Warnings: None

Will edit this for typos this evening. Sorry for the mess. Balancing this with Xmas travel is tough!


Lucky Child

Chapter 52:

"This Version"


Despite my best efforts to sneak in unnoticed, Mom's bat ears somehow heard the click of the back door over the clangs of the closing kitchen. "Keiko, honey! Where have you been?" she said, sticking her head out of the kitchen doorway. I froze with my foot on the first step upstairs and slowly turned my head over my shoulder, like a cartoon cat with her hand in the canary cage. Mom's brow furrowed under her white hat when a drop of water fell from my hair to the clean wood floor. "And look at you. You're soaking wet!"

"Sorry, Mom. Was visiting Yusuke." I tugged on the edge of my bangs, squinting at their water-matted length. "The forecast didn't predict this, though."

Mom looked sufficiently mollified by my explanation, thank my lucky stars. She knew Yusuke and Kuwabara had been away that summer and supported my efforts to get in touch with them now they had returned—but the pair had spent the entire previous week (our last week of summer!) sleeping like the dead, only waking to groggily down a meal and then collapse again. Between the two of them, they'd probably spent a grand total of six hours awake. Genkai's training had really kicked their asses, that's for sure, which was good news for their power levels, but bad news for my nosy streak. They hadn't been awake long enough to tell me anything about Genkai, hardly, even though I spent quite a bit of time staked out at their various bedsides since they'd gotten back.

Thunder rumbled, then. Mom cocked a worried eye toward the ceiling as rain drove in harder gusts against the roof, pattering and plinking off the shingles like tiny shards of glass.

"It's really coming down," she said. "Your father spends all that time listening to aviation radio, but it caught even him off guard. He says there might even be hail tonight."

Another thunder rumble, another gust of wind, and I shivered in my sodden socks. Hair clung to the back of my neck like grasping hands. Mom looked me up and down, then shooed me off with a tut.

"Well, don't just stand there! Hot bath, pronto," she said. "You have your first day back at school tomorrow and you don't want to get sick."

"Don't remind me," I grumbled, and I did as she instructed.

I drew my bath and lingered for quite some time in its warm depths, luxuriating in bath salts my father had got me as a Christmas present the year before. Kuwabara and Yusuke had both taken Epsom salt baths since their return, mainly at my urging since every time they were awake, they both groaned and groused about various muscle aches. Would they be ready to come back to school in the morning? I'd spent half the day at each of the boys' homes, and neither had stirred from their beds. Kuwabara snores like a freight train when truly exhausted, I learned, and Yusuke mumbles under his breath.

He doesn't say anything useful, though. Nothing about his training, and certainly nothing of the future.

Since both of them refused to give up their impressions of dead and-or-hibernating bears, I left notes for them both on their besides. Meet me at the ramen shop after school, I'd written, and I'd named a time. But odds were against them waking up in time to see it, given their current sleep schedule.

With a sigh I slipped under the water in the bath, not daring to open my eyes amidst the salted water. Speaking of schedules, Shizuru hadn't come back from her training, either—though that wasn't alarming. It had only been one week since Kuroko made her estimate of two weeks left in Shizuru's training, so we were on schedule so far as I knew. Still, it was maddening not having her back yet, especially since the boys were here and Kuwabara's few lucid moments had all included questions about his sister. As in, where she was and why the heck she hadn't come to see him since he came back.

And of course, Shizuru wanted to keep her training a secret, because apparently she wanted to make my life more complicated than it already was, which meant I had to lie. Or maybe not lie, per se, but at least play dumb—but I considered lying by omission the same as out-and-out lying, so my conscience remained quite guilty. Too guilty for even the perfumed bathwater to scrub clean.

When the water went tepid and my skin pruned beyond recognition, I got out, dried off, and dressed, heading down the hall to my room with a towel draped over my soaked (but warm) hair. Vigorously rubbing at the towel with my hands, I was basically blind as I kicked the door shut behind me and headed for my closet—but before I could get there I heard a noise, a click and then a rustle from over by my desk, and then an unseasonably chill wind stripped past. A smattering of icy drops peppered my bare feet like hail. Cursing, pulse leaping into frenzy, I yanked the towel off my head and turned.

Hiei crouched on my sill, frozen in the act of lifting the window off the sill, one muddy boot placed squarely in the middle of my desk. He sat there frozen like a raccoon caught in the beam of a headlight, eyes wide enough to show white all around his blazing irises. I muffled a shriek with my towel and backpedaled on reflex, back colliding with the door to my room with a whump. The noise startled Hiei from his animal trace, scarlet eyes narrowing like the wings of flying birds.

"Quiet, Meigo," Hiei snapped. "It's only me."

"H-Hiei." My voice came out in a whispered stammer. "W-What are you doing?"

He stared at me a moment, nonplussed, before turning his head toward his own hand—still cupped under the window frame, holding the pane of glass aloft. I'm opening the window, dolt, he said without saying anything.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I get that, smartass. I mean, what are you doing here?"

And those were the magic words, apparently, because the smug look on his face vanished. His eyes slid downward and away, chin tucking into his threadbare scarf like he wanted to hide behind it. But then, just as quickly, he lifted his chin again and glared at me down the length of his pert nose.

"You said I could sleep here if it rained," he said, brusque as a winter wind. "It's raining, and I—"

"Oh. Oh." I had offered that, hadn't I? "Right. Um."

My hesitation rankled his nerves, apparently; his lips pulled back to bare his teeth. "If you didn't want me here, you should not have offered."

"It's not that, Hiei," I returned. "You're such a pessimist. Of course I want you here. It's just like the bath thing all over again. I didn't expect you to ever say yes." My eyes alit on his boot, still planted firmly atop my desk, as another chill breeze swept in—bringing with it a blast of cold water, which splattered all over my desk and oh my god my schoolbooks were stacked in my chair and they were totally going to get soaked. I strode forward and tangled my fist in Hiei's sleeve, pulling him off his perch. "Well, don't just sit there—come on in and get the hell off my desk!"

Hiei didn't budge, apart from his burgeoning scowl. "What? Why?"

"First of all, you know better than to wear shoes in my house, especially if you're going to stand on my desk, and even more especially when you're soaking wet. Get down from there this instant!"

