A Romance in Music
Part One: Flavor
PrologueIt was a sunny morning at the high school.
The girl stood near the sunlight, in front of the wide, polished doors. The school-yard was empty; there was no one there, not even a gardener. The halls were silent except for the sound of turning textbook pages.
Her hair was autumn brown in color, and they matched her gleaming eyes. She had a careless, expressionless look on her face, with an inner layer of caution. Her legs were lean and slender, smooth and soft-looking. She had the face of an angel. And her lips were like frostings on cake, gleaming and everything if not pure.
Her fist enclosed on the handle of her school-bag, she turned and walked towards the long halls, watching every corner as if waiting for something to jump out at her.
There was a shout coming from above her as she started towards the stairs to the second floor.
"Urameshi!" The voice echoed down the stairs. "Urameshi, I order you to come back here at once this instant!"
The girl looked up to see a green-suited young boy walking towards her down the stairs.
His face showed great annoyance, arrogance and anger. He had nearly black-colored, slicked back hair and a few strands hanging over his forehead wildly.
Is that the school uniform? Sheesh, it looks so old-fashioned. What the hell? What kind of school is this? Perhaps I shouldn't have come…
"Yeah, order all you want, old man." The boy looked back over his shoulder and up to the teacher, who resembled an ugly rabbit, since he had two big front teeth gleaming out at them.
Gross, who's that? He needs to brush his teeth…is that a teacher? Man, great luck if I land off with him…
The green-suited boy, obviously this 'Urameshi' kid, looked down at the girl, meeting her eyes.
"So, you're new here, huh? I don't know why the hell you'd come to a place like this, but since you're here, you should be warned, at least. There are some really assholes in this place." He said the last sentence loudly.
The girl nods slightly and introduces herself.
"I'm Nariko; Nariko Asahi." She gives him a slight smile. "And I guess you're Urameshi-sama?"
"Well, not really…I've never really been called that before…" He said, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. "Everyone just calls me 'Urameshi'…anyways," He extended his hand. "Yusuke, Yusuke Urameshi."
She shook it. "Nice to meet you, Yusuke." She replied, her smile full of sadness and loneliness.
"Yeah…real nice…" He replied. She wasn't sure if he meant it in a sarcastic way, and wasn't about to find out either.
"Urameshi…" The teacher, looking down at them from the banister frowned and disappeared, cursing and mumbling.
"So…I see you aren't exactly the normal, obedient high-school kid,—"
"Yusuke?" There was another shout. This time it was a gentler, feminine voice.
The two turned to face a short brown-haired girl. Her arms were crossed against her chest and she was frowning. If she was older, she would look like a mean, cranky teacher, but it was apparent that she was an ordinary school-girl, a strict one. The red ribbon rested smoothly on her school-vest and the golden letter glimmered under the light. It read 'Hall-monitor'.
She shouted again. "There you are! Don't you know people are trying to study?" She started up the stairs. "You want to fail high school? Just go to class before you get into more trouble, okay?" Her face gave him a concerned look, gentler than the look before.
His girlfriend perhaps? Or a good friend? My, she looks like a goody-goody to me…can he really like someone like that?
"No way, Kayko! No hell of a chance, I'm not going back there…just because you're the school monitor means you can wander around, huh? Don't boss me around! Besides, just because you get top grades, doesn't mean everyone else can too…be more realistic, Kayko…this is my life, not yours…"
Kayko frowned again. "Well, I can tell you that Kuwabara sure can do much better than you…and I bet you don't even have the slightest clue…"
"What? That dumbass? Since when is he top 100 of the school?"
"What, you didn't know? You really should see the chart sometime, Yusuke…he's actually doing pretty well, and at number 44 of the school…he's just afraid of telling you because he wants you to think he's tough…not a nerd…or whatever you'd call him…"
Yusuke scoffed. "Whatever…I bet he cheated or something…there's no way he's that smart…"
"Don't say that! He really studies too! Just because you don't—"
"Are we going to have this argument again?"
"I'm only trying to help, Yusuke!"
"Yeah, whatever…"
"You don't have to be so rude…although I'm really not surprised…" She sighed. "How are you going to get past the grade if you don't even try?"
"No." Yusuke was sitting at the bottom step of the stair way, sulking.
Nariko looked down at him, thinking how ignorant he looked. But then, every person had someone that made them give in, someone to cherish and soften them. And for Yusuke, it may be this girl…this Kayko girl.
"Hey, you're new, right?"
Nariko looked up and replied with a careless 'yeah'.
The bell rang.
"So…where's the principal's office?" Nariko asked Kayko.
"It's on the third floor, the first door on your left. Here, take these steps." Kayko moved out of her way. "Do you need help?"
The halls were suddenly noisy and crowded in no time. Crowds of upper and lower classmen raced to their next period, chatting and laughing. It was like an ordinary school, no different from the others.
Nariko shook her head. "No, but thanks for the offer. I think I'll find it…somehow…" She joked, heading up the stairs.
"Weird girl…" Yusuke said with his hands at the back of his head.
Kayko frowned. "Do you even know her? Besides, I wouldn't be talking if I were you, Yusuke…"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know what I mean, now go back to class, ok?" She smiled back sympathetically. "Please Yusuke; don't get into anymore trouble…"
"Whatever…you act as if that's the only thing I can do…" He said after she left. "There are other things I can do too, you know…
Meanwhile, as Nariko started up the narrow staircase to the final floor, she saw a boy talking on his cell, blocking her way.
He had red, spiked-up hair and a number of piercing on his ears. And if there were anymore, they were to be hidden beneath his black, leather jacket.
So I guess this isn't exactly the type of strict, formal school, huh? Does he even go to this school?
Nariko noticed the switchblade tucked under his belt but advanced up anyways, with her same casual, careless face.
"Excuse me." She said to him politely.
He had just closed his phone and looked up at her. "Wow, you go to this school?" He asked.
So, he doesn't go to this school, huh? I figured…he's not even wearing the uniform…but then again, neither is that Yusuke kid…
The boy whistled at her, and she immediately found herself uneasy. He looked at her, staring up at her body.
"You…wow, you're gorgeous…" He said to her, standing up. The sound of coins and keys jingled as he moved. "Hey, you want to go on a date sometime?"
He gave her a gorgeous, striking smile.
She felt her jaw tremble. "No." She tried to go through. "Now excuse me, please."
She tried to push her way past him.
