Oathkeeper

by Seichou Maki

Miwa had pledged an oath to Youko Kurama, an oath that defines many things about her life and her choices. However, encountering the Spirit Detective, called to retrieve the Artifacts of Darkness from four demon thieves, begins the chain of events that forces her to rethink the oath she made long ago.

25. The Fox and the Snake

Chapter 25: The Fox and the Snake

For many months, Kurama was aware that he was only one step away from losing control. Of his temper, of his body, and of even his identity. He told himself every day that his primary goal was to protect the balance between worlds, and that idea never changed in any of his plans. But, there was always a lurking fear in the back of his mind that he could easily lose himself somewhere along the way. It was a war of identity, and one side, his cold and vicious self from long ago, was quickly bleeding into the other. And when the imminent war was all said and done, how much of the other side, the self that fought for "good" these past sixteen years, would remain? The line between either side was becoming increasingly blurred as the days went on.

Kurama allowed himself to step across that line only once, when Shachi tried to kill him.

Tried.

As promised, Kurama brought six warriors to fight for Gandara, each one with an energy reading over 120,000. Each fighter alone was stronger than Shachi's entire army, and even Youda was impressed, but most importantly, it impressed Yomi. Shachi lacked brains and leadership skills, and the army of which he was so proud had done nothing to further Gandara's might in the past 500 years. Kurama was instantly promoted and placed in charge of the six new fighters. The second-in-command had changed, just as Kurama predicted six months before. To no one's surprise - Kurama's least of all - Shachi did not take the promotion with dignity. His intentions were clear right from the start, and Shachi had no chance of surviving this encounter, no matter how stealthily he tried to follow Kurama.

Shachi, Gandara's proud Chief of the Military, made many mistakes in his attempt to assassinate Yomi's new favorite. He assumed the weak 1,902 energy level his handheld device read was completely accurate. He believed that Kara, the Parasite Demon holding Kokoda Hatanaka hostage, had not shifted his loyalty. He showed his trump card first and had nothing good enough to follow.

But Shachi's biggest mistake of all - he gave Kurama an opportunity to step over the line.

The transformation into Youko Kurama allowed him to kill Shachi with one strike. The energy reader, quite poetically, landed on the ground in front of Shachi's face, and one of the last things the Chief of the Military saw before he died was an updated energy reading: 152,000. With Shachi's death, Kurama cemented his place as both the second-in-command of Gandara and the strongest fighter under Yomi's rule.

In the days following, Kurama had a lot to learn about Gandara and its structure to become a proper second-in-command. Yomi, of course, was far too busy to give all that instruction himself. Youda occasionally gave his own briefings, but he always maintained a strained, distant attitude, perhaps to compensate for his previous hostility. The circumstances surrounding Shachi's death were no secret, after all. Therefore, most of Kurama's instruction became Shirai's responsibility, and they were all, for the most part, pleasant interactions. Shirai had never been hostile, maintaining his politeness and respect since the moment they met. But really, their time together was only pleasant if you looked at the surface. Both men were the type to hide what they were really thinking under passive, calm expressions. Kurama was not able to read what Shirai was thinking, but he was aware of a certain question hanging in the air between them, unspoken and unacknowledged. Kurama only knew because they both wanted to ask it, but they never did. It had nothing to do with the state of Gandara.

However, that didn't stop Shirai from finally breaking the ice.

"How is Miwa doing?"

The question was sudden and unprompted, a jarring divide between their business and personal affairs. Kurama was just about to stand up and take his leave from the meeting room. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the patter of rain on the windows as Kurama searched for a response to the sudden topic change. The question did not catch him by surprise, so to speak. Kurama had a feeling that Shirai would bring her up himself. He was, after all, the one who set her current dilemma into motion.

Kurama folded his arms and, without smiling, said, "I would expect someone of your caliber, Shirai, to already have an answer to that."

Shirai chuckled. "You're right. I do. But I would like to hear your perspective, if you don't mind."

He didn't mind. At Kurama's behest, Miwa took with her the mobile phone that could make calls between worlds. While neither of them had the free time to speak every day, Miwa did check in every week or two. "It seems her journey has made a lot of progress. Last I spoke with her, she said she expects to find Fuura soon, and the information you gave her has been a great help."

Shirai smiled, and it seemed genuine. "I am pleased to hear that," he said. "When I last spoke with her, she had an...unfavorable opinion of me."

"To be perfectly honest, it is still unfavorable."

"I expected nothing less." Shirai sighed forlornly to himself and rested his chin on his hand. "I do hope that I haven't strained the relationship between you two..."

The rain outside suddenly seemed louder.

"...No. In fact, I want to thank you, Shirai," Kurama said, loosening his arms and resting his palms in his lap. "To use your words, I have never been able to stop Miwa from eating her own tail. She is struggling to accept what you told her, but I believe she is on a better path now."

"We won't know that until she finishes her current mission."

"I suppose that's true."

"Has Miwa told you what her plans are when it's over?"

"...She says that she won't know until the choice is right in front of her."

"I see." Shirai held his chin with one hand and tilted his head, staring quizzically. "How are you doing, Kurama?"

"...What?"

Shirai leaned back in his chair. "Well, you've been without your longtime partner for a couple of months. The other Gandara officials see you in a better light now, but you are still, in a sense, alone here."

Kurama wanted to fold his arms across his chest again, but he refrained from putting such an obvious barrier between them. "I am not so helpless that being alone will derail any of my plans."

Shirai chuckled again. "How interesting. Miwa said something similar, that you didn't 'need' her."

Again, the only sound in the room was the rain outside when Kurama didn't answer. ...Did she really think that?

"Perhaps I phrased my question poorly," Shirai continued, unaffected by Kurama's lack of response, "I meant, how do you feel about this path she's on?"

"I already told you. I think this is good for her."

"But is it good for you, too?" Shirai leaned forward again, narrowing his eyes. "She doesn't have to return to Gandara. Miwa could disappear from both our lives completely if she chose to. She is finally accepting that it is a possibility for her."

"...You're asking whether I will regret letting her go."

"I did." A thin, knowing smile formed on Shirai's face. "I too thought I was doing what was best, but in the end, I didn't say everything I wanted to tell her, and then she was gone."

Kurama glanced at Shirai's hands. Then, as if to mock him, Shirai raised both hands, wiggling his fingers just to prove that the gloves were still there.

"I will accept what Miwa chooses," Kurama said, "no matter where it takes her."

