Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Twenty-six: Left Ey3

Caught my man cheatin', now I'm rolling through the west side,

'Bout to burn his fucking house down like I'm Left Ey3,

(Rest in peace!)

Like I'm Left Ey3,

(Rest in peace!)

'Bout to burn this motherfucker down like I'm Left Ey3,

Heard my man was cheatin' with another bitch at my house,

Now I'm finna make a scene like I'm Amy Winehouse

(Rest in peace!)

Amy Winehouse

(Rest in peace!)

'Bout to burn this motherfucker down like Amy Winehouse

I'm 'bout to run up in this bitch with choppas like I'm Patty Hearst,

Stylish, but violent,

I'll leave you in a tinted hearse,

In my purse I got that .22 to get the job done,

V-nasty whips the ghetto way, you know how I mob son,

I'm Lorena Bobbitt chillin' in your bed,

I'm Britney Spears on hella drugs and I just shaved my head,

Fuck the feds and the police,

Ain't nobody touchin' me,

Thelma and Louise,

Suicide girl thuggery

-Kreayshawn

Botan and I were sitting in the back of Sensui's truck when we saw the cloud that had been hanging over Mushiori disappear. I set aside Kaname's English homework, inspecting the purple night sky, as Botan hopped out of the truck and whooped.

"Easiest avoided apocalypse yet!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "You're welcome, world!"

"Hate to piss on your parade," Koenma said, appearing in the clearing. He was in his teenage form with a serious expression in his brown eyes. "But the end is still near."

"Ah! Koenma!" Botan said, startled. She calmed, approaching him.

"Activity in the psuedospace has quieted down, like in the eye of a storm, giving us two hours before the final stage," Koenma explained.

"What?! We were told two days! You can't keep changing the ETA!" she complained.

"It's not a subway, Botan, it's highly volatile."

Botan gave him a thoughtful look. "You left so urgently without explaining…what happened in the Reikai?"

Koenma indicated to his mafuuken. "I had to get Dad's permission to use this. I'm going in the cave after Yusuke and the others – you stay here and wait for the signal, okay?"

"Signal?" she asked, and I realized I was nervously tapping Kaname's pen against my knee.

"If there's an earthquake in two hours, that means the kekkai has been broken and the tunnel is complete. If that happens, get out quick, fly to the Reikai and inform my father," Koenma ordered, turning and approaching the cave.

"Yes, sir," she answered, worried.

"Goodbye, Botan. Goodbye, Alice," Koenma said, sounding like a man certain to never see us again. He clenched his hands and grimly went into the cave.

"Be careful!" I called after him from the bed of the truck. He didn't respond, or make any acknowledgement that he heard me, and disappeared into the darkness.

Botan's shoulders were hunched over as she wrung her hands thoughtfully. "So Koenma is finally going to remove that pacifier…" she muttered, turning back to me. "I wonder what that will do?"

"Looks like we've still got a wait ahead of us," I told her, digging through Kaname's book bag. I found it in a small compartment under the seat of his bike, and I'd been nosing through it for the last two hours. There wasn't much else to do, unless you counted the Gameboy in the truck with dead batteries, so I'd been steadily working through the mountains of half-finished worksheets Kaname had. I could tell he was smart by the work he had actually done, but not very dedicated. "You wanna do Sniper's history homework?" I offered, holding out a worksheet to her. "You might remember some of this stuff."

"Oh, Alice! How old do you think I am?" she demanded, taking the worksheet and skimming it. "Oh! I know this! Give me a pen!"

I did, not bothering to hide my wry grin.

6:50 AM, Thursday, November 4, 2010

Austin, Texas

I yawned, pouring myself some coffee in a to-go cup. I had just finally finished my graveyard shift at Waffle House, and now I was on my way out the door before someone could ask me to work for them on my day off. It happened almost every day. I checked my phone and saw it was six-fifty. If I hurried home, I could take a quick catnap and a shower before I had to be at the bait shop at eight o'clock.

Marjorie hurried up to me, an older woman in her fifties, and I already knew what was going to come out of her mouth. She'd been trying to shirk off and push her shifts onto Amanda and me ever since we started here. She was also a really shitty waitress, only taking the tables with people she wanted to wait on, and then barely touched her sidework. I didn't know why she even bothered to have a job if she wasn't going to show up and do it. She pissed me off.

Her mouth opened. "Alice, baby, can you cover my shift Saturday night? I gotta go see a friend of mine."

