Raised

Chapter Nine

Piper clenched onto Yomi's arms, fingernails digging into his jacket, as she held her breath. Her heart skipped a beat as a sensation like none other hit her. Not the kind of skip which happens when one sees a loved one. An actual skip; like the kind that some people die from under the wrong (or right) circumstances. Thankfully her life continued going on though the sensation did leave her chest with lingering pain. It was as though the beat the woman's heart picked back up on had been given super strength to smash into her rib cage. Sadly that meant that when Piper regained the ability to breathe it really was at the wrong time.

Water flooded her mouth in the last moment before the two of you broke the surface to the small pond the portal had lead to. With that water came at least one bug, of that she was sure. Piper did her best to avoid spitting it back out in Yomi's face as they finally broke the surface of the water. The area above the water was dark and the temperature mild. It was hard to see beyond a foot in front of her face given that it still seemed to be late at night and she seemed to be in an area of dense foliage.

Despite the fact that she was back in the human world, Piper was still exhausted and weak after her stay in demon world. The sensation of complete exhaustion was only aggravated by the fact that she'd sucked in a mouthful of dubiously clean water as well as had her heart skip a beat. Even with her exhausted, practically numb, body she forced herself to swim to shore. Just like desire she wouldn't let exhaustion rule her body when her mind had other plans; not until the point where she literally couldn't push herself farther. Thankfully the seemingly young woman had enough left in her to get to shore and start to squeeze out the pale clothing she had on. This was perhaps one of the few times she was glad that Yomi had lost his sight since re-meeting him. Even though it was a special blend of fabric, white still had the tendency to show indecencies when it wetly clung to a waterlogged body.

"I see one of your fears had been grounded in truth," Yomi comically spoke up as he stood on the bank.

Piper cast her gaze over in his direction. Though honestly it was more of a shot in the dark than anything based on the sound of his voice. It was really dark outside.

"Though if you had drowned from a shallow pond such as that, I believe I overestimated you."

"Anything is possible," she reminded him as she continued to ring out her clothes.

Though the weather was mild it would still be best to be dry. Staying waterlogged invited trouble. Not to mention once Yomi returned to his son, Piper would have to face any sort of predation that the area had to offer alone. Fire tended to be a human's best friend (next to a sharp weapon and knowledge how to use it) during times of natural predation. Against most other demons or such creature fire was practically useless.

"I suppose it is," Yomi agreed.

She busied herself between collecting sticks and continuously wringing out her clothes. Yomi stayed nearby, his breathing just about the only steady thing in the area. Goodness knows that hers was not. Piper still had a bit of a wheeze like a horse had kicked her in the ribs. But she made due with her own frailty and got a fire going without any assistance. Considering that the wood was still green and half of it was growing moss that was a rather large accomplishment for the moment. Especially when the bruises that Yomi had given her the night prior hindered her movements; they were minor bruises, really, but they seemed to have formed in the most inopportune spots.

"I didn't know that you were so well versed at surviving outside," Yomi mused.

The medium kicked back and soaked in the warmth of the fire. "I did not always live in the pampered state you often saw. If I did not know how to survive in nature, I would have never survived at all."

"I understand."

There was silence between the two of them. Piper mildly wondered what held Yomi back from returning to his son. One part of her figured that he was attempting to ensure that she was good to her word - that she had an intention of returning. Another part of Piper wondered if he was waiting for something else to happen. No doubt her presence in human world was driving spirit world crazy. Enma was probably upstairs raging and taking it out on all of his servants. She hoped the bastard choked on his own rage and fear. Let him be afraid of what she planned to do for a while. Fear and anticipation only made things sweeter.

"You said that he was dead," the brunette whispered to Yomi.

"I said that he was gone," Yomi replied.

Piper closed her amethyst eyes as she leaned her head against the side of her arm. The empty space beside her was a reminder of how much she didn't have at the moment, and it was kind of pathetic. The resting woman wasn't the kind of person who liked to get hung up on emotional things. She always advised others to do the logical things. But every so often her heart decided to throw in some very ironic or cliche feelings into the mix just to remind her that she was still human. It was almost too easy to forget that otherwise.

"I do not understand. Someone is dead or they are not. How can he be gone if he is alive?

Piper's hands went to the pendant around her neck. The jewel felt cooler to her now that she was in human world than it had it demon world. The power which swirled around inside felt thicker, somehow, more weighed down. It moved slower like honey which had been left on the table during the winter months. In the moment that her hand went to the bobble, she realized something. Kuronue was both dead and not dead because of the pedant.

