This time I appeared right at the top level of some trees and didn't have time to react, so I plunged straight into the tops like a stone. I wrapped my arms around Akumei protectively, and then encircled us both with my wings, hoping that would cushion us somewhat. Nonetheless, we crashed straight through all the way to the ground. "Nn…" I murmured, wincing as I landed on my leg. I looked down and saw it was twisted somewhat. "Oh no, could I have broken it?" I cried out in horror. "Can I heal broken bones…?"

"What was that crashing noise?" I looked up at a somewhat familiar voice.

"It came from over this way…" Another also recognizable voice replied.

Then a girl emerged from the trees and stopped short, staring at me. "Eh…? Eh…!" Her eyes went wide as she rushed to my side. "Are you all right?"

"Yes I'm fine…" I murmured. "No need to worry… Oh! I know you!" I smiled. "Tohru, right? We've met before…"

"W-we have?" She stammered, bowing low and apologizing. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you!"

I just laughed softly. "Don't worry about it. I've undergone a temporary transformation since then."

"What…?" Tohru stared closer at me and then suddenly started in surprise. "Kira!"

I nodded with a grin. "Yep, what's up?"

"What's wrong…?" I looked up to see Yuki walking up, followed closely by Haru and Momiji with Kyo trailing behind. "Kira…?" Yuki blinked. "What are you doing back here?"

"I was attacked and sent away again…" I laughed nervously scratching the back of my head.

"Why'd you let them sneak up on you?" Kyo muttered.

"I had just been through… a lot…" I shivered at the memory. "Anyway, it's fine now. I'm trying to return again."

"Who's this?" Haru asked, poking at Akumei.

"Stop that!" I cried. "This is Akumei and before you ask, yes he is the one who sent me away last time and he is only asleep because he's helping me."

"Helping?" Yuki echoed. "In what way?"

"Well being transported also takes energy from the one being sent so instead he's offering enough for the both of us…" I hung my head guiltily. "And he won't be talked out of it."

"What happened to your ears and tail?" Momiji whimpered as if totally crushed.

"She has wings now instead…" Haru pointed out, pulling on one. "And sliver hair and blue eyes."

"Ow!" I cried out and he pulled away sharply. "Oh no, that shouldn't have hurt…" I folded the wing in front of me and looked it over, wincing. "There are… sticks in it." I gasped out. "In both of them! What should I do?"

"Visit a vet?" Haru offered. He was met by a wave of glares.

"So, what is she?" I looked up at the new voice. It belonged to a young boy. I then noticed there was a little girl beside him as well.

I forced a smile. "Oh hello, I haven't met either of you before…"

"They're Hiro and Kisa!" Tohru smiled, referring first to the boy and then the girl.

"You didn't answer my question." Hiro glared, crossing his arms.

I laughed nervously. "Well, at the moment I'm human… and I will be until morning."

"At the moment…?" Hiro echoed, raising an eyebrow. "And do humans normally have wings like that?"

"I fought in that tournament of demons that I told you about last time…"

"Really? How'd it go?" Kyo asked excitedly.

"Well, my team won actually. I fought in the final battle of the entire thing. I won somehow but it took forever for me to heal afterwards." I shrugged and continued. "Anyway, the demon from the final match threw some gas at me. He didn't know what it would do but it ended up giving me these wings! Since they're not a part of my demon form, I don't lose them when I transform."

"Transform…?" Tohru asked.

I nodded. "Since I'm not a full demon, I transform into a human every month. My time is the night when there is no moon. So… this is my human form."

"You're a… demon?" Kisa asked in a very timid voice.

I smiled reassuringly at her as Momiji spoke. "Don't worry, she's not a bad demon at all. She let me play with her ears!"

"Ears…?"

"Yeah! She had great big wolf ears! And a fluffy tail too!"

I laughed. "They'll be back tomorrow so you can see. Hold on a second, I hurt my ankle when I landed on it…" I closed my eyes and my hands turned green. I set them on my leg and the pain gradually disappeared until it had faded entirely. "There…"

"What was that?" Kisa asked, fascination overcoming fear.