WHAM.
The red-haired punk slammed his palm against the wall, blocking her way on purpose this time. A few upper classmen whose classes were in the second floor look up at the stairway, looking at them. A few girls whispered, giggling at the rather cool-looking guy and started talking immediately. Nearby, a few boys looked up at Nariko, gaping as the red-haired boy had. Clearly, they had never seen such a pretty girl before.
"What's wrong with me? You think I'm not good enough?"
The bell rung in the background and in no time, the halls were clear again, silent as before, peaceful.
"Don't you want to go out with me?"
"I think it's a matter of the question: Why the hell should I?" She replied hotly. "You're wasting my time and you won't let me go…don't you know that if you're trying to pick up a girl, you have to talk to her like a friend, not some kind of drug dealer or player?"
"A bit spicy, huh?" He chuckled. "Fine then, I'll keep that in mind…but now that my first impression has utterly disgusted you, I guess I owe you a 'sorry'?"
"Yeah, you do…." She replied.
"Well, I'm sorry, my bad. But can't I get your number at least?"
"My number? I'm sorry, I'm really not interested in any relationships right now…I'm busy…so if you'll excuse me…"
He grabbed her wrist and slammed her against the wall, leaning against her. Their bodies touching from the knee, all the way to the chest.
"What are you…?"
"I asked politely, I usually don't even say 'sorry' to anyone…so be glad, girl…" He held onto her wrist tightly…so tight that they started to ache. "You were lucky…"
"Well, I feel so honored." She said sarcastically through groaning from the pain on her wrists. This guy…as thin as he looked, he wasn't some stupid punk, he knew what he was doing, and was determined to get whatever he wanted…and at that minute, he wanted her. Hell, he had a lot of strength in his arms too.
"Fuck you…" She gritted through her teeth. She could feel the blood in her veins stop, flowing inconsistently.
"The hell, I'm going to do just that…" He grinned, pushing against her more until she groaned again from the pain. He rested on her shoulder, kissing her neck.
"Stop it…you bastard…" She kicked at him, but he was too close, and she could barely move her legs. Again, her eyes shifted to the dagger on his belt. His lips felt cold and warm at the same time. Was she really going down right now? In a place like this? The hell, this would be one stupid place to die...
She squirmed in his hands and started to grow tired, and the blood in her veins seemed to completely stop in her right hand. It started to tremble and she grew weaker by the moment.
Finally, he let go of her right wrist and placed his hand on her waist, sliding it up and down. It gave her the Goosebumps. She wanted to smack him, to hurt him…even kill him. But her hand…her wrist…there was no feeling in it at all…in fact, she couldn't even move it at all, and her other wrist remain locked in his palm.
She felt his hand near her chest and tension grew as he reached for the button of her blouse.
SMACK.
Finally, she was able to move her right hand, and she had punched him in the face very hardly.
"Don't…come near me again…you bastard…" She said, ready in case he came at her again.
He wiped away the blood from his mouth, cursing. He was on his floor, and so was, to his horror, his cell phone.
"You bitch…you broke my phone!"
"So? Get another one, asshole." She started up the stairs angrily. "Get a foot near me and I'll kick you where it counts next time…"
"You bitch…you'll regret this!" He shouted up to her, trying to fix together his shattered phone, cursing at her.
"I'm sure I will." She replied sarcastically at him, opening the doors to the third floor and disappearing behind them.
Chapter One"A new girl? You met her? What was she like? Are you hitting on her? You better not be cheating on Kayko, Urameshi, or you'll have to deal with me!"
"Whatever, Kuwabara…I can knock you into next week if I wanted to…"
"What did you say, you punk!"
In classroom D-2, where the teacher was no yet present, the students chatted with each other carelessly. And in the very corner of the room, next to the wall of windows, stood three young boys, each having a particular personality themselves…if anything, you would find these three somewhat different from each other, some more than others.
Dirty-orange haired was Kazuma Kuwabara. His hair was scrawny and scrambled, it was an odd hairstyle, not to mention a rather ugly one. Yusuke sat behind him in the desk, the last seat of the very last row. Kuwabara leaned against the desk beside Yusuke and was talking in his usual, stupid voice that morning.
But if you had enter the classroom and saw the three at first, you would've never even noticed the third, for he was frozen, not moving, like a statue. He had his eyes closed, as if listening to the bickering from Kuwabara and Yusuke, though it was clear to some that he was trying to drone them out.
Girls in the classroom stared at Hiei, giggling and whispering. There were some that seemed scared of him, but who could blame them? There were girls who weren't afraid at all, however; they had started a fan club for him at the school.
Apart from Yusuke, Hiei was the only other guy that didn't wear the school uniform, which tended to attract more attention for him, especially from the fans, which grew steadily. However, it was due to the fact that the school really didn't have a boy's size school uniform for Hiei that he didn't need to wear it.
Besides, if they had given him the stupid blue outfit, Hiei wouldn't be wearing it anyways, not because it was blue…but because it reminded him of Kuwabara.
He wore his usual black outfit: black Capri pants worn loosely behind his sleeveless shirt, which was covered partially by a cape. His outfit was plain black, with comfy shoes.
He didn't seem to care much about anything at all. As far he was concerned, he didn't even need to be in this place. It bothered him that he was here, it always seemed as if he was about to kill something…someone.
The girls stared at him and his spiky hair…it was unbelievable to him. And in no time were the girls ready to establish their club for their adorable classmate.
He opened his eyes, giggles turned everywhere but he ignored them. He turned and looked at the sky, thinking if he were to stay in this world, would he even survive? How long would it be until he would be driven to insanity with all those squealing girls? How in the blazes did Kurama do it? His fan club may've been bigger than Hiei's but by the looks of it, it would only be a matter of time…
"So is Koenma going to tell us anything?" Kuwabara was saying. "I want to go kick some more demon butt!" He whined.
"That's weird to hear from you…" Yusuke said. "Anyways, keep it down, would you? You're giving us away…I don't want to be thought of as some crazy, mental kid from the block…hanging with you already bothers me a lot anyways…"
"Hey!"
"By the way, Botan told me that he's selected someone else to join us…"
"What, does he think we can't take it ourselves?" Kuwabara replied.
Yusuke shrugged. "I don't know…Hey, a bit quiet today, Hiei?"
Hiei turned to him. "Talking to you doesn't seem to be worth the effort."
