Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Twelve: The Mark Has Been Made

Kurama and I spent the next five months making no more than polite conversation. We were awkward with each other, like toddlers learning to walk. We would only seek each other out when necessary, and our eyes would never meet. I couldn't find it in myself to really talk to him, to really be with him, because it felt like there was a brick wall between us. I partly didn't want anything to do with him, still angry, still hurt, but I knew that I couldn't fault him completely. He was scared at that time. He thought he was going off to die when he kissed me. And now that it was all over, he handled me like barbed wire or a blowfish, like I was a prickly thing.

Shiori was too absorbed in Hatanaka and work to really notice anything going on - not that she was a particularly observant person anyway. Hatanaka had quit his job at the publishing company he worked at with Shiori, intending to start his own business. Something to do with computers, I think. And it was probably a great idea, considering how much they have taken over nowadays. Hatanaka also mentioned a few things about Kurama coming to work there someday.

As for Sitka, he became a full-grown malamute, and he was extremely happy now because it was October. His coat was long and his fur was thick, and he spent a lot of time prancing around in the yard, breath coming out in puffy clouds. I watched him from the sunroom, slouching at the piano, content to stay inside where it was warmer. I wasn't fond of the cold. Luckily the falls and winters in Asaka were mild - a lot like the ones in Texas.

I finally met Hatanaka's son. He was a typical thirteen-year-old, awkward, and sort of a beanpole. He was taller than me by about three inches, but that's completely unsurprising. Everyone's taller than me. He liked to watch game shows and play baseball with his friends. Like his dad, he was a fan of the Tokyo Giants. He didn't say much to me, probably feeling unsure of me - the foreign girl - but he seemed quite taken with Kurama. It seemed he immediately thought him older brother material, and Kurama didn't mind a bit.

Lately, Kurama and I had been spending a lot of time researching high schools to go to. Shiori went with us to the library and we scoured through books and brochures, and talked to the students from the surrounding schools. I found myself getting incredibly frustrated with the process. When I went to college in my first life, it was not an ordeal as big as choosing a high school. I had simply gone to a community college that was cheap and had useful programs. Yet in Japan, there was just such a prestige with picking the right high school. Future employers would look at your records and judge you by it.

Soon enough, I managed to settle on about five different schools in the area. One was a prep school for a nearby university, one was a private school that had a strong biology and chemistry curriculum, another one was a public school that highlighted its foreign-language programs, and then another one had a great background in writing (I heard Kaito Yuu was aiming for this school), and the last one prided itself on itself on its prestigious music and art clubs. Frankly, I would have been pleased with any of the five, as they could all take me somewhere. Kurama had picked most of the same ones, although he was also considering a high school that offered high-quality training of entrepreneurial and business management skills. It interested him for some ungodly reason.

And while the exams weren't until next February, I was already studying, going over texts and workbooks from the last two years. Shiori had already mentioned something about starting cram school in early January, when the new trimester started, and the third years would be relieved of their club duties. I agreed, and in the meantime tried to read ahead in my current textbooks. I wasn't behind in any of my classes by any means, but I wanted to get ahead and turn slouchy Bs into As.

This was not my typical behavior when it came to school. In my old life, I hardly cracked a textbook in high school, rarely studied, but paid attention enough in lectures to scrape by with low Cs and Bs. I was the epitome of a slacker - a below average student. My parents didn't really care, so that didn't exactly help because I had no one to ride me and nag me about working hard. My mom had grown up the daughter of farmers, who valued hard labor over books, and my dad had more or less the same upbringing as me. Of course they would be happy to see me succeed in school, and would occasionally remind me to do homework, but they weren't really willing to fight me to push me hard.

Of course I had a very rude awakening when I went to college. My college - my little dinky community college - really made me see how poor a student I was. I learned very quickly that just listening to a lecture and taking excellent notes wasn't enough to get an A - or even a B. I had to completely relearn and learn new studying skills to even scrape by. Even then it wasn't enough. If you miss a day in college, it's like missing an entire week of school. One class is more jam-packed with information than jelly in a donut. And depending on someone else's notes? Forget it. You can't decipher anything. Most people don't even know how to take notes, so they write down random words that they don't remember the significance to, and you're left feeling exasperated and swear to yourself, even if you're dead, you will never miss another class again.