It was with much snarking and insulting and complaining that Hiei did as I asked, followed by even more fire demon sass when I fussed at him to take off his shoes, followed by still more acerbic asides when I fussed at him to take off his sodden cloak. Soon I found myself standing in the corner while he change into a set of Yusuke's old clothes, draping his cloak and scarf and pants on the drying rack on the back of my closet door when he handed his shed clothes to me (read: when he threw them over my head from behind, that jerk).

"You're sure you don't want a bath to warm up?" I said as I hung up the last of his clothes.

"I was just in the rain," he shot back, as if I were the stupidest person he'd ever met. "A bath would be redundant."

He stood in the middle of my room with arms crossed over his chest, and I probably would've found his white-hot glare intimidating if he hadn't been wearing Yusuke's little league shirt and athletic shorts. Plus his sopping hair had clumped up and flattened a bit, weighted down as it was with water. He looked far more like an adorable drowned kitten than he did a homicidal demon, especially when he tossed his head and his bangs flopped into his face with a wet smack. Very emo-chic, that hair-toss. I'd been friends with kids in middle school who'd have been jealous.

"Come here, Mister Rain Bath," I said, swiping my discarded towel off the floor. Hiei snarled when I draped it over his head and began towel-drying his hair, but I dodged his hands and kept ruffling. In English I muttered, "You shower with rain. Of course you do."

"I heard that," Hiei said, voice muffled under layers of towel. "What's so wrong with bathing in rain?"

"Well, for one thing, it's not sanitary, and for another, soap is—wait." I stopped and swiped the towel off his head, staring at him. "Hiei, do you speak English?"

He shook his head.

"Then how did you know what I said?"

His eyes dropped to my feet. While he didn't look guilty, he looked…shifty. Sketchy? Something like that. A suspicious surfaced at the sight of his downcast eyes.

"Did you read my mind without asking?" I said.

Scarlet gleamed like a prism under a laser pointer. "I skimmed the surface for your meaning, Meigo. I delved no deeper than that. What else would you have me do? Be insulted where I cannot understand?"

"Oh." And even though I felt a bit miffed at that, I couldn't fault him. I draped the towel back over his head and started rubbing at the water again. "I guess speaking a foreign language in front of you is just about as rude as you reading my mind without permission, isn't it?"

Hiei let out one of those low, rumbling growls of his and snatched the towel from my hands. Hair now fluffy and damp instead of matted and soggy, he stalked off and sat against the wall next to my closet door, one knee bent, one elbow draped upon it—full of Hiei Anime Pose, which was neat to see. I admit I stared at him for a minute or so before finding my wits and heading for the hall closet. When I returned, arms full of bedding, Hiei shot me one of his typical scowls (the type that wasn't angry, just confused, and upset at his own confusion).

"What is that?" Hiei asked as I unrolled the makura.

"A futon," I said. When Hiei hadn't replied by the time I finished laying out the mattress, I raised a brow at him. "Y'know. For sleeping?"

Hiei snorted. "I'll sleep here."

My brow lifted higher. "Against the wall."

"Yes. No one can sneak up on me."

"For the last time, you aren't getting attacked in my house," I said—but at Hiei's grimace, I shook my head and sighed. "But fine. If you need a wall for a security blanket, have at it."

Even so, I still went back into the hall for the futon's comforter and pillow, plus sheets. Hiei watched me tuck and arrange everything together in silence. When I sat back and smoothed the comforter with my hands, satisfied by my neat handiwork, he made a tetching sound between his teeth.

"I said I didn't need it," he told me.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But you're my guest, and I want to be sure you're comfortable." He only glowered at my sunny smile. "I'm sure the wall is great, but just in case you change your mind, I want you to have options." Under my breath I added, "And I want you to not wake me up in the middle of the night if you get a sore back and decide you want somewhere soft to sleep, instead."

He eyed the futon for a moment before his eyes flickered to me. After I moved back, perching on the edge of my bed, he moved with the grace of a cat and crawled atop the futon. His glare almost dared me to come close or make a comment, under penalty of death, but still he lay down atop the comforter inch by careful inch.

And then he popped off of it just as quickly, a jack in the box propelled on the end of a coiled spring.

"Feh! That is far too soft for sleeping," Hiei spat. He settled against his chosen length of wall with a satisfied smirk. "This is much better. No wonder you humans are so soft, sleeping in such soft beds."

I rolled my eyes and chose not to dignify that remark with a reply and instead headed for the door. "I have some last-minute prep for school to do before bed. Will you be fine on your own for a bit?"

"I have no need for a babysitter, Meigo."

"Of course you don't." I popped my head back into the room only a second after I left. "Have you eaten tonight, by the way?"

Hiei looked left. Hiei looked right. Hiei admitted: "No."

"Are you hungry?"

"…yes."

"Good! Dinner coming right up."

I fixed dinner in the private kitchen upstairs before gathering up my school things, ironing my uniform for the morning, and bidding my parents goodnight (mostly so they'd stay out of my hair, not to mention Hiei's, for the rest of the evening). Upon my return I found that Hiei had put on a record, Soundgarden like last time, and had once again climbed atop my desk. He'd settled in the window, this tile, staring out the pane and into the rainy dark beyond (emo edgelord supreme, that's Hiei). I put my food on the desk near him and sat on my bed, watching as he ate the rice balls and soup without once glancing in my direction.

"You know," I said. "You've changed."

The reflection of his eyes glimmered in the mirror's glossy surface, red gems on black satin. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you're not trying to murder me every time you see me." Hiei's lip curled at the suggestion; I held up one pacifying hand. "I know you can't legally hurt humans since Spirit World has its eye on you. I'm just saying is that you don't seem as eager to see humans dead as you did the day we met, that's all."

Hiei growled deep in his chest. "Humans are scum."

My hand dropped at the dark light in his eyes. "OK, never mind, then." I swapped a book off the floor next to my bed and opened it across my knees, grumbling. "Nothing's changed at all. My mistake."

But things had changed, hadn't there? Hiei was in my bedroom wearing Yusuke's old clothes, eating the food I made for him and not trying to murder me. That was some kind of progress, much though Hiei maligned the very idea of coming around.

…but had he come around?

