Two parents and a student murdered, and school here picks up and goes on the next day, Akira thought bitterly, yanking down the last pieces of the banners Sheila had never gotten the chance to work on. They glimmered in the afternoon light from the broken lounge window, Buffy's glittery letters glinting like a sunbeam through clouds. I hate this place.

Even more, he hated the attitude Sunnydale forced on Buffy and the others. People were dead. It sucked. But all they could do was pick themselves up and study for the next test, waiting for the monsters to kill again.

It's wrong. All of this is wrong.

I have to do something.

Shoving torn posterboard into a rubbish bin on top of some of the window glass, Akira swore under his breath. He'd told Shirogane he didn't want to fight. And he didn't.

But no school newspaper should have an obituary column.

He was one guy. One sore, almost powerless guy. Shuichi's salves had worked a small measure of the same agonizing magic as the rei king's hands, so his ribs were intact, but that didn't change the basic fact that he was human. Not a shin. Not... whatever Buffy had to be. She'd taken on what Willow had called a master vampire and come out with nothing worse than scrapes and mussed hair. He'd tried to take on Angel, and...

Admit it. If he'd been just a little faster, he would have killed you.

Damn it. What could he do?

Splorch.

Akira blinked, peering at a whiteness moving above the floor where the vampires had gathered. That's a much bigger hakua than the one in our kitchen.

And there was a black beak poking through from the other side of the red-limned tear, as a kokuchi probed a possible exit into the world of light.

This, I can do something about.

...I hope.

Rubbing salt across his fingertips, Akira crouched to flatten his palms on the floor. "Our hands are the healers of zero..."

It was a bigger tear. But maybe he'd gotten a better grip on how to patch the energies together, because the headache didn't seem any worse than last time-

"Buff, we almost died due to Snyder's little party." Xander's voice carried through the opening door. "I still say we should let the troll clean up his own decorations... whoa."

"Ohmigosh!" A whiffle of air, as if Willow had cupped her hands in front of her face. Akira didn't dare take his eyes off the tear to find out. "There's something glowing!"

Damn it. The hakua was rearing back and away from the tear, hissing. The black beak that had almost slipped out of sight stabbed forward.

This is going to get very ugly, very fast.

"Everybody, calm down." Buffy's voice, level and watchful. "Giles said they wouldn't attack unless things got bad."

"They?" Xander gulped. "I'm guessing, not just a light."

"Nope." Buffy popped the p. "I see two... critters. Light and dark."

"If you don't want to see a lot more," Akira gritted out, hands tingling, crackles of blue and red skittering over his fingers, "close the door and be quiet."

...The door shut. He could still hear breathing behind him. Damn it.

Hold the energies. Mend and bind them. "Light must stay in light, and dark in dark..."

It wasn't the same as sealing the barrier as a shin. More of a stitch-and-patch, with thick bandages slapped on top. It would heal, in its own time.

But the tear was thinned to a fine line, and it would be hours until the boundaries weakened again. The hakua should have enough time to finish the job.

Slumping back on his heels, Akira brushed off itching salt. "Good luck with that."

Blue eyes slitted at him. "Shin."

Why do they keep calling me that?

Scaly white skin shuddered, like flicking off a fly. The beak went back to work.

"Um." Xander gave Akira a look as he turned. "Glowy thing, still there."

"But the black one's gone." Buffy was in a relaxed ready pose, equally prepared to talk or unleash mayhem. "Hoping that's of the good." She crossed her arms, as if she could block the door all day. "We need to talk."

Another vampire. Another tear. Akira grimaced. "Yes. We do."

Oh yeah, this isn't awkward, Buffy thought sarcastically, seating herself on a backwards chair as Xander and Willow both tried to grab chairs and keep an eye on Akira all at the same time. On his part, Akira was fiddling with one of the heavier dictionaries, doing his best to look like he wasn't about to toss it at the closest threat and bolt, really.

At least Giles looked mostly calm, bringing out his now much less dusty book on mares and moroi. "Now, the two of you say all you saw was a light?"

Xander nodded. Willow scrunched her face in a frown. "I thought I saw... something in the air, too," she admitted. "Red. Only it was too dark to be red. I think."

