Chapter: 3



"Yukina! I'm home!" Called Kuwabara as he entered his house, closing the door behind him. Yukina peeked her head out from the kitchen and smiled. "Welcome home Kuwa-chan." She said softly. Kuwabara smiled back. He'd been married to the ice maiden for five years and yet it felt as though they had only been married last week! Sometimes, he would even catch himself blushing when she spoke to him. He set his briefcase down on a near-by table and then proceeded to the kitchen. He kissed his pretty, young wife on the cheek, and sat down at the table. A sigh escaped him. "Rough day at work?" Asked Yukina, tilting her head slightly. Her red eyes showed such concern that Kuwabara almost felt guilty for being tired. "No more rough than any other day. Nothing to worry about, I promise." He said. However, despite his words, Yukina watched him for a few moments before turning to finish the dishes. "Let me help with those Yukina." Offered Kuwabara. "Oh no you don't. You go into the living room, turn on the television, or read the paper, or something. Just rest." She ordered, in as stern a voice as she could muster. "But I-" He began to protest. "No. I can handle these just fine. Now go on, and I'll call you when dinner is ready, ok?" Kuwabara sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine, Yukina. You win.as usual, I might add." Yukina smiled. "The kids are sleeping over at friend's houses tonight, so you won't be bothered. Now go on." With that, she shooed him out of the kitchen, and continued her washing. It was several hours later, after Yukina had finished the dishes and after they had both eaten dinner, found the couple relaxing in the living room. Kuwabara was sitting comfortably in his recliner watching television, his constant companions, the cats, huddled all around him. Yukina sat mending holes that her son had torn in his favorite shirt, although, between her daughter and her son's clothing combined, she had a lot of work to do. They were healers like their mother, and fighters like their father, thereby, they were extremely active and never failed to come home without torn up clothing and bruises. Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. Yukina looked up from her sewing. "Who could it be at this time of night?" She asked aloud. Kuwabara looked at his watch and shrugged. "No idea. Here, though, let me get it." He said, pushing some slumbering felines off of his lap. The cats yawned and cracked their eyes open, only to stretch and go right back to sleep. Yukina smiled at them and was rewarded by having a bunch of them curl up at her feet. The koorime startled as she heard her husband exclaim, "You're back!" Suddenly, in walked Kuwabara followed by two of the most unlikely guests she could have expected. She let out a small gasp of surprise as she saw Kurama, in his human form, and Hiei beside him. They both smiled at her, even Hiei, although, it was only just. "Kurama, Hiei, you've returned!" She stood up immediately, setting her sewing aside and greeted them both with a hug, although the one she gave Hiei was more affectionate. "It's so wonderful to see you again! I." But she let her sentence fall as she realized that the pair had come for more than just a social gathering. She nodded silently and motioned for them to come follow her. Once everyone was seated around the table, all with cups of tea and a plate of cookies in the middle, Yukina spoke. "It' s wonderful to see you both, but I've got a feeling that perhaps you're here for more than a visit." Kuwabara, who had, until thus time, been oblivious to the spoken fact, looked up from the tea that he sipped. "What?" He asked. They all looked over at him and Hiei rolled his eyes. "Idiot." He mumbled. Kuwabara ignored the comment in favor of finding out what his wife had meant when she had spoken. Yukina nodded to Kurama and Hiei. "They will explain." She said simply. Kurama also nodded, and took the opportunity that Yukina had given him to speak. He cleared his throat and explained about Yusuke, and their meeting with Yomi, and what they planned to do about it. He couldn't help but hold a sour note in his voice when he spoke the Makai Lord's name. Once again, Yomi had been pleasant, but once again, he had felt rather unnerved around him. That was one thing that Kurama couldn't stand. He hated being surprised, thrown off guard, or getting nervous. It left him feeling vulnerable, which was also a feeling that he despised. However, on he spoke, and when he finished, everyone was silent for a time. However, silence tends to be much like a shadow. It comes only at certain times, and stays only for a certain amount of time. "So what?" Asked Kuwabara, as grabbed a cookie and started munching on it. He passed loving stares at Yukina who would smile back sweetly. Hiei watched all of this carefully. He still thought Kuwabara was an idiot, but he was kind and caring, and