Chapter 6

The streets of this city, if not shown respect, could some times be cruel in unimaginable ways, as they are in most cities. But here they have one thing that most cities don't.

Demons.

And lots of them. As I walk down the street I had to pass at least twenty of them, if they were only half bloods. I walk in to the arcade and smirk. This is what I had always expected of humans. Competing as children would. This is where they learn their competitive nature. I walk through the rows and stop at the end. I search the sides of the room and smirk again. I walk over to where they were playing. Well Kuwabara was playing and Yusuke was watching, leaning against the side.

Yusuke spots me coming and says something to Kuwabara as he looks over at me. I get closes and he smiles. "Well, look who it is. What ya doing Kivan?" I almost smiled at hearing him call me Kivan, but instead simply smirk. "Well, what ya doing here?"

"Being bored, then again, there was nothing to do at home."

"Why? Hiei get boring?"

"No just passed out." He laughs and I look at Kuwabara. "Take it you were told."

"Nope figured it out myself." He smiles and Yusuke shakes his head.

"Will you ever stop?" Kuwabara looks at him innocently and stares at him.

"What'd ya mean?"

"I told you," Yusuke says shaking his head. I nod.

"That's what I thought." Yusuke nods and I look over Kuwabara's shoulder to see what he was doing? "What is this?"

"Racer 3000," Kuwabara says matter-of-factly and runs off the road. I nod.

"And apparently you belong with 20." Yusuke laughs and Kuwabara looks from him to me trying to figure out what he we're talking about.

"That was good," Yusuke says and I smirk. Kuwabara still looked confused.

"What are you people talking about?" I smirk again.

"Maybe when you're older." He got that one.

"What are you saying, that I'm immature?"

"No just stupid," Yusuke says and I nod.

"He's got a point." Kuwabara glares between us and I almost smile again. Kuwabara then drops all facial expression and looks at Yusuke.

"Why'd you call her Kiven earlier?"

"Kivan and that's her name." Kuwabara looks at me and I nod.

"He's right." I look around as Kuwabara starts the questions.

"What?" Yusuke sighs and looks at me. I was looking over to where two guys and a dark haired girl were standing behind a boy playing a racing game similar to the one Kuwabara had been playing.

"Kivan?" I look at him. "You ok?" I nod. Three months ago if I had been this bored I would have sent three Nightmares to them and would have sat back and watched the chaos with Nails at my side, but now, I pitied myself for the thought. Outside of the Saints I really didn't have a life other than them.

Now I could admit it to myself. I missed them. All of the Saints, but Nails the most. Gwen and Ami were a mistake to cross like this and I knew they would have a hard time ever trusting me again. Gwen was the first one to take me in when the Saint found me. She was my only friend in the beginning. But then Nails came, and later Ami. By that time though I was one of the strongest Saints. No one would cross me. But one day it hit me, why we were doing this. It was the Saint. It couldn't be trusted. I became the biggest voice in council, scrutinizing every word the Saint made. I never trusted it. Never.

"What do you want to do?" Kuwabara's voice brings me back to reality and I look to where Yusuke was glaring at him.

"You got bored at School, so we come here, and now you're bored here? What can I do with you!" I shake my head and head to the door without them. They follow anyway and the three of us walk down the sidewalk.

Winter, it would come soon and I didn't want it too. We walk down the street with no real destination. It seemed like they did this a lot because they seemed to have a beaten path they followed, not even really paying attention to where they were going. I smirk as I follow them they would look back every now a then to make sure I was still there, or ask my opinion on something. But of course, I didn't know a thing about half of what they were taking about.

The minutes float by like second and soon enough they were walking down the still beaten path, straight to a different school than we all went to. They wait outside the gate still talking about whatever they were talking about I listen to the people on the other side of the gate. "What are we doing here," I ask after a minute.

"Remember Kurama?" I sigh.

"Should have known." I shake my head and Yusuke smiles a little until Kuwabara says something and Yusuke turns back to him.

