Disclaimer: You know the drill….

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"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the airport?" Mrs. Minamino asked apprehensively as her son hauled a large black duffle bag down the stairs with a few pounding thuds.

"That's okay, Mother," Kurama huffed, hauling the bag up onto his small shoulder. "One of my teachers is going to pick me up."

"My, my, door to door service, most impressive," she teased as Kurama opened the door. The fox smiled back at her, but didn't comment.

'I really do hate lying to her, but I don't have any choice! I could be gone for weeks, and I need some kind of excuse! A school trip just seemed the most logical…..' he thought worriedly.

But he was soon pulled out of his troubled thoughts by a blue truck that swung up on the front driveway of the house. The window rolled down, revealing a casually dressed Koranu, her hair up in a high ponytail wearing purple sunglasses. Kurama almost fell over in surprise; Koranu wearing SUNGLASSES?!?! The thought of his three hundred year old teacher keeping up with shades was almost impossible to imagine, and yet here she was, acting just like a normal human.

"Is that your teacher?" his mother asked from the doorway, Koranu looking out and smiling at both of them. "She sure is young."

"Uh, she's older then she looks," Kurama stuttered, looking for a good excuse, but was saved by a kiss that his mother planted on his head.

"You have a good time, Shuichi dear," his mother smiled down at him, patting his long hair affectionately. "Bring me back a souvenir."

Kurama grinned up at her. "Thanks, mother," he said, kissing her cheek lightly. "I'll see you later!" he called, hopping down the few stone steps, past the small garden, and up to the blue truck. His mother waved a little, and watched him for a moment.

"Throw your stuff in the back!" Koranu yelled at him out of the window as he walked up to the door. Making a slight detour, he tossed the bag over the edge with a hard push, and hopped inside, taking a seat on the soft cushion. He waved a little to his mother, and they slowly pulled out of the driveway, down the street, and out of sight.

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"So," Kurama said, pulling his head back inside from looking out the window and turning to his mentor. "I didn't know you kept up so much with the times. Your hair is up, AND you have sunglasses…. and purple ones at that! Goodness!"

Koranu grinned and turned the wheel, pulling onto the highway and speeding up. "And I brought packs and packs of 'the fruit of the gods'!"

"Coke!" Kurama cried happily, grinning from ear to ear. "Not diet, right?" he asked suspiciously.

Koranu scoffed. "Are you kidding? Why have diet when you can go all out and get as sugary as you can?!?!" and Kurama laughed in joy. Both he and Koranu had an undying love for one of the most sugary of all sodas, although it was perhaps because of the sugar they liked it so. It was commonly known that sugar gave you energy, so if you needed a power blast, there were few things, demonic or otherwise, that gave you the power blast like sugar.

"So how are we going to get to the Makai, anyway?" the fox asked, popping open a can of coke and sipping on it sparingly.

"Hand me one of those, will you?" Koranu cut in, motioning to the cooler that held the coke, as Kurama tossed her a can. It wasn't until she had opened it with a click and fizzle of carbonation, took a deep sip, licked her lips for any extra droplets, and wiped her mouth on one long sleeve, that she answered. "There's a portal just a few hours from here," she told him, keeping her eyes on the road as she spoke. "It's nearly impossible to get through portals these days with all the tight restrictions and things, but I pulled a few strings and the portal is just 'coincidentally' going to be unguarded today when we arrive. If we can slip through undetected, we'll be just fine. It's easier to go into the Makai then to get back out. We might have a spot of trouble there, but it should be okay."

"Alright," Kurama said, leaning back into the cushiony chair, continuing to lightly sip at his coke and watching the road thoughtfully.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, drinking coke as Koranu drove and Kurama watched the road. After some time, Kurama finished his coke, stuck the empty can in one of the back seats, and pulled out another coke, opened it, and went back to drinking.

"Hey, Shuichi?" Koranu began.

"Yeah?" Kurama answered, glancing over at his teacher as she continued to watch the road.

"Did I ever tell you about my past?" she asked, straining to act casual.

Kurama glanced sharply over at her, then looked back out onto the open pavement. "No," he answered, trying to be equally laid-back.

"Would you like to know?"

"Alright."

"I suppose," she said, sighing. "That I should start from the beginning…."

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Hello everyone,

New chapter's up! Sorry it's so late, but the old dates were originally messed up, and then I went on a trip, and ….. well ….. yeah. Okay, I can make lots and lots of excuses, but I suppose that won't really make up for it, will it? Anyhow, my next chapter should be up really soon, since I'm around a lot for the next week, and I can't wait to write the next chapter! Probably on Friday the 27th, or so, give or take a day!

I went on a house boating trip last weekend! It was a lot of fun, and I got to go wakeboarding and stuff, which was really awesome. Only trouble is that now I'm REALLY sore, like it hurts to move. Only thing I can do is type, which is why working on my stories is so convient. Talking about my stories, read my other stuff!!! It's really good, I'm going to start updating more often. I'm getting more into Ashes, Ashes, because I've got a really awesome idea for it! Yay!

Anyhow, talk soon!

-Dream Fox