Koenma found them all at Genkai's temple two days after they had received their 'invitations' from the demon lords.
"I would like for somebody to tell me what's going on," he said.
"Simple really," Kagome answered. "Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama and Shippo will be going to Demon World for a little while. See if you can talk to some of your father's SDF. The Mazoku they're so scared of is willing to let them trap him in Demon World," she said with a smirk.
"And who will be notifying their families?"
"Kurama moved in with my family over a week ago. My mother can field anything Shiori asks," Kagome said. "Though we'd appreciate it if you could find some way to get mobile phones to work across the worlds. Yusuke's gonna want one as well, to call Keiko."
"And Yusuke's mother?"
"I told her I was leaving, though I don't think she quite understood where as she asked me to pick up a six pack on my way back," Yusuke answered.
"What about Kazuma and Shizuru?"
"I'm telling them," Kagome said. "But after this lot has left."
Koenma's eyes fixed on Hiei for a moment, but he looked away again without saying anything.
"Hiei," Yukina said quietly, stepping up to him. "Before you go I want to ask you something."
Hiei looked at his sister, wondering what it could be.
"Why haven't you said anything? About being my brother, I mean."
His mouth fell open. That wasn't what he had expected. How had she found out? Could someone have told her?
"I figured it out," Yukina said quietly. "After I learned how to get a better feel for energies, I noticed that you were actually partially an ice apparition, but like me, rather than like Mr Touya from the Dark Tournament. There is only one male recorded that would be your age, and who had such an intense fire energy that he had to be wrapped in wards immediately, and that's my brother. So I want to know why you didn't say anything."
"I'm a criminal Yukina. Yusuke had to come after me. I'm a thief and a murderer. I didn't want you to have to be burdened by a brother like that," Hiei answered when he had finally regained his senses. "Just being able to watch over you was enough. Besides, I can't be your brother, I lost the hiroseki stone our mother cried for me."
Yukina wrapped her arms around Hiei's chest and buried her face in his shoulder.
"You're my brother, you could never be a burden to me. I always just wanted the chance to watch over you too," she said. "And I'm sure you'll find it again. Will you come back to me Hiei?"
Hiei was silent a moment, just watching his sister holding him, knowing he was her brother, her face pressed to his shoulder. "If you promise to smile for me," he said. "And make sure there's plenty of ice cream when I get back," he added.
Yukina looked up at him, surprised, but delighted. "Thank you, brother," she said.
Koenma sighed. "Alright, I'll talk to some of the less idiotic SDF soldiers and see what I can do about a portal. Miss Kagome? Master Genkai? Here or on the Higurashi's property?
"Better have it here," Genkai answered. "Having a portal to demon world right in the middle of the city is probably a bad idea."
Koenma nodded and left for Spirit World.
~oOo~
"What the hell is all this stuff?" Yusuke asked, walking into the Higurashi kitchen, to which he had been summoned. "Cooking lessons? I know how to feed myself."
"And that's fine, for you," Kagome answered. "You don't know how to feed a demon who's been rejecting food for nearly a thousand years."
Spread across the kitchen counter were various foods that Yusuke had never even heard of, certainly not seen.
"He needs to intake all the stuff that makes up a human, but he won't eat people. After a thousand years his stomach has probably done some shrinking, so as much as he hurts now, it will probably hurt just as much to start eating again, so you're gonna have to start him on small portions," Kagome explained, tossing the boy an apron and ordering him to step up. "We're going to start with a thing called blood pudding."
"What!" Yusuke demanded. "What the hell kind of food is blood pudding?"
Kagome smirked. "A lot of people eat it Yusuke. I know it sounds gross, but a lot of normal humans really like it. It's a foreign recipe of course. As is black pudding and haggis, which you will be learning next."
"And what are we gonna do with all this food we're making?" Yusuke grumbled as he got started following the recipe book.
"Put it in an insulated bag, and you're going to take it with you, to start Raizen off on the road to recovery, while his own cooks learn about making these foods the way that humans do, rather than from humans," Kagome answered firmly. "Keiko, Hiei and Kurama all helped come up with these as appropriate for your old man, so suck it up if you want to stick it to the other guys."
"And what is Shippo up to?" Yusuke asked, spotting the other fox demon as he passed the kitchen door.
"He is contacting all those friends you made at the Dark Tournament, letting them know a good fight is in the works if they're interested, and that Master Genkai and I will be helping them get into shape for it if they are," Kagome answered.
"Kagome!" Mrs Higurashi called, "Koenma is here to see you!"
"Show him in Mama, we're in the kitchen!" Kagome said, smiling.
"Well, I got a few cell phones that will work no matter which world you're in, powered by spirit and/or demon energy," Koenma said, as he walked in, holding up a small suitcase. "I've also talked to some of my father's SDF's, and gotten a few volunteers. I've also got some disturbing news."
"Don't keep me in suspense," Yusuke said. "Especially not when I'm making something with a name like blood pudding."
"Blood pudding?"
"It's to get Raizen on the mend," Kagome answered, brushing it aside. "It's a human recipe, as in one that humans made up, and still eat today. Now what's the disturbing news?"
"Raizen, Yomi and Mukuro have all made requests to my father that Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei respectively be extradited from Human World, permanently, as being too dangerous to be in human world. These requests were all made separately, and my father is bowing to them. I don't like it," Koenma admitted.