College is a slap in the face for slackers like me.

However, Shiori really turned me into a great student. Previously, no matter what I did, no matter how smart I was, no matter how great my memory, and no matter how much help I got - it was all worthless in the face of procrastination. Even if I understood the work, if I could not find the motivation to do it, I wouldn't get the grades I wanted.

And Shiori, with her gentle firmness and motivating words, kept me from getting overwhelmed. She taught me to follow a routine, get a study spot (my desk in my bedroom) so that I could sit there and automatically feel like studying, she taught me tricks to get through tough homework, and helped me make flashcards and study schedules for tests and exams. She gave me encouragement when I needed it most, and she taught me persistence. I felt like she was my good luck charm.

Shiori really made me into a student my parents would have been proud of.

I was walking through town after school one day, heading to a pet specialty store to pick up some dog food for Sitka. I realized when I got home and tried to feed him that there wouldn't be enough for his dinner tomorrow, and then I felt like a terrible person so I changed clothes and headed out immediately. Sitka was a big dog now, and he went through a lot of food fast. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with his appetite.

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my light, cotton jacket and shrunk into myself, feeling an unnatural chill in the air. It was cool outside, but there was a certain energy in the atmosphere, like the coppery tang of danger. I wondered if a storm was coming.

I suddenly felt a huge spike of energy on my radar, as obvious as a mountain. Against my logical, better judgment, my curiosity won out and I traced the spike to a nearby lot between two buildings. I came through the alley and stopped at the sight, surprised, not expecting to see the people I saw.

Urameshi Yusuke and Kuwabara Kazuma were standing over a group of unconscious middle school students. Their hands were shoved in their pockets and they were frowning uncertainly at the guys on the ground. "Who the hell were these guys anyway?" Yusuke asked, bending down to examine them more closely.

Kuwabara looked up at me and blinked. "Alice? What are you doing here?"

Yusuke looked up at me too, frowning like he was trying to place me in his memory. It had been about six or seven months since he saw me last, so I imagined he would have trouble. He glanced at Kuwabara. "She a friend of yours?"

"Yeah," he replied, looking back at me.

"I'm out buying dog food," I said. "And then I felt a weird spike of energy. Was that you guys?" I glanced at Yusuke. "You're a spirit detective, right?"

He blinked and then looked like something clicked. "Oh! Now I remember. You're that girl that was in that clearing with Kurama." He gave a slight, suspicious smile. "You his girlfriend?"

"Nope," I replied, coming further into the lot and looking down at the unconscious guys. "So that was your energy then?"

He nodded. But before he could say anything, Kuwabara interrupted.

"Hold on, I feel something strange around here - I don't think it's very human," he said, surprising me. I focused on a 'ting' on my radar and felt what he was talking about. I think Kuwabara had less of a filter than I did. I barely noticed the weak demonic aura. Kuwabara's eyes darted around as he turned his head, trying to pinpoint the source. His eye caught a cloaked figure wearing a hat peering in behind a chain-link fence. "Something like that!" he exclaimed, pointing.

The figure jumped and darted away. Yusuke and Kuwabara took off after him and I followed them, hot on their heels, as the demon lead us down an alley. He turned down another alley and ran into the sunlight, turning around the corner of the building.

Suddenly there was a metallic 'tong' and the figure flew backward, tumbling past the alley's entryway. Yusuke and Kuwabara came to a sudden stop, and I almost ran into them. We glanced in surprise at the fallen demon, and then turned to see Botan dressed in red jeans and a red, belted coat, looking a little smug as she slug a metal baseball bat over her shoulder.

"Now that's teamwork," she said, fuchsia pink eyes prideful.

Something that surprised me about Botan was not her eyes or her powder blue hair, but rather her height. She was surprisingly tall, standing at about five feet, eight inches.

Yusuke twitched. "Botan!" he yelped, sounding almost indignant that she surprised him so much.

"Hey, it's the pretty girl," Kuwabara exclaimed excitedly. Then he turned a little bashful, cheeks turning pink. "Have you thought about me?"

Botan tactfully ignored Kuwabara's question, instead explaining the situation. "I've been shadowing that one since he slipped through the barrier two days ago," her eyes focused on the felled figure.

"So what is it?" Kuwabara asked. He turned to me. "A demon?"

