Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Twenty-five: Zombie

Another mother's breakin'

Heart is taking over,

When the violence causes silence,

We must be mistaken,

It's the same old theme since 1916,

In your head, in your head they're still fighting,

With their tanks and their bombs,

And their bombs and their guns,

In your head, in your head, they are dying…

In your head, in your head,

Zombie, zombie, zombie,

Hey, hey, hey, what's in your head?

Zombie, zombie, zombie,

Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, oh, oh,

Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey, oh, ya, ya-a…

- The Cranberries

After the world stopped spinning, I sat up slowly, taking note of any pain that I had. My ankles were a little sore, but since I just went flying in the air off a bike going forty miles an hour, it was a miracle they weren't broken. My wrist was a little sore too. I must have landed on it wrong at one point during my tumble down the hill. I looked around, but Kaname and Yusuke were nowhere to be seen. I sat about fifty yards from the road in the grass, surrounded by trees. It was quiet, and I didn't know where I was. Maybe if I got to higher ground I would see Yusuke.

I climbed to my feet carefully, making sure nothing was broken. I looked down at myself, but apart from a few cuts and a reddened print where Yusuke had grabbed me, I was completely unharmed. Inwardly, I thanked Yusuke for his quick thinking, and outwardly I started looking for somewhere to survey the area. There was a plateau in the not too far distance. If I went there, maybe I'd find my friend.

I worked my way towards the plateau, staying close to the road, but not on it. I was glad that I didn't wear heels for once. I didn't think that I would have made it if I had. The grass wasn't very high, I noticed. I wondered if this was someone's property, or the city just kept it trimmed. After a few yards, I went from a walk to an easy lope, feeling the strength return to my ankles.

Then I felt the flare of Yusuke's energy and went straight into a flat-out run. It was coming in the direction I was heading, but maybe slightly southwest. I wondered if he were fighting Kaname.

"IF HE'D JUST SHOW HIS PRETTY-BOY FACE, I'D BASH IT IN FOR HIM," Yusuke's voice yelled. I realized that he was probably, definitely mixing it up with Kaname, and I should probably stay out of sight. I crept closer though, cutting through a small section of forest and spotting Yusuke in a clearing. He was shirtless for some reason, and his torso was covered with four bulls eyes. They looked like tattoos against his tanned skin. I slunk behind a tree and watched thoughtfully. I figured it I was watching him, Kaname definitely was, and I should stay away from Yusuke to stay out of Kaname's sight.

In fact, the best place to probably be right now was where Kaname least expected someone to be – behind him. I looked up at the plateau with a new eye, seeing it as a good vantage point for not only a lost directionless loser, but also a sniper with targets.

I grinned and went back into the forest, trying to be as quiet as possible. I looped around Yusuke in a wide arc, glad that there wasn't a ton of underbrush here, and when I got far enough away I started running. I jumped over fallen limbs, climbed rocky hills, and startled more than one small animal. It was actually really fun, but I'd probably enjoy it more if I didn't have to worry about getting caught by Kaname.

Finally, I reached a steep hill that led up to the flat plateau. I started climbing, carefully, picking my way through brush and branches. In the distance, I heard the rumble of a diesel engine and Yusuke yelling in panic and anger, and I hurried faster up the hill. Kaname must be up there. Even if I didn't take him by surprise like I hoped, I would still distract him long enough for Yusuke to do something. It sounded like he was being chased by an eighteen wheeler – I could hear the unsettling sound of trees crashing in the forest, and could even see their tops sway dangerously as I got higher up the hill. What the hell was going on?

I could see the end of the hill in sight, and I slowed a little, careful to be quieter. I climbed to the top, feeling the wind catch my hair, and was not disappointed to see the back of Kaname's red jacket. The plateau was bigger than I thought, with craggy rocks and scruffy, wind-beaten trees. He was standing on an outcrop; arm up, as he looked through a pair of military grade binoculars.