"Marjorie, you know how many goddamn jobs I have – I don't have time to do yours too," I snapped at her, not feeling any sympathy for her. I was tired and didn't care if she told Megan, our manager, that I was being a bitch to her. And I knew that she just wasn't going to see a friend, she was going to a bar. It was a Saturday night in Austin she wanted, and I wasn't stupid.

I didn't wait to hear her reply, and stormed out of the diner, shrugging on my jacket as I did so. My motorcycle, a fire-engine red 2008 Kawasaki Versys, sat in the back waiting for me. I shivered as a cold wind cut through me, glad the ride home would be short, and remembered that motorcycles didn't typically have cup holders. Mine, for instance.

I frowned at my coffee cup, realizing that I was still used to having a car. I'd just gotten my bike a week ago, used, for $3,000, and I was still bringing too much stuff with me. Well, maybe if I carefully wedged the cup between my pelvis and the front of the bike it would work. Home was only a mile away. I would have walked to work, but I had to come in at eleven o'clock last night, and walking around alone at night in any big city isn't a great idea if you're a girl.

I climbed on my bike, stuck in the key, unlocked it, and cranked the engine. At least it would be warm for a bit, even though I was just going down the road. I shoved the cup between my thighs, glad for the extra warmth. I hated winter.

I shifted into first gear and left the parking lot, moved into second gear, and whizzed down the street at about thirty. My apartment complex was past an Exxon, a Whole Foods, and an elementary school. I stopped at a red light, downed half my coffee, and wedged it back onto the seat when the light turned green. I moved to the right lane and turned off the street. My apartment complex was just a bunch of your average, generic brick buildings. There were five buildings, and mine was the closest one to the street.

Swinging into the assigned parking space in front, I killed the engine, locked the bike and grabbed my coffee cup before it could fall on the ground. It spilled a little on my hand, but it wasn't that hot anymore. I climbed off and gave the seat a pat, and hurried into my apartment. I couldn't afford to run the heater, so I figured a hot shower would be good to warm me up. Teddy greeted me as I closed and locked the door, yowling and winding around my legs, demanding breakfast.

"You have food in your bowl," I told him, glancing at it on the kitchen floor. I picked him up and cuddled him, and he bore it patiently. "One day, Teddy, I'm going to make kitty stew and use your soft, soft fur as a pillow case," I said lovingly.

He gave a soft growl and I let him go. He dashed away and disappeared under the kitchen table.

I finished my coffee and dropped the empty cup in the trash in the kitchen on my way to the bathroom.

A nice hot shower sounded delightful.

It felt like days after Koenma went into the cave that Genkai, Yana, and Kaito returned. Kaito had an unconscious Amanuma in his arms, and I thought the boy looked very small and fragile.

"Oh! Thank goodness you're back!" Botan exclaimed running up to them. I climbed out of the truck bed and away from Kaname's homework to go inspect them as well. "Give me a full report! How did it go?" she asked.

Yana answered. "We made it halfway down. No one on our side was hurt."

"Urameshi and the others should have reached Sensui's hideout by this point," Kaito continued.

"Oh, dear! I almost forgot – Koenma-sama has gone into the cave too!" Botan said.

"Yes, we passed him on the way back up here," Genkai replied, thoughtfully.

"He had such a determined look on his face! He said he might remove his pacifier for this!" Botan added.

Genkai frowned. "Wow, have things really gotten that bad?"

"Yes," Botan answered. She kneeled in front of the old woman. "So tell me Genkai-shishou, what happens when Koenma-sama removes his pacifier?"

Genkai shrugged. "Beats me."

"Huuuhh?" Botan demanded, crestfallen. "Oh, poo! I thought you knew!"

"What happened to him?" I asked Kaito, pointing to Amanuma.

Kaito shifted Amanuma's weight in his arms. The kid didn't look very heavy, but Kaito (who didn't appear to be in incredible shape) had been carrying him for a while. "Let me set him down and I'll tell you."

He followed me to the truck bed where I dropped the tailgate for him. Kaito set Amanuma down gently and stretched his arms out. He took his time, and I got the feeling that he sort of liked making me wait. I kept my face clear of annoyance.

"Well, Shuichi certainly showed his cruel side today," Kaito said casually, stretching his left arm across his body. He let it drop to his side and adjusted his glasses. "I didn't realize that he was so capable of killing children. Even ones who are not so innocent." He looked at Amanuma and frowned.

"Kurama's capable of a lot of things," I told him, watching Amanuma's chest rise and fall with each breath. "Cruelty is at the top of the list. But I know he didn't want to kill the kid, because he's also capable of great kindness."

"Two sides of a coin," Kaito remarked. "That man, Koenma, he brought Game Master back to life."

