Yeppers, it's chapter two, ready to be enjoyed by all you lucky readers! I spaced out last chapter which is why the review responses were all on the bottom, but this time I remembered so they'll be up on top like normal. Let's get cracking! (pops are heard then a snap) Iite…that was a little too much cracking…

Kitsune Kit: I'll let Kohaku answer this one. n,.,n

Kohaku: Yeah, I show up in this story. (Come on, how could I not?) But not for a couple of chapters. Hang in there, you'll get a dose of my techno-glitter-ness soon!

Arano Honou: No, I promise I won't do this with every chapter. Just the ones when Cathy doesn't update for a while, Jenna. Meanwhile, you can meet my muse, officially titled the Muse of Random Acts of Perversity and Bishieness, Shiku.

Shiku: Yo! And that's perversity as in mischievous and wicked, not hentai. Hope your work's been going easier than mine! Niana can get so stubborn someti—ack! (Gets dragged off by a fuming Niana)

Starling: While Shiku gets his just punishments, I'll finish up the review responses. You might want to get the power tools away from Cathy before she decides what exactly she's going to do with them.

Dreamstar22: (Kohaku: Wow, I'm popular! oO) Starling: We're glad you like Niana's work, she puts a lot of effort into it whether or not it shows. Reason number two why she hasn't put this story up sooner; this is actually the fourth rewrite of it. Mighty particular, my creator. n.n

Magus784: Starling: Welcome back! Everyone's hoping it'll take Koenma a good long while, but I don't think it'll work out that way. It rarely does (sigh) how disappointing. As for pocky, me'n Niana like the almond-chocolate flavor the best!

Northic-Nymph: Starling: As Hiei—and Niana, if she wasn't busy whacking Shiku—would say, 'damned with faint praise'. She's admitted aloud to herself, my creator is not the best writer on the site. Just one who has a lot better grip on grammar than most.

Asilin Kheldarson: Starling: Another loyal reviewer! (Obsidian blushes over in a corner) Skittles are always welcome!

Darkspirals: Starling: Ah, yes, that is the question, isn't it? As for our two favorite elementals, if a thousand years of living hasn't changed them much, what's a couple more years?

(Niana walks back up with a smile and a bokken resting on her shoulder) Okay, now that that's taken care of—(Shiku: Iiiiiteeee…)—we'll just wrap up with the disclaimer and get this chapter started! Drox, would you do the honors?

Disclaimer: (Drox) Meepmeep meepmeep me-me-meep meep meep. Meep meep.

Starling: Translated into human that's 'Meepish' for 'Yu Yu Hakusho is not owned by Niana. Thank you.'

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——

——

"Hey, welcome back, little shadows! How'd it go?" The warm voice that sounds like it belongs to a young man is raised only loud enough to be heard over laughter, music, and the sounds of dice being thrown across stone floor.

The one standing beside her, whose face she cannot see, replies in a voice full of cheer. "Went great, 'Zuchi-san! Are the bosses here?"

A laugh as a warm presence much bigger than she approaches, his aura made of yellow and blue. "Of course, they're here, we've all been waiting for you to get back! Spill, spill! Get anything good?"

"We got presents for them, but you'll hafta wait to see the rest," she finds herself piping in a voice far younger than the one she owns in waking life. "Where are they?"

"Cha, in their quarters as usual, last I checked, probably lazing about like we can never seem to get them to do. G'wan, scat, tell later. I'll get Gre'ich to put a couple plates together."

"Thanks!" she and her shadow chime, trotting through a large cave that would be spacious if there weren't so many people gathered in it, into a complex network of tunnels that have been worked on until they are proper hallways, lit regularly with lamps that burn like will o' the wisps.

Twists and turns are navigated with practiced ease, curtains that mark sleeping chambers or even whole suites of rooms are ignored; while the sub-lairs belong to friends, they don't belong to the specific pair she and her shadow are visiting. Neither of them speak aloud—but for some reason, she can feel her shadow's emotions and surface thoughts as easy as breathing. He's ecstatic about their 'chase' and its results, crackling with excitement at the surprise they are about to visit upon the bosses.

