Yusuke slowly walked up the stairs to the temple, he had just gotten off the bus after speaking with the hospital about the arrangements for the some of the funeral. After a short call to Kurama asking him to come and help with Kannia. He wasn't torn up about his mother passing, he was pissed that she didn't tell him she was sick. Lighting a cigarette the Spirit Detective reached the top of the stairs to meet the gaze of Genkai.
It took the male a few moments to speak. "Hey…" he muttered.
"How are you doing?" Genkai said before taking a drag of her own cigarette.
"Pissed… but better than this morning." He said walking towards the temple Genkai falling in step next to him. "Did Kannia make it?"
"Yes, she arrived early this afternoon. She isn't herself though."
"I noticed that this morning." Yusuke muttered. "Over the last few months she's been developing more and more human emotions. I don't think she can process them or identify them as easily as Kurama or Hiei did."
"Understandable… but you still haven't answered my question, Dimwit." Genkai said stopping before they reached the deck.
"I'm fine, I mean." He paused trying to gather his thoughts and his own emotions. "I don't feel horrible, but that's because I've known her in her bad times… Kannia's only seen the good." He said taking a drag of his cigarette.
"Did you call anyone?" Genkai asked as she started to walk once more.
"I called Kurama, he'll be here in the morning to help with Kannia and planning the funeral." Yusuke said walking into the main room. He paused seeing Kannia staring at a can of pop her head resting on the table.
"As I said… she's not her usual self." Genkai muttered sitting down outside the door.

"Hey Squirt, you okay?" Yusuke said walking over opening the can of pop for her.
It seemed to pull the demon teen back to the real world. Sitting up she looked up at Yusuke. "I don't know…" she muttered. "It feels like I'm sitting in a fish bowl…" Her ears were still drooped and he sighed sitting down next to her.
"That's grief…" He said wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "It will go away soon… Kurama's coming tomorrow… he'll be able to explain it better than me."
Kannia nodded resting her head on Yusuke's shoulder.

~!~

The funeral was coming to an end as Kurama stood in the back of the garden. The fox demon had made the small alcove for the occasion. The burial had been completed and friends of Yusuke's mother had already taken their leave after giving their respects to Yusuke and wished him well. As Kurama's gaze fell upon his friend, he saw that the detective was only being held together by a few threads of control. Keiko had arrived the previous night to try and help set up, but had been crying all morning, her tears worsening while Shizuru delivered the eulogy. Kuwabara seemed to be holding back tears, but the man's face was red and his eyes swollen with unshed tears. Kannia had been in the back of the garden with him, quietly crying unable to hold back the tears any more.

Kurama soon made his way towards Yusuke who was standing staring at the now buried gravesite. Looking up at his face he saw the dark bags under his eyes, his jaw set as if he were grinding his teeth.

"You haven't spoken much since my arrival." Kurama muttered standing with his hands in his pockets. "What is on your mind?"
Yusuke was silent for a few moments. "Why she didn't tell me…"
"There's nothing you could have done…" Kurama explained.
"Still, she didn't have to fucking do it alone." He snapped running his hand through his hair. "She just carried on like there was nothing wrong. On days off she would take Kannia shopping, hell she even baked. Why pretend nothing is wrong and lie to your own son!"
"Because she didn't want you to be like this… Angry at nothing. Illness is not something we can control..." Kurama stated. "You and I were only lucky the first time."
The comment seemed to sober the detective up for a minute. "I had almost forgotten that…" he muttered. "How we met…"
"Don't tear yourself up over this… She lived life to her fullest, and she died sober like she wished." Kurama said resting his hand on Yusuke's shoulder giving it a small squeeze.
"Yea…" Yusuke said finally looking up from the grave and to the sky.
"Come. Genkai has probably rounded the others up to the temple by now…" Kurama said as he started to turn to walk through the garden back to the temple.
"I'll be a minute… go ahead." Yusuke sighed.
"Alright. Don't be to long." Kurama stated.

~!~

Genkai had set the main room up for the young adults to sit and relax after the funeral beer and snacks laid out, along with a few boxes of Kleenex. Keiko's cries had slowed to allow her to have a conversation with Shizuru and Yukina at one end of the table. To Yukina's left, Kuwabara no longer looked like he was going to start bawling any second and was drinking a beer. Kannia was sitting out on the grass below the deck that Genkai was perched on. The sun had started to set allowing the fireflies to drift out of the woods. The luminescent insects hung low in the ground around the demon and cast off a dim blue hue. Looking up Genkai saw Kurama walking through the path that lead to the grave, not to far behind him Yusuke followed.

After the boys stopped inside Yusuke sat on the deck next to Genkai, a cigarette between his lips. The elder woman looked at him, he seemed to be in a better mood than he had been in the last five days.
"You look better." She stated taking a drink of her beer.
"Feel a bit better." He stated as he lit the paper stick. "Just not quite looking forward to the bus ride home."
"Why is that?" Genkai asked.
"A two hour bus ride to an empty apartment," He said leaning against one of the beams that held up the roof.
"Then why go back?"
"Huh?"
"You know that all of you are welcome here any time you want." The old woman stated taking a large drink of her beer.
Yusuke was a bit dumbfounded. "Are you suggesting Kannia and I move in here?" he said the cigarette now held between his fingers.
"No I'm suggesting the two of you go live in a box on the side of the road. Of course I am, Dimwit. While you work on your cart I can put Kannia to work around here, give you a break from having to watch her all the time." She stated looking at him.