"You son of a…you think you're so tough…" Kuwabara started.
"Looks as if things haven't changed much…" A voice sounded behind Yusuke, a very familiar one. The classroom grew louder.
Yusuke turned to face his red-haired friend. He could've been easily mistaken as a girl if he weren't wearing the school outfit and had those dashing emerald eyes and charming voice.
"Oh, I forgot you were here today…so your school really has chosen you to represent their majority, huh?" He asked. "Great job, although I don't really know why you'd come here…"
"My principal is very familiar to yours…the student exchange program switched half of our school majority with yours. However, the students they picked were random… I guess I was lucky…"
"Well anyways, I hope you won't be too ruined, talking to me…" Yusuke said, scratching his chin. "It might ruin you rep…hanging out with someone like me…"
"You?" Kuwabara launched, laughing.
Yusuke ignored him and turned to Kurama who leaned against his table.
"So…you're done with your fans?" He teased. "They'll be increasing if you stay here…" Yusuke continued. "Hiei's got a bunch already…even though he does absolutely nothing but sit there…" He pointed over his shoulder to Hiei, who was busy droning out Kuwabara's voice from his mind.
"I don't care what Hiei thinks!" Kuwabara launched. "I think Hiei likes—" He was cut off by Hiei, who had kicked him in the rear.
"Why, you—how dare you come at me when my back was turned?" Kuwabara yelped.
"If you weren't so shallow, perhaps you would've sensed my presence, fool." Hiei said coldly.
Meanwhile, Kurama laughed sheepishly to Yusuke. "Well, the girls here seem to have trouble with their work…so teachers ask me to help…I just wish they'd realize that it's the exact reason we're so behind the—"
"Kurama!" Kuwabara joined the conversation, cutting Kurama off. He was about to say something when he paused. "Girls? What?"
Kurama and Yusuke said nothing.
"If you need it, I'll give you some pointers on how to get a girl, Kurama! I've got plenty of charm!" Kuwabara said stupidly.
"With your charm, only a wild boar would be running to attack you." Hiei said.
"Hey! Why you little punk!" Kuwabara grabbed for Hiei's collar.
"Let go, you fool." Hiei replied, grabbing Kuwabara's wrist and pushing him out of the way.
He passed a group of his fans and giggling quieted for a moment because of the multiple pairs of eyes on him. It made him feel uneasy and also a bit annoyed, but he paid no attention to it and showed no expression of his feelings at all. He walked out of the classroom and disappeared.
"That punk…" Kuwabara said, gripping his fist.
"You better watch it, picking a fight like that in a classroom…" Yusuke warned.
"Gee, you sound like Kayko…"
"What? Shut up!"
Before their argument had begun, the door slid open again.
Nariko and Kayko walked into the classroom. Kayko was telling her the direction of the school and the basic rules while Nariko pretended to listen to her ramblings, saying 'Oh' and 'Okay' every now and then. There was a moment of silence, and then it resumed into whispers as the class watched the new girl be introduced to them.
"Wow!" Kuwabara exclaimed, his eyes flashing into hearts while Yusuke and Kurama just looked at him in pity. "Of course, it takes more than beauty to attract me!"
"Yeah right." Yusuke replied doubtfully. "Whatever happened to Yukina?"
"Hey! I can look at others! But I'm not hitting on her! I mean, I'm not that kind of guy who cheats on his lover!"
Yusuke coughed to show his doubt.
"Hey!"
"That girl…" Kurama stared at her for a moment.
"What's wrong, Kurama? Yusuke asked. "Something wrong?"
"Oh, if you like her, you can have her! My heart belongs to my one and only Yukina!" Kuwabara exclaimed.
"Shut up!" Yusuke exclaimed, bonking Kuwabara on the head. "You're really getting annoying with that talk!"
"You—"
"Everyone!" Kayko's voice drained away Kuwabara's. "We have a new student here. She'll be staying with us for a while. This is Nariko Asahi!" She smiled. "She came from England!" Kayko finished her speech to the class and turned to her friend. "Would you like for me to introduce you?"
Nariko shook her head. "I'm fine." She looked around. "So where do I sit? We have assigned seat, don't we?"
"Well, yeah…but I hear the teacher got fired this morning…so I guess today's a free morning for us…" Kayko said. It was clear that she didn't approve of this, but Nariko didn't wait for anymore of her explanations. "So…do I sit anywhere then?"
"I guess." Kayko shrugged. "I'll be in the next classroom if you need me." Kayko smiled. "I need to take the attendance folders down to the main office on the bottom floor."
"Okay, see you." Nariko turned around to the classroom.
She walked to the end of the classroom and took a seat next to Kuwabara's desk. She smiled at them and waved, as if challenging Yusuke and the others. "Hey, what's up?" She greeted.
"Hey," Yusuke started. "I thought you'd be in this class. Not much room left in this place anyways…this is the only class with empty seats."
"I see." Nariko replied. "But why?"
Kuwabara stood up, rubbing his bloody nose from Yusuke bonking. "Well basically, it's 'cause Urameshi's in here…"
By the time the period had ended, during of which the whole class did absolutely nothing but chat and play cards, etc, Nariko had been spoken to from about everyone in the classroom, and the one neighboring it, especially the upperclassmen boys, who heard of the beautiful girl who had just arrived at school from England.
"Wow, talk about popular…" Yusuke said. "I'm glad I don't have a bunch of people hanging around me like that…"
Kurama chuckled. They headed down to the cafeteria, since their usual eating place was dripped wet with the raining that had happened the day before.
"Well, it's really not that surprising." Kuwabara said, munching down his food. "With those looks, she'll be popular from the start of day one."
"Which is exactly why you aren't popular." Yusuke added.
Nariko walked slowly to the cafeteria with a few of the girls and boys from the classroom with her. She seemed friendly, pleasant but mysterious. She joined the lunch line, creating a bit of a diversion since all the people were curious to see what this new, beautiful girl looked like.
She finally got out of the line and started looking around for somewhere to sit. One of the friends she was with offered her a seat with them, but the respectfully declined their offer. She had her tray in one hand, and her school bag in the other, which dangled loosely besides her black cargo pants.
It was her first day of school and she wasn't prepared a school uniform of her size, so she could dress casually that day, which seemed to make more heads turn to stare. It made her uneasy on the inside, but she smiled on the outside just to create her image as a more mysterious, unknown person.
"Nariko!"
