Mae climbs the final stone step; her legs trembling at the effort of hauling her weight over the last worn stair. Glancing over her shoulder she almost loses her balance at the dizzying height, her oversized black duffle throwing her off balance. She throws her arms out, waving them wildly in an attempt to regain her balance. The girl is small and appears much younger than she is; at about 5'2" she looks twelve though she is almost twenty six, her baggy clothes make it hard to tell just how old she is. Her hair is dyed a dark but neutral shade of brown that Japanese natives usually possess; her eyes are the same neutral shade, their true color hidden behind colored costume contacts. In truth she appears native to Japan; her European features are also disguised with heavy, but expertly applied make up. Mae brushes a few strands of dark hair from her face and looks around shrugging her baggy thermal shirt back into place.

The temple grounds are beautiful: serene and surrounded by nature. Towering trees of varying species race up the side of the mountain concealing the temple nestled into one of the sparse clearings. Thick grass surrounds the temple; twin flowerbeds framing the porch hold perfectly maintained rosebushes. The temple itself is awe inspiring. The building is massive, split into two wings and framed by a veranda. On the north side of the building Mae could see a smaller enclosure peeking out from behind the roof. Completely secluded. This is what she craves. Even before the incident that led her to seek refuge in a foreign country Mae preferred to be alone, often seeking out parks and heavily wooded areas back in her home state.

Mae turns back toward the temple, beginning to rehearse her plea once more. I'm sorry to intrude, my name is- I should use Rumiko this time I think. I'm traveling and was wondering- no hoping- to stay a few days at the temple… Much to her surprise she was met by the owner of the temple. The young woman was a sight to behold, mint green hair fell over her shoulders in an intricate braid. She towers over Mae, her pale skin glows in the afternoon sun as an autumn breeze ruffles her loose sweater. Candy red eyes rove over the intruder, narrowing slightly in suspicion. The ice maiden, Yukina, has hardened over the years, her distrust of strangers out weighing her naturally gentle nature, especially strangers whose energy she can't place.

"You're trespassing." The young woman states with a slight frown, "but then you already knew that didn't you?"

Yes, sorry Mae signs with an apologetic smile. My name- she was cut off abruptly, a pale hand snaking out to grasp her wrist. Yukina shudders upon coming into contact with the smaller girl; her usual gentle demeanor is gone. An inexplicable rage threatens to overcome the ice maiden whispering to rip the intruder apart, consequences be damned. Yukina swallows thickly pushing the intruding feelings away and drops Mae's wrist, taking a step back for good measure. Once the contact is broken the desire to rip the girl to shreds fades; the feeling is still fresh enough to warrant extreme caution on Yukina's part. What in the three worlds was that? Does she not know, or does she not care?

"I don't know what's gotten into you, waving your hands around like that" Yukina about growls, moving into a defensive stance. Something about this girl was not right. "You'd better start talking and fast."

Mae pales and quickly pulls out a note pad and pen. 'My name is Rumiko. I'm sorry, I cannot speak, I have no voice. I came to ask to stay at the temple for a few days.' With a bow Mae hands the pad to Yukina who is careful to avoid direct contact and reads the note with a raised eyebrow.

"No" she says thrusting the note pad back into the young girl's hands. "This is not a hotel and this is not a tourist stop. Go stay at the town…"

The ice maiden trails off as the girl's face falls. Yukina's sweet nature was going to get the better of her, strange energy or no she can't help but feel sorry for the girl. Something about her speaks to the koorime; maybe it is the way the girl's shoulders slump in defeat that doesn't reach the carefully neutral expression on her face. Or perhaps it was the way her knees keep trying to buckle under the weight of her pack. This coupled with the ice maiden's natural curiosity about the girl's energy, which was distinctly human but at the same time not, proves enough to override her carefully built distrust for humans. Besides, she said it was only for a few days. If I flare my energy after she leaves it will be enough to erase any trace of her. Kazuma, Yuske, Kurama, and Hiei never need know. She reasons with a sigh and rubbed her temples with delicate fingers, but I'll have to be careful if I want to discover why she has such a strange energy, and what that strange feeling was…

"Very well," Yukina says, harsh as she can manage. "Follow me and I'll give you a tour of where you're going to stay. I'm only going to show you around once and I expect you to stay out of my hair."

