A/N: Hello once again, Dearest Yu Yu Hakusho Lovers!
I'm just going to say, getting to write the back-and-forths between Youko and Shuichi (take note of the new italics rule included in this chapter!) are like one of my favorite things to do ever so I hope you all enjoy them too xD We blame Youko's new-found talkativeness to the lifting of Otento's block between them, maintaining that such a block actually caused a more distinct separation between the two souls, and woke Youko from his 'slumber' completely.
Symbols Guide:
* : Written by CM; She writes for Akari and Hiei
3 : Written by Star (supposed to be the 'heart' symbol, but FF doesn't like the 'less-than' sign, so it's a 3 instead); She writes for Toriko/Shikiyoku and Youko/Kurama
~!**!~ : A universal transition between scenes or characters, sometimes used to indicate a passage of time, but most often used to transition between major scenes that are happening. As the story progresses, this will evolve into mainly separating the (usually two) scenes happening between authors/characters.
As a general rule, anything in italics is thoughts.
Unless it's used in a sentence like this, which merely indicates emphasis.
[Anything written in italics inside square brackets is Youko speaking to Shuichi/Kurama inside their mind and is private conversation, unable to be picked up by telepathy.]{Anything written in italics inside curly brackets is inner dialogue by Shuichi/Kurama to Youko, and is also private conversation, unable to be picked up by telepathy.}
"Quotations are usually reserved specifically for telepathic dialogue being transmitted from one being to another, but sometimes this can also mean a character isn't being careful about what they're thinking and anyone with telepathy in the nearby vicinity can listen in without taking any effort."
The only exception to that last rule is for the Shiba Inu dog, Nabu. All of his "spoken" dialogue will be in italics and quotations, but is communicated through body language or dog-like noises, so unless a character is able to translate those they are unlikely to pick up on what he is saying any more than the average person might understand his general moods like aggression (bared teeth, ears back) or excitement (wagging tail).
Previously on Yu Yu Hakusho!
Akari has done as Kurama suggested and subjected herself to a rigorous training
in regards to 'getting over' her scars. After three weeks, she rejoins the others,
all of whom are at Kuwabara's apartment discussing relocating to Genkai's lands,
so that they will all be in the same place for whatever battle Shizuru feels is going to occur.
The Winter months pass into Spring.
Kuwabara and Yusuke successfully tested out of middle school,
Kurama and Akari doing the same for high school.
Kurama's mother had her wedding at the last of the year,
and is currently on her honeymoon, leaving Kurama to train as he will with the others.
Unfortunately for him, his energy is still locked away with Youko,
but Kurama has discovered that the energy still flows through his blood,
he is simply incapable of accessing it.
Two days later and a portal from Spirit World opens up in Genkai's dojo,
Koenma motioning for everyone to come through.
Spirit World has been attacked by the false Youko's army,
but there are strangely no real casualties.
Koenma leads them all deeper into the facilities,
and upon reaching one of the inner rooms,
they are all immediately accosted by the painful aura of Renai's mate.
Apparently, Otento is using Gekijou and Gashiru to instigate the ritual that will cause the unification of the three worlds,
and those twins are in fact the pain demon's children.
In a flurry of events, Otento locks away the twins' power as well as their mother's power, King Enma is killed,
the pain demon manages to stab Otento near the heart, and Terepo teleports himself,
Otento, the false Youko, and, unintentionally, the pain demon away.
When Otento is stabbed, it releases the lock on Kurama's energy.
Our story picks up from Akari's point of view after Koenma gets them into the inner room...
For a while, Akari had stood tall and proud next to Yusuke, despite every inch of her being screaming, crying for reprieve of pain that for years had been little more than simple echoes. She kept her knees locked, her feet planted, and eyes trained on the demon who caused this amount in pain, both within herself and the others in the room.
She'd seen Enma, and quite frankly, hadn't cared save for the fact that he was on his knees. But, she'd decided weeks ago that Enma was not her concern, and his fate meant nothing to her. Not after her suspicions had been confirmed when she'd been caught up by the others.
He didn't deserve her pity, she felt. Or anyone else's might she add.
So as she stood and took in the scene, muscles twitching with the strain it took to remain standing, she decided that the only people here she even remotely cared for were the ones on the floor around her, and the pair who had broken away just slightly.
She made an attempt to concentrate on her energy, to make it move through her veins like adrenaline, preparing for whatever might happen, but even when she could smell Kurama's blood and Foko was a threat, she couldn't do much of anything except let the muscles of her knees make her legs fold beneath herself, bringing her to the floor with clenched teeth of both pain and anger.
Simple emotions. Control one, conquer the other.
She'd done it once, so she could do it again.
By the time she was forcing herself up again, a hand on the handle of the door Kurama had sealed, too many things were happening for her to keep track of. And by the time she was on her feet, the weight on the air had dissipated and Hiei was dashing forward, breaking away from the group with his sword in hand, eyes locked on the four demons that Kurama too was making an attempt to attack.
And it seemed neither succeeded as silence moved into the room.
At first, it seemed no one even dared to move, not even a muscle twitch. And the first to move was Kuwabara, who was also the first to speak. "Everyone's okay, right? I mean, aside from…"
Akari sent a severe look at him that told him to shut up, her eyes holding the same message that Shizuru's communicated just as effectively. Then her eyes trailed to Koenma, then to his deceased father who hadn't moved in… a few minutes now.
Akari moved with silent steps over to Kurama, her energy only just beginning to feel out the room around her and assure her that should something happen, she'd have full control over each and every dark mass in the room, each and every object that had even the smallest of shadows would be a source of power to her.
She looked at him with the silent question of 'are you okay?' when she stopped beside him, eyes glancing at the blood trailing down his skin where Foko's hands had drawn the red liquid. And after he gave his answer, she turned her eyes to Koenma, expression neutral.
My condolences, prince. *
In the silence, even the demons seemed reverent, all eyes now on the body of the male who had been King. He seemed...smaller, somehow.
Koenma's steps had slowed once the attack had happened, taking no notice of any of the events around him as his vision appeared to tunnel in and only left him a path to the body that had once held the soul of his father.
It was no longer there, the soul. Koenma knew that much. As for where it had gone, he couldn't really say. They didn't understand everything about their occupation, what role Spirit World played exactly, and no one had ever been able to pierce the beyond that separated true death from the living once.