"Ah, I was wondering about that," I said. "Usually when Kurama kills someone they stop breathing."

Kaito gave an amused smile. "Game Master did it to himself really. Shuichi just made him realize his life was at stake by virtue of his psychic powers. I believe you've mentioned before that Sensui doesn't care about his minions. This was only further proof."

I sighed. "Jeez, Kaito, you make me sound like some kind of psychic."

10:05 AM, Thursday, November 4, 2010

Austin, Texas

"Hey babe, can you file this for me?" Jim asked, handing me an expense report for last month. I took the papers from him, skimming it, and turned to the desktop, trying to fight a yawn. "Dad wants this done before noon. I'll make some more coffee – you look like shit."

I scowled at my boyfriend, but he disappeared into the break room before he saw me. Jim always pushed his work on me – like I didn't have enough of my own to deal with. And his dad wanted this done by noon, which was total bullshit because filing this would take at least half the day. I knew his dad wouldn't have handed this off this morning if he wanted it done today. My guess was he gave it to Jim to do yesterday, and Jim put it off until he could make me do it.

Ugh.

I minimized the window for the orders our customers were making, and opened a new Excel file. Filing the expenses wasn't a hard task – it was data entry at its most basic form – but it was time consuming because I had to go through receipts of payment and orders and ugh. And it was boring. Luckily, James, Jim's dad, already tidied the receipts and forms.

I spent the next few minutes flipping through the stack of pages, entering the information in utter boredom. Actually, you'd think it would be a relief to give my mind a break after waiting tables, but honestly it just made me sleepy.

A chime cut through the silence in the office, and looked down and saw Jim's iPhone. A text from a Marissa popped up.

Sounds familiar. Do I know a Marissa? I wondered, yawning. I added in another line of data, and the phone chimed again.

Marissa again. Apparently she had a lot to tell Jim. I swear I knew a Marissa. Hmm, she was probably just a friend of his, and maybe she was ranting about something. Jenna had a tendency to rant and rant and rant via text when she was mad. I did too, as a matter of fact. I added another line to the report.

Wait – wasn't Marissa the name of Jim's ex-girlfriend?

I seized the phone, squinting at the screen. Jim had blocked his texts from showing up on locked screen, so I swiped the phone open, but was met with a demand for a password.

Suspicious, I thought. I put in his debit card pin number, having remembered it from the one time he lent it to me to fill his truck up.

It worked.

Hey sexy i just want u 2 no i had a great time wit u last nite. She work tonite 2? I want u 2 come over 2 my place again. We should get back together dont u think?

My knuckles were white, I noticed.

"What are you doing?" I heard from the doorway.

I looked up and saw Jim looking at me with a frown. His eyes fell on his unlocked phone in my hand and he went pale. "That's not yours! What the fuck are you doing, Alice?"

"Are you shitting me right now, Jim Stevenson?! You're making me that girl?" I demanded, shoving his phone in his face so he could see the text messages. "You're cheating on me!"

He ripped his phone out of my hand and shoved me. "So what if I am?!" he yelled. "You're never around! All you do is work! What the fuck do you care, you stupid bitch?!"

I felt a strange mixture of rage and relief. He did it because he was lonely, not because of me, necessarily. But also, I was sort of glad that he fucked up, because he was such an asshole.

But right then, the rage making my head swim controlled me. "How dare you blame me! Excuse me for having to work – my daddy doesn't pay all my bills!"

"Most people don't have four jobs! I don't even know why I started dating you – you never go out, you're boring, and I'm sick of listening to you whine all the time about how tired you are! You're a lazy fuck in bed too," he sneered, towering over me. "Go ahead and cry, bitch. I know you want to."

I laughed at him. "You want to talk about lazy fucks in bed? Do you really want to go there? Because you're the shittiest, most selfish fuck I've ever had. Did you know that I'd rather use my vibrator than your tiny dick – any da-"

"Shut up!" he shouted in my face, hands wrapping around my shoulders as he gave me a violent shake. My teeth clattered together under the force. "You shut your fucking mouth, you goddamned bitch!"

I couldn't believe this was happening. "Let go of me, asshole – ugh!"

Jim shoved me into the wall – hard. "We're over, bitch. You hear me? Get the fuck out and don't come back here again!"

"Who'd want to?" I shot back at him, pushing him aside to grab my bag. "Enjoy finally doing your own fucking work, you worthless piece of shit."

Jim raised his hand like he would hit me, but he blinked, as if fighting against his foggy anger, and his fist tightened but dropped to his side. "Get the fuck out," he said simply.

