Chapter 19 – Superman

"Is Yasashi your people's word for Kryptonite?"

Kuwabara peered over at Yusuke, who was hanging from a frond of Kurama's floating leaf, grinning up at Kurama expectantly after his last remark.

"Is it a bird?" Yusuke continued. "Is it a plane? No, it Butterfly Yoko Kurama Superman!"

Kuwabara reaffirmed his grip of the frond he was hanging from, looking up at Kurama anxiously. Since they had entered demon world, Kurama had reverted back to his full demon form and they had been reliant on his help to float through the red skies to their destination; which Kurama had told them was a place called "the hinterlands". But Kurama had been growing tired of Yusuke's jokes back in the living world, back when he was still in the infinitely more sympathetic body of Shuichi Minamino: now that he was once more Yoko Kurama, he was looking increasingly irate and Kuwabara was more than a little afraid of the gradual increase of demon energy he could feel rising around Kurama.

"Is you hair silver now because you're the man of steel?" Yusuke asked, still grinning up at Kurama.

"Uh, Urameshi?" Kuwabara tried.

"Do you have a pair of blue tights on under those pants?" Yusuke asked Kurama.

"Urameshi?" Kuwabara tried again.

"Can you make lasers shoot out your eyes?"

Kuwabara looked up at Kurama again and distinctly saw his golden eyes thin as though the last of his patience had just dissipated into the sickly demon world air.

"Faster than a speeding bullet!" Yusuke continued. "More powerful than a locomotive! Able to-ah!"

Kuwabara clutched tighter than ever at the frond of Kurama's floating leaf as he watched Yusuke plummet through the air towards the ground. Once he had lost sight of his friend he slowly looked up at Kurama again, wincing as he found Kurama already glaring directly at him.

"What happened?" Kuwabara asked, his voice an octave higher than usual in his panic.

"My foot slipped," Kurama quietly replied.

Kuwabara gulped: it did look as though Kurama had kicked Yusuke in the head, causing him to lose his grip of the frond – which, to be fair, he had only been holding loosely in one hand.

"Pray that it doesn't slip again," Kurama added.

Kuwabara yelped fearfully and wound his legs around the frond he was holding. He grinned nervously at Kurama when he found the fox demon still glaring down at him and then sighed in relief when Kurama moved his eyes forward and his demeanour appeared to relax slightly. But, Kuwabara noticed apprehensively, the relaxation in Kurama's demeanour was only slight: for the most part he was still fired up and lethally focused.

Yasashi shook her head, her voice failing her as tears threatened. A part of her felt as though she had cried far more since returning to her demon form than she ever had in her life before then – both her life as cat demon Yasashi and her life as ferry girl Botan combined – and she determined not to give in to her emotions again, least of all in front of Hiei.

"I don't understand," she said, once the initial shock of Hiei's accusation had passed and she was able to form words coherently. "I didn't send the SDF after Kurama. I lack both the authority and the knowledge to do that, not to mention the fact that I considered Kurama an ally. I met him several times in demon world, and he was an active bandit at the time, a bandit who had moonlighted as a bounty hunter many times over, and I was, back then, the highest bounty to be had in all of demon world. He could easily have captured me and cashed in the prize attached to my name, but he never did, because we had an understanding and appreciation of each other."

"You're a real master of bullshit, Botan," Hiei scoffed. "I understand now why Koenma was so keen to preserve your life and take into his employ. I see what you're doing: you're trying to spin this to make yourself sound innocent. You're a regular spin-doctor, ferry girl; you used the same pathetic tricks on me during Yusuke's time as spirit detective. So little is different about the crap you're talking now and the crap you spoke when you were Yusuke's assistant, I have to wonder how dense Kurama was that he never recognised you before now."

Yasashi chewed at her lip and Hiei narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. Her eyes wandered to the bandana around his head – she was surprised that he had not mentioned its presence there, as she had been the one to put it back on him while he slept – and she contemplated the fact that it was useless trying to lie to Hiei as long as he had his jagan eye. Yukina had minimal control over the jagan eye she had acquired and Tora has only been able to control the basics of the power, but Hiei was a jaganshi – a true master of the jagan eye – and he had always been able to read her thoughts effortlessly.