"Then, my advice to you, Kurama," Shirai said firmly, lowering his gloved hands, "is to let Miwa make her choice with all the applicable information."

"Like you did?"

Shirai grinned, for once showing his teeth. "She's searching for Fuura now, isn't she? I think we both wanted that."

Kurama nodded slowly, reluctantly, and stood up. As he made his way to the door, Shirai saw him off with a smile, but just as Kurama was about to step into the corridor outside, Shirai spoke up one last time. "I must say, it is a pleasure getting to know you, Kurama."

Kurama stopped, one foot out the door, and answered quietly, "The same to you, Shirai."

"However." Shirai's tone dropped, much deeper than before. "I think the day you killed Shachi is the closest I'll ever come to seeing the true nature of the one Miwa swore to follow all those years ago…"

Kurama didn't respond and left the room.

The high ceilings of the corridor usually made each footstep echo above Kurama's head, but the pattering rain outside drowned all that out. The sound easily carried through the many tall windows, culminating as a dull roar all around him. The demons in Gandara typically left Kurama alone, particularly after Shachi was killed, so he wasn't worried about anyone sneaking up on him. Plus, he liked the sound of the rain. Rhythmic, meditative, and calming. It helped Kurama collect his thoughts.

Shirai tended to flaunt the amount of information he possesses at precise, critical moments to control the conversation and make his point. In a way, Kurama had already gotten used to it, and he could control the answers he gave without revealing too much, even when Shirai's knowledge caught him off guard. It wasn't particularly concerning when they discussed Gandara, but whenever Shirai chose to get on a more personal topic, his nearly omniscient perspective was a little frightening. Being in the same room as him felt risky, even if Kurama confirmed Shirai's gloves were still on.

So, he wants me to tell her everything…

Everything, even the things he wanted to hide from her. On their first day in Gandara, they promised to not keep any more secrets so they could avoid surprise revelations, and Kurama immediately broke that promise by not telling her more. He told himself it wasn't relevant to what was happening in Gandara, that it would be a distraction neither of them needed. The delicate balance between the three worlds was bigger than their personal conflicts. In the meantime, Kurama settled his guilt by revealing other important truths. He wanted Miwa to realize she didn't need to follow him. He wanted her to make her own choice about the path she takes in life. They were important truths that he avoided talking about for a long time, because he wanted to respect her oath and the dedication she put into it. But Kurama took a stand and made it clear that this was what he wanted for her, and Miwa finally accepted it.

The last important truth, the one underlying all the others, was still hidden from her. But, Kurama would never say it. He couldn't, because he knew her better than anyone. She would undoubtedly choose to stay out of consideration for him, like a misplaced sense of responsibility, because all of it started with her, and he would be complacent in her cycle forever.

And, if she saw who was on the other side of that line, everything between them would revert to the way it was long ago.

Kurama pulled his hand from his pocket. The nails were short, and the skin was slightly tan. This was the hand of Shuichi Minamino. Or at least, it would be, as long as he remained in control. As long as he didn't step over the line. One step away from the cold-blooded aggression taking over, from the body of Shuichi Minamino turning into Youko Kurama. One step away from becoming the demon to whom Miwa swore her life a long time ago. Miwa knew the biorhythms were getting worse, but if she saw him like this, dangerously close to the line between him and his old self, she would undoubtedly fall into her old cycle again. The way she reacted when he first transformed at the Dark Tournament, that cognitive dissonance confirmed it for him. For a while, she didn't know how to speak to Shuichi Minamino. The red headed boy was not the silver haired fox she sacrificed so much to find. That day, Kurama learned that suddenly bringing the past into the present has a way of erasing everything that happened in between. If Miwa ever saw him cross the line, all of her growth in the past few years would vanish instantly.

The hand in front of Kurama's face was Shuichi Minamino's, but the energy and feelings welling up in him at that moment were undoubtedly from the other side of the line. Kurama watched his hand carefully, waiting for the nails to grow sharper, or the skin to become paler. The one on the other side of the line was not the same as...whoever Kurama believed himself to be on this side. On this side, he could smile peacefully at Miwa's side, go to school together, study together, or fight for the same goals together. Like equals. Like friends.

The one on the other side was meaner...colder...blood-thirstier, and the way he interacted with Miwa was so different. More like...an actual master and his slave. Or like a servant, beneath him, following his every order with little exception. And even before that, he hated her.

Kurama no longer remembered when he had first learned Miwa's name. He probably overheard it somewhere, like from other demons talking around him, not knowing who he really was. Or maybe he heard it from the scarce few allies - definitely not friends - that he had back then. All Kurama remembered now was that he only bothered to remember Miwa's name once he learned what she was doing. He heard rumors of a strange Water Apparition girl travelling alone across Demon World with only one goal: tracking down Youko Kurama. Her motivations were unknown, but some collectors of rare antiques and artifacts consulted her if they ever suspected Kurama would come after their treasures. Others thought she was a traitor recruited by Spirit World to hunt the infamous criminal, running around where King Yama's lackeys didn't dare tread.

So, when they finally met, he thought of her as nothing more than a nuisance.

Kurama turned to the windows. It was nearly impossible to see clearly through the thick glass. A thin, foggy layer of condensation formed from the colder temperature outside, and the rain created hundreds of small, meandering streams, merging and diverging as they ran down the smooth surface. Kurama thought they looked like snakes crawling over each other, and he smiled slightly.

It was raining the day I met her, too…

The dull roar of rain was the same as that night. It rained unexpectedly hard before he infiltrated that old museum, and Kurama had nearly called off his own heist. Back then, he had no idea that it was because of the rain that his position was compromised; it was as good as a radar to someone like her. However, he did notice the hundreds of footprints in the mud left by the security guards, so Kurama continued his heist and used muddy footprints to hide his tracks. The guards tracked mud all over the place when their patrol route brought them back indoors, and Kurama wasted precious time making sure his own footprints didn't stand out from theirs, but it didn't take long for the mud on his feet to dry. Any guards in his way were killed and hidden before they could make a fuss, and when he finally secured his target, there was...

{00}

...a girl he had never seen before, casually leaning against the wall across the door of the museum archives. Dark hair, streaked with white, and blue eyes alight with excitement. Even in the dim basement hallway, Kurama could see the pointed tips of small fangs as she smiled. At her feet lay the bodies of more guards that Kurama incapacitated on his way here, but she didn't seem too concerned about them. She didn't even seem surprised.