The former-prince's steps were slow and measured, quiet even in the exquisitely silent room. He blinked several times, but did not feel any tears in his eyes, finally coming to his father's side and dropping to both knees to sit beside the body.
When Kurama was unsuccessful in getting the four demons who disappeared, the avatar lowered his hand, plants dissipating and his eyes turning to take in the dead King.
He felt Akari come up besides him, smelled her rosemary scent that wafted from her hair when she stopped next to him and did not so much as have to look over to know what question she asked.
[It is good to be back.] A dry voice spoke out from somewhere in the back of his mind. [I don't think you have any idea what to do without me.]
The wounds Akari appeared momentarily to take in had already healed despite the little bit of blood that still snaked down his neck and Kurama did not answer her aloud, only...taking a step closer to her and looking on as Koenma fell to his knees next to his father, head bowed.
There was a banging on the massive door behind them, breaking the momentary vigil, and Kurama released the hold the vines he created had on the structure.
A small group burst in the door as soon as it was freed, among their numbers both Spirit World and Demon World residents alike, all with expressions of confusion and concern. At their front was George.
"Koenma-sir..." The ogre had felt, like all of those in the previous King's employ, the exact moment their master had fallen, and he would not have interrupted the new ruler's grieving if it had not been for...
"...Demon World is...breaking apart." 3
~!**!~
Despite the silence in the room, there was a loud roaring in Hiei's veins, a ringing in his ears and a pounding in his head. He'd been planning this moment for months, and what had he gotten? Crimson eyes stared at the space where his target had disappeared, where his prey had gotten away via teleportation.
He'd thought of everything, save for one, tiny aspect.
Being unable to move. He hadn't considered the enemy to have a demon of pain, otherwise he would have taken the correct preventive measures for succumbing to such pain. He would have planned to kill both the woman and the male who deserved nothing but a slow, torturous death.
He'd planned each strike carefully, planned each blow so that the demon's life would continue on just enough so that he'd feel each and every moment of pain, never receiving healing and just close enough to death to allow the hope to die.
And yet…
And yet I failed.
He ground his teeth, eyes still staring at the floor as he took in slow, measured breaths through his flaring nostrils, almost feeling as if he could physically spit fire from his jaw if he allowed himself to do so.
But instead, he calmed himself, steeled himself for another attempt at a later time, and turned to leave the scene entirely, not even glancing at Koenma or the dead King on his way out.
After all, he still had unfinished business.
He was halfway out the door, standing in the middle of the threshold when the blue ogre spoke, breaking the fragile silence of the room with words that brought his fiery eyes over his shoulder to inspect the room. If that was true, then Otento would only have one place to go from here. One world to hide himself in.
As would Shikiyoku. His mind spoke the words just as quietly as a shy child would have, making him pause mid-step for the second time. Which would you rather find?
Either way, he was not needed here. He'd come for one reason, and lost that reason within a millisecond to a teleporting demon.
The others could do just as well without him.
He continued on his way without a second thought.
~!**!~
Akari's eyes stayed trained on the prince with a kind gleam, a shine of understanding and empathy for the male who'd lost someone he cared for. She kept her arms at her sides, her weight shifting to one foot, leaning to her right slightly just before she was aware of Kurama's step towards her.
It's going to be a long few days.
When the doors to the room opened and sound filled the room, she turned her head to peer over her shoulder, watching the creatures that piled in one after another, only falling silent when they caught sight of their dead ruler and mourning prince.
Except for one, who continued forward and spoke in a tone so low that had she had any less hearing ability, she likely would not have heard the words uttered. It was just as Genkai had predicted, and just as Akari herself had thought would end:
The three worlds were beginning to form into one.
She took in a deep breath, not happy about speaking up but doing so anyway. "Where do you need us?" she inquired, her voice floating through the room and indicating that she and the others were more than willing to do whatever he asked of them. After all, that was their job, their duty, right? *
Without a pause, donning a mantle of self-assured calm that radiated outwards from his shoulders, Koenma stood and turned to walk towards the blue ogre who had made the announcement, only giving Akari a momentary glance, then a slight nod that indicated she should follow, turning back to George.
"Show me."
~!**!~
Teen-Koenma stood in front of the monitor George had summoned from the floor three rooms over in another one of the offices, and around him gathered a gigantic mixture of demons and humans and beings of Spirit World, their past conflicts forgotten as they all stared, those that were close enough, at what the sensors Spirit World had on the First Level of Demon World were transmitting. Sensors that, at this time, were tracking what appeared to be miniscule disintegration just at the outer edges of that level, but a disintegration that was rapidly, exponentially growing at a rate that left Koenma unsettled.
The demons around him were almost in a panicked frenzy, lamenting their homes, their families, certain that it was not only the First Level being affected, which the same sensors did appeared to indicate disturbances at lower levels.
Koenma appeared lost in thought, staring blankly at the readings the monitor fed them even as the noise around him grew.
"Koenma-sir! Koenma!" A voice rang out from above their heads. It was Botan, wheeling in breathlessly and nearly falling off her oar. "Look...at Human World."
With a few quick taps at the screen, Koenma switched the view to one of Earth and a shocked gasp went up from the crowd that could see, passing word along to those who could not.
Human World was...changing. To the eye of Spirit World's sensors, it was as if Human World was growing layers, though at a faster rate than-Koenma assumed-Demon World appeared to be losing them. And instead of the layers going only in one direction, like how Demon World grew deeper with its lower levels, they appeared to simply be superimposed on top of one another.
It meant...many things.
Koenma found a small smile forming on his lips, almost welcoming the change and the busyness he could sense coming from the next few months, if not years.
It would keep...other problems at bay.
Then he started issuing orders.
"George, you will delegate the re-opening of all portals between Demon World and Spirit World to those who can handle it the most efficiently. I want you to head to the main portal between Spirit World and Human World to get it up and running. You will be in charge of tracking those who make it through. On your way, get others to begin gathering those demons already here to prepare them for their transfer. In fact," Koenma turned to Akari, "That's something you can do. All of you." He looked at Genkai, Kurama and the rest. "We need to move fast and save as many of those living in Demon World as we can, and if we begin with those already here, we'll have something of a head-start.
"And if you see Jin and Touya and the others," He grinned, having spotted them sometime in the battle, "Tell them to start doing the same. They're officially employed under the new ruler of whatever is left of Spirit World.
"A-about that, sir." Botan came closer and the demons and others around him parted enough so that she could land. "...Spirit World is...breaking apart too."