"It's always so much more exciting when they run," he said to himself. He sighed, and I crept closer. His weight shifted and he reached into the back of his jeans and pulled out a silver handgun, possibly a .45, from his waistband. He pulled out a magazine from his back pocket, and loaded the gun.

My heart was literally in my throat as I watched him stick his arm out, aiming at what looked like a fuel truck down below. I saw flashes of Yusuke running from it between the trees and realized that my friend's life was in my hands.

I ran up to Kaname's back and dug my hands into his jacket, intending to swing him around or knock him over or something, but before I could do any of that, the gun went off in his hand.

I froze and heard a distant explosion of the fuel truck blowing up, but I could barely distinguish it from a roaring in my ears. My hands were still fisting into his jacket, and I felt him shift as he turned to look down at me over his shoulder.

"You," he said, slightly surprised. I could feel his lavender gaze on my face. "Shouldn't you be in a hospital?" His tone was curious, unthreatened, and marginally amused.

Suddenly, the gun was in my face, and time stood still for just a moment. The silver barrel glinted in the setting sun, casting an orange glow on it. I could smell Kaname, still in my hands – laundry detergent, his cologne of peppery Burberry, the tangy smell of gun cleaner, and mint. My hands were trembling, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. A long ago memory hit me, a post-traumatic stress response, of a murderer crouching over my terrified twenty-two year old self, pointing a .9 millimeter in my face. A strangled cry left my throat.

"Why?" I asked, helplessly. "Why him? Why me? Why all of this?" I felt my eyes burn as I tried to hold back my tears and failed.

Kaname didn't answer me. Maybe he didn't want to, or maybe he didn't have an answer - all he did was look at me with a touch of pity. Then he opened his mouth. "No name-calling?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "No fighting? I didn't realize you were so weak. I thought you were a girl who could handle anything, but maybe I was wrong. I thought you might have been different from everyone else on this rotting rock."

"Don't compare me to someone like you, you murderer. I've had enough of you," I snarled at him.

He smirked. "Prove it."

The gun pressed into my cheek, and his hand clamped onto my shoulder, squeezing my skin through my t-shirt. I met his lavender eyes with a glare, and wrapped my hand around the wrist that held the gun, pushing his sleeve up. He gave me a curious look, but then I wrenched his arm back, twisting the gun away from me, and sank my teeth into the inside of his wrist.

I felt his tendons tighten against my mouth, and tasted copper as I broke his skin. I bit harder, deeper into his arm. Kaname gave a guttural cry of pain, and shoved at me with his free hand, breaking my mouth's hold on him. I still had his wrist though, and I yanked at his arm with all of my strength, and drove my leg into his ribs. He coughed, but it didn't weaken him. It made him angry, however, and I found myself swung around and flying into the dirt.

Oddly, instead of approaching me to finish me off, he froze. He was staring at something behind me, wide-eyed, and I cautiously turned my head to look.

I gasped. "Hiei!"

His red eyes slid to me, examining me, and I noticed he had Yusuke by the scruff of his neck. I gave a sigh of relief, and Hiei's eyes narrowed on my mouth. His red gaze went back to Kaname, and I wiped my mouth with the back of my arm, cleaning Kaname's blood off of me.

"Who are you?" Kaname asked, still stunned.

Hiei only stared at him with a look of dark loathing.

Yusuke looked up, blinking blearily. He must have blacked out when the truck exploded. "Hiei?" he asked drowsily.

Hiei dropped his hold on Yusuke and took a step towards Kaname. "Don't get sentimental, Detective."

Kaname held the gun up at Hiei's face as he stepped closer and closer to him. I could see the blood running freely down his right arm where I bit him. I had an idea that it would probably scar. "I have no quarrel with you, stranger," Kaname said. "But I also don't mind killing anyone who stands in our way."

Hiei ignored him, moving closer to the gun pointed at him.

