Back in the Human World a week later, everything seemed so different to Nanashi after being gone for so long. The sun seem brighter and yellower, the sky seemed blue, the air seem blue, and colors seemed brighter. It was also a bit more boring, more tedious, more calm and less wild. Restrained almost. Kurama warned her it was an adjustment he had made once before as well. She got back to her aunt's gladdened yet saddened by the reunion. When Yusuke had told her aunt she was missing, assumed dead and then gave up the search for her, her aunt reported her dead. Then, when she was found, she was not sure how her aunt changed that record. The story now was she had been kidnapped aboard, found and rescued, and brought back home. She was not the biggest fan of the story, but since the original cover story for her being gone so long in the Demon World was studying abroad alongside Kurama, it fit best. It was also to be said Kurama stayed abroad to find her, and was part of the rescue team that found her.
After being given two weeks to reacclimate and readjust to the Human World, Prince Koenma came to their apartment, paperwork in hand. While Nanashi was no longer allowed ever again in the Demon World so no one there, especially not Yomi, could coerce her into serving them, Prince Koenma planned to make it the same impossibility with the Spirit World. He had taken over up there after finding out of the crimes against the Demon World, especially dismantling and arresting what was once the SDF, but there was a risk another group might pop up and be tempted to recruit the human with the element serpent who could compete with S class demons.
She sat at the kitchen table on a Saturday, midmorning, with Prince Koenma in teenage form, as well as Yusuke, her aunt, and Kurama nearby. "So, if you sign here," Prince Koenma pointed at the end of the contract, "it makes a you spirit detective for the rest of your life. An on call one so to speak. One who will 'be expected' to carry out missions should the need arises. One who will work for me and only me in service to the Spirit World." He huffed a laugh. "However, off paper and off contract, I will never call on you. You'll never have any duties. It's a shield to keep you out of the hands of any new groups should they develop in the Spirit World and want to recruit the wind dragon tamer," he finished.
She picked up the pen, looking down at the paper. "I don't have to sign in blood?" she half joked.
He shook his head, amused by her question. "That's a Demon World thing. Blood is binding there. Like with the mate claiming process. You signing in pen is just as binding in this contract here as it would be signing in blood there."
She bent down, taking pen to paper, and signed it. She passed both the paper and pen to him and watched him sign it.
"Now she's finally done?" Aunt Astuko asked, looking down at the paper over her shoulder. She placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes," Prince Koenma answered, rolling up the paper and tucking it into his robes.
"Good," Aunt Astuko said sternly. "Don't ever call on her. You or any of yours. She's no longer available."
Nanashi felt her ears draw back shyly. Prince Koenma nodded, "that is the plan. For the rest of her mortal life." He nodded down at her. "Move on. Enjoy it."
She nodded back, looking up at him. "Thank you," she answered.
"You've beyond earned it with all you went through," he answered. She shifted not sure what else to say. "I should get going, and I think the two of you were planning to do so as well," he nodded over at her and Kurama. "Take care."
"Bye," she said, hearing the others echo their own goodbyes. It was weird to think the next time she should expect to see him was in the afterlife. She sat still, eyes trained on the table where the contract once was. She sensed movement, flicking her eyes back up to see Kurama stepping over towards her.
"Ready for the next meeting planned for today?" he asked, looking down at her. She nodded, standing up.
She smoothed her hair down nervously, then her dress. It was weird to be wearing human clothing again. They were all stiffer than the clothes from the Demon World, less free moving. The floral dress was the nicest thing she own, even though she had not worn it in quite a while. It hung a bit tighter on her chest than she remembered, but she could fight in it if she needed to, even if she would hardly if ever need to fight again. She stepped over to the front door with him, slipping on a pair of flats that she was certain she could run in, but if she had to fight, they would be better off kicked off.
After they bid their goodbyes to Yusuke and her aunt and left the apartment, she shifted in the dress she wore. "Something the matter?" he asked.
She shook her head. "It's nothing, but I doubt I could hardly fight in this dress. Too stiff. Nor shoes. Too flimsy," she complained.
He chuckled softly under his breath. "Reverse culture shock still has you in its grips?" he asked, stopping at the end of the block and looking around to hail the next available taxi.
She hummed. "Seems like it," she admitted, squinting up at the yellowy sun. It was weird that she wanted to come back so badly to the Human World, only to feel almost disappointed by little things like her clothes.