Finally, after so many forks have been taken that her small awareness of 'herself'—the one not trotting these passages so blithely—is dizzy and very thoroughly lost, they stop in front of a sub-lair entrance hung with rich velvet curtains. Her companion reaches up to just above his head, pulling the tassel of a small gold bell whose vine-like hook has its feet sunk firmly into the rock of the wall.

Another cheery voice calls from within after the first bright peal of sound. "Come on in, chibi ichi! I can smell your excitement from here!" The two need no further invitation, and she finds herself bounding into a place of quiet luxury.

A room ten leaps across has its floor covered by thick pelts of muted whites and grays in watered silk patterns—she 'remembers' the day her hero came back to the Lair with several creatures in tow, all very dead with numerous natural weapons to show that they had not been easy to catch. Snow-hunters are very dangerous and quick to kill anyone foolish enough to enter their clan's territory, but he'd brought home enough to feed everyone for a week, and a special prize for her and her shadow—a live cub, squalling hunger.

Kizi-chan, as she named the beast, bounds up now, massive paws silent on the thick furs. They always keep the loyal creature here when they go sneaking. Her loud purrs rumble against their chests as Kizi-chan butts her head gently against their foreheads, the snow-hunter greeting to clan.

More luxury surrounds them; small, tasteful statues are arranged in a few carved nooks, with a shrine to Inari holding pride of place. The walls are hung with simple tapestries of rich fabrics to keep out drafts, and every available space has at least one potted plant in it.

Reclining before a large fire that burns in a fireplace big enough to have roasted one of the slain beasts whose pelts warm the floor are two people. She can't see their faces, but she knows that these two are the most important non-family in her entire life. One is smaller than the other, but the sheer presence of self surrounding it is brighter than the larger seated beside. A few books and scrolls are scattered around the adults; apparently they had been catching up on their reading.

"Welcome back, winsome kit, chibi-Yoko," that smaller-but-blinding presence hails them, holding her arms out to them with the feeling of a smile. Both bound into her lap—she finds herself spilling over into the laughing lap of her hero, large tanned arms encircling her small body in a warm hug, her hair being affectionately ruffled. "So, how'd it go?"

"We got lotsa stuff!" her shadow chirps, pulling away enough only to start spilling treasure from beneath his shirt. She finds herself doing the same, jewels, coins, and chains pouring across the lap-fur with musical chinks, firelight finding itself shackled to the bright metals, reflected by the polished stones. "Lookie! We got presents for you!" And he holds up a fine chain of platinum—she doesn't know how she knows it's platinum and not silver, but she knows—with a midnight sapphire carved into the shape of a rose dangling from it.

Her gift to her hero is a golden chain of thicker links with a fox-shaped emerald grinning strung on it, the flickering flames making it look as though the creature is winking in an offer of sharing a secret. "This's yours, Shishou!"

Her hair is ruffled again. "Mou, mou, no calling me 'shishou', remember? 'Master' makes me feel so old! It's just Boss or Yoko-san, okay"

In unison: "Hai, Boss-sama"

The other presence laughs like silver bells ringing, stealing her from her hero's lap long enough for a warm hug. "I think that's the best you're going to get, my heart-thief! Now," she adds briskly with a forehead kiss for each, "off to the kitchens and bed with you. We've got a long day of training tomorrow."

——

——

This time, instead of waking with sounds of terror, pain, of furious shouting ringing in her ears, she wakes up to the annoying yowl of her alarm clock with the feeling of being safe and loved.

——

The next afternoon, the once-more disguised Obsidian walks as 'Haru' beneath the trees near the Science wing, savoring his second day of freedom, fresh air, and sunlight. Oh, sure, he knows Hiei's watching him like a hawk-youkai, but that's only to be expected—especially since Aislin ordered the fire apparition to do so upon humiliation of glitterizing. Whatever that is.

As he enters the shadows cast by a particularly large tree, he hears a familiar lovely voice followed by several disturbing sounds; "Come on, koneko, just a little…bit…further—eeek!" Snap! Thud! Crunch-crunch-crunch-CRUNCH-CRUNCH!

Shit! Two steps left, one right! Arms out and—! Whumpf! He sits down hard as about one hundred pounds of girl tumbles into his arms, ears filled with the sounds of weak meowing. As he catches his wind, he shifts his uniformed armful and blinks. Zephyr Uotani, the girl in his Language class, lies limp in his embrace with a marmalade tabby kitten clinging to her scarf in fright.