Was he different now?

Or was I just thinking wishfully, hoping against all hope that I'd somehow triggered the change in him that the anime and manga had never explained, aside from Togashi simply being an inconsistent writer? Maybe my time was better served thinking of Yusuke as opposed to Hiei. After all, it was Keiko's bond with Yusuke that allowed him to defeat Suzaku in the anime. Was my bond with Yusuke strong enough, and of the right tenor, to serve him in this story arc?

"I…there are things I can't remember."

My musings cut short at the sound of his voice. Hiei stared out the window, still, but in the glass's reflections his gaze trained on me. The scarlet seemed uncertain, for once, still smoldering with all of Hiei's typical inner fire—but in then confusion flickered, as though even he did not understand quite what he was saying.

"The day we met," he said. "I remember what you said to me. I remember what I did. But I don't remember—no." He looked away with an audible gnash of teeth. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand."

I had no idea what he was getting at (or rather, all I had was an inkling, and I needed more information to make a full prediction). Setting my book aside, I swung my legs off the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, giving Hiei my full attention. Something told me this conversation deserved it.

"Wouldn't I, though?" I said, gentle but firm. "You were in my head that day. You saw, and you know better than anyone that I have a memory problem."

And that was the wrong thing to say, apparently, because Hiei physically bristled. "I don't have any problems," he snapped. He looked at me in full, red eyes an inferno against tan skin, every word ejected from between his teeth like venom. "A haze fogs the days I possessed the Shadow Sword, admittedly, but make no mistake, Meigo. My actions were my own. Nothing about my opinion of you pitiful humans has changed in the slightest since that day."

An impressive statement—one belied by his presence in my bedroom, which I indicated with a look at the record player, the empty plate at his side, my bedroom at large. Hiei glared, turning back to the window with shoulders hunched.

"You are merely tolerable because you have become useful to me," he said.

"Oh? In what way?"

"Heh." He slid further down into his hunch, chin to chest, eyes on the darkness outside. "That's my secret."

"…it's because you like my cooking, isn't it."

Hiei scowled, but he said nothing, which in Hiei-speak is basically an admission of guilt. Still, I wanted to know, because sometimes he met the truth with sass, and I wasn't well-versed in his ways enough to know which one this might be. I grabbed a decorative pillow off my bed and chucked it at him (he managed to catch it, of course, and ruin all my fun).

"Hiei, you jerk!" I teased. "Tell me. I don't handle suspense well!"

"Good," he said, all smug and smirky and Hiei as he threw the pillow back (I did not manage to catch it; curse Hiei's throwing arm!). "Then you'll suffer not knowing."

"You jerk," I repeated, but before I could launch a counter offensive, a plaintive chirp sounded at my window. With a gasp I got up and darted over. "Oh. Sorei! Let him through, let him through!"

Hiei grumbled when I shooed him off the window sill, but he didn't move far as I opened the window and reached onto the shingles beyond for my cat. Sorei, shivering and soaked, willingly let himself be held, curling against my chest with another chirp. "Hi, my little phantom, are you cold? C'mere, let's warm you up."

I held the cat in the towel, which Hiei had discarded on the floor, buffing and rubbing at Sorei's soaked fur until I got most of the water out. He bore this indignity with the faintest of purrs, blinking slowly up at my face. He smelled like petrichor and motor oil, which I chided him over ("Stay out of people's garages, you goose!"). Once his fur stopped matting together with wet, he struggled against the towel; I put him down at once, because otherwise I'd get a face full of claws and one very pissy cat hissing in my corner. Hiei looked utterly bored at these proceedings, merely cocking an eyebrow at Sorei when the cat wandered over the futon in his direction. The cat sat down and stared at the demon with unwavering yellow eyes, tail lashing with precise movements against the floor. Hiei glared right back, and I couldn't suppress a giggle. It was a meeting of Keiko's very grumpy stray cats. They were in good company whether they knew it or not.

"Sorei is pretty antisocial," I said, retaking my spot on the bed, "but if you hold out your hand, let him smell you…"

Hiei shot me a look that said I was being ridiculous and he despised me for it—but then he did as I asked, extending one calloused hand in Sorei's direction.

"Good." I decided not to remark on Hiei being social, even if it was just with a cat. "If he decides you're OK, you can rub his ears a minute. But don't chase him if he walks away because he'll get grumpy."

Another don't-be-an-idiot glare; like Hiei would ever stoop so low, chasing a cat around the room (hoo boy, wait till he met Kuwabara). Hiei watched from the corner of his eye as Sorei rose soundlessly into a crouch, head craning so he could take a few small sniffs at Hiei's fingers. I figure Sorei would turn up his nose at Hiei's offering, stalk off with tail held high and ignore the interloper, but the cat surprised me. He butted his fluffy head under Hiei's palm, clearly asking for pets.

"Wow," I breathed.

Hiei looked as surprised as I felt, eyes wide and mouth parted at the cat's acceptance. He rubbed a thumb down Sorei's forehead once, twice, three times before Sorei finally disengaged and walked away, sauntering over to my bed with the swagger required of a stray tom. Sorei paused just long enough to run against my ankles, fur as soft as dandelion down, before crawling under my bed and out of sight.

"Aww, he likes you," I said with a beam at Hiei. "You got to pet him for a whole three seconds!" When Hiei's eyes narrowed, I added, "No sarcasm; that's good in Sorei-speak."

Hiei smothered a pleased expression with a shrug and a sneer. "Whatever. It's just a cat."

"A very cute cat with high standards. You should feel lucky."

"You're the lucky one, lost child. Not me."

"Hey—you have a very understanding parole officer who feeds you and gives you baths and lets you sleep in her room, so you've got some luck going for you."

"Hmmph. So you say."

I had to laugh at his stubborn and persnickety attitude. "Fine, fine. I'll drop it. You ready for bed?"

"If it gets you to be quiet for few hours, then yes."

He meant the phrase to cut, but I just giggled, and giggled harder when he looked thoroughly put out by my lack of reaction. "Who knows? Maybe I talk in my sleep."

Hiei looked horrified (AKA, Hiei looked angry and slightly disgusted). "I'll cut out your tongue if it comes to that."

