Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Kill All Your Friends

Well you can hide a lot about yourself,

But honey, what're you gonna do?

And you can sleep in a coffin,

But the past ain't through with you.

'Cause we are all a bunch of liars.

Tell me, baby, who do you wanna be?

And we are all about to sell it,

'Cause it's tragic with a capital T.

Let it be, Let it be, Let it be!

'Cause we all wanna party when the funeral ends.

(Ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba)

And we all get together when we bury our friends.

(Ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba)

It's been eight bitter years since I've been seeing your face.

(Ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba)

And you're walking away, and I will die in this place.

-My Chemical Romance

Everything went back to normal fairly quickly, but I think that had more to do with the black cloud of entrance exams hanging over my head. I started studying extra hard after battle at Demon's Door Cave, and I didn't see anyone for days – although, I did hear that Kuwabara was also making a serious effort to get into an escalator school nearby. I wished him luck on the phone, briefly, and then went and buried myself in Japanese history and classical literature.

"You're squinting again," Hiei remarked from his seat on my bed. He was leaning against the wall beside the windowsill, running some sort of demonic animal hide over his sword. His crimson eyes were fixed on my face, and his mouth twitched in amusement. "Are you positive that perfect human eyesight of yours isn't going to hell?"

I blinked, realizing the room had gotten darker. I switched on my desk lamp and rubbed my eyes, thinking I'd probably just been straining my vision too long. But when I shoved my textbook under the lamp and bent over it, the kanji was still blurry. I sighed and sat back. "How long have I been here?" I asked him.

"Since you went down for breakfast," he answered, his tone flat.

Damn. I'd forgotten to eat lunch again. Getting up, I stretched and bent over to touch my toes, and stayed there for awhile.

"Are you stuck?" Hiei asked after a moment.

"I'm letting the blood rush to my head to oxygenate my brain cells – my brain needs resetting."

"Humans," he scoffed, and I heard him slide the katana back into the sheath. "I really don't understand why you're putting so much effort into these examinations. You already know everything you'll ever need to – after all, you survived in the human world alone before," he said, referring to my past life.

I straightened up slowly, vertebrae by vertebrae, so I wouldn't get dizzy. "I did, but I'd like to do a better job this time around. Not many people get second chances. And anyway, Shiori-san really wants me to get into Niiza – and even though I don't really want to go there, I guess it'd be nice to prove that I could get in the number one high school in the prefecture."

Hiei gave a noise that was somewhere between amused and cynical. "Why do you even care what she thinks?"

"Because she's important to me," I snapped, annoyed that he couldn't seem to grasp the concept of family. He had a sister. And I may have been a bit grumpy from being cooped up all day and missing lunch. "Why can't you just support me?"

"Why should I?" he retorted, stoplight red eyes narrowing in a glare. "You've been wrapped up in these exams for days. You haven't done anything but sit in this dark room, or go to that stupid little school, and read those silly books about dead people. You've been short-tempered and annoying, and you don't have to do this. Kurama isn't bothering with any of this!"

"That's because he's only applying to one school, and he doesn't even want to go – I do. And excuse me for being short-tempered and annoying, Mr. Sunshine, but this is actually a little stressful! Meiou has been a really great school, but I'm touching on scientific things I hadn't even seen in college to pass Niiza's exam! You don't have to be here if I annoy you that much!"

Hiei's jaw hardened. He was gone before I could blink.

I huffed and flung my bedroom door open. Fine then, if he really wanted to be that way, then that was just fine. I stomped down the stairs and went into the kitchen, but Shiori wasn't there. Going around the corner and through the living room, I peered into the study but it was dark and empty.

Eh, she must have gone somewhere.

I went back into the kitchen and turned on the light, deciding to hunt for a bite to eat. I was pretty sure there was leftover rice and kinpira in the refrigerator, and I pulled it out hungrily. When I closed the door, I saw a note from Shiori taped on it.

Alice and Shuichi,

Went over to Katsuya's for the evening. Dinner is in the fridge – be good!

I opened the fridge again and saw she had made a soup we were obviously supposed to heat up. I still wanted kinpira and rice though, so I left it for Kurama to eat.

"Did you have a fight with Hiei?" Kurama asked, slipping into the kitchen behind me.

I shrugged, grabbing a bowl down from the cabinet and putting my food inside. It went into the microwave for a minute. "There's some soup in the fridge," I told him, pulling my dinner out of the microwave when it beeped.

His heavy hand landed on my head and his fingers ruffled my hair. "All right. You missed lunch? Is that going to be enough for you to eat?"

"Yup," I answered, stirring the rice and kinpira together. I noticed Kurama's mouth press together like he was trying not to smile at me. Oh, look at the silly foreign girl, mixing things with her rice! Shiori made that face at me too, sometimes.

"Remember we're skipping school tomorrow to go back down to the cave and interrogate Toguro," he reminded me, knowingly.

"Oh, yeah," I said, having completely forgotten that. Kurama had told me all about how he had trapped the elder Toguro brother in the Sinning Tree at the cave. I wanted to know how he knew my real name, because I had a really bad feeling about it, so we were going down to see if we could get anything out of him. Although, knowing Kurama, I'm sure Toguro would be telling us all of his deepest, darkest secrets.

"Did you want to do anything else tomorrow?" he asked, tilting his head at me. "You look like you could use a break from studying. Exams are only next week."

I shrugged again.