A taxi pulled up in front of them. "Come along," he said, guiding her towards it. She climbed in next to him in the back seat, careful not to snag the train of her dress in the door. She fidgeted with the end of it, listening to him give the driver the address. "You will do fine," he said softly, hand coming to hers to still them.
He pulled his hand back, reaching into his pocket for his new phone, reading a text and sending another text. For some odd reason, his old phone that she rigged to work in the Demon World had stopped working in the Human World when they got back. His mother was quick to replace it, saying he needed a working phone. Her phone was old, older than his old one, but worked when they returned to the Human World. She patted her bag at her hip, feeling her phone there.
"She will be home alone. Good," he said, putting his phone back in his pocket. "My stepfather and step brother will be at a baseball game this afternoon."
She nodded, almost not saying anything. "Good..." she echoed. She tapped her right on the floor of the cab nervously.
"No need to be so nervous," he soothed. "My mother likes you."
She nodded, but then replied, "she liked me when we were just known to her as friends though. What will you tell her?"
"Somethings. Perhaps... hmmm," he hummed. "Everything would be a last ditch effort. I am unsure if she could handle all of that." He sighed, shaking his head.
She turned to him, soothing in turn, "you're still her son. No matter what we tell her."
"Start with the engagement," he reiterated.
They lapsed into silence the rest of the taxi ride. She watched outside the window, seeing how more and more affluent as they rode. She fiddled with the ring on her left hand intermittently. She even placed her hand on the front of her hips, wondering when she would feel or sense anything from the daughter that was supposed to be there. She had yet to even feel morning sickness. When they got out, he paid the driver before they walked up to the two story, three bedroom, and two bathroom house. She saw the tiniest front yard, feeling a pain of jealously for having never had her own front yard before. She wondered curiously if they had a backyard, and if so, how big it was. He lead her up the walkway, where she saw the path lined with flowers along it. There was even a thriving bush in front of the front window. She followed him up to the front door, him leading the way.
"Mother, I am home," he called as they entered the front of the house, kicking off their shoes.
She looked around the house from left to right, seeing a sitting room with a couch on the wall by the window. A coffee table in front of it. Two plush chairs that matched the couch were on either side of it. A large TV stood on a TV stand in view of the couch and chairs. Then a bookshelf filled with books that tempted her to go over to look. Then a back door under the stairwell that was in the middle of the back wall. The stairs went up, where two bedrooms, Kokoda's and Kurama's rooms, plus a bathroom they shared. To the right of the stairs on the first floor, was Shiori and her husband's bedroom and bathroom. In front of the room was the kitchen, where Shiori was cleaning. Between the kitchen and the sitting room was a ledge at hip height that created a pathway that was lined with plants in pots.
"Welcome home, how was seeing Nanashi? Hope she's doing alright- oh," Shiori said, stepping into view.
He smirked an easy smirk. "Very well. In fact, she agreed to come over her now when I left," he half joked pleasantly.
Nanashi looked up at Shiori, feeling suddenly overly nervous. She blinked up at Shiori. "That's nice. How are you acclimating back to life here? Glad to have had you back safe and sound," she beamed.
She nodded her head, clutching her left hand and turning her knuckles out of view. "Yes. Pretty well, more or less," she stammered out.
Shiori nodded, looking at her softly. "Are you two hungry? We have some food in the fridge, but I can always text Kazuya to pick up something after the game."
He looked down at her expectantly. She shrugged softly, mutely. He turned and faced his mother. "Perhaps some herbal tea for the three of us." He stepped towards the kitchen. "Why don't you two have a sit in the sitting room while I brew some."
She nodded. "Oh, alright," Shiori said, nodding, but looking slightly puzzled. She walked to the sitting room and sat down in one of the chairs.
Nanashi followed suit, sitting down on the couch closest to the empty chair. She listened to the sounds of him boiling the kettle, clinking of cups, and the opening and closing of a cupboard and the fridge. She looked over towards the kitchen, wishing she could see him over the potted plants.
"How is your aunt doing?" Shiori asked, drawing her attention back over to her. She noticed Shiori had also been peering out over to the kitchen.
"She's well, thank you," she said, turning back to face Shiori. She caught that Shiori was looking at her left hand sitting alight by her leg, gripping the couch cushion beneath her. "My cousin as well."
Shiori flicked her gaze back up at her face. "He was away as well for a time, wasn't he?" she asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. A camp. A kind of boarding school, as it were," she answered. "He liked it there, but missed home just as we did."
"Your aunt must be glad to have the two of you back." Shiori replied. She nodded and then the two of them lapsed into an awkward silence.
