Alisee awoke slowly, her vision blurry at first, but clearing as she blinked. Yoshi rested beside her in a chair, his hand gently holding hers while his head rested on the edge of her bed. She moved slightly, nearly sitting up when she realized she was in the palace of the Reikai. However, Yoshi's calming hand had her relaxing as he gently touched her shoulder.
"Glad you decided to come back," he whispered, sleep deepening his voice slightly.
She nodded, gripping his hand lightly when he moved to get up, "Yoshi, I need to explain to you. About what happened…during the fight."
Yoshi smiled, "Don't worry about it. I already know."
Shaking her head, she pulled him closer when he began to move away, "I have to tell you the truth. You deserve it. You see, I'm-"
"Half-Veela?" she gaped at him, her eyes wide as he continued, "When I first met you, I knew there was something about you that wasn't normal. Even for the Makai so I found out everything I could. Your parents were killed when you were young and it was Draco that took up their role. Am I correct?"
With his help, she sat up and stared at him in wonder, "Who told you?"
Chuckling lightly, he poured her a glass of water, "I watched how you acted, your characteristics. I know a lot about other races so it only took me a year to figure things out."
"But how did you know I could heal?"
He sat down, his eyes suddenly blank as he gazed out the door that led to the balcony. She watched him, staring at his rigid back, wondering what he would say.
"I didn't know you could. I-I thought I had killed you, but then you healed yourself." He sounded so sad, so scared, so guilty of what he had done. "I'm sorry, Alisee. I-I should have thought things over more, but I didn't and I could have killed you."
Alisee shook her head, silencing him with a look, "You save Hiei and Sinamon and me. My Veela side would have destroyed a lot of people." She quickly kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you so much."
He sighed, frowning, "You heard what I said, didn't you?"
She smiled and nodded slightly, "It was really…nice."
Glaring, he moved away, walking calmly towards the door, "Glad you feel better."
"Yoshi!"
Freezing, he glanced slightly over at her, "What?"
"I like you too."
Smiling, Yoshi shrugged as he opened the door to let Draco in.
*/*
Sinamon snuggled closer to Hiei, groaning again when the pained muscles rippled. Hiei only held her closer, no daring to move her anymore than needed. She seemed to have other ideas as she sat up.
"Hiei? We need to get moving," Sinamon said, her voice thin.
Moving slowly, he pulled her into his lap, "No, you need to rest. Jantu will wait until you're able to actually do things. Besides groaning, as nice as it is," he added under his breath.
Sinamon lightly punched him, glaring as he laughed. Everything was silent around them, the walls echoing to them their own voices.
"Are we sure we even want to finish this?" Sinamon asked quietly, "I mean, what makes us think things won't turn out bad? That we'll even decide to stay together?"
Hiei gently touched her cheek, leaning in so she could look at him.
Grabbing her hand, he put it to his chest, "You feel my heart? The only reason it still beats is because of you. All of my life I've known you were waiting for me. It was almost as if we were connected."
She nodded, leaning against him as the tears slid down her face. It was really the thought of not finishing the journey. What made her want to stop was the realization that Hiei had confronted his past alone and she might have to do the same.
"Hiei, I don't think I can do this. I'm not as strong as you are. I can't confront Yananu alone."
"You're not alone," he tried reminding her, pulling her closer still. "I'm not leaving you. We'll defeat Yananu together, then we can come home."
The silence stretched between them, both comfortable with just holding the other. It was almost as if their bond strengthened in the time they had.
*/*
KoEnma sat beside Ayame, her hand held tight in his. She had decided she wished to see the prisoner that KoEnma knew had taken their children. Even so, he couldn't deny her the wish that kept her going. If they could get the man to speak of where the children were, then they could be certain they were all right.
"Send him in," KoEnma commanded as he looked at Ayame.
She nodded, smiling slightly though her eyes relayed just how nervous she was. He only tightened his hold on her hands and returned the smile.
"Don't worry. We'll find them," he whispered just before the door opened once more.
Gogure was shoved in, his hands bound before him as he stood just within the room. He looked at them and sighed, his eyes narrowed in distrust.
Ayame gasped, her hand unconsciously touching the back of her head, "You. You stole my children!"
KoEnma caught her even as she made to hit Gogure, ushering an Ogre to take his wife from the room.
"Where are they?!" she continued screaming until she disappeared from sight.
KoEnma took a calming breath before he returned his attention to Gogure, "You've caused my wife enough hardship. Now tell me what you have done with my children."
Gogure laughed, his eyes watching KoEnma as if he were nothing, "Ah, the children. They have an extreme power that I have never seen before. Especially the boy." Frowning at the king, he shrugged, "But I'm sure you know all about his potential."
Ignoring the fact that the other man was starting to make him uncertain, KoEnma lightly fingered the spear that laid across the desk before him. He watched the other man in a slight disinterest, pretending that the man knew nothing.
"Don't you want to know where your children are? Your wife could hurt you or even die if you don't find them."
KoEnma wanted to desperately to curse the man, but thought better of it as he shrugged it off to take a seat. With his hands folded neatly before him, he only regarded the man. If it wasn't for the fact that Ayame needed the children, he would be content to watch this man squirm. The thought of his children lost or, even worse, dying in the Makai was more than he could stand.
"Just tell me where they are before I get angry. You don't want to see me angry."
