PART VII. "Absurdity."

"People will do anything, no matter how absurd,
in order to avoid facing their own soul."

- Carl Jung.

Aiko.

"Did you waste all your reiki?" Genkai snapped at me when I returned to her compound.

Her socks shuffled on the nice wood floors I help Maya clean not even six days ago and I hated seeing my work ruined in such a short amount of time.

"I don't know," I replied, stepping into the wood-floor hallway and then into the dojo. "But it's okay, I'll figure it out after we talk about why I'm here. What's up?"

"Figured they wouldn't tell your ass," Genkai grunted and I turned to her with skepticism.

Please don't be what I think it is. "Botan said we had some business to talk about but wouldn't give me much detail."

I wasn't exactly sure what happened, to be honest. In just one second I was fine—gravity was my friend and so were my two feet. But they failed me in the next, seeing as how a sharp pain surged in my chest—and then my head and back as I slammed into the wall.

Disoriented, I slid down the wall and landed on the hard wood below. The sharp pain grew heavy and lingered, stinging with every new movement I unwillingly made. I groaned and looked to the salty old woman across the dojo floor. I gritted my teeth to repress a whine of pain as I lifted myself from the floor.

"What the… fuck?" I whimpered, my hand finding its way to my back to put pressure on the spazzing muscles.

"Koenma gave me the unfortunate task of training you," she replied. Just kill me instead, please. "That's why I need to know if you wasted all your reiki. I was hoping I wouldn't get stuck with someone just as stupid—if not more stupid—than Yusuke."

Yusuke—she trapped him her for like months at a time. Oh, fuck no. No. No. No. "I can't exactly stay here all the time, you know."

"Yeah, Koenma told me all about how your daddy likes to hit you—"

"He does not—"

"So we figured an arrangement for you. You'll come here every Friday after school and go home every Sunday night after Yukina heals your injuries."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," I groaned, sitting upright. My back spazzed again and I winced. I wanted nothing more than to pound the old biddy's face in but god knows she'd serve my ass to me on a silver platter. "I thought that stupid 'community service' lie was just for this weekend. You think they'll let this go on for a while?"

"You're dumber than Yusuke."

My face tensed in offense. "I am not!"

"That's why we said since you haven't had any club activities we're forcing you into community service." Right, at the local University's international student housing. "Until you build a nice application."

I groaned. I knew this was coming. I just really, really, really didn't want to believe it. "I shouldn't need to be here that long."

She grunted. "You think what you're getting into in Tohoku won't demand self-defense? Something more than your teenage girl tantrums?"

Yeah, but…

I sniffed and rubbed my tail bone, looking away from her.

"That's what I thought. Now get up." Complying with a small groan, she then ordered me to try releasing my ki again. "Just stand where you are and do what you did before."

One jab in the air, envisioning the ki flowing out like before—naturally. Ki glowed around my hand, but as my fist flew through the air, the crackling fizzed out and left my hand without the pretty purple glow.

I stared at my bland fist before slowing moving my eyes to Genkai, whose scowl deepened. That was something I didn't think possible. I smiled at the old witch sheepishly and she snapped at me.

"You're lucky I'm starting you off with the basics." She then raised her voice. "Miyuki."

The ogre girl appeared from behind the shoji doors. "Yes?"

"Play with Aiko for a while; treat her like you would Maya."

"At Maya's level?" Miyuki clarified, stepping next to the old, salty woman.

Said salty woman began heading out the dojo from where Miyuki entered. "That or higher, I don't care. Whip her into shape for her exercises tomorrow."

I swear to god if I had to run up and down those fucking stairs…

"I held back before," Miyuki said, curling a lock of purple hair around her index finger. "But you have less time here to train than Maya does, so—"

"Let's just go," I groaned. "Knock me out so I can get this over with."

I lifted my arms defensively to protect myself from the blows I wouldn't be able to avoid. An angry, ragged voice made me jump out of my skin before I could even get settled.

"Use your ki, you dimwit!"

I turned around to find Genkai, screeching my frightened reply. "I thought you left!"

"I came back because I knew I'd have to correct you," she replied, turning on her heels to leave. Hopefully for fucking real this time.

"How do you want me to do that when I'm out?" I called after her.

"Figure it out."

And she was gone. This bitch was going to train me? Yeah fucking right. She was going to throw me to the wolves and leave me to die. I couldn't fathom how Yusuke wanted to be here—or was he forced into her training regime too?

A crack snapped through the air and a sting—a brush of heat—scathed the heel of my foot. I jumped with a yelp, feeling the fiery pain spread. I turned to Miyuki, who held her purple whip.

"I'm going to be the easiest thing you face during your stays, so you better get in shape quick."

Just kill me, please.

I spent the first half hour barely dodging Miyuki's whip. The first fifteen of those minutes included the fresh sting of heat on various parts of my body. I tried to follow Genkai's orders, to use my ki. But I was out.

I didn't know what the hell she wanted from me! I couldn't use what I didn't have.

I could let it glow around my hand but anything more than that and it fizzed out. Hell, it even gave me a little sizzle of purple smoke to emphasize: "There's none left today, you stupid bitch! STOP."

"Don't put your thumb inside your fist," Miyuki ordered, side-stepping my sucker punch to her face. "You could break your fingers that way."

Miyuki littered little tips and pointers throughout our "skirmish", if you could even call it that. It was more "Aiko runs around and gets fried with the occasional hit and miss." She was slowly, but surely, prying the anger-fueled fight from me and replacing it with some talent.

Every time I copied something she did without her whip, she'd give me pointers until I got it right.

I lifted my leg, glad she was too close to me to use her whip without brushing herself, and she lifted her arms to protect her face. "Keep that one planted firm on the ground—back straight."

Three kicks in place—face, torso, groin—she blocked them all.

"You're a fast learner but Genkai's going to be mad if you don't find a way to use your ki."

"This—" I let my ki engulf my hand again and let Miyuki watch it fizz out as I tried to extend it for the umpteenth time. "Is all I can do. I can only let it sit on my hand."

"Then make use of it," she replied, with a hint of sternness.

Thoroughly irritated and tired of having my ass handed to me, I acted without thinking. She was close enough to wrap my foot around her ankle—I yanked her off her feet. If I didn't act now, she'd jump out of the way.

And she started to. I reached my engulfed hand out to swipe her—just graze her—but I could only grab her ankle.

She let out a scream, taking me by surprise, and pivoted in the air.

A heavy, sharp pain in my head surfaced before I knew it, and then my shoulder, back… I rolled to a stop across the dojo, holding my head in pain. She damn near kicked my head in…

No wonder Yusuke was so stupid. If I spent all my months getting my head kicked in I'd be pretty dense too.