I pulled my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my coat, and shoved past him as I left the office, making sure I hit him extra hard with my shoulder as I stormed out. He didn't say a thing.

How could I date such a douche?

The sun was bright outside, warming me as the icy air cut through my jacket. I shouldered my bag and stood on the sidewalk for a minute, wondering what I should do. I'd not only just lost my boyfriend, but also a rather lucrative job. I sighed, scanning the street, and then stopped.

The Starbucks sign across the street winked at me.

Okay, then.

Darting across the street when it was finally clear, I opened the door and slipped inside. It was busy and warm, and smelled of wonderful roasted coffee beans. The squeal of the steaming wand cut through the murmurs of the customers, as a barista made a latte. I stood in line with two goals in mind.

"How can I help you?" the friendly barista asked. She had a bright smile, glossy brown hair under her hat, and her nametag said "Jenna" – the same name as my best friend. I took it as a sign.

"Can I have a small soy mocha and job application?"

She blinked. "Sure, well, actually, we do our applications online now. You just go to our website, click on the careers link, and follow the process from there. You know how it is – everyone is doing everything online now." She grabbed a small cup and a Sharpie. "Okay, soy mocha. No whip, right?" I nodded. "All righty, what's your name?"

"Alice."

She smiled. "I'll remember that. I loved the movie – both of them, and you even look like her! So after you apply, just go ahead and call up here the next day, and say Jenna recommended you, okay?"

"Fantastic," I told her with a grin.

"Okay, this will be ready in a minute," she said brightly. She handed the cup off to her coworker, and I stepped out of line to the pick-up area.

The guy who made my coffee was slim, with big hipster glasses, and looked really adorable in his green apron. He gave me a sweet smile as he handed me the cup. "Here, Alice. It's hot, so be careful, okay?"

To my horror, I felt my eyes and sinuses burning with unexpected emotion. I managed to hold the tears back, but judging by his surprised expression, I think my eyes were still kind of watery-looking. "Thanks," I told him.

"You're welcome," he replied, looking kind of concerned.

I left the shop before I could really make a big fool of myself, and went down the street until I found the local playground. I collapsed on the swing and sipped my mocha. The bitter espresso was covered by the sweet chocolate, and it slid down my throat like warm honey, radiating a sweet heat through my limbs. I swung half-heartedly, not really wanting to get my bike from the parking lot down the street and head home yet. The cold air felt nice on my still stinging cheek anyway.

My phone rang. I dug it out from my bag on my lap and saw it was my mom.

"Hi," I told her, carefully trying not to sound depressed.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" I asked, chuckling slightly.

She sighed. "Mother's intuition, and I also called to see if you wanted to bring something for Thanksgiving. I know, I know, it's still early, but you know that I like to plan the menu in advance. I already got the turkey, but if you want, I'll grab a Tofurkey for you. I know you can't carry much on your bike, and honestly, I don't know how you haven't cracked your head open on that thing. Did you want me to do that?"

"Yes, Mama," I said, sniffing. It felt nice to have her nag me. "How's everyone? I haven't talked to Ann in awhile."

I heard some clinking in the background, and I pictured her moving around in the small kitchen. "Oh they're all right. Cathy, baby, get Mama her keys, and tell Daddy Alice is on the phone."

"Mama, I wanna talk to her too!" I heard my littlest sister whine.

"All right, all right, Cathy wants to say hi." The phone was silent for a second and then I heard my sister giggle.

"Hi!" she said brightly. "You're gonna come over for Thanksgiving right?"

"Yep!" I responded, smiling at her tiny voice. "Have you made any turkey art yet?"

"Mmm, we did in school. Miss Sanders made us for the classroom, even though we told her we were too old for that baby stuff."

"Hey, I like doing that baby stuff!" I told her indignantly. "If I'm not old enough for it, you definitely aren't. I mean, what are you, six?"

"Eight!" she growled, and I heard her stamp her foot, I swear.

"Okay, calm down, I'm only teasing you," I said, laughing. "What's Ann doing?"

"She's over at her friend's house, but she wouldn't let me go with her, stupid meanie head," Cathy sulked.

"Y'all still fighting a lot?" I asked.

"They're driving me crazy!" my mother called in the background.

"Mom!" Cathy complained. "You're driving me crazy!"

I laughed. "Can I talk to Mama again?"

Cathy gave a whine. "But I wanna talk to you! When are you coming over again?" she demanded.

I thought about it. "I think I'm free next Sunday. Do you want me to come over then?"

"Yes!" she yelled in excitement. "Alice is coming over Sunday, Mama! Oh, here's Daddy!"

