Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Last chapter, and I still need to type that... ;;

Quote of the week: "This is not a novel to be taken lightly... It is a book to be thrown with much force." –unknown (but how true is that?)

Alrighty-o! First thing, there's some news here on good Ol' that might surprise you:

A group of writers are trying to delete all script-style fics on the entire website. They call themselves "The Alliance" and have been sending warning e-mails to various writers for about a month now, claiming that "The End" is near. Also, they are calling this little hissy-fit of theirs "The Revolution" and have enlisted a hacker to help them ban writers they dislike from

A recent friend of mine, Lumina Kitsune, is looking for anyone that can help, so if you want to aid in keeping this site a place where free speech (i.e. FANFICTIONS) is respected, please e-mail her. She may be upset about the deletion of her first fanfic, but she's willing to do the best she can for her cause, and I doubt anyone reading this would say no to her effort.

A warning, however, to any of you who may try to get revenge from the boy that started this all, GTAJake MK-II ( I must give him at least a smidgen of credit, as he is not trying to hide himself or his contact addresses). He will track you down and flame you, try to ban you, and overall make your stay on this site a living hell. I hate to say this, but unless you don't have much (or anything) to lose, I would take caution when participating in this temper tantrum-gone-mad; him and his friends have absolutely no tolerance for those who dare show imagination. You can tell by the fact that he refuses to post anything under his penname.

::coughs:: Anywho, if you want to stay unscathed from all this, hide your IM addresses and E-mail address from him, and look up Lumina Kitsune if you want to post script-style fics. She is working on a new site, and I would publicly give the address, but it might be found out and the site forcibly corrupted by the means of hackers.

Now, I can understand that those boys may be upset about the removal of their favorite NC-17 fics on this site, but I really must stop rambling on about this and get to the chapter, musn't I? Contact me if you want to talk about this more.

I apologize for starting this chapter on such an upsetting and sad note. Truly, I am. But, I fear that if this doesn't just blow over entirely, it may go to the exact opposite extreme and more and more limitations will be placed upon just what we may post up here.

Anywho, a recap of last chappie! As we've known (since chapter 41), Givanni was behind all of this, and used the dead body of Cecilia as a puppet. The real Cecilia momentarily revived herself and possessed Hiei's body in order to save her daughter, and in the process gave the hatchling a name: Mara. Meanwhile, Rogerik, Shikyo, and Kuwabara went after Givanni, only to have him escape from under their noses (not that they're bitter about it... oh no...). Things have been mostly set to right at the academy, except the lack of a new headmaster and a definite date for final tests; still Givanni is out there, and may cause serious problems in the future if not stopped soon. What is to become of the tantei and others?

Author's note: This chapter is brought to you by Happy Bunny Spaz juice. You keep going, and going, and going, and going...

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It was over now... right?

As Rogerik wearily trudged back up the drive to the dorm, his head was going into overload. So tired, he had been, that his eyes were half-shut and Kuwabara had to support the thief almost the entire way back.

It was amazing how such a purple house could feel like home.

With a groan, the thief fumbled with the front door, not quite able to fit the key into the keyhole; after staring for a good minute or so, an idea struck and the lock tumbler clicked into place as the door swung inwards to the quiet house. PK was indeed handy...

"Hey, anyone alive?" Kuwabara entered behind him, leaving the door wide open in his wake, and was greeted by the overly enthusiastic Bones. Skeletal paws clacking on the hardwood floor of the entrance hall, the dog whipped his tail through the air and frantically tried to get the teenager to pet him, by nudging his hand with the top of his skull. Kuwabara managed a weak smile, and gave the dog a good rub on the head, then strode upstairs. He was barely halfway up when the black-haired Lark appeared at the top of the steps, her stormy eyes somewhere between angry and joyful.

"Where did you go? What happened? Who did this to you?" She ran down the steps, shoving Kuwabara out of the way as she did so, and grabbed Rogerik by the shoulder, almost drawing her hand back as she felt the sticky, matted bloodstain on his shirt. The thief just gaped, too exhausted to answer her; but, then, her voice rising even higher, the water manipulator spat out, "And why didn't you wake me up?"

With a grimace, Kuwabara left the thief to deal with Lark and snuck up the stairs. He shoved open his bedroom door, and, ignoring the stares of Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama, flopped facedown on his bed.

He was asleep in seconds.

Seemingly frail and weak in his arms, the dragonling sneezed once before twisting her long neck in another spine-snapping position and drifting back to sleep. She had been through so much already...

And he had sat there, unconscious, unmoving - helpless. He hated himself for it.