Shiori looked relieved when Kurama came into view, carrying a tray of three steaming mugs with three separate tea bags and a sliced up and cored apple on a plate. She looked up at him gratefully as he sat the tray down on the coffee table next to a pot with a small, leafy stem of a plant poking out of the dirt. Then he sat down between the two of them on the couch next to him. He reached over to the tray, handing a mug to his mother first before handing a second one to her. She accepted it with her right hand. Then he offered them both the plate of apple slices. Shiori did not accept one, so neither did she. Lastly he picked up his own mug, leaned back on the couch, and sipped from it.
"The three of us are quite glad to be back from our trips," he said smoothly. "Quite glad indeed." He took one more sip from his tea and then sat the mug down on a coaster. "It gave the two of us," he gestured between the of them before sliding his hand in her unoccupied left hand. She was not expecting it, causing her to move to sit her mug down on the coffee table before risking spilling the tea in it on her dress. As she moved, he spoke, "more quality time to get to know each other."
He looked over at his mother, all while running his finger over the ring Nanashi wore, drawing attention to it. "Oh," Shiori breathed. "A ring for... your friendship...?" she asked, a slightly sour look on her face.
Nanashi felt her stomach flip. Shiori might not approve. He spoke for the two of them, "no, Mother. An engagement ring." She could just barely hear a hint of an off tone in his voice when he said that. He looked over at his mother expectantly.
"Oh... oh," Shiori hummed, sitting up rigidly. "Perhaps... hmm..." Nanashi watched him watched his mother. "Perhaps you should have waited for such a thing after you two returned home. I'm certain both of your emotions were running high when she was found."
"This is something I considered doing for a long time," he answered, hinting in his own way.
Shiori shifted, leaning closer. "I figured as much," she half answered. "With the way you had spoken of her on and off since you met."
"But?" he asked, hand tightening and sweating in hers.
"Are you certain this is what the both of you want?" Shiori asked patiently. "The both of you are still awfully young..." She hummed as she finished. "Perhaps wait a few years to see, in case one of you changes your mind." She looked at Nanashi when she said it.
Nanashi kept her eyes downcast on the tray on the coffee table, feeling her stomach flip some more. She tried to think of something, anything to say in response. She brought her right hand back into her lap, almost wanting to touch the front of her hips. "I do not think I would plan on changing my mind," he replied, tone just barely hinting at suppressed flatness. "Nanashi either. I love her." She flicked her eyes up to look Shiori, nodding shyly. "No one comes closer to understanding all of me like she does. Waiting means fewer years spent together as husband and wife."
"Perhaps a few years though. Attend university first. I do recall how much she has wanted to do that, even if you've been feeling unsure about it," Shiori countered.
He sat up straighter, hand shifting in hers. His face looked calculating, like he was caught off guard by his mother and could not predict what she would say yet. "Sooner in more responsible than waiting for her to attend university," he replied.
Shiori seemed to pale at that, dark eyes settling on Nanashi. "Are you... pregnant?" she asked, sounding conflicted. She nodded mutely, seeing that as the best response she could manage.
"We only found out very recently," he soothed. "We are hoping for a girl, if we are lucky." He look statuesque, nearly emotionally withdrawn, yet hopeful.
Shiori looked a bit more gladdened by that news, but was still frowning. "Are you certain...?" she hinted, grasping at straws.
"Quite certain," he answered plainly. "Mother, I understand your concerns and hesitancy. When I found her after she disappeared, I promised to get her home, staying very close to her. Perhaps it could be construed a mistake has been made," he gave her hand a squeeze. "However, the proposal was one I made before she found out she was pregnant."
Shiori hummed, looking between the two of them. "Suichi, perhaps we should speak privately for a bit," she suggested.
"Certainly," he answered reverently. He rose up, slipping his hand from Nanashi's hand. "Nanashi, perhaps you would like to go look at the garden in the backyard while we chat?" he suggested. He pointed to the backdoor.
She looked up at him and nodded. "Okay," she breathed out. She went over to the front door, grabbing her shoes to go outside.
"Hopefully we will not be long. Do feel like taking a rest if you need to," he advised.
She went to the backdoor, risking a backwards glance at the two of them before she opened the door and went out to the backyard. It was a small backyard, but lovely in its own way. There was a vegetable and herb garden along the right fence, and, toward the middle of the garden, a sapling tree. She walked over to it, noticing the small green leaves towards the top of the sapling. She noticed the ground around it was freshly dug, meaning the tree was recently planted. She walked around the garden, looking around the yard with purpose. Occasionally, she would look back over to the house, see neither Kurama nor his mother in the window that looked out into the backyard. She also noticed a window over the first floor bedroom, with the blinds closed. She sighed, fidgeting with the ring on her finger, unsure what to do or how long she would need to wait.
