The morning light streaming in through the window is what woke Karama, or maybe it was the loud thumping coming from his door-hard to tell. Karama sat up and stretched, he had fallen asleep in his clothes (They still had blood stains on them from his own and from the demons). Getting up he went to the door and opened it, then realized that the noise was from the door outside of the greenhouse.
Walking over groggily he opened it and saw Kuwabara there. "Hey are you coming out?"
"Wha.." Karama said rubbing his eyes.
"Coming outside, you know, it's summer vacation."
"Oh sure, five more minutes..."
"No way, you're dressed and everything," Kuwabara said grabbing him and pulling him downstairs.
"Ah, sleeping beauty," Yusuke said in the dining hall.
"Oh come on Yusuke, he had a hard night yesterday," Keiko said.
Karama was still only half conscious. "Yeah, hard..."
"Well you know what always wakes me up?" Yusuke asked.
"Waffles!" Kuwabara said holding a waffle iron, a plate full of waffles and wearing an apron. "My treat."
"Why are you wearing an apron?" Karama asked blankly pointing at the garment.
He ignored the question and they all sat down at a table (Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, Yukina, Botan). They had just started when Niku came in (wearing baggy black pants and a casual black shirt with a red stripe diagonal on it).
"Where were you all night?" Yusuke asked.
"Don't you people say good morning anymore?"
"I got the high score on Judo Master," Yusuke boasted proudly.
"Cheater," mumbled Kuwabara.
Niku looked at him and blinked twice. "What's with the apron?"
"Come sit down!" Botan said eagerly getting up and pushing her towards the table.
At first Niku was stunned and confused, then agitated. Side stepping Botan she caused her to fall face first flat on the floor. "Don't touch me," she said brushing herself off. She sat down at the table next to Karama. "How'd you sleep?" Niku asked.
"Well, thank you," Karama replied politely.
"You still haven't answered me, where were you last night?" Yusuke asked.
"What are you, my keeper?" Niku asked.
"You are sort of on probation," Botan said having gotten up from the floor.
"Like I listen to probation. None of you have yet to beat me so as far as I'm concerned, I'm running free."
"Yeah, but where were you?" Yusuke pressed.
"If you must know I was training."
"Training, why?" Yusuke asked.
"Because I can."
"That's not an answer," Kuwabara pointed out.
"Aren't men supposed to wear pants?" Niku pointed out eyeing the apron still on him.
"No really why? Yusuke said curious.
"Do you need a phsyciatric evaluation?"
"A psycee-what?" Kuwabara asked.
Niku looked at him oddly and raised an eyebrow. "You realize you're still wearing that thing."
Just then Hiei walked in. He seemed like he had been up awhile because he was fully awake. The first thing he noticed upon walking in was that Karama was in the room and the second..."Why are you wearing a piece of women's clothing?" he asked Kuwabara coldly.
"Want a waffle? I made them myself," he replied either avoiding the subject or not noticing he was in an apron.
Hiei sat down on the other side of Niku still looking curiously at the apron. He then began to stare suspiciously at Karama.
"Want another one?" Kuwabara asked Niku offering her a waffle.
"What's with you and waffles, and why are you still in that?" Niku asked looking at Kuwabara as if concerned for his health and mental sanity. She got to her feet. "I'm going back to my training."
"Already?" Yusuke asked.
"Yeah, I want to get in all the time I can today, and possibly tomorrow, and the day after that."
"That's a long time," Kuwabara said.
Niku raised her eyebrow. "Why are you still wearing that?"
Then Karama thought of something. "Niku, may I come with you? I wanted to ask you something."
Hiei looked up and made eye contact with Niku. He gave her a warning look, but she obliged. "Sure, I guess." Karama got up and followed after her, then Niku turned around. "Oh, and Kuwabara, take that thing off."
They left and went out the front door and headed towards the house on the right. They entered the main room where everyone had been the night before. Niku led him through a door at the back of the room and into a large room lined with doors. Picking one she led him to another similar room and took him up a flight of stairs to the second floor. Choosing another door she led him inside. The door though normal on the outside was a heavy vaulted steel one on the inside and was at least three feet thick.
They were in a room, obviously one of Niku's training halls because it had large dents in the metal everywhere and equipment lay all about the floor. Much of this equipment included spikes and weights as well as a large computer like contraption imbedded in one wall.
"What did you want to ask," Niku said turning about and facing him.
"Can we be certain that Hiei can not hear or see us first?" Karama asked cautiously.
Niku looked at him curiously for a moment then spoke. "Sure." She walked over to the wall to the left of the door and placed her finger in a small hole. She focused her energy into her finger and a dark green light appeared in the hole and began spreading through the walls.
"What's that for?" Karama asked curiously.
"It helps keep me from blowing up the whole building. I train hard," she added seeing his curious expression. "It will also keep Hiei from tracking us with his Jagan eye. Now, what did you want to know?"
"I was wondering...did you...do you,...why is Hiei acting so strangely?"
Niku looked at him as if in judgement. "I suppose that Hiei is just...supporting everyone's best interests."
"Everyone's?"
"Well, (sigh). I don't know how to say this, but...I think he may be right."
"What! You too?"
"Well, you haven't been acting like yourself the last couple days."
"Does that mean I'm someone else!"
"Well, no. It just means...Listen, Hiei's known you longer than anyone and my guess is that if he thinks something's up, then something's probably up."
"What's up is that he threatened me with my life! In my human form I don't feel that I have much chance of defending myself."
"He what? Is that true?"
Karama bowed his head. "Unfortunately, yes."
Niku looked at him in disbelief for a moment then sat down exasperated. "Wow, then something must really have him on edge. What happened, what's going on?"
Karama sat down on top of a stack of mats. "I'm not sure if I can tell you that."
"Believe me, I've heard some pretty weird things," Niku said. "If you can prove to me that you are really Kurama I'll listen to you and I'll try and disuade Hiei. Whatever's going on...I never really viewed us as friends, I don't believe in having friends, but we're just about as close as it gets. I am bound by my code to help you as an ally, as an aquaintance, as... as..well, you know what I mean."
Karama smiled at her gratefully. "Well, let's prove it then."
"Alright, let's see...Number one: What was the name of Kurama's comrade in the makai?"
"Do you mean Hiei?"
"No, the other one."
Karama thought a moment. "You mean Kuronue," he said sadly.
Niku nodded. "Number two, where is Kuronue today?"
