Yu Yu Hakusho: An Alternate Reality

by Last of the Star Makers

What if Shinobu Sensui had one more bad guy? And what if Kurama's classmate got caught up in the whole saving the world mess? Starting in the midst of the Chapter Black Saga, Episode 73 of the anime, join CrisicMelody and Star's on-going roleplay full of action, adventure, and a little romance along the way. There's probably gonna be fun too. We think so. AU. OC/Kurama, OC/Hiei.

156. Episode 240

A/N: 'nother "chapter," as it were. Continues right where the last one left off.

Symbols Guide:

* : Written by CM; She writes primarily 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 primarily for Shikiyoku and 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.

(Words in italics and within parenthesis is dialogue between Hiei and Shikiyoku via the bond between them after Hiei became Shikiyoku's Consort. As soon as the 'thought' occurs, it can pass between them, and does not actually have to be formed into exact words-feelings and sensations can pass through as well-in order to be picked up and the meaning translated immediately by the other. For the sake of the coherence by the reader, words and sentences are used as normal. It cannot 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).

The Nabu Exception also applies to anyone when they are in an animal form, if the dialogue is in italics and quotations, unless stated otherwise.

---

"Would you guys quit taking up the doorway?" Chisai made a point to slide between the trio and grab the plant from the next guy, not seeming to notice the reason for the lingering guildies. "You're in the way," he said as he shuffled back by. Raion's hand on his arm stopped him mid-stride, and he nearly dropped the potted plant. "Seriously?" The lion planted that same hand onto the other's head and forced him to look at the newcomer. Sapphire eyes widened and he shook his head. "We've got work to do."

Ikigai slid through next, though no one stopped him when he re-entered the building.

It wasn't until Akari appeared in the room that they even so much as moved. "If you boys are going to stand around, I'd much rather do it myself," she called to the little group. As a collective they turned to blink at her, and when she showed no signs of joking, they set to work with apologies.

Tarou, as he passed her by, grinned down. "That's pretty hot," he commented as he swung his arm and smacked her on the ass. "I like a woman who takes charge."

When she jumped and whipped her head in his direction, eyes wide, he immediately threw his hands in the air in a surrender.

"I'm so sorry. I won't do it again." When she didn't immediately relax or even respond, he dropped into a bow. "I'm so sorry."

Akari blinked, and after a beat she took a breath and held a hand up. "Thank you for your apology, Tarou. Please don't bow." He stood upright again, his smile sheepish, and she waved her hand at him to get going. "Don't just stand there all day, go on."

She was aware that, somewhere down the block, a dog was barking in excitement, talking to its companion as it raced along the sidewalks. So, when Nabu and Kiyoko ran in front of the shop, both pausing at the door and looking different directions, she wasn't surprised to hear Nabu bark a greeting at her.

She was surprised when he ran inside, and Kiyoko did not. She turned to look out the front window, and her eyes narrowed at the little white dog as she planted herself quite comfortably between Shikiyoku and Minamino. Traitor.

And with that, she turned and began directing the group again, her back to the front of the store. *

"I'm sorry for surprising you, love." He murmured between them with a smirk darting over his features.

Without even looking at him, she asserted, "No, you're not."

He pressed his lips to the side of her head, but his smile against her gave him away.

"In either case," He spoke against her, "I thought it best to come and assist since it's my fault you're having to work so hard."

"The only reason you showed up is because you wanted to make sure I didn't turn your little 'gifts' away."

His silence spoke volumes and he lifted his head to watch the two workers grab a larger piece.

"You thought I didn't notice, fox? You're slipping." Her gaze darted quickly over the plants, his work in them quite obvious to her, despite his penchant for subtlety built up over the last few months which meant his subversions were rarely caught, if ever. "You just insist on leaving your footprint everywhere nowadays, don't you?"

"That's a little like a fox calling the kettle black, isn't it?"

"Why, whatever do you mean, Minamino-san?" Her innocent expression might have fooled anyone else.

"Like I didn't notice your mark etched all across the outside of the windows? Did you do that this morning when no one else was here?"

The upper half of the windows along one side of the building had delicate swirls etched all along them, connecting into one giant mural that unless one knew to look for it was impossible to catch except for its faint glimmer.

Before either one of them could continue, the sound of a bark had Shuichi looking in the direction from which the two dogs came bounding into view and he gave a smile.

If the pair of them had noticed the gathering at the front door that suddenly dispersed, neither of them bothered to indicate as much.

All at once, Toriko found herself standing in slight shock at being used as a coat hanger as Shuichi nonchalantly draped his suit jacket over her shoulders before he squatted down, elbows on his knees until he felt invited to pet her, to greet the fluffier dog who had paused in front of them.

"And what do you go by, Gorgeous?" He wanted to know. 3

Nabu raced between the feet of the other people inside, and Akari gave him a look as he came to a stop at her own feet. "Akari, Flowers is here, andandand-" Whatever the spinning dog had been about to say, he seemed to forget it altogether and he darted back out the door to greet said redhead.

Kiyoko sat regally in front of the man that crouched to her level, instantly aware that he was, just as Shikiyoku was, a kindred spirit. Her tail swept the sidewalk gently as he pet her, and when Nabu was suddenly vying for his attention, Kiyoko discreetly stepped in front of him, not done with her interactions.

"Kiyoko," she responded as Nabu turned to Shikiyoku, just as happy to say hello to her as he was to greet this 'Flowers'. "Nabu, love."

"Yeah?"

"Whyever have you not introduced me to these people before?"

She was met with no answer, instead he approached and sat at Kiyoko's side. "Hi Flowers! Long time no see!" *

Toriko crouched in such a way next to Shuichi that maintained her modesty even in her pencil skirt as she murmured, "What did she say?" To the redhead next to her. "I meant to ask Akari earlier."

"Kiyoko." He replied, scratching the dog just under her jaw.

The edges of Toriko's eyes crinkled as she reached over and scratched at one of Kiyoko's ears. "Good to meet you, Kiyoko."

Kurama's twinkling eyes darted between the two dogs before he looked back at Kiyoko to reply with, "Because he's easily distracted. Out of sight, out of mind with that one, mm?"

While he didn't answer the Shiba Inu directly this time, he reached over and scratched at his face for a bit as next to him Toriko rose.

Kurama's other hand instinctively reached out and caught his suit jacket in mid-air when suddenly Toriko had shrugged it off her shoulders with a look of mock-irritation at its presence before moving back into the store.

~!**!~

"Damn, he's hot."

"It means a lot less when you say that about everyone, you know." Chisai remarked, glancing over to see the look of consternation on Raion's face.

"No, like, dammit, it's not supposed to be like this." He seemed aggravated about something, his tail whipping behind him once.

"Oh, so it's okay when you flirt with Mom, but anybody else and-" Raitoningu rolled his eyes as he passed by with another double armful of broken down boxes and packing paraphernalia he was taking out to the dumpster in the back.

"Dammit, he's not just flirting." Raion snapped back, giving another glance at the pair outside.

"I refuse to let you be the reason we don't get more pay." Chisai grabbed at Raion's elbows once the latter let go of the chair. He steered the lion demon in front of him towards the same door Raitoningu had headed for. "If you can't watch and work, then you don't get to watch."

"You know I'm right!" Raion hissed, "This isn't fair! What he's doing isn't fair!"

"Why, because it's better than yours?" Tsudora remarked as he passed the pair headed in the other direction.

"Dammit guys, are none of you on my side about this?" He wasn't yelling only because he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

Chisai got really quiet and even Ikigai wouldn't look the blonde as his gaze flickered between them all.

"The problem is-" Raitoningu swallowed and watched as the redhead outside smoothly caught his jacket without so much as batting an eye as Mother began moving back inside. "-I think we're all on the same side.

"Whoever that is out there, that's a demon who knows exactly what he's doing." 3

Tarou had stepped outside with an arm full of plastic wrappings. He tossed it in the dumpster along the back wall, slammed the lid shut, dusted his hands on his pants, and was turning to go inside when he noticed Shikiyoku at just the edge of the building. He didn't recognize the arm around her shoulders, so when they stepped further back away from the truck he could hear running and ducked their heads over a sheet of paper, he stopped all movements.

Ah crap.

He watched the interactions for a bit, not liking that maybe perhaps he liked that pairing better than he did Shikiyoku with Hiei.

After a few minutes, he burst back into the shop, throwing the back door open and bursting through the door across from it into the front room. "GUYS!"

His eyes wildly scanned the room, and he realized that the subject of his outburst was in the room. All eyes, from the guild, to the newcomer, to Akari and Shikiyoku, were on him, and he gave a little, "uhhhh" sound.

Akari put the cap on her sharpie and stood upright, grabbed a box, and passed it to Tarou with a smile that read she knew. "To the kitchen, sir."

"Yes ma'am." He took the excuse to disappear from the room.

Things picked up again as the distraction left, and Akari continued on her box labelling mission, taking things here and there as she went.

A pair of hands reached for one of the unlabeled boxes next to her, and she stood as it was taken from her sight. "Those go under the barista station," she instructed, and she blinked up at the redhead she'd just ordered around. When he said nothing of it and complied, she gave a nod to herself and let her surprise dissipate.

If he was here to work, she'd keep him busy.

Ryouta stepped to her side, a paper in hand that he lowered so she could see even as she peeled a box open. She read the order list, nodded, and let him go about what he was doing. "Don't feel like you have to confirm those with me, Ryouta. I trust you with it."

He gave no answer, but she didn't need one. *

As the morning gave way to afternoon, the air of busyness that buzzed throughout the shop never seemed to slow.

For his part, Kurama did exactly as he meant to do, which was help in whatever way he could, murmuring a concise 'yes, ma'am' just like everyone else when Akari settled into ordering him around.

Shikiyoku dashed this way and that, sometimes appearing to be doing everything all at once with a practiced ease and other times looking as if she pursued something unrelated entirely.

The entire guild, while absolutely devoted to their tasks as they were given them, did not seem to let Kurama's presence ruin any of their fun, even with their collective reservations on their sudden awareness of his existence.

Ikigai, with his human girlfriend, knew exactly who Shuichi Minamino was, and once the lot of them had passed the information around to each other, they found themselves both a little dumbfounded and a little in awe of him. More so even when Ryouta at one point confirmed it, having heard their mostly private familial interactions, and made a passing remark about how low the infamous kitsune thief had sunk if he worked now to build up a reputation of being on the straight and narrow.

Not a single one of the guild dared to ask him what he meant by that.

When they had the opportunity, Raitoningu and Tsundora explained about Kurama the Youko, whose name was still whispered around certain circles as one of the most audacious and successful thieves in old Demon World, and how every so often a heist would be pulled of such magnitude that everyone would blame the silver-tailed kitsune himself when nothing turned up.

That conversation led to Chisai being struck with the remembrance of the name Shuichi Minamino, the human vessel for Kurama, whose name he had heard in association with the somewhat equally infamous Fighting Four: Hiei, Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Kurama.

While the entirety of their exploits weren't exactly known to this particular group, they each knew bits and pieces of the stories associated with the squad who had at one point been the most hated and feared in the upper levels of old Demon World.

Somehow in the middle of all of this, the guild kept up their other antics as well: Raion making passes at Shikiyoku if only to see if the kitsune would react; Tarou, perhaps not touching Akari quite like that slap on her rear again, but remaining cognizant of his bet and engaging with her in what he considered to be his own charming way; Ikigai's friendliness could hardly be mistaken for flirtations, but he chimed in with sincere observations just as much as Chisai did.

More than once when he walked past her, Raion mimed slapping Akari's thigh with his tail, though it never quite touched her. The wolf brothers would tag-team their flattery over her head as if playing monkey-in-the-middle and she were the monkey. Raitoningu's comments would be most often accompanied by smiles that cut back the severity of the scar on his face, while Tsundora's remarks came across as mild, even chilly enough to intentionally send a shiver down the spine. 3

With boxes labeled for their destinations, it was easier for Akari to designate sections to people, and easier for the individuals to figure out where things were going without having to ask every few minutes. It smoothed the process out just enough that Akari was able to jump into the unboxing, the putting away, the general working busyness that the others were doing.

That was when she'd started to notice the flirtations more often, since she wasn't so devoted to helping things go smoother and quicker. Sure, she'd noticed Tarou's flirtations; she expected it, and half enjoyed the attention since it wasn't enough to pull her from what she was doing.

Ikigai was friendly and easy to chatter with when she passed him by, and his compliments were very much to be taken at face value, she noticed, and she happily accepted and even returned them, all the while feeling a sort of appreciation for his personality and kindness.

Chisai definitely surprised her with his frankness. Half of the time she wasn't sure if he was complimenting or simply observing, and on the one occasion she'd asked, he'd only smiled and left for the next room with his box.

She did notice at one point that Shikiyoku was getting just as many compliments, though some were definitely more freely given and not quite so cautious in nature as the ones Akari herself had been receiving. A new appreciation surfaced at the thoughtfulness of the others, so when Raion passed by the first time and acted as if to touch her thigh, her smile was a little more mischievous than she'd shown to any of them yet. The look he'd given back to her had been equal to her own.

When she least expected it, Akari found herself standing between the two demons she'd already deduced to be brothers, listening to their flattery with a redness at the tips of her ears. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so many flirtations going on, especially from so many different people, and she couldn't quite figure out how to respond at first.

And then Raitoningu smiled, and Akari spoke before she could stop herself, "Did the sun come out, or did you just smile at me?"

Before he could respond to her cheesy line and smile, she moved on to another task, a bit surprised at herself for making the comment at all. *

"Mom!" Raitoningu shouted as Akari moved away. "You'd better be careful! This one might be more fun than you!"

Shikiyoku stood behind the counter, setting up the digital register system with a flurry of fingers that were nearly unseen in their speed.

"Of course she is, Raiton." She replied without batting an eye. "I haven't the faintest idea what fun is."

"This is news to me." Kurama added mildly as he continued using the advantage of his height to put up some of the higher decorations Shikiyoku intended to have around for the grand opening. "To my experience, you're the very definition of 'fun.'"

Most of the guild were never quite sure how to react when Kurama would chime in on the conversation. Half the time they went silent when he and Shikiyoku would exchange proverbial swings, unused to being around someone who seemed more than capable to, at times, silence even their mother.

"If that's true, then at the very least Akari can have the satisfaction of knowing she's surpassed even the definition as it stands, difficult though it may be."

She was not silenced this time, however, it seemed. 3

Akari lowered herself to sit on the floor in front of a box labelled miscellaneous, listening to the conversation with a smile to herself as she tore it open. "Well, if you're paid any attention to the fine print, you'd know I was the inspiration for the word itself," she remarked, her back to the rest of the room definitely giving her the confidence to speak.

"I definitely agree, you are fine," Raion purred from somewhere to her left.

"And just my type," Tarou tacked on. *

"Who isn't your type?" Chisai inquired dryly as he ducked beneath Tarou's elbow to bring something else into the room, the motion also allowing him to be just out of reach as Tarou's hand came flying through the air intending to smack him upside the head.

~!**!~

Eventually, everything started to come together. Despite the attempts of the guild to get as much extra pay as possible, just about the time they were standing around intentionally trying to find things to do, they heard Shikiyoku's voice from somewhere else in the shop.

"Alright, take five, you lot." Shikiyoku emerged from the back rooms wiping her hands on a clean cloth and moved to shift her blazer back over her shoulders. "The inspectors will arrive soon and I don't want you mucking about the place and getting in the way." She looked over at Kurama and indicated out the back door. "Look after the grill, will you? The rest of you don't wander off too far. Dinner will be ready just as soon as the inspectors are gone."

Kurama nodded and ducked out to see exactly what she meant, smiling at the food on the three grills that were giving off the most mouth-watering of scents. He wasn't sure when she assembled the accoutrements, but did not find himself surprised that there would be enough here to feed everyone who worked.

In the meantime, Shikiyoku pulled Akari over to show her how to work the new register, having programmed in each item on the menu earlier, assuring her in the midst of it that the team she was calling in would give her a more thorough run-down in the weeks to come, and also be able to answer any questions with which she might find herself later.

When the inspections began being made, Shikiyoku was more than willing to lead each one around as necessary, but made sure Akari was there as well. 3

Akari had just set down one of the last plants when Shikiyoku stepped into the room and called for attention. She stepped back to look at the line of stools, gave a nod to herself, and turned to listen just as the rest did.

Her smile widened, though it twitched with a mixture of excitement and worry about the opening day that was barrelling ever closer.

The guild chattered excitedly about food on their way out the back door, following after Minamino and leaving Akari to her training with Shikiyoku. It was a welcome distraction from her sudden nerves, and she paid very close attention to the various prompts on the screen when she pushed this button or that.

When the inspectors stepped through the door one by one, the canine demon was more than willing to accompany Toriko and the inspector of the minute through the building, listening and gleaning as much information as she could with each interaction.

It was during a lull in conversation that Akari noticed the silence of the building, and for a moment it felt heavier than she'd ever noticed before. She glanced around the room briefly, looking for any reason as to her moment of unsettled thoughts.

And then she realized the silence wasn't really in the room itself, but inside her own head. She blinked and shoved the thought away for later, for a time where she was not working, and she shook that inspector's hand as he handed over signed paperwork to Shikiyoku. *

As the inspections wound down and Shikiyoku finished the final calls that needed made so the paperwork could be drawn up as quickly as possible, something in the air gave Kurama pause as he moved for the backdoor with two plates in his hands and found Shikiyoku leading Akari in his direction.

