Botan clapped her hands together, smiling bright "You are getting better at it, it's really amazing." I lifted a piece of folded paper that represented not a swan as it should have but more a dead run over bird. I swear I followed the instructions to the letter, I did, didn't I? Even she couldn't lie through her teeth like that, in the end laughing, pointing at my failed origami.

"When we agreed to take a break I really didn't figure we would do something even more stressful." Arts and crafts hasn't really been my forte, unless of course I was planning a prank. The very thought of it brought me both happiness and grief. Damn it, we had it so good, so easy before all this mess. But it looks like that in this line of work, sooner or later something is bound to happen.

Looking over at her paper, she held up something representing Hiei with bat wings "What the fuck is that?" I laughed along with her good disposition as she explained the story behind it, how she almost told Yukina Hiei was her brother.

"I don't know why my mind thought of him like a bat." A bat Hiei ready to kill her? Who knew but it was a funny story in itself.

I slapped my legs, feeling like I couldn't breathe "Probably because he looks like a discount Batman." We almost fell off the bench as we continued laughing. Honestly having Botan with her pick me up bubbly personality was probably one of the best things I could've asked for. While I do know the situation is as critical as they come, you can't just focus on that or else you break. You need to mix and match, let yourself have a moment, even if it's going to smoke a quick cigarette, talk to a friend or make bat Hiei looking origami "Oh Lord I need to make a garland of those, place them in the Christmas tree or decorate the house for Halloween."

We both jumped to our feet alerted the very next second, laughter dying out when we heard a third voice approaching.

"Hana, I need to speak with you." Yomi sounded as about as pissed as you would have expected especially since he became the new king of Demon World. Botan looked at me, the worry in her eyes evident, stepping behind me when he came up to my face. She is scared of him for some reason, but I suspect it also has something to do with his size and the fact that one of his hands could easily crush either one of our skulls in a few mere measly seconds.

But I refused to let him intimidate me "What did I do now?" we were just gathering intel before taking a break, writing everything down in some notebooks that we had, hiding out in one of Gandara's gardens when Yomi came marching in. So I knew for a fact I didn't do anything.

"I recon the list of bad things is grander than the one of good deeds in your case, especially given recent days." He snapped at me, forehead creasing, fangs on display "Care to tell me why half of the upper quarter garden suddenly wilted away?" Oh that, yes, I totally made that happen.

Crossing my hands over my chest I huffed annoyed, cocking my hip to the side "I need to start small if I want to work my way up to soul matter manipulation. While Botan agreed to come and help me, I can't just start drilling at her soul and expect an epiphany to hit me." Not to mention I could kill her in one second flat.

"Remind me again why I agreed to let you do this here?" we were both at our limit, especially after a week of trying to coexist and come up with a plan. Scouts have been sent from Tourin, Gandara and Alaric only to have them either not return or those who actually did came running to us since they have been hit by that tentacle monster.

The moment I opened up my territory to assess the damage, I saw that eye staring at me before shattering their souls to nothingness. Darkness didn't appreciate the intrusion and he wanted to make sure we knew. It was probably the only reason he used the upgraded version like in Mukuro's case. Or was that the new norm? Fuck if I know anymore.

"Because I'm the only one who can help and who he'll call back." He didn't like my cocky tone, passing me to go to Botan who let out a small yelp when he grabbed her arm, yanking her from the spot she stood in. Pushing her towards me, she lost her footing, stumbling at my feet.

Glaring at him did nothing as I helped her up, telling her to go "I can't leave you alone with him."

Looking into her eyes I pushed her slightly "Go, I got this." Once she was out of sight, finally trusting my judgement, I turned back to look at Yomi "Are you mental?"

"She is like him, you brought her here in order to figure out her soul, now do it. That's an order." Please someone tell me I didn't hear this bitch correctly?

It was my turn to snap back at him "Say that again!" King or not, I don't care, this is the last straw, the last time I'm willing to put with your nasty attitude.

