Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Six: Magic

Kids started to disappear from the class within a couple of days after running into Hiei. Obviously I knew he had nothing to do with it – not that my Yu Yu Hakusho knowledge was all that up to par – but I remembered Hiei's character enough to know that he wouldn't go after defenseless people…eventually anyway. I also remembered that this was the doing of one demon who I couldn't really remember anything about. And also Kitajima was supposed to get kidnapped.

However, because of my presence in this realm, I couldn't be sure what ripples I caused. I didn't want to upset anything, or cause anything to go the way it shouldn't. Therefore, it was only logical that I could not allow Kitajima to be kidnapped in case something went wrong and the demon killed her. This, however, led me to shadow Kitajima, mostly because I couldn't remember at what point she had been kidnapped. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice or mind.

We all sat in class during one break, and some of the kids brought up the subject of the ones missing. I listened carefully while pretending to read a novel at my desk.

"Again?"

"Yeah, some students have disappeared again."

"They ran away while we're crapping ourselves here? I'm gonna go too!"

"I've heard a couple kids had disappeared too," a wavy-haired boy claimed.

The girl next to him shot her hand up in the air. "Maybe they went to the next town, or Tokyo. The local area's pretty boring."

The boy turned to her and laughed in her face. "Yeah right, as if they had the balls for that. Be more realistic."

The girl looked offended for a moment, but then her gaze caught Kitajima sitting on the desk across from them. "Well, at least I'm not as credulous as Kitajima Maya!"

I sighed in annoyance and went back to fake-reading.

"Ah! Minamino-kun, what do you think?" I heard Kitajima ask.

"They might have just left on their own," I heard Kurama murmur.

"Booooooring!" Kitajima exclaimed. "That's not it. There are lots of other possibilities! Aliens? Ghosts? A black hole? A sect?"

"I think that's a bit unrealistic," Kurama replied.

"Huh? Don't you watch TV? There are aliens living among us!"

I heard the wavy-haired boy growl and looked up to see him glowering at Kurama. He sunk in his chair, sulking. "He's not funny at all."

The girl beside him gave him a slightly eager smile. "You'd better give it up. It's no secret that Maya-chan has a crush on Minamino-kun."

This only seemed to make the boy angrier. "What a creep wearing his school uniform on a Saturday! I hate him." He grabbed an eraser beside him and chucked it at the back of Kurama's head.

"To tell you the truth," Kitajima was saying, "I'm a bit psychic myself."

Kurama's hand snapped the eraser out of the air before it hit him, and he turned it over in his hand, looking at it quizzically.

The boy and the girl were both clearly shocked, and I quickly looked down at my book and pressed my lips together in an attempt to stifle my laughter. It didn't quite work though, and the boy swung his head to look squarely at me and sneered. The girl beside him grabbed his arm and shook her head, leaning over to whisper in his ear. Whatever she told him seemed to surprise him, and he looked back at me curiously. He frowned.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He got up and strode over to me, stood over my desk and folded his arms. "Michi tells me you got in a fight a few weeks ago."

I found myself giving him a confused look. "You're just now hearing about this?"

He looked miffed. "Doesn't matter. You're lucky you didn't get expelled for that, huh? Why didn't you?"

Oh, so this was his game…trying to get me into trouble, was he? I stood up and gave him a slow smile. "Couldn't tell you. Maybe God smiled down at me?"

His expression was equally challenging. "Maybe the proper authorities don't know about it?"

I remember being called into the office and reprimanded. It had taken awhile, and hearing from Kitajima, but they finally came to the conclusion that putting me on probation was better than expelling such an excellent student. I knew good grades would help me. "They know," I replied. "Did Michi-san tell you how many girls I fought?"

He frowned. "She said twelve, but I don't believe that."

I blinked at him. "Twelve?" I demanded. "I'm not Wonder Woman. Five would be the correct number."

He scoffed at that. "I don't believe that either," he said, looking me over. "You're too scrawny to be that strong." He grabbed my wrist, closing his hand around it. His fingers overlapped, showing me how tiny and weak I supposedly was. "See?" he said.

I twisted my wrist out of his tight grasp. "Don't touch me, asshole," I snapped, giving him a little shove to get him away from me. "Or you'll find out exactly how scrawny I am."

