Warnings: None


Lucky Child

Chapter 95:

"The Lucky Ones"


Suffice it to say, when Jin showed up, I had no earthly idea what to do.

After Shizuru wrenched apart the curtains to reveal Jin in all his weightless glory, I just stood there in silence. Standing there in silence was all I could do. I had no idea what to say, and even more disconcertingly, I could feel eyes on me from all directions, witnessing me flounder. Jin's burned the brightest, of course, but it was a pair of eyes from somewhere to my left that I felt most perceptibly of all.

I refused to look at their owner, though.

Of all the things I didn't know how to say, I knew what to say to him the very least.

Eventually Jin's glittering and expectant smile couldn't be denied. Stiffly I walked toward the windows, hoping to open one and let him in, but they were sealed shut. Standard hotel safety windows, I guess. Jin frowned when I held up my hands in an 'uh oh, what now?' gesture, but soon his grin returned anew.

He lifted a finger. Pointed it upward.

"Meet me on the roof?" he called through the glass, and after I nodded, he gave a wink and shot upward, out of sight.

For a minute I held there, still. I took a deep breath. Steeled myself. Then, moving with the urgency of a statue carved of stone, I turned to face the room.

As I'd feared, Kuwabara's expression was full to the brim with hurt.

And I couldn't blame him. We'd just had a talk about how my aversion to exceptions, and along came Jin with his pretty blue eyes and flaming hair and his stupidly well-defined abs, and everything I'd promised Kuwabara got tossed out the damn window (pun intended). No wonder his jaw clenched tight as we stared at once another. No wonder his hands had buried themselves in his pockets, pillow-shield lying forgotten on the floor. No wonder his eyes radiated pure, unfiltered confusion and pain as insistently as the sun poured light into the room.

I started to speak—but what could I say? What could I do?

I tried to talk again.

"Oh dear, Keiko," Botan tittered before I could pull forth any words. "Maybe you took your playacting a little far."

My head swung in her direction. "Huh?"

Kuwabara's head swung in her direction. "Huh?"

Botan smiled at me in a pitying sort of way, caught halfway between scolding and wry humor. "I know you had to pretend to be one of Jin's fans to get his help yesterday," she said, hands alighting on her hips, "but he thinks you owe him a date!"

Hope broke through Kuwabara's pained expression like sunlight through clouds.

Hope bubbled in my chest like the beginnings of a burning geyser.

But what Botan said was not the truth, and before I could even think to let her misconception buoy me toward the shores of getting off scot-free, words burst out of my mouth.

"I… kind of do owe him a date, actually," I said, twisting the hem of my shirt between my fingertips until my nails threatened to peel away from my skin. Unable to look anywhere but the floor, I muttered, "I had a role to play, and the idea of a date came up, and saying yes was in character, so..."

"Wait." Kuwabara stepped toward me, catching my eye with a stare of unmitigated urgency. "A role to play? In character? What are you talking about?"

I gaped at him, lost for words—but Atsuko, of all people, came flying to my rescue.

"Botan ran off with all our tickets accidentally, and we couldn't get into the stadium to watch your match," she explained with a big, easy grin in my direction. "So Keiko here pretended to be one of Jin's fangirls to get him to help us. Lucky for us, she's a great actress, and he totally fell for it." Her grin got a bit more devious at that. "Quick thinking on her part, huh? She batted her eyelashes and he flew her into the stadium past the guards so she could get the tickets from Botan, easy as pie."

For a moment, Kuwabara looked elated.

"And apparently she promised him a date somewhere along the way," Shizuru intoned without emotion.

Kuwabara's elated bubble burst, hurt flooding back into his eyes in place of burgeoning hope.

"It was sort of payment for accepting his help, and I didn't think he'd come to collect!" I protested. I was too much of a softy to not at least try and make this better, so I aimed a smile at Kuwabara, though I suspect the expression came across as strained. "I'd kind of forgotten about him, actually, what with everything going on."

Kuwabara stared at me, nonplussed. "You forgot about him?"

"Yup!" A nervous laughed slipped past my lips. "This whole date thing was not part of the plan, OK? It was not supposed to happen but there was no other way to get into the stadium, and—"

"Keiko." He held up a hand; I fell silent at once. Kuwabara offered the smallest of smiles as he said, "It's OK. I think I get it."

"… you do?"

"Yeah." His hand slipped back into his pocket and out of sight. "You did what you had to so you could come see us fight." Sympathy tugged his mouth. "I bet it wasn't easy, either."

He looked sympathetic. He looked sympathetic, and I had never felt guiltier—because that was the catch. It had been easy to flirt with Jin. It had been infinitely easy, in fact. But there was no way I could say so to Kuwabara.

So what could I say?

What in the hell was I supposed to—?

He smiled as he stepped away from me and snagged his jacket off the back of the couch. "Well. You do what you need to, OK, Keiko?" he said without looking my way. He smiled at everyone else, instead. "I'm gonna hang out in my room for a while."

"Kuwabara—" I said.

He grinned. "It's OK. Because man, am I tired." He put his back to me. "Gotta rest up before tomorrow's big match…"

He left very quickly after that, wearing a brave face as he beat his retreat through the suite's front door. On instinct I started to follow him. I got as far as the kitchen when the door shut behind him, and when I got close to it, I stopped short. I stared at the door without blinking, listening as his hurried footsteps faded down the hall.

He'd said he understood that I was only going on a date with Jin because I'd had to.

He'd said he knew that I'd done what I had to do.

No matter what he said, the haunted look of pain in his eyes wouldn't leave my head.

I jumped when Shizuru put a hand on my shoulder and slipped past me toward the door. An unlit cigarette hung from the corner of her painted mouth; when she spoke, it bobbed up and down like the pulsing line of a cardiograph.

"I'll talk to him," she said. Her tone remained paradoxically bland when she snarked, "Can't have him falling apart before the semifinals."

I swallowed. "That wasn't what I wanted—"

"I know." She shrugged. "But we don't always get what we want."

"I just—I didn't think that stuff with Jin—" I looked between her and the empty window pane in the living room, pale blue sky stretching infinite into the distance. "I can just tell Jin to leave; I can just—"

"No. Don't," she said, words sharper this time. "You made a promise, right?" Her eyes pinned me like a bug under glass. "And you always mean what you say."