I nodded. "A really weak one. I barely noticed his energy until you pointed it out. Your senses are much keener than mine, I think."

"He looks like he grew up too close to a nuclear plant," Yusuke commented, nudging the demon's limp leg with his foot.

"I'm quite certain he's a spy from the place you'll be going for your next mission," Botan said, shifting her weight and tossing Yusuke a serious look.

"Okay, Botan, you can stop right there!" Yusuke shouted, irritated. "I just got back from Grandma's evil boot camp, and I deserve a vacation." He scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets and turned, ignoring her taken aback expression. "Why don't you call back in two years?"

Botan became as equally annoyed, shooting a dark look at his back. "Then I guess you don't mind everyone in the city being turned into a zombie?" she demanded, letting the bat fall to her side and clenching her fist like she wanted to hit him.

"Does that question have a point?" he replied, sounding like the rebellious fourteen-year-old he was.

She turned grim. "Koenma was given a message yesterday. It was sent by an agent, much like the one that we just walloped. Basically, the Four Saint Beasts from the City of Ghosts and Apparitions want immediate immigration into the living world."

"I don't get what all the fuss is about, if Koenma's in charge, why doesn't he just turn down the request? And who are these stupid Saint Beasts?" Yusuke said, looking bored.

Her tone was serious. "They are four of the most notorious criminals in the Reikai. The title of 'Saint' was given to them by their followers. Years ago, they were chased by a coalition of pursuers and evaded capture by locking themselves up in a booby-trapped fortress. Since then a city has formed at its base, filled with vile crooks who view these Beasts as gods - the City of Ghosts and Apparitions." Her bat dropped to her side again and she turned to go through the alley.

"Hey, aren't you going to finish your story?" Yusuke asked, going after her.

Kuwabara and I exchanged a shrug and followed them.

Botan stopped at the bodies of the unconscious students. She pointed and turned back to Yusuke who stopped beside her. "Why don't you take a closer look at these boys you knocked out?"

We leaned closer and then immediately shrunk away in disgust. A large green insect with red specks crawled out of one of the boy's mouth, and rested on his grayish cheek before flying away.

Yusuke made a revolted noise. "Tell me I didn't just see a bug crawl from that guy's throat."

Botan explained. "They're called Makai insects, a parasite from the darker part of the Reikai." Her eyes followed the bug as it flew away. "They bury themselves under the skin and nurture their host's most primal desires."

Kuwabara was on the verge of vomiting and I patted his back sympathetically.

She continued. "Minds occupied by this parasite develop a desire for destruction, physical power, and murder. It will be a disaster."

"Well can't we tell people? There's gotta be a cure," Yusuke said.

"There is," Botan replied. "But normal people can't see the insects, and afflicted people will only be seen as psychotic. And I'm afraid that a cure will not be first on the humans' minds."

"Probably not," I said, thinking about Shiori. What if she went out today and got attacked by someone? Or got possessed by a Makai insect herself?

"Well then what are we supposed to do?" Yusuke demanded.

She looked at him sharply. "The only way to rescue the citizens is to kill the Makai insects, and the only way to do that is by destroying the whistle, which the enemy possesses."

"A whistle?"

She nodded. "Without the whistle maintaining it's frequency, the Makai insects can't live out of the Reikai."

Yusuke looked thoughtful. "Sooo, how do we have before the Beasts leave their castle and come to Earth themselves?"

"At this point they can't," she answered. "For years we've had them trapped within the city by the barrier wall. Now with this threat of insect invasion they hope to threaten us into opening the barrier."

"I see, so they give you the whistle if you open the wall," he mused.

"Instead we'll make a small breach in the barrier to let you in," Botan said. "Eventually, they'll find this hole themselves."

"And what if I'm not able to beat them?" Yusuke asked seriously.

"I don't think I have to tell you what would happen if all the demons from that city were unleashed on Earth."

There was a solemn silence.

"So the Reikai doesn't have any contingency plans?" I asked, frowning. Were they really so careless to place everything on one fourteen-year-old boy's shoulders?

Botan frowned. "If they do, they're top secret."

"I have to say Botan, this takes the record for confusing," Yusuke muttered.

"Yes," she said, "just try to remember the basics. You're good and the entire city is bad. Defeat the Beasts, take the whistle, and the case will be closed."

