He talked about spirits and souls and reverberating and multiple worlds and building up on top of each other and that's how I came to be and over time I'd learn all the ins and outs of the group in Spirit World I'd be part of…then shifted it to the mission in the cave. The one that I already knew, from bits I saw of Yusuke going after him, was not a Spirit World approved mission. But the transition was slick, sliding over with enough of the right details and vagueness to draw the wrong conclusions.

Like, that he worked for Spirit World and me, due to my former life and what he called a 'reverberating soul', whatever that was, but thanks to that, I was now a worker for Spirit World also and it was all for the best to help all the worlds with this mission he was undertaking, that this was the reason I was here at this important time.

What?

I can't even begin to soak that in.

But…

I'd asked a few questions, scared to draw his mistaken idea about me to light, biting my tongue to shout at him. My name is Rin. I am Rin. But trying to figure out from his answers of who he thought I was and what he was trying to do… That was harder.

Sitting, I stared at my shoes, ignoring Itsuki as I thought. Not hard to ignore him. He just sat on that boat. It was however, hard to ignore what he looked like. The sense of something familiar with him.

Yuu had said pale hand and teal hair, didn't he?

It wasn't that spirit guide Botan had been talking about, but Itsuki who was there that day. Itsuki who was with Sensui. Something had been done. Something to which… Sensui thought I was the former life I caught flashes of memory and feelings from? Except, even I know something isn't quite right there.

He said other worlds in his jumble of words and explanations he expected me to follow. Or not. Maybe he wanted to overwhelm me so I wouldn't think too much about what he was asking of me.

It kind of worked.

I wrung my fingers together, shifting on my bottom, feeling antsy and wanting out. But I breathed in. Think, think. Think, Rin.

It was a lot. Even if I wasn't just a kid. It was a lot all jumbled up and not really the deepest of explanations, brushed off to go into more detail after this mission, as it was time sensitive. So a lot all lobbed at me. Like he really was trying to overwhelm me so I wouldn't think much of what he asked.

Except, well. That can't be it. What was he trying to do? I mean, he knew. He had something to do with my former life and knew all about former life me, referring to things I didn't have and yet my former life apparently did, was treating me more of an adult than kid… Well, then he had to know that I already knew what was going on.

Even I, off of bits of memories, knew enough of the story. Why would I ever agree? Me or the former life me he was trying to woo over to his side?

Question is, do I pretend to fall for his speech like he thinks should be going on?

And then… And then what?

I swallowed and kept staring at my shoes.

There's a part of me that's happy. Happy. I was the one chosen. Not Yuu. I'd been worried about Yuu, but all along, it was me. Or, not me.

And something went wrong. What it was specifically was up in air, had been up in air since it happened. But I'm especially pleased that something of what Shinobu Sensui had meticulously planned went wrong.

I'm Rin.

Not the person he wanted.

I'm Rin.

Rin.

I can be pleased all I want.

But the truth is, whatever the thing was that he was trying to do involving me, it went wrong.

Everything went wrong.

My hands tingled and I pushed it back down. Later, keep that for whatever I manage to come up with later, I promised myself and shuffled my feet under me, tensing up to ready myself just in case. Itsuki leapt off the boat. I pressed up against the couch, pushing the couch back. He barely gave me a look as he went by to the entrance to the cavern. And I shifted to look from under my hood, hands under me so I could get up and do something if need be. Shinobu Sensui strode in, but I kept my focus for—

"Urmuff! Eet me oh!"

I drew in a sharp breath. It was Kuwabara. Being dragged in by some other guy. Was it the other name Tsukihito mentioned? Makihara?

Long fingers, too too too long fingers, like ropes.

"I ied, eet me oh ya chrssy!"

Wrapped around a loudly vocal and thrashing Kuwabara.

Suddenly cold, I squeezed myself further back against the couch, hunching myself smaller.

I'd seen this. It wasn't the same, but the visual was there. Animated or real, this was happening.

The guy, Makihara, turned to me as he dragged Kuwabara along. His lips quirked up into a weird and kind of creepy and unsettling smile that set off all alarms. It took me a bit to realize my hands had lit up with spirit energy. Unnerved, I pushed the couch back farther as I scooted away from him, trying to dispel the tingling sensation. Later, later!

"Eey! Uragraff!"

I could feel my eyes grow wide. Makihara had raised Kuwabara up high with those long fingers and began sloshing his way across the water. His pants weren't getting wet. All that was in the water were his shoes. The water was definitely much, much deeper. Then Makihara reached the boat, lifting one shoe up from the water, lifting his knee to put a foot in the boat, but…the knee was…was…just hovering there.

