Raised

Chapter Eight

The medium stood at the precipice between human and demon world. In this case it was quite literally; Piper was standing on a small cliff. Below her was a bit of a distortion. A ripple between worlds really. It was what she was used to seeing, what she was actually pretty good at spotting. In fact, even Yomi with all his advanced senses hadn't sended this ripple before her. Piper supposed that was because of her innate connection to fields of energy so it really wasn't his fault. And normally she'd have no issue stepping right through it. The only issue was that, again, she was quite literally at the precipice. So not only was she torn between staying somewhere at least a little familiar, despite the fact that it could quite literally kill her, Piper had to deal with the fact that the closest way back to human world could possibly be dangerous. Who knew where she'd end up if she jumped down without looking. There was a good chance she'd turn up at the bottom of a lake or on the edge of a cliff. Either way would not be good. Despite all the things that the woman could do, her bones still broke if she fell from too high or her lungs still collapsed if she didn't have air to fill them.

"What are you doing?"

Piper turned around to look at Shura. He really was the spitting image of his father - or at least what she'd imagine Yomi would have looked like as a child. Piper had really only met him when he was already an adult, a young one but still considered an adult.

"I'm debating on the chance of my death if I jump through this opening between worlds."

Shura scuffed. "You'll die if you stay. You know that right? You already look like you're going to pass out and you're just standing here."

He wasn't saying anything that was untrue. She did feel dizzy and feverish. With all of the poisoned air about, at least as far as a human body was concerned, Piper had overstayed her welcome quite a bit. It wasn't like the old days where she had a way to combat the effects. As far as she knew that was completely gone now and she had little hope of being able to stay in Demon World for any long periods of time. But seriously...if she jumped into that rift she might end up hundreds of feet above the ground.

"What are you so afraid of?" Shura asked.

"That I will fall to my death if I go in," the brunette answered honestly. "Or drown."

He stared at the seemingly young woman for a moment, sizing her up. Then he sighed and shook his head. "Why does father even want to keep you around? I mean, you're just a frail human woman. What's so good about you?"

This time it was her turn to seize him up. Piper could see the slight waver in his eye and the stiffness of his shoulders as he stood before her. There was an uncertainty to the way he held his hands mixed with frustration. Was that some sort of jealousy swirling in his eyes? No, not jealousy exactly but something moderately close to it.

"I have unique abilities among human and demon kind alike," she answered in a neutral tone. "As a medium, I have the ability to channel any and all sources of spiritual or demonic energy for my own purposes. In that way I can be quite useful. More so in Demon World than in human world. I also have a different perspective given that I've been alive for thousands of years."

He seemed to stop at that. "What?"

"Granted I was put into a deep sleep by Enma and the rest of Spirit World for the last five hundred years but yes, I've been alive quite a while. Nearing three thousand I do believe."

"What? But you're human! You barely look older than me."

That was only partially true. Shura looked around the age of thirteen while Piper knew she appeared to be a mature woman. Maybe around the age of twenty-four or so. Then again, she'd sometimes been taken as younger than that - sometimes even as young as sixteen. Age really was in the eye of the beholder.

"And I've had a very interesting life," Piper commented in a whisper with a wry smile.

"How are you still alive?" Shura demanded.

The three thousand year old medium knew that time was coming to a close. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Yomi was also approaching and she was sure that there was going to be a lot of judgement coming at her for not already leaving. He might not say it aloud but Piper knew that her hesitation might have been mistaken as cowardice. And really, who could argue with that? She was, after all, quite afraid that if she jumped in without knowing more of the variables that she'd end up dead.

"That's a story for another day."

Shura stepped in front of her, getting closer. "No, I want to know now."

"We don't always get what we want," Piper informed him softly.

In this moment, staring down at him even if it was just barely, he never looked more like the Yomi she remembered. There was a fire in his eyes that couldn't be quenched. A headstrong current that was about to pull her under. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the appearance of his father. Yomi was dressed to impress it seemed. He had on a tighter fitting black shirt with a gray-blue jacket over it. Though the construction of such garments was really quite shocking to her, Piper had a feeling that it wasn't that out of character for him. He wore it well, like the jacket was an old friend.

"That's enough Shura."

Shura tried to protest but the look that Yomi gave him was positively parental. It did well to quiet the headstrong boy down. Though the look in Shura's rose colored eyes didn't diminish in the least he backed away from Piper once more.

"Let's go, Piper," Yomi spoke in a casual tone as he held out his hand.

Piper looked at the offered appendage even as she slipped her hand into his. There was little doubt in her mind that he had heard the conversation between her and his son. A lot of different beings would have been able to hear such a thing at the range he'd been approaching from. And while Piper had taken into account that her chance of survival dramatically rose if Yomi went through with her, she hadn't thought he'd want to put himself in potential danger to do that.

"I'll send your father back to you as soon as I can," she assured Shura, summing as much breath as she could so it sounded stronger than she felt.

The look in his face was skeptical but a small tense area by his eyebrows did relax. He shifted in his position as he stared up at Piper before nodding in acceptance of her words. Yomi on the other hand looked positively amused. There was a lighthearted air about him that seemed almost jovial. With the moderately happy aura about him, Yomi pulled her in closer to him and stepped back right over the edge of the cliff.


Kurama woke from a dead sleep. He lay in bed, feeling quite winded. It was like a pile of bricks had been laid on his chest without any warning. The longer he stayed awake the heavier the pile got. It felt like someone was trying to build a bridge brick by brick, totally forgetting that there were lighter and less fragile materials to use now. Yet the pressure on his chest also had a pleasant sensation. Warmth spread through his entire body. He felt tingles run from his fingers to his toes as an elated sensation pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

As he sat up, the redhead wasn't sure if he wanted to smile or frown. The pain and pleasure he was experiencing meant only one thing. Piper had come back to the human world; that must have been close enough for the spirit bond to start reforming. While that was a lot for him to consider, he knew he would have to do something else first. And that was make good on his promise to speak with Piper on behalf of Spirit World to make sure that she wasn't going to take revenge against them for what they'd done.

Kurama turned the digital clock towards him so he could check the exact time. He knew that it was before the sun rose but he didn't know the exact time. Once the green lights illuminated his face he was able to see that it was five in the morning. Only thirty minutes before he had to get up and start his daily routine to get ready for work.

As he moved his legs off of his bed, Kurama paused a moment to consider a lot of other variables. He knew that speaking with her was going to be of the utmost priority but he also had to be prepared for the fact that Piper been asleep for five hundred years. A lot of modern concepts and ways of life would be lost on her. He needed to prioritize which ones to help explain in order to soften the blow that had been dealt. He wasn't exactly sure how successful he'd be in softening the blow but he knew he needed to at least try. After all, when something hurt less someone was less likely to retaliate.

The former Spirit World employee (coerced or not) opened the communicator that he'd been entrusted with recently. It turned on near instantly and patched him through to one of the many grim reapers that Spirit World had employed.

"I need to speak with Prince Koenma."

And that was all he said before closing the device. Sometimes the best way to get things done was to allow for no rebuttal.