"Last warning!" Kaname said, and I could actually see a bit of fear in those lavender eyes. He didn't actually want to kill Hiei, and maybe he didn't even really intend to shoot me. Maybe he wasn't as far gone as I thought. Maybe Sensui hadn't gotten every part of Hagiri Kaname after all.

Hiei continued walking towards him in that slow, deliberate way of his, and I saw Kaname's hand tighten around the gun.

He fired, but Hiei wasn't there anymore. Kaname kept shooting, firing at the flashes of Hiei he saw, firing round after round until –

Until Hiei was suddenly in front of him, driving the tip of his sword into Kaname's chest.

"Hiei!" Yusuke yelled.

"What? Now I'm not even allowed to kill the bad humans?" he demanded. "Hn. It's a few inches from his heart, it that's what you're worried about."

Kaname's arm went around Hiei's neck, holding him there, and his right arm lifted the gun again, pointing it at Yusuke.

"What's the point?" Yusuke asked, eyes blazing.

"No one can stop our justified cause," Kaname replied, breathing hard. He was acting so dedicated, but there was something faint in his eyes, like he just didn't believe in it after all.

Hiei ripped his sword out and Kaname fell to the ground, defeated. Red eyes slid over to me again, and Hiei approached me as I got to my feet. He let me wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck.

"Hiei, y-you saved me…" Yusuke realized. There was a sort of awe in his voice.

"I was worried about the trees," Hiei replied flatly, pulling away from me. A breeze soared over the plateau, carrying a strange metallic tang over the air. Hiei straightened and his expression seemed to soften slightly. "This wind coming in reminds me of home. It's comforting and it soothes me. It tastes like freshly spilled blood and the rotting flesh of decaying corpses." His expression changed as he looked into the distance behind me. "Look at it, the gate to the Makai will be opening soon."

I turned to look and saw where Mushiori sat beyond a few craggy hills. There was a dark, heavy aura about it that crackled in warning. It reminded me of the City of Ghosts and Apparitions, except only ten times worse. "We should probably hurry," I said, glancing at Yusuke. His eyes were hard.

"Maybe I'll return home."

I turned to Hiei in surprise. It was softly said, almost wistful-sounding, and I sort of regretted looking at him immediately. He saw me and gave me an unreadable look.

I understand if you do go back, I thought at him, pushing hair away from my face. You're a demon in the human world. You don't really belong here, I guess.

He made a sound in his chest somewhere between amused and thoughtful. You won't belong here for much longer either, he told me telepathically.

Yusuke suddenly gave a loud curse and punched a hole in the ground. "DAMN IT! I beat Toguro, and after that I assumed that everything else would just be a big old piece of cake. And then some rogue spirit detective has to go and open up the friggin' gates of hell! Gurrghh! And to top it all off, Kuwabara has to get himself kidnapped!" Yusuke stood and started walking down the plateau, weaving with exhaustion.

"You're in no shape to be playing the hero," Hiei remarked, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Well if I don't, who will?" Yusuke demanded, whipping around to glare at Hiei. "Not you, remember? This is our world – not yours?" He indicated to himself and me. "See ya," he snapped, "I have to go save the world again."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Hiei responded, suddenly behind Yusuke with his sword up in the air, ready to strike.

"Hiei!" I admonished.

He ignored me and swung the katana. Yusuke dodged and Hiei followed faster than I could track, and the tip of the steel blade was suddenly at Yusuke's neck.

Yusuke froze.

"For the second time today I hold your life in my hands," Hiei observed. "Somehow I doubt this Sensui will be as merciful as I." He trailed off with a dark chuckle, as if imagining such a thing to happen.

"Kuwabara needs me," Yusuke said, giving Hiei scowl.

"Kuwabara was ill-prepared for them, and look what happened to him," Hiei retorted.

Yusuke suddenly whipped to his feet, towering over Hiei. "Shut. Up."