That was a loaded statement, I decided as Shizuru followed her brother into the hallway. It was a loaded statement, but for the life of me, I couldn't discern the subtext no matter how hard I tried. And I tried hard as I wandered back into the living room—but soon I had to abandon that line of inquiry, because the room's remaining occupants were all staring at me. I stopped short when I realized this, meeting the eyes of Botan, Atsuko and Yukina one by one.

"… what?" I asked when none of them spoke.

Atsuko rocked back and forth on her heels, a low whistle eking through her teeth. "Nothin'."

"We didn't say anything," Botan added in a hurry.

"Well. Good. I guess." I tucked a loose bit of hair behind my ear. "Um. I'm gonna go up to the roof now." Without further ado, I made a beeline for the door, but I stopped walking as quickly as I'd started. "Or, wait."

Hyperconscious of the three pairs of eyes still locked on me, I headed stiffly for the kitchen, where I packed a bag with some of the random foods we'd accumulated during our stay at Hotel Kubikukuri. Slinging the bag over my shoulder, I took a deep breath and headed back into the living room. Botan, Atsuko and Yukina had remained precisely where I'd left them.

"Well. Now I'm going." I tried not to look as completely and ridiculously awkward as I felt as I gave them… a salute? For some reason I saluted them, and I felt like a goddamn dork the whole time. Stuffing my very awkward hand into my pocket, I said, "Anyway. I'll be back soon."

Atsuko grinned and gestured at the door like a waiter in a fancy restaurant. "Lead the way."

I frowned. "What do you—?" Then the penny dropped. "Oh, no. Nope." She just rolled her eyes when I shook my head. "Not happening.

"Well, we can't very well let you run off alone, can we?" Botan said as she planted her hands on her hips. "Now, let's see. Jin said the roof, right? I think I remember seeing a stairwell on our first night here…"

She trotted out the hotel room door, ignoring my sputtered protests and affording me not even the smallest of backward glances. Atsuko grinned like a cat from Cheshire and followed, dragging Yukina with her by the wrist. Yukina shot me a look of helpless confusion as they passed, and as she and Atsuko entered the hall, I heard her say, "Atsuko?"

"Yeah, hon?"

"What's a 'date?'"

My cheeks burned scarlet at the question, but Atsuko just laughed. The door had already shut behind them, but I heard her loud and clear in the hallway beyond.

"Man, you really don't get out much," she said with a giggle. "But that's all right. We'll tell ya on the way upstairs."

Yukina said something about being grateful for her friendship.

I just groaned and dogged their steps, trailing them down the hall and up to the roof above.


Jin was waiting for me on the roof, just as he'd promised.

I saw his fiery flag of red hair, first, gleaming like a fractured ruby in the midday sun. He spun when he heard the door open; he was already grinning, and the grin only grew as he flew over to us with a gust of wind. Jin stood with the tips of his toes only barely brushing the ground as he bent at the waist and bowed, presenting with a flourish a bouquet of tiny white flowers on the ends on long, green stems.

Dirt clung to the exposed roots at the bottom of the bouquet. He'd obviously picked them himself, and the effect was as charming as his delighted smile—a fact I noted guiltily indeed.

"Ello, love," he said, beaming. "What took ya so long? Thought for a minute there you'd stood me up."

"Sorry," I said, taking the flowers with an instinctive smile. "Botan got a little turned around looking for the stairs."

"Well, it's not like I expected to have to use them!" the aforementioned said from behind me. "Normally I just fly."

Jin's eyes glittered. "Aye, now there's an idea I can get behind!" He looked Botan over for a minute, curious. "But you don't look like a master o' the wind, if ya don't mind my sayin' so."

"Oh, I should think not." Botan laughed. "I am a—erk."

She looked like a cat caught with its paw in a pitcher of cream, like she wasn't sure what to say, or like perhaps she's said too much. But Jin only laughed, and he winked.

"No need to fret," he said. "I know you're guests of the human team."

Botan blinked at Jin as wind wafted off his body, continuing to keep him aloft. I suppose confusion showed on all of our faces, because Jin laughed again before he spoke.

"Well, aside from that one over there," he said with a nod at Yukina, "you're not demons. Pretty easy to put together that humans stick with humans, natch."

Yukina's lips turned up, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Jin-san is very clever."

But I wasn't so certain. "You sure Touya didn't just tell you that?" I said, unable to keep a teasing lilt out of my voice. "He guessed I was with the human team the first time we met, after all."

Seems I was right on the money, because a hectic blush suffused Jin's cheeks. He placed a hand behind his neck, nervous laughter falling like rain.

"Now, now," he said, still laughing. "I am many things, but a liar ranks least among the number."

Botan breathed a sigh. "Well, that's a relief."

And thus his attention swung back to her again. "So what are you then? Plain as the nose on my face, you're not a demon or a human. But that leaves…"

She bit her lip… but Jin's sky-blue gaze contained not an ounce of guile, and soon she sighed and told him, "To be honest, I'm a guide to the River Styx—a shinigami."

Jin reeled back as if struck, eyes wider than before. "By the skies above. Never thought I'd meet one o' you lot." He was grinning again in seconds. "But this tournament has been a banner time for firsts, that it has. From wherever you hail, I'm glad to have met you all." And so he turned to me, grinning his breezy grin as wind ruffled the hair atop my head. "So, Keiko. Are you ready? I have quite an outing planned, if I do say so meself."

Damn, but it was impossible not to return that smile of his. "By all means. Lead the way."

Jin (still grinning, always grinning) drifted backwards across the roof. The roof of Hotel Kubikukuri stretched long away from us, ground covered in loose gravel atop the shingles shielding the structure below from wind and rain. Jin's passing disturbed the smallest bits of loose material, sending it scattering with a burst of dust, and soon he neared the edge of the roof itself. A small ledge, maybe a meter tall, barred the way between the roof and a freefall to the ground many stories below; with a draught I felt even thirty, maybe forty feet away, Jin ascended through thin air to stand atop this ledge, toes gripping it while his heels hovered unsupported above the long drop to oblivion below. Even though I knew he could fly, seeing him there put a pit in my stomach and placed a cold fluttering on the sides of my hot neck.

Smiling still, silhouetted by endless, cloud-coated blue, Jin gestured over the edge of the roof.

'Lead the way,' I'd told him—and so he was, Pied-Pipering me to the edge and beyond.

The words "No freakin' way" came out of my mouth immediately.