The room went silent, Koenma blinking at her a few times as if he hadn't understood her before saying slowly, "Well, then...ask Jin if he'll help round up those here...for a friend." 3
Akari nodded at Koenma before turning to Kurama, tugging at the sleeve of his shirt and motioning with her head for him to follow, moving through the large crowd of creatures that parted enough for her to move through, reaching a hand out occasionally and grabbing random Spirit World creatures and uttering a few calm words to those who protested, all along the lines of "might as well get going. Panicking will save us no time, and no lives."
By the time she was stepping out of the room, Akari had seven others, not counting Kurama, following her lead as she stopped and rounded on the group, a calm gaze roving over each one before landing on Kurama. "I figured Koenma had enough to handle, so I suppose we'll be on our own for a while, hm?"
She reached out a hand, palm facing the redhead as she spoke up again, her energy moving through the small group in the empty corridor. "Now, you're going to lose your footing, so don't panic. It's faster this way." After a few moments, darkness seemed to envelop the floor beneath the group's feet, and Akari was the first to fall through, her energy the first to be accepted, the others falling soon after into the realm of shadows with various sounds of surprise even as they continued to fall.
Hazel eyes were focused downwards, as if waiting for a ground to land on, but really, her mind was seeing another place entirely, imagining the place she wished to end up, just as if she were teleporting.
And after another moment, likely nothing more than thirty seconds to the rest but several minutes to her, their feet hit solid ground and the darkness gave way to the bright glow of the Kekkai that was still dissolving, having begun in the middle and continued outwards, creating a hole just large enough for a mid-sized demon to fit through. Without pause, she turned her eyes back up to the others.
"Demon World is going to be chaos. There's going to be hundreds, even thousands of demons trampling each other to get through. Five of us will stay here, monitor the ones passing the Kekkai and directing them to Spirit World. The rest of us will be in Demon World, directing traffic here." She turned to Kurama now. "Do you want to split who goes and who stays, or should it be a matter of whoever decides where they wish to be?" *
"I think," Energy shimmered around Kurama and it was suddenly the tall and slender Youko standing there next to her. His yellow eyes glittered as a sly grin broke across as quite the smirk over his lips. He gave his hair a slight toss, his voice now lower than before, "That I shall pick the third category, pup, and stray farther afield." He started moving through the opening in the Kekkai Barrier, pausing only long enough to speak to Akari again, "After all, who is going to argue with the infamous Youko when he tells them their level is about to fall down around their ears?"
He raised a slender eyebrow at her without expecting her to answer and turned tail, disappearing into the darkness. 3
"Well, it's good to see you too," she grumbled after the kitsune with a small huff and cross of her arms over her chest. "But who's going to believe you're with Spirit World?" she grumbled to herself, not caring if he heard or not.
Then again, what did it matter? His confidence wasn't exactly misplaced now, was it? If he said he could get it done, then he'd get it done.
Perhaps quicker than any of them could.
"You guys handle this?" she asked of the others, who when she turned to, nodded once. "You," she pointed to the second-largest of them all, "Follow me. Youko's rounding up, we're keeping them straight. Got it?"
"I'm sure I can handle it."
"Good." She turned and lead the way through the Kekkai, taking in a very deep breath of the air that blew through the dimensional space from the open portal at the end. She launched forward, running through the rest of the space until her feet hit the soil of Demon World, the male behind her no more than a step and stopping at her side, arms crossing over his chest expectantly.
"We're going to be here awhile, I hope you know."
"I've had my fair share of sleepless nights. Worry about yourself and we'll be fine." *
~!**!~
Things slowed down in Spirit World...eventually.
Six months later, while there was still an almost constant flow of refugees from Demon World, things were not quite as hectic as those first few days had been. Thankfully it seemed as if Spirit World would take much longer to unravel, so time didn't seem to be a pressing matter. And Touya and Chuu and a few of the others had elected to stay behind and continue ushering demons through the portals in any case.
For his part, Yusuke elected to return home.
..that didn't mean the verbal beating Keiko gave him was any less harsh. After all, he had sort of just disappeared with everyone else without telling her what was going on. Again.
He chuckled at the memory and reached up to rub a hand absently against his cheek as he cleaned the counter of his small ramen stand with the other hand.
The boy had managed in the meantime to coerce her parents into letting him work for them for a while, and he had picked up the business quickly, moving on to open the stand on his own.
Yusuke leaned his hands onto the counter and looked out absently at the passers-by, left alone for the moment with his thoughts.
His vision blurred on him and he stood back up, blinking twice before resting a hand back down on the counter and squinting as he patiently waited for the shifting of his vision to stop.
Supposedly "New Human World" had nine layers to it now-Yusuke hadn't visited them all for himself, but that's what he heard-and it seemed to be a rule that as soon as a demon set foot in the newly unified world, he or she would find themselves on the 'correct' layer. That is, the equivalent of whatever level they had lived on in Demon World. And the layers remained exact replicas of the levels they had left behind, all flora and fauna and buildings intact.
Kurama suggested that this 'imperfect' unification was a result of Otento closing Gekijou and Gashiru off from their energy just as the ritual would have been completed. It completely anyway, obviously, but likely not in the manner it would have without Otento's interference.
Like I have any guesses. Yusuke grimaced as his vision shifted again, finally squeezing his eyes shut.
There weren't any passageways between the layers like there had been passages between the levels of Demon World. It was nice in a way because none of the 'intact flora and fauna' interacted negatively with any of the other layers. They were all sort of self-contained, almost like their own separate little worlds.
Demon World's First Level had merged directly with what humans called 'Earth,' though it actually made very few changes to the terrain, only causing a giant influx in the population of demons, all of those who had made the First Level their home.
Those demons were actually making the transition to coexisting with their human counterparts rather easily. Most humans were too weak to particularly notice or see the new inhabitants anyway. And almost universally demons were discovering that, where Enma may have pegged them all as soul-eaters or at least led everyone to believe as such, they could actually feed off of human energy-a much more easily sustainable resource than souls anyway-and that they had processed the energy from their food while in Demon World, or anywhere else for that matter, this whole time without knowing it.
There were of course still the occasional issues between demons and humans, but a few of Yusuke's old friends had been delegated into a new Task Force specifically instated to deal with these issues as they came up.
Members of this Task Force really only had to meet a single requirement in order to sign on: be able to shift between the layers.
