~*~Insert witty and hysterically funny author's note here…~*~

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Kurama's day consisted on following a certain miko wherever she went, deep in concentration as to how to get her to remember him. Every now and then, she'd turn around and he'd quickly turn away, looking as if he was just walking around the town. 'Smooth… very smooth…'

As he followed her around, Kurama saw Naomi help people by smiling at their greetings, laughing at their jokes, lending a hand in their work, and doing whatever she felt was needed to just brighten someone's day. 'All the people seem to light up when they see her come their way. It's as if she keeps them from losing hope for a better future, a lifeline to happier times.'

The day was soon fading as he continued to follow the miko, still trying hard not to be seen watching her so intently. Suddenly, Naomi took a turn down one alley, leaving Kurama to quickly not lose track of her. When he did get to the corner, he was surprised to not see her at all. Puzzled, Kurama looked around trying to find her.

"You care to tell me why you've been following me all day long?"

Kurama turned around to come face to face with violet eyes, looking at him a bit of amusement in them. Kurama sighed. "My apologies. I was unsure of where you were going."

"You haven't answered my question. Kurama, why have you been following me all day long? Every time I look your way, you pretend to be doing something else. There has to be a reason."

The inner struggle was written all over his face. "I was making sure you were alright."

A soft look overtook the miko's features. "That's how you lost them, because you weren't watching over them at the time. Am I correct?" All that was needed was a nod as the miko sighed. "I am sorry, Kurama, but I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Please, come with me. I think we should have a talk."

With that, Naomi walked off toward the forest, back to the shrine, Kurama following close behind. The young woman before him took a few turns here and there, but eventually made it back to the hill they were last night. Kurama could hear Hiei not too far away practicing with his sword. With a sigh, he followed Naomi over to where she had decided to sit. When she found the right spot, she sat down and looked up at him, expecting him to do the same. He eventually did so, but still there was a wide gap between the two.

"You know, everyone here has lost someone or something very important to them at one point or another. I think there are only a select few who actually lived here originally. There is one woman here who lost her entire family, husband and their year old son, all because Natas wanted her for some reason. When she refused him, he was so enraged he killed them while she was away at work. Their blood was spread all over her home, basically saying there was nothing for her to stay there for. And to think she's one of the lucky ones. He usually kills the loved ones right in front of their faces, keeping that image in their minds. The people here have all lost their lives, yet they still keep some hope. They come to this shrine and pray for salvation. I do the best I can, but from what I have heard and seen, there is little I can do. All we can do is hope."

Kurama sat there and absorbed all she had said. 'She is very wise, just like the Naomi I once knew.' A thought struck him then. "Why do you all not up rise and rebel against Natas?" That thought had plagued his mind since he had arrived.

Shaking her head, Naomi wore a sad smile as she held up her left arm. "This gold band on my wrist prevents me from doing so. This is how he controls everyone in the village. All of them have one either on their wrist or ankle. When we make moves to go against him, he activates the bands, basically crippling us. There is nothing I can do about it. I can use some of my miko powers, but not enough to stop him from trying anything."

"Trying anything? You mean…"

"Hai. Each night one female from the village is placed under a trance and walks off to his castle, where they are then raped and sent back to their so called homes. Girls as young as fourteen."

Kurama was full of anger and noticed Naomi clenching and unclenching her fists in rage. "Has he ever… to you…?"

"No, but that doesn't mean he hasn't tried."

"How did you stop him?"

"Well, I don't really know. When he was advancing, I blasted him away with my powers, but he activated the band. I was crippled and in so much pain. I knew he was advancing but there was nothing I could do. When he was close, this red glow engulfed me and he was unable to touch me at all, a sort of barrier. I don't know where it came from, but I'm thankful it came."

The red haired demon sat there with relief and confusion in his eyes. 'A red glow?' "How long have you been captive here?"

The question seemed to have surprised her by the look on her face. "Umm, let me think. About… I'd say two years or so."

"You are unsure?"

"The days all blend together, so no one is really sure."

"What is your story? What did you leave behind?"