"Vicious," I said, pretending to sound impressed. I pulled back the covers on my bed and crawled beneath, saying as I reached for my bedside lamp, "Night, Hiei."

Hiei did not reply (because of course) as the room bathed itself in dark. I turned and faced the wall, covers tucked up under my chin, listening to the rain patter against the window. Fog on the glass turned the light from the streetlamp outside milky, clouding it like Hiei's clouded memory. He'd begun to talk about his time with the Sword, though he hadn't given me enough information to come to a conclusion. Still, the fact remained that he apparently had trouble remembering his time with the Sword, and that was a factor worth mulling.

Hiei had done such a dramatic heel-face-turn in the series, it didn't seem natural. One had to wonder if the Sword had something to do with it. Had possessing the Sword made him more vicious, perhaps? Or had his bloodthirst regarding humans begun before he stole it? Perhaps Spirit World really had brainwashed him on some level, compelled him to take the Sword, caused this whole mess in the first place. Fandom would have a field day with that one, for sure.

Whatever the case, and despite his protests, I did feel he'd changed. This version of Hiei had changed enough to accept food and shelter from a human, and that had to count for something.

I just hoped it was enough.

My shoulder ached, so I rolled over, catching sight of Hiei's eyes in the dark. He was staring at the window yet again, a watchful guard dog standing vigil in the night—not that Hiei would ever cherish such a comparison. I debated asking him more questions (perhaps the darkness would bolster him, allow him to talk about what made him vulnerable, and his altered memory) but I stopped. He wouldn't appreciate that, and so long as he was willing to ally with Yusuke, I shouldn't violate his privacy.

"I don't even have to bother reading your mind." Hiei's voice cut through the dark and the quiet like a sword. "You're lying there thinking, aren't you."

I curled up a little tighter in my bed as his eyes flickered my way. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me," he said, as though he found the act supremely distasteful. "Don't you have school in the morning? You need to rest your pathetic human head for your 'big day'."

"Ha ha, very funny, Hiei." And with that, I rolled over again and shut my eyes. "Good night and sweet dreams."

No reply came, and I faded into the depths of sleep like sugar dissolving into water.

Halfway through the night, however, I woke, and blinked groggy into the dark. Hiei stood out against my wall, a dark shadow in the gloom, and at his feet lay a small grey lump. Sorei sat just barely touching Hiei's leg with his little furry butt, sound asleep on the futon at the demon's feet. Hiei's eyes remained shut, even as I smiled at them, and even as I whispered a second goodnight.

I fell asleep smiling into my pillow, and I dreamed of Sorei's soft fur against my cheek.


Amagi was waiting by my locker when I arrived at school the next morning. She'd cut her hair over the break, soft black bob now a bowl-like pixie with thick, straight bangs across the forehead. Still, it suited her, framing her dark eyes and heart-shaped face with softness and silk. Pretty. Amagi was so pretty, but I couldn't let on that I thought so for the sake of my moral compass.

"Fifteen years old, Keiko," I muttered as I walked up. "You're a dirty old lecher and she's fif-fucking-teen years old."

Amagi spotted me right away and trotted over before I could even reach the shoe lockers. Her hand wrapped around my arm, heat radiating through my thin shirt as she leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "It's happening."

Any and all butterflies that came as a result of her closeness tore themselves to bits, cannibalizing themselves into a jolt of acrid nerve. "It?" I said, staring with mouth agape. "As in, it-it?

"The thing you warned me about this summer, yes," she said.

"Oh god." My feet moved of their own accord, backpedaling toward the exit. "Not here, not here."

Amagi understood the need for secrecy without explanation, bless her, following me out of the school and around back to the PE shed. We stopped in the shadows of the trees behind it, heads bowed together so we could discuss in relative private.

"I see them," Amagi said. "I see the things you warned me I might."

I couldn't help but glance up at the trees, toward the school, at the shed. "Here, now?"

"Not in the school. Not yet. But I walked through downtown today and saw them exactly as you described." She held up her hands spaced maybe six inches apart. "Bugs. Enormous, ugly bugs no one else can see, iridescent green and absolutely disgusting."

My eyes fluttered shut.

Damn.

It was already starting.

Although I cursed how fast this was happening, at least I'd managed to get some warning before it surprised me out of the blue. It was good I'd made the call this previous summer, and even better Amagi had accepted my words without undue concern. She didn't freak out at the prospect of giant bugs that could control people, and she agreed to watch for them and let me know if she saw any without fuss. Since I couldn't see them, I needed her to act as my eyes. Amagi had agreed to be said eyes with alarming speed.

"Really?" I'd stammered into the phone. "You mean you're not freaked out?"

"No," she said in her smooth voice. "Once, when I was a child, I saw an insect crawl into someone's ear. They became immediately violent. No one else noticed. It was one of the first times I realized I can see things others cannot. I am happy to help you, Keiko."

Like the people in the village near Kuroko's home, who talked of demons like they were no more uncommon than hiker-stalking bears, Amagi seemed rather chill about the supernatural. Interesting. And the fact that she'd seen things similar to the Makai Insects was just icing on the cake. Amagi was a perfect ally in this matter.

It didn't hurt than she didn't ask questions, either, and did not question how I knew these bugs would someday appear.

In the present behind the PE shed, I flipped on my All Business switch and took a deep breath. "How many have you seen today?"

"Six. And no one else seems alarmed; it was obvious I was the only one who saw them." Her head tilted to the side, black hair falling like satin along one pale cheek. "Is this indeed what you warned me about?"

"Yeah. Totally." I threaded my fingers through my hair, the feel of the soft hair grounding me in my body just a bit. "Oh, man. First day back and this is already happening."

"You don't seem surprised that it's happening at all," Amagi said, "but I won't ask." And that's why Amagi is perfect. "This is bad, isn't it?"

I pulled my hands from my hair and tried to reengage Business Mode; no use freaking out Amagi. "Yeah, but we're still in the calm before the storm, so don't panic. Things are going to go bad soon, but not yet." I lowered my voice and tried not to sound scared, myself, but Amagi deserved to know what was about to happen in our city. "I don't mean to scare you, but there will be rioting, looting, people attacking each other. Be careful and make yourself scarce today."

"I will." She swallowed that as readily as she'd swallowed the idea of the Makai bugs. "When will it get bad?"