"A soul transference," Piper murmured to herself as she realized that was the answer.

"Correct," Yomi finally answered. "Kurama died once and moved on through a human life."

"It sounds like you've crossed paths once again," she pointed out.

"We interacted a few years ago."

"Pleasantly?" Piper asked

There was a thin smile on his face but she couldn't sense any change in his attitude. Considering the good will that he'd been exuding since she woke up in your old home, the air of neutrality was more telling to her than any words he could have sown together. It had been mixed and somehow their meeting had some strategic value to him. One that, judging by his silence, was to be used either against her or in contingency because of her. Still there was a sort of comfort in knowing that it couldn't have been all bad. The reborn version of him was still alive. The pain in Piper's chest and lack of breath proved that. She could feel her life energy reaching out and forming a bridge. But there was so much distance between the two of them that it would take time. And given that he'd transplanted his soul into another body there was always the chance that the connection would never fully form or be as strong as before.

"You son awaits," Piper told Yomi after a few minutes of contemplative silence.

He looked down at her, or rather tilted his head down in her general direction seeing as he was actually still blind. "I would be remiss if I left you unattended while you're still in a weakened state."

The medium smiled despite herself, the look verging on tender. "Careful Yomi. More comments like that and someone's bound to believe you care."

"And here I thought humans were reassured by the idea that someone cares for them," he quipped.

Piper shrugged lightly as she reached around her. There were plenty of edible green plants in the area if someone knew what to look for. Even with only the fire to light her area she still had a good idea of what was around. And while the edible fiddleheads that she could grab at might not provide as much sustenance as any wild tubers in the area, they were a lot easier to grab. Which meant that she didn't have to get up. It might not have been the most appealing meal but energy was energy.

Yomi made no comment on her munching down on the surrounding edible vegetation that she could reach. It was in his silence that she was left to think. Why was he so intent on seeing her alive and relatively happy? Sure what she had told Shura was true (Piper was more useful than appearances would let on) but it barely justified the lengths he went. He must have had an ulterior motive that she had yet to uncover.

The pain in her chest heightened to a record state that stopped her breath once more. Piper clenched at her heart as she doubled over, sweat instantly accumulating on her brow. The woman could practically feel herself give up the ghost in the unique way she'd done millennium ago. It wasn't that she was dying so much as that the majority of her soul was moving to establish the connection. A connection that was already healing, regardless. It was almost like a force that she couldn't control and had she been a young medium, Piper probably wouldn't have been able to control it. As it was, she pulled her soul back by sheer will with gritted teeth as she dug her nails into the soft earth underneath her. Even with the effort a little piece escaped and zipped through the air…

For about twenty-five feet. Though Yomi had made no other move, Kurama had gotten close enough for the fire to caste his skin into a large shadow. Piper wouldn't have been able to see any coloration or anything, just enough of an outline to recognize that it was a person. And that person seemed to flinch when her spirit hit them full force in the chest. Even as she pulled it back in, sweat curving around her eye in pain and effort, Piper noticed that the figure got a lot larger than they originally were when they stood up. The fabric around them also created another shape than what they walked into the area with.

When he stepped forward she saw the figure that she knew exceedingly well - Youko Kurama. Despite the pain of pulling back her spirit Piper smiled, not with amusement but from a feeling of relief and affection. Though it became confused when he continued to move forward but in one step it was as an entirely different person. This one had red hair of a different style and texture, green eyes that were larger and set in a different face, and of a build that wasn't as tall nor as wide in the shoulders. That wasn't to say that he didn't have some similarities but it was mostly in the way he carried himself. Then there was undoubtedly the feel of him that washed over her skin as he got within the warm inner glow that the fire casted. The person in front of her must have been the body that Kurama had inhibited.

"Yomi," Kurama acknowledged.

"Kurama," Yomi replied in like.

His voice sounded similar. It was like the one she remembered but lighter, less 'I'm the only alpha here' sounding. And there was a softness in it even with the edge that showed a hint of affection. Though if that was a general outlook or for Yomi himself, Piper couldn't yet be sure. Not without having more time to put the information together.

"Piper," Kurama spoke out in the same introductory like tone.

The millennia old medium stood up and this time offered him a smile in amusement. "I knew you liked the sound of your name too much."