"Well, your father isn't exactly the most sensible guy these days, to not realise that Yusuke's too much of a good kid to be interested in threatening humanity. Maybe he's just finally getting senile," Kagome suggested. "Don't worry too much. Even if your old man doesn't know what he's doing, we do."
Koenma smiled weakly. "Thanks, that's really comforting."
"Don't mention it. So, when are the SDF going to open the portal to let our boys through?"
"How does tomorrow night sound?"
Kagome looked over at Yusuke. He was smiling.
"Perfect," he said. "Tomorrow's my birthday. I'll get to spend it with Keiko and Kuwabara, then it's off to find my ancestor."
~oOo~
Keiko, Botan, Yunika, Genkai and Kagome stood watching, the farewell party for Hiei, Yusuke and Puu as they prepared to go through the portal. Last goodbyes were said, as well as promises to return in a few years at most.
"You know where you're going?" Kagome asked.
"Haukushin will probably find us fairly fast," Yusuke said. "And these guys are dropping us into Raizen's territory."
"Hn. We'll be fine Kagome," Hiei said. "You needn't worry."
"Oh yeah, and Kagome? Thanks for the sword, but I've decided to leave it behind," Yusuke said, removing the Tetsusaiga from his belt to hand back to the miko.
"Fair enough. It was really more like a band aid over a left-in splinter anyway," she said, holding it tightly to her. That is to say, the problem was still there and not healing, but at least it wasn't getting worse.
"Must you be so graphic?" Yusuke asked, pulling a face.
"Just go will you?" Kagome said, giving him a shove towards Keiko before bending to give Hiei one last hug before he left.
The two demons climbed onto Puu's back shortly after, the large bag of food for Raizen also being carried by the bird.
"Shut the door behind us guys!" Yusuke called out as the flew through, and away into Demon World.
"If you guys don't kick some serious tail, I'm coming in after you!" Kagome yelled after them. "And you won't like it if I have to do that!"
Yukina sniffed slightly and wiped at her eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Woah, woah, woah," Kagome said, spotting the very beginning of potential water-works. "None of that," she insisted. "You found your brother and you know that he loves you too. Okay he didn't hang around long, but he promised to be back, and you should know he'd do anything for you."
A hiroseki stone still fell to the ground, and Kagome sighed as she bent to pick it up, the Shikon no Tama slipping out of her collar at the same time and sitting on top of her shirt when she straightened up.
"Miss Kagome?" Yukina asked, her eyes – wet but no longer shedding tears – were fixed on the stone at the miko's neck. "Would you do me the honour of combining that tear of mine with that stone of yours?"
"I don't know if I can do that," Kagome said honestly. "And I don't know if it's a good idea either. The Shikon no Tama is weird that way. Then again, if demon souls went into its creation just as much as Midoriko's, I don't see how a crystallised tear could hurt," she rambled, finally conceding and holding the hiroseki stone close to the Shikon no Tama.
They merged, and the Shikon became completely white, glowing brightly for a moment before it went dull again, barely glowing at all.
"What just happened?" Botan asked, staring at the stone that hung around Kagome's neck.
"I don't know how, but ... the battle that was doomed to continue forever inside the jewel ... it's over, and the demonic influences are gone," Kagome said, her brown eyes wide. "This jewel is now exclusively Midoriko's soul."
"Soul!" Botan demanded. "Then it needs to go to Spirit World at once so that she can be given her final peace!"
"No," Kagome said quietly. "If she goes to Spirit World, eventually she'll be reincarnated, right? I don't think she would want that. Midoriko can watch the world from the jewel, and never have to worry about the troubles of life again. The jewel finally feels as though it's at peace. Maybe someday she'll take herself to Spirit World, but for now, just let her rest a while."
Botan frowned, but agreed, though reluctantly. It was something of a bending of the rules after all.
~oOo~
Kagome saw off both of her foxes with a kiss, and made them promise to call her regularly, though Kurama cautioned Shippo of speaking freely to or of Kagome, in case Yomi decided to threaten her to get some advantage over him. Shippo just grinned.
~oOo~
"Kagome?" Shizuru was clearly surprised to find the miko at her door when she answered the bell.
"Hey Shizuru. Got a minute?" Kagome asked, her usual gentle smile in place and a bag of sugary goodies in her hand.
Shizuru smiled around her cigarette. "Sure, come on in."
"Miss Kagome," Sakyo deferred politely when he saw her taking off her shoes in the entrance way.
"Hey Sakyo," Kagome greeted with a slightly more cheeky grin. "How are those beads of subjugation working out for you?" she asked, eyeing the necklace she had put around the man for Shizuru to keep him in line with.
He didn't answer verbally, just frowned down at them where they sat over his shirt.
"He's behaving himself, so I'm not having to use them too much," Shizuru said with a smirk. "He's become very domestic, though Kazuma avoids him most of the time still."
Kagome nodded, glad things were working out for her friend, even if they hadn't spent much time together lately.
"What's the latest news?"
"Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama and Shippo have all gone to Demon World," Kagome answered. "They're going to turn the place on its head."
Shizuru smirked, amused, before she took a more serious drag on her smoke. "Kazuma's going to be broken up when he finds out that Urameshi and the others left without saying goodbye you know."
"They all knew how he'd react, and didn't want to upset him too much. I come baring farewell notes actually," Kagome added, nodding towards the bag. "They're in there with the sugary stuff."
Shizuru stared at the bag a minute. "Thanks Kagome."
"No problem. So, how are Kazuma's studies going?"
~oOo~