I just stood there, staring at my wrists, and waited. It didn't feel like something was going to happen but I knew better. The bracelets have been on me for two years, there has got to be some pent up demon energy in me somewhere. Sure enough, a few seconds later I began to feel a sudden painful tingling sensation run down my back.

Panic began to set in. What if I can't do this? What if I don't have the ability to control fire? What if I never have the ability to control fire? Panic quickly turned to pain, I could feel it in my chest. It was like someone heavy was sitting on me. That's when I began to think about Mukuro again. What business did she have inviting me to the Demon World Tournament? Did she want to flaunt the fact that she had beaten me somehow?

My panic soon changed into anger. All I could picture was this scared up woman laughing at me while I'm on the ground, unable to move. That's when I felt the pain turn into a comforting feeling. The painful tingle didn't hurt anymore, it actually felt like someone was dragging their fingertips down my back. It felt comforting.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As I did so I had an image flash through my mind. It didn't look or feel like I was imagining it myself. This looked so real somehow. I could see myself floating in the clearing. Suddenly I saw flames and waves burst out of my chest. At first they just danced around me, getting used to the idea of working together.

After they danced around together they twisted around me forming this cocoon. That's when I saw they had faces. Water, leaning her face into mine of the left, had her eyes closed and looked at peace. Fire, leaning into me on the right, was looking at me with a smirk on her face. She formed a hand and placed it on my chest. That's when I realized why I could handle my fire side now. I had a reason to fight. I don't want to be weak any more and I had to prove it. Who better to use than Mukuro herself.

When I opened my eyes again I saw that I was still just standing in the clearing. But there was something different now. I did a 360 and realized that most of the trees were burnt down. Did I do that? The trees started to spin around me suddenly. My whole body began to lose energy. I tried to take one step before everything went black and I started to fall to the ground.

Before I fell completely, I felt someone's arms go around me. I felt so weird. While I could hear everything clearly, I couldn't see and my body wasn't responding to what my brain was telling it to do. I tried to touch my face but my arm just stayed limb at my side. Whoever grabbed me slowly placed me on the ground. There was a pause which I used to try and get my body to respond. It didn't, but while I continued to try I could have sworn I felt someone run their fingers through my hair. It was so gentle that I thought I was imagining it.

For some reason I could feel my whole body relax while the fingers continued to run through my hair. As my body started to relax I was able to move my fingers. I took a deep breath as I heard someones voice in my head. Why would you take those bracelets off alone? You should have made sure someone was with you, to keep an eye on you. Have someone around to make sure you didn't hurt yourself. That voice was so familiar. I was finally able to open my eyes and for half a second I could have sworn Hiei was leaning over me. I blinked a couple times to try and focus my eyes but Hiei was gone. Was he even here to begin with?

I was able to get up with very little stumbling but I did still feel light headed. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt myself being watched. I quickly turned to my right and got into a defensive stance. That's when I realized that it was only Kurama and Kuwabara. They where standing at the edge of the tree lining, which was now a mile back.

"Is... is it safe?" I heard Kuwabara said.

They started to walk towards me so I started to walk towards them as well, meet them half way and all that. When we got close enough I could see Kurama smile at me.

"I see you're now able to control your fire side."

I smiled back at Kurama. "I guess you could say I found my inner anger."

Suddenly Yusuke arrived and looked a little out of breath. Hiei appeared out of no where soon after. Kurama and Yusuke looked at each other for second before Yusuke nodded. "They've been warned. Thankfully her fire didn't get too far. No one was around the clearing during her explosion."

I frowned at Yusuke and was about to ask what he was talking about but I suddenly felt demon energy behind me. It was getting close, and fast. Without thinking, I turned and got into a defensive stance again. Only this time my hands where engulfed with flames and waves, just like in my dreams.

"No wait," Yusuke said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I guess Kurama didn't tell you yet."

Ugh, what now? Just as I started to stand straight again, I saw some demons peak their heads into the clearing, but they stayed behind the trees. They looked a little worried, not threatening at all. What were they doing here? As I stared at them, I realized I could sense a lot of demon energy. Some of it was even miles back. Why couldn't I sense them before? What the hell is going on?!

"Here," Kurama said, holding out this mirror. Where did he get that from? "You're in your demon form. Take a look."

I looked over at Kurama before I slowly took the mirror. Please don't be ugly, please don't be ugly. I lifted the mirror in front of my face and was a little surprised with what I saw. My eyes were a different colour, one was a fiery red while the other was a deep ocean blue. My hair looked the same but it moved with the wind that I couldn't even feel. It looked like flames and waves at the same time. But that wasn't even the weirdest part. My skin looked... different. My complexion was so clear and... perfect that it looked so unnatural. It didn't look right at all.