"I'm not sure. But not till later. I'm pretty sure not till after school." The fact that I couldn't give her a better answer set my teeth on edge. "Go home after school and sit tight, and warn anyone you can to do the same."

"Right." She gave a nod, turning as if to walk away—but she stopped, and put her hand on my arm again. "Keiko. Do you need help?"

Yes. No. Yes? The answer died and revived on the end of my tongue over and over again, until finally I put my hand on hers and squeezed.

"No," I told her. "I've got all the help I need."

It was a true statement in some ways, and a falsehood in others.

But even if Botan wasn't here to help me, no way would I ever risk Amagi's life and make her take Botan's place.


The three men—who had attacked us like clockwork as soon as we set foot downtown—fell under punches from Kuwabara, Yusuke, and myself in seconds. Happened too quickly for me to get a good look at the boys' new techniques, sorry to say, though Yusuke let out a low, impressed whistle at the sight of my new-and-improved roundhouse (thanks, Hideki-sensei). Kuwabara stepped back and rubbed his fist, glaring at the men on the ground.

"Man. At least they went down easy," he said—and then his eyes went wide, and he leveled a finger at one of their gaping, unconscious mouths. "Ugh—gross! Look at that!"

Yusuke gasped; Kuwabara looked like he was about to be sick, probably because he was seeing a gigantic bug crawl out of a person's mouth. I, of course, saw nothing but the three dudes who'd followed Kuwabara, Yusuke, and myself since we left my parents' restaurant. The boys had indeed found my notes, but no sooner had we set off to find something to eat had these goons started following us. And then the fight had happened, and there we were, watching a bug make its escape.

Well. Some of us were watching that, anyway. I just stood there and sighed as the boys started squabbling.

"Squash it, Kuwabara, squash it!" Yusuke said, jabbing at Kuwabara's arm with a fist.

"Me? Why me?" Kuwabara said. "I hate bugs!"

"Yeah, but—"

They went quiet when a new, smooth voice cut in to say: "If you'll allow me the honor, gentlemen."

I sighed again as the boys did a series of comical double-takes, spinning in place to the mouth of the alley and the woman standing in it. Ayame, dour and drab in her black kimono, minced forward atop her wooden sandal and bent at the thugs' sides. A spray bottle from the sleeve of her robe produced a fine mist, which she squirted across their faces as though selling them perfume. Yusuke and Kuwabara gasped again as (I assume) the bugs disappeared, or maybe disintegrated, or perhaps even blew up.

Not that I'd know. I couldn't see anything.

This whole no-powers thing was really starting to grate on my nerves.

Kuwabara muttered something about who this chick was in my ear, but I didn't reply. Ayame straightened up and favored Yusuke with one of her long, measured looks, expression a cross between boredom and supreme, longsuffering patience.

"Yusuke," she said. "So I see you've already gotten wind of Spirit World's latest crisis?"

"Ayame," he returned. "So you're still kicking around, huh?"

Kuwabara's eyes lit up. "Ayame. I know that name. This the Spirit World lady who took Button's place?"

"Botan's place," Yusuke said. "And yeah. That's her." Brown eyes slid my way for just a second. "The one Keiko's been working for."

Ah. So Yusuke had filled Kuwabara in already regarding Spirit World and the Detective position. There hadn't been time enough to ask about that today. We'd gone from seeking ice cream to ass kicking in no time flat. So much for us getting to play catch-up…

If I'd been worried I might say something suspicious, reveal I knew too much about the Saint Beasts before getting debriefed, Ayame soothed those worries by being a loquacious showboater. I listened to her explanation of the Saint Beasts with only half an ear, preoccupied by my next move, but she seemed to hit all the points in the anime and manga. Of course, that included a lack of explanation regarding the Beasts themselves—no mention of their powers or what to expect from the, just like in the show. Another case of Spirit World's irresponsibility in action, I guessed. Of all the thigs to match canon, why did it have to be that?

"Any details about the beasts' powers, their abilities?" I said when she finished explaining the need to destroy the Makai Whistle. Ayame's brow furrowed, so I added: "You're sending these two in blind. More intel would serve them well."

But even with my intervention, Ayame shook her head. "Unfortunately, this has all transpired too quickly for me to do thorough research." A confident smile, one I wasn't sure looked genuine. "But I trust these Beasts will be no match for our Detective and his friend."

More elusiveness and prevarication from Ayame. Ugh. But I couldn't say anything to Yusuke—who hopped from foot to foot in anticipation, eyes bright and eager—without giving myself away. Keiko had no way of knowing the details I possessed, so I merely watched, uncertain, as Ayame bade us follow her from the alley and through a door in a nearby, random building. Just like in the anime, a wooden hatch in the floor, like the hatch to a storm cellar, opened over a poor of deep, swirling blackness with no bottom. Clearly a portal. Did it look different in Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes? Did they seem more than just deep, dark black, stretching down into a void without end?

Yusuke looked as eager as ever, still doing his little dance of anticipation. Kuwabara, however, stared into the portal with an apprehensive frown. I put a hand on his arm and smiled. He smiled back, cheeks coloring, before turning his gaze toward Ayame.

"So that's it, then?" he said. "You're just showing us the portal and saying 'jump'?"

Ayame's head listed to one side. "I have not asked, nor implied, that you would be joining Yusuke on this mission, Kuwabara."

But Kuwabara just rolled his eyes. "You gave that whole explanation to Yusuke right in front of me, ma'am. No way would I let him go alone after hearing all that, and besides—this is my home town we're talking about, and no way am I letting it go to the dogs." He paused, blinking. "Er. Go to the demons?" His head shook like an aforementioned dog. "Aw, hell, you get the idea, though! You'd have to tie me to a tree to keep me out of this, and it'd have to be a really, really strong tree to keep me back!"

Ayame smiled, chin ducking like a demure young lady. "Wonderful to have you aboard. But to answer your question, no. We're not just showing you the portal and saying 'jump'. I must add that Spirit World will be monitoring your progress as best it's able, but please keep in touch using your Communication Mirror." Her delicate brow lifted. "I trust you have that on you, Yusuke?"