He scoffed again and reached for me, but a hand caught his wrist.

Kurama stared at the boy, green eyes perfectly serious. "I suggest you keep your hands to yourself, Tasaka."

Tasaka blinked at Kurama and then scowled. Before he could retort, Kitajima started scolding him.

"Tasaka-kun! What are you doing to Minamino-chan? You should be ashamed of yourself – being so rough with a girl!" she chided, face dismayed that Tasaka could be so rude.

Tasaka's face turned a strange color. "But Maya-chan! It's not right that she's still here even though she got in a fight! She should be expelled!"

Kitajima immediately came to my defense. "Minamino-chan got in that fight to save me from getting beat up and harassed! She protected me!"

Tasaka was agape with shock, and then looked ashamed. "Oh." His hand went back down to his side. "Sorry, Minamino," he mumbled, sounding very disingenuous.

Kitajima gave me an expectant look. "Thanks," I replied, just as insincere.

Kitajima smiled. "There! All better."

Tasaka went away to his seat, and Kitajima went back to her desk to get her things together as the bell to end the day would be ringing soon.

"Thanks for helping," I said to Kurama. "Since I'm on probation and all, I really can't be caught doing anything wrong."

"Of course," he replied. His eyes were far away though, and I could tell that he was preoccupied with something. Probably the missing kids.

"Let's get our stuff, shall we?" I said.

The bell rang as I said it, and all of the kids darted out the door. Kurama and I packed our things as Kitajima waited for us, and then we walked out into the already empty hallway. Since today was Saturday, there were no after-school activities, so there weren't a lot of people hanging around.

"Oh!" Kitajima exclaimed, rifling through her bag. "I forgot something in my desk. I'll catch up with you two in a minute!" And then she turned and darted back the other way.

"Must have been pretty important," I said. "I think I'll go back with her –"

"You've been following her a lot lately, Alice," Kurama commented. "Not that I mind, but I'm just wondering why?"

I gave him a completely innocent blink. "It's just what girls do?"

"I see," he said simply. "Then you aren't concerned anymore about anyone harming Kitajima?"

This time my blink was authentic. "Of course I am. In addition to that, who knows where these missing kids are ending up? What about that old doll factory I checked out? You know as well as I do that there's something weird in the air, and the source comes from that –"

A gravelly voice interrupted me. "Kurama…"

We spun around and saw a splotch on the floor mold into an ugly head with horns and fangs.

"Kurama…we're gonna kill you. And then this town will become part of our jurisdiction."

I gave Kurama a pointed look, silently asking him if he wanted me to blow this thing into smithereens. He shook his head. "Hedoki, have you forgotten that before, half-dead, you said you wouldn't step foot in this town again?"

This seemed to make the head-demon angry. "I'll kill you!" he roared. "I don't need to be ordered around by you! I have a strong ally on my side!"

Kurama made a slight-of-hand move to attack him, but the head-demon was surprisingly fast and jumped through the glass window across the hall, laughing his ass off. Kurama frowned.

"I'm guessing you two have some history," I commented.

"Yes," he replied, offering nothing more. He was preoccupied again.

"What was that?" a small voice said behind us. "Was that a demon?"

We turned and saw Kitajima. Her brown eyes darted on each of our faces, seeing our surprise. "That was my first time seeing something like that! It was horrible."

"What are you talking about?" Kurama attempted, trying to appear calm. "Maybe it was your imagination?"

Kitajima grinned. "If you're trying to deceive me, it's no good! I clearly saw it, and I think you did too. Not only that, you were speaking with it! I'm really impressed, you should go tell someone!" Her hands folded together over her chest as she continued excitedly. "Ever since I met you, I knew you were special! I've always waited, searching for a person with that kind of power, and I finally found him!"

What am I? Chopped liver?

"What's more," she continued, "it happens to be the person I'm in love with! How dramatic…like a scene from a movie!"

Kurama looked stunned.

Kitajima blushed.

"I'm going to leave," I announced, trying to hold back my salacious grin. "See you lovebirds later."

They both turned a bright crimson, and I left the hallway, cackling.