"It's called spirit energy." I explained. "I can use it to heal or just shape it into things." To demonstrate I held out my hand, making a small ball appear in it, which I then offered to her. She took it hesitantly and soon Hiro was inspecting it as well. "So, what are all of you doing out here tonight?" I asked.

"We were just on a walk…" Yuki replied.

"Well that's fun." I smiled as I began plucking sticks from the wings. "This isn't though…" I sighed, jumping as Yuki kneeled beside me to help. Tohru was already pulling them out. "Thanks…" I murmured. When we finally finished my wings were covered in many individual trickles of blood running all over them both. I made the ball disappear and instead used the energy to heal the wounds that were everywhere. "Well, this is pretty…" I muttered. Even though they were healed, that didn't make the already present blood go away.

"We were just on our way back. Would you like to come spend the night again?" Yuki offered.

"Oh, I couldn't trouble you again!" I cried.

"Ah! But you can't sleep outside!" Tohru cried.

"And you gotta admit…" Kyo pointed out. "Dressed like that you look pretty helpless."

"It's… not my fault." I felt my face growing red. "These are the only clothes she'd give me…" I stood and immediately fell back over, blinking in surprise. "Wha…? I guess my ankle didn't really heal all the way…" I tried again and leaned against a tree until I had my balance. Letting go, I found I was wrong again and toppled over once more. "Stupid!" I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I looked up as a hand was offered to me. Much to my surprise, it was Kyo.

"I can't stand seeing you do that. It's so… pathetic." He muttered.

"Well excuse me for injuring myself…" I sighed, taking his hand. He hauled me up and supported me, as I made sure I didn't grab onto him in case he changed into a cat.

"Now, don't grab hold of me ok?"

"Ok…?" My voice trailed off in alarm as he scooped me up and I clasped my hands together to keep from holding around his neck for support. That, without a doubt, would change him into the cat.

"Stop staring at me!" Kyo shouted at everyone and then started walking forward.

"Wait!" I cried. "What about Akumei?"

"I'll get him…" Haru offered, wrapping one of Akumei's arms around his shoulder to hold him.

The entire group started moving with Kyo and me in the lead. My face was gradually darkening red and Kyo's was as well. "Why are you doing this?" I murmured. "Last time you barely spoke to me."

"I told you, you looked so pathetic trying to stand on your own. It was annoying."

"Right…" I sighed. "If I was still a demon, it could be healed within an hour at the most. However now I have to wait until tomorrow when I change back…"

"Does it…" Kyo began. "Get you in trouble when you transform?"

"Only if I'm attacked during the time I am human. I lose many of my abilities, though having spirit power helps… The main problem is rejection. Demons don't like you because you're part human, and humans don't like you because you're part demon. At least that's the way it works back home… Oh! But I shouldn't be talking about this now. I'm sorry…"

"Don't say you're sorry for no reason. It's fine."

"O-ok…"

There was a short silence, broken by Kyo. "Well…?"

"Well what?"

"I know you weren't finished and I said it was fine. Go on…"

"O-oh, alright…" I stammered before continuing. "I would secretly look forward to becoming human…"

"What for?" He asked in surprise.

"Well, because usually the only ones I could be with without getting beat up was my immediate family. If they were busy then I would be left completely alone. However, once a month, on the night I became human, I would slip away from the place my brothers hid me to keep me safe and travel to a village. Then I could play with the other kids and pretend to be normal like them. It always made me sad to leave quickly before the sun came up, but if they discovered what I was, I'd never be allowed near again…" I looked up, smiling again and he was caught off guard for a moment by it. "But it's alright because most of the people in these other worlds I've visited accept me anyway and I have fun hanging out with them while I have the chance."

"Y-yeah…" Kyo murmured, looking away as his cheeks tinged pink.

