We reappeared by the well and all linked hands to jump through. We climbed out and I ran to my yard and I straight to the door. My mom answered and I hugged her tightly. "I've been homesick." I muttered to her shocked face. "What's today's date?"
"July twenty eighth." She responded slowly.
"Really? Then isn't the concert tonight?" I exclaimed. When she didn't reply right away I continued. "Is dad home?"
At the mention of him my dad popped from around a corner. "Yes?" He asked.
"Dad, is there the concert tonight?" I questioned.
"Oh, you're still planning on going?" He asked. At my shocked face he burst out laughing. "Yes, I have four tickets. Want to call a friend?"
"Yes!" I cried before running into the house. Dialing Alison's number into the phone I called her and came back beaming. "We're going to pick her up and all go tonight." I smiled.
"What are you talking about?" Hiei asked.
"A concert." I replied. "I'm going and you can't keep me from it!"
"Want to bet?" Hiei smirked.
"Please don't. I really want to go! After I'll start training again." I whimpered and slowly Hiei backed off again. I turned towards my dad. "It's still early. Can we go get this film developed? I've been through a lot lately and took a lot of pictures."
"Later." My dad said before going back inside.
I followed him and sat in front of the computer. I went straight to my website and started typing up an entry:
Hey everyone! Miss me? Or maybe you're glad this crazy psycho girl is gone? Well too bad because I'm back again! Mwahaha! Hehe, at least for tonight. I'm back from Japan to go to a concert with my dad, brother and my friend Alison. It's gonna be awesome! Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd and 3 Doors Down. I can't wait! We're going to pick up my friend and then head over there soon. Oh, and when I get a chance I'll start a story that will say everything I've done since the night that the two men came into my room and saved my life. Would you like that? Of course you would! And the cool part is that it will all be one hundred percent true and accurate. Whoo! Hehe, and I took a lot of pictures too. I'll post one a day as soon as I get them developed, ok? If I have time that is. So… I'll cya later!
I hit the update button and went into the playroom to bug my brothers and sister but was immediately tackled by Jack. After several hours spent taking a shower, changing and doing nothing, I found my mom and gave her Kurri to watch over while I was gone. "Thanks." I said as I went out the door after my dad and brother.
I jumped as someone caught my arm and turned to see Hiei. "What are you doing?" I asked. "You're going to make me late!"
"I'm having second thoughts…" He muttered. "How will people react to you?"
"They'll think I'm a crazy fan girl." I teased. "But now that we're here I'm not missing it. I haven't done anything normal in months! I should get at least this one day break." He nodded and released me so I could hurry and jump into the car.
"She's right." Kurama said as he, Yusuke and Kuwabara came up behind Hiei. "She's been through much for a teenage girl and she's handled it all quite well. It is time she had a break to do something normal." With a soft grunt Hiei walked away slowly.
Meanwhile, we had just arrived at Alison's house. I jumped out of the car and Nick got in the front as I went to her door. She ran out and we both jumped into the back. The entire ride was spent with me explaining to Alison why I looked so different and where I had been the past few months. In almost an hour we made it to the place and found it totally packed with cars. Before concert music was playing as we all downed sodas quickly before walking in with towels in hand. It had been raining so the ground was still very wet and we had grass seats.
As I walked through the crowds to stand in line, I could feel many stares boring into my back but tried my best to ignore it. We made it inside and Alison and I immediately started looking at the concert t shirts. Not getting anything yet we followed my dad up the stairs to the grass where we found an empty patch and laid our towels down to save it.
After several minutes of waiting Alison said she was hungry so Nick and me followed her back down the stairs where she got a pretzel. They had closed off the way we had come from so we ended up having to go all the way to the other side of the place and then coming all the way back. As I was walking I felt someone pull my tail and turned to glare at a boy around my own age. "Back off!" I yelled at him and he threw his hands up and backed away. With one last glare at him I went with Alison and Nick to where my dad sat waiting.
Puddle of Mudd had started playing while we were gone so we just caught the last couple songs. We laughed as they played She Hates Me and got the crowd to sing along loudly. Shortly after they stopped and the band left the stage. We waited for over twenty minutes for Nickelback to take the stage before standing up to cheer again. They were awesome! It was growing dark so they had flames and fireworks shooting off. They played Hero, which is the theme to Spiderman as well as a song from Metallica. The final song, Figured You Out, played and everyone sang along and cheered wildly as they left the stage. Several minutes later 3 Doors Down set up and came out and everyone started screaming. They played many songs but during Here Without You everyone got out their lighters and started waving them because it was a war song. It looked really cool in the dark though.
Finally they finished and we all started to leave. Alison and I bought t shirts on the way out. Mine was Nickelback and hers was 3 Doors Down.
Eventually we made it through the crowds of drunken people and back to the car. The drive home was spent listening to my Nickelback CD though it sounded weird because we had just seen them live. We made it back to Alison's house and dropped her off before heading back to our own. I took a quick shower to get ride of the smell of cigarettes that was making me sick and dove into my bed for the first time in weeks.