She turned and almost crashed into Kayko with her tray.
"Oh, careful. I'm sorry." Kayko apologized, carrying her own tray. "Are you looking for a place to sit? You can sit with us if you want…" She offered politely.
"Sure," Nariko answered. "My pleasure, thank you very much, I was afraid I'd have to sit alone today." She smiled. It was a very unreal smile, but it made others happy. It glowed and showed such unbelievable happiness that made others think so purely of her.
She took a seat next to Kurama and greeted them with a 'hello'.
"Hey," Yusuke said with his normal, bored and arrogant voice.
"How do you do, Asahi-san?" Kurama greeted her, smiling back in his charming way.
A few girls turned to watch them. They were obviously Kurama's fan club.
"Ooh! Look at them! They look perfect! I'm so jealous! How I would give anything to sit next to Suuichi-kun!" They whispered to each other.
Nariko could even feel their jealousy mixed with envy and depression erupt.
"Humdoi," Kuwabara greeted, munching.
"Hello to you too, Kuwabara." She greeted back, chuckling.
They ate the lunch with jokes and chatting, and it seemed as if the group had never joked like this for a long, long time. After a while, Suuichi excused himself and left the cafeteria, leaving the three by themselves. (Hiei had not returned from wherever he had gone off to earlier.)
"You seem different." Yusuke said after a while. "You were all cool and careless this morning, I hear you even crashed the cell phone of principal's son this morning. Now you're all happy and stuff…"
Nariko almost spat out her juice. "He was…the principal's son?"
"What, you didn't know?"
"Err, not really…" Nariko said sheepishly. "Oh, and also," Nariko smiled. "You don't really have to mind me when I do something weird. I have…well, I guess sometimes I may have some peculiar mood swings, but they're harmless…" Nariko looked up at the clock and gave them an effortless smile that she had used that morning. She rose from her seat and dumped her tray into the trash. "Sorry, I just remembered, I have to meet with a few others in the gym today."
"Oh, that's alright." Kayko smiled, waving to her. "See you later, then."
Outside the cafeteria, Nariko wandered around the school. Soon, she found herself standing outside what looked like the music room. She had no idea how she had gotten there, but she stared at the door for a moment, standing in front of it.
Hesitating, Nariko pushed the door open and flicked the light switch on. Looking around, there were lines of little instruments like the violin and viola. There were a few cellos sitting in the corner of the room. Guitars sat themselves in their shelves and the grand piano sat in the middle of the wooden floorboards. A chair sat itself in front of the silver bleachers where the choir was supposedly going to stand on during classes. Nariko walked around, examining the beautiful cords and keys, shiny and polished, bright and clean.
Her eyes traveled across the room and stopped at a guitar. A beautiful guitar.
It was black, with blue flames embedded below the cords. It looked gorgeous, and enlightened, not just someone's artwork hanging in the dust. Without pausing, Nariko walked across the room and walked towards the guitar. It was as if it called to her, crying out softly to feel her touch, the soft touch of her warm fingertips.
Slowly, she placed her hands on its handle and body, letting her fingers run through the strings. The music was soft, carefree and tranquil in the air.
She sat at the wooden stool and started humming as she played. Her music flowed through the room; its song flew all around her, as if it longed to become one with her. It was as if she played with all her heart and soul.
Finally, I'm here. I'm here where you were before.
Your footprints echo to me, and I know you've been here.
I've been searching for so long…and here I stumble upon your sweet scent.
It took me a very long time to get here, where we first met, do you remember?
Do you remember at all?
It took me so very long, but I still managed to come.
Aren't you glad? Aren't you happy?
I remember sitting under those cool palm trees, reading my favorites novels,
The music turned too soft for me to even concentrate at,
Then you came and took me away…away from my life…
The life that I hated with all my might…
You showed all the good things in the world, and took away the bad…
Now I'm here, I'm finally here where you were before
I'm here where we first met, I'm here.
The warmth of your arms still around me…they follow me wherever I go…
I could never hurt you…those eyes you had…The day I left you, I cried so hard…
But I'm here now, I'm finally here…
I actually made, I can't believe it myself.
I'm actually here now, I'm here.
I'm here.
She stopped her song without finishing and stared off into space. "But where the hell are you?" She said aloud in a straining voice.
She stayed in the position for sometime and looked into space for a large amount of time, thinking back on the memories she had in her mind, smiling to herself occasionally. Only when she felt tears rising did she begin to waken to the harsh reality she stood in.
Putting the guitar away, she started back to the door, thinking she had spent enough time already in the room. She reached for the doorknob after picking up her bag and started to turn the knob when she spotted a violin sitting on a small, round table that was draped with a red velvet cloth. It looked as if someone had prepared it for her, as if she had just stumbled across it like destiny, like fate had bound them.
She slowly took her hand away from the doorknob and reached for the violin cautiously, as if she thought something would lurk out at her from it. She gently laid it on her shoulder and tucked it under her chin until she got into a comfortable position to play it.
Her face looked so peaceful and smooth with her chin rested at the edge. Her silky hair flew around her, short and wavy. It was as if she was asleep in another world…floating in a musical layer…seeming so natural…so comfortable. Her skin like fresh apricot…moving back and forth…her lips tranquil like crimson sea waves reflected by the burning sun.
The music soared slowly, a depressing tone, it traveled along the mist of the room, as if it danced…like it had a mind of its own. It was like the notes had flowed from the strings and flew around Nariko, surrounding her in their musical blanket, putting her in the trance they wished, making memories in her mind of their own. The piece was finished with a surprisingly strong and quick beat. It was an unbelievable piece she had played, and she seemed to know it perfectly from her heart, just like the song she sang. It was as if they had a particular meaning in itself…especially to her.
Nariko set the violin down on the table, along with it's polished bow and turned to leave for real this time.
"You've played for a long time, it seems…"
Chapter TwoTap. Tap. Tap.
The footsteps echoed in the hallway as Kurama, Suuichi, walked; his brown schoolbag hung from its handle, enclosed in his palm.
There was a cool breeze coming from the outside, someone had left one of the hallways windows open. Kurama looked up into the sky; it was raining.
The sky was a depressing gray color, and Kurama turned away from it, determined not to think…but how could he not?
He sighed in thought and closed his eyes. "How many times have I thought of her…? What am I doing? She has long forgotten you, Kurama, what are you thinking? She's in Germany…and she has a boyfriend…what am I thinking?" He thought. "But if I had told her…if I had told her that…Kurama, you fool. You were…too late."
