Disclaimer: Who knows where the Yu Yu Hakusho artist got the idea for everything, but I do know that he's where I got a lot of the ideas in this story. I'm only borrowing!

Chapter 11: Back to Before

…Koko…

I could tell Bri was still furious about the new development. Honestly, I was shocked to find out just how much Koemna had come to depend on her and Kuronue. She came to me in my house in the Makai. For once, Kuronue wasn't with her. Ever since she was born, I'd rarely, if ever, seen the two apart. It was a new sight.

But a welcome one, now that she looked like she was mostly supposed to at last. Those golden streaks through her hair were new, as well as the slightly softer glow she had around her. The result of her fire kitsune heritage, as opposed to cat demon. We both still had some attributes of Tsuki, although the good majority were gone. Some stupid effect of the time stream that I didn't pay attention to the explanation of.

"I don't care whether I have to fight in some stupid tournament like this, but I would rather Koenma have warned me before exposing Kuronue and I like that," she grumbled.

She sank onto one of the many bean-bag-like cushions of our "living room". Each one was like an Eygptian dais, which Hiei had never explained the significance of. Sometimes I wondered why I had allowed him back into my life. It's the effect of falling so damn hard for a man who barely speaks three words most of the time.

"Bri, it's not like…" The words died on my tongue. I really had no excuse for the toddler and I had no real reason to back him up.

What the hell happened to me? I used to be able to make such sharp comebacks. I must've gotten old. Yeah, that's it. I got old. At age thirty. Of course, with the demonic influence of Hiei in my blood, I'll probably remain looking like a freakin' sixteen-year-old until my death. Which probably won't be for a few hundred years…

"What's done is done," Bri sighed. "And I can't exactly kill a god."

"Even one as annoying as toddlerness," I agreed. I liked Bri's nickname for Koenma. It reminded me of the old days that "never happened", according to Bri.

"I'm no where near as powerful as Kuronue or even Kuwabara," she sighed. "I was bluffing him out. I couldn't beat him, even by a hairsbreath. I'm a middle 'D' class, Koko, I can't possibly survive a tournament like this!"

"Then train longer," I said. "Ask Koenma if you can use the Chronodom after school, have a month instead of an afternoon."

"Do you think King Yama would allow that kind of abuse in the time stream?"

"He let you be reborn, didn't he?" I asked dryly. She chuckled weakly.

"Yeah, but this is different. I don't know how to fight that much. I know karate, I'm decent with a bow and arrow, but…Koko, I don't think I can fight someone like that. Not on my own."

"Stop worrying so much, you're like a damn kid," I said, rolling my eyes. "You know, supposedly you're only a year younger than me, but hanging out with all those high schoolers must've taken a toll on your maturity."

"This isn't the time for shitty jokes!"

"Wow, Bridget Wolf is cursing," I sighed. "Bri, listen. Just ask Kurama to help you. Or Kuronue. They'll help, they really will. You don't have to get all sentimental. It's just training. You're going to fight, we've all had something to fight for."

"And Kokomo Wolf is preaching to me, the world's going to end. Or someone's slipped my some crack." Bri sighed. "Fine. I'll ask. I'll ask Koenma if we can use the Chronodom, I'll ask my idiot brother and my math teacher to train me. Happy now?"

Not until you're back with who you love. "Yes, as soon as you keep that word."

"Have I ever failed to do so?"

Yes. "Not in this lifetime."

"Not in any lifetime. See you round, sis."

"You going back to Human world already?"

"Until I no longer can make myself appear to be the age I'm supposed to," she said, grinning brightly over her shoulder at me. "Like you, for instance?"

Bri opened the trap door of Hiei's hideout and slipped away. I sighed and glanced over at my own little boy fast asleep. Jun was already beginning to look like his father. I sighed again. What rotten luck the poor kid had, to end up looking like a man.

Of course, he is a boy…

I need to stop thinking so much. It harms the brain.

…

…Bri…

The only way I was going to do this was if Kurama and Kuronue both agreed to come into that Chronodom with me. There was no way—no way—I was going in there with Kurama alone. Koenma immediately, to my surprise, agreed to allow us into the place. He even gave me the key. Considering his reaction last time to letting people use the place, I'd expected more of a struggle to get it.

"Okuro, I called Kurama over," I said, knocking on my brother's door. He opened it, revealing a fact that I hadn't really counted on. He wasn't exactly dressed.

"What's wrong, sis?" he asked, a smirk crossing his face. "We've seen each other since we were born."