"Get up!" I was woken up the next morning to a sudden prodding in my side and a harsh voice.
I groaned and rolled over, snuggling into the blankets. "Just a bit longer…" I sighed. I jumped as someone grabbed my shoulder and rolled me back over to face him. It was Hiei, glaring at me.
"You've skipped enough training, time to start up again!" He yelled.
"But I…" My voice faltered under his sharp glare and I muttered to myself as I got up and he left while I changed. I emerged from my room, coming face to face with him and he took my by the wrist and pulled me down the stairs. "Wait!" I yelled as I pulled away. "Are we going back to Japan already?" Hiei nodded. "Can I at least say goodbye first?" I muttered and he nodded again." Quickly I spread through the house, seeking out each member of the family and wishing them well before leaving. I asked my dad to develop my film as a last thing before I grabbed up my camera and sword and followed Hiei out the door. Yusuke and the others were waiting outside already.
Kuwabara snickered at my bed tossed hair but quickly stopped when I glared at him, still half asleep. I jumped when something leapt onto my back but smiled when I realized it was just Kurri. "Hey there." I whispered to him as I brought him around to rest in my arms. I turned towards the others. "Ok, I guess I'm ready." I said reluctantly.
Yusuke smirked and held out his arm as we all took a hold and typed in the coordinates. A swirling wind enveloped us and we disappeared from sight.
Landing softly in Yusuke's yard, Hiei took my wrist and immediately started pulling me in the direction of the woods where we trained. Kurama chuckled as Yusuke and Kuwabara joked about us.
"Why are you being so mean?" I whimpered as Hiei still pulled me roughly forward. Instead of answering, he just picked up the pace so we were moving too fast for the humans in the park to see us as we sped past. A couple minutes later and we were deep in the forest.
Hiei finally decided to let me go and I stumbled back away from him, rubbing my wrist, which had a red handprint around it. "Look what you did!" I yelled at him but he just glared.
"Draw your sword." He ordered, taking out his own.
Setting Kurri down away from the action, I unsheathed my blade and faced Hiei. Without warning he charged forward and my eyes widened in surprise at the metalic clank that sounded. He sprang away and then came at me again, nicking my arm with his blade. I yelped but before I could recover he came at me again, resting the blade against my neck. "You just lost your head." He muttered.
I stumbled back, resting against a tree. "What's your problem?" I screamed at him.
"These demons are going to be strong, don't let yourself be unprepared!" He spat back as he charged again.
Our blades clashed and I shot my hand out, catching his wrist and twisting it so he'd drop his sword. I held mine pressed against his side and yelled at him, "What is wrong with you today?" Instead of replying he took a swing at me but I dropped my sword as well and caught his hand again. "I asked you a question!" I snarled.
"I thought you were gone…" He muttered.
I released him in surprise. "What?"
"When he sent you away, I thought you weren't coming back! You were weak enough to let him send you away and jeopardize our entire mission!"
I was momentarily caught off guard but quickly recovered. "Is that all you care about? That stupid tournament? They haven't even taken someone you care about and it's still all that matters? Yusuke and Kuwabara have good excuses to be worried, you just want to brag about how strong you are!" Tears sprang to my eyes and I sank down were I sat, silently crying.
Hiei stared at me in surprise for a moment before crouching in front. I didn't look up at him so he went to my side and gently bandaged my cut arm instead. "I'm sorry." He muttered.
"I tried to fight him, Akumei." I whispered. "I tried to escape but he locked my spirit energy inside so I couldn't get to it. You saw me after I transformed too. It's not like I went along with it… It was so scary, going into all those different places and not knowing anyone or what would happen next. I always came at the worst times too. The last thing I saw was someone killed right in front of me and I couldn't do anything! He saved my life when I was too weak to even move and I just sat there and let him die!"
Hiei watched me quietly as I sat there crying and whispering to myself. Hesitantly he placed a hand on my cheek and lifted my face up. "It's ok, I'm sure it wasn't your fault." He assured me.
"But he shot him right in the face and I watched it all!" My eyes widened at the memory and I burst into a new wave of tears and clung to Hiei, crying into him. At first he began to shove me off but instead thought better of it, seeing how distressed I was. Hesitantly he placed his arms around me and tried to help me calm down. After a few minutes I pulled away and turned to my side, my face red. "I'm sorry…" I whispered.
"It's ok." Hiei muttered. "Do you want to get started again?"
I nodded and picked up my sword as he did his and we ran at each other again. This time he went easier on me, it was very obvious but I was a little out of practice so I didn't mind. After a few more hours, Kurama showed up asking us to come back.
He came to my side and looked me over. "You're hurt." He said sympathetically.
I laughed slightly. "It's fine. Part of training is learning to take a hit."
Kurama smiled and took me by the hand, leading us back. Hiei started to follow, jumping as something leapt on his shoulder. It was Kurri, snuggling against him. With a slight smirk, Hiei took Kurri in his arms and followed us slowly.
