AN: Happy readings, friends. (Feel free to PM me with any errors you catch.)

The temple loomed over the long flight of steps like a bird about to take flight, its wings spread over the grounds. It was large; it had to be to fit four men and the seventeen girls, not to mention the permanent residents. There were two others there, a silent presence further in the depths of the temple. Kurama introduced himself, and the three other men, to the girls but the girls failed to introduce themselves back. With seventeen of them, maybe that was a small blessing.

Now, the girls were huddled in the living room which was mostly bare with a wooden floor and bamboo mats surrounding a low-sitting table. There were chairs in the corners of the room beside tall, plain lamps that shed low light around the room.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Kurama asked softly. He and the rest of the team needed to make a plan for watching the temple throughout the night, and that would be easier if they knew the girls were done.

"I think most of us already have," Usagi responded, nodding at the younger girls.

"I meant in the bedrooms," Kurama explained.

The rooms the girls had been shown were simple affairs, but clean and beautiful in a stark way. But they were small, only big enough for about three girls per room if they really squeezed together.

"We've been together for a long time," Sagaku said, "I think we'll be more comfortable sleeping down here, if it's not inconvenient."

Youji stirred and mumbled in her sleep.

Kurama gestured towards the kitchen, brushing his finger against his lip to signal that they'd be quiet. Usagi nudged Sagaku and nodded toward the kitchen as well. Sagaku stood carefully and stepped over her sisters to follow Kurama.

While the rest of the temple seemed mostly untouched by modernity, the kitchen was all stainless steel and high counter tops. Kurama filled a glass with water from the sink and passed it to Sagaku. She sipped at it carefully, eying the black-haired demon (Hiei, she reminded herself) who perched on the window sill. He was studiously looking away, but Sagaku could see him watching them in their reflections on the glass.

"Do you guys always need to sleep in the same room, or is this just until you get used to the situation?" Kurama asked.

"We've always slept in the same den," Sagaku said. "Except when we're really little, then we have to stay with our Mamas. Papa used to share the den with us, too, until Usagi and Mazui were big enough to take care of the rest of us.

Goosebumps pricked the skin along Sagaku's arms. She rubbed them uncomfortably, staring around the kitchen. It was oddly cold without the press of her sisters' bodies around her.

"I see," Kurama said. He shot a glance at Hiei, hoping to catch his friend's attention.

They're making themselves one target, Kurama tried to project his thought. Luckily, Hiei picked up on it.

Let them until we know the level of threat it presents, Hiei thought back after a moment's pause to consider the issue.

"Koenma never did explain," Kurama lied, "why are all the demons trying to capture you and your sisters?"

Sagaku shrugged and sipped at her water. She inched closer to Hiei, trying to be unobtrusive. Heat emanated off him softly. "I don't know, exactly," she finally told Kurama.

"Do you have a best guess?" he pressed.

"Papa never said exactly why. He just said we're breeding demons because we're like...um...conductors. For electricity? Except it's not electricity, it's power and we don't have any of our own so when we're bred our males take on their father's powers. We channel it, I think is how Papa explained it. It's supposed to be very desirable for male demons."

"Sagaku!"

Sagaku winced, accidentally biting her tongue as she snapped her mouth closed.

"You shouldn't talk like that! Papa did not raise us to be so...so brazen!" Mazui turned to Kurama and Hiei, bowing deeply. Her black locks fell in a thick curtain around her face. "I apologize on behalf of my sister for her crudeness. She has not been fully educated in the proper way to act around men."

"Please don't apologize," Kurama said smoothly. "It's my fault; I asked her."

"Regardless, it is not proper for her to speak so boldly. Sagaku, come back to us. Bourei is very restless. Watch over her." Mazui watched her sister, waiting until she complied. Then, when the kitchen door swung close behind her, she turned back to the men.

"Sagaku is talkative. You must not encourage her. It is not how she should be," Mazui said firmly. "I hope you do not think her actions reflect on the rest of us."

And then she took her leave, back to the living room to find space between her sisters. Sagaku was there already, beside Bourei. It was the Hanshoku way to be demure. Their father taught them that. But she was too bold, according to her sisters, and too rash. It was with these thoughts that Sagaku fell asleep at last between Bourei and Yuki, only eight and nine years old respectively.

Later that night, Kurama explained to Kuwabara and Yusuke how they would have to act around women and girls.

"What did the brown-haired one do?" Yusuke asked curiously.

"She had a conversation," Kurama said. "It seems they were raised in an almost religious manner wherein the women shouldn't speak to men. At least not past pleasantries."

"They're breeders," Hiei said gruffly. "They wouldn't be kept around for conversation."