Eventually, she knelt down in front of the garden, looking over the plants. She noticed some small weeds hidden amongst the produce. Careful of her dress, she dug them up, pulling them out without disturbing the more desirable plants. She kept digging up the weeds down the length of the garden, mind wondering at what either of them could be saying, especially considering a wedding would need to happen one way or another since they had already mate claimed one another.
She went down the row of the garden, less careful of her dress, but more careful of not pulling up any plant that might not be a weed after all. She felt so focused on that, that she had not noticed Kurama come up behind her until his shadow blocked the sun above her. "Are you weeding?" he asked down to her curiously.
She looked up at him, nodding. "I, um, yeah," she responded. She noticed he was looking down the line of the garden she had already been, seeing the measly trail of weeds she left in her wake. She stood up, nearly rubbing her dirty hands off on the dress before catching herself. She looked down at her hands, not sure what to do with them now.
"Needed something to occupy your mind?" he mused.
She nodded. "How did the talk go?" she risked asking.
He heaved a heavy sigh. "Okay... a bit better than I expected, once she believed me," he answered cryptically.
"What did you tell her?" she pressed nervously.
"Everything," he said so calmly, it almost caught her off guard.
"Everything?" she asked.
"It was high time I did that anyway," he replied. "Your aunt has known from the get go with Yusuke. Shizeru knew right away with Kuwabara as well." He threw a look over to the house. "Besides, I had to get her to understand my mate was not going anywhere without ensuing a fight." He looked back down at her. "Perhaps it would be best if you went in now and spoke with her. As a more human of a future daughter-in-law."
She blinked up at him, shaking her head. "I'm not sure what I could do or say to her to help," she thought out loud.
He hummed down at her, a sound quite similar to the one Shiori had made earlier. "Just be empathetic. You are quite good at that," he said, eyes gliding back over to the house, a slightly worried look on his face.
She bit her lip and nodded. She nearly touched him on the forearm to reassure him, but halted herself when recalled her hands were still dirty. She stepped her way over to the house, opening the backdoor with a quick glance back over at him by the garden, bent over to pick up the weeds she left in the grass in front of the garden. Touching it as little as possible, she opened the door and slipped back inside of the house.
She kicked off her shoes and stepped back into the sitting room, seeing Shiori standing there, staring down at the potted plant on the coffee. Her hand was on her chin, looking concerned. The plant that was barely above the dirt before she went to the backyard was now tall and vine-y, spilling over the pot and on the the forgotten teas and apple slices. She looked up when Nanashi came back into the room, looking over at her with a conflicted, melancholy look about her. Nanashi held up her hands nodding over at the kitchen sink. She went over to it and washed her hands.
"You could have been a queen one day?" she asked, breaking the silence between the two of them.
Nanashi nodded, but added, "yes, but I didn't want to be." She walked away from the sink and towards the older woman.
Shiori hummed, "and you chose to be with..." she paused, clenching her jaw. "You chose to be with Suichi instead," she said determinedly.
"No," Nanashi corrected. "I chose to come home. From the get go, I wanted to come back home, was very clear about that. I made a deal before I even left for that to for that."
"With Prince Koenma, the prince of the Spirit World?" Shiori asked. Nanashi nodded. She looked back down at the rapidly overgrown potted plant. "I never... should I have noticed?" she asked out loud. She pushed up her sleeves, with Nanashi noticing the scars along her forearms now. She stared at them pensively. "After these, he was so different, behavior changed over night it seemed. Went from wild and barely controllable, to well mannered and precocious. An enviably perfect son... My son, he is my son..." she added mutely.
Nanashi nodded empathetically, "he told me that story before. He realized just how much you loved him. It was when he decided he would stay in the Human World with you, as long as you lived. Then..." she paused, feeling her stomach clench at the words before she said them. "Then he would return to the Demon World permanently."