As I felt myself go completely calm, I saw myself change back to normal. I'm going to have to learn out to control this. After I handed the mirror back to Kurama, I looked over at the demons again to see them backing away.

I nodded in their direction. "So, whats up with all the demons?"

I looked over at the guys and started to head back to the house. They walked with me but not before exchanging looks like they wanted to talk more about my demon side.

"A lot has changed since you've been gone," Yusuke said.

"I've noticed," I said, raising my eyebrow at him.

"Not just here on the compound. A lot has changed between the three worlds."

"Even Spirit World?" I asked with surprised.

He nodded as we continued to walk. "I guess you could say that a lot of people's true colours were revealed." I frowned at him. "Well, for starters, it turns out King Enma had been brainwashing demons from Demon World. He made them act out violently and look like the bad guys so Spirit World could appear like the 'good guys.' Koenma found out and overthrew him."

"Overthrew him?! No way."

"Yeah, who would have thought that little toddler was king material."

I laughed softly and shook my head at him. Somethings just never change, I see.

"Well, anyways," Yusuke continued. "Since everyone found out that the demons aren't as bad as we had originally thought, there's been a sense of peace between Human and Demon World." He gestured behind us, towards the clearing and the rest of Genkai's land. "Demon's have been living in Human World. Genkai had offered her land as a kind of safe haven.." I didn't know if I felt comfortable with that thought. "You have nothing to worry about. They're all harmless," he leaned into my ear to whisper, "kind of pathetic too." I bit back a laugh. "Those guys were probably checking out where your energy had come from. We all sensed it. It's intense."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No it wasn't."

"Um, hello," Kuwabara said. "Did you not see the damage done to all those tress?! You can be really scary sometimes."

I would have made some kind of "pfft, yeah right" reply but I was too busy opening the door then getting a bad case of vertigo. I tried to brace myself against the door but it only swung open even more which caused me to fall to my knees.

"Whoa, Aly-Jay!" Kurama said, rushing forward. "Are you alright?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." I let Kurama help me back up. "I think I just need something to eat. Taking those bracelets off took a toll on me."

Kurama looked at his watch as he helped me onto the couch. "It is close to dinner time."

"Shit, is it really?" Yusuke said in a panic. "I need to get to work." Without another word, he ran off.

"I'll start dinner," Kurama said.

"Let me help," I said, starting to get up.

"No, you sit down," Kuwabara said as he pushed me back down. "I'll help Kurama."

I stared up at Kuwabara in shock. There is no way this is actually happening. Kuwabara helping with dinner. Is he actually growing up now? This is weird... As the guys went off to cook I looked around to see that Hiei was gone. Typical. While I just sat on the couch, I tried to focus on my breathing. I didn't want to get up and fall over again.

"Dinner's ready."

My head snapped up as I looked over at Kurama. Whoa, had I dozed off?

"Do you need to sleep? I can put away some of the food for you."

I shook my head and got up to head to the kitchen. When I entered the doorway I couldn't help but pause. Everyone, but Yusuke, was sitting at the table, even Hiei. As I let the image settle in my mind I finally went to take a seat next to Kuwabara. During dinner I asked Kuwabara what he's been up to while I've been gone. I'm was a little surprised by how hard he seems to be working in order to get into University. He didn't seem to know what he wanted to do in terms of a career but at least he planned on going to university.

Kurama was the one that surprised me the most. I expected him to go to university and be very successful but he decided to work at his stepfathers company. His logic did make sense though. Since his family isn't his real family he doesn't plan on staying in Human World forever. Why bother going to school when you just plan on leaving once your family doesn't "need" you anymore?

By the time I had finished getting my update on Kurama I was done eating. Which was perfect since I had no intention on asking Hiei anything. After I washed my plate I headed upstairs to finish my unpacking. It didn't take very long since I've done most of it already and I only had two bags of luggage.

I was exhausted by the time I had climbed into bed but when I was in lying in bed I realized that I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes all I could see was the demon that kidnapped me. All he did was stay outside my window and just stare inside my room. I shut my eyes tighter, hoping it would get rid of the image. It made things worse. Not only could I see the demon staring at me, I could now feel his hands around my ankles as he dragged me away. I could hear the crash of my lamb and of my window breaking. I couldn't do anything. I could only let him drag me away.