Eyes tearing up from the pain, I looked across the dojo to Miyuki, who was crouching on the floor, holding her ankle.

"What?" I called to her, sitting upright and holding my head as I became dizzy. "I only grabbed your ankle."

When she didn't reply, merely removing her hands to look at her ankle, I pulled myself up to see her. I was cautious in my walk—this wounded puppy shit wouldn't work on me.

It wasn't until I stopped in front of her that I realized what I'd done—I burned her.

"Shit," she seethed. "I wasn't expecting that."

"I didn't know I…" I stopped, watching her stand up and look down at her ankle. "I thought I couldn't use my ki?"

"Even when it's sitting on your hand, it's hot," she noted. She lifted her ankle slightly and turned it around to see the large, darkened band of blisters from my grip etched into her grey skin. "Yukina's going to have a hard time fixing this one, I bet. I hope she can, my skin was so perfect too." She sucked her teeth and then sighed. "At least we found out what you can do if you run out."

I frowned. "I don't get it, how can it do that if I'm out?"

"It's sitting on your hand, you're not expending it," Miyuki explained. She took a hairband from her wrist and tied her purple locks into a high pony tail. "Like my whip—I expend enough to make the whip. I still have some in reserve. So long as I keep it stationary like that, I'm not expending any other ki."

"So as long as I keep it on my hand, I'm not wasting it? But when I touch something…"

"You waste much less by touching something than you do by expending it," she replied and walked a few feet away from me. "Now that we've found a way for you to use it conservatively, let's focus on that."

I sighed, hanging my head back. I wanted to rest.

But with the soft footsteps running towards me, I knew I wouldn't—I wouldn't sleep so long as I was here.

And I was right, seeing as how Genkai threw me into the woods at roughly three in the morning. I was chow for low level youkai that shouldn't have been weak enough to get through the barrier.

"Don't kill any unless necessary," Genkai said, standing next to me on the soft cliff. Or a steep hill, I guess, who the fuck knew at this point. I didn't know anything anymore.

What was my name again?

I looked out over the forest below, taking in the stars in the open sky. It was something I never got to see out in the city or the suburbs. Stars farther away from the moon had the milky trails around them. It was something out of a movie, beautiful and serene. A starry night sky above the woodlands below and the ocean in the distance, reflecting the stars, glowing.

I wished I could appreciate the view more.

"Kill what?" I asked tiredly, pulling off my already torn to shreds, blood and sweat soaked camisole and dropping it at my feet.

"The youkai." Her hand smacked into my back and pushed me off the cliff. In all my painful, tumbling confusion down the dirty, grass-patched hill, I could hear her words faintly. "I'll send Miyuki for you whenever I feel like it. Leave the forest and you'll wish you hadn't."

The lowest classes of youkai stopped following me after I burned their alpha's face. The breed was some hideous cross between a monkey and a giant dog and good fucking god were they ugly. I didn't feel bad about hurting it because I didn't go searching for trouble—I didn't need to. My smell, my aura, attracted them. I had no reason to feel sorry for defending myself in here.

I wasn't the hunter; I was never meant to be. I was the prey.

Sunlight filtered through the green leaves above, and cast shadows along the trunks and grass. I leaned against the trunk of a tree, breathing staggered. I looked over my shoulder, past the bark, and looked for the higher levels.

I figured the ones I had just dealt with stopped following me after I handled the first three they sent after me. Either those big, weird, bug-bats were the strongest (doubt it) or the pack didn't see me as worth the fight.

Either way, I didn't care. I survived. I fought and won. Genkai couldn't fail me on this.

Gripping my bicep, I tried to stop the blood flow. It wasn't my only injury but it was the worst. A nice gash trailed around my arm from their creepy, shark-like teeth.

Closing my eyes, I was careful not to fall asleep. I stayed alert as I rested my eyes—at least, tried to. There were footsteps coming from behind me. Not the same ones from the earlier youkai.

New ones?

Staying hidden behind the tree, I braced myself. I couldn't feel any youki but who knew what was in these woods—hell, maybe the youkai was repressing it. Didn't feel plausible. Most of the lower level youkai I came in contact with so far were stupid as hell and loved boasting their ki around in intimidation.

To be honest, it was intimidating. Not at first, seeing as how I thought there was no way Genkai would send me in here with the intention of letting me get mauled. It was when those ugly monkey-dogs jumped me and almost took off my arm that I realized I should be intimidated. I was on my own out here and I had to defend myself because she had no intention of saving me.

I was cautious as I let my ki surround my hand and waited for the footfalls to come nearer. I slowed my breathing, tried to be quiet, and waited. But then I felt it—it wasn't youki. It was reiki.

Wasn't Miyuki—sure as hell wasn't Genkai. She'd mask herself and then swoop down from the branches and maul my ass.

With one deep breath, I called out. "Maya?"

The footsteps stopped and I heard a familiar sigh. "Aiko?"

I came out from around the trunk to see a dusty, dirty teenage girl looking just as ragged and tired as me.

"She's putting you through hell too?" she asked and I nodded.

"Every weekend from now on, I guess."

Maya nodded tiredly and looked around the woods. "Figured I'd take some time for myself before I went back. God knows she knows I'm doing this though. I'll be in for a hell of an ass whooping when I get back."

I shrugged, unable to feel the pain in my arm anymore. "It's all hell anyway."

"Yeah," Maya sighed and then looked at my chest. "Nice bra."

"Thanks." I looked down, forgetting that I was half naked. "I got it at that little outlet on fourth."

"Black's a good choice. The lace is cute… you shouldn't wear nice things here."

"Yeah, I know that now."

We stared at each other in our tired dazes, not really paying attention to each other. By the time I snapped out of my haze, I worried another hour passed because the lighting was a touch different in the woods.

I looked around the forestry, feeling for youkai hiding in the trees and bushes around us. None, thankfully.

"Are you sure you're glad you signed up for this?" I asked, clearing my throat.

Maya followed my gaze and let her eyes settle on a bush as she smiled. "Yeah. You?"

I blinked, brain shutting off. I didn't have to think about it. "I know I'll be glad I did this when I need to use everything. But right now…"

Maya nodded. "Right now you hate your life."

"Yeah."

A soft wave of youki flourished around us and we cast each other a suspicious glance.

"See you back there?" Maya asked, and I gave her a silent nod.

The crack of the whip whistled through the air and we jumped out of the way, sprinting off into different directions. Jumping through the greenery surrounding me, I kept alert for my enemies. Alert enough to send me into delusions.

I couldn't tell my heartbeat from footsteps. Tunnel vision was beginning to teach me how to focus acutely since my life depended on it. My legs were heavy… heavier.