His smile didn't falter; if anything, it grew wider yet. "Fear not!" Jin said with a laugh. "I promise t' catch ya, lamb."

Atsuko shouldered past me. "You'd better promise to catch her," she said, almost growling behind her teeth—and when she raised her fist, the Urameshi family resemblance could not be denied. "Bring her back in one piece or we'll bust your ass so badly, this tournament will look like a kindergarten."

"And I'll help!" Botan warbled, raising a fist of her own.

He pretended to look intimidated, but the omnipresent glitter in his eye gave the deception away. "I've seen what the rest your lot can do, and I want no part of the tricks up your deadly sleeves." He dipped a frilly little bow, jaunty and humorous. "I'll harm not a hair on her head. You have my honor as a Shinobi."

It was tough to argue with a face like that. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical that my friends would dare to let me go on this little outing—but one by one they nodded, against all odds and probably against their better judgement. It was just tough to say no to a smile as wide as Jin's, not to mention his bouncing ears and the excited way he rocked back and forth on his heels atop the roof's outermost barrier. Perhaps they, too, had forgotten he could fly, and feared him falling off of the roof in a fit of shock if they were to deny our date.

Perhaps I didn't want them to deny it, looking at that smile blazing as brightly as the pale blue sky overhead.

Perhaps I didn't want to examine that sudden, unexpected thought too closely, either.

Anyway. They didn't deny our date, and when he saw them nod, his ears gave an animated bounce. He zoomed back toward us with the greatest rush of wind yet, coming to a stop cross-legged on a cushion of air. He looked me over with yet another giddy smile, eyes coming to rest on the bag I'd slung over my shoulder.

"Och, and what's this?" he said, and when I showed him, he gave a delighted laugh. "Ah—luncheon! I knew I liked you."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, pretending to be unimpressed—but I couldn't stop the tiny little thrill that speared my gut at the declaration. "Let's just get this over with." As I walked away from the stairwell access door and across the roof, I waved a hand over my shoulder. "Bye, y'all."

"Bye!" said Botan.

"Be careful!" Yukina called after me.

"But not too careful!" Atsuko was swift to add. "Cut loose and have fun, for once in your damn life!"

And with that, my friends backed into the stairwell and shut the door behind them.

Jin watched without speaking as I wandered toward the edge of the roof. Beyond the edge lay the sprawling mass of Hanging Neck Island, treetops dark as they stretched toward the distant, glimmering ocean. The waves' song reached even the roof of the hotel, albeit faintly. Above all of it rose the enormous bulk of the Hanging Neck rock itself, the colossal monument of stone for which the island had been named. It looked like the pointer finger and thumb of some massive giant spearing through the earth and into the sky, grasping and ancient and huge, fingertips beckoning the dark clouds gathering to the north. I stared at the dark grey stone in silence before closing my eyes to listen to the ocean's far-off waves, and when I found myself centered, I opened them and leaned over the railing of the roof.

Cold flashed over me.

The dizzying drop to the ground below made adrenaline buzz in my palms and the soles of my feet, dread chilling the sides of my sweating neck. It was hard not to imagine pitching myself over that edge (l'appel du vide, my old friend), but when Jin appeared at my side, all smiles and beaming looks, I realized that he'd probably catch me long before I hit the ground.

I found the notion comforting.

And I suppose that's why I didn't have to hesitate for long before giving Jin a nod. Before allowing him to scoop me up and hold me close to his chest. Before allowing him to jump to the top of the railing and stand there, hovering over that drop into oblivion—

And then he fell like a stone, and stopped falling just as quickly, and soared instead—and away we went.

I was afraid, at first. It's difficult not to feel afraid when your stomach leaps into your throat and gravity drags you inexorably downward. But the fear faded when we rose back into the sky with a rush of breeze, and his arms were strong as we glided over trees of Hanging Neck Island, the tips of their branches just barely brushing the shoes covering my curled toes. Jin flew gently and didn't make fun of me for pressing my face into his chest, hardly daring to look at the world flashing past beneath us. Through glances stolen from between cracked lids I learned that he had angled our flight out toward the water to the south, but I only realized how fast we must have been flying when water flecked my bare arms and the tang of salt filled my nose. He'd taken us over the sea, skimming along its surface before angling sharply upward. With a burst of speed (one that left my stomach in the dust) he bulleted into the sky, island growing smaller and smaller behind us as he barreled headlong for the clouds gathering grey and white above. He moved so fast I was only barely able to wonder if we'd be able to breathe at a high altitude, but I was too distracted by my frantically pounding heart to think on it with any degree of clarity. I just held my breath as the air moving so quickly past us dried out my eyes and stung my cheeks, clinging to Jin as the roar of the wind grew to a howling frenzy; I only knew we burst through the clouds when moisture beaded on my hair and eyelashes, cold and clean and smelling of rain. I blinked, vision met with nothing by murky white—and then we punched through the clouds completely and into the sunsoaked world above them.

I'd seen the tops of the clouds from the belly of a plane before. None of the hundred plane rides I'd taken in my old life could've prepared me for Jin's version of the view. Those views had been from behind glass; these clouds were close enough to touch, wisps of them nearly tangling with Jin's feet as he bore us aloft on an unimaginably gentle wind. We were so high up that my fear of heights had vanished, dwarfed into the background by the sheer distance between myself and the sea below, which meant I could appreciate the soft, diaphanous dance of the clouds as they moved past. From the ground they seemed to drift as slowly as molasses, but up close they moved with shocking swiftness, casting spotted shadows over the surface of the bright blue ocean we'd left so far behind. Sea and sky almost merged in the distance, their union prevented by naught but by the clouds, and it was all I could do to stare, slack jawed, at the airborne world Jin had chosen to share with me.

Speaking of Jin. He leaned down close to my ear, strands of his cloud-dampened hair brushing my face as he murmured, voice impossibly loud in the silence, "Do you trust me?"

I swallowed. "I think I have to, at this height."

Jin laughed. The arm beneath my knees straightened, allowing me to slip partially free. I clung to his neck, pressing my face against it was a gasp, but he just laughed again and let the arm still clasped around my waist go slack. I clung to him even more, but he reached up and tugged one of my hands free, twining his fingers through mine until we were palm to palm, fingers interlaced. His thumb traced my knuckles in slow circles, soothing and warm.

"'S'all right," he said, voice as warm as his hand. "You've nothing t' fear. Promise."