"You know that isn't it, you idiot," I muttered. "Anyway, get dressed, Kurama's coming over and then we're going to train in the Chronodom."

"Seriously, you got permission from toddlerness?"

"Yes," I said. "He even gave me the key."

"Really?" He got this strange look on his face and it took me a minute to actually connect it to a word: thoughtful. Kuronue was thinking. What a surprise.

"Yeah, really. See you in a minute, I'm going to go let mother know that we're going out."

I walked back down the stairs, which now had several of my more formal art pieces framed in silver. Normal people had photographs of their kids on the walls. Ichigo Wolf had paintings of hers. I smiled faintly. Our mother certainly took care of us. She cared only about us. I didn't want to hurt her again. After losing Marion…

I just wouldn't tell her what we'd been doing, as we'd been doing for years. She would never have to know that we were constantly putting our lives on the line. I don't think mother could take that. After all, Marion had been murdered in a dark alley. What would she do if she knew that it was us in danger?

She'd probably turn into Super Mom and try to fight our battles for us. And that, Kuronue and I just couldn't have. We were her protectors now.

I found mother at the kitchen table with the newspaper. Her golden hair had become limp, lifeless, and her once-smiling eyes were now dull. I ran my hand through the natural golden highlights that went with my human illusion. Kuronue and I both had a fox form, but his ears were naturally humanoid, unlike mine.

I sighed inwardly. The first time I'd seen my real fox spirit form, I'd freaked out at the golden ears twitching atop my head. I was luckily too young for mother or father to worry much once I calmed myself down some more. Kuronue had a good long laugh at me and he'd never really let me forget it. Both of us had a single tail, which easily wrapped around our waists and basically vanished with a simple illusion spell.

Sometimes I loved being a half fox spirit.

And I was also lucky that I hadn't yet turned into the true fox.

I think that I would really have freaked at that.

"Good afternoon, Bridget," Mother said with a gentle smile. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Sometimes I wondered at my mother's skills of simple knowing. I knew she had gotten some of Marion's powers, but since he passed, they were slowly eroding away. I think this "knowing" that she had was true of all mothers. Keiko said it was, and Jun and Yume were always telling me about their moms.

"Yeah," I said. "Okuro and I are going to the park this afternoon to study with Kurama for class. You know how my math is." I laughed at myself. It was true, even after all these years, my math was still horrendous. Mother smiled.

"All right, but remember, you must be home by ten."

"We will, Mother," I said, making a deep mental note in my head. Ten o'clock. "We only have to wait for Kurama to get here and then we'll be going."

"Remember to come say good-bye before you leave," she said before turning back to the newspaper. I noticed that she always followed her employer's cases in the paper. He was a big-time lawyer of some sort. I never paid much attention to it. Case number seventeen, he must be busy. I heard a small crash from outside, but before I went to investigate, my mother explained.

"The Junanas are going on a business trip for the next month. The Hong Kong firm needs his assistance for now."

"Oh," I nodded. "So they're packing up everything, just like that?"

"Yes, you know how they are," Mother laughed. "Everything must be brand new every few months or so."

"Yeah," I said. I heard Kurama's trademark knock at the front door, three quick taps and no more. "That'll be Kurama."

I answered the front door, to the gentle scent of roses and the more dangerous ones of several Makai and South American plants. Kurama never went anywhere unarmed, but I had never really figured out how he stored several roses and at least twenty different kinds of plants in his hair. Not in all the time I'd known him had he explained it. It was beginning to bug me.

"Hey, teach," I said, letting a grin spread over my face. I turned around and shouted up the stairs. "Okuro, you ready to go!"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your skirt on."

"Dang it! I'm still in my school uniform!"

"You forget something?" Kuronue grinned, coming down the stairs in jeans and a t-shirt. I glanced at Kurama, chagrined and definitely not happy with myself. And I was screaming at Kuronue for not being dressed…

"I'll be down in a minute…" I said, and zipped up the stairs as fast as I could. I fired a quick message to Kuronue. You make a big deal out of this, bat-boy, and I'll have your balls for breakfast tomorrow.

Yes, ma'am.

I dove into my semi-clean bedroom and grabbed the first thing my fist wrapped around that wasn't a skirt—my baggy cargo jeans from last weekend. I pulled the pink and red thing of a school uniform over my head, leaving me in my red A-shirt—it would have to do. I dashed back down the stairs, still zipping up the jeans. Both boys stared at me (I'd never worn just my undershirt around either) as I pulled open the doors.