"Oi," he says in concern, shaking her a bit. "Oi, Uotani-san, daijoubu desu ka? Oi. Oi? O…oh, shit!" His gentle shakes had caused her head to roll, revealing an already-purpling bruise spreading just under her hairline, still partially hidden by her thick bangs. Damn it all to the seven spheres of hell! That 'thud' must've been her head connecting with a bloody branch! Shit! Shit-shit-shit-shit-SHIT! Gotta get her to the nurse's and fast! Where the hell is that place, anyway? Figures it's the only place Yusuke didn't show me!

Swiftly the fox rises to his feet with the unconscious girl safely cradled in arms muscled from lifting those heavy chains without the use of youki, the kitten still holding on for dear life to Zephyr's shirt as Obsidian takes off in a smooth run. Century of imprisonment or not, his body still remembers how to move like water so as not to jar anything he might be carrying, whether it be fragile loot or injured girl.

In seconds he's shouldering his way through the main school doors, asking every student he meets for the fastest route to the nurse's office. Every one of them points the way in startled concern—until he bumps into a petite girl with short-cropped blonde hair and fierce blue eyes.

"What did you do to Zephyr?"

"Geez, I didn't do anything but save her head from the bloody ground! Wasn't in time to save it from a damn branch! Nurse's office! Now!"

"Follow me and you better keep up!" And the girl sprints down the hallway, turning a sharp left and racing up a flight of stairs. Obsidian is right on her heels with his legs pumping steadily, barely breathing hard from his exertions, the kitten by this point having fled to his own shoulder to cling with unexpectedly sharp little claws to his jacket.

"Yeow. Loosen up, kitten, before I need stitches from your claws." The kitten is plucked from his shoulder by the blonde girl who practically shoves him into the nurse's office—which he'd nearly passed in his distraction—shouting for the nurse.

A plump woman with her chestnut hair bound back into a thick bun emerges from another door, mild disapproval shining in her dark grey eyes. "Amazuki-san, why the hubbub? What's—oh. Well, don't stand there gaping, young man, lay Zephyr-chan on one of the cots and be quick about it." While a worried Obsidian does as he's told, the nurse bustles about fetching medicines, washcloths, and something that smells like brandy.

The latter is measured out into something that looks suspiciously like a shotglass and shoved into the black fox's hands. "Drink that, young man, and better do it fast. You're white as a sheet." Obediently, he tips his head back and downs the liquid, gasping as a fiery dragon plummets into his stomach to curl there and growl. Smells like brandy? Hellfires, it is brandy! Or was, Obsidian corrects as he coughs, repeatedly rubbing his tongue on the roof of his mouth to rid himself of the taste of alcohol. Yuck!

"Is Zephyr going to be alright, Nurse Myojin?" his guide asks anxiously as the woman does her job, gently probing at the bruise and peeling back one eyelid to check the unconscious girl's pupil. The portly woman gives her a reassuring smile tinged with relief.

"She'll be fine, Amazuki-san. She just took a bit of a nasty crack, that's all. No concussion or skull fracture whatsoever, the skin will just be very tender for the next week or so." Being youkai instead of human like the blonde girl, Obsidian sees the faintest glow of reiki—or possibly youki, it's too faint for him to scent—pass from the sturdy fingers resting on Zephyr's lower brow into the ashen skin.

A psychic or a youkai, unless I miss my guess, the black fox growls inwardly, feeling a sudden rush of protectiveness flood through him. And I ain't leavin' till I find out one way or another!

It takes a mixture of both Nurse Myojin firmly telling the persistent girl that everything would be all right and Obsidian begging the girl—who happens to be in his next class—to take notes for him while he stays here so that he can question the nurse alone (not that he mentions that reason aloud). The black fox finds himself solemnly promising to go hang himself upside-down in a well if his charge so much as gets one new tiny scratch on her before class ends to convince Amazuki to go away, but go she does with many backward glares.

"That girl is scary," he mumbles as he pulls up a chair beside the cot, settling himself quite firmly into it before giving the nurse his own glare. "Now. That clunk was a lot worse than you're making out, and I saw the energy. Who and what are you?"

"Could ask you the same, my buck."