Karama looked sadly at the ground. "Unfortunately Kuronue is no longer with us. He died many years ago in an attempt to retrieve his necklace from a pit of bamboos."
Niku looked at him in judgement then nodded again. Number three,...hmmm, number three is, What is the drastic measure that Suichi Minamono took for his mother and why?"
Karama thought a moment. "I believe you are refering to the incident involving the Mirror of Forlorn Hope. I was going to sacrifice myself to save my human mother, Shiori. Fortuately for me, Yusuke showed up in time to offer himself in my stead so the mirror granted us both life and the wish because of his selfless sacrifice."
Niku looked at him impressed. "How did you escape from the makai and become a human?"
"Simple, I found a way to sacrifice one of my tails that I may transform into a spirit and seek refuge in the womb of a human mother. I was born into her family and have stayed there the past fifteen years. That is, until I came here."
"Very good, now..." the test continued for nearly another half hour. Sometimes Niku would ask him questions about other people but kept it mostly on Kurama's past. "Well, I'm convinced," Niku said standing after every question she could think of had gone through ther head.
"Really?" Kurama said happily. "So you believe me?"
Niku nodded. "I'm going to start training, but once I'm done, I'll talk with Hiei."
Karama stopped. "Yeah, about that, do you think you could maybe come back out with me?" Niku looked up questioningly. "I'm just concerned that if I leave alone, and he has no way of seeing you..."
Niku smiled. "Sure, I guess I can start tomorrow."
Karama sighed relieved. The two of them made their way back outside and into the main house. Not seeing anybody Niku led him to the back of the house and through the back door. There they found everyone out near the pool. Keiko and Botan were sunbathing next to the tropical pool, Yukina was near the polar pool, Kuwabara was standing on the edge of one of the pools grilling (in an apron) andYusuke was swimming around while Hiei was out with Yami in the fields.
"Hey Kurama," Kuwabara said noticing him.
Niku looked him up and down. "You really like aprons, don't you?"
"Hello Kuwabara," Kurama said.
"Want a hamburger?"
"No thanks," Niku replied. "I prefer fresh meat."
Karama and Kuwabara looked at him with the little sweat drop eye twitch for a second not knowing if it was a joke or not, but Niku walked past them and joined Hiei and Yami in the fields. Karama looked after them for a minute, just long enough to see Niku stop and pet Yami and start talking to Hiei.
"You going to have one?" Kuwabara asked offering him a hamburger.
"I must agree with Niku, Kuwabara, you need to remove that garment. I don't think I will be eating yet, thank you."
He walked back inside and went up to his room. Once in he lay down on his bed, not tired but overwhelmed. Nothing made any sense. It may be a little better now that NIku was having a talk with Hiei, but...wait a second, how had she known the answers? Kara didn't know any of that stuff.
It seemed to her that Kurama was in there somewhere, he was just kind of locked up. Karama sat up in bed and started to think critically. So far, in simplest terms, Kara had been walking to school. She suddenly became a guy (Tch, real simple thought Kara). She went to school and her friend Michelle didn't remember her and had a new name. After the first day of school Karama found that she now had Kurama's life. The next day they went to school and caught Tom. After Tom, they went and graduated then went to the school dance. After the dance Karama had gotten lost, then was attacked. Niku had rescued her and she helped her recover. Getting home, Hiei attacked her treating her as an imposter. Her only hope of getting out of this alive was to act like Kurama-easier said than done.
Kara made a resolution to herself to be as much like Kurama as she could at all times. She made her way back outside and met the others. He walked to the edge of the tropical pool where Yusuke and Kuwabara were in the shallow end of one of the pools dunking each others heads underwater repeatedly.
"Hey Kurama," Yusuke said shoving Kuwabara's head under.
"Come swimming with us," Kuwabara said surfacing and shoving Yusuke's head under.
"Thank you, I don't swim," Karama said putting her hands up.
"You do now," a voice behind him said. He turned just in time to see Niku kick him in the center of the back. He fell into the water and sank down. Feeling the bottom he kicked off and surfacing took a big breath of air. "Wow, you learn quick," Niku said sarcastically smirking down at him.
"I said that I don't swim, not that I can't swim," Karama reminded her. He swam to the edge of the pool and started pulling himself out. Niku reached down to help him and his inner Kara saw her chance. Taking her hand as if gratefully he began pulling himself out. Then, when he was half way out of the water he put his foot against the edge of the pool and pulled. Niku lost her balance and began to fall in too. Karama fell back in inevitably and looked about for her. Not seeing Niku he tried to surface, but hit his head on something hard coming up. Blowing out bubbles, he held his head and moved to the side of the object, then came out in the air.
Turning around he saw Niku standing on a chunk of ice she had obviously made to keep herself from falling in the water. She stared down at him, a blank expression on her face. It was hard to tell if she was amused or angry. Then she smile-smirked. "Oh yeah, you're dead."
She jumped into the water (still wearing those back pants and black shirt) only inches from Kurama's head. Surfacing she put her hands on his shoulders from behind and pushed. He went under fast and she held him down for a long time. He came up panting and turned on her. He splashed her in the face and she splashed him back. They were just playing around and kept beating each other up in the water by splashing, dunking, and just acting stupid.
They calmed down after a while and headed into the shallow end for a little while. Hiei came walking by with Yami. Kuwabara and Yusuke kept splashing each other and Kuwabara "accidentally" splashed Hiei. One of his little spikes was kind of drooping and he glared at him angrily. Then, he did something very out of character. Going into one of the little cabin-sheds on the side he reamerged in a pair of swim trunks (black with flames on the sides and a blood red trim).
Upon reamerging he walked calmly over to the diving board at the far end of the pool. Getting on the edge he shut his eyes, took a running start and jumped thirty feet in the air. Once at the peak of his jump he curled up into a perfect ball and began spinning. He hit the water going at least ninety miles per hour or more and the ensuing splash went up at least fifty feet in the air. The wave that came after was a good twenty feet tall and swept over everyone.
Niku and Karama who were closest were hit with the worst of it. Niku put her arm over her eyes and smiled as the mass of water washed over her. Karama was more afraid then anything and held his nose as he went under. Kuwabara tried to swim away in time, but Yusuke tried to body surf it (he failed). Keiko and Botan who were sitting in lawn chairs on the "beach" hardly noticed it coming. Botan saw it first and started stuttering to get Keiko's attention. Keiko who was wearing sunglasses, a green sun hat and had one of those sun reflector tanners looked at Botan, raised an eyebrow then lowered her glasses and let out a little shriek when she saw it. She held the sun reflector over her head like a roof and gritted her teeth.