Naomi looked off in the distance towards the village as her eyes clouded over in remembrance. "My aunt and her son. My parents were killed years before. I used to live on a shrine with my aunt and cousin. They came to live with me after… the accident. Everything was going okay until Natas found me."

"How did your parents die? How old were you?"

A smile spread across her face as she turned to him. "You ask a lot of questions, Kurama."

"My apologies again, but you can get no answers unless you ask questions."

"This is true, but you get no answers if you rush the questions. In due time, my friend. Not everything can be known at once. Patience." With that, the miko rose to her feet. "Well, it's actually getting late. I might as well feed you all. Do you wish to follow or stay out here for a moment longer?"

Rising to his feet, Kurama smiled. "My mother taught me a true gentleman always escorts a lady."

"Good to know there are still some gentlemen around. I was beginning to worry. Arigatou."

With that the two headed inside, leaving a certain demon with a third eye in the trees within hearing distance behind.

~

Hiei frowned as he continued his training. 'Kurama, you're letting your stupid emotions for this girl cloud your judgment. How is it possible for her to have no memories? If this is the truth, then Natas should have no problem controlling her, yet she still resists.' Hiei stopped mid-swing as a new idea struck him. 'Why is it she can remember everything but him? Is this really a plan to take over the human world, or to torture Kurama and the miko? What could they have possibly done to have this demon seek and destroy them both?'

Sheathing his katana, Hiei grumbled as he walked towards the shrine. One thing he knew about this girl was that she was a pretty good cook, meaning he was not about to skip a meal. 'I'll have to ask Kurama about my thoughts later.' He was currently looking forward to the food served… and the regular verbal fights with that big idiot. 'The stupidity level of that idiot still amazes me.' With that, Hiei headed for the shrine.

~

Dinner went off with only the usual fight, which of course Hiei won. No surprise there. Naomi was currently washing the dishes, politely telling Botan to sit in the living room and relax. The entire crew was sitting there looking at each other, wondering who would be the one to talk first.

"So, a whole day's gone by. What have we found out?"

Kuwabara was the first to speak up. "I asked everyone what the heck was going on, but they all just smiled and walked away. No one told me anything."

Hiei sat there arms crossed in front of his chest. "Feh. That's no surprise. Why would any sane person tell you anything? It would do better to talk to a rock."

"What did you say, Shrimp Boy?!?"

"Has your hearing gone as well as that thing you call intelligence?"

"That's it! I'm gonna pound your face in!"

"Will you two just shut up?!? You two are just so infuriating!"

All heads looked up to the violet eyed girl standing in the doorway. To her amusement, they all had that look on their face as if they were a two year old caught with their hands in the cookie jar. It took all her strength not to laugh at them. "To answer your question and to stop this childish bickering, no one would tell you anything. Each person is monitored with the arm bands. For the rest of you, the bands, as you can see on my left wrist, are on everyone in the village, for some, on their ankles. Natas threats us and if we say anything… well, let's just say it's not exactly pretty or rated PG."

Yusuke spoke up this time. "So why are you telling us all this information then?"

"I'm not the type to give in to such threats. Besides, if I die, I die trying to save everyone else. Small price to pay for everyone else's freedom."

Botan looked at her in awe. "You're willing to sacrifice your life for people you don't even know?"

"No, I'm willing to give up my life for the people in the village. I know them all. The only people I don't know are the fighters."

Hiei suddenly got up and headed toward the back door, taking the sash with him. Kurama looked at him leave in confusion. 'I wonder why he suddenly left.'

Naomi sighed and shook her head. "Let's just all call it a night. You will need to save your strength for the fights. I hear the first round will actually start in maybe two days, which is a bit unusual. Natas usually likes to wait two weeks." Shrugging, Naomi said good night to her guests and left for her room, leaving the slow moving detectives in the living room.

Kurama, after the others had left, got out his futon as well as Hiei's and set it up on the floor. As he lay on top of it, his mind drifted off to that sad and heartbreaking good bye.