Mae quickly gathers her things and ran to catch up to the ice maiden. Mentally she sighs in relief; she'd thought it would be a lot harder to convince the strange temple maiden to allow her to stay.

"Understand" Yukina snaps, turning to face Mae drawing the girl out of her musings. It was more of a statement than a question so Mae just nods in response. They enter through the main doors on the south side of the building, the ice maiden slowing her pace when she hears her visitor practically running to keep up with her. Yukina showed Mae the kitchen, a couple of libraries, the dining hall, a tea room, and pointed down one of the hallways to a traditional bathhouse with hot springs. When Genkai had passed, leaving the temple to the koorime, Yukina had allowed the boys to remodel the eastern wing of the temple. This included adding a rather large entertainment room and several updated guest rooms. She had however won the argument for keeping the hot springs rather than replacing them with a modern shower area; opting to allow some private bathrooms for some of the rooms. Kurama had also convinced her to add a rather extensive greenhouse just off the northern wall which he tended to regularly. After the brief tour of the western half of the temple Yukina stops in front of an unmarked door, "You may stay here."

Without another word she turns and is gone. Mae stares after her, confused, but after a moment shrugs and enters the room. The western part of the temple remains in traditional style due to its lack of use and as Yukina insists, to pay respect to Genkai's spirit and human heritage. Since the room is at the end of the hall two of the walls hold windows. On the wall opposite the door there is a small dresser resting under the first window. In the corner a futon has been rolled up and leaned against the wall. Across from the second window sits a desk and a small stool, the only two pieces of Western style furniture she's seen so far in the temple. All the electronics and appliances are up to date, what few she's seen, but the furniture and decorations remain in the traditional Japanese style. Next to the desk is another door, Mae drops her bag in the middle of the room, wincing at the loud thump of her bag hitting the wood of the floor, and sticks her head inside to discover a small bathroom. It has room for little more than a shower, sink, and toilet. There was also a window in the shower to keep the room from steaming up too badly.

Mae grins; her hostess had been more than generous. Her smile slides into a frown when she catches a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror. She fingers her dyed hair, the long strands reaching just below her shoulder blades and pokes at her face careful not to smudge the precisely applied makeup. Truthfully she never thought she was anything special to look at, most people calling her a freak due to her albinism. The nuns she'd grown up around had told Mae that she looked like an angel, a gift from God, with her white hair and alabaster skin that was almost see through if she avoided sunlight all together. Her eyes a deep sapphire blue, almost unheard of; most albinos have red or pink eyes due to the lack of pigment, some have icy blue eyes but a deep rich blue is terrifyingly beautiful on an albino. The nuns carried the angel theory over to her strange ability; her curse. A bitter laugh nearly escapes her, if only they'd known- if only she'd known, maybe her father knew. Maybe that's why he beat her…

Mae sighs and brushes her dyed hair from her face. She'd have to cut it soon to keep it in the acceptable range of unmemorable. She'd found shoulder length, or close to was average enough that most people over looked it. So she cut her hair to just above her shoulders and let it grow to just below her shoulder blades before cutting it again. Truthfully she was tired of hiding, tired of the aliases, and tired of running from whomever, or whatever, was chasing her. All she knows is that he wanted her bad enough to torture and kill the staff, nuns, of the halfway house she had been staying at. He'd then slaughtered the remaining kids staying there and several people passing by. Mae had returned to find the entire block up in flames.

It was late, about ten at night and being late fall it was completely dark out. Mae had just finished her shift at a small Japanese restaurant. The owners hardly spoke any English and didn't mind that she was only eleven, they said as long as she could carry a tray and take a customer's order she was old enough to work. They also didn't mind her strange appearance joking that she looked like a ghost and nicknaming her Ikriyo. She'd been walking home when she heard the sirens, not an uncommon sound in downtown D.C. When she practically followed them to the halfway house she'd been staying at she started to panic.