The wave washed over them knocking everyone but Niku off their feet and washed them onto the beach. The lawn chairs started floating back into the water and everything was soaked. Niku who had obviously expected Kurama to stick it out too blinked twice then turned around. She fell over laughing.
Keiko was sitting on the ground, her face hidden behind the dripping sunhat. Yusuke was on his stomach after failing to surf the wave, Kuwabara was laying on his stomach under Botan who was sitting on him. Karama had landed upside down and had just rolled over and was now rubbing his head. Yusuke got up and walked over to Keiko. He lifted the front flap of the hat so everyone could see her face. Her glasses were askew and she had a disgruntled expression on her face.
Hiei came back out of the water (now considerably more shallow) and took a deep breath. He examined his work, smirked, then swam over to the ladder and climbed out.
It took everyone a minute, but soon everyone but Keiko was laughing. Niku was the one who refilled the pool. With the help of Yukina she made a thick layer of ice go over the surface of the water. After the ice was nearly up to the edge of the pool Niku began to heat it with a burst of flames from her two hands. Soon, the pool was full again, and just as warm as ever (flame can do that to stuff).
Before everyone got back in Niku decided to try something. "Have you guys ever read about that guy Moses who parted the Red Sea?"
"No, who?" Kuwabara asked.
"I think I read about him before. It was after the Exodus from Egypt by the Hebrews. It's a large part of Jewish and Christian faith," Keiko said.
"He parted the Sea? What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke asked.
"It means that he made all the water in the entire sea go to either side so that it was dry in the middle and people could walk through," Niku explained.
"No way, how'd he do that?" Kuwabara said impressed. "He must have had some serious spirit energy."
"Not spirit energy, the power of God," Niku said mysteriously but jokingly. "I'm going to try it." Taking a beach umbrella she folded it up, took off the umbrella and began her theatrical performance. She stood at the edge of the water and slowly waded in till it was knee deep. The stick was just for appearance but she concentrated hard and a strong wind began to blow. Raising the "staff" with both hands she plunged it into the water. Upon contact the water around it began to swirl in a whirlpool. Then a break appeared in the water and went out to the other end of the pool. It widened into a crack that split the water to the bottom, then split completely. The water that was no longer in the five foot crack in the middle was next to the sides, not spilling over the edge.
Niku seemed pleased with her work, opened her eyes and smiled. "Who wants to give it a try?" Niku asked obviously wanting someone to walk in the middle.
Everyone exchanged nervous glances, then Yusuke conceded. "I'll do it," he said stepping forward bravely. He walked past Niku and stepped into the crack. He walked to the middle of the deep end after the slope had ended and stood there looking around. He looked up at Niku and yelled, "let it go!"
"What, seriously?"
He nodded and smiled. He put his arms out so that one hand was in the water on each side. He hung his head dramatically and Niku let the water pour over him. The walls of water came down in a great hissing splash and Yusuke couldn't be seen for all the bubbles.
Keiko looked about worried. "Where is he? Why isn't he coming up?"
"Either he's just enjoying himself, playing a trick on us, or the collapsing walls of water created a sort of vacuum with their currents and he's being held underwater by the force."
"That's a comforting way to look at it," Kuwabara said.
After a minute of nothing Yusuke popped his head up. "That was awesome!
The day went on in pretty much the same fashion. Niku found very creative ways to train. After the little "Moses" scene, she caused jets of water to shoot into the air with enough pressure to support her, Yusuke and a very frightened Kuwabara ("This isn't funny, put me down guys!").
After a while she grew bored of hanging out with everyone else and went over to the arctic pool. The water there was so cold that Niku and Yukina were the only two who had ever gone in. Yukina because she was an ice apparition and Niku because, well, because she could. Niku swam there for a little while then got out and dried off (she was still fully clothed). After everyone was waterlogged they got out too. It was nearing four o' clock when Niku decided to leave.
"Hey, am I the only one who's bored?" Niku asked.
Everyone looked at each other. "Yeah, I think so," Yusuke said. "Why?"
"Because I was thinking of going back into training."
"Oh, come on. Already?"
"Yes already, I haven't had a chance to in a while."
"How can that possibly be more fun then staying out here?" Botan asked.
"I have fun my own way."
"Wait one more day, just one more," Yusuke said.
"Thanks for the offer but I'm going to get going," she said turning around, her hands in her pockets.
Then Karama thought of something. "Niku, wait just a moment," he said running up behind her.
She turned. "Yeah."
"I was wondering, do you think it would be possible, if I could use a training hall for a while?" he said sheepishly.
She eyed him for a moment. "Sure, follow me," she said and led him back towards the game house. They went back to where they had been before in the room with all the doors. Niku stopped in an open doorway and turned around. "You might want to grab a bite to eat. I usually stay in for a few days at a time so I always keep a good store of food for when I come out."
"Sure," Karama said, a little hungry now that the waffles were being digested. Niku walked through the doorway and into what looked like an office lounge/ kitchen. It was a small room with cupboards and countertops on three of the four walls. There was also a sink, coffee maker, stove/oven, and small refrigerator on or in the countertop.
Niku walked over to one of the cabinets and took out some tea bags and a can of ground coffee beans. "Do you want some tea, or coffee or something to drink?" she asked.
"Yes, please," Karama responded. "Coffee please."
Niku replaced the tea bags and began to brew some coffee. She took out a couple of mugs and set them next to the coffee maker. Then she went over to another cabinet and began poking about the boxes and bags of food. Every now and then she mumble something like "not much here," or "not in the mood for that." Then she pulled out a pack of Ramen. "You like noodles?" she asked.
"Sure," Karama said. Kara had liked the Ramen noodles a lot back home.
Niku put them in a pot on the stove and sat on the countertop next to the coffee maker. "So," she said. "What kind of training room did you have in mind?" she said pouring the coffee and bringing it over.
Karama took his cup and looked up thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. Something private, out of the way. I was hoping for something you can grow plants in if I could get one."
Niku took a sip of coffee and smiled at him. She put one arm on the back of her chair and leaned back so that it was on two legs. "I've got a lot of those. do you want something like a field or a forest or something?"
"That would work," Karama said. "The biggest one you have."
Niku raised an eyebrow. "You sure. We don't want you getting lost."
