Oh my goodness, thank you to everyone who has commented and appreciated the story so far! I realized I haven't said anything about the wonderful and beautiful comments everyone has left and I appreciate everyone who has been here for this story! It makes me so happy everytime I read the comments and to see such an amazing support network for this crazy adventure Ella has been enduring. Thank you for sticking with me through all of this :)

It wasn't terribly surprising that Hiei was not a morning person. The boy who slept minutes at a time and could wake on a dime was a grumpy little hedgehog when he was woken up in a real bed. It was honestly a little cute.

I chuckled as he turned over with a grumble and gathered my uniform and my basket to go get ready in the bathroom. Kazuma was playing music in his room so I took advantage of being the first one to get ready in peace. When I came back, hair tied in my signature braid and my stupid little sash in my pocket, Hiei was sitting on the edge of my bed running a hand through his hair. My heart skipped at how domestic the sight was.

"Good morning sleepyhead." I put away my bathroom bin and listened to the bathroom door close. Kazuma must have realized he was about to lose out on hot water if he didn't get moving. Hiei grunted at me and rested his hands behind him to stretch his back. I smiled and collected my homework, making a note to complete my worksheet in my first class and work my two essays through lunch.

Glancing around the room for anything I might have missed I saw his sword and jacket resting on the small trunk that mostly held my costumes for dance and material to make ones for the future. It looked right, his things in my room. I didn't comment for fear of him backtracking or getting nervous but my heart was racing and my stomach felt warm.

"You're welcome to hang out here while I'm at school if you'd like. There isn't much to do but I have a decent book collection and it might be a nice change from the woods." I offered, shoving a pair of clothes and my sneakers into my backpack for meeting up with everyone tonight.

A warm hand on my shoulder paused my prepping and I turned to face him. His hair was still sleep-tousled and sticking in the wrong directions. I raised my hand, giving him enough time to stop me, and when he didn't I combed it upwards with my fingers.

He leaned in and pressed his lips lightly to mine and I thanked my stars that I had brushed my teeth before breakfast instead of after. When he pulled back I curbed my disappointment and felt my face heat up.

"Assuming we all survive the day I will come back tonight. Stop worrying." He commanded in a soft voice. I smiled and gave him one more chaste peck on the mouth, handing him his coat.

"Have a good day."

He just smirked, donning his sword and taking the coat from me. I turned to grab my backpack and heard the rustling of fabric that meant he had made his daring escape out my window. There was a mixture of emotions going on inside of me but somehow I believed him that he would be back, and that made this entire day seem more bearable to get through.

I waved Shizuru out on her way to work and popped some toast for breakfast. Kazuma followed the smell of food and materialized next to me, munching faster than I could pop them out. I elbowed him to stop his grabby hands from taking mine and he grumbled something about poptarts.

"I have to head out early and finish up some homework before class." I poured two glasses of water and downed mine.

"That's cool. I'm meeting the guys before school anyway."

"You're not causing trouble with everything going on, are you?" I shot him a disapproving look.

"Psh, as if. I ain't messing up any chance for the Megallica concert."

"Oh man, that's tonight isn't it?" I groaned. "Yusuke is going to kill you when he finds out, you know that right?"

"Everything will be fine." He waved my concerns away like I couldn't see the tension in his shoulders at the images of what would happen to him when he finally told Yusuke. This concert couldn't be worse timing.

"Well, before he kills you..." I took out the sash from my pocket and held it out to him. He rolled his eyes but took it and tied it for me.

"Eventually you're going to have to learn how to do this yourself." He grumbled.

"I have you." I shrugged, adjusting the stupid thing. "Thanks cous."

He handed me my backpack by the door and walked me to school. I waved him off at the gates, nodding at his friends in acknowledgement while stress pooled through me. I fixated as hard as I could on my classes and getting my work done before I disappointed Shizuru but Botan floating outside of the window made that a damn near impossible task.

I sat up, trying not to draw attention to the insanity of a blue haired girl in a middle school uniform flying an oar in broad daylight. She gestured for me to meet her outside and I subtly shook my head, looking pointedly at my teacher. She folded her hands in a pleading gesture, desperation in her eyes. I sighed, shoving my notebook and my pencils into my bag and ignoring my teacher trying to get my attention while I rushed out the door.

Botan was bouncing on her heels when I burst out the front door and started darting towards the bus stop ahead of me. Her legs were a lot longer than mine but I found myself catching up with ease and slowing to keep pace.

"What's going on?" I tripped on an uneven crack in the sidewalk and swore.

"The tunnel is expanding." She panted, the briefcase in her hand slowing her down. I pulled it from her, grunting at the added weight but noting she was indeed speeding up. "Something is speeding up the process. We have a week at most."

"Shit. Do we know why?"

"We'll know more once we're all met up together. Yusuke is already ahead of us gathering the others."

I launched ahead of her, stumbling into the aisle of the bus and pulling Botan next to me, eliciting looks from the people around us. We must have seemed like hoodlums skipping class.

If there was one thing I hated about the transportation system here it was that you couldn't talk on the bus. It was painful not to gather as much information as humanly possible from the equally impatient grim reaper, and I found myself reflexively flicking my fingers around to pass time, testing to see if I could make the water vapors opaque above peoples' heads. My energy still wasn't where it should have been, which was a punch to the gut but an elbow from Botan distracted me. I shot her a look and rubbed my rib, pouting at her pointed glare.

We practically fell off the bus when the doors finally opened and I took the lead, following the gut instinct I knew would lead me to Genkai and pausing outside a posh looking hotel in the middle of the city. Botan huffed beside me and took the heavy metal case back from me, taking the lead. Kaito, Yana, and Genkai were all sitting around the table waiting for our arrival.

I nodded to Genkai and she gave me a warm smile, indicating the bathroom so I could change. When I emerged Yusuke and Keiko were taking off their shoes. I bristled, realizing the only available seat was next to Yana, which was far too near Kaito for my liking, and tried to remind myself that the circumstances outweighed my pettiness at the moment.

Yana lifted his chin in acknowledgement to me, and it did make me feel a little better. "How's Asato doing?"

"He's stable. They're confident that he'll make a full recovery when he wakes up." Kaito answered for him, making eye contact. I nodded, grateful that he was going to be okay. I did a head count and frowned, looking around the room.

"Where's Kurama?"