50

Eventually Touya and Chu make it out of the woods and back to the temple. The others are extracted from the game room by the promise of drinks and the carousing begins. Kurama retreats to his usual corner, wondering about Chouko. It's been maybe half an hour since he left her sitting on the phone but if he strains his senses he can tell that she's in the same spot, across the inner courtyard from the living room, and hasn't run off. Other than that he can't tell much.

"Is Chouko-san ok?" Kuwabara asks after cleaning the others out at poker. Kurama has been wise enough not to play against Kuwabara in any game dependent upon chance for the past several years. The tall man rakes the coins across the table and into his lap with a frown on his face while Yusuke and Jin examine his cards incredulously.

"She was on the phone when I left."

"Yeah, but—" Kuwabara pauses, glances towards the courtyard in a way that makes Kurama's nerves tighten. "Is she ok? Her aura feels really off."

"I'm sure she's fine," Yusuke butts in as he tosses down Kuwabara's cards. A royal flush looks up at them. "She's probably trying not to freak out at being surrounded by more powerful demons. Right Kurama?"

Before Kurama can respond familiar youki flairs out in front of the temple and everyone looks around in surprise.

"Well I'll be damned," Yusuke says, getting to his feet and throwing open the door. "Hiei! You little asshole, you finally decided to come to one of my parties?"

Hiei stalks into the room, casting a contemptuous glance around that falters when it lands on Yukina. The little ice demon smiles up at him and his red eyes quickly move away.

"I'm not here for a social call."

"Yes," Yusuke says, clapping a hand on Hiei's shoulder and propelling him towards the table, "you are."

"I have—"

"Is the world about to end unless we rush off to save it?"

"No."

"Has someone we care about been kidnapped and we have to run off to save them from certain death?"

"No."

"Is there anything that I absolutely have to do right now?"

"No, but—"

"So you're visiting and also have some news!"

Yusuke pushes Hiei into a seat at the table and somehow manages to get a drink in his hand almost instantly.

"You can tell me about it in an hour. Have a beer."

Hiei sniffs the drink dubiously.

"I don't want—"

"Have. A. Beer."

Glowering, Hiei takes a sip and grimaces.

"What is this human swill?"

"Bee-ah!" Chu shouts, making his girlfriend wince. "It's weak stuff but is there ever masses of it!"

With Yusuke standing over him Hiei takes another sip.

"It's terrible."

"Glad you like it!" Yusuke proclaims and drops back into his own seat. "We're playing poker. It's a card game and you're not allowed to look through the cards or read other people's minds."

"Not allowed—" Hiei begins but stops when Yukina comes over and sits next to him.

"We can play as a team Hiei-san," she says quietly. "Kazuma taught me but I'm always too nervous to play in a group."

Kuwabara looks like he's about to offer to let Yukina play with him but Kurama elbows him heavily and shakes his head.

"Fine," Hiei says, "if it will make you happy."

Yukina smiles beatifically and scoots closer. "It would make me very happy."

Kurama has to hide his smile at the look on Hiei's face. He's glad he's not playing against the two of them and he feels sorry for Kuwabara. The taller redhead chews his lip and stares at his cards as if he can will them to change numbers. He would never intentionally win against Yukina but so desperately wants to beat the fire demon. His aura swirls with frustration as he deals the next hand.


Chouko slinks into the room a while later and settles in next to Keiko. They have a quick whispered conversation before Touya sits down next to them and they break off. Kurama keeps his apparent attention on the poker game in front of him, but tilts his head slightly to better catch their conversation. Keiko introduces Touya and Chouko and the two are polite if cautious. He can read the curiosity in Touya's tone of voice as he asks innocuous questions. Chouko's responses sound perfectly friendly if vague but Kurama knows her well enough to know how guarded she's being. He glances back and gives her a smile when he catches her eye, but her smile in response is clearly strained.

"Kurama told me you've lived in Tokyo for several years," Touya says innocently enough. "I've heard it can be difficult for demons at higher levels to move there. The city's rulers don't like newcomers."