I decided to go home and change into something a bit more athletic. I felt like running today for some reason. I felt like something was going to happen, and the nervousness that feeling gave me needed to be exhausted from my system. Kitajima would be safe with Kurama, so I knew that I didn't need to worry about that, but still, the anxiety was building. It was unpleasant.

I reached the house and swung open the door, announcing my presence. Shiori called from the kitchen, and I found her at the sink, washing vegetables. "Alice-chan, how was school today?"

"Fine," I replied, giving her a crinkly-eyed smile. "Shuichi-kun is getting confessed to right now."

Shiori stopped what she was doing and turned to look at me. She seemed surprised and concerned. "Is he now?" She frowned at me. I imagined she was concerned about the girl confessing, so I told her about Kitajima being a very nice girl, and that she had nothing to worry about.

"Oh," she said. "Well, I'm sure she is a sweet child and all, but I wonder…if it's all right with you, Alice-chan," she suggested, watching me carefully.

I blinked. "I'm not jealous. Shuichi-kun won't go out with her anyway. He's not interested in dating yet." Did she think that I liked him or something? I wondered if she imagined us getting together and falling in love when we grew up. I supposed it would make sense. I already had the same last name. It seems like Shiori-san had been reading too many romance novels again. "Is Hatanaka-san coming over today?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Not today, he has to work late," she replied, turning back to the sink.

"Do you want any help?"

She shook her head. "I don't have much to do. Just throwing together some leftovers."

"Okay, Shiori-san. I'm going for a run then," I said, shouldering my bag higher and turning to go upstairs.

Her voice stopped me. "Alice-chan, if you…ever were to fall in love with Shuichi-kun…I would be happy."

I knew it. I didn't really have anything to say to that though, so I just went upstairs and changed.

Running felt good. It was exactly what I needed. The afternoon sun was warm, the breeze was cool, and the sound of my sneakers hitting the pavement matched the beating of my heart. I decided since no one was using the track at the school today, I should use it. Most people don't normally appreciate me tearing through crowds. Not that our neighborhood was all that crowded, but it was Saturday and all – people were out and about.

Finally I tired myself out, and went over to the sinks and rinsed my face off, cooling down. I cupped my hands under the faucet and drank until my stomach sloshed with water. Shutting the faucet off, I pulled the hair tie holding my hair in a ponytail out and popped it around my wrist. Fluffing my curly blonde hair with one hand, I made my way out of the courtyard and off the school grounds. I turned down the wooded path that most of the students used to bypass the main road to get to the more residential area of the neighborhood. Ahead, I saw Kitajima and Kurama with their bags, walking along the path.

I debated whether or not to call out to them, and finally decided that it would be weird if I didn't.

Before I opened my mouth, they stopped, Kurama turned away and mumbled something. Kitajima's face was full of disappointment for a second, but then she forced a smile and turned away from him. Kurama caught her shoulder, and for a split-second I was horrified that I was about to see him kiss her romantically or something equally awkward, but then I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

A familiar energy was racing toward us.

Kurama and Kitajima were suddenly ten feet away from me, and Hiei stood in their previous spot with his sword drawn, looking furious.

"You were able to evade it?" Hiei demanded.

"Are you okay?" Kurama asked Kitajima, his arms tightening around her.

"I think so," she replied, looking up at him in awe. "How about you? Am I too heavy?"

"That's not an issue right now," he replied, jumping away again, as Hiei took another swipe at him.

I moved into the light. "Hey!" I demanded of Hiei. "Why are you attacking?"

He ignored me, and suddenly Kurama had a leaf-sword in his hand as he set Kitajima on the ground. He traded blows with Hiei, calling for Kitajima to run. She sat on the ground, watching the demons before her fight, completely stunned. Kurama didn't look away from Hiei, but he knew that she hadn't moved. He jumped away suddenly, and Hiei followed.

"I must be dreaming," Kitajima murmured.

I crouched down beside her and took her shoulder. "Hey, let's go Kitajima, hm?"

She nodded blankly. My senses twitched and I turned around, seeing a tall man behind us. His expression was blank, and on his shoulder sat the head-demon from earlier.

Hedoki flashed his fangs at me. "Two is better than one." Then the man's hand hit Kitajima in the head, knocking her out. I rolled out of the way before he could strike me, but I wasn't fast enough and his foot caught me in the ribs, kicking the air out of me. I managed to get to my feet, but his hand wrapped around my throat, and he slammed my head back into the fence along the path, and squeezed.