But, thinking about how Hiei had often read her thoughts when she had been working with him as part of the spirit detective team, an idea occurred to Yasashi; apparently her handling of Hiei on this mission was going to be no different to how she had been forced to deal with him during the mission to stop Sensui.

"Kurama doesn't recognise me now," she said carefully. "Nobody does – except Shizuru – and only Yukina and you know, through your knowledge of the file spirit world kept of my life, that I was Botan. I'd like to keep it that way."

"I find it unlikely that Kurama has not figured that out already," Hiei replied. "At the very least, surely Yusuke's woman has seen through you: she was always at least quite intelligent."

Yasashi slowly shook her head.

"If I had told you all that I was Botan, you all would have joined my fight," she explained. "I know you would have, because if anyone else amongst our group had re-awoken as the leader of a lost cause, I would have risked everything to fight at their side and support them in any way I could. I didn't want anyone to get involved with my cause because they felt an obligation to help "Botan"."

"How incredibly noble of you," Hiei sarcastically replied.

"I'm being genuine," Yasashi insisted. "And I'm still at a loss as to why you think I would sell Kurama out: to the SDF, to Koenma or to anyone else."

"You can cut the crap," Hiei said. "Koenma wrote down every one of your dying words into the Raspberry Sundae file. Every damn word is in there."

"My memories of my death may be sketchy, but I don't recall betraying Kurama at any point."

"You should already know that it's pointless to lie to me."

Yasashi's eyes flicked back to Hiei's bandana as a faint blue glow appeared through the fabric, a sign that he had opened his third eye.

"Fine," she said with a sigh. "I admit that the last words I spoke were about Kurama. But I did not suggest to Koenma – or to anyone else – that Kurama should be hunted down and slain by the SDF as he was."

"You told Koenma who Kurama was, that he was a bandit, that he frequented regions of demon world that spirit world were trying to conquer and you told them when and where they could go to find him," Hiei flatly replied. "Taking out a powerful A Class demon like Yoko Kurama from one of the regions they were looking to take over was the perfect way for the SDF to send a message to any other demons in the area that they should retreat and yield the land to spirit world."

"I admit that I spoke the name Yoko Kurama to Koenma," Yasashi said. "But certainly not in the context that you are implying I did."

"Are you denying that you told Koenma where and when he could find the legendary spirit fox bandit?"

Yasashi paused, a vague sense of guilt nagging at her. Her memories of her death really were sketchy, but her memories of her final moments before Koenma had inserted the crystal of change into her body were painfully clear; but Hiei was the last person she wanted to discuss those moments with. She was still shocked that Koenma had not only noted down what she had said, but that he had entered her words into the file he had kept on her in spirit world.

She sneered involuntarily as she remembered chasing Koneko through the halls of King Enma's temple in a vain attempt to get the key keeper to admit where the Raspberry Sundae file was. If only she had been able to see the file before Captain Ootake had cut the crystal of change out of her, freeing her demon energy and allowing her body to return to its true form.

"I just told him…" she began, the feeling of guilt and frustration increasing as she tried to answer Hiei's question. "About how I would often encounter Kurama by the hate fish lake, and how he never laughed at my hate fish jokes, and that… I… Wait…"

"Yes, now you admit it," Hiei said with a dark smile. "You told Koenma where and when you always saw Kurama and he was able to use that information to send the SDF out to catch him."

"But – even if that is true, even if the SDF did find Kurama because of something I told them – it was never my intention to set Kurama up like that!" Yasashi said. "I didn't say the things I did because I was trying to betray anyone! I was talking about… What exactly did the file say I was talking about?"

"You'd like me to tell you that, wouldn't you?"

"Well maybe what's in the file isn't an entirely accurate reflection of the conversation I shared with Koenma. I've never seen the file: how do I know you're not bluffing?"

Hiei's face twisted into a sneer and he clenched his fists at his sides, his muscles flexing in a way that would have left Botan blue with fear: but as Yasashi, although she was still not in the same league as Hiei, he was no longer so easily able to enact any death threats he might throw at her.

"Are you calling me a liar, Botan?" he growled.

"No," she calmly replied. "If anything, I'm calling Koenma a liar."