His fingers were in my hair again, this time pulling it away from my face, and twisting it in a braid. "You don't have to work yourself into the ground, you know. I can tell that you're trying to prove something to yourself, but you'll only make yourself angry if you get sick before the entrance exams." He gave my hair an affectionate tug and smiled wryly. "You can relax a little bit, Alice."

"You're looking out for Hiei," I accused, stabbing a clump of rice apart.

"I'm looking out for you," he said tenderly.

I softened. "Maybe we could do something tomorrow then," I mumbled, stirring my food absently. I knew Kurama cared, but I felt like being a little stubborn and giving him a little trouble.

"Why don't you eat some of this soup?" he offered, letting go of my hair and opened the refrigerator to pull it out. It was still in the pot, so he just set it on the range and turned on the gas.

I grumbled at him.

"Oh, that's a demon language," he said brightly, lifting his eyebrows. "I didn't know that you knew any."

"No teasing," I complained.

"But it's especially fun to tease you when you're grumpy," he insisted with a grin.

I grumbled at him again.

The train the next morning to Mushiori was crowded, and Kurama and I got stuck in the center of the car, which made me very hot and irritated.

"Come by the pole," he said, squeezing me past a businessman and a high school student.

I pressed my back against the pole and Kurama formed a barrier around me with his arms. He stood close to me, close enough so that I could feel his body heat and smell the fresh green things he grew, as well as a hint of the laundry soap that clung to his shirt. His chin brushed the top of my head as someone behind him jostled into his back, and I felt my stomach flip at his closeness. He straightened, focusing on something behind me that I couldn't see. Maybe he was watching the city go by.

I tried not to think about how much I wouldn't mind someone jostling Kurama again, and instead turned my attention to Hiei.

Nope. Not a good subject either.

Better to just gnaw on the idea that Toguro knowing my name was a bad sign. I turned it over and over and over in my mind, but I couldn't think of any reasonable way he would know it. Unless Koenma kept some record of my name, and the Toguro brothers broke in and saw it or some sort of shit.

"Don't worry," Kurama murmured, sensing my mood. "It'll be all right."

I sighed.

Soon we got to Mushiori and walked through the small suburb and rural neighborhood that housed the cave. The walk down the hill was short, and I noticed the truck was still there, but Kaname's bike was gone. I guess he found it after all.

It took two hours of trudging beside Kurama and his little glowing plant things before we got to the center of the cave. I saw the underground lake, and noticed the couch and TV with curiosity. Maybe this was where Mitarai watched Chapter Black?

I heard grunting and growling to my right, and suddenly a shrill yell – "Kurama, I'll kill you, you son-of-a-bitch!" – and I whipped around to see the elder Toguro. He looked terrible. There were tree limbs stuck in his face and body. The Sinning Tree was dark, nearly black, and I could feel the murky aura emanating from it. Its limbs were twisted into Toguro's waxy flesh, and lumps ran through the limbs every now and then, like it was swallowing his energy. Toguro's eyes were wide, wild, unseeing – and he was foaming at the mouth like a madman. He spat with every scream and growl. His veins stood out under his skin.

Kurama moved towards him, not bothering on wasting time. I felt his youki spike, and the Tree pulled its limb out of Toguro's head, but it still trapped his body.

It was slow, but his eyes cleared, and he glanced around the cave with a dazed look. "What…?" He looked down, saw the limbs in his skin, and gave such a bloodcurdling scream that I nearly ran out of the cave with every intent of abandoning the reason I came here. His scream lasted for what seemed like hours, and I felt the wall of the cave hit my back. I hadn't even realized I was moving away.

"KURAMA! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME? I'LL KILL YOU!" Toguro roared, eyes bright and wild as he struggled against the limbs. "I'LL SKIN YOU LIKE THE FOX YOU ARE, YOU BASTARD!"

"There will be none of that," Kurama said coldly, and the Tree gave Toguro such a sharp jerk that I heard a bone snap in half.

Toguro contented himself with muttering maledictions, giving Kurama a piercing glare. His eyes fell on me, backed into the wall, and a cackle bubbled up in his throat. "Ahahaha! So the lamb comes to slaughter, does she? Come here, girl – Alice Regnier. I told you there was something special planned for you, didn't I? I'll tell you all about it!"

I swallowed, but forced myself to straighten up and move closer, stopping beside Kurama. "All right. Tell me how you know my name."

"Ah-ah-ah!" He shook his head, mouth splitting into a mad smile. "That would ruin the surprise! No…someone is coming for you. Someone like me – demon not a human – human not a demon – both and none – someone frightful," he dissolved the word into bubbling giggles. "Oh, I want to see it! I want to see your face when he comes! Your fear will be intoxicating."

"Who's coming?" I demanded. Could he even string a proper thought together anymore? He was completely off his rocker – I mean, he was crazy before, but the Sinning Tree really messed him up.

"Hmm…if I tell you, I'll get to taste your fear…but if I don't I won't get a chance, will I?" he mumbled thoughtfully. He gave a bark of laughter, another cackle, and suddenly sobered. "All right," he said darkly, glancing over his shoulder. "All right, all right brother, I'll tell her – yes, it will be amusing, won't it?" His mouth spit into another grin as he bared his stained teeth at me. "Are you ready? Are you ready, Alice Regnier?"

"Yes," I snapped.

