If you really need to read the disclaimer again, then refer back to the first ten chapters.

Ch.16

"We need to have a plan," Botan pointed out once the group had gotten over their initial shock of the recent disruption. Everyone had calmed down and was now seated in a shape that represented a circle on a flat, dry piece of the shale ground.

"Well, lets think of what we do know," Kurama reasoned. "He said it was a back up lab so it's safe to assume that he is not back at the original building."

"Right, that would defeat the point of a back up lab," Yusuke agreed.

"But if it's supposed to be a fall-back plan then it would not be too far away from the main building. Otherwise it would be unreachable in times of crises." Hiei put in. The rest of the humans were silent as they listened, feeling completely useless in this conversation sense they had no idea what was going on.

"My guess is that the building is located out side of this current protected boundary, but in a separate one close by," Kurama concluded.

"Alright but how dose speculating about its location help us out," Kuwabara asked.

"Easy," the fox answered. "First we get out of this area. The barrier on it stops us from sensing anything outside of it. Once out it should be relatively easy to pinpoint the other location. A barrier of this magnitude lets off a lot of energy, so there should be no problem," and so it was decided. The group headed strait for the edge of the protected land. It would be another long journey, probably falling just short of two days.

The trip was surprisingly quiet, up to the point where they made camp. The Reiki Tantei would have preferred to charge ahead for a few more hours but they had the normal human endurance of their companions to consider. They were currently located in another forest. This one was not nearly as dark or suppressing as Vaala's, rather it was open with little underbrush and great large trees. The night's atmosphere penetrated it easily, but the canopy above allowed for only brief glances of the Demon World's starless sky, give the place an ironic feeling of security and calm. Once they had secured a place to spend the night however the humans found that the best way to calm their frayed nerves was to socialize.

"If we get out of this alive it's going to be an awesome story."

"I have to admit that this more exciting than everyday life."

"Yeah, but there is such a thing as too much excitement, and I for one have reached my limit."

"I guess I have to agree with you." However all the mind distracting conversation could not keep the depressing thoughts of their situation out of their heads and the cheery out look on it all was doing nothing to console the distresses Yami.

"Why did Seth have to be taken," she wined.

"Because he's a coward," Jamie answered.

"What do you mean," Jordan asked. The three girls were grouped together, a bit further away from everyone else, and indulging in a more private conversation.

"Think about it. The only reason he took Seth and Cristian is because they have no power to fight back with," Jamie explained. "My guess is that that was their original purpose to begin with. They were a security just in case we managed to get away." The other two girls nodded in agreement.

"I guess it won't help to get upset about it," Yami sighed. Jamie smiled, she was proud of her friend for being so strong when on the inside she knew she was hurting.

"That's right. Just focus on the fact that we're going to save him," Jamie comforted. Yami nodded and gave a smile to the other girl.

"Now to focus on the problem at hand," Yami stated. Jamie cocked her head.

"What problem?" she asked.

"The fox problem," Yami smirked. Fox problem? Little did the girls know that their entire conversation was being overheard by said fox. "If there is any time to act it's now," Yami continued. Before Jamie could comment on how exactly this was not the moment to act, their conversation was interrupted.

"I guess I'm just invisible," Jordan blurted out. "Why do I even bother existing?" The girl was not really depressed or emo, but she had a bad habit of speaking as though she were.

"Not that again," both Jamie and Yami exasperated. "Look Jordan you really need to stop with the whole 'woe is me' attitude," Jamie continued solo. The blind girl didn't realize it but such statements really hit home and she knew it did the same for Yami.

"What's it matter to you. It's not like you ever pay attention to me anyway," Jordan spat.

"Look Jordan!" Apparently Yami's already thin reserve had worn through. "Once you experience some true pain you can justly make such remarks, but until then you're just being self centered." As expected, Jordan looked as though she had been slapped in the face, which she practically had, and responded with just as expected anger.

"Well what about her," Jordan pointed accusingly at Jamie. "As far as I know her life has been as pain free as mine and you don't go criticizing her, when in truth she has no more reason than I do!" Yami was horrified and almost afraid to look at the accused girl for she knew that statement had hurt. However once she did look at her friend her horror grew. The girl had gone blank. In all their years of friendship Yami had learned that Jamie did not express much emotion openly, but now she looked almost like a doll, with dulled expressionless eyes that were painful just to look at. Yeah, that statement had defiantly hurt, but then the girl smiled. An obviously fake façade of cheerfulness that was even more heart wrenching than the dead expression she'd worn only moments beforehand.