The hall was empty, and Kurama just stood there, leaning against the hallways windows. The light was rather dim, since there was no sun out because of the raining day.
But then again, it was a rainy day the day he had met her.
"Hey, what's your name? You're new, right?"
"Yeah, I am. I'm Suuichi."
"Well Suuichi, if you need help finding your way here, I'll help. I'm in charge of the class. I've been here for a week before school started anyways."
"Why? Do you live here?"
"Oh no, I'm in orchestra, I need to practice here over the summer…and have try out for the orchestra group for the concert."
"Oh? What instrument do you play?"
"Violin, and I'm awfully proud of it…I want to be the best when I go to high school too!"
"Really? That's great, I play the violin too."
"Are you going to try out for orchestra?"
"Oh no, I know how to play it, but I'm not good at it…"
"Come on, I insist, Suuichi-kun. Besides, we have a performance tomorrow, so I have to practice a bit…you want to come?"
"Sure."
It was amazing how the conversation had stayed in his mind, it had remained there so clearly, her face dancing around him and smiling that warm smile.
They had become the best of friends in Junior High, but before the finished the grades, Kurama had found himself in love with his best friend.
It had been the end of the Junior High for them, and he had finally worked up the courage to ask her to the dance for the end of the year.
She looked beautiful that evening with her velvety, red gown. Her hair clipped back and so sophisticated. She was striking that evening, and it made him even sadder to think that it would be their last night together. Her skin felt smooth against him, and her scent was like a citrus' aroma, strong but loving. After that night, he had watched her car drive away from him, farther and farther until it was out of his sight, forever…gone beyond that crimson horizon.
Kurama could almost feel the warmth of the sadness on his face that day, and the image was clear as if it had just happened yesterday.
Music filled his ear as Kurama smiled sadly at his past memories. He looked up, where was that music coming from?
There wasn't supposed to be anyone else out in the halls. But then again, there he stood in the halls. He would have to apologize later to the teacher, not that she really cared. He was beginning to realize exactly why this was such a low-ranking school. The teacher he had been assigned to didn't even come half the school days, and if he did come, he'd just sleep. The class would just have a free day one way or another, unless they had some sort of substitute, if they ever found one.
Turning, he noticed the tall, music room door. Strange, he didn't even notice it was there…funny.
Without hesitation, he pushed the door open a small crack, wide enough for him to slip in, and stepped into the shadows.
The music was beautiful, and he stood there, listening to it. A voice joined the melody and there was a beautiful song that echoed in the room, bouncing off walls around him.
The song stopped abruptly and made Kurama realize that this voice…this music…whoever that was playing it, had some kind of energy…and it had flown into him for some odd reason…and he could feel the pain the melodies had…
He turned around the corner to look at the singer and saw what he expected, Nariko. Watching her, he felt her presence somewhere around him…inside him as if a new part of him had just awakened.
She had opened her eyes, and Kurama was determined to face her, and to ask her who she really was.
She started across the room towards him. He started to step out of the shadows when he started sensing something very familiar around him. He decided to wait a bit more, watching as the new girl slid the bow across the cords of the violin.
Her music was all heart and soul, nothing else. It was a mixture of sadness and bliss, something strange and incomprehensible. It was mysterious, a peculiar feeling came out from the notes she played. A strange feeling; and a strange energy.
"You've played for a long time, it seems."
The voice made Kurama take yet another step back from hiding. Seems as if something was always blocking him from making his move, or was it possibly because he was afraid of such strange force?
Sixteen-year-old, Nariko Asahi turned around to face the person who she had known to be in the small music room from the minute she had stepped in.
No matter how he or she had concealed their energy, she could feel the little drip that they had left out. Her senses were very sharp, especially to the people with string amounts of force, like this one, and the other.
"Hiei!" She said, surprised and shocked. "I—I didn't notice you were there…"
"Of course you didn't…" Hiei replied back in his usual sarcastic way. He made a move to take the violin from the table and put it away in a bottom shelf. Perhaps it was him that had laid it there in the first place.
"Sorry, I just took it like that…it just seemed so beautiful…I couldn't resist." She started, smiling. It seemed like she had turned into her happy personality again. "So Hiei-kun, do you not play anything?"
"No." He replied shortly, leaning on the shelf behind him, whose cubicles were filled with silver, metallic flutes.
"Really?" Nariko didn't give up on talking to him. Clearly, this boy would want to talk about something. Or did she have to talk about what she knew about him and his spirit energy? "But Hiei-kun, why are you here then?"
"Do I need a reason to stay in a place where I can actually get some peace and quiet?" He replied in an annoyed tone.
"You're right. Well, my apologies, I'm sorry for intruding then, Hiei-kun."
It seemed as if she finally hit a nerve. "Why the hell do you keep calling me that?"
"What?" She asked innocently.
"If you're going to talk to someone, at least call them by their name…" He said curtly. His eyes were closed as he rested against the flutes.
"But…" She stopped, thinking for a moment. "Then, would you prefer for me to call you something else?"
He didn't answer, so she took that as an idea that he wasn't going to talk anymore, but she didn't stop.
"Hiei…?" She tried.
"What?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to see if you like that name better…"
"Don't call me if it's nothing! In fact, don't call me at all! Stop bothering me!" He said, irritated. "You're just like every other person here, why can't you shut up?"
She took that quite badly, but she didn't say anything about it. "You're so ignorant, Hiei…but I suppose that is why all those fans like you?" She asked.
"Shut up, they like whatever they want. As long as they stay away from me. Stupid baka fans…"
This made her chuckle and she smiled. He looked at her, puzzled.
"You're funny, Hiei…" She said. "I saw you in the halls this morning, you were upset, it seemed…but I heard a lot of girls still follow you…"
"It's the first time someone called me funny…aren't you one of them?" Hiei asked in his usual tone.
"No." She said shortly. "I came in and I had no idea you were here until you talked. You came here before me, correct?" She smiled. "So I'm sorry for interrupting you. A lot of people think you're so distant, but you seem just like everyone else to me…" She started. "Your fans were wondering where you were at lunch, a whole mob of them…" She chuckled.
Hiei scoffed. "If you think that's not enough stupid fans…go to the school across the road and you'll see more of those dumb girls…" Hiei said. "Maybe you can even join them and form you little club." He sneered.