The phone fumbled, and I heard my dad. "Hey, kiddo. What are you up to?"

"Just drinking one of them there fancy pants lattes from the Starbucks," I told him. "What about you?"

He laughed. "Not much, just had to fix a fence your mother's whack job of a horse kicked over. She's got some powerful legs, even though she's getting up there in age. As a matter of fact, I'm getting up there too."

"Yeah, you are pretty old," I teased. "But wisdom comes with age at least, so it ain't all bad."

"Nah, I think I'm getting dumber. Wasn't all too bright to begin with, but as your mama says, it's a good thing I'm pretty."

I cackled, and heard my mother and sister laugh too. "Okay, I guess I'll see y'all Sunday then."

"All righty, kiddo. Miss ya, love ya, be safe, well – you know the drill."

"Okay, Dad, back at you," I said. "See y'all."

"Bye!"

We hung up, and I felt a lot better somehow. I tipped my head back and finished my drink, hopped off the swing and dropped the empty cup in a trashcan. I unlocked my phone and called Jenna next, leaving the park and making my way to the parking lot where I parked my bike.

"Jim's an asshole," I said when she answered the phone.

She made an exaggerated confused noise. "What? Really? What made you think that, boo?"

I told her what happened in rapid-fire speech, not censoring a thing, cursing like a sailor as I stormed down the street. No one really looked at me, or paid much attention. I reached the parking lot feeling hot and angry.

"I can't believe that. It's completely ridiculous," Jenna said, sounding furious. "I'll bring some wine over. Are you home?"

"I will be in a few minutes," I answered, furrowing my brow. "It's only eleven – shouldn't we wait until later?"

"Fuck that, it's wine-thirty," said my biffle.

I cackled. "There's a reason I like you."

I was really beginning to get bored when the earthquake happened. I'd finished Kaname's homework ages ago, and sat on the bed of the truck brooding about Hiei's snubbing. I didn't know what his problem was. First he was all, "Oh, I kinda dig you", and now he was all, "Oh, now I'd like to dig a hole for you and bury you in it." Probably not literally, but I guess you never really know with demons.

'Course I'd kinda like to bury him in a hole. The jerk.

Botan had already left for the Reikai to report to King Enma, following Koenma's orders after the earthquake. After the world stopped shaking, I joined Genkai, Kaito, and Yana by the cave entrance, pulling my jacket tighter around me.

"How much longer do you think we have?" I asked Genkai. I could feel the bubbling energy of the dimensional tear spill out faster. The youki of the Makai tainted the air, twisting in the cold breeze. I wrinkled my nose, swearing that I could smell blood.

"Any minute now," Genkai answered. "Be prepared. Anything can happen."

A huge gust of wind suddenly blew up from the cave, sending a strong wave of youki and spirit energy around us. Genkai actually fell to her knees and I instinctively grabbed her arm before she fell to the ground completely.

"Are you okay?" Yana and I asked at the same time.

"Hope you're studying boys," she said calmly, getting to her feet and straightening. "If you couldn't sense that, then get yourself some wind chimes."

"Then that force was Urameshi's energy," Kaito observed.

"Yeah," Genkai answered. "It was Yusuke's, Sensui's, and Kuwabara's all mixed into one. And someone's about to pop."

I concentrated, stretching my senses, trying to differentiate between the different energies. It wasn't easy, because they were miles away in a confusing labyrinth, but if I focused hard enough…I could pick out Hiei's fiery youki…

Sensui's energy popped out at me next. It was unfamiliar, alien, and golden like web of a banana spider. There was something of the Hierophant in his aura - authoritative, conventional, and knowledgeable.

I could sense Yusuke's powerful aura next. It was bright, humongous, rude and impertinent.

Kuwabara's energy slipped over my senses. There was the usual sunshine to it, although it seemed slightly dimmer than it was at the Dark Tournament. Now it seemed a little like a chrysalis or a flower bud, and from that I figured that Kuwabara's energy would be the one to pop, as Genkai put it. It was building up inside of him.

Kurama's earthy blend of youki and reiki lit up in my mind next. There was something quiet about his energy – not necessarily dormant, but rather like he was thinking very hard and quickly. I could almost see his clenched fists in my mind, and a frown on his face.

There were two other energies there, one demonic and one human, but they seemed to be beyond my grasp. I was guessing the human one was Mitarai. The other one must have been what's-his-face. Itsuki? Was that it?

I came back to myself for a moment, feeling someone's eyes on me. Genkai was staring at me, and she gave me a knowing smirk.