"Okay!" he snapped. "I just can't believe Koenma wants me to take out a whole city of beasts alone. Don't they send out teams for this kind of thing?" he demanded, looking annoyed.

"What about me, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked, pointing at himself.

"Eeehhhhh…" Botan said, eyes huge. "Oh, Kuwabara, there's no such thing as demons! Yusuke and I were just joking!" she cackled nervously, throwing her hands in the air.

"Look, I'm not dumb," he said flatly. "Or blind." He snatched a Makai insect out of the air, squishing it with his hand, making me cringe. "We all know that I can see supernatural stuff a whole lot better than Urameshi. And I'm not gonna sit around my house while Urameshi, who doesn't see things, lets monsters and insects take over my city. 'Cause I'm Kuwabara, and in case you guys forgot, I got a sword!"

"I'll go too," I said firmly, putting a hand on a hip and sending a glare at Kuwabara who looked like he was going to protest. "I'm not much a fighter, but I can exorcise demons."

Botan bent over next to Yusuke, looking dumbstruck and incredulous. "Well, Yusuke, I suppose there's no point in arguing with the eager." She straightened and waved her hand. "All right then, all of you follow me."

She lead us down the street, and then down a flight of stairs. To our left was a door, and Botan reached out and flung it open, kicking up dust in clouds. We coughed, and I stepped back until the air cleared. We crept into the building. Botan dropped to the floor on her hands and knees, tapping the ground like she was looking for a trap door.

"Banging on the floors of random warehouses," Yusuke commented, "seems like fun to me."

"This is where they were supposed to put the breach in the barrier," she said, turning and tapping on another part of the floor. Suddenly a crack appeared and Botan dug her fingers into it, lifting a piece of the floor up. "Bingo!"

We crowded around the hole and peered in. There was a hazy green mist mixed with flecks of radioactive yellow, colors that reminded me of poisonous frogs in the jungle. I'm not sure how far down it went until there was ground, and I felt myself grow uneasy.

"You are going to give us a rope ladder or something, right?" Yusuke asked, swallowing.

"No," Botan replied. "Jumping down should land you safely on the outer bank of the city." She looked up at me and Kuwabara. "You know you don't have to go through with this if you don't want to. No one will hold it against you," she said kindly.

Before we could reply, Yusuke said, "Oh, okay, good bye." Then he shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to leave.

"Not you!" Botan snapped, tripping him with her white boot. He crashed into the floor. "The spirit detective does not have a choice in this. Kuwabara and…" she trailed off, glancing at me.

"Alice," I supplied, trying not to laugh at Yusuke.

"Kuwabara and Alice do," she finished primly, yanking her foot out from underneath an annoyed Yusuke.

"Don't worry about me, lady," Kuwabara said as Botan and Yusuke got to their feet. "I sorta feel like a spirit detective myself now."

"I'm not backing out," I said simply, looking down at the misty hole. "I'm not about to let Yusuke and Kuwabara go alone anyway. They may be stronger, but they're still just kids."

Botan frowned, looking like she was filing that away. I knew that Botan was kind of an air-head sometimes, but she was also incredibly clever. She'd probably figure me out sooner or later. Not that I really minded since I needed to talk to Koenma at some point anyway.

"Are you sure, Alice?" Kuwabara asked, concerned, looking my small body over.

"Shizuru will kill me if you die," I said flatly. "You don't understand because you're younger, but being an older sister is a job that is taken very seriously. I'm sure she could never forgive herself if something bad happened to you. And stop looking at me like I'm going to drop dead at any moment."

He drew back, looking miffed. "Jeez, sorry for caring."

I gave him a wry smile. "I'm glad you care, but you also haven't seen me in action. Don't underestimate me."

He looked defeated. "Fine." He turned to the hole in the floor, expression somewhere between fierce and excited. "For us detectives, there's no turning back!" he cried, jumping in, disappearing into the mist.

Botan gasped, flying to the edge of the hole, with Yusuke, dumbfounded, beside her. "He really jumped," she murmured in amazement.

"Maybe…he'll be okay alone," Yusuke said hopefully.

Botan shot him a dirty look.

"Okay, okay," he muttered, getting ready to jump.