"Hey, that was—"
"Unnecessary…" Kurama finished for him, stepping out of the shadows.
"Suuichi-kun!" Nariko turned and greeted him. "You were here too?"
"Well, this certainly is a party…" Kurama smiled at Hiei, who didn't bather returning the friendly gesture. "That certainly wasn't something to say, Hiei…"
"But Suuichi-sama is such a gentleman; it seems only natural for girls to form a club for him." She smiled.
"That's not true, Asahi-san…you're flattering me…"
"But is it not true? Girls always talk about how helpful you are…you're so kind, Suuichi-kun." She smiled. "I feel happy for the girl who gets you."
Kurama, taken aback, chuckled uneasily.
"Are you guys going to keep going at this all day?" Hiei asked the two. "I ask you to leave me alone and you guys just start talking right here? If you're going to pick up another girl for your fan club, Suuichi, then go do it somewhere else." Hiei stood from leaning and picked up a nearby guitar to put back into a shelf.
"Hiei-kun," Nariko started, forgetting not to call him that. "You play the guitar…" She stated.
"What?" Hiei turned to her. "I told you not to call me that, baka…"
"Sorry," She apologized. "But your hands…they have the marks…you play the guitar, don't you?"
"That's none of your business." He replied hotly. "For all you know, I might've gotten these from a fight and you'd never know it…" He scowled.
"I bet I don't…" Nariko frowned. It seemed as she was changing to the colder, no-expressive personality again. "Yeah, well later then." She walked out of the room, her eyes lowered and careless.
"That's certainly new…" Kurama started to Hiei.
"Shut up, Suuichi…don't make me pull out your precious voice box!" Hiei snarled, his eyes flashing.
The tardy bell rang right then and there would be a class coming for their music class. Hiei and Kurama slowly walked out of the classroom, not saying another word, and turned in opposite directions.
When the bell rang, the classes poured out like ants.
Among the midst of uniformed student were Kayko, Kurama, Yusuke and Hiei.
Kayko waved to her friends and joined Yusuke.
"So Hiei, where'd you run off to for the day?" Kuwabara asked stupidly, trying to sound tough.
"Is that any of your concern?" Hiei asked shortly, walking ahead and out of sight, tired from listening to all the hollering. His fans looked at him in awe as he pasted them along the way.
"That little punk…"
"You've known him for quite sometime now, perhaps it would be better if you just ignored him…" Kurama suggested.
"Yeah, and learn to shut up once in a while." Yusuke added.
"Yusuke!" Kayko frowned.
"Hey guys, it's that new girl!" Kuwabara exclaimed.
"It is her…" Kayko looked past Kuwabara's shoulders. "Should we go talk to her…she seems kind of lonely…"
"Forget it, she's creepy…wearing all black like that in this weather…looks like she's attending some funeral." Yusuke stated.
"Yusuke!" Kayko exclaimed at him. "You can be so rude sometimes…"
Yusuke ignored her, scoffing.
"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" Kuwabara had started. "I'm Kuwabara…" He said proudly.
"Um…okay." Nariko answered back, thinking how weird this guy was. "Pleased to meet you…you're in my class?"
"Yeah, I sit right in front of you!" He said.
"Um…it's Kazuma Kuwabara-kun, right?" She tried.
"Yeah! You remembered!" He exclaimed happily. "She remembered her name!" He said to the others.
"Yeah, great." Yusuke implied sarcastically. "You moved here from England, right?" He asked her.
She nodded.
"Is it cold there? Because it really isn't here…" He continued. "You must be out of your mind to be wearing all that black…" He said. "Even Hiei doesn't wear that much…looks like you attended someone's funeral…"
"YUSUKE!" Kayko exclaimed. "You're such an idiot! Oh, Asahi-san, don't mind him…he's just dumb like this…Yusuke, you jerk!" She started. "You can be so un-thoughtful sometimes…"
"Whatever." Yusuke started. "I was just saying…"
"Well, don't."
"It's okay, Kayko-chan…I don't mind, really…" Nariko tried. "I'm alright…I guess it is quite strange for me to be wearing this in the middle of a hot day…"
"Damn right, it is…" Yusuke said.
"Yusuke," Kayko started again.
"Sheesh Kayko, you act more like a mother to me…" Yusuke implied, turning to Nariko. "You've been living in England for five years? Shouldn't you have an accent? Your Japanese is really good for a person from England…"
"Just because I lived there, doesn't mean I have to have an accent, dumbass!" She snapped, surprising everyone. She quickly covered her mouth.
There was a silence and Yusuke looked at her in surprise. The voice that had just come out of her mouth was a hoarse whisper…an angry, rasp voice that was so unlike the one they had heard. There was no gentleness, no elegance…just cold and livid…
"Nariko-san?" Kurama started, breaking the silence. "Are you feeling alright? You look pale—"
"I'm fine, Suuichi-kun…I've got to go…see you tomorrow…and I'm really sorry!" She bowed and ran from then, disappearing like Hiei had.
"Nariko-san! Wait!" Kayko couldn't find her.
"Talk about a personality change…" Yusuke said after she left.
From the distance, a little boy walked along the sidewall, licking his ice cream cone. There was a honking sound from a truck behind him and soon, he found his cone splattered on the ground.
"Wahhhh!" He wailed, flinging his arms around.
Sitting on a nearby bench, Hiei watched as he cried.
"Stupid kid," He muttered as his ear rung with the noise.
Sighing over the ear-deafening cries, Hiei stood from his bench and walked over to the boy. He looked more like a gangster than an ordinary high-school kid. He stared at the little boy who looked up at him, clearly scared of his face. Tears started flowing from his eyes even more rapidly. Hiei bent down at him and sighed, handing him another cone.
"Thank, Mr." He replies and runs off somewhere else.
"Mr.?" Hiei thought, confused and a bit angry at himself.
Behind him, the ice cream trailer's manager looked out the window, wondering why he was short one cone.
Turning away, Hiei continues to scowl at himself for helping the boy. A few girls next to him start whispering and giggling.
"Morons…"
He walks into a park, where he supposedly waits for the others, since they were too slow…what the hell was taking them so long? Quietly, he jumps up to a tree and stands there, looking at the deserted park. Groaning, he sits down and leans against the tree bark.
A rustle came from below and he spotted Yukina. He watched over her and saw her waiting like he was, for the rest of the gang.