Hiei's red eyes narrowed. "Do I have to kill you to keep you from being foolish?"

This was definitely brewing into a fight. "Stop it, you two," I told them, fixing them both with a glare. "If you haven't noticed, we don't have time for this."

"You just might, Hiei," Yusuke snapped, ignoring me.

I could feel Hiei's youki spiking. There was an acid yellow glow around him as his energy manifested itself, and his cloak floated off his shoulders. "It's been too long since our last fight," he told Yusuke, ignoring me also.

Yusuke's blue reiki began to manifest as well, outlining him in a glow. He grit his teeth and drew his fist back at the same time as Hiei.

"You ready?" Hiei asked.

"Bring it, bitch," Yusuke retorted as they ran at each other, fists pulled back preparing to strike.

"Hel-lo, am I invisible?" I yelled at them.

Their arms crossed and their fists smashed into each other's faces, and I realized that they were so wrapped up in themselves, they would never hear a word I said.

Stupid boys.

They flew at each other, swinging their energy-enhanced fists, and I turned away from them, scratching my head. They grunted and growled at each other like animals, and I bent over Kaname's unconscious body to check to see if he was still alive. His wrist was still bleeding freely, and I felt my jaw ache as my eyes fell on his wounded arm. I probably should've felt bad for hurting him, but I just couldn't seem to muster up the regret.

There was a bulge in his jacket pocket, and I reached in and pulled out a pack of gum and his keys.

Inspiration suddenly struck me, and I grinned, easily pulling off the right key and pulling out a piece of mint-flavored gum. Kaname's blood still lingered in my mouth, even though I'd spit out all I could. I just really hoped he didn't have any blood borne illnesses, and I popped the gum in my mouth and returned the pack and key ring to his pocket.

I pulled my handkerchief out of my back pocket and tied it around Kaname's bleeding wrist. As I was tying it, I realized it had gone very quiet between Hiei and Yusuke.

I looked up to see Hiei with his cloak back on, and Yusuke standing behind Hiei with his hands on his hips. Yusuke suddenly tilted his head back and laughed.

I guessed the fight went well.

"What are you laughing about?" Hiei demanded, turning to look over his shoulder at him.

"You're so full of crap!" Yusuke giggled. "I don't care," he mocked Hiei, approaching him. "You've been rooting for me, you did all this to help me survive! I told everyone you'd come back to rescue us when we needed you the most, you big softie – or maybe I should say little softie!" he cackled again.

Hiei looked like he wanted to kill him.

"Really," Yusuke continued, sobering. "Thank you. I was needing a kick in the ass."

"Hn," Hiei acknowledged, moving past Yusuke, tossing a glance at him.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? Now that your little secret's out…well now there's no reason…look what I'm trying to say is that I could really use your help on this one," Yusuke admitted, giving Hiei an expectant look. "Kuwabara could really use your help on this one."

"But I hate Kuwabara," Hiei replied bluntly. "You do them one favor and they think you're their best friend. This is why I couldn't care less if their entire species was swallowed up," he continued to himself. He walked away, heading down the plateau, dismissing us both.

I frowned at his back, but he didn't even glance at me.

"If you hate our kind so much, I know of a video tape that might interest you," Yusuke said casually.

Brilliant, I thought at him.

Hiei stopped. "What tape would that be?"

"Oh," Yusuke shrugged. "Just a little snuff film you may have heard of called Chapter Black."

Hiei's eyes widened.

"Now that I think of it, Kurama did say that you tried to get your bandaged hands on it. It's out of print, but Sensui's got a copy…I could get it for you," Yusuke suggested.

"The most forbidden contraband in all of Spirit World? You think they'll let you walk out with it?" Hiei asked doubtfully.

Yusuke's hands went to his hips. "Think about it for a sec – in all the rush of the aborted apocalypse, that stupid tape will be the last thing Spirit World intelligence will be thinking about."