"Ah! Not yet!" she cried, reaching into her coat and pulling out two compact mirrors. "Here! I'm supposed to give you this communication mirror!"

"Jeez!" he snapped, snatching a mirror out of her hand. "You nearly forgot to give me this thing? Lemme guess, without it I'll be killed."

Deciding that I didn't need to leave Kuwabara alone in a city of demons too long, and whatever they were talking about wasn't all that important, I took a deep breath and dropped in after him. I heard Botan shout in surprise above me.

Falling through the mist reminded me of when I died and was floating for ages. I felt Kuwabara's energy nearby and I tried to float toward it. I couldn't see anything past the mist, but I knew I was close to him. Soon enough, I sensed Yusuke in the haze.

And suddenly there was a loud crack of thunder and I was falling, and there was a sharp 'oof' underneath me as I fell on top of someone. Dazed, I found myself staring up at a red and purple unnaturally dark sky. My senses were screaming at me; overloaded with demonic energy. This world didn't want me here. I scoffed, knowing better than to be afraid. Demons feed off fear, and in a world like this, being scared could actually kill you.

I rolled off of Kuwabara and Yusuke, getting to my feet and rubbing my head. They got to their feet, Yusuke cursing, and Kuwabara grunting. We turned and looked up at the castle rising from a small forest. It was hazy, fog surrounding it like a shawl on an old woman. The castle itself had a medieval appearance, but a plane of it stuck out of the sides like arms, and the stand-alone turret looked like a hat. With that, and the eye-like open windows near the top, the castle almost looked like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.

"Well," said Yusuke, "I guess this is it."

There came cracking from the ground, and Kuwabara and Yusuke fell into a taut crouch instinctively. I could sense energy beneath us that felt like a swarm of angry fireflies. The ground split open like broken concrete, and from their holes emerged hooded apparitions. Their hands reached toward us, clawed fingers stiff, eyeteeth flashing in with the lightning. Yellow eyes glowed underneath their hoods, like lanterns in a midnight swamp.

The first one laughed. "Yes, we've found a treat!" he exclaimed in a high-pitched squeal. More popped up around him and the other one, surrounding us. We were cornered. The three of us turned back to back, shielding each other.

"What are those things?" Kuwabara said to Yusuke.

"I'm not exactly sure," he replied, "but they are definitely not friendly."

The first one laughed again as the others clamored around us. "We will dig in!" he yelled, leaping at Yusuke, who pried him off and punched him away.

The three of us were quickly torn apart; wrenched in different directions from each other. They pulled Kuwabara toward a tree, overwhelming him, and they yanked me out into the open, clawed hands scrabbling at me, leaving scratches.

I felt that familiar wave of defensive anger, combined with a yearning to protect us all, and then unleashed a cyclone of viridian energy around myself. The weak apparitions clinging to me were immediately vaporized in my fury. The others stepped back, wary.

I hissed at them.

Before they could do anything else, there was a crack of thunder and a change in the atmosphere. All of us looked up to see a hole open in the sky, spewing lightning, dropping two floating orbs into air. The blue and the red circled around each other, then shot forward over the chaos in a glowing red light, sending waves of powerful demonic energy over us. The surrounding apparitions stiffened, uncertain. The red light hit the tree above Kuwabara and gradually turned a bright electric blue. With that, the apparitions finally had enough and ran away.

Yusuke and Kuwabara straightened as I approached them, glancing over my scratches. They were mostly superficial, so I wasn't worried, but they stung like a bitch.

"Well that worked," Yusuke muttered, examining the tree. "Whatever it was."

Kuwabara and I craned our necks to look up too, and saw Kurama and Hiei standing on a bough.

"It seems you can use some help," Kurama observed kindly.

"If those nothings were too much for you, we're going to have some serious trouble," said Hiei, scathingly.

With a flash of lightning, they leapt from the bough and landed nimbly on their feet before us.

"Well, well, well," Yusuke said, "the thieves." His voice carried a note of pleasure.

"Hello," Kurama said. His eyes slid over to me and his polite expression became unreadable.

"Well, what are you doing here?" Yusuke asked, excited.

Hiei offered an explanation. "Even that fool Koenma knew that it would take more than human power to kill the Saint Beasts," he said disdainfully.