But something, some divine force, had interfered, now, instead of joining that wretched she-dragon in eternal slumber, he was sitting on his own bed and caring for the young creature that had labeled him mother. Even though he was sure he had blacked out then, faint recollections of the night before continued to drift through his memories, sadly out of order. Whatever it was that had taken over his body, it had obviously vanished along with Cecilia, and had left something behind.

Now what was it? A calloused hand gently rubbed the hatchling behind one of her fin-like ears, and a word popped into his head. "Mara... that's it. Your name..." It fit, he had to admit that, at least, and saved him the trouble of searching for one.

Mara yawned at the mention of her name and nudged her muzzle against Hiei's wrist, then her head drooped and all that could be heard were quiet snoring noises,

Yes, it did suit her...

The next few days were surprisingly normal, and the fact that Givanni had disappeared over the night had been explained by a sudden, unexplainable bout of blood poisoning that had sent the headmaster to a hospital on another island in the barrier world, and, since it didn't look like he would be getting better, Koenma had been forced to remove the headmaster from his employ. Nothing was mentioned about the destruction of the front lobby, and classes went on as scheduled. It wasn't until between classes, when the majority of students were studying, that Shikyo had halted Lyra, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Lark on their way to the school library.

The cat's foot had pretty much healed completely, thanks to the physick that had been forced down his throat by the academy nurse (she had given it to him based on Erica's suggestion) and the herb salve sent to him from an anonymous sender; however, when he had hobbled to the door the day it had been dropped off, he was sure he had seen a flash of tawny gold dashing away, and the handwriting was familiar enough for him to piece together who had sent it, although he preferred to keep his suspicions to himself. Shikyo might have been devoid of much of his usual grace, since he still limped slightly, but had managed to surprise the group nonetheless.

He had walked on by, sent a flashing grin their way, and a letter was tucked into Kuwabara's jacket pocket. Before the teen could ask anything, the teacher had vanished down the hallway.

"Well, is this about earlier on... y'know, the night you guys DIDN'T want me around?" Lark had spat it out as soon as they were through the library doors, and ignored the librarian's dirty glare, tossing her bag on one of the tables with as loud a thunk as she could manage. Kurama and Lyra sweatdropped, sensing the incoming bad mood that had always surrounded the younger girl when anyone dared bring up the subject; trying to cut off her sister, Lyra calmly said, "I wanted you to help out, but it was too dangerous for you..."

"Oh, of course... I just can't take care of myself, or even help protect my own house; I'm just too fragile, is that it?"

"Lark, maybe you're missing the point..." Kurama knew it was a bad idea to get involved, but, to put it frankly, he was rather tired of stepping on eggshells whenever he was around Lark. He, however, hadn't expected her to go off on him quite like she did.

"No, no, I get the point just fine. It couldn't escape me even if I was asleep. You just didn't think I was up for it. Well, that's just fine!"

"Please, I – we - were just worried about you." Lyra put a hand on her sister's shoulder, but it was shrugged off as Lark got her bag and stormed out of the library, her cheeks flushed and hair flying behind her. Lyra gave an apologetic look to Kurama and Kuwabara, whispering, "Tell me about it later," before following her sister out the door.

Both boys shared a confused look, then Kuwabara shrugged and slit open the plain envelope. The letter was written in tiny cursive letters, and Kuwabara had to squint to make out the writing.

"I want to thank you for helping out as much as you did, and I'm sorry to admit that Givanni managed to get away like that... all our effort wasn't put to waste, since Koenma managed to get a bit of a lead on him... I hope he is found during the summer, and good luck on your finals." Kuwabara's voice died as he continued to read silently – obviously it didn't concern the fox, and the teen wasn't opting to share his opinion. They were silent for a minute or two, until Kuwabara tapped Kurama on the shoulder, distracting the redhead from his notes.

"Hey, Kurama, you have any clue who's gonna replace Givanni?"

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"I heard a replacement's been found, and that we know them." Kurama let his mind wander to all his past adventures and allies, and suppressed a small shiver. "Personally, I don't think I want to know..."

With a sigh, Yusuke tossed his pencil down and leaned back, staring at the sizable stack of papers in front of him. Last day of the finals, and this was his absolute last test, too. In just a little under four days, he would be back home, and, if he survived Keiko's painful lecture, the arcade would once again be his castle.

Maybe it was too much to ask, but if he managed to get a fairly good score on the finals, that would be one less thing for Keiko to give him a sermon about.

Ryo walked by, cheerful as ever, and took the test paper from the spirit detective's desk. As soon as it touched the elf's fingers, the sheet of paper made a 'bwink'-ing noise and disappeared, only to reappear on Ryo's desk. Yusuke glanced across the room at the clock, and shared a quick thumbs-up with Lyonell, who had been one of the first students to finish. Perhaps studying with Chrysanthemum had its perks...

The bell rang, and the speed of scribbling hastened as a few slower students hurried to finish up their Latin tests. Yusuke got his bag from beside his desk, slung the strap over his shoulder, and waited for his friends outside the room.

Rogerik was first to come out, hands crammed in his jacket pockets and totally unaware of the world; the thief hadn't been his usual easy-going self lately, and Yusuke suspected it was because of the end of the school year. Not that he had any right to butt into Rogerik's business, but life had pretty miserable before the tantei had come, or so he heard. Not far behind were Lyonell and Justin, and both were talking rather animatedly as they exited the room. Yusuke caught snatches of what seemed to be plans for the summer, but stayed silent as the four of them strode out of the tower and down towards the academy cafeteria.

Kurama, Holly, Kuwabara, Jin, Hiei, and Chrysanthemum, were crowded around their usual picnic table, although Holly and Chrysanthemum were seated under the maple tree that shaded the table, comparing notes. Kyuro, as expected, wasn't far away, and sat in his mistress' lap, batting at the feathery decoration on her pencil.

"Oi, Urameshi, join on in!" Jin sat indian-style in the air, a stolen handful of French fries (from Kurama's plate) in hand. The fox seemed to take no notice of his stolen lunch, and was staring at the cloud-filled sky instead.

"Hey, where're Lark and Lyra?" Justin plopped down next to Kuwabara and, taking advantage of Kurama's sudden lack of appetite, pilfered an oatmeal-raisin cookie. Kuwabara sneezed, and muttered, "Ran off somewhere. Lark was in a pretty bad mood... she's still angry at us." The carrot-top looked over at Rogerik, and said, "Hey, why don't you go say you're sorry?"

This snapped Rogerik out of it, and the psychic looked at his table of friends wildly. "Me? What did I do?"

"Yeah, what did he do?" Chrysanthemum turned away from her notes long enough to include herself in the conversation, despite the dirty glare Rogerik provided her. It was Kyuro who answered, totally cutting the thief off.

"Inferiority complex... Lark seems to think that they think she can't take care of herself. Lyra, as the big sister she is, decided to help out, only making things worse, and Lark ran off. She's around campus, though, so don't worry."

Everyone merely stared at the familiar (except for Kurama, who was still off in a daze), and the cat stared back. "What? What are you looking at me for?"

Lyonell, clearly surprised, asked, "How did you know that?"

"Oh, that! Well," Kyuro nodded his fuzzy head and lifted a paw onto Holly's notebook. "I happen to have been serving a number of teenage girls for a good span of my lifetime; nothing changes in a couple of centuries, actually. I remember this same predicament occurring at least four times in the last sixty years..."

More stupefied silence.

"What?! Geez, you guys think these types of things change over a couple of generations... guess again - ow!" The familiar ducked his head down, meowing in complaint even though Holly's hand never reached its target. "Am I really that predictable?"

"Well, I was able to dodge that..."

"No, not that!" The witch sighed and rubbed her temples, and, before Kyuro could lodge a complaint, shoved the cat out of her lap. "Kyuro, go help Rogerik, okay?"

"Wha-why me? I didn't do anythi-"

"You, quiet. Kyuro, go now. Before I reach three." She pointed at the thief, glaring at her familiar, and the cat meekly complied. He leaped onto Rogerik's shoulder and whispered something into the thief's ear; whatever the black kitten had said, it almost made the blond psychic blush, and they left hurridly.

"Holly, wasn't that a bit harsh..?" Lyonell watched the pair leave and sweatdropped, a forced smile on his face. The witch shrugged and shook her head.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't think he'd listen."

"Stupid Kurama... stupid Lyra... stupid finals..." Lark walked down the brick pathway, unaware as students went out of their way to get out of her stormy aura. She had been walking like this, cursing everything to stupidity, for nearly fifteen minutes. Already, she had cursed most things, some twice, and was working down the list towards random things that had nothing to do with what had happened a week earlier. Mentally drained, she wandered off the path and sat down on a tree branch that bent down horizontally at waist-height.

Everyone else was happy and glad school was almost over... why wasn't she?

There was a set of footsteps behind her and the raven-haired girl stiffened. Hadn't Lyra given up by now? Forming an orb of water in one hand, she tensed her arm, read to douse whoever was sneaking up behind her. A hand touched her shoulder, barely, and she let loose her attack, screeching as she did so.

"Ky-yaah!"

"Agh! H-hey! Stop! That's cold!" Rogerik flung his arms up, half trying to block the water, half-attempting to pry the bristling Kyuro from around his neck; those little claws were sharp.

The stream of water died down immediately, and Lark stared at Rogerik, her eyes wide and strangely void of emotion. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh?"

"You, Rogerik, what are you following me around for?" She pointed a finger at him and, her stupor fading away to suspicion, asked, "Did my sister put you up to this?"

"Wha – no! No! I just, er..." With a grimace, the psychic managed to pull of Kyuro and gently tossed the cat to the ground. "I just wanted to apologize... I know you wanted to help and all, and you're upset about us letting you sleep it through..."

"Oh, it's no problem at all."

"Yeah, but... hm? What? No...problem?" How come he had the feeling that he had been toyed with? Maybe it was Lark's unnerving smile? Yeah... that could do it.

"You guys were probably right; and Lyra would have hated herself if I got hurt. I was a liability."

"...you've been faking your depression?" Well, this was certainly a more mature and modest side of Lark than he had ever seen; where was the loud, egotistical Admarant sister he had lived with for the last year or so? Lark just gave him a look, looping her thumbs through the belt loops on her skirt, and shrugged. "I'm an actress; it comes naturally." She straightened up and got her bag, intent on walking out.

"Oh," she turned back for a moment, a smile on her lips, and added, "And so does this."

Before he knew what was happening, she had leaned forwards and planted a small, nearly nonexistent, kiss on his cheek, before laughing and running away.

He didn't dare move, as time had came to a standstill for him. Then, with a slight blush, he touched his cheek and smiled.

"Well, that's the last box." Holly dusted her hands off and picked up the cardboard box on the bedroom floor, dropping it with a dull thud on the desk. Kyuro jumped at the vibration and blearily blinked his green eyes; with a yawn, he stretched out his front paws and stood up on the tips of his toes. "So, you're done already?"

"Yep. We can leave for home by tomorrow morning." The witch sat back down on the bare mattress and picked up her broomstick, polishing it with an unpacked pillowcase. Kyuro leaped from the desk to the bed, and curled up by Holly's side. "Aren't we going with Gram and Victoria?"

"Actually, I sent a letter a few days ago and told them that I would make this year's return trip on my own." The redhead made a quick inspection of the handle, and meticulously rubbed out a skid mark. Kyuro looked up at his companion's polishing job and nodded. "Well, that's nice. A little peace and quiet would be good, especially after tonight."

"Yep. I also invited Jin home with us for the summer."

"Oh, that's good... Er, whaaaaat?!" The black cat was on his feet in a second, roughly shaken out of his relaxed mood. He bared his teeth, ebony fur bristling, but the witch had already left the room, no doubt holding back her laughter.

The sun was a deep golden yellow, and he almost didn't make out the young woman standing in front of the Main Office because of the color of her dress, which was a deep goldenrod. She was quite pretty, with glossy red-brown hair that reached her slim shoulders in a wavy cascade, and light skin with dashing green eyes framed by long lashes. She stood in the middle of the pathway, a confused look on her face, and continually plucked at the cuff sleeve of her long dress. Such a beautiful young woman, and no doubt lost; why, he suspected she was probably a relative of one of the students – she looked oddly familiar.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you lost?" Shikyo asked, bowing his head in hello to the young woman, who looked flustered at his sudden arrival. She turned to face him, and he was struck by how much she resembled a friend of one of his students. This woman, she looked almost exactly like Holly, only older by about seven years and more mature.

"Oh, actually, I am. I was looking for my little sister's dorm, but, although I've been here before, it seems that I can't find it." She inclined her head at the cat demon and gently smiled.

"Well, if you can tell me your sister's name, I might be able to help you."

"Oh, I'm looking for Holly Landon." Well, that justified his suspicions, but he'd never once heard the wind witch mention anything about any siblings – never mind an older sister. With a beaming grin that showed off his white teeth, the neko demon held out his elbow so as to escort Holly's sister, which she gracefully accepted. "Well, I was heading over there, myself; a co-worker of mine who lives there just got a promotion."

"Really? I was wondering, would you happen to know how Erika is doing? I haven't seen her for over a year."

"Ah, she's doing fine; she's really amazing, to tell you the truth. I'm impressed by her. By the by, I'm Shikyo, and you are..?"

"Victoria, Victoria Landon."

"Ah...this is certainly... festive." Kurama had the rising urge to rub his eyes, as the bright streamers and decorations were so colorful they were painful to look at. Erica was at the kitchen island, carefully closing the lid on a cake box, and gave the fox a warm look.

"Yes, well, it's because the school year is over. It wouldn't be right without some sort of party, would it?"

"I understand perfectly well, and it's a good idea." The kitsune gave one of his trademark smiles and sat down on the living room couch. "Ah, ano, Erika, is anyone else coming?"

"I am." Koryu stuck his head in through the window over the sink and nodded at the fox; the rodent-like creature had recovered marvelously, and was now sporting a bright magenta party hat on his jet-black head. From outside, his fins reflected the sunlight in a dazzling array of colors that rivaled the party decorations. Erika, her wrinkled face joyous, counted off the guests off her fingers.

"Well, there's Suzuka and Shishiwakamaru, Ryo, and Djornn, as well as Shikyo, and a few of graduating students wanted to say good bye before they left for the summer. Other than that, there's Yukimi and an old friend of mine." She took a minute, then cheerfully mentioned, "Well, that is a lot of people. Better bring out a second bottle of blueberry tonic; Kurama, would you be so kind as to get one from the freezer in the back of the greenhouse?"

"I'll get it." Before Kurama could get up, Koryu's head disappeared back outside, and the creature reappeared not a minute later with the soda bottle clenched in his jaws; he placed the bottle down in the sink and gently plucked a nectarine from the wire basket by the sink, then his four-eyed head once again slid out the window.

"Koryu, please don't ruin your dinner-ah!" The old woman nearly gave herself a papercut as the doorbell rang, and hurriedly placed the pastry box in the refrigerator. "Kurama, please go get that."

The fox got up and, as Jin retreated from his basement bedroom to check out what the commotion was, opened the door. Shikyo was standing outside with a rather pretty woman, who looked like Holly, on his arm. The cat nodded towards Kurama and asked, "This woman, Victoria, is looking for Holly, and I was on my way here, so I thought I'd escort her here..."

"Nice pick-up line, Shik." Jin quipped, currently flipping through a TV guide. Holly, just coming down the stairs, took one look at the woman in the door and her eyes widened.

"Oh, no..." The witch barely had time to react before her older sibling wrapped her in a rib-crushing hug. "Oh, my dear baby sister! Are you alright? You aren't de-flowered are you, living in this house full of young men?!"

Silence reigned for mentioned 'young men' and Holly furiously fought down her embarrassment while looking towards her familiar for help (and receiving none).

"No, I'm perfectly fine, brother."

More stares, and Erika hustled out of the room before she could be dragged into the situation. By now, the room was completely silent, and Shikyo had an awestruck look on his face that was somewhere between horror and total embarrassment. There was an echo of footsteps from the staircase, and Yusuke and Lark came into the living room, totally unaware of the current circumstances.

Upon seeing Victoria (if that was really his name...), Lark ran forwards and gave the cross-dresser a hug, despite his already backbreaking embrace of Holly.

"Victor! You came back!"

"Ah, Lark, love, have you girls been alright?"

"No, we're fine!" Lark beamed up at the older man, and the guys in the room sweatdropped (the exception being Shikyo, who was now looking a tad sick). Yusuke, totally lost, bent down to ask Jin, "Who is this lady?"

"Holly's brother," the windmaster replied, ears twitching as he watched Shikyo go from his normally pale skin color to a beet red. It wasn't hard to guess what the cat had been up to on the walk over, and then to have your desired date to out to be a man...

"...You're kidding me." The spirit detective took one long look at Holly's sibling, and his eyes widened.

"Ah, so you're Jin! Come over, darling, and give me a hug!" The feminine man swept his way towards Yusuke and Jin, ready to receive the windmaster in his arms. He had nearly cornered the demon when the door blew open, sending Shikyo toppling into the room, where the neko disappeared in a poof of smoke and a tiny black kitten landed nimbly on its paws.

The wind died down, and in the doorway stood an old woman, not much taller than the teenage girls, with flyaway gray hair that was held back by a red handkerchief and a pair of dusty goggles covering her eyes. She was wearing a leather pilot's jacket with a white cotton scarf, and a sleek-looking broom levitated behind her as she stepped into the room, her tan combat boots leaving imprints in the soft carpet.

"Holly, Victor, front and center, you two!"

"Oh, noooo..." Holly slumped in her brother's arms, and looked ready to die on the spot.

"I said... FRONT AND CENTER!" the old woman's aura blasted, and Erika suddenly popped her head in from the back door.

"Oh, Amelia! It's been a while. Would you like some coffee?"

It didn't take long for Erica, Victor (or Victoria, as he preferred to be called), and Amelia to settle down with some glasses of ice coffee, and Holly gloomily took place in the living room. The young wind witch kept a constant eye on her older brother and grandmother, and nervously rubbed Kyuro behind the ears; Shikyo was curled up on the top of Kurama's armchair, and the fox himself was seated in it and reading a book. Yusuke and Jin were on the couch, paying strict attention to the TV, and Lark and Lyra kept trying to snap Holly out of her sudden gloom.

"Well, when we heard Holly wanted to make the trip up, we were worried of course, isn't that right, dear sister?" Victoria smiled over at the witch from over his glass of iced coffee, and pulled a piece of paper from a pocket on Amelia's belt. "We wouldn't mind, but then we heard she was bringing a friend, and I must say that curiosity got the best of me."

"We couldn't just welcome him in with open arms without meeting him." Amelia continued where her grandson left off, and nodded her head. The old woman had removed her goggles and wind-resistant jacket, as well as the scarf, to reveal a wrinkled face with bright green eyes; her hair still had a touch of red, and she looked younger than Erica, whom she claimed was the same age as her. Looking over the livingroom full of students, she mildly asked, "So, which one of you is this Jin I've heard so much about, hm?"

Jin stiffened, then limply raised his hand, all while trying to make himself look smaller than he really was. Amelia peered over Yusuke's head, then leaned over to Victoria and the two started a whispered conversation - although it was still loud enough for the girls, who were sitting closest to them, to hear.

"Well, isn't he the good-looking one? Holly, tell me, how did you manage to talk him into coming?"

"Yes, little sister, and what's his sign?"

"Victor! Grandma!" Holly blushed beet red, and Lark and Lyra sweatdropped. The two older visitors could at least try to be a little less direct; from the way Jin's ears were flicking backwards, it wasn't too hard to tell that he was listening in.

Victoria and Amelia chuckled, and turned back to their coffee.

"Young love... how sweet!" Victoria sang out, making both Holly and Jin hunch down in their seats; the windmaster's ears were turning red, and Holly was hiding her face in her knees. Amelia took a slow sip of her drink and smiled at Erika. "Ah, I remember what it was like back then. Don't you, Erika?"

"You mean Meisei, right? He was a handsome one, although he didn't give a fig about us... you were always skipping class on that broom of yours, and I was too busy trying to cover up for you."

"Those were the good old days, though... time flies so quickly. And to think that the next generation is almost ready to take over..."

"Frankly, when I see these kids, I can't help but wonder if the world is doomed." The voice came from the front door, and everyone looked over in time to see Rachel step in, a heavy bag slung over her shoulder. The teacher took one look at the streamers and decorations, then stared at Erika.

"What is all this for? We're leaving tomorrow..."

The older woman beamed and got up, pulling the string on a little part-popper. "Congratulations on you promotion!"

"Wha? When did Rachel get promoted?" Yusuke twisted his head back, trying to see the older women from the couch. Erika, her face showing nothing short of delight, chirruped, "Rachel's going to be the resident headmistress, starting next school year!"

Dead silence filled the room, even more so than when Holly's relatives had made their grand entrance.

"Mooooove your ass outta bed! C'mon, you lazy bum! Moooooooove our ass outta bed! C'mon you lazy bu-"

For probably the hundredth time since their arrival, the clock was pitched out the window by the irate fire demon. And, again, for the hundredth time, refused to crack or shatter.

"Kuwabara, didn't you pack that away?" Yusuke groaned and sat up, blinking his eyes from the harsh sunlight.

"I dunno... I don't remember..." The reply came from somewhere over to his left, and the spirit detective suddenly remembered the night before.

They had partied till well past the sun had set, and the last time he recalled looking at a clock (which had been hours before he passed out on his bed upstairs), it had read 1 AM. Almost all his teachers had shown up, and so had a few friends of the girls ( a couple of graduates had appeared on their doorstep wishing good luck for the summer. Yusuke had a feeling he'd seen them before during vacation... it wasn't that hard to forget a girl with a horn and hooves, or one who had wings and a tail.).

All had been going well, actually, before Victoria had decided to liven up the party... and then came the spiked drinks... the jimson weed... and the closet...

Oh, wait, wrong party.

Well, anyways, it had been quite a bash (even without the alcohol), and now here he was, waking up at ten in the morning when the bus home left at eleven.

That was right... their ride came at eleven... and he wasn't done packing... or even dressed, for that matter...

"Crap! Hey, Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara! We have to-"

"Get ready?" The fox poked his head in through the door and waved good morning. "Don't worry, Yusuke. I already brought your bags downstairs, swept, and set you out some clothes."

Yusuke looked over to the side table by his bed, where a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans were laid out. "Wow, Kurama, what would I do without you?"

"It's no problem, really." Kurama disappeared from the door. "I wouldn't want to be in your place, though."

It took a minute to sink in, and Yusuke, trying to pull on his jeans and shirt at the same time, fell over with a crash. "Kuso! Keiko's going to kill me!"

"Didn't you call her last night?" Lark's voice floated up from the living room, and Yusuke managed to get dressed before answering. "Well, there wasn't much of an opportunity!" He ran downstairs, trying to shove the hair out of his face, then looked around the living room.

"Hey, where's Jin and Holly..? Or that cross dresser and the hag?"

Rogerik looked up from the newspaper that was spread across the kitchen island and shrugged, then went back to reading. "They left last night... after you passed out. Quiet, though, isn't it, without them?"

"I almost miss Kyuro... damn annoying furball he was." Koryu slipped his head through the kitchen window, and nodded his good morning. Seeing someone behind the spirit detective (who was wondering just when the rodent had gotten the guts to invite itself back into the house) , Koryu's four eyes widened, and the black creature called out, "Lyra-san, must you really go? I'll be left here all by myself, with no one but those infernal sparrows for company!"

"Sparrows? When was there more than one, around here?" Yusuke raised an eyebrow, but was ignored by Koryu. Looking back, he noticed Lyra lugging a large backpack down the stairs.

"Hey, don't you live here?"

"Yes, I do stay over the summer, but my sister and I were invited to Yukimi's for the week. Most of the students are going home, and she wanted some help cleaning the fishpond in her backyard. It's become a bit... overgrown."

"If you call giant goldfish with tusks and five-legged newts just 'overgrown'." Lark came down the steps with an equally large bag. From the kitchen island, Rogerik seemed to turn a bit red, looking at Lark, and slunk away with the excuse of "I need to go get my bags."

Yusuke's brown eyes widened and he pointed at the thief's retreating back. "Lark, what did you do to him? He's been like that ever since yesterday at lunch."

"Not telling, so Nyah!" the younger girl stuck out her tongue at Yusuke, and jumped when a blaring honk came from out front. "Kami... what was that?"

Lyra looked out the front window and called back, "It looks like a hummer... and there's an oni in the driver's seat."

There was another honk, Lyra said, "The oni got out, and he's waving a sign that reads: Get out here now, or Koenma will kill me for being late."

Yusuke peered over Lyra's shoulder, and slumped. "He's early... Koenma must've changed the schedule again."

Kurama hefted the heavy bag and tossed it lightly into the hummer's large trunk. In truth, he had been expecting Koenma to call them back earlier than planned; Givanni was on the loose, and it was most likely going to be their duty during the summer to track the headmaster down.

"Hey, Kurama, take a break; I'll get the rest!" Kuwabara staggered forwards, burdened by the suitcases that he had balanced on his shoulders. Kurama saw the inevitable - that his friend was going to hurt himself yet again - and stepped forwards to help. Someone else, however, had gotten there first.

One of the suitcases was lifted off the carrot-top's shoulders, and neatly thrown into the hummer trunk, where it landed on top of a stack of other bags. The savior was a young boy, not much older than Yusuke, with orange hair and red eyes, was standing next to Kuwabara, a sneer on his face.

"Well, are you just going to stare like some retarded goldfish?"

"Ayame, what are you doing here?! ... and why are you helping me?" Kuwabara backed away from the demon, and hastily held the suitcase up like a shield, lest Ayame (who had a strange disliking for humans) try anything.

"I heard you chased out the guy who sent that soul-sucking monster into town."

"Well, not really, but..." the tall boy cringed, not quite sure what to say. With his sadistic personality, Ayame, he was sure, was probably upset to see such a miserable thing like Cecilia's possessed corpse disappear. Not a good idea to get on the fire demon's bad side, but at least he was leaving in a matter of minutes.

"Yeah, well, I guess you aren't really that bad, to do something like that..." So, Ayame was trying to apologize for his hatred of humans? Or perhaps Kuwabara had been accepted by the demon? Either way, Kurama recognized the young youkai as non-threatening and slipped away without being noticed. There was something he had to see to...

And there she was, helping Yusuke bring out the old bed sheets from his room. With a sort of quiet voice, the fox waved them over. "Lyra, can we talk for a bit?"

The water manipulator looked confused, but handed her pile of sheets to the spirit detective (who winked and gave the fox a thumbs-up) and came over. "What is it, Kurama?"

"Ah, well..." Now what to say? Claim he was lost for words and let the chance slip by, only to have the entire summer come between them? Fake a request? "I, erm, wanted to say good-bye, but..."

Stupidity strikes again.

Lyra, however, seemed to guess his dilemma, and warmly smiled. "You wanted to say good bye while the others were out of the way?"

The fox's green eyes widened, and he laughed out loud. She had hit it on the nail, and , as he watched her smile, he sighed in frustration. "Yes, that was it... but, I also wanted to give you my number so you could call me during the summer." He searched his pants pocket for a pen, and pulled one out. Now for paper...

His search proved fruitless, but Lyra held out her hand, palm up, in front of the fox. "Don't worry, I won't wash it off until I write it down."

"Oh, thanks." He gently wrote the number on her palm, and looked up, her dark blue eyes staring into his. Everything else seemed to halt, and they drew a little closer, Lyra closing her eyes.

Still closer...

"Heya!"

Lark's chipper attitude totally broke the moment, and the fox and girl broke away, Lyra trying to hide her blush from her sister. The younger girl seemed not to notice this, though, and looked over at the hummer.

"You know, you better go soon... Jorge looks like he's about to have a heart attack..."

Looking over, the kitsune saw that Lark was, indeed, right. Jorge's blue face had turned red, and he was furiously watching as the three other tantei idled near the hummer. Koenma had to have been on a short fuse for the pressure to have such an affect on Jorge.

"Ah, yes, I better... You two have a good summer; call me if you get the chance."

"Kay! Bye Kurama!" Lark waved the fox off, then glanced back at her sister, who was making a slow retreat to the dorm. "Lyra, what's wrong? Did I do something?" She halted, and the past two minutes replayed in her head. Something clicked, and her storm-gray eyes widened. "Oh... ohhh! Lyra? Lyra, I'm really sorry! Hey, I am! Come on!"

"Hey, Kurama, what's with you?" Yusuke poked the redhead in the shoulder, and, receiving no response, instantly assumed the worst. "Sorry that she turned you down, man... but, there's plenty of other girls out there; there was a girl back at the academy who liked you, right? Helen, was it?"

Still no response, although Kurama stiffened a little at the girl's name. The spirit detective shrugged and leaned back in his seat, kicking his feet up on the headrest of the seat in front of him, and turned the volume on his CD player up to the max. "Well, either way, be happy you don't have some girl like Keiko hanging around... always spouting off lectures, and slapping me around... sheesh. Believe me, these few months were a vacation compared to school back home."

"Yusuke, shut up." Hiei glowered at the scenery outside, immune to the choke-hold grip Mara had on his neck. His red eyes were narrowed, and Kurama secretly guessed that the Jaganshi disliked leaving as much as he did.

"He ain't gonna listen. Hey, let's play something! I spy with my little eye..."

And so it began... all over again. (Kuwabara en Flambé, included)

Salvatore perked up as the door creaked open, and hopped over to the side of his white wire cage. His black eyes were bright, and he cheerfully greeted his owner, who entered without her usual enthusiasm and collapsed on her bad, facedown.

Well, something had gone wrong for her... it was only right he should try and lighten her mood. With a determined look, the lovebird crawled up to the highest perch in his cage and started to sing.

Well, to him, it was a song, but to Lyra... all that she heard was a constant stream of squawks and screeches.

"Salvatore, not now..." She lifted a hand in a feeble stop-gesture, and let it fall back on the bed, and yelped as her hand hit something sharp. She sat up, sticking her pricked finger in her mouth, and glared at the offending object.

One look, and the glare was gone.

Placed upon her blanket was a red rose bud, and a folded piece of paper was underneath it. Moving the flower aside, Lyra picked up the letter and unfolded it, her blue eyes scanning the contents.

The room was silent for a while, even Salvatore had stopped his song, and then Lyra's face broke out in a wide grin. The fox, although awkward in person, had certainly left something behind for her to remember the year by. And, picking up the rose so she could find a vase to put it in, she put the letter on the stand where the lovebird's cage was. The lovebird cocked his head and clambered down, then stared at the words on the paper.

With a puff of pride, the bird nodded his brightly-colored head; he had chosen right for Lyra after all... the girl's mother would be proud of him.

Replies to Reviewers!

Pegacorn: I know I sent you an e-mail about it, about how Mara's name is Western, and I had no idea about the Japanese meaning. To anyone else who is reading this chapter, I stress this point: Mara's name is Western! Like her mother's! Don't look it up in a Japanese-to-English dictionary unless you wish to be scarred!

Azuredragoness: Glad to know you want to kill Givanni so badly, and about your sympathy for Kuwa-kun. I shall make Kuwabara fans out of all of you yet. ::cue evil cackle::

Ryuu no Furui Yami: Yes, it can bite when you are right about stuff like that, but... eh. shrugs Oh, about the leaves: I was tired and braindead... also, I'm not good with previews. So, shoot me, if you must. (Hey, about the character you want, I can come up with a fairly interesting one. Originality is the key. )

Thank you all for reviewing. I'm sorry this took so long to finally finish, but I'm grateful to all of you who took your time to read this. This story has certainly been... well, interesting seems to fit well, ne? But, never fear, a bloopers/ behind the scenes chapter shall be up as soon as I get back home from California. Until then, I am taking a quick vote for a favorite academy teacher, student, and overall original character, respectfully, and am taking questions for them.

Perhaps a sequel is in order, hm?