There wasn't much to say to that, so they all went their separate ways to take watch or sleep while they could. Rescuing them to return them to a life of breeders...it chafed, not quite cruelty but not quite sitting right either. In the morning, they would meet with Koenma and figure out what was to be done for the girls as a long-term solution.

Early the next morning, quiet clanking from the kitchen brought Sagaku to wakefulness. She disentangled herself carefully from the pile of sleeping sisters and padded softly into the kitchen.

Kurama was pulling ingredients from inside different drawers and cabinets. Beside him stood a petite girl with icy blue hair and eyes that bordered something between pink and red. She smiled shyly at Sagaku and stepped out of the room with a tray containing a teapot and two cups.

"That was Yukina," Kurama said, watching Sagaku's curious gaze. "She and Genkai live here but they've been trying to stay out of the way until this all gets sorted."

Sagaku nodded and then watched his movements in silent fascination. Kurama smiled and shifted so she could see better. She had never seen the metal box he was putting the pans on, and he kept taking things out of a larger box that released frigid breezes each time the door opened.

"What is it?" she finally asked. Kurama's eyes widened.

"The stove or the refrigerator?"

"Which is which?"

Sagaku pried open the cold box the way Kurama had just done and peered inside. There was a weird assortment of food, but she knew how to read and could make out most of the labels. Pickles. Eggs. Butter. Chocolate syrup? The only things she recognized where the vegetables in a clear drawer at the bottom. She tapped it hesitantly. It didn't move.

"That's the fridge that you're looking into," Kurama told her. "It's meant to keep food cold. Most foods will last longer that way, and some taste better."

"Like a root cellar?" Sagaku cocked her head to the side.

"It's a bit more controlled than a root cellar," Kurama answered, "but yes, it's similar."

"And what about that?"

"This is the stove. It's kind of like a fire, but also much more controlled. Be careful - don't touch it when it's on. It gets very hot."

Sagaku crept closer to the stove, watching what Kurama did in the pans. He moved over so she could stand beside him while he worked. He opened the container labeled "Grade A Large Eggs" and picked out a weird, brown oval. Sagaku reached forward to poke it curiously, but when Kurama held it out closer to her she pulled her hand back. It probably wasn't appropriate and she didn't want to deal with Mazui or Usagi's lecturing.

Kurama held the egg to the edge of the pan and then hit it quickly and sharply. There was a small cracking noise, and then suddenly the sound of sizzling as something slimy, bright yellow, and surrounded in clear goop slid into the pan. It began turning white around the edges almost immediately.

"What is it doing?" Sagaku asked. "What is it?" She went to poke it for real this time, forgetting her qualms about her sisters, but Kurama caught her hand gently and pulled it back.

"The stove will burn you," he reminded her. "This is an egg and it's cooking right now. It's a type of breakfast food." He was giving her a bemused look, wondering if she'd never seen cooking food before, but she was too enthralled by the goop to notice.

With no noticeable noise, another presence entered the room. "Good morning, Hiei," Kurama greeted as he cracked another two eggs into the pan. The faint, warm smell of eggs began to spread throughout the room.

Hiei didn't respond to his friend. Instead, he eyed the girl warily. Her mouth was ajar as she watched the egg start to bubble up in two places. Her hand reached out, finger outstretched, before she remembered what Kurama said and clenched her hands together in front of her. Kurama rolled his eyes at Hiei with an amused smile. Hiei smirked. It was a little amusing to watch, and at least the onna wasn't drooling.

With an odd, flattened spoon, Kurama began flipping the eggs over. Small flecks of brown decorated the white underside. Sagaku gaped at the weird food. She glanced up, and both men prepared themselves for another question.

"Sagaku!" someone cried out from the living room.

In the blink of an eye, Sagaku bounded from the kitchen and out of sight. Kurama and Hiei glanced at each other in surprise. She had moved so quickly, it seemed to be a blur. She may have even moved faster than Hiei.

Mazui was sitting, cradling the still sleeping Chisoku against her. Usagi was beside her, patting frantically at her sisters to double-count and make sure everyone else was there. Sagaku waited for them to look up, watching her sisters all blink and stir as they slowly came to. They usually woke at the same time due to sleeping in such close quarters. Mazui noticed Sagaku first and glared fiercely at her.

"Don't disappear like that!" she ordered. "You scared us."

"I'm sorry, sister," Sagaku apologized. In Mazui's position, she would have been equally frightened.

Usagi stood and brushed her skirt and shirt to shake out the wrinkles. Her blonde hair fell in knotted waves down her back, but there was little to be done with that. Youji tiptoed over to Sagaku and tugged at her hand until Sagaku bent down to her level.

"I have to go," Youji whispered with her little hand covering her mouth. Sagaku looked around. They had arrived so late the night before, everyone had fallen asleep almost immediately. No one had needed to relieve themselves.