"I am honored to finally meet you, Youko Kurama," she said. Leaning forward, she pushed herself off the wall, and her shoulder-length hair framed her face as she bowed her head respectfully. "My name is Miwa."

Kurama expected this meeting for a long time, but he strangely felt no need to escape. "...I know who you are," he said, narrowing his eyes. "The consultant...and my tracker."

She continued to smile, willfully ignoring the cold look he gave her. "That is what they call me," she said, sounding amused.

"Then, what would you call yourself?"

Miwa looked up, breaking their eye contact to think to herself, and Kurama immediately located the veins in her neck that would end her life in an instant if they were slit. But, before he could determine whether she intentionally exposed herself, Miwa answered simply, "An ally."

"Why should I believe that?"

"You have no reason to, but I intend to prove it."

...Ridiculous. The rare scroll Kurama stole from the archives behind him was tucked safely in his clothes. He should just kill her, right where she stood, and leave this place with his treasure in hand. Water Apparitions weren't known for their fighting abilities. Even this girl, skinny and her back habitually stretched up tall for good posture, looked more like a dancer than someone who could actually overpower him. No one would question her dead body once they realized he was here.

"You are welcome to kill me," Miwa said, correctly guessing his thoughts, "I have accepted that as an outcome of our meeting." She raised her hands, allowing Kurama to see if she ever formed a weapon. "But please allow me to show my sincerity before I die."

"How?"

"By helping you get out of here."

Kurama eyed her suspiciously. Miwa stayed perfectly still in her spot by the wall, smiling pleasantly as if they met at a party. Kurama imagined certain things would happen when he finally met his tracker, but this, admittedly, was the least expected encounter. Why would a Water Apparition, a nomadic clan most notable for their dancing, decide to travel alone across Demon World to track down a thief? Anyone would think she was a hunter, but Kurama did not sense any hostility, and she presented herself as an ally to him. Why? Kurama had no reason to believe her.

However, she did figure out Kurama was infiltrating this museum tonight. She knew when to find him down here. Once he knew how she did it, then he could kill her.

A loud crash, like porcelain shattering into pieces, echoed from far down the hall, and Kurama took note that Miwa did not seem startled. In the distance, he heard the footsteps and confused murmurs of guards converging towards the sound to investigate.

"Most of the guards here are idiot muscle heads," Miwa said. With her hands still raised, she took small steps in the same direction as the crash. "A fallen vase will keep them in the West Wing for a few minutes longer than they should, especially when I tell them I saw you over there."

"...I don't need your help."

Miwa turned her back to him and walked away. "You don't," she said, "and I don't expect anything in return. Regardless, my only intention is to be useful to you."

Kurama didn't say anything, and she continued walking away, still with her hands raised. Eventually, she turned a corner and disappeared from sight; off to mislead the guards, if she were to be believed. But Kurama did not trust her at all, and he quickly left the museum through the route he had planned in advance. He did come across a few guards on his way, but he refused to believe Miwa's supposed efforts made any difference in his escape. His footprints in the mud outside were indistinguishable from the guards', and no one worthy of notice followed him.

The stolen scroll was quickly sold off, and Kurama continued with his life as normal. He searched for rare treasures he could steal, or for buyers that did not care how their wares were sourced. But his strange tracker always floated around in the back of Kurama's mind. She didn't even try to capture him that night. If everything she said was the truth, why would a random Water Apparition want to be useful to him? Kurama had met a lot of people in his life, but he did not remember ever crossing paths with a Water Apparition, much less her. That girl's introduction even stated that she was honored to finally "meet" him. He didn't understand her, or how she knew he would be in that museum. He might have called her "brave" for showing herself in the middle of a heist, but he preferred to call her a "nuisance." Especially when she appeared before him several more times. Each time saying, "My only intention is to be useful to you."

...She had this odd smile every time she said it. Kurama didn't want to believe it, but it looked genuine to him. Whenever they met, Miwa brought with her some sort of help or information that he never asked for: the specs of a safe, the shift schedule of guards on some rich demon's property, or another offer to distract guards while he escaped. Kurama never took any of the information she offered, and what she did while he was escaping was her business. Annoyingly, she didn't get discouraged whenever he refused her help. She just gave Kurama what she had, and whether he used it was entirely up to him. Sometimes, Kurama investigated the information she provided after his heist, just to verify the things she was handing over. And, everything she found was legitimate. The specs, the schedules, everything. For all he knew, her actions to distract guards also made things easier for him.

That odd smile of hers may have been genuine, but he still didn't trust her. Kurama couldn't figure out how she knew where to find him all the time.

"It's what I do," she would say, when he once bothered to ask.

What trail was she following? Something critical was leaking through the tracks Kurama left behind, and he couldn't kill her until he knew what it was. But, the longer she followed him, the more likely someone else would find the leak.

Miwa showed herself to him enough times that Kurama became very familiar with her scent, and she could no longer sneak up on him. Most conventional methods would not hide her scent from his nose, but she never seemed to try and hide either. However, once Kurama became familiar with her Demon Energy, that was a different story. He could always, ever so faintly, sense her nearby, even if he couldn't smell her. Kurama did not know why, or what it meant, but he was certain it was the reason she could track him everywhere. Once he figured out what it was, he would kill her and be done with it, because despite wanting to be useful to him, Miwa refused to explain how she tracked him; it was the only reason she was still alive. Kurama considered capturing and torturing her for the answer instead, but then something else happened.

Miwa followed him to a remote island cave with mythical significance to the Demon World. A demon tyrant from ages ago was said to have been trapped and killed in the cave, and the demons freed from his tyranny built a shrine inside to deify the hunter that had killed him. It was an old folk tale, maybe from the time of creation, that no longer had any tangible evidence or proof. Just old stories for the demons who care about that sort of thing, but the shrine was supposed to house ceremonial relics that would fetch Kurama a high price. Miwa's information would not really help here. The relics certainly existed, but the shrine wasn't guarded. They were protected by powerful seals, and that was Kurama's specialty, not hers. No guard schedules, no secret map to the shrine. There wasn't anything she could learn that Kurama couldn't discover himself. And yet, she still appeared at the cave, offering her help all the same.

"I want to be useful to you," she said, "even if I'm just a disposable pawn."