Karama nodded and then leaned into the table secretively. Niku fixed her chair and did the same. "Yes, and if it is possible, could we use the energy wall that keeps Hiei from seeing inside."
Niku eyed him curiously, then smiled and sat straight again. "Sure, anything you need." She finished her coffee and got up to check the noodles. They were nearly done and she sat back down with Karama. She stared at him in silence for a moment which made him uncomfortable and he shifted in his seat. "You know, I don't think you're someone else, but you sure have been acting weird lately Kurama. Hiei's right to be suspicious."
Karama took the last sip of coffee and looked back at Niku. "Perhaps I will tell you what's going on, but not here."
Niku looked at him a moment longer then nodded her understanding. "You are entitled to your privacy. As am I," she said somewhat loudly glancing toward the doorway. Karama looked over and could have sworn that he saw a black blur cross it.
Karama frowned then gratefully accepted the bowl of noodles and broth that Niku handed him. They ate quickly and Niku stuffed a khaki bag full of dried foods and some canteens of water then they headed off down the hall, Niku leading the way.
She stopped at a doorway near the end of one of the hallways. "Well, this is it," she said. "Forest/Field training." Karama looked at the door and saw that it was labled that in shining gold letters. "After you," Niku said holding the door and making a sweeping gesture inside.
Karama entered and looked about in awe. It was a room so large you could see none of the walls, or the ceiling in fact, she wasn't sure if there was a ceiling. A grassy plain filled with hills stood before them and an expansive forest lay off to their right. Turning around Karama saw that there were no walls. Where Niku stood now closing the door, there was only the door and it's frame. Where the ceiling would have been was a very normal looking sky.
Niku smiled at his reaction. "So, what do you think?" she asked.
Karama smiled at her. "It's perfect."
Niku nodded and turned around. At first Karama thought she was leaving, but she simply placed her finger in a hole in the door and began to deploy the energy shield. She turned around and began to walk towards a hill in the field. Once there she sat down and put the bag of food beside her.
Karama followed her still looking about for some sign that this place ended. Niku looked at his confusion and smiled. "I know what you're thinking, and no it soesn't have an end. It's a sort of circular plane. Walk far enough in one direction and you'll get back to where you started," she explained.
Karama was awed that a room as small as it appeared on the outside could be it's own world inside. "How'd you build this?" she asked amazed.
Niku shrugged. "I just kind of did. Some of my power I still don't understand." She sighed and changed the subject. "You said you might tell me what was going on, is now the time?"
Karama looked down at her sadly. Kara had always trusted Michelle with her biggest secrets, but she still wasn't sure if that really was Michelle. She hadn't remembered who Kara was earlier, maybe she shouldn't tell her. Then again, she might be the only person who could help get her out of her situation. Karama reached a compromise within her head and decided to tell her part of it.
He sighed and plopped down beside her on the soft grass. He looked sadly up into the clear, blue sky and turned his head towards Niku who looked back solemnly realizing that whatever Kurama was going to tell her was important.
"Well," he began carefully picking his words. "Recently I have had a problem-recalling certain...things," he said making a rolling gesture with his hand. "I can't remember anything that happened before this past Wednesday and I've completely lost my ability to fight and I fear that part of my personality is gone as well."
Niku looked back at him for a while silently, her eyes a steely gray that made Karama feel like she was looking into his soul. She was silent a moment longer then said, "Is that why you couldn't ward off those demons last night, and why you've been acting so weird?"
Karama nodded. "That is in fact correct."
Niku looked at him seriously for a moment then smiled, looked away and sighed. "Is that all? I thought it was something really serious."
Karama was taken aback. "That's not serious! Hello, my memories are gone and I don't know how to fight anymore!"
Niku looked back over at him unconcerned. "I thought someone had like, taken over your body or something. (Karama gets a sweat drop, rubs the back of his head and laughs nervously) I can fill you in on everything that's happpened, and I can teach you how to fight again right here," she said gesturing around the room. She got to her feet and held out her hand to help him up. "Not a problem, shall we get started?" She smiled at him.
Karama smiled back, took her hand and got to his feet. "Let's."
"Alright, we'll start with the basics, let's see... defense. I've noticed that you prefer dodging to actually blocking. Now I'm going to start swinging and you're going to dodge, okay?"
Karama nodded. "Alright." It was a disaster. Every time Niku punched Karama would jump away clumbsily and not be ready to dodge the next one. Sometimes he wouldn't even see the punch in time and Niku would collide with his chest or the side of his face (she wasn't being very gentle).
Niku kept offering bits of advice like "stay on your feet," or "no, no, it's got to flow more," but Karama still wasn't doing well. "Alright," Niku finally said frustrated. "We'll try this a different way. You punch, and I'll show you how to dodge."
A very exhausted and sore Karama nodded back to her and began to throw punch after punch at his elusive target. Niku dodged and ducked trying to mimic Kurama's style as much as possible. Her movements blended together seamlessly and Karama began to realize what he needed to do.
Niku seeing his expression changed stopped. "You ready to try again?" she asked.
"I think so," Karama replied eager to see if he could get it right now.
"Alright then," Niku said taking an offensive position. Karama prepared himself and nodded. Niku started in slow, then seeing how well Karama was doing now she quickened the pace. Karama was really getting the hang of it. He was now dodging the blows completely, staying on his feet, keeping his head, and doing it all in fluid motions.
Karama smiled and paused as Niku let up. "I think I got it," he said panting happily.
"Alright, I won't go so easy on you now," Niku said with a smirk.
"It was going easy before?" Karama asked.
"Ready?" Niku asked ignoring him.
"I sure hope so," mumbled Karama as Niku darted in at him. She wasn't joking, it was much harder now. She was moving faster and punching harder. Even if one just grazed his skin Karama felt the full power of it blow past him. It also became much harder to focus when you knew that all that force was aimed at you, and she continued to get faster.
Then, one hit him right in the chest. He went flying backwards thirty feet before hitting the ground and tumbling end over end to the edge of the trees. Rubbing his chest he sat up. "Ow."
Niku walked over. "That was great, you were almost doing as good as you used to."
"Really?" Karama said excitedly.
Niku nodded. "Let's move on, offense." They trained for several more hours till it must have been eight o'clock. Karama was so sore he just collapsed on the soft grass. "It's not time to rest yet," Niku said. "We've still got to make camp."
"What, can't we just sleep here, now?" Karama asked.
"No. We have to make camp. Come on."