Yusuke opened an eye and released a slight breath of relief when he found his vision returned to normal, rubbing at his forehead.
There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to who had the ability to shift between the layers, though most people Yusuke could name off the top of his head were capable of it. The numbers seemed few enough to not be a cause for concern.
For his part, Yusuke had picked up on the method of concentrating and willing himself through the layers rather quickly, but the double-vision that occasionally plagued him would sometimes leave him with a headache.
In truth, Yusuke found himself thankful that not everyone had acquired the ability. There were rumors of ultra powerful demons living on what was now the Eighth Layer, who had been rulers vying for power on the level anyway, who were apparently gunning for control of all nine layers.
While the prospect of facing those demons in battle charged Yusuke like nothing else, he found himself satisfied in seeking out others who would spar with him on the other layers of New Human World.
"Thinkin' deep thoughts there, boyo?"
Yusuke found himself startled to see Jin's grinning face sliding into a seat on the other side of the counter.
"The usual?" Yusuke couldn't help grinning back.
"Aye."
Yusuke started to fire up the food. "Come across any Lost Ones recently?"
Lost Ones were humans with high psychic awareness or strength who would occasionally shift through the layers without reason, finding themselves no longer at home. While it was possible to see higher layers if one concentrated-at least possible for those who could shift through them-the shift tended to just disorient the human, sometimes driving them deeper into the layers instead of in the right direction.
The Task Force dealt with this off and on. Most of the time if the human was older, they could simply be taken back to the First Layer and would stay there, but the younger ones had less control, and often were brought to Genkai's lands, where the older psychic had a well-established dojo for such children so that they might have a safe place to stay until they were aware enough to remain on their home layer.
"Nah, not so much. Been busier than a forewind chasin' after its tail."
Being one capable of sliding between layers, Jin had signed up on the Task Force, and almost all the members knew of his ramen stand and used it as sort of a 'home base.'
Inexplicably, the tiny establishment was one among the small number of extremely rare places that existed on all the layers at once, and any demon who knew the name 'Urameshi' had coined the place as the 'New Detective Agency.' Even humans dropped by with paranormal work for the teen, and he found himself rarely with a dull moment, the knowledge of the caliber of the food as well as the caliber of the one serving it spreading his fame farther than it had even when he worked for Koenma and Spirit World.
"Got a bit of a problem." Jin piped up as he watched Yusuke work.
"You never seem to drop by unless you do." Yusuke replied.
"I see what you're'a gettin' on about." Jin grinned, "The times are too busy for idle chit-chat. I'm lucky to get to see yah at all."
"Only when you have work for me." Yusuke repeated, gesturing at the wind-master with a cooking utensil.
Jin shrugged and didn't disagree, taking the bowl when Yusuke offered it and diving in, Yusuke leaving him to it while he cleaned up a bit.
"So, what's it about?"
"Well," Jin always talked with his mouth full, "Heard about somethin' new a few days back." He swallowed, "Somethin'...somethin' none o' us that I've talked to has ever even considered."
Yusuke fell silent at how serious the expression of Jin's face became, watching the other carefully as Jin even went so far as to glance to either side, then appeared to blur in his seat as he checked the other layers for listeners.
He leaned forward and Yusuke mirrored him across the counter.
"A vampire." He sat back as if satisfied that he'd delivered the news.
Yusuke opened his mouth and appeared to hesitate, "...aren't all demons something of a 'vampire' nowadays?"
Jin leaned forward again, "This ain't your everyday human-energy feeding demon-vampire, boyo. This vampire," He leaned closer, "Feeds on demons. A vampire-demon."
"What?" Yusuke replied flatly as if he hadn't heard correctly.
Jin gave a self-assured nod, "Sucks 'em dry o' their energy and leaves them where they fall. Never heard of no vampire's vampire before myself." He gave a little shrug of his shoulders as he dove back into his food. He pulled back after a moment and stirred his utensils absently in the bowl, slurping in a few noodles as he appeared to grow reserved again. "It wouldn't be no-nothing of a big deal, but when I say 'sucks 'em dry'...I mean to say that those demons never get back up." He met Yusuke's gaze again and the teen took in a surprised breath, to which Jin nodded once seeing he understood.
"Likes to strike at dance clubs. Bars. Places where lotsa demons gather at one time. We haven't been able to catch 'em though. Moves too quickly. Can slip between the layers like you've never seen before and loses us every time, wouldn't you know it?"
Yusuke frowned. They'd never been confronted with something able to move between the layers that wasn't someone they already knew.
"And if you can't catch this...vampire, what makes you think I'll be any better at it?"
"Not sayin' yah would be." Jin pointed at him with his utensils again and giving him a pointy grin, ears twitching a little, "But you're the only one who can contact that fellow with the Jagan, if you be followin' me. He's quick on his toes, and even if the perpetrator goes to layer-sliding, with that Jagan and his speed, he'd be able to keep up. Capture whoever it is for us."
Yusuke raised and lowered one shoulder, "Hiei comes and goes as he pleases, but he has a knack for showing up when needed. If I happen to catch sight of him, I'll let him know what's going on."
"That'd be mighty fine of you, Urameshi!" Jin gave him another grin, "If he could keep his Eye out, I'd bet he could catch 'em faster than I can fly about the world!"
"Any ideas about where or when the next place to catch this...thing might be?"
"There's no tellin' really, exceptin' whoever it is seems to like the weaker demons. Mostly on the first layer. Doesn't often bother with anything else." He shrugged again, "Maybe it's easier because those demons don't put up a fight. Always at social places though. Like I said, where lotsa demons gather. Always indoors too. Never parks nor nothin' of the no-like.
"I would normally keep myself on it, but other demons are starting to take notice and beginning to talk. A demon killing other demons willy-nilly is a terrifying thing. The faster we can get the lid on this, the better it'll be for everyone."
Yusuke nodded, "I completely agree."
A demon killing other demons...by consuming their energy. It's a new one on me. 3
~!**!~
Six months. Six full, long months, and the only thing he'd found were crap rumors about things that held no particular meaning to him, and quite frankly, the fire demon wasn't sure that he'd have the capability to continue doing this without knocking a few heads and making a few of those heads roll off the shoulders.
Because each and every rumor he caught, Hiei dismissed. There was absolutely nothing on 'the lover' or anything even remotely similar. There'd been, more often than not, rumors of completely contrasting abilities than the one he searched for, but he wasn't interested in pain and suffering. Especially not in others.