The proposition was, admittedly, appealing. A willing meat shield against the traps inside; Kurama knew lesser demons that would kill to have their own. But that wasn't what caught Kurama's attention at this moment. This wasn't like her previous offers. This wasn't information or a distraction. She was offering her life. What kind of demon would willingly offer up themselves as a meat shield? Especially to someone who spurned her at every turn. She wasn't just a mindless fool blinded by Kurama's reputation; her annoying cleverness in tracking him ruled that out.

"And what do you get out of offering yourself to me?" Kurama asked, ignoring her offer entirely. "You've already said I was welcome to kill you."

He should have asked this sooner. The why.

Miwa looked to the ground, down at her hands. "I don't get anything, nor do I want anything. ...I just have nothing else." Then, she smiled at him again. "You stole my reason for living, so now my life belongs to you."

...Kurama hated that smile; so genuine, without a hint of lies. As much as Kurama didn't trust her, he couldn't find any trace of deception. He knew a lot of ways to tell if someone was lying: body language, changes in speech patterns, or sometimes even from their smell. He saw none of that from her, and that was perhaps the most infuriating thing. How could someone so...straightforward track him down to this remote island cave without revealing her method?

"You killed a bodyguard named Agata during a heist a few years ago," Miwa explained. "I dedicated my life to finding and killing him, but you inadvertently did it for me. All I have left now is…" She shrugged. "...showing my gratitude."

...What kind of reasoning was that? Kurama didn't remember killing anyone named Agata, but that didn't mean anything. Even if it was true, he didn't do it for her sake. It was probably just a means to an end. A nameless, faceless death in Kurama's long list of kills. Did she actually follow him all the way here because she had nothing better to do with her life? A Spirit World lackey had more purpose than that.

"...You look tired," Kurama said, refusing to acknowledge her strange motivation.

Finally, he caught her off guard, and she stepped back, looking down awkwardly. Kurama had noticed it when she first showed herself here. Not only was her usual excitement toned down from what he had become used to, but her eyes had the typical dark circles, and even her skin looked dry. "I'm fine," she said, notably not denying it.

Not that he cared. It was just an observation.

"A tired pawn is useless to me," he said, walking past her and into the cave.

Miwa did not follow, and that was a bit surprising. He expected someone annoyingly persistent like her would trail after him, even against his wishes. Instead, she just silently stood at the cave entrance, perhaps mulling over her own uselessness. However, just before Kurama disappeared into the cave's darkness, she called after him, "I meant what I said. I only want to show you my gratitude."

Kurama almost answered her, almost told her that he didn't need it, but he chose to ignore her again. If tracking him was tiring her out, maybe she would give up. Or even better, she would make a mistake and reveal how she was doing it. If not, then he really would capture and torture her to find out. That was the only information he actually wanted from her. So, Kurama entered the cave alone, retrieved the relic he was after (With relative ease, he thought.), and Miwa wasn't waiting for him when he left. Her scent was long gone, overpowered by the salty smell of the ocean, but that faint trace of her Demon Energy still lingered nearby.

It's a trace, Kurama realized. Somewhere, somehow, a small trace of her energy was following him, allowing Miwa to find him no matter where he went. Her lack of sleep must have been from maintaining the trace all this time. Would the trace remain after her death? He had no way of knowing for certain, but if she sincerely wanted to be useful...removing it would be her last grateful gesture to him before she died.

...But the next time Kurama saw her, she nearly killed herself.

His heist plan was grand that day. A rich collector named Houka had a vault for his rare treasures in the basement under his home. Breaking in alone meant that Kurama wouldn't be able to carry out every item inside, but sneaking out several choice treasures would be more than enough. He conducted a lot of research and surveillance on the mansion, and Miwa strangely never appeared with her unwanted help while he scoped the place out. Not that he would have used anything she brought, but it was unusual for someone annoyingly persistent like her to break her pattern. Either way, he didn't care. If she decided to not make a nuisance of herself this time, then the heist should go smoothly.

Infiltrating a private residence was more challenging than an unguarded cave or museum archives. Rich collectors have more money to spend on well-rounded security and traps, but Kurama timed his heist to when Houka was away on a business trip. A good portion of the security detail would travel along with him, so it was the best chance for Kurama to strike. Thanks to his surveillance, Kurama easily navigated his way around the guards and their patrol routes to get inside the mansion. He resorted to a few diversion tactics that may have raised some eyebrows, but no one seemed to notice his arrival. He made his way to the basement, which had a ridiculous number of rooms, but Kurama expected nothing less from a rich snob. None of Kurama's reconnaissance from outside could give him detailed information on the full layout down here, but using his ears and nose was sufficient enough to get around undetected. When necessary, he incapacitated (or killed) guards in his path and locked them in storage closets.

Kurama briefly paused when he sensed Miwa's energy and caught wind of her scent, but that wasn't surprising to him after all this time. She was here, somewhere, but that didn't matter as long as she didn't get in his way.

He got to the vault, broke the protective codes and seals, and gathered the treasures he desired in a white sack, intending to carry out whatever he could on his back. All in all, his planning and preparations allowed everything to go extremely smoothly. ...Suspiciously smoothly. He sensed and smelled six demons closing in on the vault, three on each side of the hallway. They were much stronger than the rest of the guards he came across on his way in, but that wasn't what raised Kurama's guard. He had never sensed these demons on Houka's property before. They were a new addition to the security detail, most likely, throwing an annoying wrench in his escape plan. Six against one was not favorable odds, even on a good day, but now Kurama had a sack of treasure on his back to protect.

If he were honest with himself, a willing meat shield could have been helpful.

Kurama exited the vault, and the six demons didn't even bother to hide themselves. Unlike the large and burly guards that patrolled the grounds, they were tall and slim, but visibly toned. They carried an assortment of weapons, like staffs, spears, and one even held a crossbow. Weapons with a long reach, he noticed, meant to strike him down even if he managed to escape their immediate grasp.

"So, you really did show up," one of them said. "Sorry, your mole didn't fool the boss."

Kurama didn't reply, but one way or another, he knew that idiot girl made a real nuisance of herself this time. He brandished his Rose Whip with a flick of his wrist and held it out in front of him. Killing them all right here would be a waste of energy he needed to get out of the mansion safely. If he focused his strategy on evasion and destroying their weapons, a well-placed Death Plant should distract them long enough to escape, and maybe kill a couple of them along the way, just for good measure. The seed was already tucked between his fingers, ready to throw at any time. Hell, locking them up in the vault behind him could be fun, if he played his cards right.

The six demons raised their weapons, and Kurama mirrored them. Hm, this scent...

