time." Kurama seized the two of them up, his sly smile growing more prominent. "Are you two all caught up?" Kurama asked, before turning his attention to only Hiei. "Terra has had some interesting experiences since your time away."

Hiei huffed. "What do I care?"

Terra tried to catch Kurama's eye and silently beg him to drop it, but no such luck. The fox and one more thing to say before his peace. "Oh, I'm sure you don't. Perhaps it's for the best, this way Terra won't have to repeat herself." He looked her way and winked, out of sight from Hiei. "Chuu's excited to hear about what you've been up to since you met up in Australia. No doubt he'll ask for details over dinner."

Kurama's attempt at eliciting a reaction out of Hiei was a bit too obvious, but sometimes you had to be blunt with him. Terra rolled her eyes and resisted burying her head in her hands. She didn't want or need his damn meddling.

The place for dinner was more like a tavern for just the contestants and their guests. It was loud and rambunctious. Many demons were leaving their tables to consort with others they might not have seen since the last tournament. Their own table consisted of the whole demonic wedding party, including Touya who had missed the event. The boys were yelling over each other as they talked. Terra couldn't even hear the other half of the table, and barely caught the conversation happening across from her between Jin and Yusuke.

Despite spending the day in the stands, where many of the fighters would watch the other sets, being so close to so many of the strongest demons was starting to get to her. Kurama, to her left, caught her counting her breaths in a steady slow rhythm, but she cut him off before he could talk. "I'm fine," she said. Terra watched as a dish was carried past their table. To her other side, Chuu moaned loudly that it wasn't for them. His cheeks were already red with drink. "Just wondering if I can actually eat… that."

"It should be fine," Kurama chuckled. "Neither this body nor Kuwabara has had any issues digesting the food here. Besides, should there be any demonic energy in any of the plant or meat, your energy would most likely burn it out to keep you safe."

As their food was placed on the table, the boys became simultaneously louder and quieter as they stuffed their faces. Terra poked at her own portion and gave Kurama a nervous side eye. As her eyes passed over Hiei, who sat across from Kurama, Terra was struck with the memory of when she asked what kind of meat he ate. She turned back to her plate and suffered reminded herself that she had to eat it or she'd starve.

Terra almost signed in relief when it tasted like chicken.

It would have been a relatively uneventful dinner, merely filled with conversation and laughter, had it not been for Chuu.

Kurama's totally subtle plan to make Hiei jealous was stupid and doomed to fail. Even if Hiei were attracted to her, he was too sure in himself to grow green with envy. If Hiei wanted her, he would go after her. Terra was positive of that. Yet, he didn't. Terra telling Chuu all about her time on Mt. Mashu wasn't going to change that. Not Chuu pouring her sake or slinging an arm over her shoulder. Not them laughing over Yusuke choking on whatever alcohol they had been slinging back. Nothing would change Hiei, and she wasn't going to try.

The issue came from when Natsume entered the tavern. The loud room turned into a hush of many whispered conversations. She walked beside her brother, face half hidden by bandages. Her preliminary match was one of the few that lasted any real length of time, having had Yomi as her opponent. They were the only two to show up. Natsume lost.

Next to her, Chuu sat up straight, eyes clear as if he hadn't been drinking all night. Terra placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Are you going to go..?" Terra didn't know how to finish that. Talk to her? Comfort her? Wish her well? It was a source of teasing among the boys, that Chuu was so hung up on this woman, but his interest was genuine and enduring.

Chuu sighed and melted into her touch, all the drunkenness coming back to his body at once. "I shouldn't." That caught the attention of the rest of the table. "She's made it clear for so long."

"Holy shit," Rinku muttered through a mouth full of half chewed bread.

"Has he been drinking poison?" Suzuki asked, leaning over from the far end of the table to get a good look at Chuu. "Chuu, how many fingers am I holding up?" He wiggled three fingers for Chuu to count.

"Oh shuddup," Chuu hiccuped, pushing his friend away. "A man can only pine for so long before a broken hearts too heavy to carry."

"Oh, god, he's getting poetic," Shishiwakumaru cringed. "He's dunker than we thought."

"I'm serious!" Chuu boomed, slamming a fiat on the table. The outburst carried over the hushed chatter of the tavern and drew the attention off of Natsume. "Gotta have some self respect! I'm a man, not a… a, um."

"Dog?" "Handmaiden." "Duck!" "Duck?" "They imprint." "Beggar." "Why wouldn't a handmaiden have self respect?" "I'm just saying they follow after someone! Don't look at me like that." "A loser reject nerd."

"Point is!" Chuu cut in, frustrated with the table's rampant rambling. "I'm a man. A man goes for what he wants, but a man also knows when a woman's will won't shake."