"I suppose this is Koenma's contingency plan?" I wondered. Kuwabara was the only one paying attention to me, and he only shrugged, not knowing the answer either.

"By aiding in this mission, Koenma has assured us we could clean our slates in the Reikai," Kurama said.

Yusuke chuckled, "I guess Koenma heard me complaining. Hey, Kuwabara, lemme introduce you to these guys. That's Hiei, and his name is Kurama." He indicated to the appropriate demons.

"A pleasure," Kurama said. I knew he remembered Kuwabara, but obviously Kuwabara didn't remember him, so Kurama was reintroducing himself for the sake of being polite.

"Well, I don't have a clue what's going on, but it sure is nice to have a helping hand," Kuwabara said.

That comment was enough to annoy Hiei. "Helping is not the right word. Koenma may regard us as equals, but I do not. Once inside the castle, you'd better let us do all the work. As far as I'm concerned, we're baby-sitting."

"Didn't know you were such a workhorse, Hiei," I said, raising an eyebrow.

He scoffed.

"Listen you puny jerk-face, I'm gonna have to beat you up if you keep talking down to us that way," Kuwabara said, clearly irritated.

"Let's avoid fighting. You're not worth it," Hiei retorted airily.

"Oh that's it!" Kuwabara took a swing at him and missed as Hiei zipped out of his way and into Yusuke's face. Kuwabara crashed to the ground.

"But you, detective, are a different story. I plan to take my revenge on you, so consider this fair warning."

"Oh, you wanna ignore me, huh?" Kuwabara demanded, swinging and crashing to the ground again as Hiei moved. I bent down beside him, wondering how to help him without hurting his pride.

"Finish current business before you start your own," Kurama said to Hiei, chiding him.

"Don't worry three-eyes, as soon we get out of this, I'll take you on," Yusuke said, as Kuwabara straightened up without my help, gritting his teeth at Hiei. "Now is this a perfect team or what?" His eyes slid over to me. "Although I don't know much about you, foreign-girl."

I puffed up, insulted. "I'm a Japanese citizen, you know. And my name is Alice."

"What was that thing you did to those …things earlier?" he asked, ignoring my comments. His brown eyes were coolly curious.

"I exorcised them. That's probably the best way to describe my abilities," I said, looking at the sky thoughtfully. "I thought you were too busy to see that. But now you know the results of it anyway."

"So you're some sort of psychic?"

I shrugged. "I get the occasional bad vibe, but I'm not like Kuwabara or his sister. They're way more sensitive than I am."

Yusuke frowned, not fully understanding. He looked me up and down. "You're not a priest, are you?"

I snorted.

"To be honest, Yusuke, even I still haven't figured out the source of Alice's power," Kurama said kindly.

"It's her emotions," Hiei interjected, glancing at me. "I could sense it with my Jagan when you attacked me. Unlike a typical human psychic, you don't tap into your own energy. You use the holy energy that surrounds all humans like an aura, but you use your emotions like tools to mold the energy in whatever way that suits your needs."

Kurama blinked. "Of course. Whenever that divine energy makes contact with a demonic one, the divine one will prevail. That's why you manage to exorcise demons like you do, Alice, because you can control that holy energy that surrounds you."

If you're a little lost, let me explain. Within us and around us humans, there is an aura or a shroud of divine spiritual energy - Christians call it the Holy Spirit, Hindus call it shakti, and if you're agnostic then maybe you'd refer to it as the good in people (if you're an optimist). Whatever you call it, it is a pure and godly energy. It is as much of us as our soul is. Now consider that our creator gave us this energy as a way to ward off evil and protect ourselves. Consider this literally being a piece of God's energy - not necessarily in the Christian sense of God (though that works too), but also as in the entire universal good and love in the world. When that kind of energy touches a demon, an entity so vile and evil and so opposite of divine, the demon does not win. If you're like me and have a measure of control over the energy, you can keep it from killing or stripping the demon's powers, like what I did with Hiei, but it still severely hurts them.

But because this is the only type of energy I can use, I can't hurt humans - psychically anyway.

"That's really interesting," Kuwabara said, giving me an appraising look. He smirked. "So you attacked the midget here?"