I laughed and fell silent again. Soon I began to wish I had my ears back so I could listen in on the others walking behind us. I could hear their whispers but couldn't quite make it out.

"What did you do to deal with it?" Kyo asked suddenly.

"With what…?"

"The rejection…"

"Oh… My family was very accepting. Unlike most, they didn't care that I was part human. One of my brothers and my mom were also half demons. My dad was strange in the way that he easily loved us all. My oldest brother has a superiority complex and is out to kill my other brother, yet cared for me. It's all really strange…"

"The way you're speaking… Are your… parents gone?" I looked up at Yuki who had approached and spoken.

I nodded slowly as my hands automatically moved to clutch the locket I wore. "Yeah… Now it is just my brothers and me. I'm not sure what happened to my parents… I was separated at a very young age."

"How so?" Tohru asked, walking alongside us.

I laughed slightly. "It's kind of confusing… Back home when I was young, someone came up behind me and pushed me. That resulted in me being sucked into a well that transported me to current day America. Once there I was either reborn into a family, or first died and then was reborn into a human family. After every fifteen years or so, I'd catch an incurable disease, die from it, and be reborn again as another human. This lasted for about five hundred years. Finally, just a year or so ago some people found me and at the same time one of my brothers did. They had been working on a cure and gave it to me so I didn't die and then they took me off to train for the tournament I've mentioned. And… that's it."

"That's it? How can you just say 'that's it' like it's nothing?" Kyo almost yelled. "And did you find whoever pushed you and kick his ass?"

"Tohru, are you alright?" Yuki asked.

"I'm still… taking it in…" Tohru murmured.

"Kira's so strange!" Momiji laughed. Kisa and Hiro just stared in disbelief at me and Haru was trailing behind distractedly holding Akumei.

I looked up at Kyo. "Well, it is nothing. It's the past and it's over with. Besides, I did actually find the one and I punched him right in the face." I grinned.

Kyo was frowning and still looked angry so my smile faded and I fell silent. I felt his grip loosen and bit my tongue to keep from crying out as I thought he was about to drop me. My hands tightened around the locket so I wouldn't grab onto him either. Then I heard him laugh and his hold on me tightened again. "I started to shift you into an easier position to hold and then realized you might grab onto me after I had already moved you. But thanks for not…"

"Well I told you I wouldn't." I laughed, sticking out my tongue. "Almost did though…"

He nodded with an amused half smile as he continued.

"Well, we're back…" Yuki announced quietly as we reached the wooden house in the woods where Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru were staying. We all followed him to the door and entered almost silently.

"Hey, why are you being so quiet?" Shigure called and then poked his head around a door. "Oh! Is that you Kira? What are you doing back? And why is Kyo carrying you…" He added.

"Shut up!" Kyo shouted, setting me down.

I laughed slightly. "Yes, it's me. I fell and hurt my ankle so I couldn't walk, and I'm back because I was attacked and sent from my home again."

"Well aren't you the lucky one!" Shigure exclaimed, almost sarcastically.

Yuki shot him a glare and I sighed as Tohru entered the kitchen to prepare dinner. Akumei was placed against a wall and my sword and camera were set beside him as I went off with the others. We just hung out until the meal was finished. I played with Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro; or rather, they played with me, finding the wings endlessly enjoyable. By the time Tohru called everyone to eat, they each had a perfect black feather of their own to keep.

Everyone gathered around the table, and even though I didn't eat, they had me join them. They all finished and Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, Shigure, Haru, and I sat around talking while the others went to play in the next room. Eventually, Tohru went to check on them and discovered that the three had fallen asleep. We all peeked in and saw Hiro and Kisa fast asleep with Momiji out cold in between them. Tohru spread a blanketover the trioand then yawned herself.

"Tired already, Tohru?" Shigure asked.

She nodded sleepily in reply. "Yes…"

"You don't have to stay up." Yuki pointed out.

"Yes…" She repeated. "Goodnight everyone…" With that, she wandered upstairs to her room.