"Heh, you're quite clever when you put your mind to mischief," Hiei commented, amused. His expression changed, and he lowered his head and looked up at something in the distance behind me. "Hey…"

I turned and saw two ginormous winged demons approaching the plateau. I cringed at the sight of them.

"Friends of yours?" Hiei asked Yusuke.

"I assumed they were yours," Yusuke replied lightly.

The demons landed with a pounding crack as they hit the plateau, towering above us like houses. I could tell they were weak, but I really wasn't in the mood to dispatch them. I slipped away from Kaname's prone form and stood beside Hiei.

The demon on the right growled, wide-mouthed, sending a reeking air of sewers and dead things over to us.

"Whoa, somebody needs a breath mint," Yusuke commented, wrinkling his nose.

"We're new to town," said the one who growled.

"We've come to plunder your puny world. Show us your women and human flesh depository!" said the one on the left.

"As you can tell we're hungry in more ways than one!" announced the demon on the right.

I scowled at the pair, and moved to step forward, but Hiei's hand wrapped around my wrist to stop me. He turned to Yusuke. "This means that Mushiori City has advanced to stage three. I believe these demons are technically classified as weak and ugly."

I suppressed a smile and tugged my arm in his grasp. He didn't let go.

The demon on the right stomped his massive foot. "Who you callin' ugly?"

"Get a load of this one – he doesn't even have a single beauty wart on his face!" the one on the left jeered.

"I kind of like that about you," I said to Hiei.

The one on the right narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you a woman?"

I gave him an are-you-dumb-as-shit look, disgusted. Couldn't he tell?

"Oh, no way!" Yusuke teased, giving my shoulder a shove. "She's a guy – you can tell by the way she doesn't have much for tits – ow, Alice!" he complained, rubbing his side where I jabbed my elbow.

"Jackass," I told him. I turned to find Hiei holding his hand in front of him, fingers curled, examining his palm. His stoplight red eyes darted to my chest and up to my scowl. He was clearly thinking about the last time he got to cop a feel.

"Joke's on you, Detective," he finally said, with a smirk. "They're fuller than they look."

"Hiei!"

"Hm," Yusuke said thoughtfully, holding his chin, looking down at my chest. "I guess I'd have to feel them myself to find out."

"Not. Happening," I snapped, moving behind Hiei as far as his grasp on my arm would let me. He dropped his hold when he seemed to deem me safe enough, and turned back to the winged demons, who were looking on in confusion.

"I don't get it," said the one on the right to the other. "Is it a female or not?"

The one on the left wrinkled his nose. "Better not risk it."

"Hey, Yusuke," Hiei said. "I think we've stumbled across a very good reason for me to help. If we don't defeat Sensui, we'll be overrun with these disgraces to the demon race, and I would not enjoy that."

"Yeah, me neither," Yusuke agreed.

The demon on the right's fist went back as he swung at Yusuke. "I'm going to enjoy eating you!" he cried.

Yusuke and Hiei were too fast for me to see exactly what they did, but the two demons disintegrated in a flash of cracking energy.

"As much as I can't stand the humans, I think I loathe tourists even more," Hiei stated, sword disappearing under his cloak.

I rolled my eyes, but ignored the insult, holding up Kaname's key between my fingers. "We should hurry. Let's steal Sniper's bike."

Yusuke blinked at me and his mouth split into a grin. "I like the way you think, Alice. You know how to drive that thing? 'Cause I sure don't."

I bit my lip. "Well, okay, it's been a minute, but I think I can figure it out again. I used to have one when I lived in Austin, since cars are such hassles in big cities. God, it was loads of fun."

Yusuke gave me a confused look and shook his head. "One day you're gonna have to sit down and tell me what you're talking about, but not today. We got places to be. C'mon, I know where his bike is."