"Heeheehee...maybe you don't know his name though? You know who I mean if I tell you what he did, right? If I tell you," he took a rattling breath, "he shot you in the head."

Oh.

Oh.

Oh, God.

Peals of deranged laughter bounced off the walls of the cave, and Kurama suddenly grabbed my elbow, as if he were afraid I would fall over. I could feel the blood drain from my face, the tiny hairs on my arms and neck stand straight up at attention, and my entire body went rigid. Somewhere in the back of my mind, like a little whisper in my ear, getting louder and louder roaring – my mother's voice –

"Storm's coming."

"Alice?" Kurama's warm hand was cupping my face, green eyes searching mine. His brow was furrowed in distress.

I gasped for air. "He's coming?" My voice sounded small, like a child's.

Kurama's green eyes flashed, and his jaw hardened in a sharp line. "I will not allow him to harm a hair on your head," he vowed solemnly.

You can't promise that, Kurama, not even if it's you, I thought, feeling my insides disintegrate.

His head whipped around and he gave Toguro a look of pure ice. His irises were bright gold. "Toguro, tell me about the enemy. Is he a hanyou? What's his name? What are his powers?"

Toguro's mirth stalled and sputtered like a bad engine. "Heh. Hahaha, why should I tell you, Kurama? Are you going to turn me loose?"

His head tipped to the side, and his voice deepened. I could feel Youko beside me. "I can make that Sinning Tree even crueler, Toguro. The things you suffer now will be nothing in comparison to what I can do to you next. Or," he added, straightening, "I can make it more bearable. But you will never be free, Toguro. Not even after I cease to exist. You will be stuck to that tree until the end of time."

"Heehhhh," Toguro huffed. "I have no loyalty to him. That hybrid. You either – don't make me laugh!" he snapped, spittle flying out of his mouth. "That man, that thing – Sakyo wanted him, brother wanted him…not me. Demon world upstart, fell there…years ago – right out of the sky they say. He's a human – he was a human. SLIME! VULGAR CREATURE!" he suddenly screamed, startling me. "Shh, shh, yes, yes, I know, brother…hahahaha…he had some good ideas about how to kill you again, Alice Regnier. Oooohh, the lovely things he said, Hesper Hatton."

So that was his name. Hesper Hatton.

The syllables ran chills up my spine.

"What are his powers?" Kurama asked again, golden eyes hardening.

"Never fought him…" Toguro cackled. "No idea!"

"How did he find out that I was alive again?" I asked, brow furrowing. "How did he know?"

"He was there…at the Tournament…"

A flash of memory hit me. I remembered going home on the boat with the girls, and taking a moment to look around.

I watch others, humans, demons, in-betweeners. There's a load of people leaning against the rails, sauntering about the deck – I think I see Naoto's hair, but he disappears behind a brown-haired foreign man before I can see him properly.

I huff, staring at the foreigner's back, annoyed that he got in my line of sight.

I saw him there and didn't even recognize him. But how could I? It's been eight years since I was killed, even if I pictured his face, I just get senseless shapes and angles. Nothing recognizable. I had only seen him for a few moments after all, and even then I was too scared to really pay any attention to him. His back meant nothing to me. His face was a blur. I only remembered the gun.

Toguro lapsed into laughter again, and then he gave a mad roar. His laughter turned into more laughs and cries and curses, and finally Kurama stepped away and pulled me with him.

"We won't get any more out of him," he said, face dark.

The limb of the Sinning Tree speared itself back into Toguro's forehead, with such viciousness that it stopped him mid-laugh. It was silent for a moment, long enough for us to walk out of the center of the cave, but as we started walking back I heard Toguro's wallowing screams again.

"He was almost useless," I said.

"No," Kurama disagreed. "I can work with this. I think it's wise for us to go straight home." His hand slipped from my elbow to grasp my palm. "I'll keep you safe," he promised again.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I didn't think he could keep that promise.

"Finally, you make sense to me," Yusuke remarked, slumping at the table to stare at me. "I couldn't figure out what you were talking about when you said you used to have a bike in Austin. I thought you always lived here or something."

"Okay, so lemme get this straight," Kuwabara said, folding his arms and furrowing his eyebrows. "You used to be alive until this guy killed you, and then after you were dead, you woke up here in Japan? Alive? And not dead?"

"More or less," I answered tiredly, sipping my cold coffee. Kurama and I were sitting in the kitchen with Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei. Koenma was on the screen of the tele-case, frowning in his toddler form.

"So, Hesper Hatton crossed over here too, following you, and landed in the Makai eight years ago," Koenma surmised. "Because of the kind of humans you both are, he survived the Makai, and warped into some sort of half-breed."

"That seems to be it," Kurama agreed, glancing sideways at me. "We have to start planning safety protocols. It's very important that you don't go out of the house alone."

"Is the house that safe?" I asked, glaring at my cold coffee and wondering if I should just suck it up and put it in the microwave.

Kurama and Hiei both laughed at me.

"Don't tell me you really haven't noticed the extent of the protections and enchantments on this house," Hiei taunted, one black eyebrow soaring. He was still apparently peeved at me about our tiff. "Honestly, how thick can you be? You live here."

Before I could retort with something I'd probably regret saying later, Kurama interjected.

"It's really not that surprising, Hiei. She's just subconsciously gotten used to it after all of these years – she's even added to the layers of psychic protection, although I doubt she was doing it intentionally. Alice, I assure you, this house is probably one of the safest places in the human world. What do you think I've been doing here for fifteen years?" he chuckled. "Certainly not growing plants for gardening competitions."