Something suddenly burst from the cave though, Kuwabara, Sensui, and Yusuke all mixed up together again. I watched the smirk slide off Genkai's face, as her head whipped around to the cave, brown eyes widening.

I sensed it after she did.

Yusuke.

Yusuke's aura disappeared.

8:57 PM, Thursday, November 4, 2010

Austin, Texas

Jenna and I drank an entire box of chardonnay, ate an entire pan of brownies, and we annoyed my neighbors by blasting Taylor Swift, Adele, and Alanis Morrisette and bitching loudly about Jim for hours. She let me cry, and she threatened him, and she made fun of his tiny penis after I told her all about it. She listened to me and gave me a manicure, copying a polka-dot nail tutorial she'd found on Youtube. Then we lay on my couch and watched Legally Blonde three times.

"We're out of wine," I noticed, staring blankly at my empty glass.

"Wanna go to the store?" Jenna asked, sitting up, pulling her brown hair in a ponytail. I could tell she was starting to get restless, so I agreed. Neither of us was drunk, so we locked the door and slipped in her car outside.

"There's a Whole Foods down the road," I told her, rubbing my face as I watched her start her Mazda.

She wrinkled her nose. "I don't wanna pay $80 for a box of wine. HEB is only a few miles away. Hey, do you have any frosting? Because I am PMSing like a motherfucker, and I just want to eat a can of chocolate frosting. You feel me?"

"I know that feel," I replied, grinning. "I don't have any frosting though. Yeah, let's go to HEB. I've never seen a can of Pillsbury at Whole Foods in my whole life. I have to get Teddy some noms anyway."

"Nom, nom, nom, nom, babies," Jenna replied, absently, turning onto the street. "Also, I'm kinda getting tired of Legally Blonde. Let's watch something depressing next, like Sweeny Todd."

"Dead Poets Society," I suggested.

"AH!" She yelled, hitting the steering wheel. Her blue eyes blazed as she stared at me. "I love, love, love that movie! Let's get some popcorn. You don't have class tomorrow, do you? What about work?"

"I called everyone and told them Jim died," I said.

"…Did you seriously fucking tell your bosses your boyfriend died?"

"Yup."

Jenna crammed her fist in her mouth to stifle her laughter, but it didn't work. "Oh. My. God. Alice, I fucking love your face." She cackled for about two whole minutes, and I lost control with her, burying my face in my knees – laughing so hard, I cried.

And kept crying. For about five minutes. And then I started laughing again.

Jenna suddenly slammed on her brakes, jerking us to a stop in the middle of the street. The car behind us honked angrily and I looked ahead to see the road was open. Jenna was peering out of the windshield, narrowing her eyes at something in the distance. "Hey, is that fuckface's truck?"

I turned and saw the parking lot outside of a bar. Jim's truck was indeed there, souped up cherry red Dodge Ram dually, innocently sitting high off the ground. His recognizable pin-up girl window sticker stood out against his heavily tinted back window. I always told him his back window was too tinted, and he'd get a ticket for it one day. You couldn't see a goddamned thing out of it.

"Yeah," I answered Jenna. The car behind us got annoyed and whipped around us, using the shoulder. The driver flipped us off and zoomed away in the black Mustang.

The corners of Jenna's mouth widened. "I have a knife."

"A sharp one?"

"You wanna see how sharp it is?"

I smiled. "That truck's his baby, Jenna. It would just be terrible if something happened to it."

"Oh, but it would be wonderful if we were the ones who did something terrible to it," Jenna responded, using the same sickly-sweet tone I did. "I ain't afraid to go to jail. How about you?"

"Let's fucking do it. It's dark. I know for a fact that place doesn't have security cameras."

"Really? How do you know?" she asked, taking her foot off the brake and pulling into the parking lot.

"It was in the newspaper after someone got mugged here last week. It's not enough time for them to install cameras even if they wanted to," I told her, bouncing in my seat with excitement. "Come on! Let's fuck it up!"

"He'll know you had something to do with it," she said, thoughtfully.

"He won't have any proof. And you'll be my alibi. We can't go to the HEB though, since it's in this direction. If the police see us on their cameras around this time they'll be able to pin it on me. But, if we go to the Walmart a couple of blocks away from my house, we can probably pull it off. It's in the opposite direction anyway."

"And I'll still be able to get my frosting – it's win-win," Jenna agreed. "If I ever need to murder someone, I'm calling you."

I laughed.

We parked next to Jim's truck, and Jenna opened her glove box, pulling out a bone-handled hunting knife the size of a fucking machete. She grinned and handed it to me. "You should do the honors."