In a single second it felt like me and Yomi reverted back to the first day we met. His fists coiled to his sides so tight that veins popped on the surface of his skin, blood pumping rapidly through them. His sharp fangs showed, menacing and ready to bite a chunk out of me as his upper lip twitched. Only this time around he had a bonus, his demon power. I felt the increase of energy, entire body on alert. My territory also erupted, taking him in and the surrounding area.

"Do you really think you're in a position to threaten me Hana? I do believe I've been more than permissive with you." Take a step and I'll show you exactly what you're dealing with.

"Then how about I leave and go where I'm wanted because that's clearly not the case here." I don't know what he felt ever since I came back from Darkness's grasp, but he hasn't come near me once, refused to touch me altogether. His entire attitude change towards me, as if I was something foul, like Darkness took away the innocence Yomi liked in me, or whatever it is he saw "You need to take a fucking chill pill or I'll use you as a test subject."

I saw the blur forming in front of my eyes, Yomi in my face the next second, hand grabbing a fistful of hair, yanking me. On instinct alone my hand pressed against his chest, a crack making him gasp, me squinting my eyes at the sound of it. I couldn't get used to how souls sounded, wasn't a fan of glass being scratched or shattering, now more so. Bitterness poured out of him like a sickness, pain encompassing the gash I created. My own soul showed grief and the fog of fear circled it, the very thing also forming tears in my eyes as we stood in the same position as if set in stone.

Hearing me sniff my nose, it was as if he snapped out of a trance, fingers slowly letting go of my hair, my powers working on healing the damage inflicted. His hand travelled to my face, wiping away my tears with a gentle touch, making me look up at him "I apologize." His hair encompassed my vision as he leaned closer to me, as if my healing brought back memories he chose to forget about me.

Damn it Yomi don't make it harder than it already is, we are both weary of the situation hovering over our heads, well below our feet if I wanted to be correct in term usage. But I needed him on my side, not trying to be against me and force something nasty out of me. Because lately I was damn well capable of anything as long I got to save the ones I loved.

"I'm sorry too I didn't mean to." Better to dissipate the tension. Tilting my head to the side an idea flickered inside my head, soon expanding, catching a life of its own. My hand left Yomi's chest in such a quick motion as if he electrocuted me. Looking down at my own soul, I performed the same action I did on Yomi's soul, the hurt making me knees weak, Yomi catching me in his arms.

"What are you doing?" since I allowed him inside my territory I also let him see my soul, so the action alone alarmed him, as if I he witnessed someone causing harm to themselves right in front of him. Well technically it was exactly that, just on the soul and not the body. My mouth felt as if I tried to drink ashes instead of water, but I managed to yell out for Botan in the end "Hana, explain." His voice held a certain edge that I wasn't used to it, but so did mine.

I had something, I saw something.

"Souls are different, yours acted different than mine because you're a demon and I'm human. A simple slash resulted in a gash, no jagged edges, but it widened under the weight of your feelings. Mine stayed the same despite the hurt, didn't shift or manifest in any other way except for what you're seeing, the fine cracks around it expanding." I felt like freaking Einstein or any other genius that came up with a grand idea, however Yomi's brows furrowed.

His grasp tightened slightly around my body "I don't understand a word you're saying." He could see what I was telling him, but confusion was the main idea for him.

Taking his face in the palm of my hands I beamed, smiling big "I think spiritual souls are also different, I mean they do look different for me." Botan's hurried footsteps came near us especially since I knew she was hiding since I could see her inside my territory, still in the garden probably being worried Yomi would try to kill me or something. Despite Yomi not having his sight, he groaned looking away from the bright light next to us "Botan this isn't going to be pleasant." Better warn before meddling further.

The exact same action, her trembling like a leaf, wide eyes as if begging me to not hurt her soul more. And there it was, slowly, barely visible, she was trying to heal herself from the intrusion, spider like cobwebs emerging from the edges trying to reach one another. Their souls were more flexible, demons were stronger thus more resilient and we humans of course were at the bottom of the chain, one single hurt creating a ripple sort of effect. But for me the ripple effect stopped, the mark acting up, protecting my soul in a way.

"Am I supposed to understand anything?" Yomi asked as he directed his attention between our bodies.