She'd run up to the burning house to find one of the Sisters laying in a pool of her own blood on the asphalt. Mae remembered the cold terror that had filled her as the Sister explained what had happened: A large man had come asking for Mae, and when the Sisters had refused to tell him where she was he ripped them apart with his bare hands. Run. That was what the Sister had said with her dying breath. Run was exactly what Mae did. Panicked she sprinted to the nearest ATM and withdrew the remainder of her trust fund left to her by her late mother, as well as the money she'd been saving from her part time job. Together it was enough for her to attend college and graduate debt free, as well as buy a car and a small house. She then ditched her ATM card, as well as any other identifying information. Social security, school ID, blood donor card all left in a street corner trash can. Mae proceeded to disguise herself. She dyed her hair a dark, but neutral shade of brown, stole a pair of brown costume contacts, and new clothes; Mother Mary forgive her. She also persuaded a guy she knew to provide her with new forms of ID; namely a driver's license to lie about her age and a passport. She'd then bought and boarded the first available international flight destination: Germany.

Total immersion made the language pretty easy to pick up, the difficult part was learning to read and sign in German. Learning to do so without speaking was nearly impossible; she'd had to acquire several books in order to teach herself. After about four months though she was completely fluent in the language, moving around allowed her to pick up the dialects and nuances of the language. In total she'd stayed in Germany about four years. That had been eleven years ago.

Mae shook herself, now was not the time to reminisce; but fifteen years since this had started, she'd be turning twenty six soon although her driver's license claimed she was thirty. Admittedly things were easier now that she's starting to look older, though she still looks years younger than she is. In a few years she would be able to stop hiding during the day when kids were in school; it was just easier than having to pull out her fake ID every time she was stopped. That and all of her fake licenses are obviously foreign which also raises eyebrows, no it's better to just stay out of sight for now, probably forever.

She quickly unpacks her things, piling her multitudes of costume makeup on the desk and shoving her clothes in the drawers. She doubted her hostess would be checking in on her with the whole 'stay out of my hair' comment. Good enough she tells herself with a yawn. She unrolls her futon and pulls it over so she can sleep under the second window. Probably not the safest choice but, she's always loved looking at the stars as she falls asleep- a love that stemmed from a happier time, when her mother was still alive and before her father started beating her. They would often sit outside on a blanket in their backyard, wrapping themselves in warmth when the nights were cool and slathering themselves in bug spray during the warmer springs and summers. Her parents owned a house outside of the city, just far enough away that they could see the stars. On those nights in the backyard her mother would teach Mae the constellations and her father would tell her the stories behind them. It didn't matter how well she knew the stories Mae always begged to hear them again, and her parents would oblige recounting the stories until the young girl fell asleep.

Her things put away, Mae sets off to explore nearly tripping over the hem of her pants when they came unrolled. Soon she stumbles upon the kitchen cursing herself for not paying better attention during the brief tour she'd received. Unlike what Mae has seen of the temple so far the kitchen is completely up to date. It was the easiest room to renovate as the previous owner had kept it decently updated so the electricity and gas lines as well as plumbing had already been run. The large cooking area holds two six burner gas stove tops, there are also three large ovens stacked to the left of the sink which is huge. Mae's eyes almost pop out of her head, I could take a bath in that thing! There are also two oversized refrigerator units across from the sink, a large prep area running along the wall beside them. A counter divides the kitchen; bar stools turn it into a breakfast counter. Another small table sits at the back of the kitchen, a row of floor to ceiling windows; to the right and nestled in the corner is a French storm door currently open to allow the fresh air in.

Noticing it's getting late Mae wanders in and began to pull out ingredients to make supper. The pots and pans weren't hard to locate, however, the knives and cutting board are a different story; she has to look through six different cabinets before climbing up on the counter and locating the elusive board in a cabinet above the sink. Who even keeps their cutting board above the sink; I mean honestly how is anybody supposed to reach it all the way up there! Mae huffs looking at the ingredients she has to work with; she's always found Asian cuisine challenging but she'd gotten pretty good at it the past couple of years. I wonder why, it's not like I've been living in Japan she snickers to herself stirring the vegetables before transferring them to a separate pan with the meat and sauce.