I pulled the cover off of the blade and slipped out of the Mazda, patting the huge tires on Jim's truck. "Sorry, honey," I said to the truck. "You're real pretty, but I'm gonna have to make your daddy suffer."

With that, I sunk Jenna's knife into the side of the tire, above the rim. The sudden hiss of air made me jump, and I gave it another vicious stab before I moved on to the next tire. I dragged the knife against the side of the truck for good measure, leaving a white line and destroying the pretty red paint job. I slipped around to the other side of the truck, and stabbed the other two tires quickly, making sure to stay low and out of sight.

I threw myself back into Jenna's car, slamming the door behind me, and she casually drove out of the parking lot humming a jaunty tune. I watched the Dodge sink lower to the ground in the side mirror and smothered my laughter, squirming in my seat. "I can't believe I just did that! Oh my God, Jim is going to be so pissed off! Do you know how much those tires cost him?"

"I can guess," Jenna said with a raised eyebrow. She grinned at me. "Don't you feel better now?"

"Oh, hell yeah."

We gathered at the mouth of the cave - Genkai, Yana, Kaito, Botan, Shizuru, Keiko, and me. We stared into the yawning entrance as the dark sky changed into a lighter indigo behind us, bringing the scent of morning dew. After Yusuke's energy flared up again (youki, this time), the SDF's appearance, Botan and Mitarai's return, and Shizuru and Keiko's arrival, I knew that somehow everything was okay again. A lot of things had happened, but I think we all knew that it was finally over – especially when Sensui's and Itsuki's energies disappeared.

There was a sound from the cave – heavy footsteps – and we all tensed in anticipation.

Kurama and Kuwabara appeared first. Kurama seemed cool and collected, not a hair out of place, and not a tear in his clothes. It looked to me that he hadn't even really been in a fight. His green eyes brightened when they fell on us, and I suddenly felt awkward. A part of me wanted to run up and throw my arms around him, and another part of me thought that it would be stupid, so I just kind of stood there.

Hiei was on Kuwabara's back, which made my heart stop for a minute, but I realized that he was just asleep. He and Kuwabara both looked like they'd been through the ringer. Their clothes were torn and dirty, and Kuwabara looked like he wanted to just take a nap already.

Koenma was a little worse for wear, but like Kurama, his clothes were in tact. He seemed tired too.

Yusuke's hair had suddenly grown down to his legs, and he was covered with tribal markings. I realized then that his demon side had awoken, which explained the youki. His energy signature was almost similar to Kurama's now. Yusuke was missing his shirt, his jeans were torn and full of holes, and one of his sneakers was gone.

Botan cheered as Keiko flew past me and threw herself at Yusuke. His arms wrapped around her waist as he hauled her up against him, and his mouth pulled into a gentle smile.

"Oh, Yusuke!" Botan exclaimed as we crowded around them. "Always stopping my heart! Although, it's not usually because of makeovers…what happened? I'm having flashbacks of Rando."

"Man, I would kill for my hair to grow that fast," Yana said with a sigh.

Kaito adjusted his glasses. "Those marks…are they tribal incantations?"

"Is this a press conference? Give me a break, like I know how this happened." Yusuke's face was pleased though. He suddenly froze and looked away. "Hold those thoughts, guys, I gotta take care of something."

Footsteps from the cave again, and this time the members of the SDF appeared, looking like they meant business. They scowled at Yusuke, but turned their attention to Koenma.

"It appears not everyone feels this case is resolved," Kurama murmured.

"Koenma!" the captain said. "You know the Reikai will not overlook this treason!"

"Treason?!" me and Kuwabara demanded together.

"You have disobeyed my orders – delivered directly from your father to erase that boy! You've let the Mazoku emerge, fully knowing what that could bring. You'll take responsibility and come with us."

"Yes, I'm no fool, Ootake. I realized what the consequences would be," Koenma said, soberly.

Yusuke scowled right back at them. "You stupid tools! Think you can hide behind your uniforms and push decent people around? Look, I don't start fights with the defenseless, but you're starting to piss me off and that's a whole different thing! And since you're all new here, let me give you a tip – threatening the guy who helped save us will definitely piss me off." Yusuke's fists clenched. "Koenma did what he could to help, and if getting rid of you is what it takes to protect him, then I'll kill you all – one by one."

His words frightened the SDF, and the captain paled and stiffened up like a corpse. After a moment he said, "I'd love to accept the challenge, but sealing this hole takes precedence. Let me personally assure you – this isn't over! Soldiers!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" they cried and then they all turned into balls of light, disappearing into the cave.

"Sorry, was that a little much?" Yusuke asked Koenma.