"Yes." Recreating the hurt back on Yomi's soul he hissed at me, but didn't hurt me in any way "Pay attention to all of us as we heal. Do you see it?" Even if I was using the same energy on all of us, Botan's soul healed faster, followed by Yomi and then myself "I think he gains his powers due to his soul being in the state it is right now. His healing ability is amazing." They both looked at me like I had gone insane and I actually slashed my brain and not my soul "While we can't get to his level or kill him, what if I can bring him to ours?"

"You mean you want to heal his soul? Bring it back to one piece?" Yomi got it, I could see it on his face.

I nodded my head "If we can manage somehow to trap him, I can work, I just need some time. It's a theory but I believe it might work if he is brought back to the origins." Hurt crawled over the surface of Yomi's soul creating a new line, my eyes shifting from his face to his soul and back again "What happened?"

He hesitated, the pause making me think of the worse. Calling back my territory, Yomi let me go as I ran to my bag, pulling out the compact mirror dialing for Kurama "Pick up, please pick up." Once the call connected I froze seeing Shiori on the other end "Hello?" my mind refused to work especially seeing the state she was in, eyes red and puffy from crying "Where is he?"

"Shui…" she stopped herself, taking a deep breath in "Kurama said they came up with a plan." Impossible, she called him by his real name. Did he tell her the truth? "Please Hana, I know I shouldn't ask this of you." She broke down, the compact shaking in her trembling hands, tears streaming down her pale cheeks "Please bring back my son, I beg you."

I felt my entire body growing cold, a freezing sensation taking over me entirely. Looking over at Yomi I waited for the explanation "Myself and Koenma authorized the plan, they are already travelling to Darkness, unless they already reached him with the help of Kazuma Kuwabara. We agreed not to tell you, if they fail you are our last defense."

When did they discuss this? Why wasn't I a part of it?

The communication device tumbled from my hands, vision darkening at the edges "What have you done?!" territory erupted with ragging force, expanding and increasing with each hectic breath I took "Fuck you! Fuck Koenma!" charging Yomi head on, the moment my punch interacted with his chest, his soul bent like metal, a dent forming, his body being forced back "You will all be kings over the dead!" Botan crumbled to her knees, hands holding onto her chest, fear circling her soul "I'll show you last line of defense!" another dent formed under the sheer force of my feelings alone, my own soul reflecting deep wounds formed from pain.

Yomi stood in front of me paralyzed under the weight of my force, each time he even tried to power up, me hitting without mercy. A ragging yell escaped my throat as I let my territory run wild. It encompassed the gardens, beyond the walls, to the lower and higher levels. Beyond the vegetation, beyond Gandara's walls, expanding, increasing, straining me further "Come on you fucker, I'm ready for you." Running to my backpack I took out two shots, inserting them both, heart beating so wildly that I thought I would have a heart attack.

And my territory was mirroring with exactly how my heart beat, like a beacon, lighting and shining through "Hana don't do this, you cannot win alone."

"Better alone than with liars like you." Come on see me, I need to find them, I need to save them.

I was praying towards a different type of God, one that actually answered my prayers, a portal expanding slowly within the garden walls. Looking over my shoulder, I addressed a few words to both Botan and Yomi "If they're dead, you're next Yomi. Botan" her head shot up "Koenma will follow." Jumping inside there was no looking back now.

At the last minute, Yomi also jumped in, strong hands grabbing me "I'm not leaving you alone." As we fell on the other side, I struggled against his force, wishing with all my might to just disintegrate his rotten soul and get it over with.

"Fuck you Yomi, how could you?" once more I was crying, this time out of sheer anger and frustration from not being able to overpower him without creating more damage or worse killing him "They are my friends, they are good people."

"KURAMA ASKED FOR US TO NOT IMPLICATE YOU!" What? I stopped fighting altogether, body going limp "And they all agreed." I felt like my head was spinning, him letting me go entirely, leaving me to get up on my own as he surveyed the area allowing me a moment alone.

I shuddered when I heard that resounding voice once more "Too bad it did not work." Yomi hit the ground the following second, Darkness travelling across the cold terrain, a freezing cold hand grabbing me by the throat "You betrayed my trust Light."

"It's…Hana."