Hiei and I followed Yusuke down the craggy side of the plateau, heading around the forest and to the edge of the steep hill leading up to the road. Kaname's 1993 electric blue Honda CBR 900RR was waiting under an oak tree. I ran up to it, and stared at it for a minute.

"Well?" Yusuke asked, one hand going to his hip expectantly.

"Uh," I told him.

"What is it?" Hiei asked, noticing my face.

"It's freaky. One of my ex-boyfriends had this same bike," I answered, cringing, swinging my leg over the seat and sliding the key in the ignition. I twisted the key and cranked the engine. The roar drowned out Yusuke's curious huh, and I focused on remembering where they kept the brake on the damn thing. I finally found it, the gas, and the clutch, and then gave Hiei and Yusuke an expectant look as I shifted the bike and kicked up the stand.

This model was a sportster, meaning that it was really only meant for one person, but if you cared to risk it, you could cram two people in the tiny seat. Yusuke and Hiei exchanged a glance, and it went without saying that Yusuke would be the one joining me on the bike. He swung his leg over the bike and squeezed himself behind me. His arm went around my waist, and I suddenly remembered that Yusuke was very, very shirtless right now.

I tried not to give Hiei a guilty look and instead shifted into first gear, winding my way over to a nearby short road that would get us up onto the main road to Mushiori. Hiei's red eyes caught mine, and then he disappeared. I imagined he would beat us to Demon's Door Cave.

I finally got us onto the winding mountain road and kicked the bike into second, then third, then finally fourth gear. I was shaky at first, but then I fell into the old familiar feeling of driving. I felt Yusuke relax against my back, and he laughed into the wind by my ear.

"This is fun!" he shouted over the engine.

I kicked it into fifth and took the next curve at sixty miles an hour when I really should have taken it at forty. It was tight, and we took a dangerous lean into the center of the road. I grinned and Yusuke whooped, and together we cackled at the road where our brains could have easily been smeared.

We flew down the highway, and didn't meet any other vehicles luckily. Last thing we needed was to be slowed down by some cop or some old lady.

I stayed focused on driving, because I'd been out of it for so long, but once we came to the outskirts of Mushiori my thoughts turned to the boys going into the cave. I wondered if they would let me go with them.

Probably not, I scowled.

We found the cave just by feeling and looking out for the demonic energy it emitted. It took us about thirty minutes to get to the dirt turnoff, where Botan, Genkai, Yana, Kaito, Mitarai, and Kurama waited. Hiei appeared out of nowhere as I downshifted and braked in front of the group. I gave him a surprised look, thinking he would have been waiting for us with the others.

Hiei ignored my expression, and I figured he just stayed back long enough to wait for the show to get on the road.

Yusuke hopped off the bike, and I twisted the key, killing the engine.

Kurama gave the bike a curious once-over, raising an eyebrow at me. "You're committing grand theft auto now, Alice?"

I laced my fingers in front of me and stretched. "You've got to shake things up once in awhile. Besides, Sniper didn't say I couldn't borrow his bike."

"Only because Hiei knocked him out," Yusuke said, tossing me a grin. "You've definitely been spending too much time between Kurama and Hiei."

"You stole a bicycle earlier," I accused.

He held up his hands. "Hey, don't blame your lack of morals on me, kid. I'm not the klepto here, unlike Fox Boy or Bandaged Hands."

Hiei twitched at his new nickname, and I swung off the bike with a roll of my eyes. "Are we going into the cave or not?"

"Not you," Kurama informed me, green eyes swinging over my head to Yusuke and then to Genkai. "I believe it's wisest to storm the cave now, but as Genkai-shishou has mentioned, we should scout ahead for danger."

"I can scout!" I insisted, "I can totally scout!"

"Pipe down, brat," Genkai told me, voice rough with annoyance. Her arms were folded as she looked over the group. "Kurama, Yusuke, and Hiei will go ahead in the cave. The rest of us will wait here."