treated his dear sister well. He made Yukina happy and that was what mattered. After all, Kuwabara wasn't a bad guy.annoying yes, but not bad. He'd decided a while ago to entrust Yukina with Kuwabara, when Kurama decided that he'd like to be in the Makai, and Hiei went with him. "So, we need to know about Keiko." Said Hiei coldly, glancing up in time to see Yukina smile lovingly at him. He expressed something similar in his eyes before turning back to Kuwabara. "We need to know what she's been doing, and particularly if she's seeing anyone." Finished the fire demon. Kuwabara shrugged. "Keiko? Wow, um.she's been doing a lot actually. A few years ago she started to work at a magazine as both a photographer and writer." Kurama looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I thought she was going to school to be a teacher." "Yes, that was her plan, but then, she just changed her mind one day.not to soon after.well, after the break-up." Said Yukina, a slight sadness coming to her eyes. "In any case, though, she's become rather renowned, and has traveled all over the world. I must say.she went through a period of time when.when she was quite depressed, and she would barely speak to anyone, or even come out of her apartment. And then, one day, she came rushing over here saying that she got a job. The next thing we knew, she was traveling and winning journalistic awards. She's.quite good really." Finished the koorime. Kuwabara nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, and that's not all that has changed. Her entire attitude and.well.there are some other things too, but you'll find those out soon enough. As for whether or not she's got a boyfriend, I don't really know. Like Yukina said, she travels a lot so we don't always get to see her, and when we do, she doesn't talk too much about her personal life. As for trying to convince her to go the Makai, well, I don't know how she'll take to that.she's still pretty angry at Yusuke." "Leave the persuasion up to us. Just tell us where to find her." Hiei told them. "She works at World Magazine on Spring Street. It's a huge building, hard to miss. She lives at the Sakura Blossom apartment building. It's also pretty hard to miss. However, it's late, and you two need some rest. Please, stay here tonight." Offered Yukina. Eventually, Kuwabara and Yukina managed to convince the other two demons to stay with them for the night. It was not an easy task, but they did accomplish it. Part of it was due to the fact that Hiei couldn't turn down his dear sister, and Kurama was rather tired himself. None-the-less, morning came on swift wings to all in the small, yet quaint residence. Yukina was the first up, followed then by Hiei and Kurama at the same time. They both entered the kitchen and found the pretty koorime girl working at breakfast. Kurama glanced at his friend's expression. Hiei so wanted to tell her, but couldn't bring himself to do so. However, Kurama was fairly certain that Yukina knew, if not, she at least suspected. "Do you need any help, Yukina?" Asked Kurama. The girl smiled back at him and shook her head. "No, I'm nearly finished anyway. So tell me, when are you going to go visit Keiko?" Kurama stifled a yawn. "Soon." He said frankly, leaving no room for arguments. However Yukina turned to look at him with pleading eyes. "Surely, you'll stay for breakfast though." The youko averted his eyes in favor of looking at Hiei. The fire- demon bit his lip, but nodded. "Of coarse, we will." He said in his deep voice, which didn't seem to fit his appearance. Yukina smiled prettily. "Good. Will you come back after you're done talking with her?" "No, I don't think so. Hiei and I really must get back to the Makai. We're here on borrowed time. Hopefully Keiko won't take up any more of it." Minutes later, Kuwabara entered and the four of them sat down to breakfast. Afterwards, Kuwabara left to go get ready for work, and Yukina cleared the table. Kurama and Hiei said quick good-byes and parted from the house, their destination clear. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Okay. Photos.check. Document, both hand written and typed.check. Yeah, this should do it." Keiko spoke aloud to herself, not caring whether or not people looked at her. They were all used to her daily checklist conversation between her and her occasionally forgetful mind. She picked up a few folders and piled them in her arms. Then, brushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, she left her cubicle and began walking towards her boss' office. She had to submit her story and photos before she took off on another trip, which she couldn't wait to do. She was gone more than any other writer on the staff, and because of this, she was finding office life more and more unbearable. "Hey Keiko!" Came a voice off to the left of her. She rolled her eyes as a young man ran up beside her. "What do you want, Eric?" She