Why wasn't I moving? I was telling my legs to move. Why isn't the greenery changing?

I dropped to the ground—now given a close-up of the grass. I couldn't move… I didn't want to move. Miyuki would win this one.

But I liked Miyuki a lot. She was considerate and seemed to care for me and Maya. She carried me back to the compound when I passed out in the forest. I could smell her, feel her, as she picked me up from the grass as I was blacking out.

I awoke on the dojo floor next to Maya, who was sitting next to me with the girl I met at the bus stop—Yukina. Yukina's icy blue ki surrounded Maya's bruised arm. I could see the discolored skin returning to its normal, olive tone under the bright blue.

"I forgot you don't like to eat." Genkai's voice came from above me, and I looked over my shoulder. She stood outside the room, sun shining on her back. "Since you like to starve yourself, I'm having Miyuki fix you up some food before we begin."

She was shitting me—we hadn't begun? What the fuck was that trial in the woods then?!

"Don't give me that look," she replied. "Eat and be ready in twenty."

I heaved myself up with a groan, sitting upright. "Whatever… at least I passed that stupid trial, right?"

"No."

I whipped my head around so fast I gave myself whiplash.

"What?!" I screamed in anger as much as I did in pain. "I fucking survived out there until Miyuki came after me. I failed because of that?"

"No, you failed because all you did was wander around and avoid trouble."

"Then what the fuck did you want from me?" I griped.

"You never know," Maya sighed her complaint.

"Establish yourself, make use of your surroundings, be competent. Instead of just wandering around and playing hide and go seek. You should have been mapping out your surroundings and figuring where you were most likely to survive."

"Fuck this shit," I mumbled, turning back around. "I did a good job."

"You two seem to like to sleep at night," Genkai responded, and I waited until I figured she was gone to even bother making another sound. Maya did first.

"Miyuki carried you back when you passed out," Maya said, and just as I looked to my numb arm in confusion, she added. "Yukina healed your wounds."

I looked down at myself—my torn jeans and bare torso—finding not a scratch on me.

"Thank you." I gave a weak smile to the pretty girl, and she returned the gesture.

"No problem at all," she replied, her voice as sweet as flavored, crushed ice. "I've been making Maya some clothing to wear here, seeing as how she'll run out of clothes soon. If you wouldn't mind letting me get your measurements, I'll make you some too."

"That'd be… nice," I sighed with a smile. "I can't keep having my clothes torn. My parents will get suspicious."

"I figured as much when Genkai told me about your home life." Yukina's smile dropped when she noticed my scowl—my entire change in attitude. She gave a nervous laugh. "I'll go… bring your food."

Hardly upset over running her off, I rested my elbows on my knees and held my head in my hands. Everyone thought my dad abused me—great.

"What day is it?" I sighed, glancing to Maya, who shrugged and shook her head.

"You're asking the wrong person. I don't even know what month it is."

"Saturday afternoon. Still April." Genkai's voice came from behind me and I didn't bother to repress the groan that shot out my throat.

"What now?" I grumbled, looking over my shoulder towards the open shoji doors.

Hands behind her back, she surprised me once again. I thought she left.

"Until I can leave you alone knowing you won't pass out, Maya will train with you."

I sent a devious smirk to Maya, who returned it with glee.

Hell yeah. Stick us together, old bitch. We'd have a blast. There was a reason we weren't allowed to sit next to each other in cram school.

"And since you're both roughly at the same level, physically, it'll be easy to put you two together."

"We'll be unstoppable." Maya grinned to me.

"A duo to fear." I lifted my chin up to Genkai, who was far from amused. "I'll be the dragon that carries you over the compound."

"And I'll rain the terror of my electric ki upon its dwellers!" Maya cackled extra obnoxious to grind Genkai's gears.

She turned on her heels to leave. "I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be dumber than Yusuke, but the two of you together have proved me wrong."

"We'll slay everything in our path!" Maya cackled after Genkai as she walked away. "Those who oppose our reign will perish!"

Yukina walked in, carrying two trays with bowls of rice and plates of fish.

"Before you start, I'd like to get your measurements, Aiko," Yukina said, handing a tray to Maya and setting mine in front of me. She dug in her kimono sleeve and produced a cloth measuring tape. "Arms at your side, please."

I figured I should take this moment to rest, knowing I was in for hell again once I finished eating. And boy, was I right.

Kurama.

"Thanks," she mumbled into my neck, warm breath seeping into the fabric and trickling onto my skin. "I can't feel my limbs."

I hoisted her up, tightening the grip under her knees to push her up again. She tried holding onto my neck but her small groan told me she couldn't manage. Bright and early this morning, I carried her to school.

"Genkai put you through her training methods, I take it," I said, glancing to her.

She lifted her head, showing no traces of make-up. The way she left that out of her morning routine told me Genkai put her through something serious.

"She's a slave driver, Kurama!" she cried. "A ruthless slave driver!"

"The results are noticeable," I reassured her. Her reiki was a tad higher in level than it was when she left last Friday.

"You know what she told me?" she groaned, resting her chin on my shoulder. "That often she'll starve her students but since 'I like to starve myself' she's forcing me to eat instead. I don't even mind eating. I'm not fifteen anymore. What a fucking hag."

Ah, yes. Sixteen. The age eating disorders magically disappeared.

"How long do you think you can keep this up?" I asked. "Your parents should catch on soon."

"That's what I told her. She said Koenma's taking care of it." With some struggle, she wrapped her arms around my neck tighter. "What about you? What alibi do you have for your mom?"

A small gust of late April air passed us by, sending a shiver throughout her body and making her legs tremble in my arms.

"The botany club will be going on trips to cultivate gardens in the more rural areas around the prefecture."

"So… you'll be back often?"

"Yes."

She gave a heavy breath and pushed her face in the crevice of my neck and shoulder again. "I'm sure you'll want to stay there."

I didn't reply, reminding myself words didn't convince her.

"I'm doing community service per request from the school board," she griped. "Because I'm not in any clubs, I need to put something other than work on my applications."

"That's a solid alibi, to be honest," I reassured her. "So long as nobody talks to school officials."

"Yeah, I'll need to watch myself in school now. I need to make sure I don't give my dad a reason to call them," she sighed.

I stopped, finding we were a block from school. "Campus is coming up."

Carefully, I let go of her legs. She hit the ground with a grunt and I helped steady her.

"My legs hurt so much," she groaned, leaning on me as we began to walk. Her voice turned sincere. "I'm sorry; I know you don't want people to see you with me like this but I feel like I'll collapse any second."

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her words. "Seen with you like this?"