I shrugged and got to my feet. I shoved my coffee in the microwave and turned it on, ignoring the resurgence of safety talk behind me. They could bicker and think all they wanted, but by the cold feeling in my stomach, I knew I had to face Hatton again one day – sooner or later. And sooner or later, he'd probably kill me. Again.

The microwave beeped, and I took my coffee and slipped out of the kitchen to go upstairs. I knew I didn't go unnoticed – there was a telling lull in Yusuke's sentence as I climbed the steps, but no one said anything to me about staying. Maybe they knew not to pester me. It was obvious I wasn't happy.

My eyes fell on my books sitting where I left them on my desk yesterday, but I didn't want to study anymore. I set my coffee mug down and fell face first in my bed. I didn't move.

I didn't move for a very long time.

Shiori woke me up. Her weight dipped the side of the bed, and I saw she was fully dressed in her work clothes. The sun was higher than it normally was, and I knew I was late getting up.

"Alice, dear, do you feel all right? Shuichi-kun said that you might want to stay home today. You can if you want to, but you'd better rest if you're sick," she said, slipping an earring in her ear and looking me over. "You do look a bit flushed." She pressed her hand on my forehead, and gave a slight smile. "Stay in bed. No studying. I'll try to leave work early if I can, all right?"

"Okay," I murmured, rolling over.

She scratched my back quickly and gave a swift kiss to the top of my head.

Sitka jumped on my bed as soon as she left the room and curled up next to me. He whined softly, but didn't have anything to say. He buried his cold nose in my neck and huffed.

I fell asleep again.

"Wake up," Hiei demanded, and I could feel him hovering over me in my half-asleep state. "I tire of this lethargy. You're only making yourself sick, you stupid girl."

"Shut up," I mumbled, burying myself deeper in my bed. It was warm and peaceful, and I would rather stay in bed than face the world.

"It's only been a day, Hiei," I heard Kurama say. "She's still in shock. Let her recover and she'll go to school tomorrow."

"Won't," I retorted, like a grumpy Dudley Dursley, and pulled the pillow over my head. "Both of you leave me alone. I'm not going anywhere."

Kurama's fingers tickled my side. "You'll go to school tomorrow – and don't think I won't drag you there in your pajamas. Do you really want everyone to see you like this?"

"Go. Away."

I heard a sigh escape from him, and he did. Hiei remained behind. I could feel his heavy glare on my back.

"What are you hoping to accomplish here? If you're stubborn enough to refuse to leave this bed, then you have the vigor to leave this house and live your life. Why are you hiding here like some timid little mouse?" he demanded, digging his fingers into my arm. "Is the human that scary?" he mocked.

I didn't answer him. He didn't get it. He could look through my memories and hear my thoughts and feel my emotions, and he still wouldn't get it.

There is tragedy in having your life cut short. There is tragedy in never getting to see your family again. But what's most tragic is getting another opportunity to live again, only to find death pursuing you in the same exact way.

There is tragedy in knowing that God hates you – so much that he can't even be bothered to come up with another way to kill you.

Frankly, I'd just rather stay in bed.

Kurama forced me out of bed the next morning, as he threatened to do, and I was also harassed, coerced, and manipulated into bathing, dressing, and eating breakfast. I tried to ignore him at first, but you can't ignore a one-thousand year old fox demon. You also can't argue with one. You can yell all you'd like, but you'll just come out of it looking like a bitch.

Such are the powers of Youko Kurama.

After he forced my coat and scarf on me, his hand went around mine and he dragged me to school. I stared glumly at the sidewalk the whole way, ignoring the crisp air and chirping morning birds that I usually liked, and gave a few sad attempts at twisting away from him. His hand was like iron though, so I didn't go anywhere. My mood darkened.

"Morning Shuichi, Alice," Kaito greeted us, closing his novel he had been reading while walking. "It's getting warmer. Nice day, isn't it?"

"Positively wretched," I responded.

Kaito's eyebrow went up as he glanced at the sun peeking over the rooftops, a lovely sunrise honestly, and looked back to me. "Er…everything all right with you?"

"We've had another otherworldly issue come up, but it's nothing like Sensui's case," Kurama answered, finally letting go of my hand as we crossed the school's gates. He smiled at Kaito. "It's nothing to concern yourself with. Although, if you see any strange men, do let me know. Don't get involved yourself, however. I know that Genkai-shishou asked you to never use your territory again."

"All right," Kaito said, giving us a measured look, trying to gauge the seriousness of the situation. He finally let it go and walked ahead of us.

"Try," was all Kurama requested of me as we walked inside.

I brushed him off, switched my shoes, and went ahead of him to the classroom. Hopefully, no one would talk to me. Or look at me. Or call on me.

I spent most of the day ignoring the teachers, scrawling in the margins of my notebook and spacing out. A part of me knew I was being ridiculous. Really, I knew, but I also didn't care. I just wanted to go home and sleep. I wanted Kurama to stop shooting me concerned looks and glares and nitpicking me, and leave me alone.

"I'm worried," he said to me at lunch. "When you got the news that you would have to become a demon to survive here, you weren't quite so upset. What's so different?"

I gave a sharp laugh. "Nothing, Kurama. The same man is coming to kill me. Nothing's different. At least with the demon thing, I had some hope. Now I just know God hates me."