So much leg showing from the end of his pants into the water where his foot was at, which was slowly, through what I could see in the distorted water image, shortening its super long and more than a Gumby length, up from the very bottom of the cavern's pond. Then finally, the length of leg was back to normal, the lifted knee extending to put one foot in. And with a push off the bottom of the pond with his other foot, the other too longly stretched leg zipped through the water, shorting, and he was planted in the middle of the boat.

Kuwabara was plunked down, his eyes wide, looking wider than mine felt. And then he let off a series of freaked out noises that were muffled by the long fingers still wrapped around his mouth. He thrashed harder than before. Best as he could considering those long fingers were keeping his arms and legs and everything all neatly together.

"Ya ick unaitch! Eet yur reepy hanz uffa me! Ellor urogo!"

Makihara cracked up laughing, head back, like he understood what Kuwabara had said and found it hilarious. More chills and alarms shot up through me. So I crab walked back around the corner of the couch and out of his sight.

"Eey! Izzat a id? Atz a id!"

"Join me."

My head swiveled back to see the long, but now a far more normal looking long compared to before, legs of Sensui striding around the other end of the couch. He crouched in front of a makeshift entertainment setup on the cavern's floor. At seeing him pull out a VHS, I tilted to see what movie he was putting in, relieved to see the distraction.

If Sensui was going to spend the time with a movie rather than drawing me into more conversation, I was good with that. I didn't want him talking to me. And if it was a good movie, a good distraction, he'd be more watching than talking. As long as I didn't get distracted, I could spend more time trying to hopefully figure out what to do. There was only so much time, I needed to figure something out.

But a terrified niggling stuck the forefront of my head. Freezing, concerned, I searched within myself. And image offered itself to me. But, didn't make too much sense. Hiei, animated, tossing a tape into the air to slice it to pieces. What did Hiei have to do with me here with Sensui and the oth—

The tape.

"Come up and join me." Sensui fell back to the middle of the couch, arms resting back along the back. Amused, he chuckled. Yet, his head tilted some, a perplexed glint showing in his eyes as he gazed down at me. "Taking the sulking and scared child bit this far? I take it Kuwabara has met you. Cease the playacting you've been doing. Join me. This is my favorite movie."

"Mei me? Wyaat? Yaor chrssy! I ied eet ya hanz oof mee urogo!"

Favorite movie?

Trailers began playing on the television. Movie trailers. Lifting a remote with a lazy hand, Sensui fast-forwarded past them and the production companies, going straight for the opening credits montage and leaning back with a smile as it began.

Not this tape?

My eyes went over to the other VHS tapes lining the makeshift entertainment setup, wondering and alarmed about the movie selection changing.

"Hey," I said.

I paused, breathing out, making my tense muscles relax. I'm calm, I'm calm. I totally falling and taking you at your word after that information bomb. Even though I'm still confused as to how you don't know I'm Rin or that my former life knows about you, I'll take it. Maybe I can use it. I grew up with Yuu as my older brother after all. Things rub off. There had to be something I could figure out to use to my advantage. The one for sure is your huge error about knowing exactly who I am.

From across the way, Makihara burst into a giggling laughter. I turned, peering out from under the red hood, but didn't see anything going on that would cause him to laugh like that. Except maybe for Kuwabara's freaked out reaction to his laughter.

"Yes?"

I put my attention back on Sensui and turned my body toward him. Open, trusting. The tingling feeling settled into my veins, staying away, but there and ready for later.

First, to figure out what you want. All that other stuff you lobbed at me can wait. And I think you just threw that all at me to distract me from the fact it's you asking this of me, to fancy up some higher purpose. Probably made it all up. But I do know you want something out of me.

"This mission of ours for Spirit World—"

"Wyatt! Fer seari wurl!"

"—what exactly does it entail?"

I kept my eyes on Sensui.

Agreed Kuwabara. I know it's not and you know it's not, but it doesn't seem as though he's realized I know that. And I'm trying to figure out what he is up to. Besides the obvious of what I overheard at Yojigen Mansion and the flashes of memory from my former life. When I saw the glint, curvature going up at the corners of his eyes, satisfaction swiping away the slight worry lines to his forehead… I bit my lip and kept my gaze upward at him. Fear, fear and my own satisfaction flushed through me. He thought he had me.

I could hear Makihara cracking up into his odd giggling laughter again, but I kept my eyes on Sensui. On his pleased eyes. Thinking he had me. Going to answer me with more openness than he already had around someone his age. Because I was on his side. But I knew his convoluted reasons of what was going on were untrue and hopefully enough to find the truth of what he wanted past the lies. He thought I believed the lies, thought I trusted his word, thought I was with him. Together.

Wrong.

I am going to get you.

Somehow.

I am going to figure out what you have planned for me.

I am going to make sure it fails, fails due to your error and mistake.

I am going to make sure Yuu has no reason to come in after me, to worry over me, to bring himself into danger for me.

Because I'm Rin.

And you are wrong.

I am going to get you Shinobu Sensui.