She probably didn't even know he was sitting there. Quite suddenly, I strange scent filled his senses and he felt his eyes begin to droop into slumber. So strong…so unwillingly…
"Damn it!"
Gasping for breath, Nariko pressed herself to run on, making sure they didn't follow. If they knew what was happening, they'd try harder to go after her.
"Damn it, get out of my mind!" She snarled.
You can't run; you know you can't…what's the use?
"More than you know…"
We are one…why do you deny it…to join our forces is our destiny…
"'Destiny' my ass, get the hell out! I can do more without you!"
Can you, now? I don't think so…go back, turn around and we can do the unimaginable!
"Why don't you shut up?" Nariko moaned. She reached a small play place and dropped to her knees. Her head ached like hell, and she couldn't stop the voice straining to get out.
"Leave me alone, just leave me alone…" She thought.
Make me…
"I can't…you know that…just leave me alone for today…please…" She pleaded.
Be quiet! Don't you sense it? String energy…I sense a demon…
"What? They followed me?"
No, you moron! Get up on your feet! Be on your guard!
"Shut up…" Nariko moaned to the voice inside her. "Don't tell me what to do…baka…" She cursed under her breath.
"Excuse me, are you alright?"
The gentle voice softened around her and Nariko looked up. Someone blocked the sunlight from her eyes.
She was pale, like the moonlight. Her face was so innocent…she looked holy…so naïve and natural. Her hair was a turquoise color and was tied back in a red ribbon. She wore a regular school-girl uniform. This girl was the demon Nariko had been warned of by the voice inside her? That was unlikely. She sensed nothing from her, only feeble demon energy.
"I'm fine," Nariko stood up. "Who are you?"
The girl nodded. "My name is Yukina, pleased to meet you…" She smiled, so radiant. "Do you need any help? You look ill…" She offered her hand.
"I'm fine." Nariko gritted to her, not shaking it.
Suddenly, a familiar sound filled her ears. It was a powerful, whizzing sound and it was directed towards them, with energy on full blast. Pushing her aside and picking her up carefully, Nariko carried Yukina in her hands, dodging every arrow shot at them.
"Thank you…" Yukina stumbled when Nariko finally put her down.
"Yeah, don't thank me now…I don't think it's over." Nariko turned to see their attacker.
She wore a strange white kimono and carried a brown, polished bow with a sharp arrow in her hands.
"You're right," She said in a menacing sneer. "It's far from over, little girl…"
"Who are you and what do you want?" Nariko asked, keeping her cool.
"Nothing from you, move out of the way. I have orders; I just have to capture that girl over there!" She pointed at Yukina, of course.
"Really?" Nariko stepped forward. "Well, I don't know who the hell you are, or the girl you want, but I don't like people who pick on the innocent, or attack other when their backs are turned. It's a sign of cowardice. And if you want her, then I'll be your first course!"
"You want to fight me? Your energy is weak…it wouldn't hurt me at all…move out of the way, fool. I'll give you a chance to run right now, be happy."
"Happy? I'm sorry, I'll only be happy when I'm through with you!" Nariko snarled. "We'll see who's going to hurt whom when we're done, won't we?"
"Well then, I hope you've got you coffin ready, girl!"
Yukina watched as the two clashed suddenly, trembling. They had only talked for so long…and the fight had already started…perhaps it was a sign that something had happened? And where in the world were Yusuke and the others?
Hiei awoke from the start to find a breeze flying past him. He wondered at himself in surprise, thinking when he went to sleep.
Yukina was still there, but by the looks of the pieces of gravel there, something had happened. He jumped down from the tree and landed gently on the ground. His eyes scanned around and found the dead body of the raven-haired archer who had attacked his sister.
"Hiei?" Yukina looked at him in surprise, her eyes red.
"What happened?" He asked, without bothering about anything else.
"Yukinnaaa!" Kuwabara's yelp came from the distance as he ran to greet her. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"What the hell was that explosion?"
She explained it to them. "She came for me…but this girl came and fought her off…but she got hurt because of it…she looked ill…I hope she's alright?"
"She got hurt?"
Yukina nodded. "Her arm, it was bleeding. And something strange happened too. Her blood wasn't human…it was demon, but it was strange, I didn't sense anything from her at all."
"She was a demon?" Yusuke exclaimed. "What?"
"She wore an outfit like mine too…" Yukina implied. "I thought she was your friend…wasn't she?"
"Obviously not." Hiei stated sarcastically.
"She had that uniform?" Yusuke looked at Yukina's uniform. It was the same Kayko worn. Obviously, since Kayko had given Yukina her old one.
"Well then, she's probably someone from your school, so look out." Koenma said. The gang had picked him up from the alley, where he had teleported to from Spirit World. He was, of course, in his teenage form, but still hung on the pacifier. "Did you not sense anyone? Not even a thing?"
"No." Yusuke shook his head, confused. "Maybe she's really weak or something…she was injured anyways…we just need to go find someone who's really injured tomorrow." He said simply.
"Fool," Hiei said. "Have you been around Kuwabara for too long or something?" He said hotly. "You think whoever she is would just appear like that in front of us? It's clear that she doesn't want to be found out, moron."
"How dare you!" Kuwabara yelped. "Shaming me in front of Yukina!"
Hiei sneered. "You don't need me to blame, you shame yourself everyday with that stupid expression you wear…"
"Hey!—"
"But why would she hide herself?" Kayko was there too, looking around at the scene, wondering what the people would think of the large crack on the ground.
Yusuke shrugged. "Who knows? She might even be in league with the dead girl!" Yusuke insisted.
"But she saved me…I don't think she could possibly be—"
"Even so, we can not be too sure, Yukina." Kurama added.
"Well, she saved Yukina! So I'll have to go thank her!" He said, determined. "I'll go find her! I will thank her!" He exclaimed idiotically.
Hiei rolled his eyes at him and turned.
"So, a mysterious girl from the school saved you, am I correct?" Kurama asked, frowning a little.
Yukina nodded. "Yes, but she seemed very ill. I wanted to help her, but she ran away before I could call anyone. Her arm was bleeding a lot too."
"If she had the strength to run away from the scene, she must was the strength to heal, she'll be alright. More importantly, are you alright?"
Yukina nodded. "Nothing happened to me, thanks to her.
"By any chance, did you see what she looked like?" Kurama asked.
But that question remained unanswered, for at that time, it had suddenly started raining and they were a bit behind their schedule.