He passed them the plates of food, some of the guild jostling each other behind him to pile things onto their own, even as Kurama gave Shikiyoku an inquisitive look.

"What else are you cooking up?" He wanted to know.

Shikiyoku appeared to catch the only just now noticeable buzz to the area and she glanced down at her watch.

"You remember that stunt we pulled in Tahiti?"

"Tahiti?" He grew thoughtful, shuffling through his memories before an eyebrow rose higher on his face. "Yes?"

Shikiyoku grinned and passed her plate back to him as the air behind him amidst the couple of parking spots began to shimmer and wave while she moved beyond him towards it.

The group who grew visible behind what seemed like a heat haze suddenly solidified and the tallest, lankiest man stepped forward, looking around the lot.

There were five of them in total, with shades of skin varying between coffee and caramel and chocolate and cedar, and they were all wearing the brightest, most colorful clothing with gorgeous patterns that wrapped tightly around a midsection here, but flowed across this other one's shoulders, or revealed that one's leg up to the thigh, all accented with varying lengths of beads and shells and pouches and jewelry.

A couple of them were visibly armed with daggers or knives or carried a staff.

The one who stepped forward with shavings done in the dreads around the edges of his head gave a grin of brilliant teeth when he spied Shikiyoku coming towards him, lifting her glasses up to the top of her head, and he loped forward to meet her.

"Kedu, Oratilwe!" He called in greeting, the others behind him following after him.

"Kedu, Zo." Shikiyoku replied as he was upon her and suddenly had gathered her up in his arms and appeared to be admonishing her.

"Don't you 'kedu,' me, wo-man!" His accent made his words come a little slower, moving around the language that was obviously not his native tongue, but the easy-going demeanor might have had just as much to do with it. "You leave wid'out saying goodbye and den only call when you need us, eh? I see how id is."

"To be fair, Zo, we were in something of a hurry." Kurama had moved up to join them.

"And YOU, Kọlọkọlọ!" He abruptly let go of Shikiyoku, who found herself hugged by one or more of the others. He whacked Kurama on the shoulder with his walking stick. "Still getting into trouble, I see. Diddit I warn you about dis one?" He jerked his head at Shikiyoku, but smiled and reached forward to wrap an arm about Kurama's shoulders.

"Akari!" Shikiyoku called, stepping back towards the food with her arm wrapped around the back of one of the other four of the group, who was similarly embraced with her, and leading the whole crew forward. She gave a mischievous grin that looked more like herself than she had all day. "Come meet your temporary staff." 3

Akari smiled politely and gave a quiet 'thank you' to Minamino for the plate of food and moved beyond him, leaving Shikiyoku to converse with him about whatever it was he'd approached about.

"Move your big hands out of the way, Tarou, so we can all get some!"

"If you'd quit pushin', I'd be outta yer way in a second, pipsqueak."

Akari stood nearby the grills, enjoying the family-style bickering of the group even as the two brothers came to stand on either side of her, their plates full. "It all came together nicely," Tsundora commented, tilting his head to the shop behind them.

Akari nodded, her smile a soft one. "Thank you for your help. I quite enjoyed having you all around."

"I'm sure we'll be around more than you think," Raitoningu pat her on the back. "She's endorsed you, after all."

Akari raised a questioning look up at the wolf demon, but didn't have a chance to speak before several demonic energies stepped onto the lot, and her eyes turned to find the very colorfully outfitted group that greeted Shikiyoku and Minamino.

"Just what does she get up to when we're not around?" Tsundora whispered over her head.

"Beats me," Raitoningu whispered back.

The guild and Akari watched in quiet awe and surprise as Shikiyoku hugged first one demon and then another, and if Akari's expression hadn't been filled with surprise before, it definitely was when Shikiyoku called out to her.

My temporary staff? She couldn't quite believe it, though she didn't doubt for a second that Shikiyoku was joking.

"Go," Raitoningu gave her a gentle nudge forward, "before she comes to get you."

Tsundora took her plate from her when she passed it over, and recovered and gave a welcoming smile to the people who would be working with her. "What a wonderful surprise!" She glanced at Shikiyoku with a raised brow, wondering when she'd orchestrated this. She turned to the group again and gave a bow. "Thank you for coming, and I look forward to learning from you all!" *

The group of now seven-as Shikiyoku and Kurama each were in the midst-moved back for Akari and the food, meeting her halfway.

"Ah, come here wo-man! We will get to know each other better den dat!" As she came up from the bow, Zo wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a warm hug.

"What are we supposed to know about this time, Oratilwe?" The shortest of the crew, with the most delicate of all their features, also had the softest voice, and turned their bright copper eyes onto Shikiyoku for the answer.

"I will teach you how to run a shop, Yenge." A flicker of a grin danced across Shikiyoku's eyes. "You'll all be barista. Or some of you will, anyway."

Yenge nodded, without further question, but the one with a poofy mohawk for hair frowned, "A ba-ri-sta?"

"Mm." Shikiyoku nodded, then turned to the dog demon, whom Zo had put at arms length after hugging her. "Akari, that one is Zo."

He patted both of her shoulders twice and then dropped his hands.

"This is Yenge."

When Yenge nodded in greeting, the bits of gold wrapped about wild dreads clinked.

Shikiyoku indicated the one with the mohawk. "Loba."

Loba also came forward from where he had been leaning an arm against Kurama, his arms wide for a warm hug.

Mashaka had the shortest dreads save for two that framed his face, and went to hug Akari when introduced.

"And this is Nyako." Shikiyoku said of the last one around whom her arm was circled, who in turn had his arm resting around her shoulders with her pulled up firmly against his side. His skin and hair was the darkest of them all, lips the fullest, and ears pointed just like the rest of them, though his expressionless face almost seemed more like a frown when compared to the others who gave their smiles much more freely.

Like Yenge, he gave Akari a silent nod and did not otherwise move.

Shikiyoku's gaze pierced beyond Akari to the guild still standing by the grills.

"What?" She called in good-humor to the unusually quiet bunch, inviting them to come forward if they wished. "Did you think Japan was the only place where there were demons?"

"Ah, ma'am," The way Zo lengthened the word made it sound like he said 'mom,' "Why do you call us such t'ings? We are no evil spirits." His dark eyes had a dangerous glint to them that seemed to contradict his argument. "A'least, not to deh people we like." 3

Akari straightened up, her smile warmer and her eyes lit up with pleasant surprise as Zo hugged her about the shoulders. She returned the hug, though it was most definitely out of instinct at first. "I look forward to it," she responded genuinely. When Shikiyoku introduced this one, she looked up at Zo, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

With the introduction of Yenge, she gave a similar nod and the same smile she'd had for Zo. When Loba stepped forward, Akari stepped into his hug and returned it just as she had with Zo, and then repeated this with Mashaka. And finally, when Nyako gave a nod in greeting, Akari mirrored the action, her smile never wavering.

"It's a pleasure to meet each and every one of you."

There was still a hesitation from the guild after Shikiyoku's invitation, but the first to move was Ikigai. Not the shy one, he held his arms open for a hug from anyone who would give him one, introducing himself with the same friendly nature Akari had come to appreciate.

"I'm Ikigai. I really like your outfits and hairstyles." He gestured to the more colorful outfit of the group, "My girlfriend's favorite colors are all in that outfit. She'd love it too."

After Gai's introduction, the guild stepped up one by one to introduce themselves and make conversation.

Tsundora passed Akari her plate back as he approached the group of five himself, and Raitoningu stepped to Shikiyoku's side. "You really keep yourself busy when we're not in the bar, hm?" His smile was a teasing one. *

Two vastly different cultures finally came together as Ikigai stepped forward and his compliment towards Mashaka was met with a generous laugh from the other as he stepped up and wrapped his arms around Gai to lift him off his feet.

As they all mingled together, Kurama suddenly realized why there had been so much food as the newcomers helped themselves as Shikiyoku's behest and the look he gave her was met with a wink, but otherwise ignored as she wandered inside with Nyako still attached to her.

"How did you meet..." Chisai hesitated as he meant to use the name Zo had for her so the foreigner would know to whom he referred.

Zo's eyes twinkled, holding a plate in one hand and feeding himself with the arm wrapped around his staff, "Oratilwe? The Beloved One? I t'ink you may call her Shikiyoku, but we met her as Toriko wid dat one. Deh fox." He nodded a head at Kurama. "Id was in Tahiti, another island to deh Southeast of here."

"It was not all that long ago in the big scheme of things, really. Perhaps a handful of months? But the story would take much too long to tell." Yenge calmly replied. "Perhaps in the future, when we have more time."

"Suffice it to say," Loba's accent was lazy in the same way as Zo and he accompanied most of his speech with a grin, "Id was a wild ride, man."

"Zo likes to exaggerate. We've seen her on several occasions since then." Mashaka added. "She calls on us quite often when there is a need to be filled quickly and she does not have enough hands to attend to it herself in a way that would not arouse suspicion." His golden eyes glimmered. "As I'm sure you're aware, she pays quite well." 3

Akari listened to the various conversations going on around her, her smile still just as wide and warm as it had been upon welcoming the group who would be helping her. She picked at her plate, her eyes roving the mingling group as conversation was made, from Chisai asking where Zo was from to Ikigai complimenting Loba's hairstyle.

Tarou stepped to her side, quiet for the moment as she seemed to turn inward, her eyes glazing over for a few seconds. When she seemed to return to the present and picked something from her plate, he turned and dropped something from his onto hers, his movement slow at first until she turned to meet his gaze. "Not used to being around so many social people, hm?"

She exhaled from her nose and shook her head. "Not usually. It's been a long time since I've socialized this much."

"How unusual." He tossed food into his mouth and chewed for a bit. After he swallowed, he continued, "Dogs are usually the most social of us all."

"Unless they're one-track minded," she reached over and dropped something onto his plate as a trade for what he'd shared. "Balance is not one of my stronger suits, especially where work and socializing is concerned."

He tossed his head back and laughed. "I get yah there." When she didn't reply, he followed her line of sight to watch Kurama set plates of meat down for the two dogs to eat from. He couldn't remember their names, but he knew they were close companions to Akari. "What's their names?"

"Hm?" She glanced up at him, then back to the dogs, and gave a smile. "Oh. Nabu and Kiyoko. They're the inspiration for the dog friendly cafe."

"Wonderful companions for a wonderful demon."

Akari turned to look at Tarou, searching his profile for something that wasn't there. "Flattery, sir, just might get you somewhere." With a teasing smile, she pat him on the arm and moved towards the nearest grill, intending on getting seconds. *

"I've never been out of the country." Ikigai was admitting to Yenge. "Is Tahiti a nice place to live?"

"We are not from there." Yenge replied. "We were just...visiting."

"You should go if you ever have de time, man. It is a beautiful country." Loba added.

"Where are you from?" Chisai wanted to know.

"Here and dere." Zo's lips widened a little at the question. "Sometimes Africa, sometimes America. Occasionally Europe."

Mashaka shook his head as he turned down to his food with a grin, but did not disagree.

Tsundora was craning his head around the small crowd.

"She went inside with Nyako." Kurama told him quietly from his elbow after making sure the dogs had plenty to eat.

The look he got from Tsundora was a questioning one and Kurama's eyes followed the path Shikiyoku had taken into the shop, the evening sun starting to cast brilliant shadows around them as first one and then another of the lights up around the parking lot started to light, but he said nothing else. 3

Akari plucked what she wanted from the grill before she turned to join the groupings, though she did pause in front of the redhead and give him a small smile. "Thank you for getting them a plate," she nodded down at Nabu and Kiyoko. "I appreciate it."

And with that, she moved to stand next to Ikigai, her smile a curious one.

"Zo, may I ask about some of your travels?"

Gai bounced up and down excitedly. "Oh, me too!" *

"And what give you de idea dat we travel?" His hands free of food, he leaned heavily into his walking staff and his grin, even in the dying light, was still almost brilliantly white.

"You get one story, Zo." Yenge held up a single finger stubbornly and as Zo went to protest, he got a firm head shake from the other and a repeated, "One." Yenge moved for the back door, "And it had better be finished by the time I am back."

Zo's lanky form bent down a little, "Okay, do you want to hear about de time Yenge nearly got eaten by a polar bear, or de time time I single-handedly fought back five djinn with nuthin' but a stick?" 3

Akari raised a brow at Zo's question, but she didn't answer as Yenge instead spoke up. Gai and Akari turned as one to look at the woman, and then just as uniformly turned to look at Zo again when he started speaking once more.

Without a beat's hesitation, the duo tipped their heads to the left, confusion coloring their faces, and they asked:

"...what's a polar bear?" *

"A polar bear-" He leaned down a little bit farther, his eyes bright with a storyteller's enthusiasm, "-is a creature who lives faaaaar to de North-" One of his hands swept down with a flourish from his staff, looking as if it trailed some dark smoke until he held out his hand, palm up, and an almost translucent image of a lumbering beast, a polar bear, appeared floating a few inches above his gesture, though it was no larger than his hand. "-where dere is no ground, but ice, and no rain, but snow." 3

Akari's eyes widened at the smoke that began to fill the air and take form, following its every motion until the image of the creature Zo talked about formed. She watched as the smoky figure loped in place, but tore her eyes away from it to look up at Zo as he explained the land to the North.

She imagined the snow and the ice, something she'd only witnessed a handful of times in her own life, and smiled fondly at those few memories even as she brushed them away for the story that she and Gai would most likely agree upon to hear.

"Let's hear that one, Akari. I've never seen snow." Ikigai admitted as he turned to her, though he definitely was giving her the option to veto it.

Akari nodded at him and turned to Zo. "The story about the polar bear, please." She reached down and picked up Nabu, who had come to sit at her feet at some point after his meal.

"Me either!" He pawed at Ikigai. "I don't even know what snow is!" Akari glanced at him and realized that in his few years of life, she couldn't remember it snowing in the wintertime on this Level. And if it had, she doubted he'd gone outside to see it. *

"So dere we were-" Zo continued once they had decided on their story. The swirl in his hand shifted to show five figures running forward, bits of something falling as they went. "-de snow falling down around us like cold bits of sugar from de dark sky-"

He proceeded to weave an improbable tale that he made seem all the more true when he explained how the very glacier beneath them had cracked open and nearly swallowed them all, leaving Yenge, alone at the top of an opening almost a mile high, and forced to seek a safer path.

"You take too long, old man." Yenge called, arms crossed at the back door just as Zo was about to explain Yenge's mishap with the polar bear that resulted in nearly being eaten.

Zo looked up and Yenge's eyes were surveying the stars, "The moon has risen and we must start the ritual." 3

Akari and Gai leaned in simultaneously, Gai's smile one of fascination as Akari's was one of calm interest as she watched the little show in the smoke. She loved the little snowflakes, glad that Zo was able to give Ikigai even a small impression of her favorite weather anomaly as the story went on.

His story was told in such detail that Akari could almost see it like one of her illusions in her head, and she was just really getting to the best part of the little show when Yenge spoke up.

The little show dissipated, and Akari sat back with a little smile up at Zo, thankful for what of the story she could get.

Gai, however, gave a little groan. "Aw man! I really wanted to see the polar bear again!"

Even Nabu gave a little doggy grunt and wriggled to be set on his feet. "It was just getting good, too…"

Akari laughed and pat him on the head after she set him on the concrete. She straightened again and turned her smile to Zo. "Thank you for what of the story you could tell."

"Yes! Thank you!" Gai stretched and then turned to look at Yenge. "There's a ritual?" He gave an excited little bounce. "I can't wait to see it!" *

"Perhaps I will be allowed to finish de tale later." He glanced between the two of them.

Yenge's smile did not show teeth like Zo or Mashaka's usually did, but the smile was there, "Of course. We may be telepaths, but what Shikiyoku is asking requires a little bit more than just that. Loba, can you come check to make sure the glyphs are right for me?"

Loba nodded and casually moved for the door as Yenge turned to lead the way inside.

"Come, come!" Zo encouraged, waving his arms as if to herd them all to follow. "Come if you like! Yenge is right, the moon is in the sky. You should all come inside."

Kurama made sure he was the last one to go inside of any of the ones who wanted to watch, if only to make sure the door behind them was shut and locked.

The shades on all the windows had been pulled down, and the main lobby of the cafe was dark now, except for a glowing orb resembling the moon, hanging over the largest area that could be cleared, tables and chairs shifted to the side for the moment.

Shikiyoku sent Kurama a little smile as he slid himself into a seat towards the back that hadn't needed to be moved and gave her a nod.

There was a strange symbol on her forehead and her glasses were hooked over the first button on her blouse. The symbol matched one Nyako also had on his forehead, both of them just starting to glow the same silvery color as the moon overhead. She seemed much shorter now standing next to the rather tall Nyako with her heels discarded somewhere else.

Yenge led Loba underneath the moon and they both began reaching out into thin air, silvery glyphs appearing at their touch and disappearing as they retracted their fingers from them.

Nyako let go of Shikiyoku's hand, which he had been holding until the others of his crew finished coming closer, and moved over to Zo to draw the shape he wore onto Zo's forehead as well, eventually Zo doing the same to Yenge while Nyako repeated it for Loba and then Mashaka.

There wasn't hardly a moment of silence as they moved around, one or another of them beginning to sing or hum and the others doing the same, filling the air with rhythms and notes and obviously charging the atmosphere as the glyphs hanging in mid-air around the center of the room started to flicker and then eventually brighten and stay.

Shikiyoku stood directly underneath the moon above, surrounded by the glyphs and smiling at the ones moving about her.

