28

Now back to our regularly scheduled timeline!

ChuyaDud: Thanks so much!

Kara: Thanks for coming back after all this time and not giving up on this story, I know it was a very long wait between updates! I hope your latest trip wasn't too stressful and I'm happy that this story has such a positive association!


"So Saturday morning, you're sure you're free?"

"Yes, Kuwabara-kun. I'll meet you at the studio."

"Great, that's great!" Kuwabara's too excited to remember he's asked Kurama this question five times already. "Oh and one more thing."

"Yes?" Nothing about Yukina's impending TV appearance sits well with Kurama, but he knows he's a paranoid old demon and if Kuwabara's sixth sense isn't pinging there's probably nothing to be worried about.

"Shizuru can't make it. She got booked for a wedding and she couldn't turn it down so we have an extra ticket. Yukina wanted to invite Chouko-san since she was nice enough to have us over for dinner."

Kurama's heart sinks. It's not that he wants to keep Chouko separated from his friends, it's that he's worried about the mischief that will result from exposing her to them, or more likely, them to her.

"I'll be sure to ask her."

"What's wrong? Are you guys fighting again?"

"Fighting?" Kurama's genuinely confused by the question. "Kuwabara-kun, I've never fought with Chouko-san."

"Ha! That's what you think. I bet it's not what she thinks. Let me know if she's in!"

Once he's gotten Kuwabara off the line he calls Chouko and explains the situation. When she happily agrees to come to the show Kurama's heart sinks a little further. He worries it's a sign that he's more prone to jealousy than he thought, but he doesn't like to analyze himself to deeply. The resuls are never good.


The broadcasting center sits directly south of Yoyogi Park and less than two miles from his apartment, so Kurama takes his time walking down. It's fairly early on Saturday morning and the streets are less crowded than normal, so the walk is peaceful and the air still has its morning chill. The morning show's studio is in the larger broadcasting center, which stretches the entire length of the block and rises several stories above the street, a blank grey box. Kurama thinks it's the embodiment of bland modern architecture, featureless an uninviting, and he doesn't have much better things to say about the programs that come out of it. Yusuke and Kuwabara have never understood his distaste for television and he's given up on trying to explain it to them. Kurama follows Kuwabara's directions and arrives right on time to find Kuwabara waiting in the wide hallway outside the studio for him.

"Where's Yukina?" he asks as he greets his friend.

"She and Chiba-san are in makeup, or something like that. They had to be here an hour ago and I've been waiting around since."

"Chiba-san is…?"

"Oh yeah I forgot you hadn't met her! She's Yukina's customer, the one with the connections who got us here. One of her friends is married to a producer and he scheduled Yukina as a guest today."

"Ah I see," Kurama says, but mostly what he sees is Kuwabara's anxious movements. The taller man keeps shifting his weight from foot to foot, putting his hands in his pockets and taking them out again, and scrutinizing the people around them.

"Kuwabara-kun, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" Kurama asks and his tone gets Kuwabara's full attention.

"Yeah. Well, no. I've had a bad feeling today, I don't know if it's just nerves or what. I'm sure Yukina will do great! It's just, I dunno—something's off."

"Do you think it has to do with the show?" Kurama asks.

"No, no, no," Kuwabara says much too quickly. "It couldn't be anything to do with it, it's just a TV show. Maybe I'm going to run into some demons later today. It's a bad news kind of feeling."

Kurama doesn't say anything, but his eyes sweep the other audience members, wondering if one of them is planning something.

"Chouko-san didn't come with you?" Kuwabara asks after they've both determined they're surrounded by normal, spiritually unaware humans.

"No, she said she'd meet us here. She should be here soon."

Kurama can sense Chouko approaching and even catches a whiff of tangerines as he glances over the growing crowd again looking for her, but he doesn't see her.

"I hope she gets here soon, it's almost time to line up." Kuwabara's fidgeting is raising Kurama's hackles and he hopes Chouko's arrival will calm the human slightly.

"Isn't this so exciting?" Chouko's voice makes Kurama turn, and then do his best not to register his shock at what he finds.

Chouko's hair is auburn and curly. Her makeup makes her whole face look different somehow, almost a different shape, and huge blue eyes blink up at him.

