A muffled noise and a faint vibration were trying to fight their way through the layers of sheets and pillows for several minutes, but no one could hear them. Soon, a loud knocking on the door, followed by the bell being rang insistently... Still terribly tired and very much confused, Kurama thought it was still the middle of the night, so the urgency of whoever was trying to reach him didn't register. Trying to sit up, he felt Amara over him. Why was it so dark in here? His plants couldn't possibly agree to this setting.

"Shuichi?! Are you in there? It's Botan, please open the door! Hello?"

That was even weirder. Why would Botan try to bring down his front door? He carefully replaced his body with a pillow so that hopefully, Amara could still sleep, and then stood up. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Kurama pulled the curtains, expecting to see electric lights breaking the night. The bright, silver light of a cloudy day blinded him for a moment.

"Shuichi, I know you're inside! Did anything happen?"

He went to open the door, but then realized he was anything but decent. "Just a moment, Botan," he managed as he looked around the living room. That... was going to be hard to fix in a moment, and even harder to explain. There was vegetation absolutely everywhere, underwear in plain sight, and claw marks on the sofa, as well as Youko's demonic energy still filling the room. Very subtle, indeed.

Kurama decided he will deal with that later. He put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt quickly, closed the living room door, then went to let Botan inside. The Reaper was relieved to see the door finally opening, although she didn't expect the sight.

"Thank goodness you're alright, I was getting worried, you know? Oh... Oh, my! You look awful!"

The first thing that ran through his mind was that perhaps he had some form of a bruise or cut or mark on his face, but Botan began laughing, which meant it couldn't possibly be that severe.

"I'm sorry, I haven't got the time to make myself very presentable yet."

She closed the apartment door behind her and began to giggle. "Do you have any news for me, Kurama?"

"Not that I'm aware. Mind filling me in?"

"Oh, you know... You took your shirt backward, your hair is an absolute mess, and you've got circles under your eyes. I don't think I've seen you this way before - not even after the Dark Tournament!"

Kurama sighed, took his arms out of the sleeves, and turned his shirt around, then ran a hand through his hair. "I believe that's an exaggeration. Are you going to join me for coffee?" He invited Botan into the kitchen. "Thank you for calling me by my human name. I wouldn't want the neighbors to suspect anything..."

Botan kept giggling as she followed him. "Yes, well, I think we all remember your classmates' reaction when Kuwabara called you Kurama. What happened, though? I didn't know you to be an oversleeper."

"What time is it?" he asked as he began boiling the water for coffee. "You still haven't answered me about the coffee."

"Oh, I already had one, but thank you very much! It's just past 1 PM."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Really...?"

"Aham! And I think I've called you twenty times! That's when I decided I had to come over. I was glad to know your energy was still here, but you got me thinking of the worst things. You do have a habit of getting pretty close to dying."

Kurama sighed as he made his coffee. "What is going to happen has been keeping me up until I must have passed out." He then began to hear movement in the living room, as Amara woke up.

She was having a hard time sitting down or laying on her back. Her legs didn't seem very supportive either, feeling rather numb and unresponsive, but when she looked down, all sleep has washed off. The reality was too alike to a dream... She sat in bed and looked at her legs. Her skin was normal... It was smooth and plump, shining with a healthy glow, without any awkward holes or bumps, without stretches left by the bandages ripping off bits of the tissue. What she first thought to be numbness was simply the absence of the discomfort she had been feeling day and night for the past decade.

Amara couldn't help herself as her vision blurred and tears rolled down her face. She covered her mouth as she began to sob. She ran her other hand over one leg, over her thigh and knee, squeezing the flesh between her fingers. This was real, it wasn't an illusion or a leftover fantasy from some dream of hers. She was completely awake and aware of her surroundings. She could feel her hand on her legs, meaning that what she saw really was hers.

Losing it completely, she cried and laughed at the same time. This was beyond anything she could have imagined. Despite visiting many professionals, no doctor ever gave her any chance of regaining a somewhat normal aspect of her legs. They were honestly surprised she could still use them and discouraged her when she asked if a skin transplant could be of any use. Training hurt, and there were several points where she had lost feeling, yet all of that was gone now. She was normal. This was the first time she got to see her legs as an adult, healthy skin covering flesh without gaps. She couldn't take her eyes off.

Botan noticed that Kurama was listening to something other than the sound of her voice.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I'm feeling well, perhaps not entirely awake yet." Kurama poured himself a cup of coffee. "Excuse me, can you wait here for a minute?"

Not waiting for an answer, he went into the living room, closing the doors behind him and leaving Botan in awe. Worry took over him as he saw Amara sitting in bed, holding her knees to her chest and crying with the brightest smile on her face. It was still too soon after waking up so suddenly for him to comprehend what could have been the cause of such a scene.

"Are you hurt? What's happening?"