"I've told you that I wouldn't allow him to harm you, Alice," Kurama reassured me, furrowing his eyebrows.

"At what cost?" I retorted, slamming the lid back on my half-eaten bento. I glowered at him. "You think I want you lay down your life for me like some noble knight? He killed me in cold blood then - who knows anything about what he's like now!"

"I would appreciate a little more faith in my prowess –"

"I have faith, Kurama," I said, feeling my patience snap. "But I know you. I watched your fight with Karasu, and I didn't like it."

His face fell slightly. "You know I was in a tight spot for only a short while –"

"Fine!" I snapped, throwing my hands in the air, "Fine! You learn how the enemy ticks by letting them beat you half to death, and then destroy them while barely making it yourself. It makes complete sense!"

"That's not fair," he told me, and I saw a glimmer of anger in his eyes. "I don't rush headlong into fights like Hiei and Yusuke do, because it's wisest to take the time needed to ascertain the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. I don't let them beat me half to death, and I very much resent you saying that. Hiei said this before, but I'll say it again – you are not a fighter, Alice. Do not presume to tell me how to win my battles."

"You're right. What the hell do I know?" I muttered, snatching my bag up and stalking to the door of the rooftop.

His hand slammed it shut as soon as I twisted the knob.

"Calm down," he said, holding the door with one hand. I gave it a resentful yank, but I couldn't even get it to budge. "Alice, just calm yourself."

"I can't calm down!" I yelled, trying to glare, but I felt my trembling mouth betray me. "How am I supposed to be calm when Hesper Hatton is back from the dead and trying to kill me? How can I be calm and watch history repeat itself? How the hell can you stand there and tell me to be calm! How dare you! How dare you –" I was suddenly pummeling every inch of him I could reach, feeling my eyes burn, and he just stood there and took it and took it, and I just…I just -

I just broke.

"It isn't fair," I sobbed against his chest. "It isn't fucking fair!"

"I know," he said gravely, wrapping his arms around me. "It isn't fair at all."

I cried harder; big, ugly heaving sobs that nearly tore me in half. Sobs that no guy would ever in his right mind find attractive, and I knew that I was ruining Kurama's uniform with my face, but I didn't care. I didn't care. I just wanted to cry and scream at the unjustness of it all, of how fucking unfair it all was.

And Kurama just let me.

"Cry as much as you want," he said, holding me tighter. "I know you're angry. I know you're sad. But if you cry it out, maybe you'll feel better."

I don't know how long he held me.

Maybe it was just a few minutes, or it could have been hours or days or weeks, but I eventually was able to pull away from Kurama and wipe my face off. He offered me a handkerchief to finish the job. The front of his uniform was wet, but he reached for the hem, gave it a snap, and it was suddenly dry again. He must have burned it off with his youki.

"Do you want to just go home?" he asked.

I nodded. I didn't feel like sitting in class with a puffy face.

He glanced up at the sun. "I have a club meeting, but I can call Hiei over to walk you back. I'll just let them know you went home sick."

"Okay," I mumbled. "I'm going to wash my face."

He ruffled my hair and opened the door for me, letting me in the warmer school. He hung back to fetch Hiei, and I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. With any luck, the swelling would go down quickly, maybe even before Shiori got home from work and saw it. I pressed on my eyebrows and under my eyeballs, trying to drain the lymph nodes there. Maybe if I took an ibuprofen it would go down faster.

I gave up, dried my face and hands off, and left the bathroom.

Hiei was standing outside in the hallway, waiting for me. I nearly jumped with surprise, because it was so obvious that he didn't belong inside the school, and my eyes darted around to make sure the corridor was empty. Thankfully, everyone was supposed to be back in class now.

"Come," he commanded, grasping my wrist and pulling me to the stairs. "Kurama said that you had to change your shoes."

I let him tug me to the genken. I went to my locker and silently traded my school shoes for my street shoes. I pulled my messenger bag across my shoulder, and followed Hiei out of the school and onto the street. The walk back home wasn't very long, but we passed the café on they way back and I snagged his cloak to stop him.

"Can I go in here for a minute?" I asked, peering in through the window. The line wasn't very long.

He sighed. "If you must." He leaned against the brick wall by the entrance and folded his arms, watching me open the door.

"Do you want anything?"

"I don't like coffee."

"Fine," I muttered, going inside.

I stared at the menu board on the wall as I got in line, and debated on what I really wanted. I think I just wanted caffeine, and something warm, so I considered an americano, which is just espresso and hot water. But I hadn't had a vanilla latte in awhile either. Maybe a little sugar to perk me up was called for. After all, when you're sad, you should eat sweet stuff to make the sadness more bearable.

The guy in front of me turned to look out of the window, and my chest seized with shock when I saw his profile.

"Sn-Hagiri?" I cried, backing away, grasping my bag's strap.

He was wearing his uniform – a deep black blazer, blue tie, and khaki pants. His bag was slung over his shoulder, and his hands were shoved in his pockets. He jumped a little when I yelped his name, and his lavender eyes went wide.

"Oh," he said, relaxing. "It's you. What are you doing here?"

"This is my neighborho – Hiei!"

Hiei materialized in front of me, smirking at Kaname, and I heard the tell-tale sign of metal sliding together as he drew his sword under his cloak. "Oh, look, it's the shooting human – come back to learn another lesson?"

Kaname's eyebrows went up. "Just getting some coffee."