Yusuke's face turned red; he rubbed the back of his neck and started to blather some sort of excuse, but I cleared my throat, reached into my pocket, and held his Mirror out.

"Figured you'd need it," I said.

Yusuke took it from me, glaring without teeth. "Hey, you stole my Mirror!"

"More like rescued it," I retorted. "You kept leaving it on your floor where Atsuko might step on it."

Yusuke grumbled at me, cowed. Ayame let out a silken laugh (something she rarely did, actually; maybe she had a heart, after all).

"Good. Then it's settled." She bowed to us. "Now is the moment I say 'jump.' We will be there to assist as best we're able. Good luck, in the meantime."

"What about Keiko?"

My head swung to Yusuke, mouth dropping in shock. He stared at Ayame through narrowed eyes, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at her. She hummed, questioning, and his eyes narrowed further.

"What about Keiko?" he repeated. "She's just gonna stay here, and what, fight these crazy bug guys?"

"I could go with you to Demon World," I offered.

But the boys replied in sharp unison, deadpan and unrelenting: "No way in hell."

I didn't bother arguing with that, merely muttering a dejected, "Spoilsports." I'd offered merely for the sake of it, on the off chance it might work—but knowing all the while it would not. I knew better than anyone that without powers, I was a dead weight and a liability. Trying to come along had been a matter of dignity more than anything.

Not that I had much dignity at all these days.

I hadn't yet seen their powers, nor heard of their ordeals, but I knew the gulf between Keiko and the others had only grown since their trip to train with Genkai.

Was it even possibly to close that gap now?

Would Keiko ever become more than a side character in this narrative? Or was I destined, once freaking more, to just sit on the sidelines and watch then action from afar?

"Anyway," Yusuke was saying, "these jerks are vicious. And Keiko's a badass, sure, but to leave her here alone…"

"Your Mirror has two frequencies, one that connects with myself, and the other with Keiko's Mirror, which we gave her when she took her role as record keeper," Ayame explained. "You'll be able to keep in touch while you're in Demon World."

That did little to mollify Yusuke, however. "That doesn't make me feel better," he said.

"Yeah, seriously." Kuwabara turned my way with worried eyes. "If things get as bad as she says, I don't want you anywhere near the blast zone, Keiko."

Although they had every reason to worry, there was no sense telling them that. I slugged them on the arm in turns, declaring with a grin, "I'll be fine, you two. And somebody's gotta watch out for our hometown while its top punks are off on a field trip, right?" Before they could protest, I continued my show of bravado by asking, "Ayame, tell me how I can help from here. What can I do here in Human World to make a difference?"

"Unfortunately, since you lack spiritual awareness, you're unable to see the Makai Insects." Her flat tone held no comfort at all, no sympathy, and in response my grin shrank somewhat. "Your best course of action is to hide, and convince your friends to keep off the streets."

"Great." My shoulders sagged; I couldn't help it. "I'm useless."

Kuwabara was quick to jump aboard the Boost Keiko's Confidence Train, hovering at my side to say, "No you're not, Keiko! You're really useful! You're—"

"Don't baby me. I know I'm just dead weight without powers."

The words had just slipped out, coaxed into speech by frustration and expression. Kuwabara pulled away, affronted; oh shit, Keiko, don't snap at the poor guy!

"Sorry, Kuwabara; I'm just frustrated. I didn't mean to bark." I ran a hand through my hair, peering up at him through my bangs—and he smiled to tell me all was forgiven. Feeling immediately better, I turned to Ayame. "You don't have a handy spirit energy drink I can take to grow some, do you?"

"Afraid not," she said. "My apologies."

"Figures." Taking a deep breath, I rounded on my friends and planted my hands on my hips. I'd let my feelings get the better of me before, but I did not intend to let that happen again. I raised a finger at them and declared, "Listen up, you two. I might not have a power that makes me useful, but I'm damn good at giving a pep talk when need be, and that's gotta be useful in its own way, right?"

The boys exchanged a glance, worried. I cleared my throat and they snapped back to attention, though, with twin "eeps" of fear and surprise.

"You two are all that stands between our hometown and four nasty-ass, wannabe demon kings," I said, "but y'know what? Demons ain't shit."

Ayame tittered. The boys, however, laughed. The laughter spurred me on like a kick to a horse's haunch.

"You two, meanwhile, are the shit. You stared death in its wrinkled face this summer. This is nothing compared to that." Forming a fist, I glared at them over the top of my knuckles. "So kick ass, take names, and don't let our town down, you understand me? And when you get back, there'll be dinner waiting. My treat."

Yusuke's roguish grin gave me life and cleared my skin. "Well, when you out it like that, how can I disappoint?"

"Yeah, Keiko—your cooking is motivation all its own!" Kuwabara concurred.

"I'm glad to hear it. But just in case it's not enough—if you two die, I'm marching into the afterlife and straight up murdering both of you all over again." My glare could've melted rock, I was sure. "Is that understood?"

Kuwabara let out another "Eep!" Yusuke, however, just tossed his head and laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, grandma," he said. "Y'know, you sound just like another grandma I know."

Genkai, obviously—and though the reminder we still hadn't had a chance to catch up send a spike into my gut, I shrugged it off. "You'll have to tell me all about her when you get back from kicking demon ass. Another reason to come back in one piece, eh?"

"Heh. Sure. And have we got some stories for you, in that case." He put his back to me and walked abruptly for the portal to Demon World, one hand raised in casual farewell. "Don't wait up, Keiko." But he did spare the time to throw one last grin over his shoulder. "I'll be home in time for dinner, I swear."

"I'll hold you to it," I said—and then as Yusuke started to climb in, I turned to Kuwabara. "Both of you."

His bashful smile held as much regret as my heart. "I'm sorry we didn't have more time to catch up about the summer before this happened. Crappy timing, huh?"

"Yeah," I agreed, but there was a lump in my throat that kept me from saying more.

The lump did nothing to deter Kuwabara, of course. Stepping toward me, hand hovering over my arm but not quite touching, he told me: "I have a lot to tell you, Keiko, a lot I want to talk to you about. This summer, it was…" He trailed off, but his face said everything he voice could not: this summer had been what he needed, the centered and confident cast to his dark eyes as obvious as his bleached hair. He swallowed, and he smiled, and he said, "And it's all thanks to you."