asked dryly. He merely smiled. "Oh you know what I want." He replied. And to this Keiko just shook her head. "No." She said. "Aw, c'mon, please?" "No." She said again, still ignoring the puppy eyes he gave her. "Well, then, did you get the flowers I sent you?" "Yes." "The necklace?" "Yes." "The ring, the painting, the chocolates?" "Yes, yes, and yes." Eric's brow wrinkled in thought. "Well, did you like them?" Keiko looked over at him and finally stopped. She faced him openly and smiled. "You know, I thought they were all lovely." He frowned. "But." Keiko took a deep breath. "But.I'm allergic to lilies, silver chain, not gold, I like sapphires, not emeralds, water colors, not abstract, I'm on a diet, and if you really want to do something nice for me, you can take these folders and give them to the boss so I can leave early.thanks!" With that she shoved the folders into his hands and walked away, leaving the poor man to do her bidding for her. Keiko got out of the building easily, as she often managed to leave work early, by pushing things off on other people. Mainly Eric, because he made it so simple. He'd been trying to convince her to go out with him from about the time she'd started working there. She kept turning him down, but he kept offering. It wasn't that he wasn't a good person, actually, she thought he was rather sweet, and sometimes she even enjoyed his company. She just couldn't start a relationship that was all. She didn't want to get hurt again. . .she didn't want to go through the suffering she endured after Yusuke. For so long after their break-up, her life just slipped away. She had even started drinking! Finally, after a good wile of wallowing in self-pity and plain simple misery, she decided it wasn't worth her life. She began a new career, deciding that she needed to start all over. Keiko Yukimura was a different woman now, and few could argue that point. She stopped at the end of the sidewalk, and waited patiently for the green to tell her she could cross. Luckily, home wasn't far from work so she didn't need a car. That was good for her because she'd hate to have to drive home in all the bustling traffic. The light turned green and Keiko crossed the street amidst a large crowd of other people. She came to her apartment only minutes later. The building was large and rather luxurious. She made a pretty good salary, and could easily afford to live in a place like the one she currently faced. She entered through the door, digging all the while in her purse for her keys. The doorman, and elderly old guy with a grandfather type of personality, smiled at her and winked his old eyes. "Afternoon Keiko." He greeted. Keiko smiled back. "Good afternoon Lee. We still on for chess when I get back?" She asked. The old man smiled again, only wider this time. He was kind of lonely, his wife having just died a few years ago. They'd never had children, but he treated Keiko like a granddaughter. "You bettcha! And this time I'm gunna beat ya." He replied. She nodded. "We'll see about that." Keiko said and then waved good-bye as she walked away towards the elevator. "Have fun in the states!" He called after her. She went in the elevator with yet another crowd of people and waited patiently till it reached the 7th floor, where she got off. Quickly, she walked down the hall to apartment 312 and sighed as she put the key in the lock. 'Home sweet home', she said to herself, and pushed the door open. She looked up then and saw two shadowed figures before her, one seated, and one standing. On pure instinct she let out a shrill scream. The sorter shadow was on her in seconds, covering her mouth with its hand. Something glinted in her eyes then and she bit down hard on the person's skin. It pulled back out of surprise, more than pain, but recovered and tried to restrain her by coming from the rear. Immediately, Keiko grabbed hold of the same hand she had bitten and yanked, flipping the surprisingly light person over her shoulder. It let out a sort of huffing sound when it hit the floor. Suddenly, the light flickered on and the motion made her head spin, and her vision blur a moment. When it cleared though, she found that the two strangers were actually two of her old friends. Hiei was lying on his back on the floor, and Kurama was standing with wide eyes next to the light switch. They all just starred at each other for a little piece of eternity before Hiei got up and faced her. Kurama came to his side and was then, all smiles. Keiko smiled back. "Sorry about that Hiei." She said, now grinning at the amusing situation. The fire-demon raised an eyebrow at her. "Hn." he said, but continued with, "Good grip." Kurama nodded. "I didn't know you could do that." He said. To this Keiko shrugged. "Had to learn sometime. So.what are you two doing here? I thought you were taking up residence in the Makai." "We are, but.well, we need to talk, Keiko." Said Kurama.