Unless it were Otento. And unless it were by Hiei's own hand.
That would be a completely different story.
Which, by the way, he hadn't found that one either. Not even a single sign.
Both demons he hunted, both trails, gone. It was almost as if the two beings no longer existed.
And that was probably the prospect that both angered and stressed Hiei the most. It was a thought that seemed to haunt him every time he thought he'd found a new trail only to find it go cold. A thought that haunted him each time he tried searching for Shikiyoku with his Jagan, and come up empty. Not even through trial and error did he seem to get anywhere.
So, for the past two days, he'd simply taken to traversing the layers of the worlds, moving whenever he felt restless and forcing himself to slow down, forcing himself to listen to the rumors again. There'd been one that had been a bit interesting, but really, he felt nothing over the fact that a demon was killing other demons via energy-stealing. It meant absolutely nothing to him, so he'd ignored it, gone on and taken to going from the deepest layers to the highest.
And when he'd reached the firstl, he'd been tracked down, pulled to the side by Yusuke, who'd passed the rumor he had already dismissed weeks ago. And when asked to be of service, to lend a hand because he was the only being within the layers to keep up, He'd simply sneered, told Yusuke to find someone else, and disappeared from that layer all over again, faster than he'd ever moved between the layers.
And yet, here he was, tracking the darkest energy he'd encountered in a while, and only because he'd happened to cross the demon's path entirely. At one point, he'd slipped into a small tavern outside of Yusuke's hometown, dead set on finding a new lead as he'd been pointed in that direction, and he'd arrived in time to feel every ounce of energy inside dissipate. When he'd stepped inside the tavern, he'd seen more with his Jagan than with his other two eyes.
A dark, almost muddy-yellow color had been the hue of the tendrils about the room, tendrils that released the last victim to the floor before returning to the heavily-cloaked figure in the room, who had already begun to blur out of the layer before he'd even turned to see who it was.
He'd felt something odd about the being, and after a few suspicions had crossed his mind, the fire demon had decided that maybe following this one, hunting this one demon down wasn't too bad. So he did. He followed, Jagan locked on the energy that seemed just fast enough to maintain the distance between himself and them.
~!**!~
"Are you a superhero?"
Akari's brow raised and lips twitched in response to the innocent question of the child who'd found himself on the second layer, completely and utterly afraid of the things he could now easily see walking the streets. She lowered herself to a crouch in front of the small boy, whose blue eyes followed her movements easily. "If I answer that question, then it wouldn't be a secret now, would it?" She glanced over at the demon who sat on the ground to her right, eyes on her but not seeing her. He hadn't attacked, but a large demon moving towards a small child was a rather scary thing for such a human.
So, she'd coerced him into sitting with a simple illusion, and he'd willingly complied to her request and sat where he stopped, legs crossed beneath himself and hands around his ankles.
"I won't tell!"
Akari grinned at the boy and stood up again, ruffling his brown hair with her hand as she did so. "Promise?"
"Yeah!"
She took another small sniff of the air and her eyes moved up, looking at the woman who was looking about, searching for.. something. She wasn't panicking, but…
"What are we going to do?"
She glanced at the dog sitting on her left and gave a shrug before turning back to the boy. "This is Nabu, my faithful sidekick." She waved a hand to the now fully-grown dog, who responded with a happy wag of his tail and loll of his tongue. "He helps me find people like you who need my help."
The boy hesitantly stepped towards Nabu, who responded with the lowering of his ears and head to allow the boy to pet between his ears. "His fur is soft!" He gave a laugh. "Nabu, I'm Kita!"
"Well, Kita, I have a very special, a very fun place to go, if you want to come with me. You can stay there while I look for your mother."
"My mommy was in a store, and I got lost."
"Don't worry, you'll be back before you know it!" She reached down and easily picked up the seven year old, moving him around onto her back until his arms circled her neck and legs were around her waist. "Ready?"
"For what?"
"Watch this," she said with a grin, "and hold on, okay?"
In the next second, her feet left the concrete of the sidewalk and dropped into the very familiar world of shadows, a world she'd been utilizing almost every chance she got. This time, though, she moved slowly, letting the child get a look of the illusion she'd coupled with this technique before she again let her energy slide away from herself, earning a small sound of surprise from the boy as soon as the illusion was gone and he was left staring at Genkai's temple.
"Whoa! You time travel?"
She gave a laugh. "One of my specialties," she said, though he wasn't technically right. She wasn't about to explain the ordeal to the child. "This, Kita, is a very good friend's house, who helps you become big and strong, so you can see your mommy real soon!" Even as she explained, her feet moved towards Genkai's temple, Nabu a few feet ahead to get the older woman's attention if she wasn't already aware of Akari's presence. *
~!**!~
Shizuru opened the door of the dojo to see Genkai seated at the front, her newly acquired students cross-legged in the same position as she talked them through what they were supposed to be thinking and feeling.
The children were remarkably well-behaved considering the differences in their ages, from little ones just recently able to walk and talk to those having just reached their teens.
Genkai opened her eyes as she spoke, taking in the view which did bring a smile to her wizened old face, if only a little one.
These proud few could be among the next generation of fighters and psychics, the Lost Ones who had somehow broken through their home layer because of their strength. Some of them, most of them, would lose their sight as they grew older, return to the first layer and likely forget all they had learned. But among these few would be the even rarer jewel who would continue on to do great things.
Shizuru came up to sit down next to Genkai as her voice faded with her latest instruction.
"Another, mm?" The old lady started to stand.
Shizuru nodded and took up where Genkai left off, leaving the older teacher the freedom to go out and meet the newcomer, seeing Akari come up the lane hand-in-hand with a small child, Nabu galloping ahead to greet her.
~!**!~
Today, she had no patience for the bright lights and pounding rhythms of the clubs her prey so wonderfully gathered within for her. She had no wish to dance among them, to join in their supposed joy. Today, she was simply starving.
It seemed as if she needed to feed more and more often of late, seemed as if she lost her mind and forgot where she was with greater regularity, waking up among trees or asphalt with no memory of how she had gotten there. And the hunger...
Always hungry.
And it was like an insatiable hunger, one that she could only stave off, one that always came back, and came back in greater force. When had that started to happen?
Something else she couldn't remember.
She could feel her energy weaving among them, at a level that these weaklings could not sense or see, and it took little concentration for her to ensure that every tendril of power she controlled wrapped about them. And when that had been done? When every single demon lay in her grasp, a thin string of energy entering each mouth unnoticed?