"Don't pull your sword out, Hiei," I murmured, stepping behind him to whisper in his ear. "Koenma will kill you if you cause a scene."

Hiei scoffed, and I heard the hilt hit the sheath. "I thought he lived in Mushiori City."

"I do, but I go to school at Yugato High." Kaname was staring at me, probably wondering why I had such a puffy crying face.

"Thought I recognized the uniform," I muttered to Hiei.

"What are you, her keeper or something?" Kaname asked Hiei, mouth twisting in a smirk. He looked back at me. "Don't tell me you're dating this guy."

"It's none of your business," I told him flatly.

He shrugged, and stepped forward as the line moved up.

"We're leaving," Hiei commanded, catching my wrist and pulling me to the entrance.

I dug my heels in the floor. "But, coffee!"

"You have it at home."

"It's not the same!" I protested. "Look, he's not doing anything, so can I just wait in line, please? You can wait outside if you want."

Hiei glared at me. "I don't like this. I don't like him." He let go of my wrist though. "You have ten minutes." The door slammed shut behind him.

I got back in line behind Kaname, who looked back at me with a semblance of pity.

"Are you sure you should be dating a guy like that? Did he make you cry or something?" he asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"I'm not dating him," I answered, folding my arms. "And what do you care anyway?"

"Just guess I don't like seeing girls get pushed around – even if it's you. But it's not like I hate you or anything. We just got off on the wrong foot when we met. Although, I'm kind of annoyed that you didn't put more gas in my bike."

"Ah, so you did find it. How did you know that I drove it?"

"Girly handkerchief around my arm," he answered casually, pulling the sleeve of his blazer up to show me the inside of his wrist. The wound I left on him was jagged and bright red where my teeth cut into his skin. There was yellow and green bruising around the bite mark, which was knotted and swollen under his blotchy skin. It would probably, definitely scar.

"You pointed a gun at me," I reminded him. Which triggered a PTSD flashback of my death.

"Yeah, I did." He dropped his sleeve and shoved his hands in his pockets, slouching slightly. "Sorry about that."

I blinked in surprise at the small, but sincere apology, and swallowed a lump in my throat.

"You're not gonna cry anymore, are you?" Kaname's mouth went up in a smirk.

"I'm not," I insisted. "I just…there's a lot of stuff going on again. I feel like I can't catch a break."

"Oh, yeah?" he asked. He glanced at my red uniform. "Well, I guess you do have entrance exams, huh? Those are stressful."

"Yeah," I agreed, checking the line ahead of him. This was starting to weird me out a little, how we were talking so normally. I half-expected him to take a swing at me. "What year are you in?"

"My second – my third in April," he answered. So he was a junior, almost a senior – well, he was about seventeen. He gave me a curious look. "So what else is bothering you? Besides your bossy bodyguard."

"It's a long story." I watched the line move up in front of him, but his lavender eyes stayed focused on my face. "It's probably going to end up badly, and I'm probably gonna die. You know the kind of world I live in." I didn't try to force a smile, but I felt my expression lighten up. "Thank you for asking, though."

"Is it really that serious?" His eyebrows went up.

"Yeah."

"So, someone trying to end the world again, or something?"

"Not that major. Just some guy hell-bent on killing me," I said with a shrug.

"Why?" he asked.

I tossed my hands in the air, splaying my palms to the ceiling. "Who knows? I think he's probably just a serial killer who's very fixated on me. He turned up again recently, but like I said, it's a really long story."

Kaname stared at me for a moment with an unreadable expression. "That's pretty serious. But," his eyebrows lifted slightly, "you've got a good team on your side. They beat Sensui, after all."

"Can I help the next person in line?" the barista called.

Kaname glanced at her. "Medium caramel macchiato for me. What about you?" he asked me.

"Uh, no, I'll pay for myself," I told him, warily.

"Don't think I'm some guy with bad manners, princess. Come on, I'll buy your coffee to make things up to you." He waved his credit card at me. "Pick something."

"Is this a trap?"

He grinned. "Wow, you're paranoid."

The girl at the register gave a long-suffering sigh. "Miss? Could you please tell me what you want?"

I gave in. "Just a small soy vanilla latte, please."

"Just a minute," the barista said, taking the card from Kaname's hand and swiping it through the register. She handed it back to him and went to start the order at the espresso machine.

"You really didn't need to do that," I told him, putting my wallet back in my bag.

He shrugged. "I do what I want." His lavender eyes went to my bag and he held out his hand. "Gimme your phone."

I lifted my eyebrows expectantly and passed it over to him.

He fiddled around with it and pulled out his own phone, and with a beep between them both, he faced my phone to me so that I could see the screen. He had exchanged our contact information via infrared. His name, number, and email stared back at me.

"Delete it," I said flatly.

"No way," he replied, flashing a smirk at me and shoving his phone back in his school bag. He gave my phone back to me. "It's much more fun if I can annoy you through email. Besides, you might need my help or something."

Before I could vehemently deny that, the barista called our order out, and Kaname shoved my vanilla latte under my nose. I grasped it, brushing his fingers, and immediately jerked away.

"Definitely paranoid," he remarked, hiding his smirk with a sip of his coffee.

The café door was flung open, and Hiei stepped inside the doorway to give me an impatient glare. "Alice, if you're done, let's go."