"Barista, huh?" This time the word wasn't quite so syllabified when Loba grinned at her. She shrugged just a touch as they all moved to encircle her.

They held hands, song continuing even so, and the same symbols appeared on the backs of their hands that was on their foreheads and began to glow brighter in unison.

When the song reached a sort of climax, Shikiyoku's head snapped back and her eyes filled with that same silver energy, staring open at the moon as energy seemed to transfer from the symbol on her forehead into the moon above.

Now it was the moon's turn to grow brighter and brighter as if it might burst. The others' eyes flew open, filled with the silvery energy now too, and that same energy began to flow outwards from the moon above and down in five small, wavery streams which disappeared into the symbols on each of the foreigners' heads.

The knowledge flowing from Shikiyoku began to slow, the moon started to dim, and eventually the glyphs hanging in the air around her started to flicker until the energy in the moon had all but gone into the symbols of those around her, and when that happened, everything went out all at once and for a breath left the room dark and silent.

After the next beat, a couple of plants in the room began to give off a soft glow so as not to blind everyone immediately with the main lights of the building, just as the rustling sound of someone collapsing and being caught broke the silence.

A few of the other lights overhead slowly came on, courtesy of Kurama who had gone to find and turn on maybe half, and one of the five who had caught Shikiyoku underneath her arms was helping steady her on her feet as she gave him a nod of thanks. She moved to sit near her discarded heels and get her shoes back on her feet.

As attention started to disperse to the rest of them, not a single one of the five who had been there looked the same as they did. In fact, they all looked surprisingly native to this region, and rather nondescript at that, all wearing uniforms suited to an establishment as this. 3

Telepaths! The surprise at the revelation seemed to shoot through the people who'd heard it, and a few people exchanged glances with raised brows, as if asking if they'd picked up on it either.

Akari and Ikigai were the first to move towards the door, and closely after the rest of the guild followed suit. They filed in one by one into the room, each person looking about to see what had changed and make their guesses as to what ritual was going to happen - as if any of them actually had a clue.

Akari lingered around the edge of what she could tell was the working space for her guests and their new friends, taking a moment to decide if she was to pull up a stool or not.

In the end, she lowered herself to the floor and sat cross legged, and Nabu found her lap within moments of her getting comfortable. Kiyoko moved to lay up against Akari's side, and as the guildies got comfortable in their various sitting and standing positions, a silence fell that was only broken by the hums and singing from the group in the center of the room.

She watched in awe as the group moved, applying symbols to each other's foreheads and preparing for their ritual. It reminded her briefly of the days when she was younger and was still living with a pack, when they would gather under the moon to tell stories and dance and sing.

But now that memory only reminded her of the silence in her own mind, a silence she'd discovered earlier that day to mean that her ties with her own pack had weakened of their own accord, and then vanished.

She didn't know what that meant, but she didn't linger on it.

Instead, she watched as the symbols began to appear and solidify in the air, glowing with the same color of the moon in the room, and the symbols on each person's head. When she noticed those symbols appeared on the linked hands too, she began to look for any other symbols.

Shikiyoku's head snapped backwards and Akari wondered if it was painful, but otherwise found herself staring, motionless, as the glow and the energy moved in a way she couldn't rightly understand.

Then the glyphs were gone, and soon after those disappeared so too did the moon and the rest of the energy. The darkness that returned was strange, though it didn't last long as little lights began to glow about the room.

Akari hadn't noticed that the plants were able to do such a thing, though she knew the source of it and wondered how long ago this ritual had been planned.

Her eyes returned to Shikiyoku, filled with wonder and curiosity and awe for the woman who had put together so much in such a short amount of time, and with no signs of stress or fatigue.

When the lights came on and people started moving again, she noticed Shikiyoku's face had gone pale, and she took another look around the room to notice that the others who had been in the ritual all looked starkly different.

She pat Nabu twice and he moved from her lap so she could stand. She moved through the door and to the kitchen, where she grabbed one of the clean glasses and filled it with water. She stepped out the back door, remembering that Shikiyoku had not taken the time to eat, and made a plate before turning and making her way back inside.

She approached Shikiyoku quietly, and extended the plate first. "I don't know what you need, but I hope this helps." She extended the water to her too, her smile gentle. "Is there anything I can get you?"

Behind her, she could hear tables and chairs being moved back to their original positions, and she was thankful for the people who were in her shop. *

The five recipients of the ritual were laughing and joking with one another, finding somewhat their new looks to be more amusing than anything.

When one of the guild members couldn't name who was who, they laughed, pointed out there were name tags, and then started immediately to cover them up just to see if anyone had any guesses.

They occasionally would glance in Shikiyoku's direction, but mostly started to bustle around the shop as if to familiarize themselves with every single thing in the building.

As quietly and discreetly as a master thief can do, once Kurama saw Shikiyoku being taken care of, he took his leave and his suit jacket. He'd overstayed, frankly, and had things of his own that needed doing before the dinner party scheduled for the very next evening.

He had, however, during the storytelling outside, made sure any mess they made was gone, any foodstuffs left over stored in a way that could be taken with anyone who wanted it and stacked neatly on either side of the also clean grills.

"I'm fine." Shikiyoku assured Akari, even though she did take the food and place it on the table next to her, water following beside it as she leaned back over to finishing fiddling with her shoes. Her grasp on the plate and glass had not been steady. "You, however, should likely go get a good night's sleep." She pulled her glasses from the front of her blouse and placed them over her nose before she sat back up and gave her a smile. "They'll probably be at this all night." She nodded towards the others. "You'll be free to arrive as you like before opening hours." 3

Akari didn't miss the shaky hands that took the offerings from her. She watched the other as she adjusted her heels on her feet, looking for any sign that she might need anything other than food or drink.

After a few seconds pause, her smile widened just a touch. "Thank you. For everything." She lifted her head to look around at the cafe, noticing the places where her own ideas had come to life, and other places where new and improved ones had been implemented. "I can't imagine how hard it had to be to get this put together in the timeframe you did."

Kiyoko came to sit beside Shikiyoku's chair, though she looked at Akari, patiently waiting for the time when they'd go home.

"Are you absolutely sure there's nothing I can do for you before I leave?" *

"I do so relish a challenge. ...You're welcome." Shikiyoku gave her a kind smile, hands in her lap as she looked up at Akari, "What you can do for me is enjoy the fruits of your labors tomorrow morning. And for as long as you desire to continue to work this establishment."

"Would you like for me to call you a ride home?" 3

Akari gave a little laugh to herself and a nod to Shikiyoku. "I will definitely do that." At the question of a ride, Akari shook her head no. "Thank you, but it's a beautiful night to walk."

She took two steps towards the counter, paused, and turned to Shikiyoku again. "If you're ever bored, let's have lunch?"

Before Shikiyoku could answer, Akari approached the group of five fiddling with the machines behind the counter. "I'll be in at dawn. Is there anything you all would want for breakfast?" *

Well, I can't say I didn't try.

Shikiyoku didn't let her amusement at Tarou having an actual chance to approach Akari about walking her home reflect on her face, though she did see him pumping his fist when Akari couldn't see him.

Any answer Shikiyoku had for Akari died on her lips as Akari turned away and was assaulted by five very cheery voices crying, "Oh, hi! Yes, hello! Welcome!" As she got up to the counter, grinning at her as they all but danced around the spaces front and back, and her being on the receiving end of several winks.

"Nah, we don't need anything!" One called as they ducked into the back room and gave a dismissive wave to the notion.

"Or bring whatever you want!" Another had their back to the counter and was sifting through the supplies at the wall.

"We can eat a lot or not at all!" A third asserted before disappearing into the industrial refrigerator.

After a moment where Shikiyoku had briefly slumped in her chair, looking shaken and weary, she sat back up in the next instant and with all of Toriko's authority called gruffly out to any of the guild that were still hanging around, "Alright, go on, you lot! You weren't complete morons. Go have a drink on the house." She pulled her phone out from where it was tucked and made another call, turning to look out the window nearby to hide the dark circles under her eyes. 3

Akari's smile widened at the group and their chorus, glad not for the first time that they'd be helping her come the grand re-opening. "Alright then. See you all in the morning." She waved as she turned to head out the door, Nabu and Kiyoko quickly on her heels .

A larger hand had hold of the door before her own did, and Tarou pushed it open and leaned a bit on the handle. "May I walk you home, Akari?"

Akari's smile softened at the request, noticing not for the first time that he kept a certain distance between them since the incident earlier that morning. She considered him and his, quite frankly, sweet offer.

But in the end, she found herself shaking her head no slowly. "Thank you for the offer, Tarou, but no thank you." She pat his arm as she moved past him and onto the concrete lining the street.

After a beat, she turned to look at him again.

"I'm sure you'll see me soon. I'll have some celebrating to do." With that, she turned and made her leisurely way back towards home, her eyes up on the moon in the sky. *

Tarou let her go, though his hand released the door and let it close in his face on its own.

He could partially see his reflection in the glass as he watched her leave, and he wasn't sure he recognized the look in his own eyes.

Disappointment? Regret? ...satisfaction?

He huffed, focusing on her as she went beyond his immediate sight.

"...never bet on your moment, big guy." Shikiyoku said softly from where she sat at the table nearby, and reminding Tarou of the bet he lost. Of the favor he owed her. The two of them watched her leave together. "...always wait for hers."

She stood up carefully, trying not to show just how unsteady she was on her feet as one of the five bustled around her and grabbed for the untouched glass and plate and skittered off again with it.

"Yeah." He smiled a little at himself in the window. "I always do."

"...I know." 3

"Hey, Akari." Kiyoko waited until Akari glanced down at her before continuing. "Who is… Flowers? To you, I mean."

Nabu, unusually silent, trotted on the other side of Akari's feet, his eyes pointed forward and ears alert.

Akari considered her answer for a long moment, her eyes falling from the moon to the path ahead of her. When she saw no humans, and heard not even a single sound of movement on the street, she gave a sigh. "I'm...not really sure how to answer that."

"They met when I was a pup," Nabu huffed out. "For a while, he was around a lot."

Akari rounded a corner and stuffed her hands into her jean pockets. She'd meant it when she said she wasn't sure how to answer. She hadn't really considered their relationship in its entirety before their situation at Yomi's, and she certainly hadn't thought of it after.

"Well, what about Sparkles…. Shikiyoku? She seemed nice enough."

Akari smiled this time, and she glanced down at Nabu as a small group of teenagers passed by.

"Sparkles wasn't the same when we knew her as she is now! She kinda smelled different, less like….."

"A demon?"

"Yeah. Anyway, she was a little more shy, and I liked to be at her house when Akari went missing." Akari blinked down at her friend. "There was this cat that I liked to chase, but he was really a demon. And they fed me for a long time, until they all disappeared."

A silence fell between the two dogs for a brief bit, and Akari thought about that last bit of information. A small smile touched her lips as she imagined Nabu chasing a cat, and being in a warm, comfortable house while she'd been gone.

She looked up from the sidewalk all at once, determined to stay in the moment and enjoy what was to come the next day.

A laugh across the street caught her attention, and she glanced across at the three people stumbling, holding each other up as they moved for what was obviously another bar with its door open.

She didn't know why her stare lingered, but when the male in the middle of the two women looked up, she found she wasn't surprised to recognize the chocolate eyes staring at her, wide with surprise.

~!**!~

"I think you're full of shit," laughed the shorter woman under Yuuichi's right arm.

"And I think you've drank too much!" the taller giggled back at her. "There's no way that you didn't see that guy totally checking you out."

Yuuichi's arms tightened around their shoulders, and he leaned to kiss the side of the shorter woman's head. "If you're trying to make me jealous, it's working," he murmured against her before he straightened up just as much as he was able in his drunken state.

The trio wobbled and stumbled at his movements, causing the ladies to shriek and giggle when they caught each other. He threw his head back and laughed at their theatrics, and when he lowered his head again, he turned to look around them.

His eyes landed on a woman across the street, and it took him a split second to recognize her with the makeup and the look in her eyes.

Dread hit him when he realized that Akari had caught him, and that dread turned to shame when she didn't even smile at him or even pause. She kept moving down the sidewalk, and she disappeared from his view when the women under his arms pulled him into the open door of the bar.

I've lost her.

~!**!~

Once Shikiyoku had dismissed them and they'd got to watch Tarou lose his bet with Shikiyoku, the rest of the guild members had slipped out the back door and made their way to the bar, each taking a plate of the leftover food with them.

"That was fun! I miss getting to work on stuff here, where we're close to home." Ikigai said around food.

"It's nice to have an easy job every once in a while," Chisai agreed. "We get to be in the bar at our usual time, and we're not totally exhausted."

The wolf brothers nodded in tandem.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that Mother is being courted by someone else?" Raion piped suddenly, and the silence that fell over the group was a heavy, awkward one. "Seriously?"

"Raion." Tsundora's cold tone was meant to be cautionary.

"Put a pin in it." Raitoningu finished.

"WHEW, Man! I'm beat. I think I'm going to go home and see my girlfriend! Good night guys!" Before any protests could be made, Gai escaped from the tenseness that had suddenly overtaken the group.

He didn't want to think about it either. *

~!**!~

Once the guild members had said their goodbyes and left for the drink Shikiyoku had hoped would grab their focus and keep it away from herself, she just managed to lock up the front and make her way to the back as the last of the grills were loaded up and hauled away before she collapsed back against the brick wall of the shop behind her.

None of the five needed to worry about her. She had transmitted that tidbit of knowledge quite successfully too, she thought. They hadn't looked at her twice.

She lifted her hands to stare down at them, watching them twitch for a moment and nearly dropping the blazer in her fingers before her breath caught up with her and she dropped her palms back to her sides to rest her head against the wall, unable to regain steadiness in her lungs.

Shikiyoku swallowed and went to stand as she heard a vehicle crunching over concrete past the front of the building, but couldn't manage it and stayed panting where she stood, eyes catching sight of the low beams that rolled into view.

When the driver practically hopped out of the car to make for her, she immediately waved the assistance away when arms reached to help steady her, avoiding the contact entirely and forcing one foot in front of the other as if nothing were wrong.

"Did you send out the virtual notifications?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"What about the ones to our newsletter recipients?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She climbed into the sedan and settled in the back, pulling out her phone from the pocket of her blazer where she'd slipped it before the ritual, letting the blazer rest over her knees.

Her driver wisely made no comment about her breathing or her white-as-a-sheet appearance. Or the drop of sweat he watched fall down the side of her neck as he closed the door behind her and climbed in behind the wheel.

When they did not immediately begin moving, she shot him a look in the rearview mirror and he swallowed.

"Back to the company?"

"Yes?"

He lowered his gaze and shifted the car into drive. 3

Akari didn't even so much as stutter in her steps towards home, and she made the rest of the way in silence even as Nabu and Kiyoko conversed back and forth about the events of the day.

The apartment complex was silent as she climbed the stairs, and when she came up on the landing to the fourth and last floor, she took in a deep breath of the night air.

"In the morning, the shop will open."

She said this mostly to herself, to give a reason to the butterflies in her stomach that made her pause with her key in the door.

After a few moments of letting that sink in, she pushed the door open and stood to the side. Nabu and Kiyoko padded through the doorway, side by side as always, and Akari followed behind so she could lock the door behind them.

"So he was courting you?" Kiyoko said, referring to the redhead she'd met earlier in the day. "But that was before you went missing?"

Akari nodded, now feeling free to converse. "I suppose so." She reached up and pulled her hair from the bun on her head, instantly feeling a relief from the tightness around her skull. "Though, at the time, I didn't really think much of it…" She turned and moved towards the bathroom, fluffing her hair as she went.

"Akari."

"Hm?"

"You never once called him by name, even when you thanked him."

Akari paused with her hands in her hair, mid-braid. "Is that so?" She gave a little hum and finished the braid, reached for a face cleansing wipe, and worked at taking her makeup off.

Nabu came to sit at the edge of her peripherals, watching her. "You didn't run away, though, when he showed up. ….I'm proud of you."

Akari tossed the towelette in the trash and wiped at a pesky little sting in her eye before she turned and headed towards the bedroom. "Let's go to bed, hm?"

~!**!~

Akari's dreams that night weren't all too pleasant, but they weren't so unpleasant that she forced herself awake from them. But when Nabu's barking woke her, she didn't feel particularly upset by it either.

"INTRUDER!" Akari sat upright immediately and was out of bed in a blur of motion. "Where'd they go? OH this smells like Sparkles!"

And just like that, the alarm that had been raised was disarmed, and Akari let out a long sigh. "Nabu?"

"It's a box!"

Kiyoko padded her way into the room, looking as unworried as she could be. Akari reached down to scratch at the little white fluffy ear, a soft smile on her face. "Good morning." Is it morning? Before she could stand and reach for her phone, the alarm she'd set began to thrill through the apartment. She gave a little laugh and a shake of her head.

She scratched behind Kiyoko's ear for a few more seconds before she stood and circled the bed and turned off the alarm. Quietly, she shuffled from the bedroom and to the kitchen, where she started the coffee pot and a small breakfast.

She made sure Nabu and Kiyoko ate and then walked them to the door. "Do you want me to come with you this morning?"

"No, you have a big day to get ready for. We'll take care of ourselves," Kiyoko answered quickly, knowing Nabu would definitely say yes.

"Awh, Kiyo, but-"

Akari opened the door to let the pair bound out, Kiyoko's voice growing quieter with the distance, "Big day, Nabu. And she'll be gone all day, so she needs…."

Akari closed the door, a fond smile on her face. I adore them.

