-1The Raven Demon poised the knife blade oh-so-carefully at Ruki's neck, grinning like the Devil himself at her snarling sister.

"Let her go!" she demanded, planting her feet as firmly as she was able in the pliable straw.

"Hmmm…no," he said with a smile, his voice rich, and deep.

"What do you want with her?"

"You of all people can guess, Mae," his eyes darkened slightly in suggestive nostalgia.

"That was in the past!" Mae defended bitterly, wishing she'd never met him.

"It was wonderful," he purred.

"I don't feel that way about you anymore, now hand her over!" Mae persisted impatiently.

"You hurt my feelings, Mae," he continued with mock-heartache, "I loved you."

"I could tell when I saw you buying that whore a drink in the bar!" Mae barked.

"She looked thirsty, and I couldn't let that happen," he grinned wickedly.

"She wasn't thirsty for Jack Daniels, and neither were you," she retorted scornfully.

"Well, I find myself 'thirsty' again, and I always remember you when I get 'thirsty', Mae," he said slickly.

"Too bad!" Mae threw up her hands in annoyance.

She whirled back around to face him and demanded, "Are you just doing this to get your revenge on me? Even though it was you who betrayed me in the first place?"

"Now, now, don't go getting all high and mighty, my little vixen. As I recall, you had a romp with Youko Kurama shortly after that…I think we're even, love."

She hated how he called her that. She hated him. "We'll never be even, and I don't have to explain myself to you, jerk!"

"That temper of yours always flares at the worst times," he shook his head regretfully.

"Why don't you-?" Mae spat, but was cut off by a black blur whizzing past her at breakneck speeds.

Raven hadn't noticed. "Why don't I what, sweetling?" he asked patronizingly.

Before she could tell him what she thought he should do, he grunted and fell in a heap out of the nest in two pieces. His blood flecked her cheek.

Hiei stood behind Ruki, supporting her before she fell over the side like her captor had. "Are you alright?" he asked out of obligation.

Ruki looked down at him from her tall height. "Yes, thank you…?"

"Hiei," he replied after brief hesitation.

"Thank you, Hiei," she repeated, smiling warmly.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Mae cut in. "I know how I can, but I don't know about you two…"

Hiei sighed and hefted Ruki into his arms like Princes in storybooks, before vanishing completely.

Mae heard Ruki's startled scream, and recalled her loathing of roller-coasters. She chuckled, hunched her shoulders, and reappeared on the forest floor laughing hysterically.

The group looked at her questioningly.

"What's so funny?" Kuwabara asked.

"Nothing," she cackled as she glimpsed her nearby sibling's petrified, shaking expression. Her hands were trembling, and her face was as pale as her hair.

"Shut up, Mae," Ruki warned feebly.

Hiei raised his eyebrows at her curiously, shrugged, and went to stand next to the rest of the guys, who found it all very disconcerting. One sister laughing, the other horrified.

"She'll be fine, don't worry," Mae reassured them, pulling Ruki's arm around her shoulders and supporting her as they carried on.

That night at the campfire, exhausted after a day of walking and combat, the team retired to bed early.

Ruki and Mae, on the other hand, had a lot to catch up on, and huddled around the campfire well past sunset.

"Where have you been, Ruki?" Mae asked soberly.

Her sister hesitated, and looked uneasy.

"Ruki! Where?" Mae persisted.

She sighed. "Alright, alright. I've been in the human world."

"Doing what?"

"Looking for you!"

"Why would I be in the human world?" Mae asked, puzzled.

"Well, after the life you've led…where demons are concerned, you haven't had the best luck. I just thought you might be sick of it," Ruki shrugged.

"I am a demon. You're a demon. Not all of us are bad," Mae shook her head.

"Well, after Kuri was born, you seemed empty…" Ruki approached the subject gently.

"I was worried about my missing sister, unsure if she'd been captured again, and I felt guilty about killing someone, or so I thought, and using myself that way. And I was upset that my boyfriend was cheating on me, and that I'd done the same, even though I had to. But I never blamed you, Ruki, so if you went to the human world to avoid me, you shouldn't bother. You're my sister," Mae smiled weakly, painful images floating across her memory.

Ruki frowned, puzzled. "What do you mean, 'or so I thought?'"

Mae sighed. "I didn't kill Youko. The poison wasn't strong enough to do him in, I guess, and he fled to the human world to take on a body there," Mae whispered, aware of the sleeping fox nearby.

"Why are you being so quiet?" Ruki asked, then gasped, "Ooooh, is he here?!"

Mae winced and nodded. "Kurama," she looked to the blanket-covered lump that was his shoulder.

Ruki's eyes widened considerably. "Isn't that…awkward?"

"You have no idea…but I think he's forgiven me. Sort of."

"You didn't do anything he wouldn't have. You did it to save me. It's my fault," her very ears seemed to droop in shame.

Mae shook her head and pulled her sister close. "You never did anything wrong either."

They both cried in silence for what seemed like hours until they fell asleep, finally able to vanquish their own demons.

The group woke early, and made a hasty fire to cook on.

Ruki was in charge. "Mae, go get me some stones to put under the kettle," she pointed her spatula in the right direction. Then she turned to Kurama. "You go get some water." she faced Yusuke and Kuwabara, "You two get to peeling this fruit," she pointed to a sac of mangoes, "And Hiei," she turned to him, then paused awkwardly, "um…get some more firewood…"

They all set to work, two peeling fruit under the sharp eye of the chef, and three setting off into the forest to find wood, stones, and water.

The silence was thick enough to slice with a knife in the forest, under the canopy of tickling leaves and whispering branches.

"There's a stream over there!" Mae announced, standing on tiptoe and shielding her eyes from the filtering sunshine to point to a creek.

As they neared, the creek became increasingly, sickeningly familiar.

The creek. In front of the house.

Kurama flushed scarlet, but couldn't seem to move towards the water. His eyes flooded with memories of that night, and he couldn't look at Mae. He chose a small clump of grass near his feet instead.

Hiei, detecting the tension between the two, slipped away unnoticed, deciding to search another part of the forest for firewood.

"Well, I…" Mae attempted awkwardly.

"What color are his eyes?" Kurama asked suddenly, still looking to the floor.

"Kuri's?" Mae asked quietly.

He nodded, the wind blowing his hair in front of his face.

"Golden," Mae answered shakily.

"And his hair?"

"Strawberry blond."

Kurama turned to her, meeting her eyes at last. "Were you alone when he came?"

She frowned at his question, and nodded. "I didn't want anyone else there…I was too ashamed."

"I'm sorry," he said distantly, a pang in his chest marking his guilt.

"Don't be," she gave a watery chuckle, "I'm the one who poisoned you, remember?"

He smiled.