Hiei's face was aloof. I decided that I'd rather not piss either one of them off and simply shrugged. "He wanted to measure my powers," I sort of fibbed. Okay, so yeah he was holding a sword to my neck and I felt threatened, but surely he didn't expect me to not retaliate? Obviously he wanted to see what my abilities were like. And probably see what the sword would do to me. Whatever. I still liked Hiei in a wary sort of way.

Kurama chuckled. "I suppose that's one way to put it."

Hiei shot him a glare and Kuwabara looked confused.

"Let's go," Yusuke said, growing impatient.

I gave Kuwabara a smile and started after Yusuke, picking my way through the rubble. The apparitions from earlier had left a huge mess of rock and upturned dirt. I managed to keep my balance for the most part though, but when I had to ease over a small boulder, Kurama appeared and took my forearm to help me down. His intent was clear as I hit the ground and he pulled me to the side. We fell back behind the others as we approached the city and Kurama turned to me, forest eyes giving me a calculative look.

"What are you doing here?" he asked finally.

I completely forgot that we hadn't really talked to each other in ages until I met his eyes and felt my stomach swoop. I looked away. "Volunteering. I couldn't let them go alone. They're just kids."

He shook his head. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. Did you really think that you being here was a good idea?" There was a ring of incredulity and a tone of concern in his voice.

"Stop doubting my intelligence. It's insulting."

His expression became mild. "I apologize, but it's an actual question."

My fists clenched with anger. "Of course I thought it was a good idea. Why else would I be here? Do you have such a problem with my presence?"

"Don't be silly," he said, brows furrowing. He must have been wondering why I was angry. Kurama was always trying to figure me out. "I'm merely concerned for your safety."

I pursed my lips. "Kurama, I have been dealing with demons since I was fourteen years old - that is literally almost half of my life. I really don't think you need to be overly concerned. I appreciate it anyway," I said, attempting some tact.

He sighed. "I'm afraid I can't help but worry. Sometimes I think you need to be scared out of your wits. It would good for you - life-changing even."

"So your problem is that I'm not terrified enough for you? Really?"

"Basically, yes. I feel that you do not value your life as much as you should."

"You're one to talk," I retorted.

He stopped and looked at me, expression caught somewhere between surprise and annoyance. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kuwabara told me all of the details involving the fight between Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei. Kurama happened to be there in just the nick of time to not knock the sword from Hiei's hand, but to actually step in front of it and let Hiei stab him instead. His logic was completely lost on me.

"You're the one that stepped in front of a sword, aren't you?" I returned, keeping my tone even.

His surprise was evident. "Oh, that. I wanted to shock Hiei at the time."

I supposed stabbing your BFF with an evil, demonic sword would be a little upsetting. "I see."

His face took on a disturbed look. "I'm still not comfortable with you being here. I would just prefer you to be out of harm's way."

I turned to him, feeling a serious, burning question resonate through my skull. "Is it because I'm a girl?"

He blinked and then glanced at me. "Alice, I'm quite old, and I have seen women do many great things. There's no doubt that you, yourself, are an extraordinary woman, however…" he trailed off, jaw set in a grim line. "The fact of the matter is that a woman of your size wouldn't be much good in a physical altercation. You are…fragile."

Jesus Christ. "I'm not a piece of glass," I grumbled, glaring at him. I was really angry about the size comment, but it wasn't like I could blame him for my genes. I was born this way, damn it.

He gave me a wry smile. "Of course not."

"And I could take you."

His smile became indulgent. "I'm happy to see your self-esteem intact. Maybe if you were six or seven inches taller, and fifty pounds heavier, and had over a thousand years of fighting experience - you might have a chance."

I turned away haughtily.

He chuckled.

"Well, it's not like you know how much I actually weigh anyway," I muttered. Because I'm skinny, I get uncomfortable when people know how much I weigh. I mean, I know my body is only fourteen, but even when I was a twenty-two year old, I was pretty slim. I got a lot of uncomfortable comments about how I needed to eat more back then, since it was Texas, and everything and everyone is bigger there. In Japan, being skinny isn't such a big deal, since everyone is generally fairly slim. But still, that whole eatmoreeatmoreeatmoreoryourrenotawomanbecauseyoudonthavecurves thing sort of sticks with you.

Kurama cleared his throat. "Actually, I do know your weight. The bathroom scale records it, remember?"