She moved about the apartment leisurely, knowing she had more than enough time to get ready even after her shower. She had her coffee and her breakfast, washed those dishes, let Nabu and Kiyoko inside again, and finally shuffled off to take her shower.

Shikiyoku's voice instructing her about hair care was in her head afterwards, and she followed those tips just as she remembered the other doing a few days prior.

"Don't forget about this box in here, Aka."

"Thank you, Kiyoko!" She padded back into the main room and turned to look down at the box on her coffee table. Curious, she left her still-damp hair hanging over one shoulder and carefully pulled the lid away, revealing a note sitting on some tissue papers.

Congratulations, cupcake.

Lunch would be lovely.

If you ever need anything, I'm always here.

-S

A wide smile overtook her features and she set the note to the side. She pulled the top layer of the tissue paper away to spy a cloth folded neatly underneath. She blinked down at the package and carefully pulled it from the box,

She looked the outfit over, turning it this way and that and giving a little laugh to herself. "She thinks of everything, huh?" She studied the outfit that was so much like the ones the five at her shop had been wearing the night before, if only with subtle differences to set her apart.

There was even a new nametag sitting at the bottom of the box.

She hadn't thought about a uniform for the store, but she quite liked the outfit in her hands, and she played with the idea of setting a uniform for future employees as she made her way back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

Once she was ready for the day, Akari set out earlier than usual, making a stop on her way in to grab some breakfast goodies for her lovely helpers. Just as Shikiyoku said, when she stepped into the shop, the five were still flitting about cheerily, bantering back and forth and working with the machinery.

Akari played with the register some, going over the things she'd learned the day before and asking a few questions here and there when she couldn't immediately remember. She gave several thankful smiles when one of the five would step to her side and walk her through it, and did so even more when Ryouta arrived and revealed that they'd taught him the basics of some of the machinery the night before.

She noticed he didn't have his clipboard this time, but she didn't say anything about it as he disappeared to the back to grab treats and such for the inevitable canine customers.

Akari unlocked the door and turned on all the lights not long after, and she was just crossing back to the counter when the bell over the door rang. "Welcome to Jōnetsu!" Her smile was wide and brilliant in her excitement for the day, and the smile she received in turn was one of pleasant surprise.

The opening hour was busier than Akari had even hoped for, and the sounds of the cafe that she missed filled her with a joy she hadn't felt in months. Everything from the sounds of the espresso machine, to the names being called out, to the cheerful customer service that the group behind her delivered…

All of that, when compounded with the many happy little canine voices and Ryouta's caring for their needs, and Akari felt as if she was in heaven.

One particular customer stood out to her in the early hours of the morning, and at first glance, she hadn't been sure why. He was friendly enough as he asked about this option and that, and when he ordered finally, he ran a hand through his hair and revealed black roots to his otherwise brown haircut.

She passed him his drink and he adjusted the tie around his neck. "You don't recognize me yet, do you?"

Akari blinked. "I'm...sorry, but I don't."

"Well, I'd be surprised if you did, since-" He got really quiet and looked around the room. When he saw no one behind him, he leaned closer, and whispered, "since I was supposed to die."

If this was supposed to make Akari immediately recognize him, it had the total opposite effect. Her smile stayed that same kind one, but it turned more polite, and perhaps a bit confused. "I don't understand?"

The man's smile grew wider and he laughed. "You'll be seeing me again, Akari."

He turned to leave, leaving behind more questions than answers. To reorder her thoughts, she grabbed a paper towel and took to wiping the few drops of coffee from the white countertop. And right where his cup had been, there was a business card.

Tsukihito, Amanuma.

Game Developer and Designer

Nintendo, Inc.

Tokyo Branch

Akari balked at it and looked back towards the door, hoping to see Amanuma still out front, and instead seeing a group of women in runner's wear walking in.

Things slowed just before lunchtime, and Akari had time to sit back on her heels and look from the customers inside to the people working around her. A part of her wondered why she hadn't done this sooner, but the majority of her knew that she wouldn't have been ready for such an upheaval in her life.

After all, much had changed for her in the last month or two.

The bell over the door brought her back to the present. "Welcome to Jōnetsu!" she called, and the familiar face that smiled back at her had the world stopping for an instant. The smile from the blond was not so different than when she last saw him many years ago, but he had grown quite a bit, filled out more, and when he spoke, his voice was a pitch or two deeper.

"Thank you, Ace."

It took a few moments for her to catch her breath as he stepped up to her register. He leaned over and, with one lanky arm, pulled her into a hug over the countertop, pulling from her a laugh. "You're looking great, Mitari!" When he pulled away, she gestured to his suit, so much unlike that of the jeans and yellow hoodie he so prefered in his younger years. "When'd you get so tall?"

He grinned down at her. "College, I think."

She reeled back. "You've been to college! Has it been that long?"

"Yeah, it's been a long while." His smile softened. "You're looking good." He gestured to his chin, "I see you've had some fun adventures while out in the world."

"I've been here and there once or twice," she smiled even wider than before. "What can I get you, my friend?"

He chuckled and raised his eyes to the menu on the wall behind her. "Let's do a latte and one of those croissants, please."

"Of course." She tapped a few buttons on the touch screen register, and then she turned it to show Mitari his total. He swiped a card, signed with his finger, and then turned it back to her. "Do you still live over in Mushiori?"

"I actually live closer to here now. My parents retired last spring, and I landed a really good job in the heart of the city."

"And I've somehow not run into you once?"

He grinned. "Yeah, well, I tend to frequent the Northern part of the city. My favorite restaurants are up there, and it's where I met my fiancee."

"You're engaged? That's wonderful! When's the ceremony?"

"Next month, after she graduates with her PhD." He turned and grabbed the croissant and latte from the worker behind Akari, thanking them before turning back to her. "And, actually," he reached into his blazer pocket, "when I got the flyer about your grand opening, I brought this too." He extended an envelope in her direction, and she took it from him with both hands. "If you're free, it'd be great to catch up."

She glanced down at the thick envelope and turned it over to see the seal, her eyes widening. "Are you sure? Mitari, it's been a long time, and-"

He held up a hand to stop her. "Just let me know what you decide, hm? And if you decide to come, feel free to bring a plus one." His smile was soft and kind. "And tell Urameshi I said hey, will you?"

"Of course I will. Don't be a stranger, come visit me anytime."

Mitari nodded and his blue eyes turned down to his watch. "I've got to get back. Take care, Akari." He turned and took a few steps, bowing apologetically when he nearly bumped into a customer coming into the shop. "Oh!" He turned abruptly to Akari again. "Kamiya says he couldn't make it today, but congratulations on the grand opening. You'll probably see him soon."

"Thank you, Mitari!" She watched as he turned to leave, a warm smile lighting her features as he waved just before going out of sight.

Mitari's departure seemed to indicate the beginning of the lunch hour, and Akari was busy rather quickly after. Not as busy as the morning, really, but definitely not bored.

She wasn't surprised when the guild came through, though her smiles for them were just as welcoming as they had been for everyone else. She made a few jokes with Raion, who winked as he departed with his drink, and she asked Ikigai if she'd be seeing him with his girlfriend soon. He assured her that she would.

The wolf brothers congratulated her and told her she most definitely should stop by the bar to celebrate when she had the chance, then departed with subtle flirtations that she only smiled in response to.

Tarou was the last of them to step to her counter, his smile wide and his cheerful energy boundless. When he extended some cash to pay, Akari shook her head and gave him a wink that he seemed to stunned to reply to. "For the drink you bought me the other day," she'd said.

The guild took up the long counter and barstools off to the side, quietly talking amongst themselves and enjoying the general atmosphere while Akari worked.

When the bell above the door rang next, the noise level of the room at first dipped to near silence, and then it skyrocketed with excited chattering and whispers. Akari called her welcome as she finished with her customer, and finally looked up to see the cameras flashing, the cell phones out, and the redhead in the center of it all. He smiled his thanks at her and moved towards the front counter, unphased by or perhaps even not noticing the paparazzi following close behind and the group of adoring fans.

The sheer amount of people that walked in might have been overwhelming to anyone else, but Akari, riding on her high of excitement as she was, saw the group as a challenge instead.

"What a delightful surprise, Minamino-san. Welcome to Jōnetsu." Akari gave him a polite bow as he came to a stop at her register. When she stood upright again, her smile was that same welcoming one as before, unchanged, and she was surprised to find that she honestly felt nothing negative about his presence, unlike when he'd shown up at her lunch with Shikiyoku earlier in the week. "What may I get for you today?"

He grabbed for the menu sitting in front of the register, his eyes scanning it as he whispered, "I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to warn you about this." When he looked up to meet her gaze, she saw an apologetic smile hiding just beneath the charming one.

Her own smile grew just a tick. Don't worry about it. You've brought in more business.

He placed his order, and when Akari turned the screen his direction so he could see the total, he handed over quite a bit more money than the screen indicated. He leaned closer as she reached for it, her expression carefully held in that same smile. "Use this to pay for the next customers." He gave a secretive wink that only she saw, and when his drink was passed to him, he pulled away. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Minamino-san. Have a wonderful day, and please come again!" Akari gave another bow, and when she righted again, he was just stepping out the door, paparazzi following him, but his adoring fans suddenly rushing to the counter.

This rush prompted by Minamino's charming entrance and departure lasted much longer than any rush thus far in the day, and it seemed that when there was any sign of it slowing, more people would rush in, whispering about the celebrity figure.

It definitely gave Akari more perspective about his fame and his influence.

As that wave began to die down, and it seemed another was not yet coming, Akari took a quick moment to rehydrate and converse with Ryouta, who complimented her on her upswing. "You've progressed quite a bit since the store became inoperable," he commented.

"Definitely because I had some help. Thank you for that, Ryouta."

He nodded and turned to look out the front windows. "Keep it up, Hanase."

She smiled as he made for the door, holding it open for the older gentleman who stepped in. Akari blinked at the man and then at the young woman following him, and she met the pair halfway to the counter. "Mimi, Gramps!" She gave each a hug, though she was more delicate with Gramps. "It's good to see you both!"

She hugged Mimi a second time. "It's good to see you, Akari."

"The place looks wonderful, my dear." Gramps took a few moments to look about the place, his smile soft and kind, and filled with a sort of adoration she'd not seen before now. "You've finally made it your own."

"I have. But it took me a while to figure out what that meant." She gave a wide grin at the man. "Thank you, for the opportunities you and Grams have given me. I wouldn't be here without you."

"You are most welcome, my dear." He took her hand between his own and pat it. "You are very welcome."

"How is Grams doing? I know last you came by, she wasn't feeling well." Akari began to guide the pair to the counter, her hand still in Gramps and an arm hooked through Mimi's'. There was a silence from the two that felt heavy, and Akari didn't have to hear them say it to know that Grams had passed. She squeezed Gramps' hand and pulled Mimi into a side hug. "I'm sorry to hear it."

And she meant it. The news made her heart feel a bit heavy, and she could imagine the pain that the others felt for such a close loss.

The three stood there for a long moment, and when Mimi was the first to pull back, Akari helped wipe the girl's face clear of the tears that had fallen. "If there's anything I can do, let me know, okay?"

The girl nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

"Her service," Gramps spoke up, "is next week."

"Of course I'll come." She let go of Mimi to hug Gramps again. "You send me those details, and I'll be there."

After a few long moments, Akari pulled away again and lead the pair the rest of the way up to the counter, glad that no other customers had shown up and she'd had her moment with Mimi and Gramps. "Now," She circled the counter. "What can I get for you? Your usual, or something different?"

Mimi smiled. "Surprise me, Aka. You know what I like."

Akari nodded.

"I'll have my latte, please dear."

"Coming right up." She turned and took the opportunity to learn from the group of five who'd been handling the orders all day. She made the latte with vanilla for Gramps, and whipped up a frappuccino for Mimi. She thanked Yenge for the training and turned back to her customers, but held a hand up when Gramps began to reach for his wallet. "No, sir. Not today. Today, it's on me."

"Nonsense, an old man like me can afford two beverages." He extended the appropriate change her direction.

"I'm confident you can, but think of it as my 'I missed you' gift."

He scowled at her. "Not on your grand opening, you don't." Before she could protest again, he reached across the counter, had her hand in his, and closed her fingers over the change with surprising strength. When he looked up and met her gaze, his stubbornness far outclassed Akari's own. "Let me support you on this special occasion, Akari."

Akari gave a laugh, relenting. "Alright, you win today, Gramps."

"And I'll continue to best you, my dear." He smiled mischievously and turned to pat Mimi on the shoulder. "Let's go get dinner, Mimi. Let her have her fun."

Akari reached across to hug Mimi one more time. "You have my number still?"

"I do."

"Don't hesitate to reach out. I'll be here." She pulled back and pat her friend's shoulders. "And send me the details of the funeral. I'll clear my day."

"Will do. See ya, Akari."

Mimi and Gramps left, hand in hand, and Akari let herself give a sad smile at their backs. It's too bad Grams isn't here to see this too.

She blinked a few times, took a deep breath, and set her smile back in its rightful place.

Maybe I'll visit Manami soon. It's been a long time….

That thought was stored away for later as the door opened again, beginning a new rush. This one was a little slower than the previous, but there were more canines in the store with this group. All around her, she could hear conversations of different kinds, from human to canine, flowing from one end of the shop to the other.

Somewhere in the midst of this, Botan, Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru found their way to her counter, and Akari's smile widened from the welcoming one to one of excitement. "Welcome to Jōnetsu, you guys."

"It looks so good, Akari! We're so happy for you!" Botan bounced in place, obviously wishing she could hug the dog demon but knowing she was in front of a queue.

"It's so busy! You should be proud of yourself, kiddo."

"It's so beautiful, the decor."

"And it all smells so lovely."

Akari's smile widened with each compliment given, and she wished the girls had come by at a slower moment so she could hug them all. "Thank you so much, it means a lot!" She gestured to the small menu in front of them. "What can I get for you, ladies?"

"I'd like an iced macchiato, please!"

"Oh, same for me!"

"Can I get an americano?"

"And just a black coffee for me, please."

Akari nodded and punched in the order, "all together?"

"Yeah, I heard the manager of this place would give us free coffee today." Shizuru piped first, a crooked smile on her face.

"Don't tease her! It's the grand opening!"

"I'll buy," Keiko shot the others a look. "We're holding up the line." Akari turned the screen so Keiko could swipe her card. "By the way, I know we talked about baking cupcakes tomorrow, but we think it'd be fun to do that tonight, to celebrate your first day open."

"Oh, and don't forget the booze," Shizuru nudged Botan with her shoulder. "We've got what we need, so you just bring a bottle of whatever you want. Sound good?"

Akari grinned. "Sound perfect."

"Come by after closing?" Yukina took her macchiato from Yenge.

"That's a great idea. I'll swing by the store on my way by."

Keiko finished signing and turned the register back to Akari. "Great. We'll see you tonight." She smiled warmly before she turned to herd the others away so Akari could ring up the next customers.

"Congrats, again!" Botan yelled over the noise in the room as they left.

From there, Akari found herself so busy that she didn't have time for extra socializations. She greeted each customer, took their order, even greeted their dog with remarks on how beautiful or handsome they were if they brought one, and then moved to the next person.

Her exchange with each and every customer was just as welcoming, warm, and unique as it was able to be. She made conversation when she could, and she found a few customers that had been her regulars before the shop had closed.

Those interactions were her favorite. When she saw their eyes light up with recognition, and they mentioned how sad they'd been when the original place closed, she'd had the opportunity to reassure them that she was going nowhere, and that she would still happily serve them, and their little dogs too.

Towards the end of the night, things slowed down again, and the satisfaction of her first open day began to well up in her. She thought about what the place had looked like when she'd first come in to have a meal with Grams six months ago, and how the woman had seemed to just know that Akari needed somewhere to be, somewhere to grow.

The thought had her sad that that very woman was not here to see the result of the nurturing she'd given Akari, and she carefully wiped a would-be tear from her eye just as the bell above the door jingled, minutes before closing.

"Hi! Welcome to Jōnetsu!" She turned towards the door with that same smile she'd had all day.

"Don't you mean 'welcome back'?" Tarou asked as he shuffled up to the counter. "So, how do you feel, boss lady?"

Akari gave a little laugh and lowered her head. "I feel good." She let out a breath and turned up to meet his gaze again. "It feels great to be working again, and today has been…. Even more than I had hoped it would be."

"Well, with how busy you were earlier, I can't imagine you'd be bored." Tarou scratched at his cheek a little and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Akari's grin widened to show her pearly whites, reflecting all of the satisfaction she felt for how her day had been. "I definitely won't be bored here, no matter how many customers come through that door."

There was a beat of silence where Tarou seemed to contemplate what he was about to say. "That smile looks good on you, you know." His smile softened just a touch, "You should wear it more often."

Akari opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again when nothing came to mind. Genuinely flattered, she had to take a moment to accept the compliment as it was, and she couldn't help the little exhale of a laugh and the redirect of her gaze.

"Well, while I have you here," Tarou began again, picking up the menu in front of her. "Can I get two mochas, one just as sweet as you are?"

"And the other as tall, dark,, and handsome as you, I assume?" Her smile was quite the innocent one in contrast to his mischievous one.

"I think that sounds nice."

"Alright then." She tapped it into the computer and turned the screen his way. "But no free passes this time, sir," she winked.

"Anything worth having comes at a price," he passed her the appropriate change.

When both drinks were on the counter, he picked them up, but he didn't immediately make as if to leave. She watched as he seemed to contemplate the paper cups, and she realized that the drinks were not his true reason for coming back by. "What else can I get for you, hm?"