And he pulled his arm away from my waist entirely—but I did not fall. As I reluctantly dragged my last remaining arm off of his neck, I found myself floating beside him on a cushion of air, wind circling tightly around my hips and legs, bearing me aloft.

Hand in hand, we were flying.

It was inconceivable, that this was happening. It was inconceivable, and it was amazing. It was so amazing I couldn't even wonder how we were breathing, why the wind around me felt so warm despite this height, or what it would be like to plummet down to the distant ocean. I could only give a delighted laugh, unable to contain the sheer joy of it. And Jin laughed, too, throwing back his head in chorus.

"Aye, there's that smile!" His eyes were fond as they skimmed my face—just as fond as the look he gave the clouds and sky and sea a moment later. "Favorite place in all the worlds, this is."

But he looked a little sad as he gazed over the blindingly brilliant white-on-blue of this land among the clouds. I could not help but notice he'd said "worlds," plural. I didn't know what he meant, but it felt foolish not to file that wording away for future study—and it felt foolish to pry, much though I wanted to. I merely grabbed his hand a little tighter. He tore his eyes from the scenery when he felt me squeeze, and soon he gave a laugh as bright as the unfiltered sun that had turned his hair to scarlet.

He didn't say anything else. Not then, anyway. He gave me a little time more to enjoy the view before scooping me up in his arms and flying us back down through the clouds. The sun faded as we flew beneath them, shadows cold against my face—and I had to wonder if I would ever have a chance to see that strange, silent, sunsoaked land again.


Jin took me to the top of Hanging Neck Rock, next.

We sat upon its highest point. It was even bigger up close. The top was nearly fifty feet across and almost completely flat—the perfect spot for a picnic and an exclusive view of the island, Jin claimed. He wasn't wrong. We had a bird's eye view of the forest and the coast, not to mention Hotel Kubikukuri and the stadium where the first rounds of the Dark Tournament had been fought. Jin chattered away about how this was where he'd been spending quite a bit of his time as he unpacked my bag of food; I wandered away from him, exploring the rock's smooth zenith and taking a good look at the surrounding landscape. Not to mention the dizzying drop to the trees surrounding the base of the rock, of course. At once adrenaline filled my palms, and I began to wonder what it would be like to pitch myself over the edge—

"I'd catch you, y'know."

Jin's hands had stilled atop the food. He looked at me frankly, meeting my eyes with a bold, if sad sort of smile. I wasn't sure I understood exactly what he was thinking. Regardless, I walked back toward him and sat at his side, reaching for the food to help him set up our picnic.

"I believe you," I murmured as I put out plates. "But it won't come to that."

Relief softened his eyes. "A declaration I am glad to hear." He tapped a knuckle against my forehead, touch soft. "An ill wind blows 'round your head, Keiko."

It's difficult to describe interacting with Jin without delving into the sheer physicality of him. The blue eyes, the red hair and that smile all make him seem young—young enough that the defined muscles of his arms and abdomen (not to mention his sheer, looming height) don't intimidate you nearly as much as they should. He's surefooted when he walks and purposeful with every other motion, flingers moving efficiently and with grace as he continued to set up our picnic. Despite his broad shoulders and muscular build, he somehow looked small as he waited for me to reply, not crowding me with his impressive frame or even pleading with me with his baby blues.

Somehow that restraint, paradoxically persuasive, made me start talking.

I considered him for a minute in silence before heaving a sigh and muttering, "You ever have a secret?"

His ears twitched. "A secret?"

"Yeah." Eyes trained on his face, I asked, "One you keep to protect the people around you, but one that hurts them the longer you keep it?"

Jin tutted. "Doesn't seem like a very good secret to me, if ya don't mind my sayin' so."

"It's a horrible secret."

"Well. Only cure for a secret is to make it not a secret anymore." He leaned toward me with a wink. "And I'm all ears."

His ears danced, wiggling and twitching in a jaunty rhythm. I laughed in spite of myself, looking away from his returned grin with a blush.

"I just…" My head shook. "I can't. Not today. It's not time yet. Thank you for the offer, though." This was a touch more revelation than I'd wanted to share with Jin, and thus I desperately changed the subject. I twisted toward him as I asked, "So tell me, Jin. Yesterday you quoted some poetry—some human poetry. Where did you learn that?"

I didn't think it was possible for his ears to perk up any more than they already had, but he proved me wrong. "Oh, here and there and everywhere, I should think. And you knew that poetry, too, much to my delight. Where did you learn it?"

"They teach it in school. Poetry, I mean. And my uncle loved Lord Byron."

Jin exclaimed, "A man of distinguished taste!"

"Definitely." Harris had been many things, and a man of taste most certainly fit the bill. "It's just that I was under the impression that human poetry would be sort of… scarce? In Demon World, at least. But I also just don't know much about the place at all, so…"

It wasn't a lie. Kurama had been somewhat tight-lipped on the subject, and Hiei wasn't the type to indulge my curiosity without a reason. I knew precious little about Demon World despite the many demons in my circle, but Jin did appear put-off by my curiosity. In fact, quite the opposite.

"Well, you aren't wrong, or at least you aren't entirely wrong," he said through a massive smile. "Demons don't have school like humans do, for one thing. Rather, we—"

The picture he painted was in turns surprising and predictable, though always fascinating at every revelation. True to all my presumptions and fandom theories, demons valued fighting above all else, and the deeper you got into the many layers of Demon World, the less and less society possessed any sort of structure—dog eat dog rules became the rule of law. Upper layers had something resembling school, where the weaker demons congregated and developed skills other than fighting to survive. Poetry, though, was rarely on the curriculum even in these institutes of learning. Art wasn't something demons prized—not in the upper levels, and certainly not in the depths of Demon World where the Shinobi dwelled. Upper levels had some television, for instance, and some technology of similar complexity, though in lower levels the infrastructure to support things like television shows and other entertainment didn't yet exist.

Jin didn't appeared thrilled to admit that, though. He held one knee to his chest, arms locked around it, and stared moodily at the forest's sprawl. Clouds passed over us, casting shadows over his hair and eyes until they turned nearly black.

"Ours is a dark existence," he said (more to himself than to me, I think). "We have purpose, but light…" He shook his head, scowl sitting unnaturally on his face. "That is reserved for those not of our ilk."