Karama got heavily to his feet. "Fine." They went off into the trees and found a small clearing.
Niku looked it over. "This'll do. Now, we need fire wood, I'll get that, and you can start getting dinner together."
"Okay," Karama said and began taking a pot and some packages of food out of the khaki bag. Niku went off to get the firewood. Karama started thinking to herself again. It seemed that she was doing well in training and some of Kurama's personality was influencing her now.
The more she thought about it all though, the more confusing it became. She eventually gave up on thinking things through and decided that she'd just keep up what she was doing. Niku came back a little while later, her arms full of wood.
She arranged the wood in a small pile, lit it with her spirit energy and began setting up a little wood thing for the pot to hang from. They cooked some more noodles and ate in relative silence.
Niku looked up thoughtfully into the sky then spoke. "Should I start filling you in on everything?" she asked.
At first Karama wasn't sure what she was talking about, then remembered. "Oh, yes."
"Where to start, I guess with,-Wait a second can you remember anything?"
Karama thought a moment, then decided to risk it. "Well, yes and no. I remember most of my beggining here, but nothing of our latest cases."
"Do you remember first meeting Urameshi?"
Karama nodded.
"What about The four Saint Beasts. Genbu, Byakko, Seiryuu, and Suzaqu?"
"I think so, were you there?"
"No, I come in just after that but before Tuguro."
"Yes, I don't recall our first meeting you, or anything since. I suppose my memory drops off right after Yusuke defeated Suzaqu."
Niku nodded. "Okay then, I'll start with that but I'm going to keep it brief. See, right after you all beat the saint beasts, you got news that there was a big crime lord in the makai who was planning on extending into the Nigenkai." (Karama sort of snorted. If that was how they met Niku she could only guess as to who the crime lord was.) Niku looked at him kind of funny, sort of getting his little outburst. "As I was saying," she said smiling, "the culprit (eh-cough) was posing a threat to the Nigenkai so Koenma wanted to deal with it before it got out of hand. Naturally, this being right after the saint beasts and all, none of you were really fit to go, but, being Koenma, he sent you anyway. In fact," Niku paused thoughtfully, "I don't think Hiei would have gone if he hadn't had hopes of slipping off into the makai. Anyway, so he gets you guys a portal and everything and off you go. Meanwhile, I 'stumble' upon the crime lords little fortress. I end up fighting him and barely escaping with my life, I'm badly injured, I can hardly walk, and then you guys show up. Now there's no crime lord in sight, for obvious reasons," she said smirking, "but you all find me. With no description of the crime lord and me being the only other person strong enough to do anything there, you take off after me asuming I'm the criminal."
"But Keiko said you had your own criminal record," Karama said puzzled. "Is that what she meant, or were you innocent?"
Niku smirked. "I'm by no means 'innocent', but I'll get to that part. Now, I'm in no shape to fight, so I start leaving..." She paused. "Wait... that doesn't sound like me. I can't even remember why I was running. I wouldn't run just cause I was hurt." She stared into the flames, her face set in an expression of confusion. "Come to think of it, I can't really remember the whole thing either. Pieces are missing, some things don't fit. It used to make sense, I know it did. It's like there's a hole in my memory," she said holding her head in one hand and running her fingers into her hair.
"Perhaps I am not the only one who's mind has been altered," Karama said. They both stared into the flames for a minute when Niku spoke again.
"There was someone else." Karama looked up. "There was someone else I know it. I just don't know who they were, or why they were there, but..." she held her head again. "Something doesn't fit why can't I..." She grimaced as if in pain and let go of her head.
"Can you tell me what you do know?" Karama said thinking she may just know who the other person was.
Niku looked up and nodded. "Right, so I was trying to leave for some reason and I was kind of hiding from you. Every now and then you'd all catch up and we'd have little stand offs but I always made it out again. Then I got tired of running."
She had said it bluntly and Karama looked up at her. "Yes, and..."
"You had split into two groups. You went with Kuwabara and Urameshi was with Hiei."
"Seems like odd pairings," Karama said. "Why that way?"
Niku thought critically for a moment, her brow furrowed. "Because you were both following someone different. You and Kuwabara were after someone else and Yusuke and Hiei were chasing me. I think it was done for strength."
Karama frowned but didn't interupt.
"I ended up fighting Yusuke and Hiei at the same time and you and Kuwabara ended up in a short conflict with the other person. We were just about to finish each other off when you and Kuwabara showed up. Somehow you found out I wasn't the crime-guy."
"Couldn't you just tell us you weren't to begin with and saved us all a lot of trouble?" Karama asked thinking this the obvious choice of action.
Niku shrugged. "I had no idea why you people were chasing me. I didn't know who you were and frankly I didn't much care. All I knew is that you were trying to kill me, so that meant I had to kill you..." She paused again. "But...but, somebody was stopping me. They kept telling me not to, that it wasn't worth it or something, and I listened.
Karama waited paitently for her to continue.
"Anyway, you all came and told Hiei and Urameshi what was going on. They stopped attacking me but I was all confused as to why and what was going on, and who you people were, etc., etc. So, you kind of explain it and then we go our seperate ways."
"What, go our seperate ways? Then how come you're here now?"
"Would you hold it," Niku said. "I'm getting to that. So, you people head back to Nigenkai and you don't know where I go, you think that's the last you'll see of me. Then you guys get a case about a 'something', demon or human, in the human world that keeps giving off tons of energy at the same time as you get a case about a demon that's been hiding undercover as a human and is planning to destroy an entire town to sacrfice to gain more power, so you come here, to Derry, New Hampshire, U.S.A. Coincedentally that's where both cases start from and where I happen to be living at the time. You all come and I happen to see you before you start school. I don't really care and am about to leave when one of you spots me."
"Who was it?" asked Karama.
"Who else," Niku said, " but the only person who never notices anything." She cleared her throat and perfectly copied Kuwabara's voice. "Hey you guys, isn't that the person from demon world?"
Karama stifled a laugh.
"So you all whip around expecting to see some gargantuan demon, and you see me. He said it really loud and he points so everyone around turns and looks at the fourteen year old girl he's pointing at. Of course with the new case and all, you're curious as to why I'm in the town where these two things are going on so I ice things over by telling you part of the story."
"How much?" Karama asked.