"You know… on you. Like… hanging on you and shit…"

I repressed a smirk, a laugh catching in my throat. "I've had worse lovers in my days where I'd kill them before they could even utter my name and our ties to their cohorts."

Her walking slowed and her grip on my arm loosened. "How many… 'lovers' did you have?"

"Romantic or sexual?" I replied.

"…Both."

"Sexual." I thought back, trying to name who I could on one hand and found it quite difficult once I was able to remember names. "Let's just say 'quite a few.'"

She nodded.

"Romantic…" I mused. Now that was an interesting question. When had I ever been truly, romantically involved with someone? "If there was someone in my past, they were few and far between."

"Is that like a youkai thing?"

"No," I chuckled. "It was a criminal thing. I learned early on to not have anyone I cared for if I wanted to reach the status I held. It soon became instinctual to keep people away."

She nodded again as we approached Meiou's gates.

I was manipulative, but didn't want to tell her that. I didn't want her to think I was manipulating her.

"How can you do it?" she asked, genuinely wanting an answer. "Have sex, I mean. And not like, with all those people but like… at all."

I glanced down to her. If my brow wasn't raised before it was surely to my hairline now. "You mean, as a teenage girl, you've never thought about sex, or even having it, in your life?"

She shook her head and glanced up to me. "Not really. Even when I was younger, like you know how that one kid in class gets 'the talk' super early in their life and then blabs to the whole class? Even then… I didn't… care."

"You seem to like—" I taunted, and her face burned brighter than I'd ever seen before.

I saw something I'd never thought possible: she stuttered. "Th-hat's—shut up. That's different."

I laughed outright. "In some ways, it is."

"I'm just fine without it," she asserted, eyes closed and brows furrowed as her face continued to glow. "Maybe one day I'll want to try it, maybe I won't. Chances are a lot more likely for the latter." She looked up at me, frowning. "Is it that weird to not be sexually attracted to people?"

I paused in my stride, looking down at her in realization. She kept her gaze on me and asked a question I immediately understood the connotation of.

"Is it weird to you?" she clarified, thinking my surprise for confusion.

People passed us by. Some whispered about our proximity, others about how she had no makeup on, and few minded their own business.

There was a small flicker in her eyes, a fleeting glimmer of hope.

I smiled and nudged her to continue walking. "Of course not."

She smiled and trailed alongside me into school. When we reached homeroom, she asked me to hold her compact mirror to her face while she tried applying what little makeup she could.

She struggled with keeping the eyebrow pencil in her grip and leaned her elbow on the table. The pencil fell from her fingers and she let out a tearless sob of defeat.

"Please draw in my eyebrows," she groaned.

After stifling a laugh, I sat on her desk and told her to walk me through it. Cupping her chin in my hand, I followed her directions. They were simple enough she needed to only tell me them once.

When I finished lining the brows, I remembered what my mother told me to ask her earlier this morning. Since the night we returned from Mushiyori, my mother was far from fond of Aiko's father. She was between a rock and a hard place. She could either be rude and invite only Aiko to her wedding or invite her family and risk upsetting herself with his presence.

I told Mother I would find a way to talk to Aiko about it without being too obvious. But there was no reason for me to beat around the bush about this with her. As I began filling them in, she frowned.

"You're staring off in thought," she grumbled. "I need you to pay attention to this, it's important. I assert my dominance over the girls in school by having the best fucking eyebrows."

"Mother was unsure what to do about your invitation to her wedding," I replied.

"Huh?"

I moved the brush away as her brows furrowed, narrowly escaping ruining her arch. I tilted her head up a tad, enjoying the fact I could make her stay quiet. I should offer to do her makeup more often.

"Don't talk," I said. "When you show emotions you wear them dramatically on your face and I could mess up your brows."

She refrained from sulking. Her brows twitched a bit but she controlled herself, letting all her emotion flow to her lips. They formed a dramatic, puckered scowl.

"Mother wants you to attend her wedding as a guest," I said, finishing her brows. I dug for her concealer and she told me where to apply it. "But she's unsure about inviting your father."

"She… What does she think about him?" she asked, closing her eyes as my ring finger dabbed color under them. Brows finished, she furrowed them. "She doesn't think he hits me too, right?"

"She doesn't know," I reassured. "She doesn't know what to think."

Classmates passed us by and entered the classroom. Whispers traveled around at the sight of me sitting on Aiko's desk, painting on her face. The two of us ignored them, Aiko especially. She didn't like people thinking her father abused her—even though he did. She justified his anger. Classic Stockholm Syndrome.

"She doesn't like him?" she asked.

I dabbed the color under her other eye, blending it with her skin tone. "She's worried about you."

"She doesn't like him."

"She doesn't know whether she should invite your entire family, or exclude your father," I said. Her head dropped and eyes lowered to the floor. "I fear if she invites him, his presence will upset her."

I pulled my hand from her face, making sure I blended the concealer. When I told her I did, she didn't tell me what to do next. I dug through her makeup bag and found her lipstick.

I tilted her head up again, pressing her cheeks gently to pucker her lips. The primer was first.

"If you want to attend and bring your father, it's fine," I said. "Mother will understand."

I chose a color I felt suited her best. A color I liked and one she wore often called Rose Comtesse. Just seconds later, I finished and pulled the worn stick from her lips.

"It's fine, we won't go," she said. "She doesn't need to invite me."

Twisting the stick back into its case, I looked down at her. "Are you sure? My mother would like you to come, she's just unsure about having your father there."

"It's fine, honest." She smiled. "Dad would be passive aggressive there anyway. He'd bring up snide remarks about how I made them waste a bunch of money before their wedding. It's better if we don't go. Speaking of which…" She nodded to her school bag and I sifted through it, finding an envelope. "That's the money I owe. Gas, food, ticket, tolls, stuff like that."

I opened the envelope, finding plenty of bills—more than enough money than what she owed.

"Make sure she takes it, okay?" she said. "You know she wouldn't accept it if I gave it to her."

"Where did you get this money?" I asked, counting the cash.

"Most of it's left over money from the Brawl I set up with Hirogawa and the rest is from my last paycheck," she replied. "Don't worry. I'm not selling drugs or anything. Trust me, if I had drugs to sell I would have paid Shiori back way faster." She then sighed. "I guess I should call Hirogawa and have him put me on. He's always in some shit so I'm sure he has something he wants to sell."

I cupped her chin again and tilted her head back. "The last thing you need to get yourself into right now is dealing drugs."

"Well, I need some kind of income," she replied, waiting for whatever makeup I pulled out of her bag. "I have to leave the grocery store because of Genkai's training."

"You're smarter than that. You'll find another way."

"No, I'm not. No, I won't."