"Sorry, but it's been a long day and I'm tired. So if you don't mind I think I'd prefer to be alone for right now," and she stood up and walked away without another word. Just before she stepped out of hearing range she heard Yami round on Jordan before she stepped around a cluster of trees and their voiced were cut off.

She found her self in a beautiful secluded little place, not to far away from the others, with a small lake, trees all around it, cutting it off from the world, and plenty of large patches of moss creating comfortable places to sit. Even in her current emotional state the beauty was not lost on her, and the atmosphere of night just increased its beauty. She sighed and took a seat on one of the patches of moss, facing the lake, with her back braced against a tree.

She's right, her mind accused. I have no excuse to be depressed. She felt so angry with herself she wanted to scream. But mostly she just felt lost. The emotions she had been suppressing for so many years were starting to press down on her, she had no reason. I'm just being selfish, she thought. At this point she would have cried, had she been able to, but it had been such an extended period of time sense she had last cried that she had long sense forgotten how.

Kurama watched the girl walk off, he'd heard the whole thing, and he needed to talk to the girl more that ever after Korran had brought an interesting fact about her into the light. But after secretly watching that seen he found that he really just wanted to reach out to her. Her two friends had gotten into a heated argument and neither looked to be in the condition to give comfort. So, unnoticed by anyone, he slipped away to follow her.

He found her almost immediately. She was barely fifty feet from the group and in beautifully secluded section of the woods. Now that he was here and made up the decision to talk to her, he found himself more interested in just observing. Even in his current location he could see her mind was in turmoil. He was at the edge of the clearing, parallel with her about fifteen feet away, standing behind a tree and a large leafy bush. He could tell she had hit the breaking point and normally any human would have broken down to crying by now but she obviously was not. Well, he wasn't going to get anything accomplished by standing here, although now he was stuck with the problem with how to approach her. It was a delicate situation, and he was at a loss for what to do. After a moment of debating his mind decided it was best to just be natural with her, but to be as subtle and soft as possible. He stepped out of hiding and walked towards her, although she did not notice him, to wrapped up in her own thoughts. He stopped abut five feet away from her before he spoke.

"Well," she looked up at who had spoken. Impressive, she didn't spook, his mind absently noted. She just continued to stare at him with a mixture of slight shock, but mostly confusion. "Sorry, I couldn't help but over hear your earlier conversation," he explained as he smiled gently at her. She nodded, so he took it that she had accepted his explanation and he was free to do as he wished. He sat down next to her, with her eyes never leaving him, and returned her gaze. He really did not know what to do, so he spoke the truth. "I'm really not good in these situations so I guess I'll just give you freedom to speak as you wish." All the shock and hidden pain had left her eyes now leaving only bewilderment as she cocked her head and double blinked. Hm, cute he thought and then his mind did a double take. Where did that thought come from?

"I don't mean to sound rude," she spoke up after a moment. "And it's not that I mind, but why are you here?" Well, at least that was one question he had an answer to.

"I've actually been meaning to speak with you for a while but after your friend's little show I had more of an incentive." He hadn't realized that her confusion could get any higher but apparently it could, for it did.

"Speak to me about what?"

"To make it short, two basic things," he answered her. "One, to sort out my own thoughts, and also there is what Korran said."

"Um…" she hesitated as her brain mulled over this information. She didn't want to think what the possibilities of "to sort out my own thoughts" meant so she stuck with the other half of his statement. "What did he mean by that, and what connection do I have to it?"

Kurama couldn't help but be amused by her constant confusion. "It's a long story," he answered, and with her and with her prompting look he dove into the tale of Karron and his involvement with him.

Ten minuets latter, once the story had been finished; Jamie just stared at him in silence. "So," she spoke after a moment. "He thinks I'm the reincarnation of that girl." He just nodded, and to his surprise she half smiled.

"I guess I've heard worse lies. There is no way I was that girl in a past life. You'd think that would leave an impression, even in a different life." She was looking at him, with a half a smile on her face, waiting for him to comment on what an idiotic idea it had been, but the response she got was way off what she had been expecting.