I tossed Kaname a scowl and crossed the café, grabbing Hiei by his cloak to tug him outside. "I'm not thanking you!" I called over my shoulder, letting the door slam behind me. The cold air pierced through my blazer, and I moved closer to Hiei for his warmth as we made our way down the street and left the café behind.

Hiei didn't say anything for a moment. Then, eventually, "He was flirting with you."

"...How was any of that flirting?"

His stoplight red eyes cut to me. "Are you really that dense?"

I pursed my lips and raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"

"Tch," he scoffed, irritated. His hand slipped around my wrist possessively as we walked down the street, and I let him pull me along faster.

"You're in a hurry," I remarked.

"You seem to be in a better mood," he said, retorting with a remark of his own. "Perhaps Sniper should take you home."

"And here I was thinking that you might not be a jerk today," I growled, twisting out of his grasp. "But I guess that was too much to ask for."

He caught my arm again and pulled me close to him, pausing on the street. "Stop it. You know I didn't mean it."

"Hiei," I began, working out the words, "I'm tired of this, okay? I don't want to deal with your barbs and mean words. Everything you say to me is cruel." I felt the tears I had been holding back spill over, and I knew I was being hypersensitive, because I knew he didn't mean half the shit that came out of his mouth, but it still hurt. "I just don't want to fight with you," I told him, wiping my face.

His eyes narrowed, his jaw hardened, and his hand tightened painfully around my arm – but then he let go and his face relaxed. "Fine," he replied, emptily. "Let me take you back to the house, and I'll leave you alone."

"I never said to leave me alone." I grasped his wrist as we started walking again.

His mouth twisted in an unreadable expression. "You're spoiled. Sniper called you a princess – maybe there was something to that."

I gave up. Nothing nice would come out of this man's mouth. I should have known better.

Hiei apparently caught that thought. "I can't make you happy. I know that. I'm not Kurama. Maybe it's time for you to figure that out for yourself."

"Kurama doesn't make me happy either," I told him flatly. The house was around the next corner.

"He could if he wanted to."

"Maybe you could too, if you wanted to," I retorted, partly to be cruel, partly because it was true.

"You're far too optimistic," he responded, watching me jiggle my key in the front door and push it open. He swept in after me and shut it quietly. "If I could make you happy, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We wouldn't have this agreement. You would be with me because you want to be, and you would be on your way to becoming a demon and going to the Makai."

I dropped my bag on the floor and kicked off my shoes, ruffling Sitka's fur as he came to greet me. He would have normally gone to greet Hiei too, but he didn't. I turned and saw the expression on Hiei's face and I figured out why.

His tone had been mild, but his face was livid.

"Is this your way of punishing me?" I asked him, quietly. "Because you think I'm making all the wrong decisions? Because maybe you finally admitted to yourself that it's me who's using you? Do you think that I'm that clueless to not notice that we're fighting more and more?"

"What are you talking about? Making the wrong decisions? You're not making any!" he snapped. "You just want to cower and cry and feel sorry for yourself! I loathe this weakness in you! I despise this self-pity! And I've told you before, I'm using you, you stupid, idiotic girl!" He sneered at me. "You think you're cruel? You're far to weak to be cruel. If you can't handle me, then you certainly can't handle Hatton."

"If you hate me so much, then why are you still here?" I demanded, stripping off my blazer and throwing it on the floor. "Is it because I put sex on the table? If that's why you're still around, I have to tell you, I'm not in the mood."

"Don't be foolish." He clenched his fists again and looked away. When he looked back at me, his face was marginally softer. "I'm still here because I can't stand to see such a strong woman bend under the hands of fear and despair. Your strength was what attracted me to you in the first place. If you really let it disappear like this, I'll be quite disappointed in you."

I felt my back straighten a little, and my heart grow warm. "Oh. I see."

Hiei's mouth pulled a frown and he sighed. "Are you aware of your situation now?"

"You mean the situation where I'm cowering and pitying myself?" I asked drily. "I guess. You made it clear enough, Hiei, but I won't apologize for being scared of someone who killed me. I shouldn't have to."

"I'm not asking you to," he said shortly, crossing the foyer. His hot hands wrapped around my forearms. "I don't understand it, but I'm not asking for an apology. I just want you to find your backbone. You see, this would be the ideal time for you to become a demon."

I gave a hundred-year sigh. "I don't want to talk about that."

His stoplight red eyes narrowed. "Do you honestly think I care what you want and don't want to talk about?"

"I'm not having this conversation," I snapped.

"You will –"

"Goddamn it, Hiei! I swear to God, if you are seriously going to bring this up now, I will never, ever –"

"Don't threaten me." His tone was cold, and his hands tightened around my arms in warning. "You know how I well I respond to threats, Alice. If you want to kick your heels and behave like a spoiled brat, then that's fine. Just don't expect me to treat you like an adult."

"I'm not behaving like a spoiled brat," I told him, forcing my tone to be clear and even. I let my arms hang limply in his hands. "I'm trying to tell you something, and you aren't listening. I don't want to have a conversation about becoming a demon. I have exams. I'm not even sick yet. I'm busy."

"Excuses," he snapped.

I felt my temper flare. "Well, sorry they're not good enough for you. I'm trying to stay human for as long as I can, okay? Does that make it clearer? I have no intention of becoming a demon until I'm good and sick."

His hand slipped from my wrist and rested at the base of my skull. His thumb traced the underside of my jaw. "I don't understand this masochism," he said flatly. "Why the hell would you want to stay human?"