She simply...ended them. Sucked their very life force directly from their cores, their energy exiting their bodies to swirl up the tendrils of power and be absorbed into the shadowed and hooded figure in the corner. Their sacrifice dulled the ache that would pound in her veins when she went too long without.
Turning so that she could feel her dark cloak swirling about her feet, she phased between the layers-where she had picked that up was something she could not remember either-moving forward and sifting through every layer, through all of them, making for certain that she could not be followed by those reckless demons who had taken to hunting her down.
She...did not wish for conflict. Not with them.
Her head throbbed as she dashed away.
It wasn't enough.
It was never enough.
But she was tired. Exhausted. She could feel the sweat that had settled on her skin, could feel the fever that threatened to overtake her vision.
She just wanted to get home.
Yes, perhaps rest would help.
Though she would probably wake up hungrier for it.
The house she aimed for resided entirely within the first layer. A human home. One that she...felt connected to for reasons that she didn't understand. One that almost...felt like home. Or that it could be home. Or...something.
She stopped her running, finding herself in the middle of the living room of 'home,' and making her way slowly upstairs, throwing the cloak off into the bedroom as she walked past to get to the bathroom, leaving the light off, but moving to the sink to throw water on her face.
She caught her own gaze in the mirror as she looked up, droplets of water falling down her cheeks.
She didn't recognize herself. Ashen-grey skin with scars everywhere. Her face, a wicked one ranging from scalp to chin that stood out from the rest. Her shoulders, which her dark-tanktop left bare. Down her arms. Even on the skin that wasn't visible, hidden by the long dark pants that hugged her legs. A prominent one on her left arm she could see in the mirror. Beneath the others. Different. Circular. One she knew had come from before.
Her long, dark hair was up in a ponytail, kept away from her face, though bits of it had come lose to frame her hollow cheeks, her expression permanently fierce and dark. But it was the eyes...those eyes...
They were probably green. Had been green at one point. Were still green, but barely. They were so...empty. So...haunting. And very dull.
She looked away, hands on either side of the sink as she leaned forward.
So very...tired.
She wiped her face dry with a washcloth she tossed back on the counter, slipping off her shoes as she walked into the door of the bedroom and kicking them to the side, knowing she was safe as she kept the entire house completely locked, and padded silently across the carpet to the bed, not bothering to pull back the covers and instead collapsing on top of it all onto her stomach, cheek on the cool pillow, the dark circles under her eyes not lifting the cloud from her face even when she fell into sleep, beginning to wander through feverish dreams. 3
He wasn't sure when he'd begun suspecting who this demon was, but at some point, Hiei had begun to think that maybe the person he'd been hunting was actually the very same person he'd also been searching for. It made sense, went along with the energy tendrils he'd seen, the darkened color of that very energy that he'd laid eyes on a few days ago.
But what didn't make sense was the amount of darkness that twisted the presence that should have been anything but. He hadn't entirely decided, but deep down, Hiei seemed to have decided subconsciously on the identity of this one, even before he followed her presence from one layer down to the very bottom, then all the way back up, even before he found himself standing inside a very familiar house.
A house he'd raided several times for clues on this very person.
He stood at the front door, back just touching the wood where he'd landed himself almost perfectly. There was no one in this room, but…
His eyes turned up to look at the ceiling, at the place where the energy no longer moved, no longer seemed to want to leave, to run from him.
He moved silently through the living room and up the stairs, stopping at the door that was wide open and only glancing inside, his eyes finding the smaller, sunken frame of the female who lay on her stomach, with the back of her head to the door.
Without the hooded cloak, he could see that the hair in the ponytail had lost some of its sheen, her body had lost some of its mass. She was, in a word: small.
And he'd never used that word for her before.
Instead of disturbing her as he would normally have done, he moved towards the only other window in the room that was not by the bed she had taken residence up on. He shifted until he was comfortable, one foot up in the windowsill to support his elbow, eyes never leaving the woman's frame.
And they wouldn't until she woke.
~!**!~
Akari turned a smile to the boy as she dropped him to his feet, his hand taking quick hold of her own as he stepped closer with the arrival of Genkai. Nabu took to walking alongside the older woman, his deep brown eyes meeting Akari's for a moment before he looked up at Genkai. "He was by himself. He wasn't attacked, but he was terrified of the demons who passed. She did the usual subduing trick."
"Nice to see you again, Genkai," Akari greeted, continuing her way to meet the woman halfway. "Kita, this is Genkai. She's the person who trains us superheroes. She's going to help you too, so you can help me find your mother soon."
"Can I become a superhero too?" he asked in a shy voice, peering up at Genkai through his lashes just as shyly.
"We were going to go meet Koenma when we found him. I think he has potential." Nabu said as he again moved, this time away from Genkai and to sit beside the boy, just tall enough to look up and run his nose along the arm of the boy comfortingly, who broke away from Akari to wrap his arms around the dog lovingly.
"I hope you have room for another. They're starting to grow in numbers…" *
Genkai sized the boy up with her usual frown, arms crossed over her chest.
"To become a superhero, you'll have to work hard and earn your keep. We don't take slackers in here, but if you learn well and can take instruction, we might just make a superhero out of you yet, boy.
Her eyes softened, "And get you back to your mother besides."
"This is Shizuru." The women had walked up behind Genkai while the older woman spoke. "She's going to be your big sister while you're here and you'll have to listen to everything she says as if it were me saying it, got it?"
Shizuru smiled at the boy and knelt down in front of him, "You ready to come inside?"
Genkai's ears perked at Akari's words and she stepped aside to speak with her more privately.
"I won't turn one away for something so trivial as running out of room. You know that. They can sleep under the stars and on the ground. It'll make them tougher. But as soon as you figure out what makes a building exist in every level, you let me know so we start construction, yeah?" Genkai glanced up at the dog demon with a gleam in her deep-set eyes. "And make sure this one's mother knows he's still around."
~!**!~
Her feverish dreams were frequented with darkness and running and pain and separation. But their direction relation to one another she'd never been able to sort out once among the waking world, if she even remembered them at all.
In her sleep, she growled and got up, eyes open in slits but not seeing anything other than what her mind held for her in dreams.
She stood, beginning to move to the free window next to the bed-staying on the same layer and giving off no intention of blurring into another-and upon reaching it, placing her palm against the glass and resting her forehead onto it.