"Well," Shigure started, getting to his feet. "I'm going to call their parents to let them know that they're spending the night." He was referring to Kisa, Hiro and Momiji, still asleep in the next room. "Are you staying too Haru?"

"Yes." The boy answered and Shigure left the room.

"Where is everyone sleeping?" Kyo asked.

"I'll sleep in Yuki's room." Haru offered, prompting a sigh from Yuki.

"I'll sleep anywhere, it doesn't really matter." I offered.

"You can have the couch in the room with those three then." Kyo decided and I nodded agreement. With everything figured out, we all went to our newly designated places and settled down for the night.

I woke up the next morning, blinking in the sunlight. I sat up, happy to find that the hair I moved from my face was black once again, and looked up as Tohru entered the room. "Good morning!" She called.

"Morning…" I murmured, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" She paused for a moment. "Oh, and is your ankle better?"

"Yes to both questions…" My ear twitched. "Hey, is it raining outside?"

"Yes, why?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Because there's still blood on my wings… Oh, don't worry about the couch. It's dried so it didn't get on it." I added quickly.

"Wouldn't you rather take a shower?" I turned around to see Yuki standing in the doorway.

I just grinned and shook my head. "Nope, the rain is a lot more fun."

"Are you going to come and eat with us today?" Tohru asked.

"No, I'm fine." I smiled. We all left the room but I split from them and headed outside instead of in to eat. It wasn't raining, it was pouring. Despite this, I stepped off the porch and stood in the dirt path with deep puddles riddled along it. My bare feet sunk in the mud but still my tail wagged happily and I turned my face upwards to the sky, closing my eyes and smiling. The wings spread out beside me to their full lengths and the dried red ran down and dripped from the black feathers, leaving them clean.

"Are you crazy?"

I turned my head and grinned at Kyo who was standing under the protection of the porch's overhang. "No, I don't think so." I laughed, ear twitching as another huge drop hit it. The waist length hair was plastered messily to my body from the downpour and stuck to my face in odd places.

Kyo remained glaring at me for a moment and suddenly tossed something to me. "Here."

I caught it out of instinct and saw it was a small green hair tie. "Thanks." I laughed as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail to keep it at least a little tame, though random strands were still stuck to my face. Suddenly I crouched down low, holding my head with both hands. Kyo started towards me but then recalled the last time it has happened: when Akumei was contacting me. I had asked for quiet then so he assumed I still wanted it now. So he just remained watching.

Kira?

Yes, I'm here.

Are you ready?

Yes.

Ok, I think you'll be home soon…

Good. I laughed and heard no more. Standing, I turned and faced Kyo, face dripping with the rain. "It's time for me to go again. I need my things but I can't enter your house like this…"

"Ok…" He murmured and disappeared inside, returning shortly with my sword and camera. Haru was coming up behind him with Akumei in tow and everyone else was following him.

I approached the porch but stopped myself before stepping onto it. "Oh, it's fine. Don't worry about it!" Shigure laughed.

I laughed as well and stepped onto the wooden floor, taking my things from Kyo and setting Akumei down gently again. "Quickly, before I go, I need a big group picture of everyone."

"We did this last time!" Kyo muttered.

"Yeah, last time." I nodded. "But this is now." With just a little more prodding from me, I got Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, Shigure, Haru, Kisa, and Hiro to line up. Setting up the camera, I leapt into the picture and turned around in time for it to flash. "Thanks." I laughed. "Sorry to bother you all again."

"You're not a bother!" Tohru cried.

"Come back and visit again!" Momiji added.

"Heh, I just might end up doing so." I smiled as I bent to wrap Akumei's arm around my shoulder again, just in time to start glowing. "See ya!" I called as I disappeared.

"She is a strange one, isn't she?"

The entire group remained staring for a moment before retreating from the rain back inside the house.


"S-sent…" The girl stammered in a barely audible voice before collapsing once again. Kyoshi and Hiei each shot her a look but both remained silent.