One demon drew back his staff, preparing to swing, but just as the wooden pole began its attack, the demon's arms suddenly stopped. He let out a painful grunt as inertia tried to force his body forward; his staff even seemed to wiggle in his hands as the energy dispersed. Bewildered, the demon looked down at himself. His arms twitched violently as he desperately tried to move them, but oddly, his torso and legs freely moved from side to side. Only his arms appeared frozen in midair, and no matter how much the rest of his body struggled, he couldn't pull them free. It was an odd sight, like only his limbs were trapped in an invisible, immovable vice grip. The rest of his team snapped out of their own bewilderment and moved to attack Kurama, believing him to be the cause of this strange phenomenon, but each of them froze in place mid-attack, left to struggle in the invisible grip on their hands. At first, Kurama was just as confused. But then, he sensed something familiar in them, an energy infiltrating their bodies like a sneaky thief.

"You!" one of the demons managed to spit out, but not to Kurama.

Miwa was there, holding out her glowing hands in an unusual stance. Her right shoulder turned forward, both arms bent at the elbow and held close to her chest, her palms flat and facing the ground, each looking like the head of a snake. Her breathing was heavy, and her Demon Energy seemed incredibly weak.

"Go," Miwa said, her voice sounding hoarse and weak. "It's my fault they're here. I'll take responsibility."

...Kurama didn't like being ordered around by her. He also didn't like that he was about to accept her help. However, his priorities mid-heist were always securing his targets and escaping, not dawdling around with the nuisances. At least she was offering to clean up her own mess. Kurama easily slipped past the immobilized demons and calmly walked past Miwa. He didn't say a word to her, yet he did see metal cuffs and broken chains dangling from her wrists and ankles. However, he didn't stop. He didn't give any thanks. He never asked for her help, and all Kurama had to do was get out of there, so he continued walking away.

Behind him, there was the sound of confused cries, quickly followed by indisputable wails of pain. Somewhere in the screaming were shoes skidding across the floor tiles and Miwa's heavy breathing. Her Demon Energy was depleating every second that passed by, but it never sounded as if the demons were overpowering her, despite being outnumbered. The pained screams grew louder, and Miwa's energy in their bodies shifted and churned strangely.

The mid-heist priorities were always securing his targets and escaping, but Kurama could not deny the bubbling curiosity on what she was able to do. ...He shouldn't turn around. He shouldn't divert from his original plan. He wouldn't have had this setback if it wasn't for her and her meddling. He shouldn't take any interest in what that stubborn nuisance was doing, no matter what sounds he heard.

Kurama turned around, defying his better judgement.

The six demons were not in the same position as when he last looked. Somehow, Miwa had lined them up in a row and suspended them in midair by their arms. Their weapons clattered uselessly on the ground. Each demon was kicking wildly in the air, sometimes kicking each other as they tried to free themselves from the invisible grip. Miwa's arms were still in that strange snake-like position. Something about that stance was the reason she could control those demons, like a puppet master. Then, Miwa yanked back her hands, causing the demons to scream in pain once again, and a cloudy substance pulled itself out of the skin of their hands. The demons fell to the floor immediately, and the cloudy substance landed next to them, splashing into a dirty puddle. ...It was water. The demons gaped, silent and horrified, at their shriveled, dry hands. The rest of their arms looked normal, but from their wrists down, it looked as if they were replaced with mummified corpse hands. Their fingers could still move, for the time being, but each time they tried, tiny flakes of dry skin chipped off and floated gently to the ground.

Kurama had never seen this before, but he knew exactly what had happened. Somehow, Miwa gained control of the moisture in their limbs and yanked it out of their hands, straight through the skin.

Miwa, still breathing heavily, raised her arms once more, but her stance no longer looked like a snake. Instead, her arm swept, wide and graceful, across her body, forming a stream of water in midair. The stream slithered through the air, guided by more of Miwa's arm movements, and bashed through the head of each demon. They fell to the ground, either unconscious or dead, but freed from the visible horror of their shriveled hands. Miwa, who still hadn't noticed Kurama was watching, swayed on her feet, stumbled forward a couple steps, and collapsed amid the prone bodies of her victims.

...She wasn't dead; Kurama was certain of that, but she was definitely close. Whatever technique she used, it probably brought her to this state. However, the more curious thing Kurama noticed was that the moment she collapsed, the trace that seemed to follow him around disappeared completely.

Kurama turned his back to her. This was his chance. This was his chance to leave and shake her off for good. Whether Miwa died or lived on the ground, the rest of security would soon converge on this place to investigate the screaming. If she lived, she would be captured and locked away as an accomplice to Youko Kurama, even though it wasn't actually true. The nuisance would be gone; he would never let her catch his trail again.

Just as Kurama thought, footsteps approached from down the hall. Guards. ...It was now or never.

He adjusted the white sack of his targets to hang from one shoulder, stepped over Miwa's limp body, and hoisted her over his other shoulder. The Death Plant seed tucked between his fingers finally grew into leafy spirals around his one free arm, and Kurama sprinted away from the oncoming footsteps.

This was a foolish idea, diverting from the plan. He would have been better off killing the six demons himself. But instead, Kurama had extra dead weight on his shoulder and one free hand to defend himself with. This was a foolish idea, throwing all of his heist priorities out of order. And for what? An unconscious, dying nuisance of a girl that he actively hated? Several guards appeared on Kurama's planned escape route. He had incapacitated the same level of guards on his way in, but the task was a bit more challenging with one arm. Still, the Death Plant was hungry and vicious, snagging guards by their necks and ripping through flesh just to get the taste of blood. It was messy, conspicuous, and absolutely nothing like how Kurama planned this heist to go. A voice in the back of his mind kept telling him to drop the nuisance on the ground and leave; this dying girl wasn't worth so much effort, nor did she deserve his help. Leaving her here would get her out of his life forever.

Kurama escaped Houka's mansion, with a sack of rare items and a nuisance in tow.

He had a hideout in mind, a faraway place where he would wait until the guards lost his trail completely. However, Kurama's plans were shattered the moment he picked Miwa off the ground, and he was forced to hide in a damp cave he happened to spot while canvassing the area. As much as he hated to admit it, Kurama just could not carry Miwa very far without being spotted by an irrelevant bystander. So, they hid deep in the cave where they could not be seen from outside. Once he felt safe, at least for the time being, he propped Miwa's body to sit against the cave wall; her comfort wasn't exactly a part of this new improvised path. As a precaution, he used the Death Plant to bind her wrists and ankles, looking a little redundant next to the metal shackles that Kurama did not bother removing.