I kept her face cradled in my hand, eyeing the lipstick's color. She waited for me to finish whatever makeup task was next. But she looked fine the way she was—she looked fine even before.

"Are you going to give me a paper to get the excess lipstick off or…?" she trailed off as I leaned in to her.

Lips centimeters from hers, I felt her face heating up, burning bright. I laughed. "No, I'm just reminding you that you like me—"

"Shut up," she whined, face tinting red again. She didn't deny it or ask me to back away.

Aiko.

I stumbled into the car atop Natsume, the two of us cackling. I planted my elbow in the leather seat and put the roach inches from my lips. Inhaling the burning herb, I held my breath and passed the rolled cigarette to Hayashi. Natsume and I crawled around each other until we were able to find suitable seats.

Exhaling smoke, Hayashi giggled at my difficulty sitting cramped in the seat.

Heels and variations between skirts, dresses, and leggings weren't well thought out. None of us could get into the front seat now that we were all stuck in the back. But we all had the same body parts so none of us seemed to mind the bunching of clothes and fabric riding up.

"The apartment, Miss Akane?" Sosuke asked, looking at us through the rearview mirror.

"Yeah," she replied, and then shot up between the driver and passenger seat. "No! Wait, we need to stop at the dealers."

"What for?" Hayashi asked as Sosuke pulled into the empty road.

Fukui finished off the roach, staring into the dark city of Tohoku. The roads were asleep as it was one in the morning.

Natsume gripped Hayashi's arm, squeezing with excitement. "Mom got prescribed Klonopin!"

"Can we stop at one of the liquor stores before we go there?" Fukui asked, eyes still on the road.

"Eh, yeah, I guess," Natsume replied with a wave of her hand.

The dealers… Where had I heard that before? The dealers… It was something important…

Suzume!

Suzume… I needed to pay attention to this. Get into the dealers and see what Natsume does, if she does anything other than pick up drugs.

Drugs. Klonopin. Haven't had that one yet. I missed the little white bars. Those were nice.

White.

White. Klonopin were yellow.

And then the car rolled to a stop, pushing me forward out of my scrunched seat since I didn't have the seat belt on. We managed to scramble out of the car and make it out on two feet each. I looked over the sea of parked cars in the lot, lit by the overhead lights.

"Are you guys coming with me or am I meeting you inside?" Fukui asked, looking over her shoulder as she crossed the empty street.

Natsume shrugged and Hayashi nodded. I trailed behind the girls across the street and around the corner to the little liquor store. Heels echoing on the cement pavement below, I relished the crisp, cool air and clear night. It was quiet, like we were the only ones alive in town.

I felt nice despite knowing what I was here for.

The empty liquor store was lit up, giving the street most of its color. Bells chimed when we entered and the college kid clerk peeked up from his magazine to take a look at us while we wandered the store.

I didn't have much in mind to buy so I browsed the little racks near the register in mild interest. I wanted to eat and everything looked particularly shiny and bright, enticing, appetizing. I could hate myself when I didn't feel so amazing.

I reached for one of the chocolate candy bars when I noticed something else.

Something red. Orange red.

My eyes dragged up to the little rack next to the boy's register where a bunch of keychains hung. I picked the little fox tail from its hanger and felt myself smiling. It wasn't his hair color—no, that'd be too convenient. But it reminded me of him all the same.

I looked to the rack again in curiosity and spun it around. I was nervous with the clerk watching me. I didn't want him to know I was in space even though I reeked.

As the little rack spun around I caught another item I liked.

"You sure you don't want them to match?" the clerk asked as he rung the two keychains up.

What? I had to stop digging in my purse for my wallet because I couldn't process his question and multitask. "Why would I want them to match?"

"Oh. Well, I figured you were getting it for a boyfriend. But it's common for girls to get different ones than their friends."

"Oh… No," I laughed what felt like a bit too hard. "In a way they're both for me… but I mean, yeah one's his but…"

He cut me off as I tried forming the sentence and told me the total. I forgot what I was even bothering him with and finally dug out the money. After the transaction he reached under the register and opened and closed a door.

I was so interested in watching him for some reason I didn't bother to move. He set a cold bottle of water in front of me.

"Wake you up a bit. Don't want to walk around town at this time of night that high."

I laughed, confused. "Yeah?"

Thoroughly entertained, the square-faced boy gave a confused smile. "…Yeah."

I paused, trying to rethink his sentence. "What time is Night That High?"

He looked at me dead on for a moment before howling in laughter. And though confused, I laughed too—because he was laughing. Something was funny. And god, did it feel great to laugh. To make someone laugh.

Oh. Oh. Now I got it. I laughed again.

"Finally moving on from that red-headed freak?" Natsume's voice came from behind me and she shoved her way into my position. "It's about damn time."

I stopped laughing, wanting to say 'no' but not wanting to get into it with her. I needed to play along.

I needed to play along.

"You want your Cupids?" she asked, opening her own pack of cigarettes as the clerk rang her up. "I'm buying."

"No, it's fine," I said as I grabbed the water. "I'm trying to quit."

She stared at me with a slate face. "You're stoned."

A low laugh slipped out. "Yeah…"

Hayashi was next to pay, and Fukui was behind her. Natsume walked up to me and asked what I bought. She snatched the keychain from my hands.

"Are foxes even this color?" She squinted at the tail. "It's kind of… dim."

"I've never seen a fox before. Except on TV so I don't know."

She shoved it back in my hand as Hayashi walked past us with a canned drink. Fukui was next, walking out and lighting her cigarette.

I stared down at the fox's tail, wondering the color and whether it was even accurate. I saw them on TV but TV's always had their own color setting and each one was just a bit different depending on the brightness.

And then a thought hit me so hard I gasped and stopped in my tracks. Natsume turned around first.

"What?" she asked, cigarette still hanging between her lips. Her eyes were as wide and scared as mine.

"What if…" I stared down at the fox's tail. "What if the color you see isn't the same color I see?"

Natsume's expression dropped to one of confusion. "…What?"

"What color is this?" I asked, holding it up to her.

"I don't know. Like some kind of orange-red."

"Yeah but… what if the color you call 'orange-red' isn't the same color I call 'orange-red.'"

An exasperated mumble of "Jesus Christ…" came from Fukui in the distance.

Natsume was just as stunned as I was though, and she stared at the keychain in awe.

"But… like, that's red, you know?" she tried.

"Yeah, but how can you describe a color without using the color," I stressed. It was at this point Hayashi was pushing us along. "How do we know the same color red that I see isn't the same color red you see?"

"Holy shit…" Natsume held her forehead and took out her cigarette, as she gasped in awe. "Holy shit."

