Mutt: Okay, I know I said I wouldn't post the next chapter until I get five reviews, but I'm just to anxious to post this for some reason. I have three reviews so far and I'm actually grateful I even have those. Please, though, people. If you do like this story, please review. It doesn't have to be much. Even if you say it sucks, I'd still be happy you even took the time to do that.

I sound absolutely patheitc, don't I? Darn...

Read and Review! Much thanks and there will be cookies next time!

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone other than Keako in this story. Other characters of mine will show up soon enough though...

It all happened like a dream. One minute I was walking down a marble tiled hallway, trying to hang back as far away from the four in front of me, and then the next second I felt as if I were whipped through the air at high speeds then suddenly standing on soft, lush ground in the middle of a tree bordered clearing.

My stomach felt as if it were going to come out my nose.

"I think I'm going to puke." I could only hope I didn't sound as pathetic as I felt.

Kurama came up behind me with a sympathetic expression. "The portal needs some getting used to. After a few runs, you'll get the hang of it."

"I can taste my intestinal track." I looked at him grimly. Slightly, just slightly, I thought I saw his left eye twitch a little. This guy seemed damn near impossible to falter. I'd make it a habit to try and bug him as much as possible.

In fact, they were in due for some havoc.

They deserved it.

Looking around, I saw we were in the middle of a rather large clearing. Trees surrounded us from every direction, but it seemed they curved out behind the house. Speaking of the house. It looked like a simple, modest two-story white building. There was a porch with a two-seater swing. I'd probably be sleeping on that. Above the porch was a deck that reached just passed the front steps. There was a cool canopy thing on it to keep it cool on hot days.

Something told me these guys came here a lot. Like, a summer house.

Was it summer? Next time I had a chance, I would have to look at a calendar or something.

As I was staring off into space, Yusuke and Kuwabara walked toward Kurama and me. Kuwabara had this bizarre look on his face. Not really a fearful look, but an extremely confused expression. Kurama and Yusuke exchanged glances and I could plainly read their expressions. They both were totally lost at words with what to say. So I broke the silence.

"If you eat enough nickels, you'll go blind." All three just stared at me. I shrugged and explained, "You guys weren't saying anything."

"Well, it's not everyday we just shack up with a half-breed," Yusuke replied nervously.

My Gods! Were they truly this freaked out by me?

"Boo!" I jumped at them with my arms flailing. They didn't budge. "Nope, so you're not total pansies."

Kuwabara's face broke out into a beaming smile. "She's not so bad after all! She's actually kind of funny."

"If you give me a dime, I'll do a cool trick."

"Really?"

"No."

"Oh."

Now it was the three of us staring at him with odd expressions. Yusuke looked as if he were struggling to keep from punching the crap out of him, while Kurama just stood there and looked pretty. Something told me that's what he did most of the time.

He was the feminine one.

The pretty face.

The perfect body.

Something told me he was smart too.

I already hated him.

"Um, who's hungry?" Kurama asked suddenly. "I'll go make some dinner for us." He looked at me and asked, "What would you like?"

And he freaking cooks! Drool started to pool up on the inside of my mouth. As much as I disliked him, I wasn't about to turn down the offer of food. "Food," I said.

"What kind of food?"

"The kind you eat," Yusuke snickered. We both shot him a glare and he moved away sheepishly.

"I don't care what kind," I admitted. "It's been forever since I've had a decent meal." Or a meal for that matter.

As he walked away, I sniffed the air and picked up a peculiar scent. Not one I've had a whiff of in a long while. "Are we near the ocean?" It was in the air. If I listened hard enough, I was sure I heard the rushing of waves.

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged smiles. Then they looked at me and said, "Come on."

"Let's show you around your new home," Yusuke finished.

Strange. He seemed a lot less annoying when he wasn't trying to kill me.

These guys were freaking bi-polar.