Chouko gives a faint laugh. "It's only really difficult for those who want to cause trouble. I quietly mind my own business and most other people mind theirs."

"But surely a powerful demon like you—" Touya begins, only to be interrupted by a snort from Chouko.

"I'm not very powerful in the overall scheme of things," Chouko says. "Only in comparison to most humans. Most people don't really notice me."

Touya sinks into thoughtful silence for a minute. Kurama suspects he's wondering how Kurama could have taken on a romantic partner who disparages her own abilities like this and who may not be strong enough to defend herself given the types of opponents they have so often faced. Her restrained aura is difficult to measure and at the moment it's especially subdued, she could pass for a B class demon if she wanted and it would make her nervousness seem more reasonable. Hiei seems to have been listening too. He smirks at Kurama across the card table, not because Chouko is weak, but because she is misleading Touya so easily.

What have you gotten yourself into, fox? a voice asks in Kurama's head.

Kurama is tempted to reply 'a very good time,' but can guess how well that would go over. He doesn't want to see Genkai's temple burnt down so he merely tilts his head in acknowledgment and allows a slight smile to play across his lips. Hiei looks down at his cards in sullen annoyance.

Chouko excuses herself and gets up, slipping down into the kitchen for a drink. She meets Chu and Natsume on the way, and the latter offers to show her what's been emptied out already. Shizuru, Kurama notices, is watching Chouko. That makes him nervous. Chouko rifles through the fridge and hands out a drink to Chu who proclaims her a 'right good shelia.'

Kuwabara deals the next hand of cards and then spots Chouko leaving the kitchen.

"Mom!" he yells.

Yusuke's trying to work it out and Shizuru's eyes narrow but Kurama has to pinch his nose to keep from laughing.

"Mom! Hey, Mom!"

"What?!" Chouko shouts back. At this point half the room is snickering while the other half is staring blankly at Kuwabara.

"Can I have another beer?"

"Get your own beer!"

"But you're closer!"

Chouko groans. "Fine."

"She's the best," Kuwabara says to Yusuke with a wide grin.

A can of beer flies across the room and smacks Kuwabara in the back of the head.

"Really strong maternal instincts," Kuwabara adds, rubbing the back of his head as he picks up the can.

"Kazuma, I heard that!"

"Oh gods," Shizuru says. "She is our mother."

Kurama looses it, sinking down in his seat and laughing uncontrollably.

"You did this!" Chouko shouts at him, pointing from across the room. "This is all your fault, Kurama."

Yukina sinks into uncontrollable giggles as well, a couple tears leaking from the corners of her eyes and rolling across the floor. Chouko just shakes her head at all of them as she comes over to inspect the card game. Kurama makes room for her to sit between him and Kuwabara she sinks gracefully to a cushion.

"Does this make Kurama Dad?" Shizuru asks over her cards and Kuwabara nearly chokes on his beer.

"No," Kurama says immediately.

"It's only fair," Chouko cuts in.

"I'm not fit to be a parent," he jokes, but mostly means it.

"Fitness isn't a prerequisite for procreation," Chouko says.

Hiei drops his cards and gets to his feet, catching everyone's attention.

"Come on Hiei," Yusuke says.

"I'm done with this inane banter," he says, striding towards the doors. "I'll come back if any of you can be sensible."

"Who's been killed?" Kurama asks. Chouko looks startled and he nods towards Hiei, who stops in his tracks. "With the way the two of you are acting it could only mean one thing."

"Bunkyo," she says after a moment and Hiei turns back around. He isn't glaring but his intense gaze focuses in on Chouko.

There is definitely something off about her aura and Kurama leans closer. "He was an A class demon," Chouko says quietly, almost to herself. "In terms of raw power he was stronger than me."

Kurama grabs her arm without thinking and she looks up at him, the worry clear in her eyes.

"You have to be careful," she says, reaching up and running a hand through his hair.