Yusuke didn't know what to say to his mentor. He would love to live out at the temple, he knew Kannia would enjoy being out in the woods over stuck in the middle of the city any day. "I think we'll take you up on that offer…. We just need to get the affairs in order first…" he said a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Thanks…"
"Don't worry about it…" She said with a smile setting her beer aside to light her own cigarette.

~!~

Four months have passed since the funeral, Yusuke had taken only two weeks to get things in order with the old apartment and moving the important item's to Genkai's temple. Yusuke's noodle cart was getting better business in the small town versus the big city. Genkai had started to homeschool Kannia so she had a basic education; she had also put the young demon to work in cleaning the temple on a weekly basis. Yusuke had stayed pretty quiet over the last four months, still not quite settled over the death of his mother.

Keiko sat in the main room with Yukina, she had come by every weekend to check in with her best friend to make sure he was truly okay. Yusuke would be coming home from the noodle cart soon. Taking a sip of tea Keiko sighed.
"I just don't know how to snap him out of it…" Keiko muttered looking down at the lightly colored liquid. "He's never really been in a slump like this before."
"It is quite odd… I mean Kuwabara was able to get back to his studies in only a few days…" Yukina said looking at Keiko. "I think Yusuke is channeling to much of his demon side, he hasn't played with Kannia much either since they arrived here."
Keiko bit her lip trying to formulate a plan for this weekend. Soon the answer to her problem walked across the deck.
"Hello ladies." Kurama said with a smile. "Yusuke not back yet?" he said setting his backpack down on the floor near the door.
"No not yet." Yukina said standing up. "Do you want some tea?"
"Yes please, thank you." Kurama said sitting down at the table. "Kannia off doing chores?"
"Yep, she's cleaning the shrine room right now." Yukina said bringing out another cup.
"How is school going?" Keiko asked Kurama.
"I'm at the top of my classes and just finished my mid-terms." Kurama said smiling.
"That's great! I'm at the top of some of my classes, our mid-terms are next week." Keiko replied.
"That's good, what brings you around these parts so close to mid-terms?"
"Yusuke." Keiko sighed.
"What's wrong?" he asked a bit of concern slipping into his voice.
"He's not quite back to normal." Keiko said running her finger around the rim of her cup. "Which brings me to my next question."
"And that would be…?"
"Could you talk to him?" Keiko asked smiling.
"About what?" Kurama asked a bit baffled.
"What about what?" Yusuke chimed in as he walked through the door. "Hey Keiko."
"How was work?" Keiko said smiling, leaving Kurama sitting there like a fish out of water.
"Good… where's the Squirt?"
"Cleaning," Yukina said passing Yusuke a cup of coffee.
Keiko smiled at Yusuke only to glance at the frustrated looking Kurama who was looking at her over his tea. She knew she would need to elaborate later, but for now they would act like nothing was wrong.

~!~

As night fell the fireflies began to gather around the temple, Kurama smiled seeing the insects. It was now the norm for the area. The insects still hung a bit low in the air with a light blue color to them. Looking across the deck he saw Kannia perched in a window her hand held out for several fireflies to perch on. Yusuke was sitting on the deck having a cigarette while Genkai sat in the main room watching the news with Yukina. Keiko had left not long after dinner, her excuse was that she needed to study. The other was to avoid the fox after she told him what her plan was. Kurama didn't mind the plan… but it was executing it that would be the true issue.
Kurama sighed as he sat down next to Yusuke a beer in hand. "You're freaking out Keiko."
"How so?" Yusuke said.
"You're locking your emotions away… aren't you?" Kurama said looking at the male. The question had made the detective pause. Kurama started to stand up. "Let's take a walk…" Kurama said his hands slipping into his pockets. Yusuke had hesitated but soon followed the fox into the woods. Kurama could sense Hiei as he started to make his way towards the two. Kurama shook his head slightly as he kept walking. Soon the fire apparition's aura backed off a little giving the two of them some space.