"I think you're the one who's bluffing, witch," Hiei snarled. "I could smell the panic radiating off of you when I mentioned having knowledge of your final words: don't try to pretend now that you don't have a problem with those words being shared with Kurama or anyone else."

"First of all Hiei, you're a fire demon, you don't have the ability to smell emotions," Yasashi flatly replied. "I know that now that I am once more a demon myself. I might have believed you were I still trapped as Botan, without access to the knowledge I have as a demon, but that is not the case any more. Secondly, yes, I admit that I did panic: I fear my followers learning what my last words were because they would think me weak, pathetic and incapable of continuing to lead the rebellion, and I fear Kurama learning what my last words were for the same reasons and because some of what I said to Koenma were things I should have said to Kurama face-to-face. Some of the things I said to Koenma were things I always intended to say to Kurama face-to-face, but the time had not arrived for me to do so. My death was inconveniently timed for more reasons than one."

"It's nice to hear how returning to your demon form has increased your intelligence and eloquence, but I remain unconvinced: when I consider the words you spoke and the fact that, less than five years later, the SDF found Kurama in the exact location you had implied he frequented, I believe that you said what you did to sell him out."

"You're wrong."

"You're wrong."

"You and I have always shared one thing in common Hiei: we're both too stubborn to relent on an argument. We could stand here all night like this."

"That won't happen."

"It seems as though it will."

"No, it won't. As we speak, Kurama approaches."

Yasashi's face dropped.

"Yes, it seems Kurama, Yusuke and even that giant idiot Kuwabara have broken free of your little trap to hold them back and they are all on their way here right now," Hiei added.

"You can't tell Kurama what I said to Koenma, you have no right," Yasashi said sternly. "And your assumptions that I was trying to incriminate him in any way are mere speculation on your part and wildly inaccurate!"

"We both agree that Kurama is intelligent and insightful," Hiei replied. "So when he gets here – which will be within the hour – let's ask him for his opinion on the matter, shall we?"

Yasashi scowled at Hiei and he grinned back. With a smug "hn", he started to walk towards the door, only stopping when Yasashi grabbed his arm. He glared down at her hand around his bicep before lifting his head to fix angry red eyes onto her.

"Like you said Hiei, many things may have changed about me since I transformed back into Yasashi, but I do still think the same way as Botan," she said. "After all, she was me, I was her, just without my demon powers or memories. She always had an ace up her sleeve, a bargaining tool to bring you into line, and I am no different."

"Are you threatening me?" Hiei asked in a low voice.

"Yes I am," Yasashi replied, lowering her voice to match his tone. "If you repeat so much as one of my final words to Kurama, I will not hesitate to tell Yukina that you are the brother she seeks."

Hiei growled and bared his teeth at her but Yasashi held her stance.

"It seems we are at a stalemate, Hiei," she said.

"Hn, only the desperate resort to blackmail," he said, yanking his arm out of her hold.

"Remember that, despite how you knew me in the past, I am now a demon," Yasashi reminded him. "I am no longer morally above using blackmail to protect my own interests."

Hiei smiled bitterly.

"There's a part of me that almost respects you for that," he said.

"I hope you respect me enough to know that I meant what I said," Yasashi replied. "Yukina is my friend, and you perhaps forget that I died escorting her on one of her journeys to find you: if you hadn't hidden yourself from her, neither she nor I would have been in Iruka's path that day. She would not have suffered the trauma of losing her friend and I would not have been killed and forced to spend the next thirty years living in ignorance in spirit world. If I were as big a fan of conspiracies as you appear to be, I could blame you for my circumstances, and if I were to apply the same logic you have to my situation, I could say that telling Yukina the truth would be the right thing for me to do."

"The link between your death and my relation to Yukina is tenuous at best," Hiei replied. "Whereas it's painfully clear that the link between Kurama's death and your idle disclosure to spirit world is direct and logical."

Yasashi scowled at Hiei and he returned the gesture before opening the door.

"Hiei," Yasashi said, her speaking his name proving only enough to halt him in his tracks. "Do you remember how, when you first saw me in this form on Ping Island, you asked me why Koenma had not released me to assist you in your fight against the Four Saint Beasts or to assist during the dark tournament?"

Hiei made a small grunt of acknowledgement.