"Are we going or aren't we?" I asked over my shoulder. "Bye, Mom, see you when we get home! Okuro, come on!"

…

The door to the Chronodom hadn't changed at all since I'd last "seen" it. It was still a plain white door with a simple silver, locked knob. I glanced over my shoulder at the boys, who were silent.

"Might want to close your eyes," I advised.

I shoved the ornate silver key Koenma had given me in the lock and turned, closing my own eyes carefully. I wasn't sure what effect the light would have on me, though I knew exactly what would happen to Kurama and Kuronue. If the effect was the same, I didn't want the kind of questions that would come with that sort of transformation.

Kuronue tapped on my shoulder a few minutes after I had closed the door, having not looked to see if they were in yet. When I turned around to see my brother, I saw instead the man that he had been. I smirked at his bat wings, giving them a solid tug or two. He didn't look very much different, actually. Just older, with purple eyes, and those insane bat wings. Kurama had followed my advise, and was still his normal, cuddly red-haired human self.

"I prefer the new you," I said. "No way you can fly off on me that way."

"I'll take note," Kuronue said wryly. His voice was a little deeper, but not by much. He was still my "big" brother. "How long does it take to wear off?"

"Depends," I shrugged. "About ten minutes, I'd say."

"How would you know, Bri?" Kurama asked. "Is this not the first time you've been here, as well?"

I felt a pang in my chest. The old, familiar pain that I had every once in a while just by looking at him. For some reason, it was a lot worse now. Maybe it was just the blatant reminder that this was not the same Kurama I knew as a lover, but the one that I knew as a family friend, an uncle even. That's how he viewed me: A little niece, a daughter even, a friend only. He would never be able to see me again as his girlfriend, let alone consider me as a mate.

"No, it isn't," I said with what I hoped was just my old, knowing smile. "Who's up for a spar or two?"

…

…

…

Bit shorter than I thought…Well, we've gotten back into the Chronodom, and I'm betting Kurama's even more confused. He'll seem to be disregarding some of it for a bit, but you know Kurama: always thinking. He'll figure some things out, we all know that. It'll take some time, though.

Peeka-Chan: I overreact a lot, and when I saw "I got all of my friends hooked," I was like: O.O I have a cult following! Ah! That's so awesome! vv Yes, I'm stupid. And how did you ever manage to guess that The Moon was Tsuki/Yue? Yes, I was a bit blatant with that one. No, you may not kill her, that's my job. (smiling) However, her character has changed a little bit, so you may not wish to kill her right away.

Black Cello: Oo oO Oo You'd poison me with cake? Nu! Nu poison cake! Okay, okay, overreacting idiot right here…A note on our lovely President: He got in on his father's tail feathers (which weren't very pretty anyway) and the second time round, he got in because Kerry is a backstabbing liar. Just as a note, I voted Kerry. I was eighteen this time round. Yep, Kurama loves Bri. But he's got a few moral dilemmas of his own, so he's holding back as well. So we've got two stubborn fools who don't even realize they love each other. --() Yup, sounds like a story I'd write. Oh, wait, I am the writer…I know what you mean about housework, though. I'm looking for a job (pay for college) and doing all the housework. I'm the only girl aside from my mother, and mom's just got out of surgery. I've got two little bros, but Dad's traditional and thinks "men" aren't supposed to do normal things like sweeping and mopping and laundry and stuff. --() I'm marrying a guy who can do his own stinking laundry…

DramaMama01: Sorry, I've already written that part…the only person whose reactions you really see are Kurama's, and that's only cause Bri tells him. And not in a very pretty way, either. You'll see…

Lucifer: This chapter was supposed to be longer…I think I cut something out between the time I wrote this and the time I posted the other one. The tournament, as I've said, will not be traditional fighting, although that's what The Moon has led them to believe. Bri is the one who reveals herself to Kurama, but in a most interesting way…You'll just have to wait and see. (grins)

Kuramafan: Cakes, you know I wouldn't complete this story without a little more punch than the last two times, right? The tournament won't be traditional fighting, as I've said before. It's going to be really interesting because it's more of the mind than the body. You'll just have to wait and see. And I agree with you about society's ills about love. It's stupid and immoral to keep people apart who are destined to be.

Sillylittlenothing: Yeah, Human world won't accept their relationship. But…Demon world will. I can't wait until their first kiss…I still haven't written that part and I'm already at the start of the tournament…T.T I'm as impatient as you guys are to see them back together.