I felt like I was dying. I don't know if you've ever been strangled before, but it's one of the worst feelings in the world. I forgot that I could kill this demon with a single thought, as my head swam and black spots appeared in my vision. I was reduced to scratching and pushing at the man's hands to get free, and I couldn't even think. Instinct took over as I squirmed and struggled and gagged.

Suddenly though, the pressure around my throat disappeared and I was dropped to the ground in a coughing fit. The demon hovered over me on the man's shoulder and hissed to me: "I'll leave you alive to lure Kurama into my trap. Yatsude-sama will kill him for me. As for the other girl, she'll make a nice present for him, won't she? Girls like her are delicious."

I felt a wave of rage wash over me. My power snapped out around the demon, but before it could squeeze and kill, the man's hand struck me across the face and the pain distracted me from my goal. My head swam and my cheekbone throbbed like it was broken.

Finally, I struggled to sit up, but the demon, his host, and Kitajima were gone.

"Shit," I said, getting to my feet, using the fence as support. "Shit, shit, shit!" I tried to reach out and sense the demon, but I could already guess where he was taking Kitajima. Kurama and Hiei were close by. I followed their auras to a small meadow, using trees for support, cursing repeatedly.

When I came upon them, Hiei was saying, "You're good, what's a skilled guy like you doing working for a creep like Yatsude?"

"What?" Kurama said, surprised. "You mean he's here?"

Hiei stopped, staring at Kurama. "You mean you're not working for him?"

I interrupted, coming around a tree and into the meadow. "That's what I was trying to tell you earlier." Kurama turned to look at me, blinking in surprise at my disheveled/injured appearance. I shook my head as he opened his mouth to ask about it. "I lost a fight," I told him. I wasn't sure how to tell him that Kitajima had just been kidnapped.

Hiei turned to look at me and scowled, his stoplight red eyes flashing. "You again."

Kurama frowned. "You two know each other?"

"We've met," Hiei snapped. "I suppose she was investigating Yatsude's lair at the time."

"The doll factory," I supplied Kurama.

Hiei suddenly went pale, and blood hit the ground from a wound on his stomach. "Ugh." He went rigid, and then collapsed.

Kurama went to him, rolling him onto his back and covering the bleeding wound on his stomach. I came and crouched beside him, taking Hiei's wrist in my hand. Hiei's skin was hot, like fire – feverish even – but I attributed that to his fire demon heritage instead of actual sickness. I felt around his limp wrist for his pulse, but couldn't find it. I leaned over his face and felt his breath against my cheek. Frowning, I put my ear to his chest, but couldn't hear his heart beat.

"Kurama," I said, looking up at him. "I think he's a zombie."

Kurama gave a little laugh. "No Alice, it's normal. Is his breathing even?"

I nodded.

"Then he's fine. We should get him back to the house and patch him up," he said. His green eyes lingered on my bruised cheek and neck. "What happened to you exactly?"

I looked down at Hiei, thinking. I remembered a tidbit from this arc that Kurama wasn't strong enough to take on Yatsude alone – yet. He and Hiei had to kill Yatsude together. I wasn't entirely sure that I could take on a demon like Yatsude, so taking Hiei's place was not really an option. On the other hand, Kitajima survived in the arc without me interfering, so maybe she would this time around too. All we needed to do was wait for Hiei to wake up and work with Kurama to kill Yatsude. Besides, even if I did have the ability to take Hiei's place, their relationship might not turn into a strong camaraderie like in the series. I needed to keep things as close to the plot as possible.

"I'll tell you later," I finally said. "I think it'll make more sense that way."

Kurama frowned, forest-green eyes narrowing at me. "Alice, I know you may have your reasons, but telling me is probably quite necessary."

"Not really. I don't want anyone to do anything reckless – especially when everything might turn out fine." I pulled blonde hair out of my face to look at him properly. "We just need to focus on him right now," I said looking back at Hiei.

Kurama sighed. "You cannot imagine the conclusions my mind is jumping to."

I wrinkled my nose. "Actually, I probably can. If it makes you feel better, I was only hit." His eyes went to my neck pointedly. "And I was strangled a bit. And kicked in the ribs, but that's all," I said, giving him a slight smile.