~Flashback~

The sun seeped into the room through the slightly open blinds, hitting directly into the eyes of the sleeping demon. Stretching, Kurama awoke from his slumber to instantly become sad. 'It's time.' Swinging his legs over the side, Kurama rose from the bed and began to get ready, packing up all he had brought.

"Kurama! You better hurry! You don't want to miss your bus."

Smiling as Sóra's voice filled the air, he picked up his things and headed down the stairs. Sóra wore that sad smile once again as she took him into a fond embrace. "Now, don't forget to come back soon. We'll all be counting the moments."

"Arigatou. I will be back as soon as I can. Thank you very much for your kindness." Releasing each other, Kurama moved over to Haku who looked very sad.

"I… I never had a big brother before. Even though you weren't here long, that's what it feels like… that I'm losing a brother."

A soft smile played on his lips as he bent down to the boy's level. "I will be back. It is an honor to be viewed as your big brother." The boy launched himself at Kurama before he could do anything. Smiling, he hugged the boy back. "Take care of your mother and Naomi for me."

"Promise."

Smiling, Kurama broke the embrace and waved as he left the home, disappointed he didn't see the one he really wanted to see. As he descended the massive amount of steps, Kurama saw someone sitting in the middle of the stairway, knees apparently up into their chest. "Naomi?"

The said girl unlocked herself from her ball position and looked up at him. Standing, she waited as he made his way to her, taking her into a warm hug. "Remember my promise. I will be back."

"Then why does this feel like a real goodbye?"

Taking a step back, Kurama took her hand and placed something into it. Confused, Naomi looked down and was shocked. In her hand, Kurama had placed a silver pendant with a red tear drop stone in the middle. Looking up at him with confused eyes, he explained. "This pendant belonged to my old partner. He always had it with him, up until the end. I kept it as a way to remember him, always having it in my pocket. I want you to have it."

Her eyes grew wide as she looked into his emerald ones. "Oh, I couldn't…"

"Please, keep it. This way a part of me is always with you, a part of my spirit and heart is always with you."

A tear fell from her eye as she closed her hand around the pendant. In one swift motion, she quickly placed it around her neck, letting it dangle from her neck. "Thank you. I will wait for you, Kurama. I will always wait for you."

With that, Kurama took her and kissed her full on the lips, letting all the emotions he felt flow into her and into that one kiss. He could feel her arms around his neck as he held her closer to him, not wanting to let go. Due to lack of air, he released her, looking deep into her violet eyes that held that familiar emotion. With a heavy heart, Kurama picked up his things and said goodbye to her, waving until he saw her no more.

~End Flashback~

Hiei was getting restless. There was no reason for him to be training so much. He basically did it to get away from everyone, as well as to clear his mind. A part of him wanted to go and wake the girl to demand answers, while another part… well… let's just say Kurama wouldn't be thrilled with his other idea.

"Frustrated much?"

Hiei turned around and came face to face with that miko. "What do you want?"

"I was curious as to why you didn't wake me up from my sleep and demand answers. Well, either that or try and attack me for your suspicions of me leading you all into a trap, which I am not."

Maybe she knew them better then he gave her credit for. Putting away his sword, Hiei glared at her. "What are you hiding?"

Naomi came forward more and sat on a fallen tree's trunk. "Well, either I don't know what you're talking about, or if it's hidden, it's hidden from me as well."

"Don't try speaking in riddles. Just give me a straight answer."

"Then give a straight question."

Kami, this girl gave him a headache. "Don't play games with me. I won't hesitate to kill you."

"And yet you haven't. You also haven't asked a real question."

"How long has Natas been plotting this?"

"When I got here, the eldest person taken by him was here for ten years."

"Then there had to be another miko. What happened to that one?"

A dark look took over the once bright face of the female before him, almost making him regret asking. "She was killed. She refused to do what he had ordered, so he struck her down."

"What did she refuse to do?"

"Kill the one her heart longed for. Natas sent a blast to kill him and she dove in front of it. He knew she would. She died in her love's arms. Natas then killed the man too."

Hiei looked her over. "Why do I get the feeling you were there?"