I just swatted his shoulder, though, with an exaggerated scowl. "Oh, hush. I didn't do anything. That was all you. You're amazing." I swatted him again, harder this time. "And you're going to keep be amazing until those demons try to crown you their king."

He drew himself up, chest puffing. "Demon King Kuwabara. I like the sound of that!"

"Me, too." I spun his by the shoulders and pushed him gently toward the portal. "Now go make Sarayashiki proud."

"Roger that." He reached up and closed his hand over mine, my hand caught between his and his shoulder. "You stay safe, Keiko."

"Yeah, Keiko!" Yusuke called, with one leg already hooked over the hatch and into the portal. "Don't do anything stupid!"

I glared around Kuwabara's bulk. "Who, me? I think you have me confused with someone else."

"Nah. I'm definitely talking about you!"

"Oh, really? Because I'm pretty sure being stupid is your job, Yusuke, not mine."

He rolled his eyes, but he smiled, and in his eyes glittered heartening mirth. "Ha ha, very funny. Now c'mon, Kuwabara, we don't got all day."

Yusuke swung his other leg into the hatch and sat on the edge. Shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, and then he looked over his shoulder at me—and his hand rose in a brief thumbs-up, aimed at me, eyes on mine in a way that spoke of promises kept and promises remembered.

And with that, Urameshi Yusuke began his first trip into Demon World.

Leaving me behind, alone—the first time Keiko would be left here in favor of the pull of Demon World, but certainly not the last.

"Right," Kuwabara said unaware of destiny swirling all around us. "See you on the other side, Keiko. And stay safe, yeah?"

"You, too," I said. "Good luck."

Kuwabara followed Yusuke, smiling at me with reassurance before making his own leap into the unknown. He'd joked about being the Demon King, and he had no way of knowing that fare belonged to Yusuke, not to him.

The irony made me smile, even if getting left behind stung so much.

"A touching display," Ayame said. "But like they said—do try to stay safe."

I turned to her with a scowl. "There's seriously nothing I can do to help them?"

"No. Not without spiritual sight." Her head lowered in farewell. "I must return to Spirit World. You can contact us with your mirror if anything goes awry."

I muttered an agreement, because there wasn't anything else I could say after such clear dismissal—but as Ayame walked out of the alley, something clicked. I stumbled forward with hand outstretched, calling a frantic, "Wait!"

Ayame stopped, looking at me over her shoulder. She did not speak to me, but that was just as well. I was too busy searching desperately for words to listen.

"That's it?" I said, though I knew those weren't the right words.

She quirked one thin eyebrow. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"You're just sending the boys in there…alone?" But those weren't the right words either, dammit.

"Yes. After training with a renowned spiritualist like Genkai," Ayame said, "the demons should prove no match for them."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked. "It's four against one, if I heard you right." Or four against ten, if you count Suzaku's Prism of Seven technique, but Keiko shouldn't know about that. Head shaking, because apparently I needed to be more direct than this, I said, "Look. There are two powerful demons in this city who might be of use today. Why aren't you using them?"

Those were the right words at last, it seemed. Ayame's brow furrowed, black lines on her pale brow. "And how might we do that?"

Holy hell, why was I the one having to explain this? Pushing that aside, I said, "Send Hiei and Kurama after Yusuke and Kuwabara. Kurama will do it if I ask, and Hiei…well, he'll take convincing, but maybe if Spirit World sweetens the deal…"

"What are you suggesting?" she said, affronted. "A shorter sentence?"

"Maybe. Up to you." And then I couldn't keep the most obvious question inside anymore, because what the hell was going on here? "You mean to tell me Koenma hasn't considered the possibility? Because I find that hard to believe. Why else would he keep Kurama and Hiei under surveillance if he didn't have plans for them?"

Ayame said nothing, but her chin lowered as she lost herself in thought. I did the same, truth be told. Why was I the one coming up with this plan and pressing this issue, anyway? This didn't make any sense.

Unless...

Was this the difference between Botan and Ayame?

And if the difference here was that we had Ayame instead of Botan, what the heck did that indicate about Ayame? Why in the world did Ayame not want to send Kurama and Hiei with Yusuke and Kuwabara?

Ayame finished thinking, eyes lifting back to mine with a glimmer. "Interesting."

My turn for a quirked brow. "What is?"

"You go to bat for Kurama and Hiei with such enthusiasm." Her head tilted as she studied me, a cat watching prey. "Why is that?"

I shifted from foot to foot, nervous. "Well, I've spent a lot of time with them this summer…"

"Yes. And your reports indicated a shifting in their allegiances. They could act as allies to Yusuke indeed, if your report holds true." She paused to study me a moment longer. Soon her head inclined, lips curving in a confident smile. "Then it's a good thing for you that I believe, as does Koenma, that Kurama and Hiei would be fitting additions to this mission."

Wait.

Koenma believes, present-tense? But he wasn't here, unless Ayame could talk to him inside her head somehow. But that wasn't possible, was it? When had he decided that, if Ayame was making such a big deal over the mere suggestion of sending Kurama and Hiei after Yusuke?

What the hell was going on here?

"So why…?" I said. "You…?"

Her eyes shut as she chuckled. "Truth be told, Keiko, the thought of sending those demons after Yusuke did occur to Koenma. In fact, if you hadn't said anything, my instructions were to contact both demons myself." Dark eyes opened, pools of endless, glittering shadow. "But I wanted to see how you would handle the situation, if I did not bring it up myself."

We stared at each other. My mouth opened and closed, working for words that would not come.

"You—you manipulated me," I eventually managed to grate out.

"Tested, rather," Ayame said, maddening in her calm. "But perhaps I quibble. You seem to see it as the same thing, after all." She gestured behind me, at the open hatch. "The portal to Demon World will be open until midnight. Make the appropriate calls to your demon friends, Keiko. And good luck."

And with that, Ayame left me there in that alley, the yawning portal to demon world gaping dark and heavy at my back—and in dire need of a payphone, stat.


Hiei and Kurama showed up together, little more than fifteen minutes after my call to Kurama and garbled explanation of the situation. Hiei stood with hands in his pockets off to the side as I delivered a more in-depth summary. Kurama listened with rapt attention, eyes flicking every now and again toward the portal to Demon World.

