Kiyoshi: We have finally managed to write this chapter.

FCL64: Quit with the subtle comments about how I haven't written this story in a while! It's not my fault we got stuck!

Kiyoshi: That's why I said we…

FCL64: Oh, yes. We own no one other than Ayaka, Kaien and Kyo. Zuberi too, but he's not important for a while.

"We've only connected the lockets seven times," Ayaka said.

"And?" Kurama asked.

"Everything just," Frustrated Ayaka stopped, but Kaien finished her sentence.

"Goes haywire."

"Yes," Ayaka said. "Haywire is a good way to put it."

"Haywire in what way?" Kurama inquired.

"Well…first, when I put my aura into my locket, it somehow amplifies it. It still takes an effort, but I can do things with the water I would not normally be capable of. The same goes for Kaien, his locket and his fire. Do you follow?" This was the clearest explanation Ayaka could give.

Hiei nodded, but he had seen Kaien's locket at work. Ayaka was a lot more reluctant to use her locket, so even Kurama had never witnessed it. But Kurama had followed the explanation up to that point, so he nodded as well.

"I think so…" Yusuke said.

Kuwabara added, "Not sure, but I think I do."

Ayaka nodded. "Next thing you need to understand is that when we connect the lockets—aura or no aura,"

"We can hear each others thoughts," Kaien ended.

"Fascinating," Kurama muttered.

"Are you sure you can't hear each others thoughts right now?" Yusuke muttered. "It's like listening to one different person with two different voices."

"Get used to it," Hiei muttered. "I spent years complaining about it, and they haven't stopped."

"We tried once," Ayaka said, "For Hiei's benefit,"

"Yet it didn't work." Kaien said, "Obviously."

Ayaka seemed to remember what they were really discussing. She turned to Kurama and said, " When the aura is involved, it goes beyond telepathy."

There was a pause as Kaien and Ayaka thought of how to explain. Then Kaien said, "Our thoughts are simplified. All that is left is raw emotion. But it's the same emotion, even if we don't think it in exactly the same way."

"Okay, you lost me," Yusuke said. "I'm not going to fry my brain over this. Keep going, but I won't be paying attention."

"I second that," Kuwabara muttered.

"So how does all that relate to the elements?" Kurama asked.

"When the lockets are connected, the four elements follow our emotions. What we want, they achieve, but we do not control how."

"Seriously?" Kurama asked.

Ayaka nodded. "The calm needed to connect those lockets safely is almost impossible."

"What's the significance of each locket having only two elements rather than all four?"

Kaien said, "I think the wind and water listen to her while the earth and fire listen to me. It's like we want the same thing, but we're not thinking it in the same way. The slight variations in our thoughts sometimes cause the elements to clash. But it's never wind and water or earth and fire. Even Ayaka and I don't possess the teamwork necessary to think exactly as one."

"There is also the fact that Kaien and I are opposites," Ayaka added thoughtfully. "The timeless concept of yin and yang is exemplified in those lockets—opposites coexisting harmoniously for a delicate balance. One cannot truly exist without the other."

Kaien interrupted, "Yes. Earth and air are opposites. Fire and water. Then there is Ayaka and myself. Female and male. I have often wondered if I could even survive if Ayaka died. I have come to the conclusion that it would be possible,"

Now Ayaka interrupted, "But not fun at all. The surviving twin would survive physically but would be going on autopilot. That is how important Kaien is to me, Kurama. Whoever lived would suffer a mental, emotional and spiritual death. They would be nothing more than a shell. If not that,"

Kaien took over. "Then the balance would still be disrupted. The survivor would likely lose control of their single element, destroying everything in the vicinity,"

Ayaka continued, "Thereby self-destructing and restoring the balance by eliminating an unneeded opposite. We arrived at this conclusion separately. That definitely gives it some credibility." She rolled her eyes. "Logically, I should have known Kaien couldn't be dead. But I panicked." Kaien looked at her, and she added, "Hiei told me what happened."

He nodded and said, "We are opposites. Two halves of a whole. If the lockets possessed all four gems, it would not amplify the sense of needing the other. Which would make it more dangerous as the whole of the power could be controlled by an individual. As it is, two opposites must agree."

Kurama frowned. Louder he said, "Ayaka, you mentioned the concept of yin and yang. Are you aware that yin is the feminine side, passive and connected to water, while yang is the active, masculine side associated with fire?"

Ayaka glanced at Kaien. "Kurama, you've probably deduced this, but Kaien is a thief. While I favor your variety of theft—quiet and avoiding conflict,—Kaien prefers the more Hiei way of doing things—loudly and violently. We are each capable of doing the opposite, but it's a bit uncomfortable, as it's unnatural."

"Passive and aggressive…" Kurama looked up. "It would seem that you, Ayaka, are a physical manifestation of yin, and you, Kaien, are the materialization of yang. The idea is that yin and yang combine to form all that comes to be."

"Which is why the power of the lockets works best when we are calm and together," Ayaka replied.

"Yes. And you mentioned a place that makes them even more powerful. Am I right in guessing it's a place where all the elements meet?"

Ayaka snorted. "Of course you're right. But I still can't figure out how you make those leaps."

"Lots of practice… It sounds as though, with the lockets, you and Kaien have been singled out by some greater power to represent the forces of nature. Although I do not pretend to know the reason for this or its implications."

"It's all about the balance," Ayaka breathed. "Kaien and I,"

"Must work together. With a form of teamwork that is nearly impossible," Kaien finished.

"Will you quit finishing each others sentences?" Kuwabara asked. "It makes all this even more confusing."

"Just get over it. It's not going to happen," Hiei muttered.

Then Ayaka said, "Our speaking almost as one is simply another form of teamwork."

Then Kurama said one word. "Balance."

"Which is why what the lockets can do isn't frightening," Ayaka said, nodding.

"It's our lack of control that creates the problem," Kaien said.

"But it's a natural form of power," Kurama said after a silence. "All natural power is balanced. That's why a natural power as strong as that must be divided. Equilibrium. Everything in nature is balanced in some way. Without the necessity of working together, the power is ineffective and dangerous when the calm and balance is not achieved. But if one person could control it alone… it would be unnatural, unstable and dangerous with or without that tranquility."

Ayaka covered her mouth in a combination of horror and understanding. "The pendant."

Reviews...

Foxgirl Ray: Sorry you miss the YYH gang. The ayaka-kaien stuff is kind of important. Everything I include in this story will be important. Well, I'll try to make sure there's nothing superfluous.

animegrlsteph: yes. demon hobo. he'll come back! Eventually.