"I didn't know you could cook." Yukina says wandering in; Mae smiles and shrugs handing the koorime a plate. I wonder if her hair is naturally that color or if she dyes it…surely she has to dye it, but what a strange color choice; and those eyes…jeez it's enough to make a girl nervous. Mae's thoughts were interrupted by Yukina's soft voice. "Hmm… I didn't tell you earlier but there are some rules: First, don't go into the woods, especially after dark. Second, you aren't allowed in the East wing of the temple, I'm allowing you to stay here that doesn't mean you can wander around willy-nilly. Third and most important, I conduct a… business here. Should something come up in the days you are here you should stay out of sight and out of the way; understand?"

Again this was more of a statement than a question. Mae smiles to show she understands, her fingers twist the hem of her shirt nervously. Maybe this was a bad idea. I wanted to stay here to get away from all the people, but if she has people coming and going…well that kind of defeats the purpose. Maybe I should just leave…Mae's thoughts are interrupted as the ice maiden continues.

"Furthermore, if you break any of these rules I can't be responsible for what happens to- oh now what!" Yukina exclaims, putting her plate down and throwing her hands in the air as a peppy tune fills the room. She stalks out of the room before answering the call so her guest won't see the spirit world communication device. The ice maiden pulls the compact looking device from her pocket flipping it open. Koenma really ought to make these look like cell phones, I mean honestly. On the screen appeared the toddler prince. His round cheeks were flushed and his usual blue hat sits crooked.

"Oh thank goodness Yukina!" He gushes, pacifier in hand. She fights the urge to roll her eyes, after dealing with the spirit prince for the past four years she understands why Genkai was always so gruff. Koenma leans back in his chair so his face isn't taking up the entire screen and straightens his hat; he looks agitated, unusual but not unheard of for spirit world's second in command.

"Yes Lord Koenma what can I do for you?" The ice maiden asks tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear. She tries not to inhale too deeply, the smell of Mae's cooking threatening to make her stomach rumble and her mouth water.

"I'm calling an emergency meeting at the temple!" He exclaims, placing a hand on the desk and leaning back into the camera. Yukina holds the communicator at arms-length, unable to contain a grimace at the feedback coming from the speaker. "A file has come up! Ah sorry Yukina, I've been meaning to get this microphone fixed."

"Umm, Lord Koenma now isn't really-" The communicator screen goes dark cutting Yukina off before she can finish her weak protest. Not that the spirit prince would have listened to her anyways. Sighing she places the communicator back in her pocket and returns to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry but I have…visitors…they'll be arriving shortly. Good night." Yukina is as polite as she can be with her current situation, she really did wish that Koenma would give her more notice. She loved having an excuse to see the guys, especially Kazuma, but there had been instances where she would've appreciated some advanced notice. One time she'd been taking a bath when the spirit prince decided to call, she almost hadn't gotten dressed in time. The ice maiden could feel a flush creeping up her neck at the memory as she hurried out of the kitchen, maybe she could hold them at the door long enough for the girl to get back to her room.

Mae tries and fails to shrug off the pit forming in her stomach. She quickly finishes cleaning up her mess from cooking, throwing away the scraps and drying the last of the pans. She pushes up her sleeves to reveal white arms laced with blue veins. She usually didn't bother with makeup anywhere but her face, neck, and hands choosing instead to cover herself with clothes. Mae turned on the middle oven, unable to easily reach the top handle, and places Yukina's plate inside to stay warm. She then busies herself making one of the fragrant teas she found on her cutting board hunt. The scent of honey and vanilla fills the kitchen as the tea leaves steep. Silently she loads the pot and cups onto a serving tray before depositing them in the tea room she passed on her way to the kitchen earlier that night. With a small smile Mae ducks out of the tea room and half slides back to her small corner of the temple.

"This place sure has changed over the years." Yuske comments as he and Kuwubara walk across the lawn. They make quite a sight together, both being over six feet. Despite Yuske's last growth spurt Kuwubara still towers over him.

"Yeah, even more since Master Genkai passed." Kuwubara adds, running a hand through his carrot colored hair. His hair is short now, having forgone the pompadour during high school in order to look more professional during college applications. The choice has served him well allowing him to get into one of the top business schools in the country. He has also filled out, large muscles strain under his clothes when he moves to the steps of the temple. Gone is the clumsy goof of his junior high years, now his grey-brown eyes are focused and hold the wisdom of years of fighting spirit world's battles.