I blinked, seeing the grey digital scale in my head. It's numbers always blinked somewhere around '148' when I stepped on it. Realization hit me that that was Kurama's weight - not just some random numbers. "Oh," was all I said. I felt annoyed with myself.

He smiled. "Ninety-eight pounds is not a terrible weight for someone of your small height. You also run quite a bit, so you shouldn't feel bad if you're a pound or two under the average."

I waved my hands at him. I knew all of this stuff already. Frankly, I would have preferred him to tell me to eat more - this just felt like he was patronizing me. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Shut up."

He drew back, amused.

Yusuke looked back at us. "Quit chit-chatting you two and hurry up."

I gave him a mock salute, which he returned with an eye-roll. Hiei glanced back at us and gave me a smug smirk as we approached him.

"What?" I asked him, feeling uneasy. Did Hiei hear Kurama say my weight? Shit, he probably did - now he'll probably pick on me about it. Time to grow a thicker skin.

"I knew you were tiny, but your weight is pathetic," came the cool remark.

"Die," was my vicious retort.

Kuwabara looked down at me as I came to walk beside him. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing my annoyed expression.

"I get it, okay, I'm a tiny person. I'm short and scrawny, but I really don't understand why everyone in the entire freakin' world has to comment on it," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets and looking back up at Kuwabara. "You know?"

He frowned and glanced back at Hiei. "Is he bugging you, Alice?"

I blinked at him. Kuwabara was getting protective of me? Well, I guessed that wasn't really out of his character, especially since he couldn't stand Hiei. I shrugged and shook my head. "Just blowing off steam. I don't like to hear about my size. I really don't."

Kuwabara gave me an encouraging smile. "Hey, you know what? Just ignore all those people that talk about it. Just because you're small doesn't mean you're any less of a person - you don't need to listen to negativity like that. I think you're fine just the way you are. In fact, if you were in inch taller, you just wouldn't be Alice."

I smiled at him, bashfully. "That's really nice of you, Kuwabara. Kinda just made my day there."

He gave a happy snicker. "That's just what I do!"

"We're getting close," I heard Yusuke say on the other side of Kuwabara. I looked up and saw that we were already half-way through the city. Between Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara, I hadn't been paying all that much attention to my surroundings. The air felt heavy - smothering even. No one was around.

"It's creepy," Kuwabara said, wrinkling his nose.

I nodded in agreement.

We finally came to the castle's entrance. It's opening was a huge jagged mouth, like a carnivorous monster's. It's eyes sat above the opening, looking down and watching us. Whether it was a warning, merely an eccentric door, or both - it was really weird.

"Well, now this is homey," Yusuke said dryly.

"So, guess we're just gonna walk right in?" Kuwabara asked.

Kurama spoke from beside me. "Any prize worth having usually requires a risk," he responded thoughtfully. I wondered if he was thinking back to his Youko Kurama days.

"I say we make 'em come out here and fight us upfront like they're not a bunch of sissies," Kuwabara said, looking determined.

Hiei gave a dry chuckle. "You're sense of strategy is amazing."

"Are you talking to me, runt-boy?" Kuwabara demanded.

Yusuke cringed at the brewing bickering. "Let's go," he ordered before Hiei could retort, stepping into the cave.

We followed after him, down the claustrophobic tunnel, making our way to the entrance ahead. I suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. It seemed like something was supposed to happen here, but I couldn't exactly remember what it was.

There was a fluttering of wings, like a thousand birds taking flight, and a strange shape appeared at the end of the tunnel. A round middle and bat-like wings made up the silhouette, until it came into light. The creature was a dark dreamy purple and had a huge golden eye that took up most of his body. Small tentacles dangled from the round middle like wet noodles.

"Welcome to Maze Castle," the creature said in a high voice.

"Whoa!" Kuwabara exclaimed, looking fascinated. "It talked!"

The creature ignored Kuwabara's outburst. "Those who enter Maze Castle must be tried by the Gate of Betrayal."

Yusuke's expression was grim as he clenched his fist. "What do you mean 'tried'?"

The creature turned and flew out of the tunnel and stopped at the stone wall at the end. A section of the wall opened, revealing a lever. A purple tentacle wrapped around the lever and pulled it down; the creature's golden eye glittering with malice.

The building started to shake, and I looked up to see the stone ceiling rushing down at us.