"Are you stupid," is all I hear from Yusuke before the smell of roses assaults my nose. Kurama stands by my side looking at Yusuke and Kuwabara who were fighting again.

"What is it this time?" I look at him and shrug.

"No clue not like I care really though." He looks at me and smiles softly. "What?"

"Just thinking. Does that bother you?" I glare at him.

"Do you just have a knack for rubbing people the wrong way, or is it just me?" He smiles.

"No, I'm just trying." Yusuke finally looks over long enough to see Kurama.

"Hey," He says and Kuwabara yells at him.

"We were in the middle of a fight!"

"I can kick your ass any time Kuwabara, besides we can go now." He looks at Kurama who walks next to me as we head down the sidewalk. Yusuke and Kuwabara begin to fight again and Kurama laughs good-naturedly at them.

"What," I say and he shakes his head.

"It's nothing really. You'd just never guess that they've stuck their heads out for each other so many times. 'Friends' usually don't fight like them."

"Not true. Every good friend, has to be able to find weaknesses in their 'friend' and be able to build off those down falls. That's why humans ultimately have 'friends'."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

"I'm a Saint Kurama. You trust the people you kill with, in essence they are the only friends I would ever have as a Saint. There would be no need for others." He nods.

"The voice of reason?"

"What's your point?" He looks at me.

"I don't understand you Nightmare." I look at him.

"That's a good thing. You'll live longer that way. Understand the ones that will try to kill you, not me." He nods and I look away back at where Yusuke and Kuwabara were walking.

"And why will they try to kill me?"

"Because you're standing next to me." He looks at me and I look across the street on top of the building and sighs. I look back at the ground, wordlessly telling her to wait. I knew she would. 'Friends', even evil ones, will do as their friends ask. "What were you thinking about?" Kurama looks at me and shakes his head.

"Just that you remind me a lot of Hiei. In different ways, but you two are a lot alike." I smirk and close my eyes for a second.

"You need new things to think about, because that, I already knew." He smiles and nods.

"What does she want?"

"I don't know." I telepathically glance over at where Nails stands following us stride for stride on the building top. "She doesn't want to kill me though, I know that." He smirks and nods.

"I could tell that." I finally noticed that Yusuke and Kuwabara had gotten quiet and that they were looking at the building skeptically.

"Don't pay any attention to her," I say indicating Nails, "She won't bother you when I go. They nod.

"And what do you want us to do," Kuwabara says and I smirk.

"Let the assassins play boys. You can go get Hiei for me though, he'll probably want to know about this truthfully."

"Where is he," Kuwabara asks again.

"At my house. Yusuke knows where it is. Hiei's in the back room, probably still asleep." Yusuke nods and Kuwabara doesn't move.

"I'll stay with you," Kurama says and I look at him, "The assassins can still play, call me a curious by standard."

"You don't move unless I tell you to run, got it." Kurama nods and at the next street corner Yusuke and Kuwabara head one way and Kurama walks with me to the destroyed part of town.

"You know what you're doing right," Kurama says as we enter the crumbled building. I nod.

"I know Nails," I say, "And she knows me." He nods and runs off. I could feel her eyes on my back. I could hear the tap of her boots on the cement floor and I knew her gentle laugh as it came from her throat softly.

"You had all that help, and you let it walks away." I smirk and nod, turning to face her.

"Well, it should be an even fight," She smirks, "And I know how you hate uneven fighting." She smiles.

"Who said I came to here to fight you Kidkivan?" I shrug.

"General opinion of me isn't high, hon. You could have come here to kill me for all I know or you could have come here to give me a royalty check and take the Nightmare, how the hell was I to know?" She nods, her black hair nodding with her as the soft locks run over her shoulders.

"You bring up a logical point, but if I came here to kill you, you would be at least in fight, and we both knew that." I nod.

"True." She smirks and tilts her head. "So what do you want." She looks down at the ground for a second and shakes her head.

"You were right Kid. The Saint is controlling us." I nod.

"And it took me leaving for you to see this?" She nods.