Trying and failing to articulate, Amara shook her head. She stood up, amazed not to feel the usual stings and burns, and ran into his arms so fast, Kurama had to take a step back. Still confused, he wrapped the girl in his arms, and that's when he noticed it for the first time. While looking over her shoulder, he saw her old wounds finally healed, and so very beautiful! ...Did he do that? He had no idea how, although he had been thinking about the possibility often.

The only ones who knew about this were Hiei - who clearly didn't do it - and his other self, Youko. Well, that explained a lot...

Once she had found her voice, Amara managed to utter a shaky "Thank you," still struggling to even her breathing.

Kurama saw the purest expression of happiness and gratitude in her eyes. He kissed her forehead and held her close. "I believe you're going to have to thank Youko for this. We both will."

She nodded. "I will. I just never hoped this... I mean...!"

"I know," he reassured her. "Are you feeling any different?"

"Better than ever!"

"I'm glad. Botan is here though, I think you should get dressed."

Amara nodded again and wiped her eyes. "Let's make this space livable," she laughed as she took a step back from Kurama. The girl put her lavender pajama on in no time, then began gathering the sheets and nighttime pillows from the bed. She shoved them in their space below the sofa and folded it back into its usual form.

In the meantime, Kurama commanded the plants to return into their pots and picked up an empty bottle of wine from a corner. He didn't remember drinking that one, but there was no time for questions - he had to hide it somewhere. He could hear Botan walking into the hallway. He took a fluffy blanket from a storage stool and threw it over the sofa to cover the torn fabric while concealing the wine bottle in the space left empty.

When Botan opened the door to the living room, she saw everything neatly arranged as always. "Oh, Hey, Amara!"

The girl rubbed her eyes. "'Morning..."

Kurama noticed a shingling Monstera on the ceiling, especially overgrown, covering something. He had a feeling he shouldn't touch that with Botan watching, although he had no idea what could it be hiding.

"Sorry I left you before, I was just on my way to invite you here," he apologized. Hopefully, this will work...

"Oh, don't worry - we're friends, right? We're practically family, aside from the blood ties and all," Botan laughed. "Nice blanket! Where did you get that?"

'Please don't pick it up!' Kurama scratched the back of his head. "I think it was a gift from someone, I'm not sure. I haven't really used it much."

"I found it while making the bed and thought it'd look cool on the sofa," Amara jumped in. "So, did you find anything on Yomi?"

Botan snapped her fingers. "Bingo! I knew I was forgetting something! Yes, so - there are no explicit ties between him and the Shadows, and Ranna is never mentioned, but I did find a report about the time a group of demons revolted and tried to overthrow him. It says that among the guards there were strangely skilled demons who showed no fear or hesitation in battle and had matching forehead tattoos."

"That's enough to confirm my suspicion," Kurama said. He watched in horror as pink eyes noticed the ceiling and were staring again. Anticipating the question, he decided to give her some answers before she could ask. "That's a shingling plant. I think some of my energy escaped, but I'll need to be careful to remove it. This plant is full of roots on the underside and right now, I can only hope that my ceiling isn't destroyed."

"...And here I was thinking I've seen every plant in your collection."

Amara looked up. That... wasn't good. She could feel her weapon trapped there. Was this Youko's humor? She couldn't believe he would simply forget to give her the weapon back - he was far too meticulous for that.

Botan sat in an armchair. "Are you going to tell me what's going on now? And did you two...?" She moved her index between Amara and Kurama several times. "You know..."

Sensing that Kurama was panicking, Amara threw herself in her usual seat on the sofa. "I guess we must have passed out together at some point," she laughed. "We stayed up all night talking about stuff, and then I smoked a few, and Youko tried to convince me to stay behind because it's dangerous and whatnot, and then we had some wine. I don't remember much after that, so I will assume I fell asleep."

Kurama caught on quickly. "Ah, right - that's probably why this Monstera grew so much. It is my newest addition, I suppose it's still not used to my energy..." In fact, he didn't have that plant yesterday.

Looking a bit disappointed, Botan leaned with her head in her palm. "Wait, that's a Monstera? I thought they had holes in them?"

"Fenestrations? Yeah, not all of them," Amara laughed.

"Actually..." Kurama began to laugh. "This one is still very juvenile. When it will be mature enough, it will develop some fenestration. There are three degrees for this one, in particular - it's called a Monstera Dubia. I believe this is either the middle or low fenestration form, definitely not the high one though."

The girls looked at each other. Well, if Kurama said so, it had to be true.

"I don't think I've ever seen a mature Dubia then," Amara said in her defense.

"It won't like being forced, so let's just wait for a few years - assuming you won't leave in this time."

Botan gasped a little, as she was able to notice a spark in Kurama's green eyes and a subtle smile.

"Not if I can help it," Amara replied, returning the smile. She gathered her legs beside her and wrapped an arm around one of her knees. "I've never caught roots anywhere, but you know..."

