Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters
The rest of lunch went quietly, Tsukiko and Kurama sitting in silence. All the girl knew was that Kurama wanted to bring her somewhere after the meal. She didn't know if she should be concerned or not, but the demon seemed to have heard her. He couldn't deny the point she made, and he knew it too.
They left the restaurant, the greeter nervously waving them off. Kurama was irritated by the reaction. Tsukiko just smirked in victory knowing that he was more annoyed that she was right about his tone, as well. He must have thought he was being covert. Well, sometimes another needed someone else's ear to hear what they truly sound like.
"I must speak with the others about all of this," Kurama told her as they walked to a train station. "We will not be taking this lightly."
"As to be expected," Tsukiko said with a sincere smile. "I'm not trying to cause trouble. I just feel like we'll need each other during this whole ordeal. I mean, I don't even know who's after me."
"Neither do we, honestly," Kurama admitted. "All of the demons that you've helped with didn't give any information. The closest was the human trafficker who said a powerful demon wanted a particular psychic. Other than that, we have no idea."
"Not to be negative, right?" Tsukiko countered. "So, again, may I ask, where we are going?"
Kurama's expression flattened. Did the girl not hear him at the restaurant? He didn't plan on telling her where they were going, yet. He didn't want to explain it to her. First, he needed to discuss the situation with his team. Only after, would he be willing to answer her questions.
When Kurama didn't respond, Tsukiko smiled slightly. She had already known he wouldn't answer her. She was trying to make him understand that during this whole ordeal, she was still a human girl that didn't know what was going on. Part of him should have understood her need to have knowledge. By not answering, he was illustrating that he still had control over the situation when, in actuality, Tsukiko was the one in control. She had been the one to convince Kurama to "allow" her to be involved when she was already involved in the first place. He was bringing her to his friends, most likely to get their opinion, but she was already so far in that it wouldn't make a difference if they agreed or not.
Their journey began with a train ride, and Tsukiko watched the city turn into nature as the clock ticked on. It had been a while since she had been out of the city, so it was an appreciated change. Kurama watched the girl's facial expressions. All he could read from her was that she was content and at peace. He couldn't help but wonder how someone being pursued by demons could be so calm. She must be very sure of herself and this ability of hers, he noted. We need to get more information from her. She won't reveal anything easily, I'm afraid. Hopefully we won't need to resort to other tactics.
Tsukiko was unaware of the fox demon's thoughts, though she could see him staring at her intensely through the corner of her eye. Eventually, the train stopped, and Kurama's attention finally left her. The human sighed lightly at being temporarily released from the scrutiny. He was looking at her as if she were a criminal about to flee, but she had already made it clear that she would not be running.
"This is our stop," Kurama told her standing up and extending his hand to her.
Tsukiko smiled and took his hand. "Thank you." At least, even with his distrust, Kurama managed to be polite. You don't see that every day.
It wasn't a long walk from the train station to the road leading to Genkai's temple. Tsukiko had been admiring the scenery and almost crashed into Kurama when he stopped at a staircase in the middle of nowhere. Tsukiko looked up to take in the staircase and was surprised to see that it went all the way up the side of mountain surrounded by forest. She grimaced slightly, and that was all she needed to do for Kurama to think he had finally found what could dissuade her.
The fox demon smirked and said, "You could turn back now, you know. No one would blame you."
The psychic only grinned as she faced him. "Do you honestly think I'm going to be scared away by a staircase? It would be a sad day when a human was more terrified over some exercise than facing a demon twice their size."
Kurama's expression flattened. He sighed and then motioned towards the stairs. "After you," he stated unenthusiastically.
"Gladly," Tsukiko countered as she skipped slightly to the staircase. Though she was not really happy with how many stairs there was, seemingly impossible to climb, she thought of the bright side. At least I can work on my cardio.
It took quite a while to get up all of those stairs. Kurama was amazed that the girl continued to try despite the fact that he was so much further ahead than her. He had looked back thinking many times that she might just turn around and leave, but she was determined. That was not a good thing in these situations.
At the top, she caught up to him, about fifteen minutes later, but she did it. "I'm amazed you're still here," Kurama admitted.
"I already told you," Tsukiko said with a sigh. "I'm deep in this already. You may as well include me, because anything you guys will discuss affects me. I'm not about to let a flight of stairs interfere."
Where Kurama still couldn't deny her words, this was still a highly unusual turn of events. "Just wait out here while I discuss the issue with the others," Kurama ordered.
Tsukiko sat down on a large rock that was outside in the courtyard and placed her hands on her knees, a big smile on her face. Kurama did not look convinced that she would stay put. She could only shrug her shoulders, not able to confirm or deny whether or not she'd be listening.
Of course, she would be.
"You mean she actually wants to be involved?" a shocked voice stated as if he had expected something different. His voice, that sounded like the infamous Yusuke. "Like willingly?"
"Oh, come on, Urameshi," a deeper voice mumbled. Oh yes, that was Kuwabara! "Not everyone needed to be blackmailed to join."
"Hn," a dark scoff sounded. "You're the only fool who got involved in this willingly."
"Yeah, well, didn't your probation end like a few years ago?" Kuwabara retorted to the one Tsukiko could only assume was Hiei. "What are you still doing here, hamster legs?"