"If we don't even see colors the same…" I was having an existential epiphany that felt more like a crisis. "How do we know what we really look like? What if we don't look the same as ourselves?"

"Aiko, why don't you drink some of that cold water the clerk gave you," Hayashi offered, patting my shoulder.

"Oh… Oh yeah." We were getting to the dealers. I did need to be coherent and pay attention for this.

I wasn't planning on heading to the dealers tonight. It was just supposed to be a little "hang out." The bottle's cap snapped open with a curt twist and the coldness running down my throat chest made me feel just that little bit more awake.

The existential epiphany Natsume and I had was gone just like any other thought that passed through our heads minutes before. We walked through the sea of cars in the lot until we reached the main entrance to the glass-walled dealership.

Natsume dug for her keys and let us in.

And as I stepped into the dark dealership, it hit me. The emptiness.

I paused in my stride, unnerved. I looked around, confused. Some model cars. A fake plant here and there. Some desks, doors, and offices.

Nothing out of the ordinary. Why did it feel different? Why did I feel like I entered some sort of… some sort of…

"Mom?" Natsume called, her words echoing throughout the building, bouncing off the walls and floor. "Mooooom?"

Void. A void.

There was nothing here but us. I looked around to the group of girls.

"She must be in her office," Hayashi offered.

I looked back for Fukui to find her grinding her cigarette into the cement outside the main entrance.

There was… there was nothing else out of the ordinary. Why…? What was missing?

"Come on, Aiko," Natsume said, wrapping her hand around my forearm and tugging me along. "Let's formally introduce you to mommy dearest."

Her grip on my forearm was soft but noticeable. It was heavier than normal, but I knew she wasn't holding on with more strength than she normally would.

When Fukui passed us by, I started walking and Nastume let go of my arm. I rubbed my forearm, feeling her subtle imprint on my skin as our heels echoed across the open floor.

Imprint.

I stopped and looked around, understanding why things were off. There was no ki. There was no ki in the air.

Everywhere at any given moment was an imprint of someone's lingering ki. Something they carry with them; their essence. It gently flowed through them and lingered in places, trailing behind them as they traveled through their day. Everywhere in the world. Every nook and cranny in this realm was a shred of someone's ki mixed in with everyone else's.

It's a noticeable weight, nothing serious or distinguishable, but there. Tangible. A soft film in the world; light as a breeze's brush.

But there was none here. It was empty.

It was void.

"Mom!" Natsume called again. "Moooooom!"

She began jogging, heels clacking, and then Hayashi's heels and mine joined her as the brunette dragged me along. I could hear Fukui's behind me, at a much slower pace.

"Akane, honestly." The familiar voice groaned from around the corner in the back.

Her mother, Haruko, stepped out from her office, hands on her hips. Trademark blazer and pencil skirt with matching heels. The woman looked much older than I remembered. Her once lifted face had a tad more noticeable smile lines. Even the best concealer on the market couldn't save the bags under her eyes. But even with her stress noticeable, she still looked great for her age.

Natsume definitely took after her father more. Her mother had a soft face, much rounder with higher cheekbones. Almond shaped eyes with high-arched brows and full lashes. Black hair cut into a sharp bob above her shoulders. Natsume had a harsher jawline, taken from her father; with wide eyes, long lashes, and flat brows with a small arch. Brown hair, naturally tousled about like her father's.

Isao took after their mother.

She placed her hands on her hips and sent her daughter an exasperated glare before noticing me.

"Why did you bring your friend, Akane?" she asked, still looking at me.

"We're just here to pick up some klonopin," Natsume replied. "I know better than to bring people when you're working."

Her mother heaved a sigh and stared at her daughter in disbelief.

"What? She knows we're Barrier Reg, mom," Natsume replied. "Besides, I thought you'd want to meet her formally. You two should know each other, especially if I'm giving her another chance."

"Oh, right." Her mother turned back to me. "You're the girl Akane was talking about back in Meiou."

At a loss for words, I just gave a smile and tried to look sober. Really, we never talked. If we were ever in the same room, we were in the living room and she was popping her pills and heading out the door.

I had a feeling she never once noticed me.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Natsume," I said, giving a small bow. "My name is Hojo, Aiko."

"Ugh, Mrs. Natsume was my mother," she said flippantly, waving her hand. "Call me Haruko."

I nodded and she turned to Hayashi and Fukui with a tender smile. "Ami, Hitomi, how are you girls? University going well?"

Natsume had already slipped by her mother and made her way into the office. Drawers opened and closed until she found the one that held prescription bottles.

"It's just fine," Fukui replied, plastering on a sweet smile.

"It's so much fun!" Hayashi smiled.

"And Aiko," Haruko said, turning back to me. "You're still in Meiou, right?"

I nodded.

"Found it!" Natsume sang from the office. She was in the background waving around a large pill bottle.

"I thought Akane wasn't bothering with you anymore." Haruko cocked her head to the side, her red lipstick smile splitting open. "You loved those critters too much for her liking."

… Critters?

"I… I don't like bugs," I reassured her with a confused shake of my head.

She cackled like her daughter. "No, honey. I mean the vermin that walk around the cesspool Makai."

"Youkai?"

With an entertained smirk and another sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest and called over her shoulder. "Akane, is there a reason you're still entertaining the poor girl? She still sees them as something other than—"

Entertain me?

"Fucking scum?" Natsume appeared behind her mother, walking out the office. "I know, I keep trying but I don't know how much longer I can try. She's been showing progress though."

Entertain me… Why did that sound so familiar?

"Maybe if she saw the trash I had to file and approve or deny," Haruko cooed, cupping my chin and shaking it gently. Her fingers dug into my cheeks, puckering my lips. "She'd wake up. But…" Her grip loosened and then her hand fell to her side. "It's been how long, Akane? Give it up. Don't bring her back here."

Shit.

"I'm giving her one last chance," Natsume said, resting her hand around my neck. Her skin was soft upon mine, gliding over my collar bone and resting on my shoulder. "You said you hated the detective, right?"

I tried playing in; coached myself to not sound desperate to save face. "Because he chose Makai over me."

Natsume gave a sweet smile and looked over her shoulder to her mother. "Can I show her some of the nasty files of some of the illegals we caught?"

Haruko puckered her lips in thought. "You can pick the ones that were public throughout Reikai."

Natsume's grip on my shoulder tightened, and she guided me into her mother's office. Haruko's irritated, yet still laced with pride, words mumbled to Hayashi.

"Akane gets her sight set on one thing and you just can't pry her from it."

The office was dimly lit; the same black tiled, suave color scheme the open floor held. Fake plants perched in the corners of the room and scenic paintings hung from the wall. Behind the desk was a large mirror, giving the illusion of a bigger room.