"It's not masochism," I snapped, jerking my head away from his hand. He didn't allow it though, and the twist I gave to get away from him was useless. His grip tightened around me, and he pushed me against the wall. "It's not masochism. You've just never understood this, Hiei. Never."

"Maybe not," he answered scowling, boxing me in with his arms. "Maybe you've never explained it either."

I didn't like being cornered. "Let me go," I said, pushing at his arms. "I don't like being trapped here like this."

He hesitated, but finally stepped away.

I sunk down to the floor and looked up at him. His hands were loose by his sides, and his eyes bore into mine. His face was a little drawn, and I knew he felt as tired of fighting with each other as I did.

"Let's just stop fighting," I told him, bringing my knees to my chest. "I'm tired of it. I wanted us to have fun together, not be at each other's throats all the time."

"Do you think I want it to be this way?" He dropped down beside me, bending his knees and propping his arms on the loosely. "Stop acting like you're a victim. You're not – not in this relationship, not with Kurama, and certainly not with Hatton. You could be a demon if you chose, but you refuse. You make your own decisions. You're in control of your life, so just stop this pathetic self-pity. I hate it."

I sighed, dropping my forehead against my knees. Maybe, maybe Hiei was a little right. After all, my self-perception wasn't complete shit – I knew that I hadn't been taking anything well lately. Or ever. I was actually notoriously bad at taking things in general, now that I considered it.

"I'm scared," I said to my knees.

I felt his warm fingers skim my slumped shoulders. His body was suddenly pressed against mine, and his breath tickled my neck as he sighed. "You can be scared," he told me, and for some reason I felt a rush of relief, as if his permission to be scared mattered. "But don't give in and cower like a little girl. You're best at being stupidly brave."

I sniffed, trying to hold back my tears as I picked up my head and looked at him. "I'm sorry." I could feel my eyes burning and my nose was stinging, and he was just staring at me with a look of surprise. "I'm sorry I wasn't myself. I'm sorry I wasn't stronger, but I'll be better now, Hiei, I promi-"

He kissed me. Not hard, but earnestly, like he was pleased with me. His kiss was firm and stable, and I was reminded all over again that Hiei was my rock – he'd been my rock since the Dark Tournament. He may have cut me down when I wasn't just right, but he always built me back up to perfection.

His mouth made me feel alive again, and I felt the kiss change from a reaffirmation of whatever was between us, to something more needy and desperate.

His tongue slipped into my waiting mouth, and I met him with a moan. His hand traced my thigh, grasping it tightly as he deepened the kiss. I ran my hand over his body, slipping my arm under his cloak, digging under his shirt –

Hiei caught my hand suddenly, and pulled away.

I gave a growl of frustration.

He cracked an amused smirk. "We have the next two hours to ourselves. No one will be coming. It's the first time we've been alone since the Tournament."

I realized he was right. I frowned uncertainly. "Kurama will notice if we do it here."

"No matter where we fuck, he'll smell it on you for hours," he pointed out. "It doesn't matter to him anyway – he rejected you, remember?"

He was right about that too. Kurama didn't have any interest in me, and I remembered the original plan for getting with Hiei was to get over Kurama. I did feel like I was being slightly manipulated though, but at the same time – didn't I want this? Isn't this what I signed up for?

Did anything really matter?

Hiei's head dipped, and his mouth was on my neck, working the length with his hot tongue. I gave a shudder, and remembered that I had been very, very sexually frustrated for a very long time. That mattered to me.

My fingers curled in his hair. I couldn't say that this was exactly the best idea, but I was tired of being prim and proper Minamino Alice. I'm Alice Regnier, for fuck's sakes. I eat men for breakfast.

"Let's go up to my room," I gasped, as his teeth sunk in my neck in a vicious love-bite.

"Finally," he growled.

OHAI

Uh, so I'm not dead...

Quality writing just takes a shitload of time to accomplish. I wrote this chapter three times.

THREE.

Anyway, I hope that you really, really liked it. And yes, just to reiterate, Hiei and Alice are legit bangin' each other now. I wonder how this will affect things? (I really do, I have no fuckin' idea, I haven't written anything in the next chapter yet.)

Could you guys answer some questions for me? I think it would help the writing out a lot. (Copy/paste in a comment if you want?)

1. ZOMFG, DID YOU LIKE THAT TWIST? HUH? HUH? TEEELLLL MEEEE!

2. Are you satisfied with the limey-ness? Lemons aren't allowed on FFN, which I think is total bullshit, but I've worked hard on this fic, and I don't want to risk it getting taken down, you know?

3. Did you find the flow of the chapter all right? Particularly Hiei and Alice going from fighting to -ahem- not?

4. Are you a broken-hearten fan of My Chemical Romance? (Maybe, they'll get back together someday?1)

5. Did you like the portrayal of Kaname? They didn't give a whole lot to go on in the series, so I just tried to use the speech patterns of the English dub, and researched Sagittarius men.

6. Were you able to really, really feel Alice's emotions as your own?

7. How did you like the description of Toguro's current situation? He's kinda crazy, huh?

8. Can I be your belated Valentine?

I wuv you gais. You are all my sunshines! Thank you for reading this and supporting me, and look forward to the next chapter!

Love,

KKYOKO

P.S. I'm still on Tumblr. The link is on my profile page! Let's be frands in other places too! =3