Of course that was in entirely different circumstances. It was more amusing to watch the look of admonishment appear in the creasing of his eyes than anything. It wasn't like she was going to become an incredibly vocal person and aust him on anything of importance; he knew that. Which was probably why the tone he used next was still of the casual variety.

"I'm afraid this more of a business call. Thank you for bringing her back to Human World, Yomi, but I believe I can handle it from here."

"I doubt that," Yomi said with a hint of good natured rivalry. "But I do have other business to attend back in Demon World. So this will be good bye."

"Only for a little while," Piper assured him.

She was a woman of her word after all. Even if Kurama's gaze landed on her questioningly, and soon to be extremely judgemental no doubt, Piper wasn't going to go back on her word. She promised Yomi that she'd return to Demon World when she regained all her health. Piper didn't, however, say for how long and for what purposes she'd return.

As Yomi started to walk away, the redhead version of Kurama spoke back up. "It's been awhile since you've seen Nepal, hasn't it?"

"So that is where this is," Piper mused. "I hardly recognized the place without the Sword of Wisdom in your hand."

His smile was almost sheepish. Strange. Very strange. "Yes, well, seven hundred years is likely to make one have difficulty recognizing an area. Especially when you're in the middle of it. You're inability to recognize where you emerged from is understandable. You are, after all, only human."

"Now so are you," she pointed out with a dry humor. "Interesting story I take it?"

"Borne of a clumsy mistake I assure you," he spoke out as he shifted into a more serious posture and tone. "That is not what I came to talk about."

"I know. You mentioned something about business?" Piper spoke out as a prompt.

After learning how good Yomi's hearing was for herself, she understood why Kurama was being so formal. Yomi knew about the connection between the two of them. He had undoubtedly still had mixed feelings about Kurama which were well earned no doubt. If he learned anything more than it was likely to have the ability to be used as fodder against him most likely. Though she wouldn't be surprised if Yomi turned something against her either. He'd seemingly gotten quite calculating in his old (hah!) age.

"Indeed. There are many important things that you and I need to discuss. You, however, do not look ready to have such a discussion."

"Staying in demon world without something to sift through all of the poisons will do that to a girl," Piper said in an idle tone as she took her seat once more.

After everything that had gone on, Piper barely had enough energy to stand. If she had tried walking she knew it would have showed exactly the toll she had taken on her body. Not to mention the bruising on her hips which made walking a painful activity.

"Why did you not return sooner?" There was a calculated look about him, though as he moved in closer she could see the concern marginally touch his eyes just as she expected there to have been.

"I awoke to a world five hundred years changed. Demon World was so different that it was hard to grasp even the basics. I could barely fathom how much human world must have changed in my time apart."

"And where does Yomi come into play with this?" Kurama asked as he knelt down.

"As a teacher and friend. While I tried to accumulate as much knowledge about the basic forms of change in language for the region as well as life facts and major historical events, he sheltered me and provided tutoring," Piper spoke out calmly.

"I see. Did you not believe I would do the same?"

"I believed that you were dead. Until about half an hour ago, I did not realize what must have occurred."

He frowned, "A lesson Yomi neglected?"

"A truth Yomi may have disguised for his own benefit," she amended. He had never actually lied to her, but saying that he told the truth would have been stretching it as well. Then the question burst forth, "Did you know he's a father?"

Kurama smiled almost indulgently as he nodded. "Yes. He has been for a handful of years now."

"But he's a father," she stressed.

This time Kurama laughed. It was short and gentle but it was still born of amusement over the incredulous look on her face. Piper rolled her eyes and tapped his nose with her finger out of habit. A fact which didn't phase the redhead avatar in the least.

"Can you walk?" Kurama asked rather than make the assumption.

With a sigh she shook her head in a negative fashion. "I need some rest. Thankfully we landed in a forested area rather than a city. The I have been told that the air quality there is not ideal for healing. Is it true that buildings now dwarf the great redwoods?"

He nodded. "Not all cities have buildings of such heights, but yes they do exist. And they no longer are thought to symbolize reaching to a culture's deity."

"So it is all ego then," Piper remarked lightly. "By men?"

"Mostly. But that way of thinking also has been classified."

"As what?" The medium asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sexist. A topic which varies depending on where you go in the world. The North American territories are quite obsessed with it. For now, though, it's a topic that can wait. I have one that can not."

"Now you have me curious," she responded as she relaxed back into the mossy tree.

"Spirit World."