Her body twitched as in her mind's eye she ran through forests of deep red and fell into traps with sharpened stakes at the bottom that pierced her arm and leg. The right hand that had moved to press against the glass fell down and clutched at the forearm of her left, rubbing at the old, scarred-over wound. A place on her leg began throbbing somewhere in the back of her mind and she shifted just enough to rub her other foot at the spot. 3
Hiei sat at his window, eyes carefully watching Shikiyoku's small, shrunken frame twitch occasionally, indicating that whatever dreams she was having did not call for a peaceful sleep. It made him watch her more carefully, taking in the marred skin he could see and only imagine the skin he couldn't see.
She was, to say the least, not the same person as before. Not the same demon he'd spent months in Demon World with, traversing the levels and staying with tribes. She wasn't the same demon who'd danced to bring tribes together, who had used her energy to coax large groups into a calm trance.
She wasn't, in a way, Shikiyoku at all. At least, not the Shikiyoku he had known.
Not the Shikiyoku who had desired to have a purpose while fulfilling others' desires. Not the same demon who seemed to enjoy being in his presence, when others wouldn't care unless they gained something from the cursed child.
When she moved, he shifted, readying to follow only to realize that, while her eyes were open, she didn't seem awake in any way. Her muscles twitched, her skin moving with miniscule movements that indicated flight from some enemy or another.
A frown pulled his lips downwards for a millisecond before he regained composure, his expression shifting to neutral observation over the female. He considered reaching out to her, considered the different things that could happen. She could likely make an attempt for his own life, if her wits were not about her.
Then again, who was he to say that she wouldn't make that attempt with her wits. He had, after all, been hunting her down for a few days.
His eyes followed the hand that she moved to her elbow, massaging at a scar he remembered the origins of, unlike the many others he saw littering her skin.
That's when he'd made up his mind.
His Jagan reached out to her slowly, at first merely brushing her consciousness before enveloping her in its presence, offering the image of himself seeing her floating towards him in the therapeutic waters that he remembered them floating in after the ordeal that had brought on the scar on her arm. He himself saw the memory, even as the Jagan played it out for her.
It had been a moment he'd thought about here and there.
But not near as much as their time with the Northern Tribe.
~!**!~
Kita broke away from Nabu to assess Shizuru with a shy gaze, only briefly looking to Akari before turning back to the other woman. "I'm Kita." he said to her after a moment, seeming to decide that he trusted these people. "And I want to have super powers too."
Akari smiled to herself before turning back to Genkai, having been listening to the older woman while she had watched the child. "I've… found two buildings like that so far, but when I look at them, there's nothing similar between them. Not that I can see or feel." She turned her calm eyes onto Genkai. "I was on my way to inform Koenma before running into Kita." She offered a small smile that said it was at the top of her list of things to do. "I'll update you when I find something."
She turned to Nabu, who had joined her to stand at her side. He looked up at her with calm eyes that seemed much, much older than he was. "We still have to meet Juun."
"I'm well aware. And I will." She turned to Genkai again. "Sorry to drop off and run, but I'm sure both of us have enough to keep us busy for a while. I'll see you again soon, I'm sure." She paused. "Take care until then."
And with that, she disappeared from the temple grounds and reappeared within the area of the only portal between Spirit and Human Worlds, stepping through that very portal with her best friend at her side and her thoughts straying for the moment to someone she hadn't seen in half a year.
Maybe I'll pay him a visit soon.
That was her lone thought before she relapsed into business mode again and made her way dutifully through the corridors of Koenma's castle. *
~!**!~
"You have been...most helpful." Youko practically purred, releasing the bindings of plants that had been wrapped about the female demon, gazing covetously at the shiny artifact he now held in-hand.
The demon alighted easily on the ground away from the wall and sashayed up to him, pressing her body against his with her hands on top of his tunic and starting to finger at his bare chest, pushing aside the yukata as she batted up through her eyelashes at him.
"I've always heard the tales about your...cold and calculating indifference, Youko Kurama. You surprise me."
Youko took another second staring at the artifact.
{Tch, typical.}
The thought across his mind had the kitsune blinking and pulling his yellow-eyed gaze down to the demoness basically pawing at him, and at his notice of her actions, his eyebrows raised, a lewd smile spreading over his lips as he regarded her with an amused expression once his mind played back her words.
"Then obviously," He laced his tone with as much heaviness as she had hers, "You haven't talked to many of the females. Rumors like that are often spread by jealous males."
She made an intrigued noise, "Perhaps you'd care to...show me what I've been missing?"
{No. No, we wouldn't, in fact.}
[Would you shut up for half-a-second?]
{You know I won't. Especially if you even so much as think about-}
"Unfortunately for you, gorgeous, I'm otherwise engaged and have to run."
"Too bad." She left her fingers trace up to his neckline and Youko had to hold back a growl as he extricated himself from her grasp with his free hand.
[You absolutely ruin all my fun, Red.]
{Ask me if I care.}
"No, does in fact, mean no this time, darling." He had both her hands by the wrists in his free one and he slowly lowered them until they were in front of her.
Youko turned tail and blurred through the layers, putting as many between himself and the female as absolutely possible, growling aloud once out of her earshot and his knuckles turning white where he clutched at the artifact.
[Do you, in fact, care?]
{No. No, I don't.}
Another growl, though he already knew the answer to the question before he posed it.
~!**!~
Her thoughts, her dreams rather, were suddenly filled with a warmth as she struggled against the stakes which had pierced her skin, and the dream shifted-as dreams will often easily do with minor suggestion-presenting her with another image, another setting.
This one threw her for a bit of a loop, as she realized she was not witnessing a dream through her own eyes, instead seeing herself through another, but-
...this wasn't her. Perhaps it was a product of the dream...was it...wishful thinking? How her skin practically glowed and her hair was, even while flecked with water, full of some inner shine?
...
Outside the dream, her body did relax, her hand no longer rubbing at the scar and simply holding on to her arm, even going so far as letting out a little sigh that passed through her without her direct notice. 3
Had Hiei's eyes been open, he would have seen the muscles of the female relax. Instead, with his eyes closed and mind on the memory he shared through the Jagan, he heard her relax, a small sigh only just audible enough for him to catch the end of.
He hadn't been aware of his own tenseness until his muscles relaxed as well.