"Not at all, Yusuke – took the words right from my mouth." Koenma smiled.

The sun finally stretched tendrils of yellow over the morning horizon, and we all turned to look at it.

"I've missed that sun," Yusuke said.

"Yeah," Kuwabara agreed.

"Matter of fact, I think I'll find a hammock." Yusuke stretched and started his way from the cave.

"So, Urameshi, you gonna look like that from now on?" Kuwabara asked as we followed him.

"Good question. Hell, I don't know," Yusuke replied. He stopped, noticing that Keiko was lagging behind with a strange smile on her face. "Keiko, if you really love that cave so much, we'll swing by later."

"Hold on, I'm coming!" she said, running up to him. I turned away, smiling.

"Hey Botan, you wanna carry Hiei for awhile?" Kuwabara asked, glancing at her.

"Absolutely not!"

"Come on, he weighs like two pounds!"

I giggled. "No, you should keep him Kuwabara! It looks like you have one of those teddy bear back packs – except shaped like a Hiei."

Kuwabara rolled his eyes. "Well, I gotta set him down some time. I've been carrying him for like two hours. Sis, you gonna make us some breakfast? I could really use some waffles."

"You used up all the flour to make papier-mâché the other day, remember? What were you trying to do? Make an entire ski resort panorama?" Shizuru asked, lighting a cigarette.

"I told you – I had to make a volcano! You know, for science!"

"Yeah, and you still have to clean up the kitchen, you brat. If you think I'm going to clean that mess you made for you, you got another thing coming."

"I just saved the world!"

"And that makes me your maid, how?"

"Gah! Sis, you're so annoying!"

Botan laughed, turning to me. "Siblings are so fun to watch. I really do think we should all have breakfast together though! Alice, we could stop by the supermarket or a bakery or something, right?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. We can get some doughnuts and fresh bread. Shizuru, do you have any coffee?"

"Yeah, but no one better complain when they see the kitchen. Seriously, Kazuma destroyed it the other day. He's lucky that I've been working so much and haven't been home to yell at him."

"Somehow, you still manage to yell at me every chance you get, sis."

Someone bumped into my shoulder, and I glanced up and saw Kurama smiling down at me. "Will you make French toast?" he asked.

"Sure."

10:30 PM, Thursday, November 4, 2010

Austin, Texas

My phone rang. Jenna gave me an expectant look from the couch, and I peeked at the screen and saw Jim's name. "It's him," I told her.

"Answer it! Answer it!"

I slid the phone open and held it to my ear, forcing my voice into a calm tone. "What the hell do you want?"

"You bitch! You slashed my fucking tires! I'll fucking strangle you! You just wait until I get my hands on you, Alice! I know where you live, where you work, and where your sisters go to school! You think you were smart to get revenge on me? You thought wrong!" he screamed.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've been with Jenna all night. If you want to keep threatening me though, I can call the police and file charges against you. Would you like that?"

"Yeah, act like you don't know a fucking thing! You're so stupid, Alice, you think the police will believe you? I just broke up with you, so obviously you're mad at me for that, huh?"

"Wow, someone's full of himself. Look, don't fucking call me anymore. We don't have anything to do with each other and I don't care about you or your lame ass attempts to make me pay attention to you. Leave me alone."

"Hey! Don't you dare hang up –"

I hung up the phone and Jenna and I doubled over in laughter.

Disclaimer: You really shouldn't slash your ex-boyfriend's tires. You can go to jail for it. Or pay a huge fine.

Yay! The plot is rolling along. I have to work out a few things for the next chapter, but I think I know how it will go. As you may have noticed, the rating has gone from T to M. This chapter in particular was kinda 'M' in my opinion - especially the scenes with Jim in them. He's a huge asshole. Readers, if you have a partner who treats you like that, please consider leaving them. I did imply that Jim was at least often emotionally abusive to Alice, and I hope you know that emotional abuse is often just as bad as physical abuse. This chapter was only a small snapshot into their relationship, but unfortunately, it was often like this. Alice couldn't recognize it for what it was for a long time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave me a little note - you guys know how much I love to hear from you! Tell me what your plans are for Halloween! Are you dressing up? Are you inviting me over to your house for your super popular party? ;A;

Also, I've been thinking about making a VIDEO to answer questions. So if you have any questions about Alice Alive, or me, or whether you just want some advice about something (I'll do my best), leave it in a comment! As soon as I get enough, I'll make a video out of it and post it on my Tumblr.

My Tumblr is www dot kkyokowrites dot tumblr dot com.

Love you, my cute little munchkin-bears!