"I say that I came here and had been here after the demon-guy showed up. I say I don't know anything about your stupid case and for you to leave me alone when Yusuke insists that's not 'adequate information' and won't let me leave. I'm ready to fight you people off, uh, there are still some bitter feelings from when you all tried to kill me in the place and when I did the same," she added to Karama's expression. "But Urameshi decides it's too open an area. He tries to get me to leave the little market, or where ever we are, and I won't go. I start leaving my own way and you people send Hiei to follow me. Of course I notice and I won't tell you what happens then cause you weren't there anyway, but I come back with him about two hours later willing to talk to you a little."
"Why won't you tell me what happened between you and Hiei?" Karama asked curious.
"Like I said, you didn't know anyway. Now, I still don't tell you people much and then I go to talk with Koenma in spirit world. I come back and all I tell you people is that I help you catch the demon and you leave me alone and don't ask about what happened between or before meetings. Then I could leave home free."
"How come? I mean, were you the one giving off all the energy?"
Niku smiled. "None of you know that even now."
"Then why would Koenma have even had to make you help with the case?"
"Like I said, you don't know that. But, it turns out Koenma lied. He made all of you 'interogate' me to find out more info on the cases. I was mad as hell of course, but he said he found more crimes, so I had to help you guys even more. I still didn't like you all very much but I wasn't in the mood till kill the 'spirit detective' so I stayed. I still think I can take any of you if I need to, I mean I was going to beat two of you while Iwas injured before you showed up saying it was a misunderstanding. Koenma kind of knows that so he doesn't keep a very tight leash, but he did tell you to watch your backs. After a while, I got more used to all of you and it wasn't as bad. Then we found this place and well, then I beat Tom, and here we are."
"Oh," Karama said trying to take it all in. "So even though you're supposedly on probation, you can leave whenever if you want?"
"Pretty much, wanting too's the problem though."
"Ah, did we grow on you?" Karama said jokingly.
Niku smiled. "You could say that. I may like the house more than you people though."
Karama couldn't decide if she was joking or not and gave up trying to figure it out. "Wow, we really screwed up, didn't we. I mean with the whole crime lord thing?"
"Yup," Niku said putting her hands behind her head and laying down. She smiled. "I really hated you all at first, but now..." She shut her eyes smiled bigger.
"Let me guess, you've never been happier," Karama said for her.
Niku opened her eyes and looked at him. "I don't know. It's been a long time since I was happy." She was suddenly much more serious.
Karama looked back at her. "Why?"
Niku who had shut her eyes again opened one. "I have my reasons." One of her hands went to her pendant and she started playing with it again.
"What's that for?" Karama asked pointing at the pendant.
"We're full of questions aren't we?" Niku said. She shut her eye again and turned her head straight up. "You never knew."
Karama had begun to realize that meant 'don't ask'. "Where'd you get it?"
Niku frowned as if deciding to tell him or not. "I've had it as long as I can remember, that's all I ever told anyone."
Karama looked at her for a minute. "Why are you always so secretive? The world isn't going to end because you tell someone what happened in your life."
She looked at him with one eye again and sat up. "You never know."
Karama frowned at her. Michelle had never liked to talk about herself either, but she hadn't had what appeared to be such a disturbing past, that is as far as Kara knew she hadn't.
Niku got up and started walking away. Karama was going to follow her but decided against it. She pulled a blanket out of the bag and lay down on the soft earth. He shut his eyes but didn't fall asleep. He lay there a long time before he heard Niku return. She stared down at him a little while, then lay down a few feet away. Karama who had only hoped for Niku's safe return was sore and tired so he fell asleep shortly afterwards. He did wake up once in the night, but Niku was still awake. She lay with her hands behind her head and her knees up as she stared into the sky. He went to sleep again and didn't wake up again.
Karama opened his eyes feeling the rough shaking on his shoulder. "Hey, rise and shine," Niku said still shaking him awake.
Karama groaned and got up rubbing his head with one hand. He yawned. "Good morning," he said groggily. "What's going on?"
"We have to keep training, remember?" Niku said piling more wood next to the fire and removing a kettle from over the fire. "Breakfast?"
"Sure," Karama said still a little tired. "What are we working on today?" he asked taking a cup of tea in a wooden cup.
"I thought we'd move you onto plants today," Niku said taking her own cup and taking a sip. "My guess is you've forgotten that too?" she said looking at him over teh top of her cup.
"Oh, yes, that is correct. I had quite a bit of trouble with the rose whip the other night," Karama said taking a sip of his own tea.
Niku smiled at him. "Is that so? Well then we'd better get working on it."
The coaching went rather well. First Niku started him off just by controlling the growth of the plants. She'd tell him different lengths to make the whip and he'd have it go that far. After that she got him using it. That's where the trouble started. Karama did his best to keep it under control but was having a lot of trouble.
Once it came around towards Niku who was standing off to the side watching him. She only just managed to jump out of the way before the whip slied through the air where she had been standing. "Easy there," Niku said, somewhat undaunted for someone who was almost ripped in half.
"Sorry about that," Karama said still trying to get the whip to do what he wanted. Then it came back towards his head and Karama was too late to stop it. He looked helplessly as the whip swung back towards his bare neck. He shut his eyes tight not wanting to see his own demise. He waited for death but when it didn't come a few seconds later he opened one eye. Niku stood there as if suspended in midair. The whip was in her hand.
She landed on the ground with the whip held tight in her fist. She looked down at it and frowned. Then Karama noticed blood slipping through the cracks between her fingers and dripping down the sides of her hand onto the ground. Niku made a blank face and opened her hand. The whip didn't fall out and Karama wondered why for a second till he saw Niku pull on it and grimace, a long, bloody thorn coming out of her palm. Still with a blank expression Niku opened and closed her palm stiffly a few times, each time a gush of blood coming out.
Karama looked at her sadly. "Are you okay? Oh my god, I am so sorry!"
Niku looked up at him and smiled. "That's okay, I'm used to it. Just a scratch," she said.
Karama sighed in relief but he still felt guilty. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault."
Niku frowned up at him. "I'm okay. Besides, I wasn't just going to let that thing rip open your neck. A bloody palm isn't as bad as a lost head." Niku sat down crosslegged and put her palm to her mouth to suck up a few stray droplets of blood. Then she tore off one of the sleeves of her shirt and tied it around her hand tightly. "There, problem solved."
Karama still felt really guilty and was hesitant to start using the whip again. "Are you sure I should, I mean, I don't want to hurt anyone again."
Niku dismissed it with a wave of her hand (Karama couldn't help but notice the wet looking rag bound about her hand.) "If you don't learn now things that are a lot worse are going to happen."