"If Koenma had released me sooner, if he had released me to help Yusuke, I might have been present to help Yusuke recover the artefacts of darkness," Yasashi pointed out.

"Oh I see," Hiei dryly replied, glaring back over his shoulder at her. "You think you would have fought me if that had been the case?"

"Yes, I would have fought you, had that been the case," Yasashi flatly replied. "And you would not still be standing here to talk about it."

Hiei's patronising glare turned into a look of angered indignation.

"You may outclass me now, but you didn't back then," Yasashi reminded him.

"This conversation is like your life," Hiei sharply replied. "Pointless, meaningless and practically over."

He turned his head and walked on into the bunker. Yasashi moved to the doorway, watching him walk towards the exterior doors, which opened as her neared them. Chita ran into the bunker, looking about herself frantically. Yasashi held up a hand to catch her attention, but as the young cat demon ran towards her, Yasashi kept her eyes on Hiei, who had stopped just outside the bunker and was looking back in at her with a grin that bordered on creepy.

"Someone is coming!" Chita said as she stopped in front of Yasashi. "I can see dust tracks, someone is running this way from the direction of the road!"

Yasashi nodded.

"Keep everyone in here," she said.

Chita nodded and hurried back outside to round up the remainder of her fellow lookouts. Yasashi started across the bunker, pausing as she passed Shizuru, who, despite being still curled up in a sleeping position, had her eyes open.

"It's alright," Yasashi whispered to her. "It's just your brother, Yusuke and Kurama."

Shizuru's eyebrows flickered in a gesture of acknowledgement and Yasashi continued on. Chita and the other three cat demons who had been on watch duty past her in the doorway and so once she was outside she closed the bunker doors, shutting herself out with Hiei.

"It seems Yusuke was more eager to get here," Hiei casually commented, as though they had not just been arguing and exchanging threats with each other.

Yasashi squinted at the rising clouds of dust, barely making out the lone figure that was creating them as he sprinted towards the bunker. She briefly thought it odd that Yusuke knew where to find everyone: but, when she gave the matter a little more thought, she supposed that he had found plenty of clues en route, including the charred remains of a border patrol vehicle and its dozing crew, still glued to the road by a swathe of tree sap.

"I'll make a deal with you."

Yasashi turned to Hiei, surprised to find that he looked as though he was not being sarcastic, despite his tone having hinted as much.

"Though you deserve no such mercy," he added. "I will give you tonight to confess your dirty little lies to Kurama. If you don't tell him by sunrise tomorrow, I will."

Yasashi turned to look at Yusuke again, finding that he was close enough that she could actually see that it was him. She lifted her head and saw a silvery shape in the sky that appeared to be Yoko Kurama, airborne thanks to his floating leaf, and Kuwabara appeared to be hanging from one of the leaf's fronds.

"It's nice to know that, at dawn tomorrow, Yukina will finally get closure on the question of who her brother is," Yasashi said, turning her attention back to Hiei.

"I'll kill you before you betray me," Hiei frankly replied.

"You'll have to be quick."

"I don't expect to need to: when Kurama learns the truth about your treachery, he'll kill you himself."

Yasashi started to once again tell Hiei that he was mistaken, but she stopped as she heard Yusuke's feet drawing closer. She turned to watch him slow his pace to a gradual halt in front of them.

"Hiei!" he said, smiling at Hiei. "I knew you'd show up!"

"What the hell happened to you?" Hiei asked, eying him over.

Yusuke looked down at himself, briefly taking in his torn clothing and various scratches and bruises.

"It's a long story," he eventually answered, shrugging as though his dishevelled appearance was no big deal.

Kurama landed behind him and Kuwabara stepped away from him, looking worn out despite having had a free ride to his destination.

"So: what's the plan, Nermal?" Yusuke asked Yasashi.

"Nermal?" she echoed.

"Yeah," he said. "I've been itching to put that bastard Iruka in his place: and if your stupid flowers hadn't slowed me down, I'd have kicked his ass already."

"Funny you should say that," Yasashi said slowly. "Because you're a little too late to take a shot at Iruka."

Kurama and Kuwabara moved over to join Yusuke, who looked confused by Yasashi's words.

"The deputy leader of the loyalists is dead," Hiei bluntly explained.