Natsume's grip loosened and her hand slid from my shoulder. She made her way around the desk and dug through a drawer before pulling out a few files.

"I told you I'd show you the truth. Here's a taste." With a jubilant smile, she beckoned me over. "Come see what everyone's neglected to tell you. What your precious youkais neglected to tell you about themselves."

Mind racing, I managed to work my legs. I stopped next to her and looked down at the open file.

"These were Sensui's cases," she said, picking up one in particular. The paper held a mugshot of a beastly youkai; scaly, many protruding horns, and an unnatural color of burgundy. "When barrier laws were much more lenient."

I scanned the file, noticing the charges pressed against him. Murder.

Specifically, the consumption of human flesh.

I remembered Goki, memories of his head exploding returning clear as day. The way his muscles tore apart…

I knew he ate souls but I… I thought it was just him… An isolated incident. Souls. Sure, there had to be more youkai like him but… Human flesh.

My grip on the paper tightened, crinkling the sheet. Natsume leaned over my shoulder, wrapping her arms around me.

"They all eat humans. We're their food source and yet we still let some through… just because a few haven't eaten any of us yet?" she whispered, warm breath tickling my ear. "Just because they don't have a record?"

Kurama didn't eat people.

"Yusuke doesn't eat people. Not even now," I replied, setting that file down and looking at the next.

"Yeah, you want to know what he said?" she asked, not bothering to wait for my reply. "He went to talk to Sanada Kuroko, the first detective. He said he didn't see a problem why youkai couldn't eat evil people."

No, Yusuke would never say that. Yusuke wouldn't say it was okay to eat anyone.

"Youkai are all the same. It's in their blood, their nature. They're born to live off us."

Kurama would never do that either.

Just because some ate humans, didn't mean they all did... right?

"They come into our realm…" She guided my hand that was holding a new file and set it down. She picked up another file of a youkai more humane, less monstrous. Same crime. "They eat us, rape us, and we're supposed to look the other way for the few that aren't like them?"

They weren't all like that. Stereotyping… Not all them ate us. Yukina didn't. Miyuki didn't. Kurama didn't. For all I knew, that Shrimp-dick didn't either.

"Underneath it all, they're just savages. Every last one of them."

She put that file down, and then picked up another with the same crime again.

"But…" My voice trembled, wondering if I should even speak. "Chapter Black… What made Sensui snap… You said it yourself. The Dark Tournament sells youkai women."

"Put up for sale by their own kind," she reassured me. "As for the tape… After everything we, as a race, have endured against youkai for millennia, our anger was just. That's why it's defamation. That's why Koenma destroyed it."

Defamation…

I had to address this problem to Koenma—youkai eating humans. But that wasn't my job, that wasn't what I was here for. It was an issue and I would bring it up to Koenma but… I couldn't lose sight of why I was here. I couldn't...

I turned to meet Natsume, her face was stoic, calm, but her eyes were alight with excitement.

But all I could ask was one thing. "You've always wanted to show me this, haven't you?" She nodded, a small smile growing on her lips. "But why?"

She looked to the mirror next to us, and my eyes followed. We stood next to each other. Hair disheveled from dancing all night, and makeup smudged a tad. Fukui, Hayashi, and Haruko reflections stood in the doorway. They were all waiting patiently for Natsume's answer as well.

"Why after all this time?" I asked, lips barely moving in the mirror. "After every time I didn't listen?"

I knew I would have to please her to regain her trust but… I never thought I'd have to sink this low. Pacifying her, saying hurtful things about youkai… This was a deeper level of hatred.

I was on the outskirts of regaining her trust. It would take a lot to have her trust me. A lot… of this hatred. I knew I would have to pretend, but I was going to spend a lot more time pretending than I'd planned.

Her gaze stayed on the mirror, sizing up us both. Her eyes traveled from our stiletto pumps to our sequin halter tops. She pulled me closer to her, resting her cheek on my head as we looked into the mirror, like an older sister would hold her younger.

She smiled. "Because there's something about you that reminds me of myself."

I vomited a little in my mouth.

Natsume.

I was counting down the days to graduation and we were only two days into third year. God, I couldn't wait to get out of this shit hole. I didn't even bother eating the nasty cafeteria food—their bread was disgusting. I could get something better for about two hundred yen from some sloppy vender on the street. *

"Oi, Akane!" A firm hand grabbed my shoulder and squeezed, and I found Yuji behind me bearing a smile.

He and Keisuke sat at the desks around us, and Keisuke ruffled his black hair as he leaned towards Hitomi with a lecherous grin. Hitomi fed into it immediately.

"What brings you two to our neck of the woods?" I asked, leaning against the desk. Yuji, from class three-B, mirrored me, resting his elbows on my desk.

"Wanted to see my favorite classmates. That new lipstick? It suits you."

"Rouge Idole," I replied, puckering my lips to flirt.

Hitomi's giggling drew our attention to the two.

"Geez, Keisuke, you moved on pretty fast." Yuji smirked to his friend, and Hitomi's pretty face dropped to one of the nastiest mugs I'd ever seen.

"The fuck does that mean?"

Yuji laughed. "He was hitting on this first year girl not even fifteen minutes ago. She twisted his nipples after he didn't listen to her third rejection."

"It still hurts." Keisuke laughed, laying the side of his torso on the desk and rubbing Hitomi's blazer sleeve. "Make it better, 'Tomi. ~"

"She twisted his nipples?!" I cackled, leaning back in my chair.

"That's pretty violent. Is it this the same girl who broke Manaba's ring finger?" Ami asked, holding up the octopus shaped sausage between her chopsticks. "When he patted her on the shoulder? I've heard about her."

"Yeah, that one," Yuji snickered. "She's a straight up bitch, dude. Nosy as hell, too. She's friends with you until you touch her, then she fucking turns on you."

"I wouldn't want Keisuke's scummy ass touching me either, I can tell you that." I was still laughing but I could still hear Keisuke's whine of "hey, I'm cute!"

"Is this… Is this the same girl who was smoking with Asami from class two-C on the roof?" Hitomi asked. She was talking to Asami? Asami was just one step below me in the pathetic, godforsaken social ladder that was Meiou High. "And then she was talking to Miyama, I think…"

Ami and I glanced to each other, and I looked back to Hitomi as Ami replied. "I… I think that is her."

"Brown hair, headband, and pretty, big eyes?" Yuji double-checked.

"Yeah, they're a sort of amber. A light brown."

"Yup. I forget her name."

"Hojo," Keisuke chimed in, and Ami frowned in confusion. "Hojo, Aiko."