Luckily, Kurama seemed to understand the dilemma when Sagaku poked her head back into the kitchen. He gestured down the hall their bedrooms were supposed to be in. "There's a bathroom on the right," he told her. When she looked at him blankly, he realized that she probably didn't know what he meant. "Hiei, please show them," he requested. "I'll need to make more eggs if everyone is up."

I'm a guard, not a - Hiei started thinking fiercely at his friend.

Hiei… Kurama didn't say anything else, but gave Hiei a look. Hiei hated that look. It wasn't disappointment, exactly, but more of...an amused displeasure.

Hiei flitted past the two girls. They would follow. Plus, he didn't want anyone to notice that there was a very faint blush spreading across his cheeks. It was uncomfortable, showing someone to use something so personal. Shouldn't they already know? But no, the warren certainly wouldn't have a plumbing system. He avoided wondering what they used there, remembering all too well that the dirt warren had not been very advanced.

The three of them crowded into the tiny, porcelain room. Hiei pointed at the toilet.

"There," he said. "Use that to clean up after," his finger changed direction to point at the toilet paper. "Push that down when you're done," he gestured at the lever on the toilet.

Sagaku was carefully avoiding his gaze, clearly as embarrassed as he was. It was a small comfort.

"Thank you," she said.

"Hn," was his response. He disappeared, but not back to the kitchen. He didn't want to face the fox's amused look when he got back. Instead, he relieved the oaf from watch duty.

Sagaku stepped outside to give Youji privacy. It took Youji longer than it normally would have, but she finished her business and Sagaku used the facilities as well before they joined everyone else downstairs.

The eggs were delightfully delicious to Sagaku, although the texture was foreign and the flavor was unexpectedly rich. Her sisters weren't quite as thrilled, but they all ate the new food politely. Paired with toast, which at least they all recognized, it was quite filling. And the men were all so busy eating when they entered the kitchen that the girls were able to relax to a certain degree.

But then, in the absence of breakfast, they were left with a thick, cloying awkward silence that spread about the room.

"What are we doing today?" Kuwabara asked, watching as Mazui and Sagaku washed and dried the dishes.

Yusuke grunted in response, dropping his head to the table and snoring theatrically.

Chisoku tugged the hem of her blouse, bumping her sister. "We left most of our work at home," she began. Her twin, Chishio, finished with, "so we don't know what we can do."

Usagi hushed the two girls, her cheeks pink in embarrassment as though she was to fault for not having time to gather work before being evacuated from their home.

"Let's go out," Yusuke suggested. His voice echoed oddly, though it sounded muffled against the wooden table.

"They won't be able to go out dressed like that," Kuwabara said.

"And it will be more difficult to protect them in an uncontrolled environment," Kurama pointed out.

Hiei didn't offer any suggestions. His red eyes narrowed to slits as he studied the seventeen girls. It would be hard to find anything for that many people to do, and he was there to guard - not to babysit.

"They need human clothes anyway," Yusuke argued. "At least, they do if they're sticking around." He lifted his head from the table to study the girls, shoving his hair back over his head. Most of the girls sat with their hands folded and their eyes down. Their clothes was plain and mostly different shades of brown. Despite looking worn and shapeless, the clothes was kept in good repair and looked to be mostly clean. But the style was distinctly inhuman, or at least distinctly unmodern (he didn't know enough about clothing either way to be sure).

Sagaku's dark gaze met Yusuke's when she peeked sideways to judge her older sisters' reactions, and he lowered a lid in something resembling a wink. Her sisters remained passive, both silent and motionless.

"Keeping them safe is a priority," Kurama said. "We need to plan the best way to do that. Being here is safer than being in the warren, but now we need to keep it that way."

The Spirit Detective is right, too,Hiei thought to Kurama. Being in the ningenkai isn't enough to keep them safe. Kurama scowled. Hiei was right - being in the human world didn't make the girls safe. Even being at Genkai's temple, with the wards, wasn't foolproof. It just meant that they were hidden for the time being. If they were to be truly safe, they would need disguises to fit into the human world should they ever need to escape.

"We can help with things around the house," Usagi said. She still looked down at her feet, the proper pose of submission. Around her, her sisters nodded in affirmation.

"Let's split up," Yusuke decided.

Horrified gasps greeted that suggestion and seventeen girls looked at him with nearly identical expressions of fear.

"Not for good," Kurama hurriedly reassured them. He found himself nervously plucking at a strand of long, red hair. The idea of controlling and protecting seventeen individuals was quite overwhelming, especially given their aversion to changes. "We'll only split up long enough to finish what needs to be done. One or two of you will need to go with Yusuke and Keiko to get clothes. If one of you could also meet with me to talk over strategy, that would be appreciated."