"Kira!" I was smothered by Botan's hugs as I approached the house. It had been several weeks since I had last seen Botan and she had apparently become very nervous. "It's been so long, I'm glad you're ok!"
I laughed. "It's good to see you too Botan." I smiled before she led me inside. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Botan, Hiei and me all ate a quick lunch before I followed Kurama back to the woods for some training on using my spirit energy. I showed him how I had learned to make the full body shield and how I could use it to float into the sky.
"Very good." He laughed. "Have you applied it to a fight yet?"
I nodded triumphantly. "Yep, and I won!" I smiled happily.
Kurama nodded. "Well, are you ready to train?" I nodded and the battle started with Kurama using his rose whip against my spirit sword. We worked on my ability to make an instant shield that would appear as soon as I needed it and fade away right when I was done so I could attack quickly. After a while it became dark and Kurama smiled. "Let's call it a day?" He asked and I nodded as well before letting my sword disappear.
"Am I doing good?" I asked.
"Exceptionally well." He replied.
"Well enough to last in the tournament by myself?"
Kurama paused and smiled down at me. "No, but you're getting there. I can guarantee that you'll be ready by the time it starts."
"Ok." I replied happily as we walked back to the house.
The following several weeks passed by quickly with my training switching between sessions with Kurama and Kuwabara, Hiei, and Yusuke every few days. Basically I woke up, went out to train, had a snack, went to train, had dinner, went to train, and got a few hours of sleep before having to wake up and start it all over again.
One day I was checking my email when I got one from my mom saying school was starting on the twelfth of August. I checked a calendar and found that it was already August eighth. At lunch I brought it up when it was just me and Kurama in the room. "Hey Kurama?" I began.
"Yes?" He asked, looking up.
"Is there any way I could maybe go to at least my first day of school?" Before he could interrupt I continued. "I mean, I'd wear and hat and everything but I miss my friends and everyone back home."
Kurama stared at me for a moment before smiling. "I think it'd be ok. You shouldn't try to hide it though but instead let them see the real you. I don't think they'd mind."
"Really?" I cried. Kurama nodded and I grinned widely. "Thank you!" I squealed as I hugged him. "When can we leave?"
"How about right now? You need a chance to get ready." Kurama suggested.
"Yeah!" I exclaimed but then paused. "What will the others say?"
"About what?" Yusuke asked. He had walked in the door as soon as I said that.
I remained silent so Kurama answered for me. "Her school starts in a few days and she wants to go to the first day to see her friends."
"What about her training?" Hiei muttered.
"There are woods in her backyard." Kurama replied.
"I guess its ok…" Yusuke said.
"Thank you!" I smiled. "Let's go now! No wait, I'll go pack first!" I added as I ran to get my things.
"She's pretty enthusiastic for someone returning to school." Yusuke laughed.
"Well she really just wants to see her friends. She hasn't in a long time you know." Kurama corrected.
I came back into the room with Kurri on my shoulder,a laptop under one arm, my sword strapped on my waist, my camera around my neck and my bag in another hand. "I'm ready!" I announced. "Who's coming?"
"Let's find out." Yusuke said as he set his watch. I grabbed his arm as well as Kurama, Kuwabara, Hiei and Botan. Yusuke pressed a button and in a sudden gust of wind, we were lifted from the room and set down in my yard. I ran inside with the others following slowly behind me.
It turned out that my dad was at work and Nick, Will and Megan all at school so it was just mom and Jack at home.
When the group walked in the room my mom was already talking. "Let's get you clothes for school and your permit! You haven't gotten that yet."
"Ok…" I replied hesitantly.
They parted as my mom pulled me and Jack past and out the door. "Bye guys, I guess I'm going shopping." I managed to say as I went by.
First me and my mom went shopping and I got several pairs of pants since all my others were way too big for me. I got a few shirts as well. Finally Jack got really impatient and we left there and went down to the DMV to get my permit. We waited almost an hour in line and I kept getting very strange stares until it was my turn. I went up to the desk with mom and had to test my eyesight and identify signs by their shape. Then I started the test. They sat me down in front of a big touch screen computer and the first question came up. I chose my answer and I told me I was right. Next one I chose wrong. I didn't get through many when it flashed big that I had failed. I stared at it in shock for a moment before rising and standing in a new line until called to a desk again. I got my papers and hurried out the door with my mom behind me, wondering how I did.
Once outside I couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying. "I failed!" I cried as I climbed into the car, tears streaming down. The phone rang and it was my dad asking me to have lunch with him at work and ready to celebrate. I could barely even get words out as I tried to hide that I was crying and gave the phone back to my mom. She told him I had failed and was really upset so we couldn't come by. Jack got really upset and threw a fit as we rode back home.
We pulled into the driveway and everyone greeted me, ready with congratulations but I quickly pushed past and ran into the house. I darted up the stairs and into my room, locking the door and throwing myself down on my bed, crying into my pillow.
My mom told everyone what had happened before coming inside with Jack. They all decided it was best to give me some time alone.
