Emptiness and News

by The Rurouni Idoru

"So...she went home?" Bara and her mother were finally the only ones left in the house, sitting at the kitchen table over some pizza. Bara took a drink from a copper-colored can of root beer and answered her mother without looking up.
"Yep." Bara's mother sighed a little.
"That's not bad, though, is it? I mean, if she gets home to her family...."
"Friends, her only family's here," Bara corrected.
"Alright, so she's going home to where she grew up. That's not so bad." Bara sighed.
"But we can't be sure she'll get home safe." She lowered her head further, and brought it down to her right. "Hiei's worried sick. And so am I." Her mother only nodded.

Yukina and Rikka had been walking together for some time. It took a little while longer than it should have because not only did they stop to rest, but Rikka got them lost somehow along the way.
"Alrighty, I know what we're doing this time. Look, I can see the city!" Rikka pointed ahead. Yukina saw what she was pointing at. And her smile widened, becoming a broad, toothy grin. She giggled in sheer glee, and began to run. Rikka's mouth then formed itself into that michevious smirk she was so fond of. She began to chase after Yukina, kicking up snow along the way. "Get back here! Yukina-chan!"

Hiei sighed in aggrivation. Teara looked at him strangely from her spot on the bed. He was on one of his favorite perches, Teara's windowsill.
"You gonna sigh all day, or are you gonna go get her?"
"You know very well I have no idea where she is."
"Then quiet down! Or, you know...use words. Words are good. I like words."
"Hn."
"No! That's cheating! 'Hn' is not a word! It's two letters! I mean big words, like 'a' and 'the!'"
"...But 'a' is only--"
"Shh!" Teara, as usual, seemed to be taking it well. But then, she was the one to try and pretend like everything was alright when it was not. And if anyone knew that all was not right, it was the one who had Hiei sitting in her window.

Rikka quickly caught up with Yukina. The warrior koorime playfully tackled Yukina, knocking giggles out of both of them. This, of course, sent them spiraling down the hill they were on top of, and into someone's yard. The woman who owned the house, who had been tending to some sculptures of ice, paused and smiled a bit.
"Rikka, you know not to come barreling into my yard like that. However, it would seem that this time, you brought a friend." Yukina stood up, and brushed snow off of her kimono. Rikka followed suit, but instead of politely brushing the powder off, as Yukina had, she instead knocked it off roughly, and then gave herself the finishing touch by shaking her whole body, not unlike a wet dog. The girls both knew the woman. So Yukina wasted no time in shouting out the good news. She didn't even wait for the woman to acknowledge that she recognized her as Yukina.
"I found my brother!" The older koorime stared for a moment, and then smiled wisely, causing small lines to form tiny "v"s at the corners of her eyes.
"Well then, Yukina, perhaps you should go tell the others this exciting news, hmm?" Yukina smiled eagerly once more, nodded, and continued running, past the woman's house, and into the street. Rikka, again, followed closely.
"Thank you!" Yukina called over her shoulder.

Kuwabara gave another deep sigh. It had only been less than a day yet, and he already longed to have Yukina near him again. Oh, if only the power of love alone could bring her back.
"Oh, Yukina-san, my love...."
"How many times do you plan to say that in the next hour? Because I'm watching a movie, and I don't want you to ruin the good part." Yes, the ever-practical Shizuru, telling Kuwabara to shut up, as usual. "I understand that you miss her, but that's no excuse to say 'Yukina my love' wistfully every five minutes until the cows come home!"
"But you don't get it! Your one true love has never gone away and there was nothing you could do about it, and no way to see if they were okay or bring them back...." Shizuru made a face, as she fingered her lighter in her pocket.
"Are you kidding me?"
"I know you think it's corny, but that's just 'cause you're too busy kickin' guys to date them, so you don't know about love like that!" Shizuru was speechless for a moment, stricken dumb by the words that had just poured out of her brother's mouth. She blinked a few times, mouth slightly open. She contemplated asking him something along the lines of, "are you high?" or possibly injuring him. She thought better of it, however, and sighed a little.
"Look. Yukina's fine. Okay? I can tell." He just turned away disdainfully.
"I've never seen your feelings and stuff extend all the way through Makai, so I don't know HOW you can sense she's fine. Obviously, you can't, 'cause you're a big mean liar and just want me to shut up so you can watch "When Sally Met Harry." She took another deep breath. Patience, of course, was not something she had in spades.
"Look, maybe I can't say for sure that she's alright. As far as my actual sixth sense goes, I'm clueless on Yukina right now. I don't know absolutely that she's happy or sad or hopping on one foot. But there are some things even stronger than the sixth sense, and right now, one of those things is telling me that Yukina's alright. I don't know, call it woman's intuition." Kuwabara considered this, and finally seemed to accept it as valid.
"I still say you just want me to shut up for your dumb movie, though."
"Because I do. Now please do so."

Rikka and Yukina came running into the street of tightly packed snow. The ruckus they made in the quiet city caused most of the other koorime to pause and look at them as they caught their breath. Yukina clutched her hands to her chest, breathing heavily, while Rikka doubled over, holding her knees to stay upright. Their cheeks both flushed a little while they smiled energetically. The more athletic of the two, Rikka, obviously caught her breath more quickly and bolted upright cheerily.
"Yukina-chan has news! Big, big news!" Yukina nodded enthusiastically, and turned her head rapidly to look at the others around her.
"It's my brother! I found him!" There was silence. One woman, with dark hair and a large belly stepped forward. She smiled engimatically at the two girls, looking part happy, part sarcastic, part angry, and even a little sad.
"So, Yukina's finally found him?" Yukina's face brightened.
"Kousetsu-san!" She rushed to embrace the older woman. "I found him, I really found him! Just like I told you I could!" She released her grip on Kousetsu and stepped backwards. "...You're having your baby? I didn't even realize you were almost at that age when I left! Congratulations, Kousetsu-san!" Kousetsu only smiled again, looking more sad this time.
"Welcome home, Yukina-chan."