"Which fits descriptions of weak spots in the boundary between the realms," the Watcher mused. He cast a glance Buffy's way. "Yet you actually saw them."

"Book pic isn't sleek enough," Buffy said judiciously. "They move like a boa constrictor in a bad mood." She met gray eyes. "I thought you said Marys - Coke-guys - go after people who can see them."

"If the tear had been big enough to climb through, the kokuchi would have come after you." Akira flipped pages, mock-casual. "It should be closed soon. We got lucky."

"Did we?" Buffy leaned on her chair back, ready to move. "You didn't look like you were about to take it down. No offense."

"You have an ally who's a vampire." Akira snapped the dictionary shut. "Who knows Spike well enough that he tried to talk to a murderer. No offense."

"W-well, Angel's... complicated," Willow faltered.

"What's complicated about Deadboy?" Xander grumbled. "He likes to drool over-"

Giles cleared his throat.

And maybe miracles really did happen, because Xander glanced at her not-quite-friendly looking Watcher, and shut up.

"Until and unless your mother moves out of town, Akira, I suspect we'll be running into each other more often than not," Giles observed. "Like attracts like. One serious brush with the supernatural tends to leave one vulnerable to future encounters." He adjusted his glasses. "As I suspect Master Wagatsuma has already told you."

Reluctantly, Akira nodded.

"Given that is indeed the case, one of the few advantages humans have over demons is our ability to work together," Giles went on. "If Buffy is amenable, I propose a trade. Perhaps a question for a question?"

Buffy hid a grimace. Nice try. But he's not going to go for it. Not with four of us and one of him. I sure wouldn't.

Gray searched her gaze for a long, silent moment. "A trade," Akira said at last. "But not questions." He put the dictionary down. "A story for a story."

Yeah. That sounded fair. Not easy, but fair. "Once upon a time a Valley Princess who just wanted to be a cheerleader got told there was a skanky master vampire named Lothos who was out to make her a midnight snack," Buffy said. "Or worse. Lots of bad stuff happened, Lothos went down with a ruler to the heart, and just maybe there were smoking mice who burned down the gym to get rid of the rest of his nest. More nasty stuff happened," she was so not going into the loony bin mess, "and the girl ended up on the mouth of Hell, and found out the monsters weren't going to stop until she dies. Because there's just one girl in all the world with the strength to fight the demons. One Slayer. The Hellmouth is a big all-Evil-can-eat, and they keep chowing down. Unless we stop them." She waved a hand, trying for casual. "So what's your story?"

Wide-eyed, Akira blinked. Looked down, and took a deep breath. "An ocean away from here, a bored high school student ran into a creepy stalker who didn't have a shadow."

Giles started. Buffy cocked an eyebrow at him. "I might have heard a few legends not in the usual records," he stated. "Do go on."

Akira gave him a look, then shrugged. "He told the stalker to get lost. 'It must be you', hell no. The kid was bored, not stupid." He took a breath. "A few hours later he was stuck in the school after dark, trying to keep kokuchi from attacking two unconscious people who might be friends with just a bamboo sword." He glanced at Buffy. "For future reference, that only works until they can bite it in half. Which takes about... oh, one second after they get in close enough."

"Good to know," Buffy acknowledged. "So, steel?"

"Most of the time," Akira nodded. "You could probably punch them to death."

Ooo. Cool. Something that would actually die when she killed it.

"So. Take the creepy stalker's weapons and help," Akira went on, "or die without even knowing why."

"Kind of like the not dying option," Willow muttered.

Xander knuckle-bumped her shoulder. "Who doesn't?"

"Lots of nasty stuff happened," Akira said, deliberately echoing her light tone. "Getting information out of creepy stalker Shirogane is like trying to squeeze blood out of a stone. But eventually he puts enough pieces together. Two sides, light and shadow. Two kings for each side; rei, and shin. And for some reason, about seven years ago one of the shin kings, Homurabi, completely flipped out. He had his people murder one of the rei kings, Ryuuko, and tried to kill the other rei and shin kings. So they're in hiding. Which means tears are getting bigger, no one's left to fix them except a few lesser shin, rei, and some human adepts, and the shadow realm's threatening to crush the light side out of existence."