"Bingo! I knew there had to be something between you!" Botan stood up in excitement, then took Amara's hands in hers. "I'm so very glad to see someone so close to our Kurama - Yusuke almost had everyone convinced he won't settle with any girl because he might be into Hiei!"

The smile faded from Kurama's face as he heard the girls laugh.

"Yusuke and I have been over this subject more times than necessary..."

"Before you make any plans, I'm not entirely sure how this whole thing with staying in one place for long works and it sure would be lovely if Koenma let me retire this time," Amara pleaded. If Botan wanted to help, there was one thing she could do for her... them... well.

Botan's eyes widened. "Um, I'm not sure that's an option now..."

"We'll save the world this time, but you know, after that..."

Kurama took the seat that Botan had previously occupied. "I think we owe you an explanation. Did Koenma find out about what I asked you to find?"

"He did..." the reaper admitted, "And he wants to know what's going on."

"I was expecting this. You can set up the connection on my laptop, I'll be right back."

Botan nodded. "Um, where is it?"

As Kurama went to bring his coffee, Amara took his laptop and entered the password she saw him using a few times. Botan could then call Koenma with video - there was no need for special encryption this time. There was no risk of ordinary humans catching a glimpse of this call.

"He even told you the password?" Botan asked in awe.

"Nope," Amara laughed. "I'll go smoke one real fast."

"Then how did you guess it?"

"That's a secret," the girl winked and went on the balcony to light up a cigarette.

'How did Amara guess what?' Koenma's voice asked through the speakers. He was still trying to figure out how to turn on his webcam. 'I hope she doesn't think I can't see her. Glass is transparent. Now, how does this work?'

The young ruler's face appeared on the screen in a moment. He sat back down into his chair then. 'Ah, perfect!'

Botan began to laugh a bit nervous. "Right! So, Kurama said he will finally reveal his theory, and Amara wants to know if she can retire after this last mission."

'She's a skilled fighter and a great asset to us. I don't think that's possible.'

Kurama came with the coffee mug in hand and sat next to Botan. "I'm afraid we have a greater problem on our hands these days. I would also like to retire once this is over."

'Well? Come on, tell me already - the suspense is killing me!'

"Here goes..." Kurama summed up the past few days, starting with Yomi's visit, the presence of the Shadows, and the threat to end humanity. He continued with his suspicions but left out the part where Ranna was obsessing over him and the details surrounding his pursuers when he had escaped into the Human world.

'...This is even worse than I imagined,' Koenma whined. 'We'll have to reassemble the team immediately!'

"The only way I see it, Yusuke would have to take his throne, which he clearly stated he doesn't want. Also, Mukuro would have to return to her monarchy days, but according to Hiei, she's no longer interested. This leaves two territories free of interest, Yomi willing to be the frontman, and the Shadows eager to take over the world. Kuwabara wouldn't be able to do much in this mission. I'll send word for Yusuke, but I doubt he will be interested. As for Hiei... I might be able to convince him."

The toddler nodded. 'Do you think you four could take on the Shadows? All of them?'

"We have to try... Koenma, do you happen to know where Suzuka is, or any way to reach him?"

Koenma scratched his head through his hat. 'Suzuka...? The one with the artifacts...?'

"Precisely. Is he still in business?"

'I haven't heard from him lately... I think he settled down, so we can only assume he's no longer fighting.'

"I'm interested in his items. He recommended himself as a collector and seemed to possess a real talent in modifying each item to fit its new possessor. I believe something like this could offer us an advantage."

'Very well, then... I'll try to track him down.'

Putting out the cigarette, Amara came back inside, going behind the sofa and leaning with her elbows between Kurama and Botan. "Just please do a better job than when you tried to track me down. If you find Suzuka in a year, it's going to be a bit late."

'You still need to explain your absence, young lady!'

"Easy - I took a sip of normality and got drunk. My bad. Now can we move on? I hope this is the last time we'll have to work for you."

'You two are extremely valuable to me-!'

"How come Yusuke can retire but not us?"

'He may have a child on the way! I wasn't going to tell you this because it's supposed to be him giving you the news, but since you won't let me speak otherwise, here! That's why! Now go there and try to stop the spread of this disease before everybody dies! I'm sure Botan told you about our agent - he just died an hour ago, along with everyone else who came in contact with him. We have incinerated the bodies right away and we've placed everyone who carried out this task into quarantine. If demons and ogres could only fight this disease for a day, imagine what ordinary humans will suffer! It's going to be a disaster, worse than the Plague outbursts!'

Author's notes:

I know Hiei and Kurama are possibly the favorite ship of this fandom, but for the sake of the story... Anyway, they've been mentioned.

Things are about to escalate really soon! Follow, favorite, share it with others, and review! I'd love to hear from you.