"I guess you're right, but I would stand back," Karama said cautiously.
Niku looked at him seriously a moment. "You care too much," she said flatly.
Karama looked at her kind of stunned. Michelle had always told Kara that. This was really weird. "Right, well here I go...," Karama said.
"Try the thorn wheel," Niku instructed. Gradually Karama got better and better, and she didn't have any more accidents. It became a lot easier to not only use the whip, but to wield it effectively as well. Then Niku let them take a break.
Karama sat in the shade of one of the trees near the edge of the forest. Niku left for a minute to get some food. She was gone for at least ten minutes though and Karama noticed that when she came back she had real bandages on her hand. He frowned at the red stain already seaping through the bandage.
Niku frowned too and shoved his food into his hand (a sandwich of some sort and a can of soda). "I told you not to worry about it," she said irritably. "It's not a problem."
Karama looked away and began eating. That was twice Niku had saved her within forty-eight hours had all she had gotten out of it was a few cuts and a hole in her hand. Niku sat in th enook of a tree branch and ate quickly. She jumped down and rubbed her hands together to get rid of the crumbs.
"You know it's nice to eat every now andthen," she said.
Karama looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "You don't eat?"
"Well, I eat, just not very often, and not at all when I'm training," she explained. "but sometimes it's nice just to have a snack now and then.
Karama swallowed the piece of sandwich in his mouth and said, "What do you do for energy then?"
Niku shrugged. "It's kind of part of the training itself. I have to push my body to keep going even when it's tired and deprived of the things that most people need to function."
"It makes sense," Karama said finishing his sandwich and chugging the last of his soda. "Should we get back to work?"
Niku nodded and they got going again. After nearly perfecting the whip Niku had him pull a seed out of his hair and control the plant's size and actions that came out. At first they just kept attacking her and she'd have to jump away till Karama either stopped it (which rarely happened) or till she got impatient and burnt them to a crisp.
The rest of the day went on in the same fashion. Sometimes Niku would have brief sparring rounds with Karama, but the training was focused mainly on his control. It was probably near eight thirty when they finally stopped. Karama dragged himself off to the camp and ate his meal quickly. By this time he was absolutely exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately after laying down.
The bright light of the sun shining down on his face woke Karama in the morning. He sort of winced and rolled over, then sat up. Niku was nowhere to be seen and her bag was still in their clearing. Karama got up and looked around. Not seeing her he folded his blanket and began his search. He was going to look in the field first because if she was there it would be much easier to see her then it would be to find her in the forest and because that's where she had been the last couple of days.
He came to the edge of the clearing but still saw no sign of her. He frowned now realizing that he'd have to search the forest. Then an earsplitting, earthshaking boom split the silent world. Karama wheeled about. He saw a large plume of smoke coming from deep within the forest and headed towards it swiftly. He figured to himself that it was probably her training so he was relieved that his hunt was going to be less difficult but also a little worried.
He ran through the trees to the location of the sound. He passed the camp on his way and decided to bring the bag, just in case they didn't make it back before dark. He threw the strap over his shoulder and took back off towards the noise. It took him about ten minutes to get there and he found it deserted. He came into a newly formed clearing, a clearing because he was at the foot of a large crater. Nearly running straight into it he pulled his foot back and watched a dislodged rock roll down into the bottom. Karama looked around and saw a clear path of destruction leading off deeper into the woods. He noticed as he went it looked like a struggle had taken place.
Frowning at the toppled trees as he passed Karama followed the path for nearly a half hour till he came to a marshy area. He pulled his feet from the sopping mud that was sucking him down. The path of destruction had ended and he was now faced only with the seemingly endless swamp. Now he had no idea how to follow Niku, when he noticed a pair of footprints in the mud.
Deciding that they had to be hers from the size and the length of the stride he began to follow them. They wound their way through the marsh heading in no particular direction. Sometimes they would enter a pool of water and not be visible so Karama had to search all around the water for signs of footprints. Other times it seemed she had jumped a ways ahead because he would lose the tracks and find them twenty or thirty feet away. He would have to tell which direction to look in by the direction the footprint was in and the depressions in the track showing where weight was being placed.
This continued for another hour, following the tracks becoming harder, the footprints less defined, the spaces between them larger. Karama began to wonder if Niku was aluding him on purpose, but kept following her. He would now be hopelessly lost and following her was the only way to find the door back out. Then, he made it to the edge of the marsh and the trees continued again.
Karama figured he had gotten up around seven in the morning and that it was probably near eleven now. He hadn't had breakfasst and had been trucking around in thick mud and running through a forest all day. He decided that if he didn't find Niku soon he was going stop for a lunch break.
Then Karama realized how much harder it was to follow the footprints now that they had reentered the forest. Naturally the falen leaves made a soft bed, but this didn't show footprints very well. To make things worse there continued to be gaps in between them and other tricks like them stopping at a tree trunk and Karama having to sniff out which tree they came out of. After a hour and a half more of this Karama decided to have something to eat. He sat down in the middle of the path and opened the khaki bag. He dug through it till he found a canteen of water, a bag of chips, and some sort of sushi in a tupperware thing. He ate it all quickly, eager to follow the tracks while they were still fresh.
He finished, put the trash back in the bag, and rose again to continue following the tracks. It was nearly two in the afternoon when the footprints came to a shaded clearing. Karama looked down and frowned in worry. The footprints in the dusty earth seemed oddly spread out and scattered. The thing that really worried him though was that the footprints were mixed with those of another beings. They appeared to be from a creature that stood on two legs but who had large, akward feet somewhat unlike those of a human.
Then Karama smelt the odor of the demon. Looking up he saw a cloaked figure standing across from him at the edge of the circular clearing it's arm crossed over it's chest. It kept it's head down so that you couldn't see it's face but Karama got the feeling he didn't want to see it. There were odd protrusions in the back of the cloak where the neck would have been and it's red cloak hid it's hands which Karama could only guess were no less menacing then the rest of it's appearance. Karama now guessed where Niku had gone.
Karama stared at the creature coldly, his eyes narrowing. "Where is my companion?" he asked sternly.
The creature remained perfectly still for a moment, then drew it's arms apart and a pair of long, cruel claws emerged from beneath the sleeves of the cloak. Looking down at them he noticed that the ends of the claws on his right hand were dripping something red. Fresh blood.