"Erm, Genkai-shishou? I think it's a good idea if I go down with them," Mitarai said, stepping up, raising his hand slightly. "That cave is a maze, but I know the way to get to Itsuki."

"And why the hell should we trust you?" Hiei demanded, arching a black eyebrow at him.

Mitarai wilted under Hiei's crimson glare, and I felt for the poor kid. Still, Hiei did have a point. I didn't say anything, but I moved beside Hiei and gave him a disapproving glance. He ignored me.

The rest of the group was silent for a beat, until Yana bent down and muttered to Yusuke: "You want me to check him out with my Copy?"

Yusuke's brown eyes were thoughtful, and he waved Yana off, moving toward the very glum-looking Mitarai. Yusuke's hand landed on the blond boy's shoulder, who looked up in surprise.

"You're all right, Mitarai," Yusuke said warmly. "All right, let's get going everyone."

Hiei's red eyes flashed at Mitarai. "You're taking point, where we can watch you," he said in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Yes, Hiei-san," Mitarai responded, biting his lip.

My hand went around Hiei's wrist, and I tugged him around to the other side of the bike, a few feet away from the others. We were still in plain sight, so I turned my back to them so they couldn't see me scowl at him.

"You're being mean," I said.

His eyebrows went up with some amount of incredulity. "Since when am I nice? You seem to be forgetting the fact that not only am I a demon, I am a demon dealing with a traitorous human. Are you as insipid as the rest of them?"

"I'm not asking you to be nice, Hiei, I'm just asking you to not be mean." I bit my cheek so that I wouldn't say anything about him calling me stupid. I really could have done without that, and found it completely uncalled for, but it really wasn't important at the moment. I'd call him out on it later, because I knew that he would find some other way to insult me again.

"I don't have time for this," he told me flatly, brushing past me.

"I understand," I told him, fighting the urge to kick him and storm off. "Obviously you want to make sure he doesn't betray us as well, but he seems genuine enough to me, and I just don't see the point of going out of your way to –"

"Enough already," he interrupted, stopping and giving me a look. It wasn't exactly a glare, but it wasn't soft either. "I'm going now."

"Fine," I told him, jutting my chin and folding my arms. I could feel a wave of rage at being dismissed, and it manifested as a hot prickling in my cheeks.

Hiei gave me an amused smirk and sauntered over to where Yusuke, Kurama, and Mitarai were waiting by the hill that sloped down to the cave. I gave them a wave, ignoring Hiei, and watched them start down the hill. The top of Hiei's head disappeared first, and I felt my stomach flinch a little. Kurama turned to look over his shoulder at me curiously, and then he disappeared into the small valley too.

"All right," Genkai said. "Now we wait for them to come back with information, and then we plot our next move."

I sighed.

Ah, so sorry it took me so long to post this. Hopefully the next update won't take months.

I want to try something interesting for the next chapter. A lot of people have been saying they want to know a bit more about Alice from when the story began, you know, before she died. So I'm thinking that Chapter 26 will be a flashback/waiting around for the guys to save the world thing. I don't really like reading flashbacks, because sometimes they're poorly done, but I'll try to find a way to differentiate between past and present without "THIS IS A FLASHBACK" or "THIS IS THE PRESENT" written like that. Also without an overzealous use of italics. I think I can trust you guys are smart enough to figure out what's past and present in this story.

What sorts of things do you guys want to see from Alice's old life? Family, friends, school, work, when she slashed her cheating ex-boyfriend's tires? I want to write a variety of things so that everyone is satisfied, but I was also thinking about writing one long day out of Alice's old life where everything just sort of happened.

Tell me what you want to see, my gorgeous readers! And thank you for sticking with me for so long. I want to try to have at least four updates in August, so it's okay to pester me a little. Or a lot. Poke me.

My tumblr is wwwDOTkkyokowritesDOTtumblrDOTcom if you want to check that out.

Seriously tell me what you want to see from Alice's past! I live to serve! :D