I quickly sat up to the sound of someone screaming. There was the sound of someone scrambling and a thump, which I could only assume of someone falling. It was when my door swung open that I realized it was me screaming. I turned towards the door to see that Hiei was the first one to arrive. With my hands now covering my mouth, I couldn't tell Hiei to get out. A few seconds later the others arrived, even Yusuke.

They were all braced for an attack as they looked around. While there was nothing there, Hiei decided to go out the window and probably check things out. Yusuke lowered his arms but still seemed to stay alert. Kurama relaxed and came to me.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said as I looked over at my window, which was now open. "It must have been a nightmare."

"Are you sure?" he asked as he took a seat on my bed. "Do you need anything?"

I shook my head and curled my knees up to my chest. "I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."

They guys waited until Hiei came back. When he confirmed that there was nothing out there, they left. Hiei was the last to leave and he hesitated at the door. I quickly looked away and at my wall. Weak. When I heard the door close I finally lied back down. But I could still hearing the crashing...

That's it. If I hope to get any sleep tonight I'm going to have to leave. I threw the covers off and grabbed my cardigan. As I pulled it on I headed down the hall way. I paused outside Hiei's door but I quickly shook my head and continued down the hall. I stopped outside Kurama's door. While I turned to face the door I couldn't bring myself to knock. Weak, I'm weak. I looked back towards my room but I couldn't bring myself to go back there either. Baby steps, I'll take baby steps. I took a deep breath before finally knocking gently on Kurama's door.

He answered a few seconds later. The sight of him in only his pyjamas made me feel guilty of keeping him up. I couldn't help but look down and fight back a sigh.

"Aly-Jay!" He sounded so concerned that it only made me feel worse. He stepped outside and closed his door. "Is everything alright?"

I couldn't do this. "Yes," I muttered, turning towards my room. "I'll be fine. Sorry for bugging you."

Kurama grabbed my arm gently. "You can't sleep?" I looked over at him and shook my head. "Well..." he paused to look at his door. "I don't know if..."

I felt my whole face go warm. "No I wasn't expecting... It's just... I can't stop thinking about what happened in there. I just... I don't think I can sleep in there."

Kurama thought about something for a second. "I think I have an idea. Is that sweater warm enough to go outside?" I nodded. "Alright. I'm sure the house Genkai was living in has another room in there where you can sleep." Without another word, Kurama lead the way towards Genkai's house.

Since Yukina was sleeping in this house, both of us were quiet as we navigated through the place. It was much bigger than I expected. I didn't have time to really look around but it appeared like the living area was on the main floor while there were three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs.

"There we go," Kurama said quietly as he opened one of the door.

I peaked into the room and realized that it was bigger than my other room. It had all the same things—single bed, a desk, and a dressed—but it had much more space. I stepped inside and took off my cardigan to hang on the desk chair. This is going to feel weird, but at least I'll get some sleep.

I turned back to Kurama. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for keeping you up. I just can't..."

Kurama raised a hand to stop me. "It's fine. I completely understand. This is a good change, I think. You're being upgraded." He smiled at me. "Have a good night."

I thanked him before closing the door. That night I might have gotten the best sleep I've ever had in the past two years. When I woke up the next morning I felt completely refreshed. I might have had my eyes open for at least two seconds before there was a knock on my door. I got up to open the door and noticed it was Yukina.

"Good morning," she said with a soft smile. "I hope I didn't wake you."

I shook my head as I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Good morning, Yukina. Can I help you with anything?"

She shook her head. "No, I just heard that you'll be staying here from now on. It will be nice to have a roommate. It's been kind of lonely without Genkai around."

I couldn't help but smile at her. "Well I think it would be nice to have a female roommate for once." She laughed softly at that. "Lets make some breakfast." I went to go get my sweater before the two of us went to go make pancakes.

It was really fun. It was her first time making pancakes so I tried to make it as fun as possible. The whole process was filled with laughter and a few flour spills. By the time we had our fill and had cleaned everything up, I decided I should probably move my things over.

I was half way through filling my luggage when I felt someone standing at the door. It didn't feel threatening so I didn't think I needed to brace myself when I turned to look. I almost wished I had, however, when I saw that it was Hiei. My body went a little tense as I crossed my arms and said, "What do you want, Hiei?"

He looked down at my luggage then back at me. "Running away again? Even after we had to come and get you?"

I glared at him. "I'm not running away. And you didn't have to come and get me. Kurama could have gone alone."