There was not an immediate response. "Kurama, get to the point before I remove a limb from someone in this room."
"You know your threats don't scare me anymore!"
"Will you children just shut up, already?"
Tsukiko grew curious at the new voice. She had never heard a female voice among the group let alone an elderly voice. "Grandma, butt out. This is spirit detective business."
"Of which none of you are anymore," the elderly woman retorted. Was she really Yusuke's grandmother? "Look, if she wants to get involved, then let her be involved. In everything. The only way to chase away an unsuspecting human is to throw them into it full force. If she can't handle it, she'll leave, and then you won't need to worry about the Spirit World prince breathing down your backs."
"So just test her?" Yusuke questioned. "How?"
"Remember my tests to find my successor? Do you remember the preliminary challenges?"
"I don't think drawing lots is going to hel-ouch! Hey, what was that for?"
Tsukiko chuckled when she heard the sound of a slap. Whoever this old woman was, she was obviously strong if she could hurt someone who fought demons for a living. "I wasn't talking about the lots, dimwit!"
"Master Genkai, what challenge are you referring to?" Kurama asked eloquently, probably trying to move everything along.
"Oh, I know!" Kuwabara shouted excitedly. "It was that race through the forest, right? The challenge I got through first."
"Exactly."
"What will sending her into a forest full of demons accomplish other than getting her killed?" Hiei scoffed.
"Well, you'll be monitoring her, so if she does run into trouble, you can make sure she doesn't get killed," Genkai stated blandly. "As for what it will accomplish…we'll see how determined she is. She wants to throw herself into the world of combat with demons, we'll give her a taste of what she's up against."
Tsukiko was fine with the challenge they were about to give her. The only part that bothered her was that Hiei was being ordered to watch her somehow. She really didn't want anyone knowing about her ability just yet. As everyone exited the temple, Kurama deadpanned at the sight of her by the door. "Yes, I heard everything," she said answering his unvoiced question. "And I appreciate the concern, but I don't want anyone watching me if I go in there."
"Are you crazy?" Kuwabara shouted. When he saw the girl smile, he basically told himself that she was.
"And you're really sure you want to willingly do this?" Yusuke asked Tsukiko earning him another smack from Genkai. "Watch it, you old hag! It's a legitimate question!"
"As I've told your friend," Tsukiko said looking over at Kurama, "I'm already in this way too deep. I might as well be an active part of it."
"Well, alright then," the former detective relented, throwing up his hands. He wasn't going to try to talk a headstrong woman out of something. He already had his handful with his own girlfriend.
"If you're this determined," Genkai responded, "then we better start now. It would be a shame if it got dark while you're trying to navigate a forest."
"How far away is she now?" Yusuke asked for the tenth time since she entered the forest.
"Seems like you've wasted all the lessons on patience," Genkai grumbled. "As I said each time in the last ten minutes since she entered the forest, she still hasn't entered."
"Strange," Kurama murmured.
"Do you think she's too scared to go in?" Kuwabara questioned, though he received no answer.
This is how everything went for about a half hour. Yusuke continued to pester Genkai about Tsukiko's whereabouts, but the girl had yet to enter the forest. That was less astonishing than the fact that Tsukiko showed up right in front of them minutes later with a beaming smile on her face. "Piece of cake," she declared as she walked up to them.
Everyone was looking at her in astonishment, even Hiei whose mouth just dropped slightly. Genkai, though, was wary at the fact that the girl's spiritual energy was no longer at the forest's entrance, but right in front of her. "I think you've beaten a record," the old psychic stated.
"Seriously?" Yusuke asked. He looked over to his redhead friend. "Hey, Kuwabara, what was your record?"
"I never asked."
"Well," Genkai started, "Kuwabara was five hundred yards away after one hour eight minutes and twenty seconds. This girl got through in thirty-nine minutes."
"How?" The rest of the team looked to their fire demon friend as he voiced the question. "How were you able to mislead us into thinking you were still at the beginning and how did you get through so quickly?"
"Man, can't a girl have some secrets?" Tsukiko teased the demon making him sneer at her. "I'd prefer not to reveal my abilities yet, so please just accept that."
That wasn't the answer any of them wanted to hear, but it was the only one they could accept at the moment. With Tsukiko getting through the challenge, they needed to contact Koenma and give him a heads up on everything.
Until then, Tsukiko was returned home. Kurama escorted her back into the city, still not entirely happy with the situation. At first, it was more of a pride thing, not wanting to let some human who knew nothing about the three worlds get involved with something she couldn't handle. Now, he was a bit more irritable at the fact that this human had played the part of an oblivious girl when she really did have the knowledge and skill to fight. That was the only explanation for her getting through the forest in one piece.
"Thank you for walking me home," Tsukiko said graciously smiling at the fox demon. He still looked apprehensive, glaring slightly at her. "And thank you for bringing me to meet your friends. I look forward to working with you."
With that, Tsukiko entered her apartment, leaving Kurama behind. As soon as the door closed, she heard someone clearing their throat. The psychic looked up and saw her best friend sitting on her couch, legs and arms crossed with a chocolate covered strawberry dangling from her fingertips.
"You have some explaining to do."