He only shook his head. "If you say so. Let's get him up." Kurama had already bandaged Hiei's stomach while I was checking his heart, so I only helped him heft Hiei over his shoulders in a fireman's lift. Luckily, dusk had fallen and there wasn't anyone to see us make our way into the house. Shiori was in her office, working, when we came in, so she couldn't see us. I just called and told her that we were back and were going up to work on our homework. We were lucky that Shiori wasn't a particularly nosy person, especially when she was busy working.

We got upstairs and laid Hiei out on Kurama's bed, and he murmured something in his sleep. "Yukina," he mumbled. "You idiot."

Kurama frowned, pulling a book off of his bookshelf and flipping it open, revealing it to be hollow. He pulled out a seed and it burst into a full-grown plant under his youki. He handed it to me as he unwrapped Hiei's bandages, and stretched out his hand when he was done. I gave him the plant and he crushed it in his hands, juices running over his fingers, and pushed it into Hiei's oozing wound. With that, he got fresh bandages and rewrapped the wound.

"Yukina," Hiei mumbled again. "I'll find you."

Kurama's green gaze focused on the bandage around Hiei's forehead, and his fingers reached and pushed it up. Underneath was a slit, revealing something I couldn't quite make out. I leaned closer as Kurama prodded the slit open a bit more, and drew back, shocked. For some reason, I hadn't remembered that Hiei had a third eye in his forehead. The Jagan glittered in a vibe of electric lilac. It caught my heart in its gaze, like it could see right through me. I found myself looking away, uncomfortable.

Kurama pulled the bandage back in place, looking thoughtful. He turned to me, green eyes fixing to my bruised cheek and throat. "We should take care of your injuries, Alice." He went to his bookcase and pulled out another hollow book, a thesaurus this time, and took out a jar of his healing salve. Unscrewing the lid, he kneeled beside me on the floor and rubbed the salve on my cheekbone.

"Do you think it's cracked or anything?" I asked. "It actually hurt a lot when he hit me."

Kurama frowned, glancing at me before prodding my cheekbone. "It's too swollen to tell. And he? You were attacked by a man?"

Shit. I gave him a half-smile. "Let's not talk about it yet."

He sighed and brushed my hair away from my neck to get to the bruises there. I pulled it together and held it back with my hand as he rubbed the salve over my neck. "I would really like to know what's going on, Alice. What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing that you need to know about now," I replied. "Really, it's better off this way. I'll tell you when he wakes up."

Kurama's fingers stopped just above my jugular. "What does he have to do with it?"

I debated, glancing back at Hiei passed out on the bed. "I think we'll need his help. You may not be strong enough yet, and I'm too inexperienced."

"How can you be certain that he'll help …with whatever we apparently need help with?" Kurama asked, beginning his ministrations again.

I gave him a sly smile. "I wonder who Yukina is?"

"Apparently someone he must find," Kurama replied. "However, as I don't have the whole picture yet – as you are keeping things from me – I can only guess that you want to go after Yatsude?" He sounded a bit bitter. "I wonder why?" He took his hands away and put the lid back on the jar, having finished applying salve. "You're frustrating me Alice, and I do not appreciate it."

I looked down at my knees. "Sorry, Kurama," I murmured. "I really don't think I should say anything just yet."

He sighed. "We should probably get dinner. Mother will come upstairs with food otherwise, and she can't see him, of course."

I nodded.

Hiei woke up – after four agonizing hours of Kurama drilling a hole in the back of my head with his gaze. I really didn't need his help feeling anxious. Kitajima's welfare was worrying me enough already, so much that I had gone to the bathroom and vomited over it. I was never good at holding down food when I was nervous. When I was five and had a Christmas pageant, I threw up all over the stage. That was a fun year.

"You have a fast capability to recover," Kurama said from the wall as Hiei sat up. I sat on the floor next to the bed, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine. Hiei's bright red eyes held the expression of a cornered animal for a second, but as he saw no immediate threat, the expression melted into one of mere alertness. "Only four hours," Kurama continued as Hiei glanced down at his closed wound. Kurama saw the slight surprise and added, "Your wound was so deep that I healed it without asking. Herbs from the Makai are very effective. Also, while you were asleep, you kept uttering a name. Who is Yukina?"