"Come to the bar tonight. After you close." She raised a brow at him as he looked down at her again. "It'd be fun to celebrate, if you're up for it."

Despite the lack of a question mark with his request, Akari knew that the option to tell him 'no' was still there, even if he didn't make it as obvious as he had in the past. And for the first time, she felt disappointed that she'd already made plans. "I'm sorry Tarou, but I've already made plans to celebrate elsewhere tonight."

"Ah." His smile fell just a tick. "Well, then when you're free, you know where to find me." He leaned forward and set the taller drink on the counter. "For you."

She burst into a string of surprised laughter. And instead of telling him that she would have gotten the drink free, she took the 'tall, dark, and handsome' mix and took a sip. "Thank you, Tarou."

"Anytime, Akari." And with that, he turned and left, leaving her at the counter with no customers, a drink in her hand, and a fond smile on her face.

~!**!~

As the door to the backseat opened and the petite frame of a dark-haired female with emerald-green eyes was helped from the car by a nearby awaiting staff member, a second figure made his way out of the ornate, white marble doors of the estate, nodding once to the doorman-who returned it with a bow of respect-as he moved towards the steps that would take him down to the grounds to meet her.

Evening had not yet arrived, but the already setting sun still cast the enormous manor and accompanying estate in shades of gold and orange and red that complimented the grand appearance of the building.

Giving a small smile to the individual who had helped her from the car, Toriko Inyoku found her hand being passed from his to the sharply-dressed man who had finished descending the steps to meet her. His long, well-manicured fingers gently took hers and he leaned down to briefly press his lips against the skin at her knuckles as the staff member moved back to his position near the bottom of the staircase and the car behind her, door now closed, moved off around the circle-drive and out of sight.

The brilliant green of his own eyes fit the dark green of the suit Shuichi Minamino wore, which the woman in his hand admired openly even as he stood back up, still many inches above her even in her high heels.

"You look ravishing, Yoku." He purred, as he let his gaze roam over her curves where the cloth of her jade-colored dress seemed to flow deliciously over her, leaving neck and shoulders and arms all but bare. An extreme slit up the side of the material had him taking the last step to close the distance between them completely.

"Well-" The woman replied quietly from behind the almost invisible frames of her glasses, "I ought to, love. After all, you're the one that commissioned this fancy get-up."

He let go of the hand he had kissed to let it drop to her side where he ran his fingertips lightly up that arm until he reached her shoulder where he rested his palm.

"I was half-afraid you wouldn't show up at all." Kurama murmured as his other hand reached down. He moved up against her and found the slit on the dress, slipping discreetly underneath it to find the smooth skin of her thigh beneath and press her body to his as he leaned down again and without hesitation covered her lips with his own.

After several breathless moments, they released one another just enough to put distance between them, her fingers relaxing from the lapels of his suit jacket where they had snuck up and grabbed the material as if to pull him closer.

They stood staring at each other, catching their breath, and he noticed a distinct golden gleam shimmer over her eyes briefly, even behind the glasses perched on her nose, and she gave a small, wicked grin up at him as his bright eyes narrowed playfully at her.

Despite the obvious pause-if only to prove his resistance, his obvious choice in the matter of the following-he acquiesced and slowly met her lips again in a more tender version of the kiss they shared just moments ago. She replied in equally gentle measure, this time enjoying the feeling of their contact as she met him halfway and they indulged one another for a second time.

Eventually they parted once more and her breath passed over his lips before he got too far away with a satisfied sigh of his name.

He leaned his forehead into her own and they stood that way, arms moving to embrace one another as another minute passed.

"Of course I came." Shikiyoku murmured. "When have I ever not answered your call?"

He only nudged the bridge of his nose into her forehead in answer, replacing his nose after a moment with his lips.

The staff nearby was too good at their job to even so much as hint that they were paying the slightest bit attention to the affection the two shared, so when Shuichi Minamino finally turned arm in arm with Toriko Inyoku so that they might walk into the house together, anyone who had been privy to their private moment had their eyes respectfully elsewhere as if nothing had happened once the pair were on the move.

They moved elegantly up the steps to the doors, a deep breath from Toriko appreciating the scent of the fresh flowers in grand bouquet at either side of this main entrance, finding that as they moved throughout the house he had set up more of such divine arrangements at strategic points along the way.

Next to her, Kurama laid out his plans for the evening, leading her through the main entrance where folks would leave their jackets through the first foyer where they would be to greet the arrivals and point them in the direction of the gallery where would be waiting an aperitif or hors d'oeuvres.

He pretended not to notice that she seemed distracted, that she barely had a nod for his instructions, much less a noise of consent or agreement.

~!**!~

The last few minutes of the hour passed, and Ryouta was at the door, locking it for the night. Akari took one last sip from her drink and turned down to her register, popping it open and starting the closing count.

She pulled the appropriate amount of money from it to set it back to its 'original' amount, sealed that away in a bank bag, and took it with her coffee to her new office.

She dropped the deposit bag into her safe and turned to her computer to log the day's sales. She looked through the automated inventory logs, seeing what products sold the most and what sold the least. She scrolled through it slowly, carefully, not wanting to miss a single thing.

When a few things that she hadn't expected to sell actually seemed to oversell, she sent an email to the proper company to get a replenishment stock on Monday instead of Wednesday.

Ryouta stepped into the doorway of her office. "What days do you plan to make night drops at the bank?"

"Mondays," she replied without looking up. "We'll get change then too, except for holiday weekends. Then we'll get change on the weekday before."

He nodded. "Is there anything you need before I go home for the night?"

"Actually, yes." She printed the documents she'd been looking at and turned her chair so she could look at the raven demon. "Does your fiance drink coffee?"

"She does."

"Take some beans home with you today, as a thank you for your hard work over these last several months." She smiled gratefully at him and leaned her elbows onto her desk. "And, Ryouta?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Hm?"

"You didn't let me make it your official title before, but I'd like to have you as my assistant manager in name, not just in duty."

"I don't believe this shop is large enough to warrant that."

"It will be, when we have more associates to replace our temporary staff. On top of that, you already do all of those duties anyway. The title would let me pay you a bit more for it."

He stared at her with his near-black eyes, a brow raised. "If you must."

She gave a little laugh. "You act as if a pay raise is a bad thing." She turned and pulled some papers from the printer and passed them to him. "If you want it, bring these to me signed. Okay?"

He nodded. "Have a good night, Akari."

"You too," she called as he turned to leave, taking the back door out. She smiled at her computer screen and finished he daily log. She printed that, punched holes in the paper, and pulled an empty binder labeled for the month from a nearby shelf. She hooked the sheet of paper in, signed it with a rollerball pen, and placed the binder right back where it had been. *

~!**!~

As they made their way down the hall from the gallery following the path others would soon take to the dining hall, Toriko reached up with the hand not occupied with being settled into the crook of Kurama's arm to ensure that her dark hair, secured in a bun at the back of her head with several long tendrils falling strategically about her shoulders had not a strand out of place.

"Have I mentioned you look stunning?" Kurama asked when out of the corner of his eyes he noticed her primping.

"Probably. I never mind hearing it again, though." The tiniest of smiles ghosted its way across her mouth.

"You are absolutely gorgeous."

"That is in no small part due to you, as you're perfectly aware." Her ears twitched as she caught a bit of gossip involving herself and the red-headed man in whose arm she remained entwined from somewhere behind them as the staff fussed with last minute dust bunnies Kurama had pointed out in the gallery.

"I suppose there's a reason the tabloids have a hayday with us." She noted under her breath at this moment, when there were not any others in ear-shot.

She took the rare private moment to stop their advancement by stepping beyond him to turn and look him over top to bottom, appreciating the debonair form he cut in his formal attire and endeavouring to wipe away what was probably an invisible speck of dirt from his lapels, straightening them where they might have gotten a bit ruffled in her grasp earlier, and making sure his tie was in the right place.

"I've paid my staff well." He murmured back to her with a small grin, letting her see to him as she would.

"Well enough that they won't go running to report every little thing they see?"

"Oh, never. Well enough that they would. If one is going to be in the spotlight, one must be willing for stories to always be in circulation. And if one can have control over what stories are presented, all the better."

"There is no such thing as bad publicity." She agreed with a smile, satisfied with his usual perfection and tipping her head upwards as he reached a curved finger beneath her chin and encouraged her to meet his gaze.

When he did not kiss her, when she did not feel so much as an inkling that he intended to do so, he caught sight of the hairline fracture in her façade and she nearly flinched away from him.

With a quick glance about them to confirm that there would be no witnesses, Kurama dropped his hand all at once from her chin, only to snag her hand and flit over to the nearest door and duck inside it with her.

This time when he kissed her, she could feel how sincerely he meant it, how this was the man free to be himself, who was not showing off to anyone, and held her with a tenderness that spoke of how it had been at least a month since he had the chance to hold her in his arms.

And once he had kissed her, he held her to him for a very long time in silence, her arms tucked between them and her cheek resting up against his chest as he practically enveloped her just with his shoulders and had bent his head to bury his face in her hair, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it.

"I missed you." He whispered against her, saying it even though he did not have to.

"I'm sorry," she replied quietly, "When I got back Saturday evening, there was this ridiculous celebration for me at the bar, and I drank absolutely too much, and when my phone awoke me before dawn on Sunday, all I saw on it were the notifications about this wiring issue and-"

Kurama just stood there holding her as she let all of the past week's events regarding this building project pour out of her, from the awful hangover bleeding over into her initial meeting with Akari Sunday afternoon to the meeting with the architect and then how Akari had suddenly decided she wanted the location to be dog friendly and the issues that had cropped up with getting the materials for the construction building between making sure Akari was satisfied with the interior decoration and that with Kurama's request she would be able to finish moving everything in the same day the inspectors were going to arrive and how the ritual with the crew from Tahiti had been so exhausting that she could hardly stand afterwards, but finally it was all over, and Akari was pleased and she knew the opening day had been a great success...

With a giant whoosh of the last bit of her air, Kurama felt Shikiyoku finally give into his embrace and relax against him.

There was one thing that bothered him though.

He kissed the top of her head, "You've done that ritual lots of time and you've never had such a strong negative response to it before."

He knew the process could be exceedingly trying, as one had to concentrate so fiercely and exactly upon the knowledge and appearance they meant to convey, but still.

"I've never had to do it when I haven't slept for a month either." She replied dryly.

The immediacy with which his grip around her changed in its energy made her regret the admission.

"That is- I- Um-"

"And why, praytell, has it been a month since you slept?"

She felt his chin lift from her head and she suddenly wrapped her arms around him as if he might pull away from her completely.

"Did I say a month? That's really an exaggeration. I mean, I've slept this month."

He had in fact started to slowly pull away from her now and she gripped tighter like it was going to make a difference as his arms loosened and his hands found the sides of her bare shoulders and he gently began pulling her away from himself where she was hiding against him.

"Now, granted, it hasn't been a lot." She rambled quickly, "I mean-" Nervous laugh. "-I didn't exactly have time for sleep. Did you know I had six Crusnik taking your place, trying to get a piece of this sweet a-"

"Shikiyoku." Kurama interrupted, having finally extricated her from around himself and holding her at arm's length, though she still stared down at the floor somewhere. "It is not other people gunning for your sweet ass with which I have the problem."

One hand left her shoulder to reach up and with the barest of touches come beneath her chin with delicate fingers, leaving her only capable of doing what he desired in that moment and looking into his eyes, which were soft and filled only with concern for her.

"It is you not taking care of that sweet ass that upsets me."

She opened her mouth as if to reply, gaze darting away as if she couldn't manage to look at him any longer.

He studied her for a long time, eyes sweeping over her exquisite features and finding that beneath the glamourous spell which she had settled over her skin this evening, he caught sight of some dreadful fatigue.

Peeling back for himself and looking deeper beyond the magic woven around her, he could see the pallor of her skin, the dark circles under her eyes and how her gaze wasn't precisely focusing on anything around her.

"How long have you kept up that spell?" He breathed gently between them once he focused fully back onto her face, his expression softening much more than it had before now.

"Since..." She let out a sigh, but resigned herself to answering him and mumbled: "Since a bit before the Crusnik incident."

He had gotten from her in their car ride a couple of days ago that the chase had required her pain form, it had gone on so long, which meant this side, even in demonic form with her larger pool of energy, had gotten completely drained.

He also huffed out a sigh between them, the fingertips at her chin moving to rest against the side of her neck and his thumb moving back and forth across her skin. He frowned and wondered just how much concentration it took to maintain the spell that kept her looking fresh and healthy. Which she'd apparently been renewing constantly for a month.

"I think..." Kurama began after a moment of silence, that drew Shikiyoku's eyes back to his face when he started to move his hand affectionately in little up and down motions over her bare arm. This time his gaze was cast off to the side deep in thought.

"I think it would be best if after tonight you take a nice long break, hm? Take a visit to your Consort. Spend some time with him. Get away from it all." He smiled at her and they looked into one another's eyes again. When she couldn't even find the right words to voice her thoughts on the notion, he shook his head at her expression and continued, "There is absolutely nothing so important right now that its cogs cannot continue their rotation without you, Yoku. No matter how much you may wish otherwise."

A ghost of a smile played over his lips. "I know just as intimately as you the sorts of games you play, and I insist that you take yourself off the field for a while."

Now that statement certainly got a rise out of her, eyes narrowing suddenly in suspicion of his motives.

He lifted the hand from her neck into the air and leaned away from her to close his eyes as he took a somewhat solemn oath. "I absolutely swear not to meddle in your business unless it is beyond the point of falling apart."

Finally getting a chuckle out of her, he smiled and moved his hand back down to her cheek to find she leaned into his touch and he gazed at her with fondness.

"I can oversee our territory's wellbeing for a few days while you recover. I do it when you stay with your Consort, don't I? And I haven't disappointed you with my results yet, mm?"

She let out another little laugh again and shook her head at him.

"Of course, I don't. I'm Kurama the Youko, darling."

"Careful there, fox." She finally replied, lifting her weight just enough from his palm to get his wiley gaze to rest back on her as her eyes shimmered with good mirth, a single brow raising at him. "There isn't enough room in here for myself and your ego."

Kurama glanced about the room he pulled her into, having not taken note before, and saw that it was the smaller of his billiard rooms in this particular estate.

"Quite right." He moved his face closer to her with a grin, "And I don't want you to leave just yet."

"Don't you think...we've dallied in here...long enough...?" She asked him between the kisses he started pressing to her lips, her eyes fluttering shut while her hands moved to circle his neck.

His grip around her waist pressing her body to his own spoke loudly enough of his thoughts on the matter.

"And what makes you say that?" He asked as he shifted the hand against her face to her neck and started leaving a trail of fire down the opposite cheek in a way that left her lips parted and breathing heavily as he sought her ear, and the skin below it.

Just before the hand at her neck had slid down any farther than the path it had started down over her collarbone to the skin beneath her dress, the abrupt intake of air Shikiyoku took as she immediately leaned away from his hand, his lips, made him stop moving completely.

She knew his desires, what he had intended to do and likely what would have followed, and quite frankly it had taken every bit of her willpower in that moment to jerk away from him, and he knew it. He could tell by the way she still hadn't opened her eyes even as he pulled his face just far enough away from her so he could see her features.

He watched almost hungrily as the tip of her tongue licked her lips and pulled them into her mouth in an attempt to steady herself, and finally she blinked and opened her eyes and glanced over at him.

"Because your guests are here." Was her eventual reply, the two of them perfectly aware that down the drive the first cars were beginning to make their way up to the manor.

Kurama was already enraptured with her, of that there was no doubt. So it truly was of little consequence to him when all he could see within the depth of her gaze was the swirling yellow energy that was only just now beginning to slow.

"Next time..." He breathed, slowly pulling himself away from her completely so he could just stand there alone for a moment with his eyes closed. "Remind me not to schedule a dinner party until after we've had some time together."

When he had gathered himself enough that he could look down at her and not be afraid of completely ravishing her as they both wanted him to do this time around, she had done similarly and stood looking up at him.

Her head tilted just slightly to the side, "I will make a note of it...Minamino-san."

As he gathered her arm into the crook of his own to move them back out into the hall, he narrowed his gaze playfully at her and gave her the slightest of growls to let her know just how thin was the ice upon which she tread.

~!**!~

Akari sat back in her chair and took in a long, slow, deep breath, the aroma of coffee filling her to her core.

She finally stood and pushed her chair back under her desk, grabbed her coffee, and moved towards the front of the store. She announced her leaving to the five, who had already cleaned the place until it was spotless, and stepped out the back door.

The night air was cooler tonight, and as she walked, she realized that Nabu and Kiyoko had not come by during her day. She smiled, sondering if Kiyoko had kept Nabu entertained so she could get through the day without distractions.

She clicked down the sidewalk in her heels, heading for the nearest store. She popped in, headed straight for the alcohol aisle, and browsed her options for a bit. She read a few labels, discreetly sniffed at their lids, and then decided on a sweet rum that smelled enticing before she turned and made her way to the counter.

She paid for the bottle, handing over an ID when asked, and blinked when the cashier called her by name. She looked down at herself, remembering her nametag, and pulled it off and dropped it into her grocery bag.

From there, she made good time walking to her friends' apartment, sipping at the last of her drink as she went. She climbed the stairs of the complex, tossed her trash in a bin when she found one, and knocked on the door at a quarter to ten. *

~!**!~

Thankfully, it was little else Kurama had to run by her after they snuck back out into the hallway as if they'd never left and meandered down to the dining hall, its preparations complete and ready to receive its guests at the appointed time.