"So the shinobi really are a secret society, sort of?" I said, trying to understand.

"Power for hire," Jin replied. "Operating from the shadows, a name whispered on the wind, contracts forged in darkness' belly… we shape the tide of Demon World's warring powers. For better or for worse. That's the shinobi way, and such it shall remain."

Jin spoke those words like a brooding, reluctant prayer. The expression didn't sit naturally upon his face. I'd known that the Shinobi (especially Touya) craved the metaphorical 'light,' and that that desire had led them to seeking foothold in Human world—but I still wasn't sure what the light truly meant to Jin. And since he wasn't volunteering that information, it felt wrong to push.

He'd let me keep my secrets. He was allowed to keep his own, too.

"Say, Jin?" I ventured.

He startled, brooding expression melting back into an easy smile. "Hmm?"

"What's next for you? After the tournament, I mean."

Jin shrugged, smile slipping. "I'll head on back to Demon World, I suppose." He breathed a sigh that felt as unnatural as had his scowl. "All of the fighters have to go back."

"Do spectators not have to go, too?"

"Aye, return to Demon World they must. But being a nameless face in a big ol' crowd affords ya certain sneaking privileges. You can fly under the radar, pun very much intended." Jin huffed. "A shinobi I might be, but sneaking just isn't in my hand o' playing cards. Right ironic, that."

His meaning clicked. "You're too high profile of a competitor to sneak off and stay behind."

"Aye." He nodded." But even if I was… Touya. He's too duty-bound and honor-abiding to stay without a win under his icy belt. He'll return to the shinobi camp and start anew, if I know him, and I'd hazard that know him well enough, I do." A smile, fond in its sadness, crossed his lips. "I can't leave him behind."

"How long have you known each other?"

Jin's expression grew wistful. "Feels like forever and a day, that it does. We apprenticed to our shinobi masters at the same time. He'd sneak me food when I misbehaved and had to sleep out in the cold, and you'd be remiss if you think I only misbehaved on rare occasion." His ears wriggled as he grinned his sunniest grin, back to his cheerful self. "My good friend, he is, and he'll want to rebuild now that Risho and Bakken and Gama…"

Clouds passed over his face. The smile faded. Blue eyes dropped to the top of Hanging Neck Rock, brewing like the storm still gathering to the north. I patted his back without thinking, rubbing my palm in small circles between his shoulder blades. His skin burned hot against my own, like the grief churning in his eyes had given birth to a boiling fever.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, "for what it's worth."

But he gave a sharp nod at the apology. "No," he said, voice steady and firm as the stone beneath us. "We each knew the risks of fightin' in the tournament long afore we started. Their sacrifice was theirs to make, and I will respect it for their sake." Jin shook like a dog clearing water from its ears, and when he stilled, he was smiling again. "But it's not all a loss, and lady luck has smiled on ,e. Lost in the fights, sure, but I've got more than a few wins under my belt as a result o' this tournament, that I do."

"What do you mean?" I asked, shifting toward him in curiosity.

"Well." He shifted toward me, too. "Among other things… I met you, didn't I?"

When he leaned in, intention obvious, I dodged away with a hurried laugh, ears and cheeks suffused with heat. "Charmer."

He didn't look at all bothered that I'd pulled back; he just laughed. "You were fibbin' with me yesterday, actin' the part of a giddy little fangirl." A wink. "But I'll steal a kiss yet, dontcha worry."

"Charming and brazen," I said, somehow avoiding a stutter.

"Aye," he said, looking absurdly pleased with himself. "You'll hear no denial about that from me, honest."

Feeling like I'd explode if the subject didn't change, now, I cleared my throat. "So meeting me was a win. What else? You said there were other things."

"Many, in fact! Getting t' see Human World. Getting t' see the sky." He inhaled, eyes closing as his muscular chest rose, wind tossing his hair against his nape and shoulders. Light glinted off his pearlescent horn, dazzling in its purity. "The air here is so fresh. Nothing like Demon World. And the sky goes on forever—endless, burning blue."

His eyes blazed when he opened them again, burning blue themselves, and something in their starry nature brought to mind the poetry he'd quoted. For him to have memorized poetry was beyond my expectations, and it led me to a certain observation: "You've been wanting to visit Human World for a while, I take it?"

"Oh, ages, really," Jin agreed. "Ages and ages."

"Is it really so different from Demon World?"

"Aye. That it is." The statement sparked something in him, something that made him turn to me and sit cross-legged, hands braced on his knees, features set into a mask of almost comical determination. "And now that I have you here, I have questions that demand answers!" He leaned in so close, I thought he was trying to kiss me again, but he wasn't. He stared at me nose-to-nose to ask, "Tell me everythin'. Do your kin really not fight to stay alive? Do all children go to school? Tell me about machines that fly and poetry from far-flung places, and those little doo-dads that people wear on their fingers when they burn 'em on a stove—"

It took a few clarifying question to discern that he was talking about Band Aids.

In my defense, Jin talked a mile a minute like a giddy kid, rambling off questions about all manner of bizarre Human World stuff he'd been wanting to know about for a very, very long time (though how long, exactly, he did not say). He'd never really had anyone to talk to about it, aside from Touya, who wasn't actually all that interested in humanity to begin with; Jin was one of the few Human World-otakus around, was my understanding. Jin was hungry for intel, grilling me about all the rumors he'd heard regarding the kind of technology humans used to supplement their physical strength as well as their day-to-day lives. He knew precious little about the various cultures scattered across the Human World, and he paid rapt attention as I explained the differences between some of them—namely America and Japan, because those were the two places I'd lived during my collective lives.

From what I could gather, Jin didn't much about Human World apart from the scant poetry collections he'd accumulated ("Ruddy expensive, they were!") and the many rumors floating about that he'd painstakingly gathered ("Bloody hard to find, they are!"). He was basically an otaku before there was internet, satisfying his curiosity and obsession on little more than scraps. It's no wonder he'd been fascinated by the TV in his team's hotel suite, changing channels ad infinitum until Risho took away the remote and locked it in a block of stone out of sheer annoyance. Jin made me recite all the poetry to him that I could and he begged for tales of human achievement and art, drinking the knowledge in like a wide-eyed kid inhaling candy on Christmas morning.