"It would make sense." His voice wasn't a whisper but it was much softer than a normal speaking tone. She was once again thrown into a state of confusion, and although she didn't ask the question, he could tell she wanted an explanation to his words. "It would explain why you are in so much pain." His statement had obviously brought up the emotions she had been repressing and had brought up his hand to stroke her cheek. He didn't really know what he was doing, or why his was doing it, but it felt right so he went with it.

"I'm not…" but her protest faded off, she could not finish the statement. It didn't matter. Her eyes told him otherwise anyway.

"It's a little too late to lie to yourself now," he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "I still remember that girl, and you're her carbon copy. I know you were her, and as for your earlier statement, I think it did leave an impression on you. In that life you suffered a great amount, but were never given the time to greave for yourself. So now that you have the calm life needed, that pain is coming out." During his entire speech he had gradually been leaning closer to her, pressing his point on her, and now he was to the point where she had to lean back a bit, he was a little to close for comfort.

She sniffed a bit before answering, in more than five years this was as close as she had ever come to crying. "I guess that would make sense." He visible and mentally relaxed, and removed his hand from her, she was starting to accept the idea he knew to be the truth. "As long as I can remember I've had this feeling of being victimized."

"Is that why you started repressing your feelings?" he asked out of the blue. She was thrown off by his question; his close proximity was already making her jittery.

"You noticed," she gasped. He just nodded his head. "Well, sort of, but not really," she answered as she shook her head. "It's really from getting sick of being emotional. I used to be the kind of person who was affected by everything and cried a lot, and people tended to walk all over me and bully me. I hated it."

"And are you happy with it now?" he asked. Finally he was getting to the heart of the problem.

"No," she answered. "I feel like I'm stuck." At his inquisitive stare she was compelled to continue. "I've forgotten how to show real emotions, like…" a statement from a book she had read popped into her head and she figured it was the best way to explain. "Like my lock is jammed and the key won't turn either way."

He wasn't sure why, but after she said that he got the most spontaneous idea. But although it should have seemed insane and ridiculous some told him that it was just right. "Then let me unlock you," he whispered before closing the space between them and bringing his lips down onto hers, and slipping his arms around her before she could even make a sound.

It was a brief kiss. He pulled away after only a moment, but stayed with his arms around her, his face only inches away from hers. "What?" and that was all thee was to the breathless question that passed her lips. He merely gave a small shrug in answer.

"I really don't know. I told you I needed to sort out my own thoughts, but I never guessed it would lead to this." He gave a small smile, truly happy with the way things turned out, but he noticed that the girl in his arms was still in turmoil. "What's wrong?" he asked after he noticed that she was struggling.

"I never thought…" she trailed off again.

"Never thought what?" he urged. She looked strait at him and smiled.

"It's a long story," and so she told a tale of her own, about how, when she was eleven, she had fallen in love with an anime character and how that love had stayed with her in all the years leading up to this moment. She described how happy she had been to see he was real, which explained the way she had been looking at him on the field, and how sense then she had been hoping he would notice her although she couldn't bring her self to speak to him. At the end of it all she looked strait into his eyes and said probably the most brazen thing she had ever said. "Kurama, I love you." Once she had put it into words he finally understood the feelings he hadn't been able to comprehend. He had never truly loved anyone so the experience was completely new to him, but he knew one thing. He had fallen in love with the girl in front of him and there was only one thing he could do.

"Well," he leaned in so that his lips were brushing against hers. "Then I guess that makes two of us," and the pressed in to claim her mouth for a second time. Although this time he went slowly. Absently he noticed that her lips were rather small, something he had noticed from the beginning, but that they seemed to fit his mouth perfectly. This time he got a response from her and when his tongue pushed against her mouth she gladly allowed him access.

She gasped when the hot invader slithered into her mouth but quickly indulged in the sensation and that the pleasure was increased when she competed with her own. Their kiss had reached a different level. With both pushing to attempt to devour the other they were managing to reach new heights. Without realizing it tears started to trickle from her eyes and he reached up to brush them away. He had done as he had said. He had unlocked her. It felt as though all the emotions she had hidden until then were all rushing out and all the pain she had built up was washed away. She was complete. What she didn't realize was that her new lover was experiencing almost the exact same thing. He had finally found what he didn't even know that he had been longing for.

Eventually, as all things must, their moment came to an end, although they did not part. Instead, he leaned against a tree and she curled up in his arms, wrapping her own around him. They feel asleep like that. Both surrounded by their new found joy.

87