Hiei's eyes narrowed at me when I mentioned Kurama's name. "It sure does look like you're running."

"For your information," I started, my tone obviously stern. "I can't stand to stay in this house. I'm moving in with Yukina now. Not that it's any of your business." Without another word, I turned back to my bags and continued to put my things in them.

Hiei continued to just stand there, watching, but neither of us said anything. When I had my bags full I walked out, making Hiei step aside to let me past. This guy was seriously starting to irritate me. I can't understand him at all. Why would be bother to see that I was moving if he didn't try to make me stay? I quickly pushed those thoughts aside as I made my way back to the main house.

A couple hours later I was done with the packing and it was time for lunch. Since I had taught Yukina how to make pancakes at breakfast, she taught me how to cook in general. We started with the basics. While it felt easy with Yukina around I knew it would take a while before I could manage this kind of thing on my own.

It was also nice to have this bond being formed while we cook and eat together. After spending the past two years without any kind of friendship this felt so nice. It wasn't just the friendship though, I felt like it's been forever since I last really bonded with an actual girl. I could finally talk about all the girly things I've wanted to talk about. Like painting her nails! Oh gosh, so much pent up girl energy.

After we finished cleaning up I went off to look for Kurama. He wasn't hard to find since we bumped into each other while I headed off to their house. I was about to ask him if he actually does work like he said he did. Then I realized that it's Sunday... smart AJ, smart.

"Hey," I said, "do we have plans on training today?"

Kurama shook his head slightly. "Nah, not today. We all figured that you could use the time to get settled. Plus it might be a good thing for you to uh," he looked me up and down quickly, "gain a little weight."

I pressed my lips together and playfully narrowed my eyes at him. "I feel like I should be getting mad at that comment but I just can't bring myself to say eating is a bad thing." We both laughed softly before I continued. "But are you sure that's a good idea? It seems like a lot of you guys have... you know... lives now. Wont training get in the way?"

Kurama waved me off. "Don't worry about it. Yusuke just works evenings so he'll have time. Kuwabara will be on summer holidays soon, not that he'll help much anyways," I laughed at that. "And I've taken a few weeks off from work."

"You didn't have to do that," I said, feeling kind of guilty.

"No, it's fine. I told my stepfather that if he really does need me then I'll go to help. It's no big deal, really."

I could only shrug at that. "So... no training today?" Kurama shook his head. "Would it be okay if I go to town? I feel like I could use some personal time."

"Go ahead. Will you be back for dinner?"

I confirmed that I would be before I grabbed my bag and headed off to the train. Since I wasn't in any kind of rush I made sure to take my time. It was actually quite nice heading into town. I didn't have a lot of time or energy to do it two years ago so this felt like a whole new experience. When I finally got off the train I headed off to the shopping part of town. I had no intention of buying anything but window shopping sounded good.

At first I wasn't paying much attention to the shops I was passing until I noticed a dance shop. The pointe shoes in the window caught my eye so I stopped to take a closer look. The sight of them improved my mood until I saw the price. It said 8,293 yen so I quickly did the math to find out it was eighty-five Canadian dollars. Typical. My mood decreased yet again.

Not wanting to spend another second staring at something I couldn't have, I quickly turned to keep walking. Unfortunately, my turn was so sudden that I ended up bumping into someone. The collision caused my bag to fall off my shoulder. All my things went everywhere. Awesome...

"I'm sorry," we both said as we bent down to gather my things.

"It's my fault," I said without looking at the other person. "I should be watching where I was going."

"It's fine," said the other person. It was a males voice so I couldn't help but look to see who was helping me.

He was a young guy, probably around my own age of 20. His hair was black and reached the top of his shoulders. It looked like it hasn't been brushed in days but I couldn't help but feel like it worked for him. His eyes were a dark brown but they appeared much lighter in the sunlight. He even looked like he missed a couple meals but it added to his appeal.

When we finally had everything back in my bag both of us got back up and stood there awkwardly. I got a better look at his clothes and noticed that they were mostly a dark colour. He almost looked like a hipster but I tried not to judge because it didn't look like he was trying to dress like one. It was like he just found those clothes comfortable and that was that. He looked me up and down and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything about my height. I thanked him for that. Well, mentally at least.

"Thanks," I said to break the silence. "Again, I'm sorry, I really need to start watching where I'm going."

He laughed gently. "Seriously, it's fine. No broken bones or anything so we're good."

"Phew," I said as I playfully wiped my forehead.

"I'm Shuya, by the way," he said as he held his hand out.