As I spoke, regaling him with every last scrap of information I thought he'd find interesting, I found myself wishing I had pictures of things to show him. I wished we had a library to browse or a museum to stroll, or at the very least a smartphone so I could Google things on his behalf. I even caught myself thinking that perhaps Kagome was right and that we should indeed invent Google, if only so that if another moment like this arose at the side of a curious demon brimming full of questions, I wouldn't be so woefully unprepared.

Not that any of that mattered to Jin. His eyes widened and then grew wider still, huge and blue and bright against his warm copper skin as I told him all about my daily life and family. He seemed particularly interested in my school life, hanging on my every word as I described the process of choosing a college or a vocation and (hopefully one day) pursuing your life's work.

"Och, to have such choices set before you!" he groaned when I stopped for breath. He threaded his fingers through his hair and kicked out his feet as he flopped down onto the stone. "Oh, how I envy you, dear Keiko. The whole wide world spread long and broad 'neath your reaching hands, and all you have to do is stretch out and grasp it." His hands slapped the rock, spread-eagle. "What a life!"

"Yeah," I said, gathering my knees to my chest. His fascination with all that I considered ordinary was oddly humbling. "I guess that is pretty cool."

"Not like the Shinobi life at all," he continued with a sigh. "My lot was cast when I was but a little demon no higher than your knee, given to the Shinobi as payment for a job well done. But you—" (here he sat up, eyes gleaming as he leaned in toward me, grin enormous and full of very sharp teeth as well as cheer) "—you can be anything, do anything, go anywhere. That's why we wanted this island for our own, to hold that freedom in our hands, but you were born right into that realm of possibility. And you—hm?"

Jin paused, head whipping westward; he was on his feet a moment later, shielding his eyes against the sun as he peered into the distance.

"By the wind n' rain," Jin murmured, "I swear I could sense…"

Although he had just said something quite fascinating about being given to the Shinobi as a child, I put my questions aside (for the moment) and looked west. The pale blue sky had started to turn pink as the sun began its descent, clouds streaked with gold and rose above the dark green bulk of the forest. For a moment I thought one of the trees rose taller than the others, but when the dark shape billowing against the horizon rose higher and higher still, I realized it was no tree. It was a column of dust, dark grey and undulating, staining the pale colors of the infant sunset with chalk as it rose from the forest and into the late afternoon sky.

"Urameshi?" Jin said in disbelief, still staring at the dust cloud. "That felt like Urameshi's energy! I'd know the feel of that breeze anywhere, and—"

The trees near the cloud shook, so distantly my eyes at first thought the movement a trick or a mirage. But then another cloud burst from the trees, billowing upward like a rocket soaring into flight. This cloud dwarfed the first, rising with unnatural speed to dance with the wind beside its smaller brother. Jin gasped, hand dropping limp to his side as he stared in wide-eyed amazement at the dust.

"That wasn't Urameshi," Jin muttered in disbelief. "But who—?"

I knew who. I knew exactly who it was, even without Jin's ability to sense the energies of other fighters. Those clouds were no doubt the product of Yusuke and Genkai getting into a pissing match over blowing up gigantic rocks—and Genkai was no doubt winning. Which meant my prediction about the day's events, at least as far as Yusuke was concerned, was coming true.

Thank my lucky stars…

Uncurling, I stretched my legs across the rock and leaned back on my hands, face tilted upward to inhale the warm wind as it breezed past. Jin looked down when he heard my contented sigh, one red brow arching high beneath the curtain of his hair.

"Yusuke," I said, gesturing at the dust clouds, "is about to undergo a test."

Jin blinked at me. "A test?"

"Yes," I said, grin lazy and relaxed. "And he'll be stronger if he passes."

Jin looked more than a little bewildered by this proclamation, although his crystalline gaze didn't hold any trace of doubt. "As strong as that second fighter?" he said, sinking to the stone beside me. "The one I sensed just now?"

"Stronger," I said, and at his stunned silence, I told him: "Strong enough to win the whole Tournament."

Jin is something of an open book, shock morphing to excitement and then to joy in an handful of instants—and then he just looked peeved, crossing his arms with a huff and a slouch.

"Pity, that," he grumbled, lower lip thrust outward. "Pity that I won't be able to stay for a rematch, I mean!" Jin grumbled and thrashed in place, sharp eyeteeth showing like porcelain needles. "Blast this bloody tournament! It gives you but a taste of what this world can offer and then rips it away like so much shoddy tailoring!"

My instinct was to apologize, but something told me that would only depress (or rile) Jin more. Instead I nudged him with my elbow and grinned, saying, "I guess that's what you get for being so strong, huh? No flying under the radar for you and all that."

"Oh, to be a nameless face in a crowd full of them!" he agreed, grinning again himself. "Alas, such is not to be. Tis all I can do to make the most of what time in the light remains here in the Human Realm." His look turned sly, mood shifting like the wind. "Despite it all, I do count myself among the lucky ones, that I do."

My heart leapt into my mouth. "Oh?"

"Aye." He winked. "I have you to spend that time with, after all."

He leaned toward me again—but before I could decide to pull away and or let him lean closer still, the decision was made for me. A strange sound, a whup-whup-whup that sounded like a drumbeat of thunder, ensnared my attention with a start. Jin and I looked up and southward as the sound drew near to find a dozen dark dots against the sky, small but getting bigger by the second. In a moment they grew big enough to make out, and Jin gave a delighted laugh.

"Helicopters!" he said. "And t'hear I thought this day couldn't get any better!"

Jin watched them closely as they neared, flying only a little higher than our vantage point from south to north, into the storm clouds gathering there that lit up from within with pale blue lightning. These were mean-looking helicopters, with twin sets of rotaries and shiny black fuselages resembling carapaces of flying beetles. Although Jin laughed as they passed us, my heart thudded heavily against my ribs, worry buzzing in the back of my head as insistently as the copters' engines. The tournament backers heading to the new stadium across the island, if I had to guess. All of the next fights would be held in that new, more sinister-looking stadium, the final fights looming like the helicopters passing overhead.

I turned back toward Jin to tell him that, and I found him right where I left him—and he kissed me before I could say a word.


We got back to the hotel perhaps later than I'd intended. The sun had gone down by the time Jin deposited me on the hotel roof, anyway, where he kissed my hand and vanished into the velvety night sky with the promise to see me again quite soon. We'd lingered on the Hanging Neck Rock for a lot longer than I'd planned, but as I descended the stairs into the interior of Hotel Kubikukuri, I found I didn't much mind.