A brief flash of gold peeks through the violet. "I am her protector. She is mine to guard." Interestingly enough, he manages by stroke of luck to avoid the same pitfall that once caught Hiei two years ago; he doesn't use the word 'ward' which would bind his soul to the girl's until she could fight for herself. However, Hiei doesn't complain too much about the experience: he now has a fiancée in his ex-ward Kohaku Piers, a wolf demon descended from two of the greater clans, the Blood Moon and Blade-arms.

"I'm the Nurse to this school, young man. I've been patching up those two brawlers Urameshi and Kuwabara for a few years, so I learned a few things to keep up with their injuries. All I am is a minor human Healer, nothing more. But you. You're youkai."

"I am no danger to any of the students here. I came here to look, and when I find what I'm seeking, I will go away. Until then, I'm going to keep an eye on this girl. Everyone, even Luck, seems to be picking on her."

The woman's harsh edge seems to soften a bit as she pulls up another chair across from Obsidian and resumes Healing what damage she can. "Little Zephyr here hasn't had the easiest time since she and her mother moved here about three years ago." Obsidian manages to restrain himself from twitching—this could mean something important! "She started out being pretty outgoing, but after a couple of weeks she just kinda closed up. Maybe it was because of her parents' divorce, maybe someone was bullying her. Tell you what, though, if a number of the other students found someone who was actively bullying her, that fool would be in for a world of hurt."

"Why?"

A snort. "You must be new. Uotani-chan here is one of the sweetest, quietest little things around, but she's got a will of iron and a head like rock when it comes to someone or something in trouble. This'll be the third time this year she's in for whacking her head trying to get a cat out of a tree. Speaking of which, you mind picking up the little scut before it decides to shred something?"

Obsidian looks down to find the tabby kitten emerging from beneath the cot, mewing piteously as it makes a bee-line straight for him. He scoops it up and pets it until the mews subside into tired purring, letting it curl up in his lap for a snooze. "Poor kit. Not old enough to have left…her dam," he murmurs, checking the kitten's gender despite sleepy protests, "barely old enough to eat solids. Got yourself some trouble, eh, koneko?"

"Zephyr fosters them before adopting them out. I've yet to hear of one that got abandoned again or turned into the shelter, she's that good. The little scut's in good hands. If she wakes up hungry I've got some formula in the fridge for times like these. Go to class, young man."

"Name's Haru Shinkai. I'm not going anywhere."

With a sigh, the nurse heaves herself out of the chair and strides towards her actual office where she does paperwork. "Suit yourself, I have work to do. Don't blame me if you fail a test or something."

Crud. There's a test this afternoon in Iwamoto's class. Great. But Obsidian doesn't stir from his appointed watch, crossing his arms across his chest to stare out the window. Exhaustion creeps over him, demanding payment for the over-exertion he placed on his slow-recovering body just a little while ago. He surrenders without noticing, chin dropping onto his blue-clad chest as his eyes drift shut. Soon, the silence is only broken by the faint hum of student life outside the office, soft breathing, and quiet purring.

——

That is the last time she lets Eri drag her that close to concert speakers ever, ever again. Her head is pounding like the Taiko Drum Club practice, the discomfort concentrated near her left temple. "Ugh."

"Well, look who's back in the world of the waking," a familiar voice says in quiet humor. Zephyr cracks one eye to find Nurse Myojin cleaning the table across the room, a wry smile on the woman's face. "If you want to see something cute, turn to your left."

Curious, she does so and finds her lips curving upward into a smile. That new boy is sprawled in a chair beside her cot with his head flung back so that she can see just how thick his eyelashes really are. In his lap is her kitten, the one she'd adopted just a few days ago from the shelter to keep, sprawled almost as much as the boy, one hind leg twitching ever-so-slightly.

"Zonked out just a few minutes after he brought you in," the middle-aged woman chuckles softly as she walks over with a can of juice and two small pills in a paper cup. "According to the kids who've been dropping by he brought you here in a sprint all the way from the Science Wing and didn't break a sweat. Paying for it now, though."

Zephyr smiles up at the woman as she accepts the drink and medicine, swallowing the little spheres down before gulping the juice to rid herself of their taste. The kitten stirs, ears quivering, before opening bright blue eyes to blink at her new human.