"Me? Chouko they've already gone after you. I have to keep you safe."

She smiles sadly and shakes her head. "You're a far better target than me, Shuichi. I'm worried about you."

"That's—" Stupid he almost says, but cuts off, he was too loud, almost shrill and Yusuke's face has taken on his serious expression. He drops his voice to a murmur and stares into those rich brown eyes, wishing the others weren't watching them right now. "Chouko, I'm worried about you."

"Let's not talk about this now," Chouko says in an undertone. "There's nothing we can do right now, so there's no rush to do anything."

"What do you know?" Hiei says, his voice low and threatening.

"Guys, what's going on?" Yusuke adds in.

"Some things are better discussed in daylight," Chouko says with a clap of her hands as she turns away from Kurama. "If Hiei-san will stay until the morning I suggest we wait until then to talk about what's happened."

All eyes shift to Hiei, who looks away with a grunt.

"Fine, if you all wish to be cowards I'm not one to stop you. I can stomach one more night in the human world if I have to."

"Come back and finish the game then," Yusuke says, his tone fake cheery and his eyes tense. He shoots Chouko a look as Hiei sits back down but she's staring down at her hands in her lap, twisting a bracelet around her wrist.

Kurama focuses in on the glint of metal on her arm. She wasn't wearing it earlier and it's not something he remembers seeing her wear before. The metal might be platinum but he's not certain, and the way it reflects light isn't exactly normal, but it doesn't give off any energy he can detect.


Chouko excuses herself on the earlier side. Yukina and Touya have already gone of to sleep, but Yusuke, Kuwabara and Shizuru are still going strong. Chu has passed out in a corner and Keiko keeps yawning but Yusuke refuses to take the hint. Jin keeps nodding off, but insists he's really awake, just resting his eyes. Kurama excuses himself shortly after, not wanting Chouko to be alone, and feeling like he's done his social time for the day.

She's already curled up on her futon by the time he makes his way into the room, sliding the shoji door softly behind him. She stirs slightly and pulls back the comforter from his futon. Kurama decides to take it as a sign she isn't feeling too torn up about Bunkyo's death. He slides onto his futon beside hers and is enveloped in the smell of tangerines. Aside from the murder of yet another ward leader he'd call the day a success. Chouko hasn't fled from Yusuke presence, neither of his ex-lovers who are present have fought with her and generally everyone's had a good time. If only he could put a stop to the madman melting people with venom things would be pretty good.

The sound of a phone vibrating pulls him out of his thoughts. Kurama glances at Chouko's phone as it flashes with a text: "L'enfer, c'est les autres." He picks it up to check the sender and sees Kaito's number. After a moment of hesitation he opens it and is startled to find no passcode required. Then there's Chouko's last text, in English: "Hell's empty and all the devils are here." That gives him a moment's pause.

"What," he says, rolling over, "does this mean?"

Chouko looks, doesn't comment on his checking her phone, and yawns. "Hell is other people," she translates. "Gods, I don't remember my existentialists, was that Sartre? Now I have to think of something witty in response." She's silent for a moment, undoubtedly sorting through a massive repository of human literature before she snaps and holds her hand out for the phone. Kurama obliges and watches as she types: 'Und wenn du lange in einem Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein.'

"When you stare long into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you," Chouko tells him with another yawn as she puts the phone down. "If hell is other people maybe we too are hell, hm?"

Kurama likes and hates that thought immediately and shifts uncomfortably. She's hitting too close to home while sleepily quoting him dead human philosophers.

"Maybe you should suggest some books to Hiei," he says to divert his thoughts from himself. "I believe he'd appreciate existentialists."

Chouko chuckles. "Maybe you can suggest them. I'm pretty sure he'd view anything coming from me with high levels of suspicion."

Kurama chuckles and throws an arm around her while outside the sounds of the others enjoying themselves continue late into the night.


50 chapters! I can't believe I made it this far! Please review and let me know what you think.