For about a half hour, the both of them showed me around the house. It wasn't much. There were enough rooms for all of us and three bathrooms. I wasn't able to see my room yet, though. Kurama said he wanted me to see that last. For the most part, they showed me the living room, kitchen, game room, library, and every bathroom.

There was a Jacuzzi tub in each one! I was going to take serious advantage of that. It's been many moons since I have had a dip in the tub.

When they were finished showing me the modest parts of the house, they finally allowed me to see my room. I told them I would probably not use it. Closed quarters made me jumpy and claustrophobic. Kurama just smiled and said, "You'll see. This room is different."

My room was on the second floor and at the end of the third hall. I was in the far back. Grand. Kurama stopped in front of my door and told me to close my eyes. I saw no point in it, but I did anyway just to humor him. I heard the door open and Yusuke walk in. Kurama held onto my elbow softly, I resisted to back away, and he led me inside slowly. What sounded like drapes opening had me all the more curious.

What was so special about this room?

"Has she seen the room yet?" Kuwabara asked from behind. "Oh. You're showing her now. Sorry."

After a few quick shuffles of drapes and what sounded heavy like furniture, Kurama released my elbow and said, "You can open your eyes now."

I opened my eyes, expecting to see a normal small room, but I was shocked to see something totally different. "Whoa." That's all I could say. The room was, well, it was big! The walls were a bright blue with fluffy white clouds. I thought that was rather childish until I watched them for a while. The clouds were actually moving! As I watched them, the clouds moved swiftly across the walls and ceiling as if the wind were guiding them. I looked at the ceiling and actually saw what must have been sunlight glowing through some of the clouds.

"How? How is it doing that?" I asked, my mouth still agape slightly.

Yusuke snickered as he leaned against one of the walls and tapped it. "Koenma knows about your little claustrophobia problem, so he ordered for the walls to be laced with a weather memory jinx."

"My room's been cursed?!"

"Not in a bad way. The time will change from night to day, and if you're lucky, it'll shift to match your mood, or even the weather outside."

I moved toward the wall and touched it. It felt hard and rough like a normal painted wall, but it's been changed. I saw the shadows of the clouds on the floor and I could have sworn I felt the warmth from the sunlight on my shoulders. "This is wonderful." Good thing I whispered it. I didn't want them to know I liked it.

Finally getting over the magic walls, I looked around the rest of the room. I had a king size mattress and even one of those drape things that shields the person inside. They were a silky, creamy white. In fact, everything in the room was a creamy white color. The bed covers, the bookcase, the door, the closet doors, the two chairs in the corner and the small table. Wait, I have a beanbag chair! That was white too.

"Um, why is everything white?" I asked while walking around the room. Touching things occasionally, I got a better vibe and wasn't as freaked out from being closed in.

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged glances. They did that a lot. "We're not sure. Koenma ordered it."

"I don't like him very much."

"Join the club," Yusuke joked.

As I walked around, I came upon some closed curtains. I could see through them and saw a pair of glass doors. "Where's this lead?"

"Open it and find out," Kurama inquired.

Not before giving him a weird look, I parted the curtains and opened the doors. They swung open wide outward and I found myself standing on a beautiful white balcony overlooking the most breathtaking sight ever. "The ocean," I gasped. Stepping to the edge, I looked down and watched the rushing tide foam up against the sandy shore far, far below. Then I looked up and saw the sun, ablaze with dieing life, sinking slowly into the distant horizon.

It made me somewhat sad seeing the sun set.

Taking a deep breath, I inhaled the misty scent of fresh air laced with seaweed and salt. I felt alive. I felt rejuvenated. Unbelievably, I felt safe and free. "It's been too long," I whispered to no one in particular. Just being here made me want to jump. It made my burning desire to soar flare even hotter than before.

I want to fly.

"Do you like your room?" Kurama asked. He was standing by the balcony door. His eyes were alight from the setting sun. Just for a second I thought he looked beautiful.