"Baka koneko," she whispers, ruffling the kitten's ears before gingerly collecting her from the sleeping boy's lap. She needn't have bothered to be so cautious; he doesn't even twitch. The nurse rolls her eyes—some guardian.

"Now, missy," Nurse Myojin tells her in a whisper as she ushers the girl to the door, "those pills are going to knock you flat on your ass again within an hour. I've already called your mother, she should be waiting for you at the front gate to pick you up. Make sure you put some ice on that lump of yours before you go to bed, is that understood? No loud noises, no hats until that bruise heals."

"Yes'm. Domo arigatou."

"Douzo. Now scat." Zephyr leaves, an oblivious kitsune sleeping through it all.

——

"Ivory!" Obsidian wakes with a violent jolt, staring around him with wild, golden eyes before he remembers where he is, hastily shifting them back to that rich violet hue.

"'Bout time you woke up, school's over." He stares at the nurse sweeping the floor by the window, then whips around to stare at the empty bed. "Uotani-chan woke up about three hours ago and went home, likely she'll be asleep by now again. Amazuki dropped off your notes and got Yukimura to do an extra copy of hers for that blowhard Iwamoto's class. Thanks to a note from me, you can take the test tomorrow during lunch."

"Uh…thank you?"

Casting her gaze to the heavens as though asking for patience with muddle-headed youkai who masquerade as students, the woman just points to the door. "Go home, kid." As he collects his new notes and walks out the door, he hears a kinder, "And get some sleep before you pull a Zephyr."

"Yes'm."

Hiei meets him once he gets outside, silent approval tingeing those crimson eyes a warmer shade as he walks with the fox towards Obsidian's temporary lair. It's a small apartment about ten blocks from Sarayashiki High, found by pure luck and paid for—for a month, anyway—by the cash lifted from a rich snob's wallet as the ningen stupidly walked past a newly-groomed fugitive fox.

When the young kitsune had noted that the man was absurdly wealthy and flaunted it with tawdry, expensive jewelry, rich clashing fabrics, and a pair of costly sunglasses perched on top of his head, the human had lost both wallet, watch, and spiffy shades in a breath, never noticing their absence as he walked on.

Obsidian kept the sunglasses, wanting them in case the sun got too bright for his unaccustomed eyes; but ditched the wallet once he'd emptied it of all the money into a trash bin, ignoring the weird stiff cards covered in numbers that had been stuffed into the billfold once he'd discovered that the shiny things were not real silver or gold, as they looked.

The watch had been pawned—some things were the same no matter what world it is—within a few minutes, the fox taking his new small hoard and wandering the streets for about an hour for a likely contact. He'd found one, a rat youkai who only demanded half of the money in return for a new identity; including birth record, medical record, dental records, social security, bank account, and school records.

"Since yer new to Ningenkai, kid," the rat had told him as it had gleefully counted out its pay, "I'll put ya in Sarayashiki High 'steada Meiou—that's the brain school. Couple strong guys there, but as long as ya lay low ain't gonna be no trouble, ya dig? I'll even get ya a uniform, free o' charge. Good business tactics an' all. Just find yerself a flop and I'll come find ya. Scripp's got the best nose in the city, he does."

The rat had been as good as his word. Scripp had shown up at his doorstep in human guise not more than fifteen minutes after Obsidian had been given the key to his new lair with a bundle of blue under one arm and a handful of white pages in the other hand. The contact had given him careful instructions—he'd claimed it was included with his fee—about what to do and not to do, how to act and what he should look out for. Specifically; lay low, don't attract attention, act cute but average in brains, and the Spirit Detective and his Team, in that order. Then the nezumi had handed over the papers, which included his new class schedule, had wished his employer luck, and left.

"Nice catch, fox," Hiei finally says about two blocks from the apartment, gazing straight ahead. "For a half-dead starveling."

Obsidian just grunts, pulling out his hair-tie and shaking his cropped mane loose. "Not half-dead. Jus' tired."

Hiei rolls his eyes as he tugs the fox to the left, walking him around a streetlamp that had been on a collision course with the weary male. "Obviously."

Finally they make it to the hidden lair, only to find Aislin already waiting for them inside. "Landlady let me in when I explained I was your cousin, winsome kit," she explains as she guides the groggy Obsidian to his room and waits just outside while he changes. When the black fox stumbles out again in black sweats and a black tanktop the ice-fox leads him to the small kitchen, sitting him down before setting a bowl of fried rice just beyond face-plant range.