Once the two reached the ocean shore he stared out at the stars and moon. It was a good mile from the temple… but still part of Genkai's property. Turning to look at Yusuke, Kurama sighed. "It's not healthy for you to lock your emotions away like this."
"It's better than being pissed at the situation." Yusuke said kicking the sand.
"I understand that the pain of your mother passing was hard on you, but it was hard on everyone." Kurama said staring at the water. "It effects everyone around you as well." He said holding his hand out for a lone firefly that had followed the two out to the water. "Hiei and I may have perfected the mask that we wear to hide out emotions, but it's a survival stand point for us, and as you have noticed over the years they have begun to crumble… to allow us to live in the human world. Humans need the outlet, even you Yusuke…"
Yusuke was silent for a while staring at the water. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.
"In a way yes… Even Kannia's mood is off. She is tuned to you now, just like Puu. Your demon shell puts you in a depression, where Hiei's irritable… and I'm just cold." Kurama explained. "It's better that you are human, the longer that you stay in your demon shell the more and more you will fall into the habits. And after the research we did years ago... I don't think you would like to wind up like Raizen."
"Not what I was goin' for in the long run… but I see you're point." He said stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Kurama grinned. "So we don't need to continue this?"
"Yea…" Yusuke said with a smirk. "Keiko put you up to this didn't she?"
"No comment." Kurama stated.

~!~

Kurama lead the walk back towards the temple, the night was quite. They were only a few yards from the beach where they had finished their talk when Yusuke started to speak once more.
"Damn it," he cursed. Kurama turned around to look at his friend and paused, seeing tears rolling down the young man's face. Kurama's features softened as he let his hands slip out of his coat pockets.
"Why the hell am I crying…" the detective said to himself as he wiped the tears away.

Yusuke had come to terms with his mother passing, but Kurama was right at the beginning. It wasn't something he could have controlled but he was still angry. But as the tears rolled down his face, his mind flooded back to the memories of him and his mother when he was growing up. It hadn't been a perfect life, and he had given her so much hell, but it was perfect in their mind. Pushing his fingers through his hair and leaving them in place holding the sides of his head. The memories of the past year with Kannia flipping through his head, his mother had been so happy. They had reinvented their family, it was better than perfect, hell it would have given him one hell of a cavity if he hadn't been part of it. The steady stream of tears down his face turned into a waterfall as his mind started to crumble from the exhaustion. Dropping to his knees his anger flipping to anguish of the unspent time that could have been there if he hadn't been so hard on his mother, if he hadn't been caught up in work and avoiding her every chance he had when he was a teenager. His mind flushed out Kurama calling his name and soon his own screams were drowned out by the memories.

Kurama's eyes were wide as he saw the young man kneeling on the dirt before him. He couldn't pull Yusuke out of the grief that he was feeling. Kurama had been pushed into tight places before from situations, but none that involved Yusuke. Moving closer Kurama knelt in front the sobbing spirit detective and wrapped his arms around the male. He couldn't stand seeing Yusuke in pain, especially when he could do nothing to relieve it. "It all passes… it just takes time for it to heal…" he muttered to himself as he ran his hand over Yusuke's head smoothing out the hair that had been pushed out of place. "Grief is just one of those Human emotions that make us all stronger.."

~!~

Hiei was perched in a tree, his Jagan eye glowing. A heavy sigh passed through the apparition's lips as he closed his own eyes leaning against the trunk of the tree. He had stayed behind at Kurama's request, and at this moment he was happy that he did. The third eye slowly closed, taking the focus off of the demon's only two friends. Hiei was not one to offer comfort… in all his years he hadn't developed the soft spot that Kurama had when lingering with humans. Opening his eyes they narrowed as he noticed the fireflies that floated lazily in the main courtyard were now starting to become more concentrated around him. Glancing down towards the ground his eyes soon fell on a patch of silver hair wandering through the woods. Rolling his eyes he disappeared from the limb and appeared behind the demon girl.
"Kannia." He stated glaring at her. The young kit squeaked turning to face Hiei the fireflies following her gaze lighting up the area around them. "What are you doing out here?" Hiei asked.
"I um… was trying to sneak up on you…" she said slowly.
"Why?"
"I haven't seen you in a while… and I wanted to say 'hi' without you running off…" she said looking towards the ground. Hiei blinked at the girl. He didn't know how to react to her questions or statements, it was why he tended to avoid her after the four month long walk they had had in the beginning. Hiei let a annoyed sigh out before turning his blank stare to Kannia.
"Hi." He replied. The demon girl smiled a bit.
"Hi… um, do you know where my brothers are?" she asked.
"Do you need them for something?" Hiei asked raising a brow.
"N-Not really, I'm just a bit lonely… Yukina and Genkai have already gone to bed." She explained.
"Yusuke and Kurama are a bit busy right now." Hiei stated. "Why don't you head back to the temple."
"Okay.." Kannia said biting her lip as she began to walk the way she came. Hiei watched her for a few minutes before kicking himself mentally for what he was about to do. He started to walk back towards the temple with her, but remained silent. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the small smile that had formed on the kit's face.
"Mention this to anyone and I will cut out your tongue." He stated.
"Gottcha." Kannia said slipping her hands into her pockets, the fireflies started to zip around the are turning a light green color.

Author's Notes : Since I was a bit late in posting Chapter 2, as well as it being small, well here is Chapter 3 to apologize! I've also been gifted with some extra days off from work so I'm hoping to wrap up Book 1 here. Yes it's a short book, but it was only to introduce the OC as well as tie up some loose ends before Book 2 started to get produced. Estimated chapters for that book is currently at 15! I hope you enjoyed these chapters so far and stick around with us!