He had all things well in hand so that even with their little escape to the side room, he took her from the dining hall to the Grand Hall where there would be drinks and mingling after dinner, and then straight back to the first foyer just as the guests were entering after giving their coats to the staff inside the main entrance.

Playing part equally as welcoming hostess and benevolent arm candy to the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Minamino Corporation, Shikiyoku maintained her façade as the somewhat quiet, sharp-minded Personal Assistant to the head of operations himself as Kurama meanwhile, made his welcoming statements to each individual that arrived, knowing them all by name and pointing them in the direction of where they might acquire an aperitif or hors d'oeuvres if they wished.

Eventually, after those in attendance had a chance to socialize a bit, Kurama called everyone for dinner, leading them from the foyer down the hall where both he and Shikiyoku refused to even so much as glance in the direction of the room that had nearly experienced a complete indiscretion earlier, and into the dining hall proper.

The dinner as a whole was a grand affair, the exquisitely decorated room decked out in a single, long table complete with lavish table settings and intricate place cards that became filled with people and conversation and several courses of a meal which extended into actual the evening hours until all had eaten their fill and slowly began to meander towards the direction of the Grand Hall for after dinner drinks.

Once the after party was well under way, with Shikiyoku on one arm and a glass of deep red wine in the other hand, Kurama made his way to the staircase at the back of the Grand Hall and ascended a couple of steps so that he might be momentarily above the other party-goers and able to get their attention.

"Thank you all so much for being here with us this evening..."

The rest of the crowd quieted and either turned to lend a listening ear or gathered closer or both.

"As has been said previously at dinner, we are extremely pleased to have our close business associate Scott Irvine here with us this evening." Kurama gave a nod to the light-haired individual who stood amongst those invited. "You honor us with your presence, Mr. Irvine."

Mr. Irvine gave a nod and a raised his glass a bit as there was applause in recognition.

"It is in no small part because of his extensive work within S.I. Incorporated that we are gathered together in celebration of him and his efforts this evening." He echoed his earlier appreciative words that had been given during the dinner, and looked right at Mr. Irvine to raise his glass in another toast, "On behalf of myself and Minamino Corporation and those gathered here this evening: thank you."

He gestured briefly at Mr. Irvine, and the rest of the crowd lifted their glasses in agreement as he said, "To Mr. Irvine!"

"To Mr. Irvine!" The crowd surged together briefly to repeat the sentiment and then they all took a draft together in silence, Shikiyoku too following suit, lifting her glass to her lips and taking a sip as well.

Kurama finished first and stood looking out among the others, indicating through his body language that he had more to say.

"Now, I can't honestly say that Mr. Irvine is the only reason I asked you all here tonight."

Shikiyoku turned to look at Kurama, her face carefully neutral, but something about the change in his energy drawing her eyes to him.

"As many of you may know by now, my personal assistant and I have been seeing one another for a while."

There were various soft murmurs among the crowd.

...What are you doing?

Kurama expertly ignored the question that he knew Shikiyoku's face would not reflect, but that he felt from her all the same.

"What many of you may not yet know is that Toriko Inyoku put in her resignation a couple of months ago, at her own discretion, upon agreeing to my request of marrying her."

...What the hell are you doing?

The room had gone dead silent.

Kurama smiled and looked a bit contrite, "I insisted she was still the best person for the job, but who am I to argue with such a woman who thinks we would be best served with her assistance focused in other ways."

There were several chuckles scattered throughout those gathered.

"So, to ensure there would be no conflict of interest, she stepped down from my employment after agree to step up to my side."

Murmurs, almost all of them in agreement, passed through the crowd.

"And we would like to officially announce to all of you, some of our dearest business friends and family, our engagement."

There was a slight pause from everyone as several eyes went to stare at the jewelry that had adorned Shikiyoku's ring finger for many months before one person let out a cheer and then others quickly followed suit, having on this second time around finally grasped hold of what Kurama was telling them.

The couple on the stairs smiled out at the rest of them, both appearing to be exceedingly pleased in those moments as if the reaction was everything they had hoped it would be, but Shikiyoku had a very hard time not shifting her foot over and 'accidentally' stepping with extra force on Kurama's toes.

You little sneak.

Of course he would do this now, in a situation where she couldn't very well refuse him. She knew his standing just as intimately as he, and this little power play...he must have been thinking about it for months, maybe even since he gave her the ring, waiting for the opportune moment, a moment where she couldn't say no.

Kurama's arm shifting lower to wrap around her waist drew Shikiyoku's attention away from her faraway thoughts and back to the present as Kurama turned them towards one another and leaned over her to give the crowd what some of them had begun shouting for-mostly the Americans-which was to kiss Shikiyoku.

For the brief moment their eyes met before he covered her lips with his own, dire sparks flew between the pair: Kurama's triumphant self-satisfaction down at the woman who could do little else in that instant but reveal that while seething with anger, it was unfocused anger at neither herself nor him as she begrudgingly acknowledged his complete control of the situation, and subsequently of her.

The cheers surged around them again as Kurama righted himself and began leading Shikiyoku, still on his arm, back down the stairs. They were of course immediately swarmed with well-wishers and congratulations, and Shikiyoku this time played the part of demure fiancée to accept them.

~!**!~

The door flew open. "AKARI!"

The dog demon had no time to brace herself for the hug that Botan launched at her, and she stumbled a little under the sudden weight of her friend. She recovered and wrapped her arms around Botan to return the hug, a laugh bubbling from her throat. "It's good to see you too, Botan."

The former ferry girl jumped back to hold Akari at arm's length, looking her up and down. "You didn't go home to change!"

"Of course not. Then I'd have less time to drink with you all."

"Good point! Come on, let's get you inside and out of those heels!" Botan plucked Akari's bag from her hand and dragged her inside by her arm. "Go on, off with those!" When Akari had reached down and pulled off her heels, Botan continued to drag her further into the apartment.

The pair rounded the corner into the kitchen, and all at once the four ladies jumped into the center of the room, their arms in the air, and yelled, "Congratulations!"

Akari blinked at the little group and looked from them, to the golden banner hung over the doorway, to the baking supplies and bottles of alcohol on the counter. She blinked a few times to clear away a sudden blur, and her hand came up to rest on her chest. "You guys... "

"Awh look, she's going to cry! No, no, come here," Botan pulled her into another hug, this one softer. "Please don't cry!" *

~!**!~

After some time, Shikiyoku managed to slip away from the revelers-many of whom at this later hour had managed to get themselves quite drunk-and Kurama, from whom she had been pulled away at some point by other attendees anyway.

Ducking into a guest room somewhere off the hallway on the other side of the Grand Hall, Shikiyoku finally allowed herself a moment to be exceedingly furious at the situation which Kurama concocted.

It was not that she did not admire or even respect his execution of her predicament. It was, as all things seemed to be with him, quite clever. Perhaps it stung this time because his cleverness had been aimed at her, and all her foresight, all her own at times devious nature cultivated for years even before she met the Youko had not once suspected...

She suddenly ripped the ring off of her finger-the engagement finger, the one Kurama the damn Youko had put it on some months ago that she thought little about at the time-and slammed the thing on a nearby end table just to the left of the door with a little more force than she really meant, making the decorative vase on it wobble just a bit.

Stalking across the room over to the other side of the canopied bed that occupied much of the space in this room, Shikiyoku suddenly whipped back around, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at it as if it were truly the most offensive thing she had ever laid eyes on in her entire life, when all at once the orchestrator of the entire fucking ordeal himself ducked his snide little red-haired self into the bedroom and her fury rose another several levels.

"You bastard." She seethed with the burning anger of a thousand suns, the words hissing out between clenched teeth that only barely contained the overwhelming desire in that moment to all but scream the words at him, conscious even now in the midst of it of the guests in the manor.

When the door was closed behind him, and a wall-hanging on the wall to his right briefly shifted to the side-revealing a door behind it-so that a second door could be checked to make sure it was locked, Kurama had the audacity to stand across the room with a most innocent expression coloring his features as if she couldn't sense the underlying haughty, borderline arrogant demeanor in which he was so utterly pleased with himself at what had just transpired.

"Why, darling, whatever is the matter?" He asked airily as if it were only something wrong with the state of her needlework instead of the absolutely perverse manner in which he had just arranged for their human marriage.

He had not, however, taken so much as a single step closer to where she stood once he had checked the door in the wall next to him.

"Don't you dare waltz in here and 'darling' me." Her glare could have peeled the wallpaper from the walls around them if she could so much as blink her madly whirling gaze away from him for but a moment.

Frankly, the dangerously whirling energy in her eyes made him want to do just about anything with her but leave her in the room by herself, and it was only the hostility plain in her body language that managed to keep his feet planted firmly on the carpet.

"How dare you!"

"How dare I what?"

At first she had no words, only letting out a noise of furious frustration at the entire situation.

He took a step closer as he spoke, her energy that had been gathering below the surface now beginning to lick up off of her into the air in visible waves, "Really, Yoku, I thought my intentions had been perfectly clear ever since I gave you that ring."

No noise from her this time, but the amount of breath she huffed from her nostrils would have seared the air something fierce if she'd been a steam demon.

"If I had honestly thought for just one second that you didn't understand what I meant by it, I'm sure I would have explained it to you."

He kept coming closer, and not exactly because he wanted to, keeping a similar nonchalant tone to his voice. By this time he was nearly in contact with the energy that continued to thicken and spread out a foot or so around her.

"You-"

All at once his lips were covering hers and he could just feel her indignation seeping out of her mouth as he tended to it with a hunger that he knew she would have been stoking on purpose the entire dinner party if her faculties had been not already exhausted to the point of fatigue. As it was, he had barely been able to keep his hands off of her, and now here he was drawn all the more into her grasp by the eruption of emotions he had been the cause of, by energy could only serve to entice him further.

"Kurama-"

He paused, aware now that he had swept her up and had her laying on the bed beneath him, both of them breathing heavily and half-dressed.

His eyes flickered to her neck when she swallowed and he watched her chest rise and fall for a second before searching for her eyes which had opened to stare at the canopy above them.

He could feel the energy in the room starting to retract, and as if in protest, he started covering the area around her collarbone in kisses, though they were measured now and affectionately tender.

She laughed breathily as one of her hands continued seeking the warmth of his side while he kissed her, moving across his skin and enjoy the feeling of his muscles beneath her touch.

"What?" His kisses kept slowing, but had yet to stop.

"I'm sure your guests would notice if their hosts were not there to see them on their way." She commented archly.

He let out a sigh, lips inches from her, that she could feel billowing out over her skin and it nearly made her shiver.

"You're probably right." He shifted up to kiss at her neck, leaving her humming with appreciation and wrapping her arms around his torso even as the last trickle of energy faded out of sight.

"I usually am...Minamino-san."

A sudden nip at her ear almost tore a yelp from her lips in shock more so than surprise.

"That's quite enough of that." He breathed dangerously into her ear, making the hairs on her neck stand on end. "Or else no one will get a goodbye tonight."

He abruptly was gone from her immediate sight and she started to sit up while he grabbed for the bits of his clothing that had landed hither and yon throughout the room and began to redress himself.

~!**!~

Akari hugged Botan tightly, and after a few moments, the others crowded around her to join in on the hug. Too proud to cry, the dog demon sniffled once or twice. "Thank you guys. This means so much."

"Girl, of course it does!" Botan pulled back and rubbed her hands along Akari's upper arms. "It's something you did yourself!"

"We're happy for you, Akari," Yukina added as she pat Akari on the back. "You worked hard, and it really shows."

Akari sniffed again and nodded, but just before she could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. Keiko broke away with a smile and a pat on Akari's shoulder, and Shizuru turned to lead Akari to the counter full of ingredients.

"So, what's your favorite? We'll make those first, since we're celebrating you."

Akari looked from one set of ingredients to another, putting them all together in her head to see the finished results. "The lemon one is definitely up there."

"Great! Let's get started!"

Akari pulled the mixing bowl to herself and began to pour dry ingredients together, calling out measurements from memory. On some level, she could hear whisperings from the front of the apartment, but she thought nothing of it as she, Botan, Shizuru, and Yukina all moved around the kitchen.

"Alright ladies! Who's hungry?"

Akari looked up from her bowl to see Yusuke strutting into the room, plastic bags in either hand and a wide grin on his face. "RED! I hear you opened your shop today! Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Yusuke."

"AND, because of that, I brought dinner. Because if I know you, you worked all day and didn't eat."

"...Guilty as charged, sir."

"Yeah, it's a demon thing I think." He plopped the bags down on the very counter Akari and the others had been working on and began to unpack the styrofoam boxes. "There's enough here to feed an army, so don't be shy."

He passed one box in particular to her with a wink. "Congratulations on your new cafe, Red."

Akari peeled it open to see an array of foods inside, and her mouth began to water at the aroma. "Thank you so much."

"Yeah, yeah, think nothin' of it." He turned and began to tromp back to the door, hand in the air. "Enjoy your girl's night!"

"Yusuke!"

He turned to look at Keiko with a sidelong grin. "Yes, my darling, dear, love, and sweetie pie?"

"You're welcome to stay and have cupcakes and drinks with us," Yukina said with a gentle smile. "It'll be fun."

"Nah, nah. You guys need a girl's night. I'll be out, doing-"

Shizuru was across the room in a few steps and threw her arm around the male, her grin wicked. "That's not how a gentleman reacts when a lady invites him to stay over, is it?"

"Who said I was a gentleman?"

"Really, Yusuke," Keiko passed him a plate of food she'd stacked from the many boxes, "help us decide on cupcake flavors for Yukina and Kuwabara's wedding."

"Oh, so that's what you're doing?"

The girls all nodded.

"Alright then, I'll stay. But only for a little while, since some of us have work in the morning."

"Yay! I'm so happy!" Yukina thrilled, and Akari grinned at her. "This is going to be fun!" *

~!**!~

The silence of the warm, night air was a blessing on Shikiyoku's ears.

Full of nocturnal activity, sure. Accompanied by the pleasant laughter of the waterfall nearby, certainly. But now devoid of any of the human raucous of the past several hours, the lands of Kurama's estate were almost serene in energy.

Leaving Kurama to take care of the very last of the guests and double check on arrangements for the cleaning of the house and grounds on the morrow, Shikiyoku slowly made her way across the concrete with her heels in her hand and stood for a moment at the poolside, looking out over the somewhat wild landscaping that she recognized to have the kitsune's horticultural touch.

Dawn was still a few hours away and many of the lights from the inside of the manor behind her were slowly being turned off, beginning to leave her in the calm, dimly lit darkness of the gentle mood-lights of the pool and the paths around her.

She walked down the steps and along the path, taking note of the bushes lining either side, the bench on the other side of the small fence, and as she kept going, a topiary standing tall on this side of the pool, overlooking a jacuzzi area. She kept walking.

Farther out into the grounds, the area became more secluded, the trees slightly more exotic and closer to the path, and she followed her ears to the waterfalls she knew to be falling somewhere nearby until she crested a small hill to find the other pool she knew to be here.

Looking back briefly, she could see the whole of the white manor behind her, still lit by its outside lights and she smiled.

Placing her shoes down at the poolside, and her glasses in one of them, Shikiyoku easily shrugged out of the shoulders of the emerald colored dress that she wore, letting it flutter to the ground as she stepped out of it. In the same moment, she reached up and released her hair from its place at the back of her head and with a single shake back and forth, a change rippled down her body and by the time her feet were free of the fallen dress, so too was Shikiyoku free of her human form.

Long, shimmering white hair cascaded past pointed ears and warm bronze shoulders all the way beyond her waist as Shikiyoku took one step and then another down the stairs before her, water stirring at first only around her ankles, but quickly rising up her legs as she made her way further into the pool. As she moved, an almost invisible halo of yellow energy began automatically licking upwards into the air around her body and started seeping into the space about her, giving her skin a pearlescent glow that would beckon one to touch it.

The water never grew deeper than five and a half feet and so Shikiyoku took to sinking lower to let the warmth of it overtake her skin to her neck, eyes that had been once green and were now a bright amber shade of color closed as she sank quietly to let the water envelop her head and swam towards the waterfalls lit with a soft glow.

The feeling of the water moving over her further relaxed her as she embraced the limited weightlessness it provided.

Reaching the waterfall and pulling up next to it, coming to a stop a few feet away, Shikiyoku rose just far enough out of the water to get her nose above the liquid, blinking to clear her eyes, though they settled at half-mast, and taking to staring ahead at absolutely nothing, only enjoying the sensations and the patter of the water falling which lulled her muscles farther into ease.

She did not even stir when a pair of arms encircled her waist to rest intimately against her bare skin, a pair of lips planting a kiss to her ear, and when she rose up a few inches farther out of the water in response, the kisses continued down her neck and over her shoulder as a body followed the arms and pressed up against her back with equally bare skin.

Upon finishing the other business in the house and sending the staff home with their promises of promptness in the morning, Kurama had come out to join Shikiyoku, whom he had spotted moving this direction some time ago. After moving down the steps and following a path to the left, eventually the moonlight above scattered over the silver hair and white yukata of Youko Kurama.

Amused as he approached by the clothing left at the side of the pool, the kitsune also disrobed as he eyed the gently beckoning movements of the yellow energy in the air and dove silently in the water, stealthily swimming underneath the surface until he reached the woman near the waterfall and embraced her.

He gently moved her floating hair over one of her shoulders as he settled his chest up to her back and held her to him while he moved his lips over her skin.