"Yeah. She was talking to Asami, I remember that." Yuji nodded. "She got Asami to gossip."

I looked to Ami, a bit dumbfounded. Someone else got Asami to spill the beans about other students?

"That name sounds familiar," Ami mumbled to herself, crossing her arms over her chest in thought. "Where have I heard the name Hojo?"

"You have to be pretty… interesting to make Asami gossip," I said, doubt laced between each word.

"That's why Hojo's hair is so big: it's full of secrets." Keisuke grinned, whispering.

"Her hair isn't big," Hitomi sighed. "It's long. There's a difference."

Yuji shrugged. "All I know is she'll come crawling to you all next if she's been talking to Asami. It's like she's trying to climb up the food chain here."

Keisuke grunted. "Won't get far if she can't put out."

Hm… "I want to meet her."

I felt myself smiling in excitement and looked to Ami, who was pretty indignant about the whole thing. She played a nice smile to feign interest, encouraging me.

"What class is she in?" I asked Yuji, who turned to Keisuke.

Keisuke looked up to us and then at the ceiling in thought. "Uh… When I was bothering her, she was in one-D."

I stood up. "Brown, long hair, headband, big eyes. Resting bitch face?"

"Yup. A resting bored, bitch face," Yuji replied and stood up. "I want to go too. See what she says to you."

"Keisuke, come with us," I called over my shoulder as Ami and Hitomi trailed after me. "I may need someone to set her off again."

"She said next time I touched her she'd crush my sack," he whined despite following us. "And I know she'll do it, too."

Making my way to the first year's floor, I peeked into each classroom in search of the little upcoming bitch.

"There she is." Yuji nudged me with his elbow and nodded to the corner of the room. She sat in the second column from the window, three seats in. "That's her."

She was skinny—had one of those high-end fashion model bodies. It was sad because I could tell she starved herself to look like that. I could see it in her neck, the way her skin clung to her. It was sad but she looked great. She knew how to do her make-up, too. I couldn't help but think if some scout for an agency saw her on the street they'd offer her an audition right away. She already had the industry's eating habits, so it'd be no problem for her.

She was flipping through a magazine, no lunch. Only a large, personal water bottle with condensation dripping on the desk.

"Akane?" Ami's voice pulled my eyes away from the girl.

"Huh?"

"What will you say to her?"

I looked back at the girl and only one question came to mind. I stepped into the classroom, and Hitomi and Ami exchanged a brief look before following me. Stopping in front of the desk, she didn't even bother looking up from her magazine.

She flipped to another page and I glanced at the personal water bottle, finding it filled with ice and lemon slices.

I leaned over and slapped my hand on the desk, waiting for her to look up at me. She didn't. She flipped to another page. I continued to lean on the desk, waiting impatiently.

"I've heard a lot about you," I finally spoke. "Who do you think you are?"

She breathed a soft laugh, a rude smile playing on her lips. She looked up at me with a smirk that said she didn't think she was anyone. She knew who she was.

"Hojo, Aiko," she responded before turning back to her magazine.

I liked her vibe, the self-loathing was palpable but there was something else I liked. I couldn't pin my finger on it. "Heard you gave Keisuke a purple-nurple."

"Told him not to touch me," she replied, void of emotion. "He didn't listen."

She didn't have emotion but there was something in her words, a spark. The tone was bland, tired, but the words themselves… They sparked with anger and, most of all, pride.

"And the guy's finger you broke?"

"Told him not to touch me," she said again. "Didn't listen."

I cocked my head to the side, curious. "Who else have you assaulted?"

"What's it to you?" she asked, flipping to the next page. "None of them were your boy toys."

She'd been digging up dirt on me, huh? I couldn't help but smile.

I shrugged, finding myself having taken a direction I didn't expect. I liked it. "You seem to not care about hurting people who were just trying to be friends with you."

She looked up to me again, eyes filled with a sort of apathy I was all too familiar with. "They don't listen to me. They feel entitled. I have no sympathy." She glanced to the door and then back down at her magazine. "And tell him if he steps foot in this room I'll lynch him by his sack from the school roof's fence. Are we done?"

There was something about her I liked. I couldn't place it. She was so familiar to me, like I knew her from somewhere. But I'd never seen her a day in my life.

"Natsume, Akane," I said, piquing her interest. She glanced up to me and a filled in brow rose. "Blonde's Hayashi, Ami." I pointed to each of my girls. "She's Fukui, Hitomi."

She eyed us, not bothering to introduce herself to them in return. She held this air around her that I wanted to expand. I wanted to see if it could grow. She could be so much more if she was capable. I wanted to see if she was. If she was capable… She would have the drive.

But how could I expand it to such great lengths without exposing her to it?

I pushed myself off the desk, standing upright. "The three of us are ditching sixth hour to go to the outlets down on twelfth for mani-pedis. You down?"

Maybe if she could survive me, she could survive it.

"Not really," she replied, picking up her thick plastic bottle and popping the cap off.

I stared down at her as she drank from the bottle, ice and lemon slices bouncing around inside. "My treat."

Lips still wrapped around the mouth piece, I could have sworn I saw their corners tug upwards. But once she pulled it away and set it on the desk, it'd disappeared.

"Sure." She popped the cap back on and closed her magazine, putting it in her school bag. She walked past us with her bag in tow towards the sliding door. "I'll meet you at the gate."

Keisuke and Yuji scrambled away from the door to steer clear from her, and I watched as she left into the hallway.

"You felt that, right, Akane?" Ami whispered when she was out of sight.

I nodded. "She has reiki."

"How much do you think she knows?" Hitomi asked, head cocking to the side in thought.

"I don't know." My arms crossed over my chest. "But I want to find out. She feels so capable…"

Hitomi was almost offended at the thought. "You don't mean you want to—"

"I just want to see how this plays out," I reassured her harshly. "If things fall into place, she'd be perfect. She could help. She would have the drive. She has this… she doesn't care."

"Let things fall where they may," Ami said, placing a hand on my arm. "Don't push anything."

"I won't," I reassured Ami. "And even if she isn't fit for it, we'll at least have some entertainment."

"I can't believe you're actually considering dragging her into this," Hitomi mumbled. "She's just some random girl with a little bit more reiki than the rest of us. She's not special."

"Can it, Hitomi," I grumbled. "You just have to trust me on this. I just want to see what happens—if anything happens. For all we know, we'll just have another girl to talk shit with."

"Just let things happen the way they happen, Akane," Ami said, giving my arm a squeeze. "You know we can't tell people about Reikai."

I sighed and nodded. I looked at the empty doorway, thinking about her aura. I always wondered why she seemed so familiar to me in that moment.

A/N:

* ¥200 is about $1.50 and £1.10.