Shiori looked up at her. "And the new king took that chance away from him because you... claimed each other?" Nanashi's eyes trailed down to the ground. She nodded. "He never dated though, said he never wanted to because he wanted to focus on school. Come to find out it was because he regretted the lose living from his demon days, so he wanted to be the opposite as a human. There was one girl though, when he was younger, who seemed keen on him, but then out of the blue one day, she was chasing after another boy like Suichi never existed. Come to find out, he made her forget her interest." She looked up at Nanashi curiously. "I have to admit I was a little worried, him lacking both romantic and friendship interests, but when you came along, things were different. He didn't push you away, didn't make you forget. He opened up to you. I was concerned about you though, because of your aunt and... her connections... He said not to worry about that, not to judge you based on your aunt. One of the few times he was adamantly in openly disagreeing with me. Come to find out it was because he could be both human and demon with you. He could wholly be himself with you." She stepped over to the chair and sat down, reaching over to the overgrown plant, stroking one of the vines. "He always did love plants... Found such a strong connection with them, even as a wild child. One way I could get him to behave was to give him one as a reward... My parents, before they passed away, were the ones who actually figured that out one day... He needed no plants as rewards I was injured though... but made easy presents nevertheless... He had a small space in the greenhouse of our old apartment building he made use of."
Nanashi risked stepping over to her and sitting down at the chair across from her. "I'm sure he loves the garden out back more," she commented.
Shiori looked over at her. "Why were your hands dirty earlier?" she wondered aloud.
"I was weeding the garden," she responded. "He's taught me about them, mostly about healing and medicinal ones. He gave me one seed once, on a mission as an energy boost when I was so exhausted I couldn't stand. I loved coffee ever since," she added with a small smile.
"But you can't have coffee anymore," Shiori reminded.
She nodded, half scowling. "Decaf tastes close enough. Better than Demon World coffee. I can still have apples at least. Always like them. I could be bribed with apples and apple flavored treats as a child." She took a risk, reaching over to the tree, going under the vines to get an apple slice. She took a bite from it.
Shiori looked up at her, cocking her head curiously. "I always preferred apples as well." She an apple slice for herself, more cautious about reaching under the vines. She looked out over at the window to the backyard. "When he returned home, he went out and purchased the apple tree sapling out there. Planted it himself." She turned back, looking at Nanashi carefully. "He's always seemed keen on you, even when he always insisted it was platonic. I remember once he told me you two had a fight and you ended the friendship over it, turned to be friending another young man school and spending all your time with him instead of Suichi. He was withdrawn about it, but I could tell he was devastated by it. It was an odd thing for him to carry around a hair clip he never wore."
Nanashi nodded, expanding vaguely, "that was right after his demon side lost control around me and attacked me." She recalled the wild, vicious look he had had in his eyes just before he bit her. "I was afraid of him after that. His demon part, never his human part."
"When you came over to dinner that one evening, and I got to meet you the first time, he was worried, but in his blank way. He was quietly elated when he came back to the car to have your friendship renewed." Shiori looked down at the overgrown plant again. "You no longer fear his demon side...?"
"No... it was hard to get to that point, but no. He has a considerable amount of self control, to match a considerable amount of remorse for the things he did as a demon. Before he met you things. I have sometimes had to remind he's changed from then," Nanashi explained.
"He still clings to the remorse, as well as the control," Shiori added. "Can shut down from it." Nanashi nodded in agreement. "He feels his emotions deeply, perhaps because he was so cavalier as a demon..."
"He got a do over, with you. He made himself become better because of you," Nanashi complimented. "He wanted to be better than he was a demon, so determined to do so in everything and everyway possible. To the point where he desired to never be in a relationship to counter balance how immoral he was as a demon."
"I think even before he realized it, he loved you. And I don't think... he wouldn't desire anyone but you. If you rejected him, like you had rejected him after he attacked you, no other woman would catch his eye. For him, it is you or no one. It was only you for him. I realized that when he called me, refusing to come home until you were found," Shiori explained. "But with you," she shook her head. "I don't think it was only him for you from what he's told me."
Nanashi nodded, nervously, thinking of Jin first, feeling guilty to do so even. "There was another demon," she answered.
"The former king who threatened your aunt and myself?" Shiori asked.
Nanashi shook her head. "Another another," she answered once more. "But he rejected me..." she hummed. "It's Kurama now. I love him and made that commitment to him."
Shiori looked over at her sternly, standing up tall. "Good, because mate claiming sounds like a very serious bond, stronger than human marriage. I'm not surprised he never wanted to go through with it. Yet for you, he it did to ensure you got home. He's deeply committed to you. You need to be sure you are the same when it comes to my son."
Nanashi nodded, standing up cautiously, trying not look intimidating. "I will," she swore.
It was only when Shiori stepped over to her and hugged her close did she finally relax her shoulders and breathe a sigh of relief.