I shot him a look. Why was he pressing so hard for information?

Kurama ignored me. "You weren't born with that Jagan. Your youki must have fallen when you got it. You seem to be very determined to use a Jagan, and you must have a very good reason for daring to do so. What does that girl have to do with Yatsude?"

Hiei pulled on his cloak and sword and scowled at Kurama. "You're very talkative, aren't you? If you hadn't helped me, I would have killed you." His eyes fell on me and he gave a slight smirk. "Herbs from the Makai were used on you too, huh?" His gaze swung back to Kurama. "Humanity softens you, demon."

I tried not to be offended. Really.

Hiei crossed the room and flung open the window. "Instead of a reward, let me give you a word of advice," he said to Kurama. "Your naiveté will get you killed someday."

"Off to fight so soon?" Kurama retorted. "What about your injuries?"

Hiei glanced down at him. "The more he eats, the stronger he becomes."

I sighed. "Shit."

Kurama's eyes pinned me down. "Care to fill me in now, Alice? You've been waiting for…" Kurama glanced back up at Hiei who was looking at me curiously. "I'm sorry; I didn't get your name."

"Hiei," he supplied, frowning at me. "You've been waiting for what now, girl?"

"She's been waiting for you to wake up to tell me the source of her…bruises from earlier. I don't think it actually has anything to do –"

The phone rang, interrupting Kurama. He got up and went out into the hall to answer it.

Hiei pulled his leg back into the room and turned to look at me properly. I stood up, because I knew what the phone call was about, and I felt better on my feet. I could run away better that way. I folded my hands behind my back and looked back at Hiei. "I'm Alice, by the way," I offered politely.

He scoffed. "Why should I care about a human's name?"

I scowled at him. "You can go on ahead. This doesn't have anything to do with you anyway."

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "Then why were you waiting for me to wake up?"

I gave him a tight smile. "So Kurama –"

Hiei frowned. "Kurama? Youko Kurama?"

I nodded. "Not exactly in his prime, is he?"

Hiei didn't reply, and I heard Kurama hang the phone up in the hall.

"Alice," he said, striding back in the room, shutting the door behind him. "You were with Kitajima last, weren't you? Is that what this is about?" he demanded. "Why didn't you tell me she was kidnapped?" His hands went around my upper-arms and he gave me a little shake, and brought my face up to his as he glared at me. "Do you hate her? Did you want her dead?"

"Of course not!" I snapped. "Do you know how worried I've been? Hedoki told me himself that he meant for me to lure you into a trap! How goddamned stupid do you think I am? I'm not about to let you go crusading into a powerful demon's lair alone – that's why I was waiting for Hiei to wake up." I looked up at him with burning behind my eyes. Why did I feel like crying? Because he was disappointed in me? Because he didn't trust me?

Kurama looked down and then met my gaze again, freezing me with the coldness in his eyes. "Alice, if Kitajima is dead – I will make your life a living hell."

I felt a wave of anger wash over me. "Don't threaten me!" I hissed, yanking out of his grasp and folding my arms around myself. I glared at him. "You don't have time."

He didn't reply, instead turned to Hiei, looking solemn and determined. "I'll be going with you, Hiei."

Hiei glanced at me, and then back at Kurama. "I suppose I'll allow it. Your fighting skills are quite good, so you can make yourself useful." He turned back to the window and jumped out. Kurama followed him without as much as a backward glance.

I plopped down on the floor and put my face on my knees, fighting back tears. This was so stupid. I didn't need to cry – Kitajima would be fine. It just really hurt that after all of this time, Kurama still didn't completely trust me. What did I have to do? I'd been as honest about everything as possible – but I certainly couldn't tell him that all this was nothing but a book and a TV show in my world. I wonder, maybe if I ever came across Koenma…maybe he would have answers for me.

Now is not the time for an existential crisis, I told myself. It's not the time to be sad because some idiot can't trust you. A little girl could die, and here you are, crying on the floor! For God's sake, you're a grown woman – now act like it! Get up!