Yusuke snorted. "And it took you how many years to figure that out?"

They broke out into raucous laughter. Terra gently patted Chuu's pec in a bro-talk "man up" gesture. "Come on, dude. Don't get sappy on us or I'll have to smack you sober again."

Chuu grabbed her hand and held it to his chest. His eyes shined with his drunkenness but they were piercing just the same. "It would be an honor to be hit by you, little mulga," Chuu told her. "Strongest woman I know, that you are."

Terra laughed and pulled her hand away. She was going to warn him off again, but caught sight of Natsume stalking their way, coming up behind Jin.

"Strongest woman you know?"

The tavern had gone back to its usual level of loudness, the interest with her defeat having passed already, but the hush that settled over the table was deafening. Natsume stood behind Jin, motley green and purple bruises welting her skin that wasn't hidden by clothes or bandage. It was amazing she had made it to dinner at all, that she was even standing. The fight with Yomi had been brutal for both parties. Still, despite the injuries, she was beautiful. Terra understood why Chuu had fallen so hard for her. When Natsume looked Terra's way, she felt her cheeks burn out of her control.

"Mulga, was it?"

"Oh." Terra blinked, trying to process the fact that she was being talked to. "Uh, no. He just calls me that. My name's Terra."

Natsume looked Terra up and down and turned her attention back to Chuu. "And you really think this human is stronger than I am?" It was a loaded question in more ways than one. Her voice carried with it a challenge and if Chuu answered incorrectly there would be hell to pay.

Terra gulped. She did not want to be caught in the middle of this. Kurama's attempt to spur Hiei's jealousy was never going to work, no matter how clever Kurama thought he was. But spurring Natsume's? A very unintended consequence.

"You would definitely win in a fight," Terra said holding her hands up in surrender. "I don't even want to try that."

Natsume didn't pay her attention, only kept her eyes on Chuu. Rinku muttered something about this being the most time she'd ever given Chuu, but Suzuku covered his mouth pretty quick. "Well?" She prompted when Chuu was too tongue tied to respond.

"Hard to say," Chuu said, squinting at Natsume as if trying to find a string that someone else was pulling her with. "She can knock me to my senses. You just knock me out. Different kind of strengths there, love."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Natsume turned and rejoined her brother.

"I hope no one minds," Terra said, "but I think that was my cue to call it a night." The energy Natsume was projecting was too strong for Terra to ignore. Even if she hadn't been unnerved by the whole encounter, she was starting to feel a little dizzy with it all.

"I'll escort you back to the room," Kurama said, standing. "Yusuke?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, already to his feet. "I was gonna go say hi to all of my old man's pals anyway." He headed off to Natsume's table where she sat with her brother and a number of other high ranked fighters.

"Night everyone," she said to the table. They chorused back a series of good nights and nice talking to you. Chuu said his with a wink, asking her back for dessert. "Goodnight, Chuu," Terra stressed, rolling her eyes. She caught Hiei's stare and lifted the corners of her g

lips in a failed attempt at a smile. Nervous and embarrassed and mostly just confused about what she was feeling about him, Terra wanted to say something when they hadn't talked all dinner. She cleared her throat. "Goodnight, Hiei." With one last awkward wave to the table, Terra followed Kurama out of the tavern and back to their hotel.

They walked in silence for most of the trip. She didn't need to voice her displeasure in Kurama's actions for him to know them. He didn't need to bring up his perception of the nights events for Terra to over analyze them. As they reached their room, Terra finally spoke up. "Have you killed? Like the way Hiei did today."

Kurama waited a heartbeat and finished unlocking the door. "Yes." He pushed it open and stepped inside, waiting for her to follow.

"He could have probably have just knocked them all out." There was no rule that the match was to the death. He had been so fast to cut them down. He could have spared an extra few moments to have them go down without taking their life.

"Yes. He could have."

She took a deep breath, focusing on the line of dirt that was ground into the edge of the doorframe and the floor. "The others?" Chuu and Jin and Touya and Shishi and Suzuku and Rinku and Yusuke and Kuwabara -

"Yes, Terra. We've all killed. Sometimes because it is the only way. Sometimes because it is the easiest. You're in the demon world now. We are not incapable of kindness, but to kill does not undermine that here."

It was a hard duality to come to terms with. It had felt so abstract back at the temple. Like reading a fantasy book or hearing a historical fact. It wasn't something she had to witness, to live with, to take a side on.

These were her friends. These were the people who helped her through some of the worst months of her life. Who made her laugh and think and joke and… and they all had blood on their hands. She had to decide if that was a line. If that was something she had to draw back from. Or if her newfound friendships were stronger than her human moralities and conception of the world.

Terra came inside and shut the door behind her.