Another moment passed with the two locked in stares, Karama still unable to see the thiongs face, when it lunged at him. Not wasting a moment or a movement Karama turned aside dodging the things claws that were sent ahead of it. Karama then brought his leg up under it knocking it up and causing it to trip up and stumble forward. It turned about swiftly just in time to catch a fist in the face.
Karama let his punch follow through the creature, it's head turning aside with the force of the attack. Karama stood there a moment, his fist in the things face (the feeling of it's skin was rubbery though he still couldn't see it's face). He thought he had already bested it when the thing turned it's head about evily and if Karama could have seen his face, itprobably would have been smiling. It brought one of it's massive claws up into Karama's stomach. At the last moment he managed to deflect it so it only grazed his skin. Karama stumbled backwards one hand on his stomach over his sliced shirt.
The creature however, was unrelenting in it's attack and moved in again slashing away with it's long claws with suprising speed for such an akward looking figure. Karama was only just managing to dodge the blows and was tiring quickly. Then Karama shut his eyes, thought back and remembered Niku's training. "...it's got to flow more..."
Reopening his eyes he seemed to gain a newfound strength within himself and began a new assault. leaping back from his opponent he put a hand into his hair andremoved a rose. Quickly he transformed it into the rose whip which he began skillfully maneuvering about slicing away at the creature in his own turn. Whenever the thing got too close to use the whip Karama would dodge it a moment longer, then jump back again.
Soon he had gained the upperhand and the creature was losing ground. Karama took this as his opportunity. Coiling the whip at his side he jumped in towards the thing quickly and grabbed the cloak by the neck piece below the hood. Lifting it clear off the ground he held it tightly. His voice filled with rage and the adrenaline from the battle still pumping through his veins he spoke to the thing. "I will ask you only oncemore. Where is my companion?"
At first the creature didn't do anything and Karama shook it gruffly. Then it sort of snorted and started laughing, an oddly familiar laugh. Karama let go and backed away. "Is, is that you?" he asked.
The thing just stood there, it's arms limply at it's sides. Then, it began removing it's claws which fell to the ground. "I must congratulate you," came a familiar voice, "for your stunning performance. The hands of the creature, now simple human hands went to it's hood and pulled it back. Niku smiled at Karama from beneath the cloak.
Karama just stared openmouthed.
Niku raised an eyebrow. "Suprised to see me?"
Karama had to stutter a moment to get the words out. "But you were, I saw it, how?"
"Simple," she said removing the cloak and tossing it aside revealing her normal attire. "I found this old halloween costume and decided to use it. I got up early and set off to set everything up. I made the tracks then followed you till you were in the fields. Then I blew up that big crater to make you think something was up and followed you as you tried to track me. Once you got near the clearing I put the costume on, rubbed some berry juice on the end of one of them and waited."
Karama stared at her for a moment. "Why?"
Niku smiled. "I wanted to see how much you learned. You also needed to learn tracking if you're coming into the makai with us, and, I thought it would be funny."
"Funny?" Karama asked. "I thought you were dead!" Still he couldn't help from smiling and kind of laughing as he held his head in his hand. "Wow. So did I pass?"
"With flying colors," Niku said. She walked over and picked up the bag that Karama had dropped when he started fighting. "Shall we get back?"
"Sure," said Karama. "As long as we don't have to go through that swamp again."
The two of them made their way through the forest and back out to the edge of one of the fields. They went over to the door in the middle and stepped out into the hallway. Karama looked around. "It's weird that there's such an abrupt change it seems like I'm lighter in here too."
Niku looked at him in an odd way. "You didn't notice? The gravity in there was two times more than normal."
Karama was suprised. That meant that in three short days he had completley relearned his fighting style while not realizing he was being pushed far beyond his normal tolerances.
He and Niku made their way out of the training hall area and came out in teh main game room. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Yukina, Keiko, and Botan were all there.
"Hey , you're back!" Yusuke said looking over at them from his game.
"I was wondering how long it would take for you guys to show up?" Kuwabara said.
"What took so long?" Yukina asked curiously.
"We had a lot of training to do that's all," Niku said heading towards the outside door.
"You're not going to stay at all?" Yusuke asked.
Niku turned. "No, I have some...stuff to do. I may come back later."
"What about you, Kurama?" Kuwabara asked. "Want to play Speedstars?"
"No thank you," Karama said watching Niku go. "My-uh, plants need some attention."
"Suit yourself," Yusuke shrugged returning to his game. Karama went out the front door and looked up into the sky, now a purpley-pink with the setting sun. He saw Niku round the corner of the house and followed after her, genuinely wishing to get to his room.
He was just going to come around the corner himself when he heard voices. He peered around the corner and saw Hiei standing there with Niku. Judging from his voice it seemed Hiei was madand karama didn't really feel like walking in on them right then. He was turning around to go the other way when he heard his name.
"Three days? That's a long time to be just training," came Hiei's voice around the corner.
"I always train that long," Niku said sounding impatient.
"Never with anyone else you don't. In fact I can't remember you ever training with another person before."
"Kurama needed some pointers so I gave him some tips."
"It took you three days to give tips?"
"Don't you have something better to do than intergate me?" She sounded very agitated.
"No, now tell me what's going on. Did anything happen while you were in there? Did he act funny at all?"
"What? No! I told you before Hiei, that is Kurama."
"To you perhaps," he half mumbled. "What happened to your hand?" he said looking at the bloodied bandage.
"Oh, that?" Niku asked putting teh hand behind her back. "That's nothing, just a scratch."
"Just a scratch," he said suspiciously. "It's been bleeding a lot for being just a scratch."
"It was an accident, okay."
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "An accident?"
Niku looked away and rubbed her arm. "It was my fault. I got in the way of the whip while he was training and it grazed my hand."
"Yes," Hiei said sarcastically. "An accident that Kurama, with his awesome control of the whip accidentally almost hit you. Funny, how convenient it would have been for him to 'accidentally' get you out of the way while you were training in there and make it look like an accident."
There was a moment of silence. "I don't need to explain myself to you. I told you it was an accident, and believe me, if he wanted too he had plenty more opportunities to take me out like when we were asleep."
"You slept near him? What if..."
"You know what," Niku said exasperated. "Good night." Karama heard her push past him and head off towards the house. He waited tensely to see which way Hiei would go, and heard him walk off towards the backfields. After hearing his footsteps fade off Karama came out from behind the wall and went off towards the middle house.
Heading into the entrance hall he saw Niku go off through the door leading towards her room.