I sniffed and sat up, pulling my hair back into a pony-tail. I got to my feet and went out the door and downstairs to the front door. Shiori was still working in her office, but she likely wouldn't be done for another hour or so. She probably wouldn't notice us missing for awhile. Sitting down, I pulled on my sneakers and opened the door quietly, and crept outside, closing the door behind me gently. I took a deep breath, and then took off, tearing through the fabric of the night.

I can't run fast like a demon, but I can run quite fast for a human. I've had plenty of practice with that, of course. I was the only one on the street, all alone. The lamps above my head shone in the night like white electric suns, guiding my way. The doll factory sat on the outskirts of town – and if I had to estimate – about five or six miles from my house. If I ran hard, I would be there in about forty-five minutes.

I patterned my breathing and ran harder. Usually I paced myself a bit more, but there really wasn't time for that. I took a left into a wooded area – the dark path to the factory. My heart beat in my chest, like German pop music, only more panicked and unpleasant. If Kitajima died, I would never forgive myself for it. It couldn't be helped though – letting Kurama go in the factory alone wasn't an option either. I made my decision, and I had to stick by it.

After about twenty minutes, I reached the end of the path, crossed the street, and continued toward the outskirts of town. I probably wouldn't be there to witness the slaying of Yatsude, but I might meet Kurama on his way back.

A few moments later I saw two figures up ahead in the lamplight. One looked like he could be Hiei, short and triangular, and the other I saw was Kurama carrying Kitajima as he came under the light. My heart actually skipped a beat so hard that I coughed as I tried to catch my breath. I came to a stop and waited for them to approach me, holding the stitch in my side, and trying to slow my breathing.

"Hello, Alice," Kurama said calmly, stopping before me. His expression was unreadable.

I looked past him to Kitajima on his back. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine," he replied. "You didn't kill her."

The tone he used was calm and placid, but the hard, biting words cut me like glass. I jerked my chin up at him, angrily. "I did what I thought was best. Why won't you trust me?"

His expression darkened. "Alice, I can't even trust you to take care of yourself. Taking Kitajima's life in your reckless hands was further proof that I am right. You are not to be trusted. You are irresponsible, thoughtless, and out-of-control."

I felt my expression go cold. "Fine. I suppose the only thing to do is to live up to your expectations, right?" I said, moving past Hiei and stepping out into the street. It wasn't a busy night at all – only one car had passed me the whole time that I'd been out.

"Get out of the street, Alice," Kurama said flatly. "I don't have time for your childish antics."

I scoffed, turning to face him. "Go take your girlfriend home like a good little boy, Kurama. Do what's expected of you."

He sighed. "There's no need to be satirical. Come on, get out of the street."

"Piss off," I said, turning away from him and walking down the street. "Maybe I'll make it to heaven this time," I called over my shoulder.

"Why are you allowing her to carry on like this, Kurama?" I heard Hiei say disapprovingly. "It's unbecoming of a demon for a human to have any power over them. Why don't you just kill her and be done with it?"

"Alice may be…like this…but her powers are quite useful. And also my mother loves her," he replied, putting more emphasis on the last sentence.

I sighed, defeated. Shiori always wins. Even if Kurama didn't give a shit about me, Shiori loved me, took me in, and treated me like her own daughter – I couldn't hurt her. I turned to make my way back to the sidewalk – I could hear a car coming anyway. I didn't really feel like dying again so soon.

And apparently the car was coming a lot faster than was legal. A hot hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me on the sidewalk just as the car zoomed by. Hiei's stoplight eyes flashed in mild annoyance as he looked me over and dropped my wrist. "What are your powers anyway, human?" he asked dryly. "Getting killed?"

I stood before him feeling like a wet noodle. I was taller than him – but only by a few centimeters. "Actually, it's the other way around," I replied absentmindedly. I blinked when he did. His surprise snapped me out of my daze, and I cracked a smile at him. "It's an interesting skill. I think any human aware enough could do it, but it's something next to impossible to teach."

"You're speaking in riddles," he retorted.

"I kill demons with my mind – basically," I answered. "It can't really be explained."

"Alice can squeeze her energy so tightly around demons that they explode," Kurama rudely offered.

I sent him a glare and turned around on my heel, walking away. "I'm going home," I called over my shoulder. "Thanks for the help, Hiei. I owe you a favor and all that." With that, I picked up the pace and left Kurama and Hiei in the dark behind me.