His attentions were met with a hum of appreciation and tiny quivers within the energy in which he half-stood, half-sat floating in the water. At his height, his shoulders were exposed in the air, but he had tucked his knees under her so that she might sit somewhat on his lap.

A sweet sigh of his name as his hands enjoyed the feeling of her skin beneath his fingers and Kurama drew his face over her shoulder to meet her cheek this time with his lips before resting the side of his face to hers, enjoying all the places where they touched with half-lidded eyes as her energy moved about them.

"It's different." He said, after several silent minutes.

Lazily looking about at the hints of the yellow swirls of which he would occasionally catch sight, Kurama took a deep breath, filling his nostrils with her scent, which reminded him of crips pines and earthy nutmeg.

"What do you mean?" She murmured back between barely parted lips.

After a pause, he continued, "Your energy."

The companionable silence grew between them as she waited for him to keep going.

"There was a time when even I would have feared what having it float about like this might do. To me. To others."

"We had the pact."

"Yes, I remember." He let out a slow chuckle and knew she was smiling too, and he leaned his head down and let his lips rest on top of her shoulder for a moment, feeling the homey warmth of her energy on the air brushing gently over what parts of him were above the water.

"I still don't understand it."

"Mm?"

"My energy. What it does. What I can do with it. I've had it for millennia and sometimes I feel like I couldn't tell anyone the first thing about it."

Kurama lifted his face to replace his lips with his chin so he could speak, "It's changed. Or what you're doing with it has changed. Maybe both."

Another smile and this time Shikiyoku tilted her head so that it would be touching Kurama's, "You've changed."

He gave another breathy laugh and accompanying kiss to what skin he could reach, "We all do, my love." The kiss was followed with several soft nips along the place where her neck met with her shoulder.

"Some more than others." She remarked dryly even as the energy around them gave another shiver.

His response consisted of more direct attentions to her, his actions slowly sending the energy around them to build up in the midst of their pleasure and little else was said between them for a very long time.

~!**!~

The group of now six individuals laughed and talked over dinner, sharing stories about where they worked now, how long they'd been there, favorite customers and least favorite customers, and simple life stuff that Akari had missed out on from all of them.

The first glass of alcohol was poured halfway through their dinner talk, and any unease that might have been there dissipated all at once, leaving the group giggling and talking as if they'd been there for days instead of minutes.

Akari opted to wash the dishes from dinner, but Keiko beat her to it and told her it wasn't her day to do the clean up. So, instead, she returned to the cupcakes she'd been in the process of mixing, and instead of focusing on one batch at a time, it was easier to start all three batches when there was six people available.

Akari called out the recipes for each flavor as they went, and it wasn't until about midnight that they got those cupcakes into the oven.

From there, alcohol became the main point of the gathering, Yusuke even taking up mixing drinks for those that wanted it.

The group sat in various poses and places in the kitchen, reminiscing about the beginnings of their friendships and sharing more stories of the time between their meet ups.

The first sip of one of Yusuke's mixes had Akari cringing, nearly spitting it out from the sheer strength of the burn and the mix. "What did you DO!"

"I made it better! You're welcome!"

The oven timer dinged and Akari was up, pulling the trays of cupcakes out of the oven and setting them one by one onto a cooling rack, mindful of her strength so she wouldn't force them to crumble.

When Botan began to reach for one, Akari smacked her hand away. "To the living room with you!"

"Akari! I've been waiting all WEEK for that one!"

"You can have one when it's cool and has icing on it!" She waved her hands in a shooing motion, but her eyes found the people in the entire room. "Let's relocate for a while and let them cool."

Everyone grabbed a bottle and they shuffled to the living room, Yukina sitting on the couch next to Botan, and Akari, Shizuru, Keiko, and Yusuke finding the floor.

As the night wore on and bottles became empty, the group grew louder and more raucous, cards eventually appearing and a game of poker being played, though no real bets were taken.

At some point, Akari snuck away to ice the cupcakes, and she brought them to the living room for the others, much to Botan's delight.

The group ate, drank, and gamed as if they'd never done so before. At some point, Yukina shuffled to bed and Shizuru stretched out on the couch. Yusuke disappeared, and Keiko took her leave after telling Akari she was welcome to stay the night.

When dawn came, Akari was the last one awake. She smiled at her friends, all in a various state of sleep, and she began to clean up the apartment. When that was done, she wrote a note, slipped on her heels, and left for work.

Despite all of her fun overnight and all of the drinking, she felt supercharged and ready to take on the day. *

~!**!~

The slowly warming morning air that Shikiyoku felt as she awoke only rivaled the warmth of the body laying partially atop and across her own and while the fingers of one arm were tangled in the fingers of another's, the arm encircling his back and shoulders shifted slightly up and across his smooth, lithely-toned skin so that it may bury in his long silvery hair.

Kurama shifted a little against her, kissing at her sternum before placing his cheek back down amidst her chest, but did not open his eyes, content with the sensation of her skin next to his own even as he could feel the sun rising over the distant horizon.

Her eyes finally opening as she gently shifted her fingers through his hair, Shikiyoku stared upwards at the fine greenery that almost encompassed herself and the fox: a hammock with overhanging canopy that blended in with the other pieces of landscaping near the pool. He had not carried her out of it all that long ago, creating the makeshift bed seemingly out of thin air as he had made for the trees before the sun rose.

Kurama shifted again, but did not seem in any particular hurry:

"Let us not wait an entire month this next time, mm?"

Shikiyoku felt him smile against her and she gave out a low chuckle as she reached up farther to massage his scalp, to make her way to his ears and give them attention, "Miss me?"

He did not give her the satisfaction of a response, his weight relaxing on her with her touch, but instead a pulse of his desire to ask her to be his lifemate moved to the forefront of Shikiyoku's awareness, instead of the constant rumination it typically encapsulated when she was nearby.

"You have been quite busy of late." He replied eventually, "Saving the world is no small task. I can wait. My needs are not so uncontrollable that I am slave to their every whim."

"You could have fooled me."

She could not hear him growl at her, but she could feel it, and it made her smile all the more.

"Well, you don't have to arrange for an entire party just to get me to come to you."

"Do I not? Funny how it worked out for me."

She huffed at him and it was his turn to smile, though she could not see it, and the shifting of his hand in hers had her glancing over at it as he fiddled with the ring on her finger with two of his own.

"I knew you wanted to finish your little project, and while I can't say the party was specifically thrown to celebrate your completion of it..." He gave a little shrug as he nuzzled his nose into her and gave her another kiss.

"Your timing is impeccable, as always." She remarked dryly, eyeing the ring with a bit of her earlier ire.

"As always." He finally lifted his head and two sets of eerily similar eyes locked gazes.

Kurama shifted his hands underneath himself until he could press himself up over her, only dropping his gaze away from her as he began intermittently planting kisses up her chest while he moved upwards, eventually trailing all the way to her neck, then her jaw, then cheek, lingering over her lips but not yet touching them.

"We should ready ourselves to leave." He breathed over her as bits of his hair began falling past his shoulder to pool near her head.

"Mm."

"There will be others at the house soon."

"Mm."

"I'm sure there will be articles galore in the tabloids should we linger."

"You have, after all, paid your staff well."

He stared down into her eyes for another moment as her lips twitched with a smile.

"You know...if we're never found, they'll never talk." Shikiyoku remarked, a single light eyebrow raising on her dark face.

Kurama narrowed his eyes a little, "Yes, but then I would have to go do something about our clothing laying over there, and I currently have no desire to leave you in this moment."

She knew that to be true. "Then don't." Her hands came up to curl around his neck, move over his shoulders and down his arms slightly, and then across his chest to rest.

"Mm." His lips tilted into a mischievous little smile. "Do you have to have an answer for everything?"

"It would be less fun if I didn't."

"I can think of a few things that might be more fun than that."

And before she could reply, he was kissing her.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku slowly made her way back to the bar as the day wore on, walking this time, meandering, and left alone with her thoughts, which still were stirring around the events of the night prior...

...They stood in the middle of the bedroom, making sure the last hints of their near-entanglement were not visible. Kurama gently turned her back to face him once he had her hair in place again and she reached out and adjusted his tie as he leaned down and kiss the top of her forehead.

She smoothed her hands over his dark green lapels and smiled softly when his right hand come up to cover her left as she went to remove them.

"If it truly bothers you so much, I won't ask you to put it back on."

She let out a little sigh, "It...It doesn't really bother me." She made a bit of a face. "I guess."

When she felt the chest underneath her fingers take a breath for him to say something else, she shook her head and beat him to it, "I'm just as irritated at myself for playing right into your hands. I didn't even see it coming."

"We can't all be winners."

She glared up at his grin, but only half meant her expression.

"It's just a symbol, Yoku." He purred at her, trying to get her to see his way, "Another piece in the game. Something that will keep the humans entertained and distracted as we go about our business. And we don't even have to have a wedding-"

"A wedding." A glint of Shikiyoku's former irritation rose in her eyes.

"-for a long time if that is what you wish. Or ever." He rubbed his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to placate her as she shot him another look. "There are many celebrities that don't in fact ever get married, and have been engaged for years. Sometimes they break it off. Sometimes they incite scandals with their unfaithful behavior-"

Shikiyoku rolled her eyes at him and he laughed.

"But." He gathered himself and she looked up at him when he wanted her to. "It will all be for not if it isn't for fun, my love."

"Is that what this is, Kurama? Fun?" Her skepticism was sprinkled lightly with her growing amusement.

"Absolutely, my dear." He took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm and lead her towards the door.

Shikiyoku paused just as he had his hand on the doorknob, sending a glance over to the ring sitting innocently next to the vase, and before she could change her mind, snatched it up and slipped it onto her finger, nodding to him that he could open it so they might rejoin the party.

Shikiyoku's thumb fiddled with the ring as she rounded the corner to the bar and moved for the doors, suddenly feeling so very tired of walking around in these heels, in this skirt and blouse and blazer, in this whole damnable outfit she'd worn all week.

And it was with such thoughts in mind that she tiredly reached out for the door and let herself into the bar. 3

The guild quietly sat around their table, enjoying the companionable silence broken only by the music on the far side of the room and Tarou's snoring against the table. On this day, no cards were shuffled and passed around, and no money was exchanging hands.

Each person had their own thing to do, and each person kept themselves busy in silence.

None of them immediately looked up at the door when it opened, and the only reason anyone did look up at all was because Chisai stood, asked the guys if they wanted anything to eat, and was stepping away from the table to order lunch at the bar when he noticed Shikiyoku's entrance.

He rerouted himself and came to walk next to her, a calm smile on his features. "Welcome back, Mum."

At the word mum, most of the rest of the present-and-awake guild looked up from their various busywork, each one giving a small smile of greeting.

"Mom," Ikigai stage-whispered in her direction, "I just wanted to say we had fun working with you again!"

"Yeah," Raion piped, "And the after effect was definitely more fun for us." He pointed at Tarou, who sat forward in his chair, his arms crossed under his head to act as a pillow, and not-so-soft snores rumbling against the table.

"He went back to the cafe yesterday," Raitoningu informed.

"And was turned down again." Tsundora added, not looking up from the letter he was writing.

"...said something about it not being 'her moment', but very close." Chisai gave a shrug. *

"Hello, Chisai." Shikiyoku replied quietly with a smile as he came up next to her and they headed up towards the bar together.

"I'm pleased to hear that, Ikigai. I was very glad to have you. I expect you received your payment promptly?" She nodded to him, resisting the urge to wipe at her eyes as she went to stand where the head bartender was covering her usual station.

Her smile at learning of Tarou's reaction to his failed attempt at gaining Akari's attention once more was a trifle more mysterious than the others, but she said nothing about it.

"Anything come for me?" She murmured to the head bartender, who was already reaching underneath to the place where he kept whatever she would want on her return. Mostly bills and things that she clucked her tongue at as she shifted through them, muttering something about 'waste' and people not 'going automatic.' 3

Chisai walked with Shikiyoku all the way to the bar, though he placed his lunch order with the head bartender only after Shikiyoku was done asking after her mail.

"We did," Ikigai answered with a bob of his head.

"And, as always, we appreciate the extra on top." Raion winked playfully at her.

"I appreciate the double wage," Tsundora said cooly as he signed his letter and began to fold the paper into threes. "There's a deal I've been wanting to make with someone on the Fifth that was a bit out of my range until now," he admitted as he slipped the letter into an envelope.

"Because you're too proud to ask me for help, brother," Raitoningu chided, earning only a glance from the corner of the other's eye.

"So, do you know what favor you're going to ask Tarou for yet?" Raion grinned and his tail curled at the end. "I hope it's particularly dastardly."

A runner slipped into the door and came to a stop and Tsundora's side. The pair exchanged envelopes, Tsundora paid the other, and when the demon disappeared, he finally turned to look up at Shikiyoku.

Almost immediately his icey gaze narrowed just a fraction, and he looked her from head to toe. *

One of the other waitresses flitted up to work on Chisai's order, leaving the head bartender to nod at the guild member that it'd be just a moment as he passed Shikiyoku a clipboard and pen that she hadn't looked up from, but stood scanning and occasionally flipping a page and making marks in.

For probably the first time, Shikiyoku did not appear to notice Raion's flirtations, only nodding here and there as the others spoke.

"Part of the fun of being owed favors, Raion, is being able to ask for them at the most inconvenient of times." 3

"Well, I can't wait to see what you're cooking up," Raion replied before he turned down to the papers he'd sprawled around himself.

"Do you think he actually has a chance with Akari, Mom?" Ikigai asked suddenly, his eyes leaving the sleeping demon and trailing to Shikiyoku. "He's not had someone turn him down before, especially not twice."

"His ego will heal," Raitoningu interjected. "He'll find someone else to chase when he's done being interested in her."

"Shikiyoku."

The guild turned to glance at Tsundora, who had never once called her by her name.

"Those look uncomfortable." His stare shifted down to the heels she wore before flitting back up to her face. "You're going to change before getting behind the bar, right?"

While his question seemed innocent enough that the other members of the guild went back to what they were doing, Raitoningu furrowed his brows at his brother before turning his eyes back to Shikiyoku, looking her up and down again until he saw the little inconsistency that had likely gotten Tsundora's attention.

Somewhere under her facade, there was an underlying wrongness to her energy, and he wasn't sure if it was because something had happened, or if it was tiredness related to the busyness of her week. *

As Shikiyoku stood rifling through the proffered paperwork, one of her feet came up and scratched at the back of her other leg and she shifted in place a little and blinked down at her current page, flipping past it, but leaving it between two fingers as she did, giving up on reading it for a fifth time and deciding to come back to it.

Most of the conversation of the guild had faded to a murmur next to her that she lost track of and when she had to read this page a second time, she sighed and lifted her glasses up to perch at the top of her head, trying again.

When she heard her name, after a moment, she mumbled, "Mm, sure."

Only after a beat did she feel the eyes on her and frowned, looking up at the rest of the guild to see Tsundora's icy-blue stare cutting across the room into her and she raised an eyebrow at him. 3

"I don't think he's got much of a chance," Raion answered Ikigai's question. "She seems flighty."

"That's not very nice."

"As it is, 'flighty' is not the word I'd use." Chisai took his lunch from the waitress with a nod of thanks and slid into his barstool next to Shikiyoku. "Definitely reserved. Guarded."

"She's only flighty because you can't pin her down," Raitoningu shot back at Raion. "Your ego is just as fragile as Tarou's."

"Alright, mutt, listen-"

"Call me that again and I'll skin you alive, cat."

"Guys, Tarou's still sleeping…"

Tsundora ignored the conversation around him, instead focusing his eyes and ears on Shikiyoku. His tail had stopped its gentle swaying that it usually had, and his ears were pointed just as far forward as they could be.

His nose twitched just the slightest at Shikiyoku's inquisitive look, and it was with her staring straight at him that he had the hardest time of seeing through the weird haze he'd noticed around her.

It made his stare all the more intense as he tried to pin it down. *

From this far away, Shikiyoku had trouble focusing in on Tsundora's features, but when he had nothing to say to her, she blinked and shook her head a little, turning back down to the papers at hand, but their words suddenly had little meaning to her as the room gave a brief, sweeping turn and she felt her legs give out underneath her. 3

Tsundora did not miss that Shikiyoku's eyes never focused on him. He didn't miss the blink and the shake of her head, but he tore his eyes away from her for a second to glance between Raion and Raitoningu.

"You couldn't even catch me if you tried, fido."

"Shut up and go back to your box, mittens."

"...guys…"

"I AM NO HOUSE CAT!"

"Really? You have the temperament of one, and definitely the ego-"

"Guys, can we not?"

"-to match. Do you need an under-the-chin scratch?"

"I'll show you-"

Tarou's head snapped up from the table, shocking the entire guild into silence as his chair slammed to the floor and he was gone from their immediate sight, moving faster than any of them had ever seen before.

He was careful with his hands when he caught Shikiyoku, getting to her just before she hit the floor. He let out a little sigh of relief at having gotten up in time, but it soon died on his tongue when he noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the paper-white color of her skin.

He waved one of his hands in front of Shikiyoku's face, noticing that she was awake still, but definitely without energy to do anything physically.

He took a deep breath and gathered her tiny body in his arms, stood, and with one narrow-eyed glare back at the guild, turned and began to make his way to the door he had seen her disappear behind countless times. *

She'd never quite blacked out, but she did notice the next moment when someone kept her from hitting the floor, and she heard the sound of several other chairs scraping across the ground.

Blinking a little when Tarou waved a hand in front of her eyes, she smiled up at him and patted his arm affectionately, "Hey, big guy."