I wondered, vaguely, if the scent of it called to him—and Hiei—on some primal level, but that was a question for another day.

"I'll admit, it sounds too good to be true," he said when I finished speaking. "Spirit World isn't the type to offer mercy generously."

"Well, you have me vouching for you, and that helps."

Hiei shot me a skeptical look at that. "You vouch for us?"

"Of course I do, Hiei." I kept my tone patient, light, and open. "You're my friends, after all."

But Hiei just scowled. "Feh. Friends." He shoved off of the alley wall, all tense lines and rigid muscles. "Make no mistake, Meigo. I need no friends. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can." Patience, Keiko, patience. "But I'd like to help, anyway. Take this job, and you'll get a reduced sentence. It's a step closer to freedom."

Hiei's scowl deepened nearly into a snarl. "You work for them, and yet you wish me my freedom? Why?"

Enunciating every syllable, I said, "Because I trust you to use it wisely."

I don't think he expected that, an expression of trust from the human he'd only met a few months prior. He stared, silent, until I smiled at him.

"And I mean," I said, "it'll get you closer to Yusuke. Which in turn gets you closer to…"

I trailed off. I didn't need to specify a certain sister to Hiei—not for understanding to crystallize behind his eyes. He turned and walked away, the barest of smiles gracing his small face.

"Heh. I've been looking forward to a rematch with the Detective, anyway," he said. "Especially after all the stories you've told me about him."

The summer had seen quite a few of these stories told to Hiei over dinner, my prattle inevitably turning to my friends in this world. "I'm sure he'd be happy to oblige just as soon as the Saint Beasts fall," I said. "Just so long as they do, in fact, fall."

His dark chuckle was like a hammer against iron. "Excellent." One finger lifted, pointing at me from across the alley. "Watch your back, Meigo. It would be a shame for the only decent cook in this whole damn city died, given even with a reduced sentence, I'll be stuck here for god knows how long."

It was the only compliment he'd ever paid me, and I couldn't help but grin at its crass delivery. "Good luck to you too, Hiei," I said—and he needed no further instruction. As he took a flying leap through the portal, I turned to Kurama and said, "And to you, Kurama."

"I'd ask you to stay out of trouble, but somehow, I suspect such a promise would be made for you to break," he mused, green eyes locked on my face.

"Probably. But I can promise to be careful, at least."

"That will have to do." He stepped close, voice low and urgent. "You remember your bolt hole?"

"Of course."

"And where you hid—?"

"Which one of us is supposed to be the albatross again?" I snarked. Patting his arm, I said, "Quit the mother hen routine and go kick some ass." One of my wild, crooked grins, as proud as it was devious. "'Bout time you got a chance to show off, right?"

He didn't seem as confident, however, demurring with a mild, "Perhaps." Another step, even closer this time, enough for me to get that whiff of mint and earth he carried on the air around him. "But Kei. Be careful."

"Always am." I let myself squeeze his arm, let him cover it with his own, let myself meet his eyes and not look away from nerves and teenage embarrassment at his beauty. I told him, "Take care of them, Kurama. You're the most level-headed of the lot. Spread those albatross wings. Take care of my boys—and don't forget you're one of 'em." At that he managed a soft smile, all warmth and appreciation and maybe a touch of pleasured surprise. But I couldn't let him get away without a bit of a dig, now could I? "No gaping holes in the stomach this time, eh?"

That got him to laugh. "I will try my best to manage that."

I almost shied away when his free hand lifted, but I managed to hold still when he reached for me. The tip of his finger brushed down the length of my bangs, tucking them back and aside with touch so gentle I almost didn't feel it. The finger ghosted down my cheek and over my jaw before falling to his side once more.

He held my eyes, and I held his—a moment that stretched long into infinity, unbroken and unfathomable.

"See you again," he said.

"See you," I agreed—or promised.

I wasn't sure which.

As soon as he left, I shut the hatch behind him. I went back to the pay phone and called everyone I loved—from Kagome to my parents to my friends at school—and warned them to stay home. I'd heard bad news on the radio, I said, and everyone should lay low.

Then I ran back to my school, because I sure as hell wasn't going to lead Suzaku's asshole flunkies to my parents…and little did they know that this version of Yukimura Keiko wasn't some damsel in distress.

Little did they know that this version of Yukimura Keiko came prepared to kick some ass.


NOTES:

Well. Here we are. One year to the day this fic was released. NQK starting a new story arc as this fic starts a new year feels fitting indeed.

I'm not going to spend time talking about this chapter here. Instead I want to devote this space to all of you out there reading this. I started this fic as an escape during the death of my grandmother. I didn't think anyone would read it. And then people did, and with gusto, and here we are today.

Although I write this story primarily for myself, I do have to wonder if I'd have gotten this far into the story this fast if not for all of you. In fact, I highly doubt I would have. You have motivated me, encouraged me, and built me up in ways I can't even try to describe. I owe all of you a debt of gratitude that is indescribable.

In short, I know don't know you, but in a very real way, I love you. Thank for being there while I grieved, and for giving me something to look forward to each week...all 52 weeks this year, and all 52 chapters therein.

Here's to another year with you. I'm looking forward to every minute.

(Edit: I managed to post this to the minute I posted the first chapter last year, at 7:29 PM, and I'm SO NEEDLESSLY EXCITED.)

(And of course, endless thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter: RedPanda923, MissIdeophobia, Skylar1023, Guest, general zargon, Tsuki-Lolita, lady Rini, zubhanw3, rya-fire1, Lady Ellesmere, xenocanaan, Viviene001, EmmieSauce, Yakiitori, masqvia, Just 2 Dream of You, tatewaki2000, Counting Sinful Stars, beccalittlebear, sousie, DiCuore Allisa, Marian, Chaos the Void, Orihime-san, wennifer-lynn, tokeep your secrets, 431101134, Dreaming Traveler, Guest starring as, Kaiya Azure, kaylamarie517, Sesshomaru's Luvr, Wishless Dandylion, Khaleesi Renee, Wistful Sin, buzzk97, Guest, the Dramatic Muffin, Annie Pater, shen0, ghost under a sheet, and HereAfter.)