Within the memory, Hiei stared at the wonderfully-colored hair that moved with the flow of the water, fanning out underneath the surface. He eyed the hands that stretched out to him, eventually curling about his shoulders until her head came to rest on one of them.
And the time seemed to stretch, that moment not seeming to end as he made a point to emphasize the calmness of the moment, the emotions she'd felt then.
He wasn't sure what had caused Shikiyoku to change from the person in this memory to the person in Toriko's bed, but… he wasn't sure what to do about her other than make at least one attempt to ease her consciousness.
Even if it meant she'd make an attempt at his life when she awoke.
~!**!~
"I see." The prince, who'd not stopped moving since Akari had found him, nodded once in a thoughtful manner as he continued down the corridor, cape moving about his ankles as his feet carried him to.. wherever he was going at this point. "Then, continue with your hard work. I'll look into it and-"
"I didn't come here to ask for you to look into it. I simply came to update you, Koenma."
There was a lull in the talk for a moment as the new king sighed.
"You have a million things going on. I simply wanted you to be kept up. Now, I plan on finding Juun and checking on section C. He's bound to have passed through every demon by now."
Koenma gave no reply for the moment as he spun on his toes and entered another room with a flourish, his cape whipping about frantically with the abrupt movement and stilling again when the kind too came to a standstill in front of his many monitors.
"I would file a formal report, but I'm sure you have enough paperwork right now to read and such, so I'll compile it all at the end, when things slow down just a little more."
"Much appreciated."
"I'll be back when I have an update for you, sir." she informed before turning heel and leaving again, moving through the portal in the room until her feet hit the first layer of Human World, where Nabu sat, waiting.
"That was fast."
"Well, it was only an update, Nabu."
"You know who I want to see now?"
"If it isn't Juun, then you're out of luck." she replied calmly as she closed her eyes, a hand reaching for the dog before she blurred from the lowest layer to the fourth layer, effectively bringing Nabu with her. She gave a sigh. "I know, Nabu. But, we don't have the time right now."
"We can make time to see your friends, you know. It would be worth it, in the end. You're too… you're like a workaholic."
"Shut up." *
~!**!~
Her eyes slowly opened, automatically, as she awoke and she blinked twice, the warmth and absolute peacefulness of the dream she just left lingered in her thoughts, even as the remembrance of said dream faded with the waking world.
She leaned forward again, her forehead coming to rest against the glass of the window, unsurprised to find that she did not wake up in the bed she remembered falling asleep in. She...couldn't honestly remember the last time she had woken up in the same place where she laid her head.
Restless. Much too restless.
Another sigh. Deeper than the one she didn't know she released in the dream and her eyes slid shut again with the exhale.
Felt beyond tired. More like...worn out.
Didn't really seem to feel hungry though. No more than the usual dull ache after feeding within recent memory. A small comfort. But a 'comfort' nonetheless. 3
Hiei let the memory fade away when he became aware of Shikiyoku's stirrings, his eyes sliding open to view the room around himself first, and then peer at the form whose back was to him. He watched even as her shoulders and chest heaved with a sigh that seemed much too large for her small body.
He stayed silent for a minute, his expression easily blank, neutral to his surroundings even as he chose his words carefully.
He hesitated only a moment before speaking up, his energy moving towards his body and staying close, to show he held no threat to her life.
"You're rather difficult to keep up with." he commented mildly, eyes staring at her evenly.
~!**!~
"Well, you are. You haven't even stopped to relax in weeks."
Akari shrugged at Nabu as she walked through the layer that was colored with familiar territory, territory that resembled her home level of Demon World almost perfectly. Though, the level and the layer number didn't match up, which confused her a bit. Apparently, there was more than one thing she needed to figure out before the end of this week. "You know why."
"I also know that you're avoiding something."
"Do you, now?"
The dog made a sound of irritation, a huff through his nostrils as she passed through another portal, this time her feet finding the dimension that would have, before this, lead to the Kekkai barrier. Instead, the only thing there was a small line of demons, all standing with their backs to the entrance and each facing the side that lead to the remains of Demon World.
Only one of them turned to look at her, and his teeth glimmered in the dim light. Pointed, sharp, like a shark's. "There she is. Were yer ears a-burnin'?"
"Only enough to make them disappear."
"Word-play suits you."
"You're annoying me." She came to a stop in front of the demon who stood a good two feet taller than she, his arms crossed over his bare chest and his black eyes looking down at her with a gleam of amusement. She had to actually look up at him to meet the teasing gaze, and to issue the frown meant just for him. "You're still here? I thought you said you'd be done by yesterday?"
"Well, a few things came up. We handled the problem, but-"
"You didn't kill them, did you?"
"Of course not. I sent them back."
"That defeats the purpose, Juun." She rubbed at her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Our objective is to get everyone to Spirit World safely. Not send them to their deaths."
"You and I both know that there's no proof of their deaths."
"A dimension disappears, so do they. Hence, they die. What was your reason?"
Juun's sharp jaw flexed slightly at her stare, and he turned so that his shoulder was facing her. "The demon reacted to the smell of blood. Rather violently."
Akari made a small sound and moved by him, walking up to the other three who had been talking amongst themselves. "Anything else happen?"
"Nope."
"No' that I know of."
Akari turned to Juun. "How did he react?"
"He grew, quite literally, ten feet taller and then proceeded to stomp his way through us. He yelled something or another about 'being free'?"
Akari sighed. "If you're asking me, then you aren't fit to be here."
He growled at her. "Then you stand here all day and all night and do nothing while I go play detective and be the dog of Spirit World."
"Be my guest, if you believe you can handle that better than this. Oh, and let me know when you find out what makes a building exists on every level simultaneously." She paused, eyes forward as she sensed another energy approaching. "Also, on your way, tell Koenma that this section is about to be closed off. There's no more than three demons on the other side, and I'm going to go round them up." She gave another pause, this time to turn and look at him over her shoulder, her grin matching his previous. "While you're at it, find Youko Kurama and tell him I request a day of leisure, if he's up for it. Whatever he sees fit, though none of the funny stuff, as he likes to call it."
The demon sent a growl that was louder than before, bared his teeth at her as his eyes shifted from black to a deep burgundy. "I'm not your errand boy."
"I thought you wanted something to do." With that, she turned and left him to his tasks, only pausing to say one more thing. "If he agrees, tell him to find me in an hour. I'll be done by then."
The only sound she registered as she took off after that was the sound of snickering from the others in the area. *
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star