"We'll have to hurry." Koenma said, turning. "We can save the questions later."
"Yeah, let's go kick some butt." Kuwabara yelled stupidly. "Don't worry, Yukina! I'll protect you!"
He grinned horribly at her, putting his arm around her. Almost immediately he snapped it back, looking at the menacing glare Hiei gave him.
Chapter Three"There you are!" The gang turned to the entrance of the temple. "I was getting quite worried!"
Hovering above them on her wooden oar was Botan, her pink kimono flowing from the breeze. Her face was radiant and joyful as always.
"Nice to you see you haven't changed, Botan." Kurama greeted, smiling.
"Yeah, real nice." Yusuke added unenthusiastically. "Happy as always…"
"I'm trying to do my job…you can be such a spoilsport, Yusuke!" She landed on the ground with a soft thud in front of them and turned to Koenma. "Ayame is waiting for you with the guest, sir." She said happily, taking her hand to her forehead like an army leader.
"Very well, Botan." Koenma complimented. "Thank you for accompanying him all the way here…" He said.
"It was nothing, sir." She smiled. "Just doing my job!"
The group walked into the temple. Its orange rooftop was glimmering from the cleared sun, and the maroon banisters looked as if they hand been polished until they were perfect, bright. It was strange that they hadn't seen such glow while they had traveled through the thick forest that encircled the hidden sanctuary.
"This place is unseen by any ordinary human, Yusuke." Koenma said before he could ask.
"Well, that's neat." Yusuke said in his usual flat tone.
They joined Ayame, a personal secretary of Koenma, and his ogre servant. They bowed to him with courtesy and welcomed him and the others.
Ayame led them towards the sliding door at the end of a long corridor.
An odd presence of spirit energy filled their senses as the door was pulled back.
Koenma had resumed to his usual toddler form, more fitting for his image.
Laid on the short, wide table were a few teacups and a teapot.
A boy of about seventeen turned around to greet them.
He had bizarre, dark-green colored hair and an excellent form. He was built like a feather. His muscles were sturdy and robust, he looked it too. He also looked lightweight and fast, his hair blazing around wildly. His eyes were deep blue and he wore a sleeveless, dark purple cloak. There were two gold and one silver earrings in his left ear, and another gold one in the right one. If there were any other piercing on his body, they couldn't see it.
He extended out a hand to Yusuke. "I'm Kisuke, nice to meet you, Yusuke." He chuckled. "Our names sound alike; I look forward to accompanying you in your future journeys." He said.
"Um…okay. Nice to meet you too." Yusuke said uneasily, thinking that this Kisuke guy looked more as if he was a marihuana drug dealer.
"Whoa! Look at all those earrings…wow…" Kuwabara exclaimed stupidly.
Kisuke chuckled. "Well, I got those when I was little…my grandfather—"
"We aren't here to listen to your life's story, boy." Hiei snarled impatiently, still mad at himself for Yukina's incident.
"Long time no see, Artemis." Koenma started.
"Artemis?" Yukina looked at him.
"Artemis the Seventh, to be exact." Koenma corrected. "The 'Artemis' clan is neither humans nor demons. They use series of spells, telepathy and summoning as a weapon." Koenma continued. "We have been in aid from them for a long time. Unfortunately, Artemis the Sixth died a long time ago and until recently, they have offered their help to us once again."
Kisuke laughed sheepishly. "Well, I needed the time to practice and get ready…it was kind of a surprise…grandfather died and I suddenly need to train because father had no powers whatsoever…" He told them. "So we were unable to come in contact until now, when I was ready."
"I see," Kurama looked at him, smiling. "Well, you certainly look ready…"
"You think so?" Kisuke asked scratching his head and blushing. "I tried my hardest to get ready; I didn't to be a disappointment. It's really hard to live up to my ancestors' legacy…you know?"
"Yeah, a real hard thing to do…" Hiei rolled his eyes.
"Why can't you ever say anything nice?" Kuwabara snapped back at him.
"Don't lean too close too close to me, fool. Your stupidity might be contagious." He said. "I wouldn't want your germs…"
"What? I don't— you bastard! I'm going to kick your ass into next week!"
"Just try that…" Hiei said, glaring at him.
"Well, I see your team gets along just fine, Koenma." Kisuke pointed out, chuckling. "I look forward to working with them."
"I'll bet you do…" Koenma smiled.
Just then the door opened and Ayame came in, followed by Koenma's assistant ogre and, of course, Botan. Ayame walked past them and filled the tea cups for them, smiling blankly, and then resuming her place outside.
"Now," Koenma started. "As I was going to say, this is actually one of the small task I have for you…it will be a retrieval quest."
"Retrieval?"
He nodded. "Yes, it might be little for you, but the ancient artifact stolen was my ancestors…we have not yet researched its powers, but it was stolen right under our noses. Whoever the thief was, he probably knows what kind of power the 'Eclipse Gemstone' has."
"Eclipse Gemstone?"
"Yes, we found it recently drowned in the well outside in the gardens. I've heard of it before, having great powers of revival or immortality."
"So we're supposed to be finding a stupid pebble in the whole of Demon World?" Yusuke asked unenthusiastically.
"Well, yes." Koenma replied, a bit uncomfortable. "You see, no on wants to go look for it because there's legend that there comes a terrible curse to anyone who seeks it and uses its power."
"How interesting…" Kisuke looked as if he was in deep thought.
"Yes, really interesting…" Koenma said, frowning.
"Well, if that's all. I'll be going now." Hiei said, standing up and heading for the door, his katana in his hands.
"Wait—where are you going?" Botan asked, standing up after him.
"You're going to the whole of Demon world to just find a stone; do you really think I'd be interested in a myth? This is not worth my time." He said coldly.
"But it offers immortality or something…isn't that what you like?" Botan asked, puzzled. It was stunning how she could say such a thing to him.
"You foolish girl, you think I'll be interested in a legend? It isn't even true." He looked over his shoulder. "You won't need my help. This has always been a waste of my time, and I think I've paid off my debt."
"But we aren't sure if it was a legend or not," Koenma started. "The day we found the gem, we saw a strange light emitting from it…and the soldier who picked it up died a day later from a bizarre fever."
"So…there is a curse…" Kisuke said.
Hiei stopped and looked back at the toddler with his sharp eyes, as if searching if what he was saying was true. He sighed in annoyance.
"Where are we headed?"