It was quiet in that cave, and the hours passed by slowly and silently. The only sound Kurama dared to emit was an occasional rattle as he ensured the items in his sack were not damaged in the journey here. Miwa's light breathing barely made any sound at all, but even though her energy was so low, she was undoubtedly alive. Admittedly, Kurama was impressed. Her tenacity even managed to keep her from dying; he had thought several times on their way here that he was carrying a corpse on his shoulder. But she persisted, like the stubborn nuisance she was, and Miwa managed to survive...whatever she did back at the mansion.

That's why he saved her, Kurama told himself. The technique she used to immobilize those demons, to drag them across the floor like a puppet master, and to rip the very moisture from their skin… Kurama had to know what that was. He had a strong feeling that it was related to Miwa tracking him all across Demon World.

It took nearly two days for her to wake up.

Kurama almost didn't notice she was awake. Her eyelids twitched and scrunched before slowly opening. Her pupils surely were adjusted to the darkness, but with the way she kept turning her head, it was clear she could not see through the dark as well as Kurama could. He heard her breathe in deeply before turning sharply in his direction, as if she picked up his scent. He heard the Death Plant quietly screech as Miwa shuffled around, and she hissed when the vines cut into her skin, and it screeched again as the iron scent of blood filled the air. However, even in the darkness, Miwa stared fixedly at Kurama. He had the impression that she was more surprised to see him there than the fact that her wrists and ankles were bound.

"I'm alive…" Miwa whispered, more to herself than anything.

"You expected to die out there?" Kurama asked.

"...Either die or be imprisoned again." She shifted, earning another bite from the Death Plant, but Miwa didn't even wince. "I did not expect to see you if I survived..."

Kurama paused before responding; he didn't expect that either. "...You will tell me what happened back there," he ordered, "Or, my Death Plant will do more than break your skin."

Miwa glanced down at her wrists and wrinkled her nose at the bloody scent. "...Houka suspected me right from the start," she answered, surprisingly obedient even in this situation, "I've kept up this 'consultant' charade for too long, and he was suspicious that I was often around during your heists. He hired those six demons under absolute secrecy, even from me, and they locked me up when I reported you were in the area."

She moved her wrists, dragging the chains across her lap. That explained a few things, particularly how those demons showed up without Kurama ever knowing about them. They were waiting for him to infiltrate since they caught his ridiculous tracker. Kurama was lucky her foolish charade didn't get him killed.

"I escaped once they turned their focus on you," Miwa continued, "but I had to keep them from finding you. It was my fault they were there at all."

She said something similar back at the vault. "You took control of their hands," Kurama said, "and pulled the moisture from their skin."

Miwa smiled faintly to herself. "It's called 'Extraction,'" she said, "I directly controlled the water in their bodies, and...moved it according to my will."

"Nearly at the cost of your life."

"...It's not a common technique anymore. I might be the only one who can perform it."

Kurama wasn't particularly knowledgeable about Water Apparitions; they generally kept to themselves as they travelled like a circus troupe, but he had never heard of them training for combat, let alone manipulating the fluids of another living thing. "And that's how you tracked me," Kurama reasoned, "You took command of water in my body, too." That was why he could sense her energy following him around, even if her scent were far away. It was why that trace vanished when she lost consciousness, quickly approaching death. It was even why she was so tired at the island cave; she probably needed to be conscious, or at least partially, to maintain the trace.

Miwa chucked, but she was so weak that it sounded more like a cough. "You can relax. The trace is gone," she said, "I don't have the strength now to create another one."

Finally, Kurama learned everything he needed to from her, and he didn't even resort to torture to do it. The trace was gone, and no one else would be able to find him using the same method. He could kill her, right here, while she was weak and vulnerable, and go on with his life. The nuisance would never appear with her unwanted help again. Her foolish charade would never again disrupt a heist.

"...I know you want to kill me," Miwa said, leaning her head back against the cave wall. "I wanted to be useful, but in the end, I'm worse than a disposable pawn. ...I hope that I have at least proved my sincerity to you..."

The Death Plant wiggled around her wrists and ankles, drawing some more blood, but Miwa didn't care. She just closed her eyes, waiting patiently for death. She had accepted it as a consequence of their meeting a long time ago. This stupid girl, who had no other purpose in her life but to be useful to a thief, nearly killed herself to amend a mistake.

"...You said that your life belongs to me," Kurama said, slowly holding up his hand. The Death Plant wiggled again, responding to his Demon Energy. "Then, I shall take it."

Miwa just smiled; eyes still closed.

The Death Plant twitched, and its grip around Miwa's limbs loosened. Blood dribbled from the cuts it left behind, and the roots picked up any drop it could as it moved. But the Death Plant didn't kill Miwa. It released her. The vines unraveled themselves from her wrists and ankles and lay harmless on the ground once she was completely free. Miwa opened her eyes and stared at her wrists, confused, and pulled them apart, just to make sure it wasn't an illusion.

"As long as your life is in my possession," said Kurama, "I will use it, and that technique of yours, in any means I find necessary." Then, as a final gesture, the Death Plant raised its vines one last time and sliced through the metal cuffs around Miwa's wrists and ankles. Kurama narrowed his eyes. "Killing you right now would be a waste, but I will if you are no longer useful."

It took a moment for Miwa to realize that she wasn't going to die. Not right then, at least. But when it finally sunk in, she smiled again; the odd, genuine smile that used to annoy him. Then, she replied, "My only intention is to be useful to you."

"...Very well."

A couple hours later, Miwa was able to walk on her own. It wasn't a balanced, stable walk by any means, and she stumbled several times, but Kurama didn't want to carry her out of there. Luckily, the security from Houka's mansion was no longer in the immediate area. They had given up in the two days Kurama and Miwa hid in that cave. He was also thankful that, despite her imbalance, Miwa's footsteps were silent; he would have killed her without hesitation if she wasn't competent enough to keep herself hidden. But she didn't make a nuisance of herself this time. Miwa was silent as she walked, and she didn't ask where they were going, or why he let her live. She just followed him, unquestioningly, to a place that should be unknown to her.

...What a strange, reckless girl he decided to pick up, but it was the beginning of a long-standing partnership.