Giles grimaced. "I knew there was a problem some months ago, but Wagatsuma never said it was this bad..." He sighed. "Then again, he likely wouldn't. Light and shadow magic are vastly different from the witchcraft and sorcery the Council is familiar with. Getting them involved would only have made matters worse."

"Huh." Akira glanced at him, obviously noting Council as something to ask about later. "For months, Homurabi just sent kokuchi and his lesser shin after anyone trying to mend the boundary. Some weeks ago he finally stepped in directly; because he thought he'd found Ryuuko's reincarnation."

"Wait, what?" Xander sat up straight, vibrating like he was about to find some handy rocks and start pitching. "He went after a kid?"

"No." Akira's voice was flat. "He went after a teenager."

Xander did a double-take at the obvious. Counted on his fingers, and turned to Willow, who gave him an equally confused shrug.

"Shin and rei are immortal," Akira smirked. "They don't count human years very well."

"Okay, someone's life officially sucks," Buffy declared. "I've never had the vamps think someone else was the Slayer."

Uh-oh. She saw a flinch. It was an itty-bitty tiny flinch, but it was a flinch.

Oh boy. "Not all a mistake?" Buffy said, very quietly.

"Not... entirely." Gray eyes flicked to Giles. "You know kokuchi can possess people."

"Yes; it is one of the less pleasant attributes of the light and shadow creatures. Master Wagatsuma has quite a bit of experience with certain problems in that line, thankfully; it came in handy one time some years ago..." The Watcher trailed off, paling. "Oh, good lord."

Very not of the good. "Giles? Using words?" Buffy tried.

"A murdered rei king creates a very stubborn possessing spirit." Akira leaned back against one of the sturdier bookshelves, almost casual. "As far as Master Wagatsuma can tell, Ryuuko must have... gotten into my head... at least six years ago." His throat worked, one bitter swallow. "I might have worked it out before, except someone decided it'd be better if I didn't remember someone else taking over my body."

Okay, somebody deserved a pounding, Slayer-style. Buffy was having a hard time even imagining that level of goosebump-creepy. At least Amy had known her witch of a mother had taken over her body. "Did you kick his ass?"

"Homurabi kicked it." Akira's smile could have curdled her lemonade. "Rei and shin are opposites. The pair of them tried to kill each other. Only Ryuuko wasn't in a rei body, he was in mine. There was no way for him to summon all of a king's power. He hurt Homurabi, badly enough to make him retreat. But that burned out his magic." Fingers worked, clenching and unclenching on air. "And then, like the immortal bastard he is, his spirit left another dying body behind."

Ooookay. Now she knew why Akira set off her wiggins-meter. No one got that close to dead without it leaving a mark.

Giles winced; a soft huff of breath. "Master Wagatsuma said you'd been badly injured."

Stiffly, Akira nodded. "We all were. Ryuuko saved our lives. But if he hadn't been in my head, none of us would have been there." He paused. Flinched. "No. Shirogane, Kou... they would have been." Gray eyes darkened. "I still hate him."

"Indeed," Giles nodded gravely. "This is unpleasant to ask, but - how likely is it that you could be possessed again?"

"I asked Master Wagatsuma that, too." Akira's voice didn't quite shake. "Almost impossible." A bitter laugh. "Ryuuko had me long enough, and did enough damage when he was burned out... Master calls it a massive spiritual allergic reaction. If anything else tries to possess me, the little bit of magic I do have will flare up and try to kill it." He paused. Cast a look over the whole room. "And if it's too strong for me to kill, and even the tiniest parasite kokuchi is probably too much for what I've got left..."

Buffy waited. Shot a glance at her friends before they could butt in. No.

"If I'm possessed, I'll die," Akira said quietly. "So you're going to find me patching tears a lot. I don't have a choice." He looked at her; sad, afraid, and just tired. "This is the second tear I've found near where vampires tried to kill people. If you're fighting vampires, tell me how I can help. It's my life on the line, too."

Now everybody was looking at her. And she didn't have an answer yet.

Stall. "Giles. You said you knew about some of this?"

"I knew that rei and shin, Lightfolk and Shadowfolk who take a human form, do exist," the Watcher said judiciously. "I've never quite found it necessary to add them to any official records. At times, the Council can be quite prim about nonhumans who might pose a danger to humanity."