Sighing, Gogure took a seat neat the man, his bound hands resting before him on the table, "I let them go. My boss wanted me to kill them, but I slid them down the garbage shoot. It gave them a chance."
Nodding, Gogure shrugged, "Depends on how quickly they moved."
*/*
Sachiko watched Senoki closely, her brow furrowed in worry as she noticed how steadily he was becoming at ease with the Faeries of the forest. They didn't even know if they were safe yet he was willing to let them teach him their spells and other magic that they had learned from centuries ago. She wasn't quite sure it was wise to let something like that happen, but she couldn't think of any other way to stop him when he finally found something he was good at.
Sighing, she sat back to watch him more so. The light that she had seen surrounding him the first night only came now when he concentrated extremely hard on the powers that grew within him. Staring about the small cabin that the two children had take up residence in, she felt a strange attraction to many of the objects though none quite so as the lean bow and quiver of arrows that leaned on the wall.
Gently picking up the bow, she ran her small fingers over the smooth wood. There was a strange spark that ran over her hands as she began to nock an arrow. It took a moment as she scanned the room to find an object worthy of being a target. Finally, she settled for a small ball of yarn that hung from the ceiling.
Pulling back swiftly, her eyes narrowed as she sighted down the shaft. She let the arrow fly before shutting her eyes tight. A warmth flowed around her before suddenly becoming like ice. She gasped, her eyes flying open as she watched black sparks fly around her. At fist she thought it was only Faeries until she realized that it came from her own skin.
"Wh-What is this?"
Most of the light centered on her back, the weight of it pulling her backwards. Gasping as she glanced back, she was shocked to see black feathered wings protruding from her back. The wings were the wings of an Angel. It seemed as if the knowledge of centuries before was poured into her through her wings.
Terror coursed through her veins as she turned to look at Senoki. He smiled, laughing as he created sparks for a small cooking fire.
"What going to happen to me now?"
Turning from the meadow, Sachiko made to run from the others. It was the fear that she was going to be forced from the Faerie kingdom. She had never had to deal with suck a thing as being disgraced by the wings of an Angel, a Fallen Angel.
'What will Father say?' she thought in fear.
Not only was she terrified because she didn't know what would happen, but also because of the fact she might lose the only family she had. In tears, she flew the small cabin.
*/*
Yusuke sat down roughly, his hands resting lightly on his knees as he gazed up at his partner. Kuwabara smiled slightly, his brow furrowed as he looked about the forest of the Makai. It stretched for miles in either direction. Yusuke knew he shouldn't have felt the need to give up, but Keiko was at home waiting for him and the he missed her so much. If it wasn't for the fact the twins were his god children, he would have given up. They needed him more than he needed to see his wife, at least he hoped.
Kuwabara only watched the other man sit calmly, waiting for the news to go ahead and leave. He found it completely stupid to sit and wait while the children were facing disaster.
"Come on, Urameshi. We have a lot of ground to cover so stop being lazy," he growled as he crossed his arms.
Yusuke looked up, his eyebrows arched at his best friend, "Yeah, I know, but if I'm tired then we'll get no where."
Shrugging, Kuwabara turned to the other side. He knew exactly what Yusuke was feeling. Yukina was pregnant and he was stuck out in the wilderness looking for the royal children of the Reikai. If it wasn't for that he could have been home relaxing with his wife instead of sweating it out in the Makai. Yet it as also the fact that he understood how KoEnma would feel and picture the twins as his own children.
"Get up, Urameshi," Kuwabara sighed, "We've got to find them before things get bad. These two are the future of the Reikai and our children's hope."
Yusuke sat up, his eyes wide, "Wait. Did Keiko say something to you about us having a kid? I'm going to be a father?"
Kuwabara rolled his eyes, "No, maybe you should talk with her and find out." He turned back to his friend, "Come on, Urameshi. Don't you remember how it felt to hold the kids just after they were born? They didn't need us then, but they do no. So let's not let them down."
With a nod, Kuwabara helped Yusuke up, both scanning the trees for a possible path to search for the children.
*/*
Ayame gazed quietly out the window, the tears drying slowly on her cheeks. It was only the fact that she couldn't face Gogure that hurt her. She had turned into a weak sniveling woman that for so long she had tried not to be. KoEnma was still in the room interrogating the man that had stolen their children.
"Why can't I just be strong enough to get this done?" she questioned herself.
She wanted so desperately to be able to confront the man that had stolen their children, but she had been far too weak to do so. Now she was sitting here, a pillow cuddled in her lap as she waited for her husband.
When the doors opened some moments later, she was surprised when Han walked in. It had been ages since she had seen the other woman yet she had come.
"You poor thing. Tell me what happened."
Han was a Youkai, her power mostly mind control and manipulation. Her purple eyes, which so short a time ago were guarded, were suddenly free and expressive. Her green hair fell down now to her mid-back, the Jester hat she always wore perched angularly on her head. Reaching only 5'5" did nothing to stop the fierce warrior.
She had two stripes on each cheek, a red of blood. She wore a pair of baggy black jeans that reached to just below her knees. Her t-shirt was slightly loose though it still clung affectionately to her silhouette.
"Oh, it's terrible! That-That man kidnapped my children and I couldn't even confront him about it!"
Han hugged her to her, lightly rubbing her back, "It'll be all right. Just cry it all out."