It didn't take long for word to spread of the tracker joining forces with Youko Kurama, and Miwa wasted no time in making herself useful. When asked, she immediately explained the mechanics of her strange technique in full, explicit detail. She called it Kisuinou, a set of skills developed by the mizuchi, whom Kurama thought were extinct, but Miwa explained they had simply changed their names to hide. The most infamous use of those skills is the same one Kurama saw in Houka's basement. Using her own Life Energy, Miwa commands the water inside another living thing, giving her a considerable amount of physical control. It was a skill Kurama had never heard of, but having it on his side became a huge advantage for him. Of course, the caveat was the risk to her own life, but Miwa never hesitated to use it whenever Kurama ordered her to, or if it was simply advantageous to them. Furthermore, Miwa's tracking skills turned into a powerful information-gathering resource; Kurama barely had to do any of it himself. It was nice to see the skills used to follow him around became tools he could use. Miwa told him that she figured out most of her tricks when she was trying to find him, but before all that, she used to be an assistant historian, and a lot of the research practices easily carried over. Kurama asked her why she no longer travelled with the rest of the Water Apparitions, but she simply answered they didn't like how she delved into mizuchi techniques. Kurama had a feeling there was more to it than that, but he didn't really care to ask. No matter what she said, Miwa's fighting form still looked as if she were dancing.

And Miwa never complained; not once. No matter what insane tasks Kurama had for her, she accepted her mission with that sincere, genuine smile. Every single time.

She gathered intelligence from the seediest underbellies of Demon World. She went undercover in shady businesses to steal secrets from the inside. She went days without proper sleep to track a moving target with her small water droplet. She intentionally injured herself to pose as a weak, helpless girl, just to become a distraction. She used her own body to defend Kurama from surprise attacks if her water was insufficient. And, whenever it was necessary, she would use Kisuinou to manipulate demons in their way. If he ever needed something, she didn't stop until he had it. Miwa swore her life to Kurama, to serve and protect him until she died, and from the moment Kurama decided to take her life, she did everything in her power to remain useful to him, and Kurama could never say that she wasn't. After working alone for so long, he had nearly forgotten what it was like to work with another person, but her unyielding loyalty and obedience were nearly as valuable as her unique skill set, and unlike anyone Kurama had ever worked with. They worked together for decades, long enough for her presence to feel natural to him, and long enough for Kurama to eventually rely on her.

Then...they were separated across different dimensions.

No matter how much Kurama thought over what happened that day, he could never pinpoint what exactly went wrong. They were ambushed as they escaped from the facility they infiltrated, and the appearance of Spirit World lackeys was a surprise to them both. Was there something wrong with Miwa's information source? Did Kurama underestimate Spirit World's ability to harm him? He may never know the answer, and in the end, they were forced to split up. Miwa bound the hunters' feet with Kisuinou, giving Kurama a chance to escape alone, but ultimately, they were outnumbered, and Kurama was severely injured. Injured, separated, yet not without a plan.

His escape to the Human World and the merger with a soulless human fetus were, admittedly, never an escape route he and Miwa had prepared in advance. It was Kurama's frantic effort to save his own life by any means necessary, despite reducing himself to a weak human body for ten years. His demon powers would return, slowly strengthening that weak body until it was no longer fully human, but it would be nothing like the power he held as Youko Kurama. This way, he could escape Spirit World's radar without a trace, but returning to Demon World in that form would be dangerous. He would need Miwa. Kurama had no doubt that, if she survived Spirit World's ambush - and he was certain she did - she would find him even if it meant moving literal mountains. Kurama would be weaker, trapped in a body that was partly human, and he would need a useful, trusted ally. All he had to do was wait out ten years in the body of a human child.

That was his plan, his perfect method of escape...until Shiori Minamino scarred her arms to save her child, throwing everything Kurama knew into flux.

The blood...her smile...the selfless haste to save her child…and the scars it left behind. Those images never left his mind, jumping to the forefront every time he tried to leave that house, even after ten years passed in that child's body. That human woman had no idea what kind of son she was raising, nor what her son actually thought of her. She didn't know why her son was so calm and mature, or so cold and aloof with even children his own age. She didn't understand him at all, yet she threw herself between her son and the broken ceramic shards on the ground to save him from harm. There was no oath to be useful to him, no sense of gratitude that must be repaid. Just...sentiment. The bond between a mother and her son. A value held in high regard among humans...and now in Kurama himself. Maybe the human body he merged with infected his demon mindset. Maybe ten years was too long for a demon to pretend he was human without adopting some of their ways. ...Or maybe he just couldn't abandon the fragile woman who loved him unconditionally.

Kurama's plan fell apart that day; he became a son who loved his mother, and he wouldn't leave her.

But, what about Miwa? Deep down, Kurama knew she was looking for him; it was a crucial part of his original plan. Yet, a part of him wondered what she would do if she genuinely believed him dead. That reckless girl could go and find purpose somewhere else, for herself, unbound by a small point in their shared history which Kurama didn't even remember. Her life wouldn't belong to him anymore. She would be free to do anything she wanted. She could do it; Kurama knew more than anyone how capable she was. None of this was part of Kurama's plans, not for himself nor for her. But all things considered, it wasn't too bad of an ending for a plan that fell apart like it did.

However, Miwa soon appeared before him as Himari Shimizu, slithering her way into his life without anyone asking her to, like the nuisance she always was.

Kurama was impressed that she recognized him so quickly. He was nothing like the spirit fox she met all those years ago. He'd gone soft; of that, he was well aware. He was weaker and more...human. It made him feel embarrassed, at first, to have changed so much. Despite that, Miwa was just as devoted as ever, continuing everything she swore to him, even in a world as simple as one populated by humans. Her start was, admittedly, quite rough, like culture shock in its most visible form. Humans weren't accustomed to a teenage girl following a teenage boy like she did, declaring this and that about an oath she swore to serve and protect him. Humans don't leap from their third-floor balcony and land on their feet completely unharmed just because they were late for school that morning. They don't threaten someone hostile by opening a water bottle with a completely serious look on their face. And it's unusual when a teenager doesn't know the rules of common childhood games like Rock Paper Scissors. But still, Kurama thought she was amazing. With all that had changed in him, and with all she changed about herself to find him, Miwa remained exactly the same. Her genuine smile never faded.