Yasashi turned to him, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"One of the border patrol guards saw the big blue bird flying out of Hasibami Orchard," he said. "I went to investigate. I know what happened."

"Nothing gets by you, does it Hiei?" Yasashi tightly replied.

"Puu?" Yusuke asked. "What does Puu have to do with this?"

"Your girlfriend and her band of wanton warrior women used your spirit beast to travel here," Hiei replied. "They killed the deputy leader of the loyalist cat demons."

Yusuke's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Are you talking about Keiko?" he asked.

"Yes," Hiei calmly replied. "Your girlfriend and Yukina killed the deputy leader of the loyalist cat demons. I think you all know what that means."

"Yukina killed somebody?" Kuwabara asked. "I don't get what that means, other than he must have been trying to kill everybody else and it was self-defence. Poor Yukina, she must have been terrified! If I'd been there I'da shown that–"

"I wasn't talking to you," Hiei cut him off. "You don't understand the implications because you are not of this world. Everybody else present understands it though."

Hiei purposefully looked around the others, hesitating when he reached Yusuke, who was shrugging at Kuwabara.

"Kurama understands," Hiei corrected himself. "And so does she," he added, flicking a thumb at Yasashi.

"Okay, so then explain it to me, fox bo–"

Yusuke stopped short as he met Kurama's eyes, faltering slightly under the glare the fox demon was regarding him with.

"Okay, I guess you're still recovering your sense of humour…" Yusuke muttered, before turning his attention to Yasashi. "Explain it to me, cat girl."

"I'm not au-fait with the ins and outs of the border patrol," Yasashi said. "Understand that they formed during my absence from demon world: however from experience, I would say that anyone caught interfering in the battle between the two factions of the cat demon tribe is always automatically branded as a member of the side they defend."

"…One more time, in a language I can understand?" Yusuke said.

"It will have been noted that Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina and even Puu actively took a stand against the loyalists in defence of the rebels," Yasashi replied. "They will now be branded as part of our group and treated as such from now on."

"…I don't see what the problem is…" Yusuke said.

"Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina and even Puu will now have bounties attached to their heads," Kurama bluntly answered him. "The loyalists will not have wasted time raising the bounties and the border patrol will have supported distributing the information."

"Are you kidding?" Yusuke echoed.

Kurama did not answer Yusuke, but Yusuke's face quickly dropped.

"Oh yeah, right," he muttered. "You don't have a sense of humour when you're Yoko…"

"Sensibly, we should extradite all four of them from demon world immediately," Kurama said.

"Okay, but you be the one to tell them that," Kuwabara said. "I'm not telling my crazy sister she has to go home…"

Kurama turned to Yasashi, who, as their eyes met, momentarily found herself frozen where she stood: of course she had seen Kurama in his full demon form before, but as it was the first time she had seen him that way since returning to her own demon body the moment felt sickeningly surreal. She was only awoken from the moment when she noticed Hiei watching her from the corner of her vision. She glanced at him just long enough to notice the almost mocking look he was giving her before nodding at Kurama and trying to keep focused on the situation at hand.

"You're right, of course," she said. "I didn't want anyone else to join our fight for exactly that reason: and that extends to all of you, too."

She made a point of looking at Kuwabara and Yusuke, who looked perplexed and confident respectively.

"No offense lady, but I can feel something pretty heavy coming from that valley down there that Kurama said is the hinterlands," Kuwabara said. "And if that's your enemy, you need all the help you can get."

"Yeah, that's right," Yusuke agreed. "And I don't care if those assholes make wanted posters with my face on 'em. And even if they do, I bet they offer a higher reward for me than they do for Kuwabara."

"Are you saying you think you're more of a threat to the bad guys than I am, Urameshi?" Kuwabara argued.

"I'm the descendent of a former king of demon world," Yusuke replied. "And I'm a demon. Of course I'm worth more than you."

"Nu-uh!" Kuwabara protested. "I'm human! Demons always pay more for humans! And I can break barriers and I'm smarter than you!"

"Are you idiots seriously fighting over which one of you most wants to have every bounty hunter and demon lord seeking to remove your head?" Hiei interrupted.

"Yeah, and since you're in the border patrol and a former bandit, you should weigh in on this, Hiei," Yusuke replied. "I'd be worth more than Kuwabara, right?"