"I don't mean the additions either" he adds thinking back to the last few months the old psychic had been with them. Genkai had come down with a sudden and mysterious illness, one than even Kurama couldn't cure. They had suspected foul play, an attempt to break the group apart, and it had almost worked. For almost a year after Genkai's death Yuske couldn't be reached, having retreated to his kingdom in demon world. Keiko had managed to convince Koenma to allow her to go to demon world and retrieve Yuske, that girl was a godsend.

"Yeah, well, no time to reminisce, diaper breath said it was urgent, a lost file resurfacing or something like that. Leave it to him to lose something like that." The former spirit detective says shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Unlike his friend who had seemed to grow up all at once Yuske had hit his final growth spurt his freshman year, allowing him to be the tallest member of their strange group for almost six months. He never really filled out the way anybody expected, retaining that lanky boy-next-door look. Yuske glances at the temple from under his bangs; he told his team that gelling his hair while they were on missions had become too much of a bother but in truth Keiko had let it slip she liked his hair better without the product. His chocolate eyes rest on the ice maiden who had inherited the temple after his mentor had died.

A pang of loss still hits him every time he remembers Genkai, and that she's gone. Four years' time hasn't taken the edge off the blade that seems to cut him every time he visits and fails to hear her nagging voice calling him a dimwit or idiot. The dark haired man glances at his friend from the corner of his eye, smirking when he sees Kuwubara trying to hide a blush. The dumbass still hasn't made a move on the girl, even though they're both very taken with each other.

"Hey there Yukina, how's it hangin'?" Yuske calls out forcing a grin to take the place of the grimace he'd been sporting since receiving the call from Koenma almost an hour prior.

"Hello Yuske, Kazuma, please come in." The ice maiden smiles allowing her eyes to linger a split second longer on the carrot top. With a silent sigh she turns away and heads back into the temple, the smell of honey and vanilla drawing her to the tea room. Yukina blinks a couple of times to keep from tearing up, she fell in love with Kuwubara shortly after being rescued and has been waiting for him to make a move ever since. Silly girl she chides herself, if he had feelings for you he would have told you by now; you have known each other for over ten years now.

"Man when are you gonna grow a pair and ask her out?" Yuske grumbles "Anyone can see the way she looks at you, and we all know how you feel about her."

"Shut up Urameshi. You don't know shit; I can't be with Yukina, I mean even if she does have feelings for me did you ever stop to think about the fact that she's going to outlive me." Kuwubara glares at his friend, really sometimes he could be an idiot. The carrot top knows Yuske is going through a similar problem with his own love life and mentally kicks himself for bringing it up.

"Yeah, I know. I mean I'm gonna outlive Keiko by at least a few hundred years. Human lives are basically just a blip to demons, but you shouldn't let that stop you. I mean if she does love you then any time you have together is worth treasuring." Yuske shrugs with a halfcocked grin and saunters up the stairs, pausing at the door to throw one last comment over his shoulder before following the ice maiden inside. "At least that's what Keiko tells me."

Kuwubara stares at the empty door, letting the weight of his words sink in. Yuske really has grown up. I mean yeah he's twenty seven, but still… He sighs knowing that if his childish friend is willing to face the centuries after Keiko dies just to be with her now he really has no choice but to man up and confess his feelings to Yukina. The carrot top reaches his energy out to try and sense Kurama or Hiei but, for some reason he can only sense Yukina. Even the former detective's energy is masked by the ice maiden. A small frown settling on his face Kuwubara heads into the temple to await the arrival of the last two members of their group.

Having showered and washed all the makeup from the day from her skin Mae plops herself down on the futon. Her contacts have been removed so she can sleep comfortably revealing their true azure color. Raw hands pull damp strands back into a simple braid, her usually white skin pink from scrubbing the makeup off and the heat of the shower. Mae leans against the window trying to see the stars that should be rising through the thick foliage surrounding the temple. Her efforts are in vain as the trees obscure the entire sky that she would be able to view from her window. She presses her cheek more firmly against the cool glass and lets her eyes flutter closed, able to picture the constellations that rest in the heavens outside her window. She stayed like this for the next few hours, unable to hear the bickering in the tea room, until she was unable to fight sleep any longer. She feels a weightlessness take over as she drifts off to sleep, relishing these few peaceful moments before the nightmares would begin.