Miwa had a rocky start, and their dynamic changed a lot to accommodate human social customs. They were friends now. They walked together to navigate the unfamiliar Human World. They walked together through the rumors spread about them, through the cultural landmarks of human life, and through a simpler lifestyle with far less fighting, stealing, or killing than their time as thieves. Miwa was there, at his side, with that genuine, sincere smile no matter what they did. She was there when Shiori fell ill. She was there when Hiei brought them back to a life of crime. She was there when they met Yusuke Urameshi.

And, somewhere in all of that, Kurama realized he loved her.

He didn't know when it began, but Kurama did remember when he noticed something had changed in him. It wasn't during their time as thieves; he genuinely considered her a useful nuisance back then. It wasn't when they reunited in the Human World either, when their dynamic drastically changed in a way he did not hate. It wasn't even when he noticed her growing attraction to Hiei; he actively supported her developing deeper relationships with other people. Instead, it was during the Dark Tournament, in the times he faced imminent death. Kurama nearly died in his fights against Touya and Karasu, and both times, he found himself looking back at her before implementing his final attack. Why did he do that? For all his careful plans or his ability to remain calm under pressure, he wasted precious milliseconds just to look at her face, possibly costing him a loss. Yet, he had to see her; his one last chance to see the face that showed him the genuine, sincere smile so many times. And when Miwa herself nearly died fighting Rikiji, there was no point in Kurama deluding himself any longer.

He never would have been capable of feeling this way without his life as Shuichi Minamino. Becoming a boy who loved his mother allowed him to love other people. They didn't have to be useful allies in achieving his goals, right hands at his side during a heist, or even partners to whom he entrusted his life. He learned to love people just for who they were, regardless of what they could do for him. His mother, his stepfamily, his classmates, and even people he had never met. Youko Kurama, who once tried to kill his own friend as punishment for his recklessness, could never have found reasons to love and care for them all. As Shuichi, he learned to love Miwa the same way, to look beyond what made her useful to him. Her smile, her sincerity, her selflessness, and even the smaller, mundane acts, like how she pouted when complaining about history tests, her grin when she playfully dribbled a basketball past Taichi Tsutsumi, or the way she jabbed her finger into Kurama's shoulder whenever he teased her. Despite how she was once a stubborn nuisance, Miwa became someone very special to him. Precious and irreplaceable, not because of her unyielding loyalty or obedience, but just by virtue of always being herself.

...Which was why her oath loomed over him more than anything else.

"You stole my reason for living, so now my life belongs to you…"

"My only intention is to be useful to you…"

He wasn't the same Youko Kurama she met all those years ago, even though recently he felt dangerously close to that line. And thanks to Shirai, Kurama now knew he wasn't the one who stole Miwa's reason for living. If not for that one little lie, they would likely have never even met, so he couldn't use her oath to keep her at his side anymore. The guilt was as powerful as his desire to make her stay, but he couldn't take more of her life than he already had. It was time Miwa took it back, to find a new reason to live, for herself. Kurama didn't need her to stay with him, to know how he felt, or to even reciprocate his feelings. He didn't even mind if that genuine, sincere smile eventually belonged to someone else. There were more important things than his own selfish wishes.

No. Kurama could never tell her, no matter which side of the line he chose to stand on. The cycle needed to end, even if he can't be honest with her when he finally takes his last look at her face.

If Miwa was free, out living a life for herself, then he could live with that.

{00}

Kurama heard the mobile phone ringing before he opened the door to his room. Betraying everything he thought about since speaking with Shirai, Kurama dashed into the room with a little too much enthusiasm, locked the door behind him, and dug through his belongings for the device. Four rings. If it rang one more time, she would-

"Hello?"

"Hey," said her voice, a bit quiet through the receiver. "Is now a good time?" Miwa always spoke quietly on the phone. Kurama was never sure if it was meant to hide their conversation from people around her or from Yomi's extremely sensitive ears.

"Yes, I just got back from a meeting."

There was a pause. "With Shirai?"

"...He asked how you were. I told him the truth."

She sighed. "Why does he bother? No doubt that guy has people following me anyway."

Kurama chuckled lightly. "He's probably trying to see if I know more."

"...I wonder if killing them would make me a traitor to Gandara."

"You would just bring more attention to yourself out there."

There was a groan. "Don't even get me started on that. At least I don't have the scent of humans on me anymore."

Miwa had complained about that for the first month of her journey. Unlike Kurama's own, Miwa's body was still fully demon and did not produce a human scent, but her human life made it stick to her like a strong perfume. She reported this to him as a sign of her safety, since demons used to mistake her for a human by scent alone, but Kurama didn't tell her how it made her seem farther away as the scent of Himari Shimizu's home disappeared.

"...How are you?" he asked instead.

"Well," she said slowly, "I made it to Mukuro's territory a couple days ago, so Shirai's agents probably can't follow me anymore. It's bad enough that I'm here. If I keep my head down and hurry, I should get to where Fuura lives in a few days. Maybe more."

"That's great," Kurama said, feeling himself smile. "And you haven't been stopped by anyone?"

"...There was a bit of a rough patch when I got here. Someone recognized me from the stupid Dark Tournament coverage," she explained, and in her tone, Kurama could easily picture her pouting, and he smiled again.

"But you're alright?"

"Yeah. More than alright, I guess." The excitement in her voice rose. She was undoubtedly smiling now, too. "Hiei is here."

A weight seemed to drop in Kurama's stomach. There was no stopping it, but he had to ignore it and force a sense of relief to follow. He wanted this for her. He wanted her to go, to be in a place where he could never take her life again. Kurama repeated it to himself like a mantra. He'd been alone before, and he was alone now, in Gandara. Kurama knew he would be okay, and they both knew they didn't need each other to survive this place.

"Really? That's unexpected." Kurama was speaking, and it felt like an automated response he prepared in advance.

"I too thought I was doing what was best," Shirai had told him, "but in the end, I didn't say everything I wanted to tell her, and then she was gone."

He ignored it. They both knew the cycle between them must end.

"Yeah," Miwa said, unaware of his hesitation, "I was surprised, too..."

The rain continued to patter against the window, dribbling down like meandering streams, merging and diverging to create their own paths across the glass, mapping their course in shadows cast on the ground and off to a place Kurama could no longer see.

---

Notes: The long-awaited story of how they met! This arc has quite a few flashbacks, but I do love exploring the past in the context of the present. Finally, this story is turning to the romantic side of its genre, and I really enjoyed writing Kurama's part in it. In the next chapter, we'll see what Miwa is up to, and why Hiei suddenly showed up.