I took his hand but frowned at him a little. "Shuya? I've never heard of a name like that before."

"Well, technically it's Joshua but everyone calls me Shuya."

I was a little surprised by that, he definitely looked Japanese. "Oh, were you born in Japan?"

He shook his head. "No, I was actually born in America but I've spent most of my life in Japan. Although, I do go back every now and then."

"Same," I said with a little too much energy. "Kind of... a little, not really. I was born and raised in Canada."

"Nice," he said with a smile. There was a moment of silence. "You still haven't told me your name."

"Right, sorry," I said as I felt my cheeks go hot. "I'm Aly-Jay, but you can call me AJ if you like."

"Well it's nice to meet you, AJ." Joshua looked over at the window of the shop I was looking into. He nodded towards it. "Are you a dancer?"

I shrugged. "Not really. I used to dance but my ballet shoes broke the other day. I was just taking a look at prices but it's over my budget."

Someone brushed past us. Both of us looked around and realized that we were taking up most of the sidewalk.

"Walk and talk?" he offered, motioning in the direction I was heading in.

I felt myself blush again. Was this actually happening? Could I make a friend this quickly? I shook my head and adjusted the bag on my shoulder. "No, I don't want to take you away with whatever you were doing."

"I wouldn't have offered if I had other plans."

"I guess..." I almost felt like I was doing something wrong as we began to walk. How could I be doing something wrong, though? It's not like I'm in a relationship. Still, something felt a little weird about this so I made sure there was a decent about of space between us.

"So a ballerina, huh?" He said as he put his hands in his pocket. "Are you studying at the local ballet school?"

I shook my head. "Nah, my experience doesn't really go much farther than high school. I'm actually staying over at this temple not too far from here." Should I have actually said that?

"Genkai's temple?" he asked with interest.

He surprised me yet again. "You know it?"

"Sure I do. I've actually been thinking about checking it out. I heard she passed away."

"She did," I said sadly.

We walked in silence for a bit before Joshua tried to lighten the mood. "So what are you doing over there? Studying to be a ninja or something?"

I couldn't help but smirk at that. I shrugged before I said, "Or something."

We continued to walk and talk a little more. It turns out he was my age and that he was from California. Once I told him that I've always wanted to go there he started to tell me all the places I should go to. By the time I checked my watch I realized I had an hour and a half until dinner.

"Oh crap," I said, stopping. "I should get going."

"Okay," he said simply. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," I said with a little smile. It felt rude to not make an effort to see him again. "You're welcome to come to Genkai's temple whenever you can."

He smiled back at me. "I'd love to."

"Well, I'll see you later," I said with a little wave. Without another word I headed off to the train station.

I had made it back just in time for dinner, but it was just Kurama and I. Yusuke was working, Kuwabara was back in town so he could go to school, and Hiei was just no where to be found. I had asked where Yukina was and if she would join us but Kurama mentioned that she's been spending a lot of time with Kuwabara's family. I bet he was happy about that.

While we ate, I couldn't help but mention how sweet Kurama was to make dinner for the two of us. That and the fact that he seemed so much like a brother to me. I've never had a brother and he's never had a sister so both of us found it kind of amusing.

Our conversation died down a bit and that's when Kurama let me know that I'll be starting my training tomorrow. He felt like I could use some more weight gain so I'll just be doing some basic stuff. They wanted to see what I remembered from two years ago.

After I agreed, I helped Kurama clean up then headed to bed. My night started off calm and peaceful but as I finally got into a deep sleep I started to dream. It started off as it usually did.

Joshua watched Aly-Jay walk away and couldn't help but feel like he got the jackpot. But it wasn't just her appearance. Sure she was hot with a nice personality, but it was much more. He could sense her demon energy from a mile away. Curious as to why a demon would be in town, he went to go check it out. It was quite a surprise to realize she looked so human. When he bumped into her he realized that she was part human. No wonder she looked so... normal.

As Joshua started to walk again he could feel himself being watched. At first he chose to ignore it but it was getting irritating. He could sense that whoever was watching him was a demon as well and it didn't sit well with him. It was one thing for him to seek out a demon, but to be followed by one himself? No thanks.

Shuya stopped walking and looked up to in the direction where he could sense the demon. They made eye contact instantly. Shuya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the short demon standing on top of one of the buildings. He had black hair that stood up with one white streak. The black robes he wore made him look a little mysterious but Shuya didn't care much for it. Shuya was curious as to why this demon was watching him but he refused to show that. He simply nodded at the demon before walking away.