"Wait, what are we arguing over?" Kuwabara muttered.

"Nothing," Kurama answered him. "Let's at least try to be sensible about this: you three take over watch duties so that those inside can rest and heal themselves as need be."

Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded and, although he did not respond, Hiei appeared to comply with Kurama's suggestion. Kurama then turned his attention back to Yasashi.

"You and I will discuss this," he said.

"O-okay," Yasashi said.

"Now," Kurama added. "Over here."

He turned and started to walk away, and after one last nervous glance at Hiei, Yasashi hurried after him. He was walking quite briskly and she assumed that he was going to move far away from the others; and so when he suddenly leapt up onto the roof of the bunker she stumbled a few steps beyond where he had left the ground before realising where he had gone. Once she had righted herself she leapt up after him, surprised to see him sit down on the flat roof at the back of the building, his legs dangling down over the edge. She quietly sat down next to him, finding herself facing the valley where Jagasame had appeared with his soldiers earlier that night.

"It's difficult for me to make the others understand the gravity of the situation here," Kurama began.

Yasashi nodded, though as both of them kept their eyes forward, it was perhaps a wasted gesture.

"The girls don't appreciate how powerful the enemy is, and they are no doubt now blinded by overconfidence following their fortunate defeat of Iruka," Kurama continued. "Yusuke doesn't understand the politics of getting involved – nor does he care – Kuwabara is here because he doesn't want to be left out and Hiei… Well, I can only guess as to why Hiei is here…"

"You're right," Yasashi agreed. "Though I can't help but notice that you didn't justify your own presence here…"

"I am here fully knowledgeable of the consequences of my being here," Kurama calmly replied. "I am the only external ally you can conscionably accept and trust as I am your only external ally who simultaneously understands the dangers of assisting you and the nature of the enemy you face, whilst also fully agreeing with your cause."

Yasashi turned to look at Kurama, finding herself unable to blink as she did so. He was still looking straight ahead, but even in profile, his determination was obvious.

"You do understand that nobody here in demon world will condone what you do," she said quietly as she watched him. "Nobody. Not even Yomi."

"I know that," he replied. "And so does Hiei: which again makes me wonder why he is here. I don't imagine that Mukuro has much patience for a squabble happening in the backwater of her territory."

"She never did care for our cause," Yasashi agreed. "But she never cared for the loyalists' argument either. But Tora did say that the border patrol guards aren't on our side, and, after an encounter with one of their group earlier today, I have to agree."

"So that was your handiwork I passed on my way here?"

"Border patrol guards sleeping in tree sap?"

"In the vicinity of a detonated border patrol vehicle, yes."

Yasashi smiled.

"When did you encounter Hiei?"

Yasashi's smile dropped and she found it even harder to maintain her composure when Kurama then turned to look directly at her.

"Um…" she began, her voice slightly squeaky in tone. "Just, you know, at the time of… Um…"

"Was he a part of the patrol you disabled?" Kurama asked.

"No," Yasashi replied, her voice lowering again as an idea occurred to her. "He joined us when we were confronted by Jagasame."

"You were confronted by Jagasame himself?" Kurama echoed.

"Yes. And I think that Hiei was drawn to us then because he sensed that Yukina was in danger… You know how protective he is of his sister, right?"

Kurama started to asked how, when and where Jagasame had found them but his voice trailed off and his tapered pewter eyebrows drew together into a frown.

"How did you know that Hiei and Yukina are siblings?" he asked.

"Well because…"

Yasashi paused, a list of possible excuses running through her mind before she finally settled on the most logical and believable one.

"I saw it in Hiei's file in spirit world," she said.

"I see," Kurama said, slowly nodding his head. "I had no idea Koenma had added that detail to the file he keeps on Hiei."

"Yes, he did," Yasashi said. "But – you know – you shouldn't always just believe what's in those files Koenma keeps – he has so much paperwork – George is so clumsy – sometimes things go missing, or information gets muddled – I bet a lot of the information in the spirit world files is inaccurate or just outright incorrect – is Yukina Hiei's sister? Here I am assuming that he is, but I learned that information from a spirit world file – which we all know are inaccurate – I just said they were – because they are – inaccurate, that is. