Neither Kairi or Sazume were sure what time Sazume had started her explanation of the events of the last few days, but the early light of dawn shone through the cracks around the door when they had finished. Kairi sat in silence for a long time, her tail flicking to and fro behind her as she thought.
"You don't have a tail or anything," she said to Sazume at length.
"I told you, I was fused with a fire demon, not an animal spirit. Fire demons look human. You'll see what I mean when you meet Hiei," Sazume explained.
"Right...and Shuichi is a demon too?" Kairi asked after another silence. Sazume had explained all about the legendary thief turned human nearly three times now, but Kairi found it harder to believe then the fact that she had turned into a cat.
"I already told you about that too," Sazume said with and exasperated sigh.
"I know you did, sorry," Kairi murmured. Then she added, "I'm hungry."
"Well, you were asleep for four days," Sazume said, standing up.
"I meant to ask you, what did you tell Mai?" Kairi asked as she too stood. She was feeling a little better and could at least walk now, but she was still achy and stiff.
"Kuwabara told her that the college was having a week-long field trip and so was my school," Sazume answered as she slid open the door to find the short ice apparition Yukina standing there with two bowls of rice.
"I'm glad to see you're awake. I thought you might be hungry," she said politely as she handed the bowls to the girls in front of her.
"Thanks. You read my mind. It's Yukina, right?" Kairi said, taking a bowl and trying to keep strait all the names and people Sazume had told her about.
"Yes, that's right," Yukina said with a smile. "If you need anything else, just let me know." With that, she turned and walked back down the temple's wooden porch and around the corner.
Kairi and Sazume sat back down to eat and were silent for a good ten minutes. Finally, however, Sazume broke the silence to ask something that had been bothering her for a few days.
"Kairi?" she asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Her sister replied threw a mouthful of rice.
"Do you remember anything about Mom?" Sazume had been told about the seal on Kairi's ear and had even explained about it to Kairi. But in her explanation, she had neglected to mention how it blocked her sister's memory of their mother's death and had simply said that it locked Sanga's memories away. Now, she wanted to know if it really had sealed that one dreadful memory. It certainly seemed to have. Kairi was much more happy and talkative then usual, but Sazume still had to find out for sure.
"Mom? I don't know...um..." Kairi said once she had swallowed her rice. She tapped her chopsticks against her chin in thought and her tail swished behind her once more.
"Well...I remember the locket," she said finally, running her fingers over the tarnished silver pendent that she always wore. "And I remember the funeral," she added after a moment.
"Nothing about how she died?" Sazume asked hopefully.
Kairi was silent again thinking, then she shook her head. "No. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Sazume lied, smiling to herself as she looked down at her bowl and continued to eat. Kairi stared at her sister in curiosity, but didn't say anything more.
-()-()-()
It was late in the afternoon when Kurama climbed the steps to Genkai's temple. He had been coming here after work everyday since Kairi's memories had been sealed. He still felt responsible for what happened to her and knew he wouldn't find peace until she woke up and he knew for certain that she was going to be alright.
As he reached the top and the temple came into view, he was surprised to see the door that lead to Kairi's room was opened. He sped up slightly and was soon at the door, looking in to find that Yukina was the only occupant of the room.
"What happened to Kairi?" he asked, afraid of what horrible answer he might receive.
"Oh, hello Kurama. She woke up this morning and she and Sazume took a walk a short time ago. She should be around her somewhere," Yukina answered politely. She had been in the room to retrieve Sazume and Kairi's breakfast bowls, which she now held in her hands.
"Thank you Yukina," Kurama said politely, smiling as he left her to find the missing sisters. He walked around the side of the temple, but stopped as he sensed a familiar presence in a nearby tree.
"If she ever catches you, she'll think you're a stalker," Kurama said calmly as Hiei appeared next to him, having jumped from the branch he had been watching Yukina from.
"Hn," was all he said as he continued to watch Yukina as she rounded the corner on the opposite side of the temple.
"You haven't seen Kairi, have you?" Kurama asked as his short companion shifted his crimson gaze from Yukina's retreating form to him.
"What is your obsession with this girl?" Hiei asked.
"No more then your obsession with Yukina," Kurama teased.
"It's not the same thing and you know it," Hiei huffed.
"Alright then, how about your obsession with Akira," Kurama answered, noting Hiei's reaction. The shorter demon visibly stiffened.
"I am not obsessed with that girl!" Hiei growled. Kurama only smiled. He had hit a sensitive chord.
"You're always staring at her," he pointed out. Hiei looked liked he was about to kill the former Makai thief, but Kurama new that for all his teasing, he was safe from the short tempered fire demon's wrath.
"Have you seen her?" Kurama asked his original question again.
"She and her sister are by the lake," Hiei grunted before becoming a blur and then disappearing altogether. Kurama smiled again and headed into the woods surrounding the temple. Sure enough, when he reached the lake, Kairi and Sazume were sitting by it. Sazume was watching the clouds overhead while Kairi stared down at her reflection in the water.
"How are you feeling?" Kurama asked as he approached the pair. They both turned to look at him, causing him to pause for a moment in shock. Kairi's eyes...they were so different. True, they were a different color then before, but that wasn't what caught Kurama's eye. They were so clear and welcoming, completely different from the dull ones he had seen the bus before. The seal must have worked as Koenma had said it would. It was amazing how the removal of one memory could change someone so dramatically.
"I still feel a little achy, but I'm alright Shu-I mean Kurama," she smiled at him. Kurama wondered how she had known his true name wasn't Shuichi. When she caught his questioning stare, she said, "Sazume explained everything to me."
"Oh," was all Kurama found to say. Sazume looked from Kairi to Kurama and back again, then she smiled, remembering Kuwabara's teasing words at the park.
"I think I'll head back now," she said, standing up, "I'll see you back at the temple."
"Um...alright," Kairi said, startled by her sister's sudden proposal to leave. She watched Sazume disappear through the trees before turning back to Kurama.
"You can sit down you know," she said after a moment, gesturing to the space next to her on the large rock she was sitting on. Kurama smiled and excepted the offer, taking a seat next to her. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, or at least, it was awkward for Kurama. Kairi didn't seem to notice. She was too busy watching the fish in the lake.
"Kairi?" he asked when he could take the silence no more.
"Hmm?" she asked, turning to him with those bright, sparkling eyes once more. He hesitated for a moment, realizing that he really didn't have anything to say.
"What?" she giggled, making him aware that he had been staring at her.
"N-nothing. Nevermind," he muttered, looking quickly at the ground. Kairi didn't seem convinced, but she didn't press the matter. Instead, she found something else to ask.
"Kurama?"
"What?" he asked, looking up at her again.
"At the park, the other day," she started slowly. "Kuwabara said that you liked me. Was he right?"
Kurama didn't know what to say. He couldn't say yes, but he couldn't say no either. He felt his mouth go dry as he tried to come up with an answer.
"Well?" Kairi asked after Kurama had been silent for several minutes.
"I...I don't know," he finally said truthfully.
"Oh," was Kairi's reply as she turned back to the fish. Kurama couldn't tell if she was disappointed or not.
-()-()-()
Hiei walked alone through the forest, following the trail of familiar energy. Akira was close by. After his run in with Kurama and the fox's teasing, he had decided to find Akira and set it strait once and for all exactly was there was between them. The truth was, he didn't know if there truly was anything between them. They had been separated for so long...
He swore under his breath as a loud crack resounded through the woods as he stepped on a twig. There was a laugh from above him and he looked up to find Akira staring down at him from a branch above his head.
"You never could sneak up on me," she teased. Hiei didn't answer. She smirked down at him for a moment more before looking away and saying in a bored tone, "You're lucky I stopped."
"What?" he asked, wondering what in the world she was talking about. Akira smiled. She had his attention now.
"That little show of swordsmanship we had a few days ago. Do you really think you would have won, or even escaped alive if I hadn't stopped my blade?" she asked.
Hiei spoke slowly, trying to hide his outrage at those words. "What makes you think YOU would have gotten away alive it I hadn't stopped MY attack!?"
"You haven't changed a bit," Akira said with a laugh.
"HN!" Hiei grunted as he turned to leave, wondering how he could have even imagined that he could have feelings for this girl.
"Wait!" Akira suddenly called from behind him.
"What?!" he growled, turning back.
"I..." Akira fumbled with her words, all traces of her smug attitude gone.
"You what?" Hiei asked, some of the anger leaving his voice at her tone.
"I...I missed you," Akira finally said quietly.
Hiei was silent for a moment. He turned, but didn't leave, just stared at the trees in front of him.
"I missed you too," he said finally, still not facing her. And then he was gone.
"You don't have a tail or anything," she said to Sazume at length.
"I told you, I was fused with a fire demon, not an animal spirit. Fire demons look human. You'll see what I mean when you meet Hiei," Sazume explained.
"Right...and Shuichi is a demon too?" Kairi asked after another silence. Sazume had explained all about the legendary thief turned human nearly three times now, but Kairi found it harder to believe then the fact that she had turned into a cat.
"I already told you about that too," Sazume said with and exasperated sigh.
"I know you did, sorry," Kairi murmured. Then she added, "I'm hungry."
"Well, you were asleep for four days," Sazume said, standing up.
"I meant to ask you, what did you tell Mai?" Kairi asked as she too stood. She was feeling a little better and could at least walk now, but she was still achy and stiff.
"Kuwabara told her that the college was having a week-long field trip and so was my school," Sazume answered as she slid open the door to find the short ice apparition Yukina standing there with two bowls of rice.
"I'm glad to see you're awake. I thought you might be hungry," she said politely as she handed the bowls to the girls in front of her.
"Thanks. You read my mind. It's Yukina, right?" Kairi said, taking a bowl and trying to keep strait all the names and people Sazume had told her about.
"Yes, that's right," Yukina said with a smile. "If you need anything else, just let me know." With that, she turned and walked back down the temple's wooden porch and around the corner.
Kairi and Sazume sat back down to eat and were silent for a good ten minutes. Finally, however, Sazume broke the silence to ask something that had been bothering her for a few days.
"Kairi?" she asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Her sister replied threw a mouthful of rice.
"Do you remember anything about Mom?" Sazume had been told about the seal on Kairi's ear and had even explained about it to Kairi. But in her explanation, she had neglected to mention how it blocked her sister's memory of their mother's death and had simply said that it locked Sanga's memories away. Now, she wanted to know if it really had sealed that one dreadful memory. It certainly seemed to have. Kairi was much more happy and talkative then usual, but Sazume still had to find out for sure.
"Mom? I don't know...um..." Kairi said once she had swallowed her rice. She tapped her chopsticks against her chin in thought and her tail swished behind her once more.
"Well...I remember the locket," she said finally, running her fingers over the tarnished silver pendent that she always wore. "And I remember the funeral," she added after a moment.
"Nothing about how she died?" Sazume asked hopefully.
Kairi was silent again thinking, then she shook her head. "No. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Sazume lied, smiling to herself as she looked down at her bowl and continued to eat. Kairi stared at her sister in curiosity, but didn't say anything more.
-()-()-()
It was late in the afternoon when Kurama climbed the steps to Genkai's temple. He had been coming here after work everyday since Kairi's memories had been sealed. He still felt responsible for what happened to her and knew he wouldn't find peace until she woke up and he knew for certain that she was going to be alright.
As he reached the top and the temple came into view, he was surprised to see the door that lead to Kairi's room was opened. He sped up slightly and was soon at the door, looking in to find that Yukina was the only occupant of the room.
"What happened to Kairi?" he asked, afraid of what horrible answer he might receive.
"Oh, hello Kurama. She woke up this morning and she and Sazume took a walk a short time ago. She should be around her somewhere," Yukina answered politely. She had been in the room to retrieve Sazume and Kairi's breakfast bowls, which she now held in her hands.
"Thank you Yukina," Kurama said politely, smiling as he left her to find the missing sisters. He walked around the side of the temple, but stopped as he sensed a familiar presence in a nearby tree.
"If she ever catches you, she'll think you're a stalker," Kurama said calmly as Hiei appeared next to him, having jumped from the branch he had been watching Yukina from.
"Hn," was all he said as he continued to watch Yukina as she rounded the corner on the opposite side of the temple.
"You haven't seen Kairi, have you?" Kurama asked as his short companion shifted his crimson gaze from Yukina's retreating form to him.
"What is your obsession with this girl?" Hiei asked.
"No more then your obsession with Yukina," Kurama teased.
"It's not the same thing and you know it," Hiei huffed.
"Alright then, how about your obsession with Akira," Kurama answered, noting Hiei's reaction. The shorter demon visibly stiffened.
"I am not obsessed with that girl!" Hiei growled. Kurama only smiled. He had hit a sensitive chord.
"You're always staring at her," he pointed out. Hiei looked liked he was about to kill the former Makai thief, but Kurama new that for all his teasing, he was safe from the short tempered fire demon's wrath.
"Have you seen her?" Kurama asked his original question again.
"She and her sister are by the lake," Hiei grunted before becoming a blur and then disappearing altogether. Kurama smiled again and headed into the woods surrounding the temple. Sure enough, when he reached the lake, Kairi and Sazume were sitting by it. Sazume was watching the clouds overhead while Kairi stared down at her reflection in the water.
"How are you feeling?" Kurama asked as he approached the pair. They both turned to look at him, causing him to pause for a moment in shock. Kairi's eyes...they were so different. True, they were a different color then before, but that wasn't what caught Kurama's eye. They were so clear and welcoming, completely different from the dull ones he had seen the bus before. The seal must have worked as Koenma had said it would. It was amazing how the removal of one memory could change someone so dramatically.
"I still feel a little achy, but I'm alright Shu-I mean Kurama," she smiled at him. Kurama wondered how she had known his true name wasn't Shuichi. When she caught his questioning stare, she said, "Sazume explained everything to me."
"Oh," was all Kurama found to say. Sazume looked from Kairi to Kurama and back again, then she smiled, remembering Kuwabara's teasing words at the park.
"I think I'll head back now," she said, standing up, "I'll see you back at the temple."
"Um...alright," Kairi said, startled by her sister's sudden proposal to leave. She watched Sazume disappear through the trees before turning back to Kurama.
"You can sit down you know," she said after a moment, gesturing to the space next to her on the large rock she was sitting on. Kurama smiled and excepted the offer, taking a seat next to her. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, or at least, it was awkward for Kurama. Kairi didn't seem to notice. She was too busy watching the fish in the lake.
"Kairi?" he asked when he could take the silence no more.
"Hmm?" she asked, turning to him with those bright, sparkling eyes once more. He hesitated for a moment, realizing that he really didn't have anything to say.
"What?" she giggled, making him aware that he had been staring at her.
"N-nothing. Nevermind," he muttered, looking quickly at the ground. Kairi didn't seem convinced, but she didn't press the matter. Instead, she found something else to ask.
"Kurama?"
"What?" he asked, looking up at her again.
"At the park, the other day," she started slowly. "Kuwabara said that you liked me. Was he right?"
Kurama didn't know what to say. He couldn't say yes, but he couldn't say no either. He felt his mouth go dry as he tried to come up with an answer.
"Well?" Kairi asked after Kurama had been silent for several minutes.
"I...I don't know," he finally said truthfully.
"Oh," was Kairi's reply as she turned back to the fish. Kurama couldn't tell if she was disappointed or not.
-()-()-()
Hiei walked alone through the forest, following the trail of familiar energy. Akira was close by. After his run in with Kurama and the fox's teasing, he had decided to find Akira and set it strait once and for all exactly was there was between them. The truth was, he didn't know if there truly was anything between them. They had been separated for so long...
He swore under his breath as a loud crack resounded through the woods as he stepped on a twig. There was a laugh from above him and he looked up to find Akira staring down at him from a branch above his head.
"You never could sneak up on me," she teased. Hiei didn't answer. She smirked down at him for a moment more before looking away and saying in a bored tone, "You're lucky I stopped."
"What?" he asked, wondering what in the world she was talking about. Akira smiled. She had his attention now.
"That little show of swordsmanship we had a few days ago. Do you really think you would have won, or even escaped alive if I hadn't stopped my blade?" she asked.
Hiei spoke slowly, trying to hide his outrage at those words. "What makes you think YOU would have gotten away alive it I hadn't stopped MY attack!?"
"You haven't changed a bit," Akira said with a laugh.
"HN!" Hiei grunted as he turned to leave, wondering how he could have even imagined that he could have feelings for this girl.
"Wait!" Akira suddenly called from behind him.
"What?!" he growled, turning back.
"I..." Akira fumbled with her words, all traces of her smug attitude gone.
"You what?" Hiei asked, some of the anger leaving his voice at her tone.
"I...I missed you," Akira finally said quietly.
Hiei was silent for a moment. He turned, but didn't leave, just stared at the trees in front of him.
"I missed you too," he said finally, still not facing her. And then he was gone.