"Don't worry," she says to Kurama as she plumps up a few curls. "It washes out."

"Are you a shape shifter?" Kuwabara blurts out.

"No, just a wiz with highlighting," she says and flutters her eyelashes at him. "How do I look?"

"Foreign," Kuwabara says then holds up his hands in embarrassment and tries to backtrack. "I mean, very pretty! You look really good, but you also look totally European. It's weirding me out."

"Would you believe that I spent a couple centuries as a blonde?" she says conspiratorially and Kuwabara just shakes his head because of all the things happening today apparently this is too much for him.

"Are you undercover?" Kurama can't help asking as he fixates on Chouko's eyes. In every picture of her through the ages they were the one thing that stayed the same. He doesn't like that she's changed them now, even temporarily.

As if reading his mind, she puts a finger to her eye and pops out one of the contacts long enough to wink at him.

"That's freaky," Kuwabara can't help shuddering as she replaces it and blinks it back into place.

"Sorry boys, but one pan over the audience and I'd be in serious trouble. I have some elderly clients who think I've retired. They wouldn't believe for an instant the 'daughter' I handed the business off to looked so much like me."

"You're playing your own daughter?" Kurama asks.

"I've done it for centuries," Chouko winks a blue eye at him and he feels as unsettled as Kuwabara looks. "But I have to say hair dye and colored contacts make it an absolute cakewalk. You would not believe the crazy things I've had to do to stay in one place for longer than forty years."

"Like what?" Kuwabara leans in, overflowing with excitement and desparate for a distraction from his nerves. "Did you ever pretend to be your own granddaughter?"

"Oh yes! That did not go over well!"

"What happened?"

"Maybe," Kurama cuts in because he's noticed the people around them trying to eavesdrop, "this isn't the best place for that discussion?"

Chouko stands out too much already and Kuwabara is talking much too loudly.

"What?" Kuwabara glares around at the eavesdroppers who all are suddenly looking elsewhere and shuffling away. "Yeah, you're right, Kurama. But—" he clasps Chouko's hand, "you have to promise to tell me crazy stories about your past lives sometime!"

"I promise," Chouko says solemnly. "But only if you, Kuwabara-kun, promise to tell me how you became one of the most spiritually powerful men alive."

Kuwabara blushes and ducks his head in embarrassment.

"Aw no, I'm not."

Chouko just smiles and Kuwabara looks even more embarrassed, though Kurama hardly knows how it's possible. He thinks the effect she's having on his human friend is unhealthy.

"I think it's about time we get going," Kurama says, to save Kuwabara from Chouko's attention before she flatters him to death.

The three of them join the queue for the audience seating. They don't have to wait long before the black doors open and they're directed into the studio. Rows of metal seats on risers line either side of the walkway and provide plenty of room to pack people in. As friends of the main guest their seats are up front and Kuwabara can't stop fidgeting once he's seated.

"Calm down," Kurama tells him, but knows it's no use. There's nothing they can do but wait and see what happens. And Kuwabara will never sit quietly as long as there's a possibility something bad might happen to Yukina.

The set is brightly colored: pink and orange and yellow. Objects carefully chosen to be young and fun decorate the walls: guitars, records, funky vases holding bamboo, drawings by famous manga artists, old cameras. There are fake windows backlit to make it look like sunlight is streaming into the studio and the air conditioning is on full blast to help cut the heat from the bright stage lights.

The three hosts come out and settle into their seats at a long raised table while the screen behind them comes to life, playing a color test to make sure everything's ready. The hosts chat with each other and to the audience members closest to them. The men are Ukeru and Tomoaki while the woman is Akiko. That's about all Kurama knows about the show.

Kurama sinks into his own thoughts during the opening segment, there's a reason he doesn't watch daytime TV and being there in person doesn't really improve the experience. However, Kuwabara and Chouko look thrilled, and the demoness exclaims along with the rest of the audience at every joke or off-color remark. Once they finish the opening it's time to bring out their guest.

"Now we'd like to introduce our guest for today, she's a reiki healer who's making quite the splash here in Tokyo! Let's all please welcome Yukina-san!"


We all know something bad is going to happen, any guesses on what it will be?