She could smell the stale alcohol on him and frowned as he swept her off her feet, seeing the glare he tossed over his shoulder.

"Hey, you don't have to carry me. What're you doing? You can put me down now." 3

Tarou's expression was severe even as he turned from the guild and moved towards the door. His head pounded and his bones ached, but none of that measured to even a drop in the ocean about having been woken up with bickering and no one else seeing the state Shikiyoku was in.

When Shikiyoku's voice floated up to him as a quiet protest, however, his expression shifted from tight anger into a calm, almost relief.

"You scared me," he admitted as he approached the door. "And I'm carrying you to your room, because you need to rest."

When the door did not automatically open for him, he stifled a sigh and shifted his body weight so Shikiyoku's arm may reach the door.

"Make it do the thing, please." *

Shikiyoku shook her head, "No, really, it's fine, you can-"

Her eyes shifted over to the doorknob as it came into view and she looked confused, but said fondly, "It's just a door, silly. But I can open it for you if you want, I guess."

He had her close enough so she only needed to reach out to do it.

"See?" 3

He almost launched into a rant about it 'not being fine', but he swallowed instead and smiled down at her patiently.

He may be pretty upset at her neglecting herself now, but losing his temper at his favorite person in the whole damn bar would do him no good.

He blinked down at her though when she told him the door was a simple one, and when he spoke, his voice held all of the gravelly, hoarse, hangover heaviness to it. "Ah. Thank you."

He stepped beyond the door and nudged it shut with his foot behind him. He took the stairs up three at a time, realizing that if the place up here was huge, he'd not know where to go.

Luckily for him, the place still smelled strongly of Shikiyoku and Hiei, and he need only follow his nose to the door on the left. He managed to get it open with his hand, and he silently stepped into her room.

"Now, Mom," he began in that same voice as before as he lowered her to her bed, "I want you to understand that I say this with love and care, and I mean it with only the best of intentions..." He crouched in front of her and pulled her shoes off quickly, careful not to actually touch her skin. Instead of tossing them to the side like he wanted to, he set them neatly under her night stand.

"...Get some goddamned rest." He stood and leveled her with a no-bullshit stare. "You look like shit, and no establishment owner should ever be seen in such a state." *

Shikiyoku almost sat meekly where Tarou had placed her, hands in her lap and not looking at him.

She let out a sigh that seemed to heave her whole body with it, and said quietly, "I guess my spell must have faded, didn't it?" Though she didn't appear to need an answer.

Taking another breath, she stood up and padded the two steps over to where he put her shoes and reached into the end table drawer, turning to hand him a small pill and the glass of water that had been sitting on top.

"Here. That should help with your hangover."

As she moved passed him for her vanity, she reached up and waved a hand over her face with a look of concentration and suddenly appeared as she always did, sat down, and began looking for something on the vanity in front of her.

"...I can't, you know." She finally said quietly. 3

"I wouldn't say 'faded'," he replied gruffly, realizing now that that was likely why no one else had forced her up the stairs, "more like it cried 'wee wee wee' all the way home." Were he in a better mood, he may have smiled at her.

When she passed him a pill and some water, he contemplated the two before he set the pill down and guzzled the water, knowing he damn well deserved the hangover he'd given himself. The pill he returned to the top of the night stand, leaving it on the surface.

Denying it didn't mean he wasn't thankful for her gesture, though. And he didn't miss the way her hand had originally been reaching for him before it found her face instead.

He crossed his arms over his chest, glass half-empty in one of his hands, and was prepared to start pulling things from her grasp with his weapon's gate when she spoke.

His stern expression twitched just a little, confusion fighting its way to the surface.

"You can't?" He'd never heard someone say they couldn't rest before. Not even his old buddies who'd seen horrors of their own in the world preferred to be away from reality for the few short hours they could. "Whaddya mean?"

Though, when he thought about it, the few times he'd stayed behind during jobs that Hiei took, not a single time did he see Shikiyoku leave her station until his Boss's return. *

Finding the glasses' case hidden behind another handmirror, Shikiyoku took the glasses still perched on top of her head, folded them, and placed them inside and the case aside before reaching behind her head and starting to remove the pins in her hair.

Her, now seemingly normal, gaze flicked up to him for a moment in the mirror before her when he asked and she dropped her eyes again even as she kept pulling out pins and placing them on the vanity.

"Well..." She started slowly, carefully, realizing she hadn't spoken to anyone about it. Not really even Hiei. Not out loud, anyway. But he was just as aware of them as she. "I have nightmares." She finally just admitted, shrugging and trying to blow it off with a smile, "Seems kinda silly, I guess." 3

Tarou's tough exterior deflated in an instant, all of his 'tough love' act gone in the blink of an eye. "It's not silly," he grumbled as he sidestepped and moved to sit on the little cushioned seat at the end of her bed.

He lifted the glass of water to his lips, paused just before taking a drink, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "The battlefield does that to people." He tipped his head back and downed the last of the water.

He leaned forward with his elbows on his thighs and let his arms dangle between his knees, careful not to invade Shikiyoku's personal space in his close quarters.

"You see 'em in your sleep too, huh?" He didn't think he had to elaborate, so instead he turned his eyes to look around her room for the first time. "And a lot more, I'm sure."*

Once she started talking about it, it seemed a little easier to say in any case, though she was still rather quiet.

"...they'd gotten better." The only other sound in the room was her occasionally placing pins down into their tin on the vanity until her hair was long and free down her back.

She didn't feel like she had to say ever since she'd been chased down to the Eighth they'd been flitting just as the edges of her vision again any time she closed her eyes.

She pulled her hair over her shoulder and grabbed a brush and began to slowly pull it through.

"When they originally started, I could only get to sleep when Hiei was around. I-" She paused and got even quieter, eyes darting off to the side, "A while back...before I opened the bar...I-I ran through the horde on the Eighth..." 3

The general scent of Shikiyoku seemed to grow stronger as he sat there, and it took him a minute to realize that it was because she was letting down her hair. He eyed her long tresses for a moment, surprised at its length but finding that it suited her much more than the shorter style he'd thought she had.

He turned to look around her room again, looking for signs of things she found interesting or valuable, if only so he might see another side to the person he called 'Mom'.

When she started talking again, he focused on her reflection in the mirror, his expression kind and patient as she opened up to him for the first time since he'd met her.

"Yeah… that'll give just about anyone nightmares," he replied in a low tone. "You were going after the Boss, right? I overheard him talking to some guy about the war and its explosion."

He thought about the number of infected demons that had been thrown there in the beginning years, and even then that would have been a living nightmare. He couldn't imagine it being achievable in any recent years.

"...I'm sorry you had to go through that." He lifted the glass to his lips, realized it was empty, and lowered it again. "No one should have to go through that." *

There didn't seem to be anything in particular in the room that would stand out, not even a knick-knack or two to cover the walls much or the empty spaces on the tops of the furniture. A large wall scroll spanned the wall with the door behind her: a minimalist design of a sakura tree with its blossoms falling.

But underneath that, on top of a chest of drawers, one little translucent hand sat in the middle of the piece, perhaps made of glass and sitting up on its wrist as if reaching for the ceiling, meant to show off jewelry. Behind another mostly transparent, maybe glass dome, a bit of the light in the room from the lamp Shikiyoku flicked on before sitting down earlier reflected off the only ring on any of the fingers, set with two gems, one of which was quite obviously a priceless tear gem of the Koorime tribe.

She nodded to Tarou, "The blast separated us. Hiei woke up on the Ninth-" She gave a sad little smile, "And I woke up on the First."

She'd heard rumors one of the other reasons why Infected had started being tossed to the Eighth in the first place was the horde had always been there. Stayed there. Ever since the blast. That a huge chunk of the demons who would have otherwise survived the Battle of the Four Armies never woke up from it. Already turned. Thousands of them. Maybe hundreds of thousands. Something about the area kept them there too. Sometimes one or a handful would break off and escape even the watchful eyes of The Last Stand, but up to now they otherwise remained gathered down there, idling around the entrance to the Ninth and stretched out far beyond it.

She sighed, "I did what I had to in order to get to him. I'd do it again in an instant. But-" She brushed contemplatively through her hair, thinking on how she had lost it on the way there, too.

"...but then...then I saw them in my sleep." 3

Stormy, dark blue eyes stared at the ring under the glass dome, wondering at its design and the contrast of the two colored gems. As Shikiyoku talked, he found himself wondering where she'd gotten such a ring, with its rare jewel and contrast-yet-complimentary design.

He didn't know too much about jewels, but he did know both of those were hard to come by.

Especially the Koorime gem.

He turned away from it to stare at the floor beneath his feet, his eyelids closing and a sigh expanding in his chest, but not leaving him immediately. When he finally released it, it was in a long, slow stream of air that made him look smaller than he'd ever felt.

"There was a city on the Sixth," he scratched at his nose, "known for its weapon smithing and metal crafters. I'm sure you've heard of it - some of the best started there before eventually moving off."

He leaned back and crossed his legs so that his right ankle rested on his left knee. "My favorite place to be. Always smelled of fire and iron and… you get the point. Found it in my earlier years; great for my fighting ability."

His eyes found the sakura tree scroll.

"When the Infection hit, I was the only one to wake up healthy that mornin'. Made my normal trip to my favorite blacksmith to pick up a custom order, ended up fighting my way through the horde." He gave a dry laugh. "That's the first time I've ever used my Weapon's Vault until it was empty." As if to demonstrate his power, a little golden glyph-filled ring materialized over his right hand, and a dagger dropped handle-first into his grasp, and he balanced its butt on the tip of his index finger. "Now I pick up any weapon I can find, and keep it. Just in case." *

As Tarou began to tell his story, Shikiyoku had shucked off her blazer to let it sit against the back of her chair and by the time she got up to move across the room, it was wearing a plain white spaghetti-strapped undershirt, the white blouse laying over the blazer.

She opened the top drawer of the chest she approached and pulled out a small box, the ring she wore going inside before she set the box back down from where she retrieved it.

She reached out and placed her hand over the dome, it glowed once softly in response to her touch, and then she reached out and removed it, setting it to the side and retrieving the ring to put on her finger.

Somehow its presence was a great comfort to her. And just having it on made her feel a little better.

Laying almost hidden across the fingers, Shikiyoku reached forward a second time and lifted two ends of a ribbon up and off the hand, the tear gem upon it that had been resting against the top of the chest twinkling a little in the light as she brought the ribbon up and tied it together behind her neck, the gem coming to rest just a couple of inches below her collar bone.

When her hands came down to the drawer she had opened, instead of closing it, they rested on it as if she'd forgotten, and her hair had moved to curtain away her face as she stared down at nothing, instead seeing the scene as Tarou described it.

"Tarou...Tarou, I'm so sorry." She whispered, making no other move as the tears kept streaming down either side of her face and she was afraid he might see it. 3

The blade balanced perfectly on his finger, unwavering even as he moved his hand around. When Shikiyoku moved away, he flipped the blade until he balanced it by its tip, careful to keep his eyes on it and not the woman moving around in her undershirt and skirt.

He didn't respond at first, too engrossed by his own memory to have anything to say. What was he supposed to say? Hey, don't worry about it, it's no big deal? Or… It isn't like you caused it anyway, so haha I'll live?

Neither of those sounded right. Neither of those would make her feel better.

"There's no need for that," he finally said, knowing it wouldn't help her either. "If it was going to happen, I'm glad to be the lucky fool who lived." *

Shikiyoku nodded and reached inside the drawer in front of her, pulling out the first sweater she laid her hands on and pulling it over her head, immediately reaching up with the long sleeve and wiping it across her face.

"You didn't deserve to go through that." She sniffed, pulling at the sweater until the sat properly down her torso and closing the drawer, opening the bottom one next, reaching for a small pair of white jean shorts and easily pulling them on while she wiped at her eyes again. "At least I deserved it."

Once she unbuttoned the skirt it came off easily from over the shorts and she was no worse for wear and it went over on top of the blouse. She didn't seem to notice that when she cinched up the one side of the sweater that had fallen off her shoulder, the other side dropped off instead as she wiped at her eyes a third time while she stood next to her chair. 3

The blade did another flip, this time landing at its center point just above the hilt. He balanced it carefully, adjusting its weight distribution when it seemed to tip too far one way or the other.

"That's not true." He leaned forward and planted his foot on the carpet again. "If I hadn't gone through it," he began, his voice dropping an octave, "I wouldn't have met the Boss. Or you. Or the guild." His attempt at a smile would have been successful if he wasn't so stuck on her second statement. "Or the first woman to ever turn me down. Three times, might I add." The fact didn't bother him as much as he made it seem.

He clutched the blade in his palm and turned to face her once she was dressed. He saw the ends of her hair poking out from under her sweater, and his smile turned a bit more genuine. "So, why," he leaned forward and gently tugged her hair up and out from under her sweater, "do you deserve it?" He sat back again and finally looked up to meet her gaze *

Shikiyoku smiled a little as she wiped at her nose, standing still when she felt him moving her hair from where she'd left it forgotten the moment before.

Her eyes were still full of tears that hadn't fallen, but her gaze was cast to the side and after a breath, it was her turn to deflate a little as she grabbed the bottom edge of her sweater in her hands and twisted it up in her fingers and admitted, very quietly, "'Cuz it's my fault they were infected in the first place." 3

If Tarou felt any sort of surprise at her admittance, it never crossed his features.

"Well, that doesn't change the fact that I still lived." He gave a one shoulder shrug. "It isn't the first time I've been through hell, and it won't be the last." He leaned forward and set the empty glass on her vanity. "I'm a warrior. A fighter. Going through Nine Levels of hell is in the job description."

He turned to look at her again and reached a hand out as if to wipe her face, but paused just shy of her skin, unsure if she would let him.

"...And no matter the cause of the Crusnik, isn't it in all of us? Waiting to be activated? It was bound to happen eventually, whether it was by you or someone else." *

She sniffed again, but didn't move away from Tarou as he reached out to her, closing her eyes as his thumb moved across her cheek.

Shikiyoku let out a little huff, her eyes opening just a bit as she said, "...that's dumb, Tarou." And then threw her arms around her neck and hugged him. 3

Tarou wiped at the tear streaks on her cheeks with a gentleness he'd had to master of his lifetime.

He hated to see a woman cry, especially one who normally looked so happy

She surprised him with her hug, and after a beat where his dagger fell from his hands and back into the golden portal it had dropped from, he carefully circled his arms around her tiny frame, his eyes closing in a form of content. It'd been a long time since he'd had a hug as genuine as this one, and it had him letting out a long breath. Please don't cry anymore.

"That's because you know I'm right." *

She'd hidden her face against his neck, feeling rather small as he finally returned her hug and then relaxed a little into it.

"No..." She argued, "It's because you're dumb."

After another long moment, she sighed and stood back up on her own two feet, but reached for his hand.

"C'mon. I'll stop crying if we go get a drink." 3

Tarou had no reply other than a grin to the room.

When Shikiyoku pulled away, he extended his arms on either side of her so she could step away, and he found a sort of strength in her when he considered her expression. He let her take his hand, and he gently closed his own around hers, only slightly worried about the calluses that might be rough on her otherwise soft skin.

He pushed himself to stand and made a point to grab the empty glass from where he'd set it on the vanity.. "First round's on me, Mom." As he took one step to the door, he raised her arm over her head and spun her in a little twirl. *

In any other moment where he spinned her like that, she might have given a laugh of delight. Her diminutive form spun gracefully beneath him, giving him a smile when her face passed, her hair coming to settle back down at her waist as she reached out and opened the door to lead him back downstairs.

"I think my true form might suit you better, big guy." She looked him up and down as they kept moving. 3

"I have no preference in which form you take, ma'am," he replied matter-of-factly as she took the lead.

He followed a half-step behind her, watching her hair as it swayed with each step she took.

"Though the long hair does suit you." *

She almost chuckled, "I meant for dancing, yah big lug."

"...but thank you. And for...you know." She ducked her head as she pulled him back out into the still mostly-empty bar. 3

"As did I," he replied archly. "It may be easier to dance with a taller woman, but it's not impossible to dance with a shorter one, and I quite enjoy the challenge."

He stepped into the bar and closed the door behind himself, and he lowered his voice. "Any time."

The silence of the room would have been unusual, if that hadn't been how he'd left it. At their table, the others in the guild had gone back to whatever they were doing, heads bowed over their respective projects and what-not.

Tarou waved at the head bartender and held up two fingers, and the nod he got back was a succinct one.

He took his earlier seat at the table, sitting next to Raitoningu.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Tarou," Raion greeted.

"Yeah, you jackasses wouldn't let me sleep in a coffin for very long, would you?"

"They'd argue over the color of the sky," Chisai agreed, lowering the gemstone in his hand to the table as he looked up. "Welcome back, Mommy. I like your hair." *

Shikiyoku led Tarou back over to the table, having the distinct feeling he wouldn't have let her go even if she had made for the bar.

With Akihiko still gone, the chair between Tarou and Raion was vacant and she sat down quietly.

"Thank you, Chisai." She replied warmly, smiling to the young demon across the table from her, but quickly lowering her eyes back to the wood in front of her as part of her hair fell in her face as if afraid they might see the dark circles she should have had.

It left her gazing about at whatever else the guild was doing and her head tilted to the side just a touch as she watched Ikigai, his tongue sticking out the side of this mouth, wrapped deep in concentration with his focus on the pair of needles in his hand.

"Ikigai..." She began. "I've never seen you knitting before. Is this new?" 3