Aislin hauls his head up when Obsidian's nose attempts to meet the table-top, gently shaking him until he bats at her hand with a tired growl. "Obsidian, you need to eat. I may not need to eat often, but I'm also a lot older. Eat, and then you can sleep."

Not bothering to open his eyes, the young fox reaches out, fumbles for the bowl, snags it, and practically inhales it. He looks mildly happier when he's finished, but is in no way alert or aware of his surroundings. Hiei has taken a perch on the living room's windowsill, finding the whole proceedings rather amusing. He never thought he'd see Aislin clucking like a mother hen over anyone—okay, so she'd done it once or twice to him, but not to the extent she uses on Obsidian, gently bullying him back into the bedroom and emerging just a few moments later with a small smile.

"Silly kit's all worn out. He really shouldn't have sprinted like you say he did, Kikan-kun. He used what energy he stored escaping and needs time to rebuild his reserves. A transferal of energy wouldn't do much good at this point since he'd just reject more than a few 'drops'."

"Meaning?"

"He'll need to sleep like the dead for a day or two and then eat like a dragon, then we'll see. I'm going to go home, porcupine head, since Kurama-koi is running errands for Shiori and won't be done with studying until late tonight. Please, please keep an eye on Obsidian? He just may start sleepwalking like he did sometimes back at the Lair."

"Now why did I not see that coming."

"Me asking or him sleepwalking?"

"Both."

"Because you're growing comfortable with our new lifestyles, that's why. New weird-outs take a few minutes to register as normal."

"Hn."

Aislin just smiles and gives him a sisterly peck on the cheek. "Night, porcupine head."

Sigh. "Good night, snowflake."

——

"Uotani-san?"

"She's still out from hitting her head yesterday, Iwamoto-sensei."

"Thank you, Amazuki-san. That makes two absences counting Shinkai-san. Anyone know where he is?"

"Probably asleep, sir."

"And why would that be, Miyami-san?"

"I saw him walking home after school with the guy who sometimes hangs out with a couple Meiou students. Looked like he'd died and somebody just warmed him up a bit. Nearly ran into phone poles twice."

"Shinkai ran all the way from Science Wing to Nurse Myojin's carryin' Uotani, sensei. Anybody'd be wiped after that."

"Thank you, Kuwabara, for that opinion. All right. Get out your books and open to page one-hundred thirty-two."

——

It's the setting sun shining into his bedroom window that wakes a groggy, tired young male, who lifts his head, snarls drowsily at the orange light, then yanks the covers back over his head. In the living room, a fire apparition perches comfortably on the bay windowsill, snickering under his breath as noises of rising reach his ears accompanied by complaints voiced in Zombie.

Eventually a bleary Obsidian staggers into the room, not even registering the black-clad form blocking some of the undesired light as he continues on into the kitchen. A few clatters and then the soft bubbling of a brewing coffeepot. When the bubbling becomes the only sound Hiei hears he wanders into the kitchen and starts snickering again.

Obsidian is asleep at the small kitchen table with a cup of brew in front of him, head pillowed on his arms as he snores softly, unbothered by the artificial light. "Baka kitsune," Hiei says in laughing exasperation, walking over and lifting the slightly-larger male (remember, Hiei got taller in Spring's Fire!) in a fire-man's carry. Still amused, the crimson-eyed youkai walks back to Obsidian's bedroom, letting the black fox roll off his back onto the thick mattress.

The boy mumbles, fumbles for the blanket, and once again disappears beneath the colorful fabric as Hiei closes the blinds. Wondering what other kinds of antics the kit will get into, Hiei turns off the coffeepot before taking a seat in a corner of Obsidian's bedroom to watch and smile.

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Hm, I'm getting Hiei to show his sense of humor again. I better go find a good hiding spot before he reads this. Before I go, has anyone got a recent link to a YYH fic last titled 'Tainted and His Picture'? I'm hoping it hasn't been taken down, but I can't seem to dig it up. It's a Genkai/Toguro story, starting back when Genkai was still a teen herself.

If it did get taken down, I'm going to be very sad…T.T I never got to read the ending—if there was one.

PS: I was incorrect last chapter—my friend's pen name is Dragonseer.