"Yep, and I'll admit it. Gwen won't do that."

"Ami?"

"She doesn't know what to think." I nod. Nails brushes her hair back and takes her sword form her side walking toward me. She stops in front of me and holds her sword out. I look at it. "They can't see it, but I do Kid. I know what they can do to us- well to me. They made us, and they can kill us if we stand under them. Gwen and Ami may not have to worry about it but I do. I'm leaving the Saints, and I'm staying here." I smirk brightly and take her sword. She sighs and drops it into my hands. "I don't want to fight anymore." I nod.

"And you don't have to. You never did, Nails. That was what made you crazy." She nods.

"Don't rub it in." I smile for a second and look up.

"No fighting this time Fox."

"Nuts," Kurama says sitting on the ledge of the broken ceiling and jumping down a little ways away. "Maybe next time." I shake my head and Nails laughs.

"Us, fight her," Nails says in a sarcastic voice, "Only Elieria." I nod.

"Girl has the ego of an third world army," I say to help Kurama understand and the three of us walks back out of the building.

"So what is there to eat around here?" I shake my head.

"Do you ever do anything that doesn't help you stomach," I ask and Nails smiles.

"Me? Never, you know that Kid." I nod.

"Oh, how easily we forget." She laughs and nods.

"That's you." Kurama watches us with interest and I look at him after Nails had cartwheels ahead of us.

"What," I ask and he shakes his head.

"Thinking." I smirk. "Maybe I'll have to change my opinion of you Kivan."

"Kidkivan," I say and he looks at me weird, "My full name is Kidkivan." He nods and smiles weakly.

"Nightmare Kidkivan." I smirk and look down at the ground.

"Ice Naobi." He looks at Nails.

"But you call her..."

"Nails." He nods not taking his eyes from where she was back flipping down the deserted sidewalk.

"Ice Nails?" I nod. "You Saints are so weird." I smirks and nod.

"We have to be, it keeps up the image."

"And I thought the Shinobi were bad." I look at him.

"You know Shinobi?" He nods.

"Two of them, quite well."

"Who?"

"Jin and Touya. The wind and Ice masters. Why?" I smirk.

"Just like, Gwen and Nails. They always did get along to well." He smiles softly and I watch Nails. "Do you guys talk to them often?" Kurama shakes his head.

"Not in a while. They haven't wanted to really talk to people since they messed up in the tournament." I nod.

"Understandable." He nods back.

"They have pride in what they do and there's nothing wrong with that, they just can't understand how to get by on what they do."

"There's nothing wrong with not wanting to kill for a living. I mean look at Nails," He does and almost laughs, "She's spent most of her life killing and I've never seen her this happy."

"I can understand that." I nod.

"You were just a thief though. Think if you lived your whole life killing, not stealing and then that happened? What would you do?"

"The same thing I did." I nod.

"That's why I think Nails can feel free now. Maybe a little too free but still free none the less." We walk down the street, Nails eventually calming down and walking beside us. I smirk as I feel his eyes roll over us walking down the street and we run into Yusuke and Kuwabara a little further on.

Nails smiles and I introduce her as the Saint of Ice and she added, but for how much longer, we don't really know. I almost had to laugh at her.

Of any of the Saints, Nails won the prize for the most innocence. She could easily pull off looking as innocent as a doll. With the porcelain skin that we all had and the coal black hair that the Sainthood gave us, it was all we could do to make us seem normal was to look innocent.

Hiei never came back to the house that night and I told Nails to sleep in the guest room. She seemed to hesitate before walking in the room. She said the next morning that sleeping in there seemed wrong. I just smirked and as she looked away I let it gently flow into a full smile. The Nightmare knew what it wanted and when it didn't get it, there were consequences. I didn't go to school the next morning either.

I'd wait for him. That was all there was to do. I knew he would come, but by the time he did, it was out of my control. The Nightmare owned him. It had worked its way into his eyes even, making them seem darker. He just smirked and faded away like he always did.

Nails never said a word about him. I thanked manna for that.