I'd had a nice time, after all.

A very nice time.

But there was no way in hell I wanted to talk about a single aspect of it with anyone, because there was no doubt in my mind that Botan would ask a million awkward questions and Atsuko would make fun of me and since I was a bad liar and they'd probably figure out that I was hiding something when my face inevitably turned the color of a tomato—which it no doubt would, because I'd had a very nice time, and I blushed every time I thought about it.

And that would no doubt break a certain heart waiting for me in our hotel suite.

Or was he waiting in the boys' hotel suite?

Aw, crap…

Upon reaching the top floor of the hotel, I boarded the elevator—and, not knowing where to go, I pressed both the button to the boys' floor as well as the girls', but I disembarked at neither option. I just sat there in the elevator car once the doors closed, staring at my reflection in the polished wooden panels adorning the walls until someone else called for a car and it began to descend. It lowered all the way to the ground floor lobby, where the doors slid open with a soothing chime.

Standing there, waiting for the elevator, I found Kurama.

We spotted one another in unison, and we stared at each other in twin states of silent surprise until the elevators doors swung shut. Kurama thrust out an arm and held them open, though, so we could stare at one another some more.

"And where have you been?" we said at the same time.

Kurama cleared his throat. "I… took a walk."

"For—" I checked my watch; my brows shot up. "—for ten hours?"

Kurama glared like a displeased schoolteacher. "And may I inquire as to how you spent said hours, Kei?"

I made a face. Kurama made a face. He got onto the elevator and pressed the button for his floor without a word, disembarking in equal silence to head for his hotel suite. I followed on reflex, but as the elevator doors closed behind me, I hesitated. Kurama stopped walking at once, lines of a frown marring his forehead. When I fidgeted beneath his stare, he turned with a shrug down the hallway again.

"Is anyone in there?" I blurted, and he stopped walking again to look my way. "In your suite, I mean."

"No." He spoke without an ounce of hesitation. "They're in your suite."

Kurama headed down the hall again, not bothering to wait for me. I watched his retreating back in silence, piecing things together before I followed. Judging by his immediate answers (not to mention his earlier evasive one), he'd already determined that his suite was empty—which meant, perhaps, that he was avoiding people just like I was. Perhaps he was even avoiding the same people, albeit for very different reasons. In spite of my suspicions, however, I knew better than to pry. Even though I was dying to know his thoughts about his mom and Kuwabara's dad dating one another, Kurama did not take to prying kindly.

I found him standing by his suite's windows, moodily overlooking the glimmering aquamarine pool in the courtyard several stories below. Or at least I think he was moody; he didn't greet me or anything, which seemed moody, but I could see nothing beyond the barest reflection of his face against the glass as I sat on the couch in the middle of the room. His expression was impossible to read on the best of days, let alone in the reflection of dark glass…

"Hey. Can I ask you something?" I said, lifting a knee so I could curl my arms around it. Kurama gave me the barest of nods, not bothering to turn around. "How do demons age?"

That got him to turn, if only his head so that he could point one green eye at me. "What brought this on?"

I shrugged. "I hung out with Jin today for a little bit."

"Define 'a little bit.'"

I made a face.

"Because the past ten hours," he said after pointedly checking his watch, "hardly qualifies as 'a little bit.'"

My eyes rolled. "Shut up and tell me how old you think he is, and don't say something snarky about how you can't do both at the same time."

That finally got a smile out of him, even if it was absolutely tiny. "Fine," Kurama said, turning back to the window. "He's older than he looks, at least by human standards. If I had to guess, he's likely less than 100 years old, but older than 60. He has the physical and emotional development of a particularly mature seventeen-year-old human, however." Kurama's shoulders rose, shrug elegant and subtle. "But given that demons age at a variety of rates, that is merely conjecture on my part."

My arms relaxed a bit, knee separating from my chest. Keiko was fifteen, and this age difference wasn't the worst—if you looked at it in terms of equivalent development, at least. I'd dated a seventeen-year-old when I was fifteen in my first life, and so long as I didn't think too much about Jin's literal age, making out with him didn't strike me as too squicky… or maybe I was just trying to rationalize the fact that I'd made out with a demon. Wow, shit like dating sure got weird when slow-aging wind demons flew, quite literally, into the mix…

Kurama cleared his throat. He'd lifted his head, a shaft of light reflecting off the window and onto his upturned face. He stared at my reflection in the glass, our eyes meeting indirectly, and in his I could read no emotion whatsoever. Typical for Kurama, but still. The sight put a slight tremor in my stomach, little winged things flitting up my throat.

"Did anything happen between the two of you?" Kurama said.

It was not an accusation. His voice held no particular tone. Sphinxlike, inexplicable, indifferent—Kurama's internal workings were as mysterious to me as demonic aging, his mask as impenetrable as stone.

I had to wonder what he was trying to hide.

But instead of asking about that, I tried to look casual, and I said, "Why do you ask?"

"Am I not allowed to show concern for a friend?" Kurama said.

I sighed—and because it was Kurama, I decided to tell him the truth. Better talk about this to someone than to have the facts spill out to someone else… though I spared him the gory details. There are things even close friends sometimes would rather not know.

"Nothing happened that I wouldn't hesitate to tell my mother about, if that's what you're asking," I said. "Does that answer your question?"

Perhaps it did. Perhaps it didn't. It was hard to say, although his face did flicker, mask slipping just enough to reveal—something. Relief, maybe? Approval? Or was it disappointment? I really wasn't sure. But the frown he sported a moment after was recognizable enough.

"Perhaps I'm being presumptuous," Kurama said, "but a date with a demon isn't the smartest stunt you've ever pulled."

"Ouch," I said, wincing. "But whoever said it was a date?"

"I should think the subtext is rather obvious," he said, voice monotone—but his inflection changed to amusement when he added, "And Jin said a few choice things to Yusuke during their tournament bout."

I say up very straight. "He what?"

"He alluded to not being able to lose the fight because 'lady luck' was on his side." Kurama shrugged again—an unusual sight in the normally articulate fox. "His wording was somewhat obvious even before he said that he had a date with the aforementioned 'lady luck' and was hoping to win to impress her."

This was, of course, news to me. Carefully I told Kurama about what had led to going on my date with Jin, watching his too-neutral face as he considered what I had to say. Eventually his face lowered, swimming in shadow once again.