"No, really?" Xander rolled his eyes.

"But it sounds like, if the shin and rei weren't there at all, things could get... really bad," Willow got out.

"Precisely why I've never confirmed the rumors," Giles nodded. "I've seen Master Wagatsuma at work. It's startling how much more peaceful an area may become once the boundary is properly sealed, and shadow energy is no longer inflaming dark desires..." He trailed off, staring into the distance.

Watcher in thinky mode, Buffy deduced. Incoming dear lord in five, four, three-

"Akira?" Giles was looking at him like an unexpected case of holy water in the middle of a vamp riot. "If you can seal the tears, that might be more help to us than even another fighter on the field."

"Marcie," Willow blurted out. "And Chris, and Amy's mother... and the hyena kids were possessed, though that was magic, so I don't know..."

"Whoa, whoa - build a bridge under that leap, guys," Buffy waved her hands. Though she thought she got the picture. At least the big pieces. "You're saying, even if the Coke-guys can't get through and possess somebody, this shadow energy can make them jump off the deep end anyway?"

"Sometimes." Akira's shoulders shifted against the shelf. "You'd be surprised how many people aren't as sane as they look."

"Hellmouth," Xander quipped, eyes shadowed. "Think we're pretty up on the crazy people look normal gig."

"But if there's less shadow energy leaking out... maybe people won't go as crazy?" Willow's eyes were bright.

"I don't know." Akira glanced at the floor, as if he could stare right through it to that warp in reality the Master had tried to rip open. "Someone I asked said the Hellmouth doesn't just have dark energy, it has demonic energy. I can't fix that." He held a hand out flat, as if feeling something in the air. "It's like bailing with a thimble-"

Buffy took a quick breath, feeling some of her worry blow out with it. "You're in."

"What?"

Xander and Willow sounded surprised, but not in a bad way. Akira looked startled. And Giles... he hid it well, but she thought he was smiling.

"You're in because you don't think you can fix it," Buffy stated, flat out. "Last guy I ended up fighting vampires with, we had to chase him off. He wanted to be Danger Guy, starting barfights just for the thrill. I don't need that. I don't want that. I want careful people. Willow, Xander, even Cordelia - they know when to run. Like you did."

...That was a grin. Probably what most people called a scary grin. Maybe she would have called it that, if she hadn't seen it in a mirror. "Too bad you weren't born in Japan," Akira said wryly. "I could have dropped you on Kengo and Aya. And maybe those two would have learned something."

Erk. "Danger junkies?"

The groan was all the answer she needed. Akira rubbed his forehead with the heels of his hands, as if trying to press out a headache. "Aya went after her sensei, who was cutting people apart, by herself. Kengo kept following me when I told him it was dangerous, and got himself possessed by three kokuchi. I had to beat them out of him."

"Happens," Xander shrugged. "Buffy had to take me out with a desk once." He chuckled, just a little nervous. "I kind of thought I was a hyena. And did I mention if we ever have another school zoo trip, I'm going to be out sick that day? Just, you know, as a safety thing." Her best male bud gave her an awkward grin. "Oh, and Buff? Thanks. Not that I remember any of that, but way, way better to get flattened by the Slayer than... what happened to the other guys. Really."

Akira lowered his hands, eyes squinched in what Buffy recognized as I know I'm going to hate asking. "What happened to the other guys?"

Xander looked shifty. Willow whimpered. Giles cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should leave it at, last year Snyder was the vice-principal-"

"They ate Principal Flutie." Buffy said flatly. "I don't know what happened to them after we got the spirits out. They got pulled out of school; rumor mill said they were in heavy therapy. I hope so. That... it wasn't them, it was evil hyenas using them." She had to stop and take a breath; thinking about it still made her queasy. "So yeah. Anything that keeps people from getting possessed? Is of the good. How do we do that, anyway? The chanting bit."

Akira looked like someone had smacked him with a desk. "You saw them. If you can see kokuchi, you can affect them... but it takes energy to seal the barrier, and I don't know how to tell if you have enough." He shook his head, eyes distant and thinking. "I have to call Shuichi."