I gripped the stone ledge one last time before pushing myself away toward him. "Yeah. It's nice. I'm not worth the trouble, though. It's not like I'm staying long." He just smiled as I walked passed him. Yusuke and Kuwabara had left my room already, so it was just the redhead and me. I was making another sweep around the room when I remembered something. "Crap! Back in the woods! I left my-"

"Your bag? It's in the closet." Kurama stepped up to the closet and opened it. I was already there, though, and shoved him out of the way. "We didn't open it!"

I saw the ratty old jean bag hanging on one of the hangers. "Oh thank god." Taking it off the hanger, I sat down in the middle of the room and opened it. I breathed a sigh of relief. "It's here."

"What? You're clothes?"

"No." Pulling out something, I held it close to my chest then showed it to him.

"A feather?" Letting him hold it, he held it up to examine it closer. "This is rather big for a bird feather." The feather was rather long. Almost as long as his forearm. It was a deep black, but when he held it close to the light it glimmered blueish purple. The very tip was a rusty color.

I loved that feather.

Going back to my bag, I went on rambling. "I had that feather for as long as I can remember. Which mind you isn't very long. I found it one day tucked in my shirt. Since then I haven't been able to get rid of it for some reason." Even though I wasn't facing him, I could tell he was staring at me. "I also have this." Pulling out a little book, I placed it on the ground by his feet. "Look inside it." The book was about the size of a small handheld dictionary with a severely burnt cover.

Giving me back my feather, he picked up the book and opened it. The second his eyes laid upon the first page they widened in horror. "What…What is this?" With every turn of the little book's pages, the smaller his pupils got and the wider his eyes grew. "Keako?"

"Hey, that's the first time you've said my name. So I'm not totally evil." I looked up at him and saw the seriousness in his gaze. "Calm down. I was just making a point." Getting up, I figured I stood just below his shoulders, so I could peak at the book easily. "I found this in an abandoned warehouse. The men that are after me chased me inside, but couldn't find me. The place was bizarre and had all sorts of disgusting things. Shattered jars full of dismembered eyeballs or other organs, rooms full of decayed cages with skeletons inside, and I even found a nursery filled with dead babies."

Kurama's eyes looked back and forth between the book pages and me. I could read in those expressive eyes of his that he didn't know how to handle this. To tell the truth, I wasn't really sure how I was handling it. In the pages there were pictures of such dead babies and other children. On some of the pages there were skeletal designs with scribbled in commentaries beside them. The perfect design.

That's what one page said.

"So, there really is a building out there doing things to children?" he asked, his voice shuddery as he looked straight at me.

"What? Did you think I was lying?" I answered his question with a question of my own. "Or did you think I was just making things up?"

"No," he murmured, "I just didn't think…"

"Well, try to sometime. You didn't think there could be such things going on?" Taking the book from his hands, I knelt and placed it back in my bag. Looking back up at him I said, "The world isn't a pretty place. Ugliness lies behind anything that seems beautiful." In the back of my mind, I found myself thinking, That goes for you too pretty boy. That face of yours must have some ugliness behind it.

There was a long silence between us. I could sense how uncomfortable he was toward me now. It didn't matter to me, really. There wasn't anything I was planning on building between us. No friendship. No loyalty. No trust. I wanted nothing of it. There was no need.

"I'll go prepare dinner now." Then he left.

I sat there. All alone. In my room. That sounded so funny. My room. I looked around me, seeing how comfortable and at home this place could be. I saw how I could have a life here. How I could be safe.

Getting up again, I walked toward the bed and flopped down on it face down. I laid there for a long time. Letting myself sink into the covers of the bedding. Allowing my scent to cover this bed and the room around me.

I can live here. I can start anew. I can be safe. My laughter was caught in my throat as I scoffed at my own thoughts.

This place would soon be only a memory. Along with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and especially Kurama. Only a memory.

Just like everything and everyone else.