"Still," he said. "I'm surprised you agreed to his terms, given your convictions to remain romantically unfettered." Kurama paused. "Why did you agree to it, while we're on the subject?"

I shrugged. "I'm not one to break a promise. 'I mean what I say' and all that."

Green glittered out of darkness. "Is that truly the only reason?"

It wasn't.

But I didn't know how to say that.

Luckily Kurama allowed me time to reflect. He didn't push. He probably knew he didn't need to. He only stood there, face in shadow, and waited for me to gather my thoughts and speak. The process took longer than I'd like to admit—but it was complicated, putting my subconscious into words.

Complicated, and cathartic, and soon the words flowed free.

"Jin… is an easy person to get along with. Very easy," I said, holding my leg a little tighter. "Jin is a sunny day. No clouds. All sunshine. I could use some of that in my life. Especially now."

Kurama didn't react.

"But, more than that… He has absolutely zero expectations of who I'm supposed to be, or even of who I am," I said, finding the words one by eventual one. "And I have very few expectations for him in return."

Kurama shifted on his feet. "Can you elaborate?"

I told Kurama: "Keiko and Jin never met in the legend. Not properly, anyway."

Kurama's face lifted again. Surprise registered in the depths of his green eyes, but I kept speaking before he could ask more questions. He didn't need to ask. I knew what he'd want me to explain.

"Keiko and Jin had one single interaction, in a group setting, and their paths diverged forever," I said, watching the wheels turn behind Kurama's gaze. This was likely the most I'd ever talked about the events in the 'legend' of Yu Yu Hakusho, and I could see him processing it like a supercomputer crunching numbers. "They met only once, and unless I fight for it, after the Tournament ends, Keiko will never see him again." I smiled a bit sadly, a bit wistfully. "With Jin, there's no pressure, no expectation, no threat of derailing everything thanks to one unscheduled date. There's freedom."

Kurama processed this, as he had processed so much else. I leaned back into the couch's fluffy cushions, sinking deeper into them as I sighed.

"So… one date." I lifted a hand, index finger raised. "One afternoon with no strings, no pressure, no worries. Just a fun person who wants me to have a nice time and maybe steal a kiss here and there." I cracked a smile like some people crack jokes. "I think I'm allowed that much every now and again. Right?"

Kurama did not reply. For once that evening, he hesitated. But soon he pivoted away from the window, perching beside me on the very edge of the couch so he could place a hand—lightly, gingerly, so softly I barely felt it—atop my knee. Patted it once. Nodded twice.

"I agree," he said at long last. "You are allowed that much." And then he stood, and he headed for the door to his bedroom. "And if you'll excuse me, we have an early match tomorrow. Good night."

I was on my feet just as his hand touched the doorknob. "Wait—Kurama?"

He held still, but he didn't look at me. "Yes?"

"If you want to talk about what happened with you today…"

Kurama shook his head before I could even finish asking.

He said, "Not yet."

He told me, "Goodnight, Kei."

And he went into his room and shut the door behind him.

That night, I waited in the stairwell until I heard Kuwabara go back to his suite, and I waited outside my suite door until I heard my friends bid one another goodnight. I waited another hour, still, before crawling into my bed in the dark, lying with eyes wide open as the grip of sleep closed its fingers softly around my dreams.

As I fell asleep, I wondered if Yusuke was all right. He was out there absorbing the Orb, getting stronger at the cost of Genkai's power.

I just hoped that it would be enough for him to weather the storms approaching.

I just hoped he would be strong enough to absorb the Orb as he was meant to.

And I just hoped my own strength would be enough, too—because although my time with Jin had been good for my mental health, tomorrow the fights would begin anew.

That thought normally would've scared me.

But that night, I wasn't scared at all—and for that, I was a lucky one, indeed.


NOTES:

Merry Christmas Eve-Eve, and happy third birthday to LC as of 12/23!

Well… THAT hiatus took longer than I wanted. But I haven't had a legit weekend since August (yes, really) so I didn't have much of a choice, TBH. Between traveling at least once a month to buying a house (!) to moving to having my plumbing basically explode (IT WAS HORRIBLE) I have been SWAMPED. But I'm very glad to be back and want to get back on a posting schedule ASAP. Details about that next time.

I know what Kurama wanted to say but didn't say. I'll tell y'all eventually. ALSO I think Yusuke mentioned liking Jin a lot to the others and that's why they didn't stop Kei from going on her date. Yusuke approves so they approve, basically… although I don't think Yusuke understood that Keiko was who Jin was talking about during their match…

There are two omakes for this chapter; keep an eye on "Children of Misfortune" in the coming weeks to read 'em.

While I was gone, I posted more Daughters of Destiny content and wrote an entire, 31-chapter LC-centric drabble series (Written in Ink). I encourage y'all to check both out. Daughters of Destiny in particular is getting to its climax.

Let's hope the next chapter takes just a week or two, and thanks so much to these cool cats for dropping by with a review, which kept me motivated while I was gone (seriously, this is for y'all, because I probably wouldn't be here without you): Thornsilverfox, IronDBZ, YomuHime, Baoh joestar, xenocanaan, Xion the XIV, YourHomeGirlJen, A Wraith, shen0, Domitia Ivory, MyWorldHeartBeating, rya-fire1, WhatWouldValeryDo, C S Stars, XTakaX27, Blaze1662001, cestlavie, Sorlian, Kaiya Azure, RedPanda923, WaveMasterYami, WaYaADisi1, Konohamaya Uzumaki, Call Brig On Over, EdenMae, NightlyKill, BuymeBalenciaga, Pelawen Night, SterlingBee, MetrokNeko, temper4, tequilamockinbur, LightningAsh, McMousie, StrawberryHuggles, Kykygrly, Ally Kenshin, tammywammy9, Viviene001, Arkytior's Song, Neko-Mistuko, buzzk97, Irina Hunter, LadyEllesmere, Mmyk, general zargon, Shay Guy, Vixeona, CrazyWill71, Yume, PenguinBandit523, mothedman, Kemii, iWasDamned, Ignis76, EmptySpot, sousie, read a rainbow, marshmallow96, le-maru, AngorMike, Chibi12Devi, Deus Venenare, CrystalAris, AJKitKat alexandria530 and like half a dozen guests with no names who are AWESOME! YOU'RE ALL AWESOME AND I LOVE YOU SO STINKIN' MUCH!