"Because I was. This was when I had first arrived. I remember as she died, she had a smile on her face, as if to say 'I'm free.' We are all like caged birds here. We don't know our purpose here. All we know is that it has something to do with the fights." Suddenly, the miko sat up straight and jumped off the tree. She looked at him full on with a fire in her eyes. "You can run and jump really fast, right? You're not just all talk?"

"Why should…"

"Just answer the question."

Something in her eyes told him to answer her, but of course he had to keep his attitude. "Keh, yeah."

"Good, then come with me." Grabbing his hand, Naomi pulled him along the tree line until they came to a hidden path. "Get down!" The two both dove under the bushes, hidden from view.

Hiei turned to her. "What are you up to?"

"Shh. Watch."

Looking over, Hiei saw a girl no older then sixteen walk along the path with clouded eyes, as if she wasn't even there at all. He heard the girl take in a sharp breath. "Kaori."

He looked over at her. "You know her?"

"She's one of the girls from the village. Natas has summoned her."

"Summoned?"

"She's the one he wants this night. Remember, I told you before that he claims one female each night, whether they consent or not, which they more or less don't."

"And this concerns me how?"

"You're going to help me stop him from claiming her."

"And why should I do that?"

Naomi turned and looked at him full on. "That girl there is young and in love with a man in the town. She is still pure. She views me as her big sister and I will do everything I can to save her purity. Would you turn your back on her if she were your own sister?"

That struck a cord. A vision of Yukina entered his mind at that moment. If Natas had ever tried to claim her, Hiei knew the bastard would be dead in no time. He'd probably kill him, bring him back to life only to kill him again. Sighing, Hiei looked at Naomi full on, Yukina's innocent face still in his mind. "What do you want me to do?"

"We have to follow her at a distance. You can hop from tree to tree swiftly. Take me on your back and let's follow her."

"That's your plan?"

"For the moment."

Rolling his eyes and muttering to himself what the heck he was doing this, Hiei allowed the miko to climb onto his back. "I hear you scream, I let you fall. Simple as that."

"Your concern and kindness overwhelms me."

When she was secure, Hiei took off into the trees and shadowed the girl until they came to the foot of a castle which was surprisingly hidden from view. Dropping to a safe spot, Hiei let Naomi off of his back as she thanked him and ran over to watch the girl. Suddenly, Naomi pulled out her bow and arrows, aiming at the girl.

"Hang on. Just where did you get those?"

"You didn't notice I had them with me since the beginning? That shocks me."

Glaring at her, Hiei watched as she aimed the arrow at the girl. 'That doesn't seem right.' Before he could question her, Naomi let the arrow fly as it hit the girl's wrist, knocking the wrist band. The young girl closed her eyes as her hand slowly went up to her head, shaking it lightly. "Where am I?"

Naomi came out of the bushes then and went over to the girl. "Go back to the village quickly and don't look back."

"Naomi-sama?"

"Do as I say. Now go."

Without a second thought, the young girl ran back towards her home as Naomi turned her attention to the castle door. A sad but determined look entered her eyes. "You will not claim her this night. One day I will stop you, Natas. You will fall."

Slowly, she turned back to Hiei. "Thank you. As soon as the women touch the door, they are lost. We got here just in time."

Looking away from her, Hiei replied, "Are we done now?"

"Hai. We can go back now, unless you want to train more."

Without a reply, Hiei started walking back to the shrine when he noticed she wasn't following. "Are you waiting for an invitation? Let's get back to the shrine before those idiots notice." He continued to walk as he felt her walk beside him.

"You don't like me very much, do you?"

"You know the area and the opponent. That's all I need."

"Jee, that's touching."

"Look, Naomi, I don't trust easily and I can tell when people are hiding things. I will find out soon." The look on her face was way too shocked for his liking. "What?"

"You said my name."

"Is there a point?"

"Apparently not, just that you blew your cover. I think you do trust me, but are just not willing to admit it yet. That's enough for me."

With that, the miko walked ahead, leaving the shocked and confused demon behind.

~*~Eh, that's enough for now. Ja ne!~*~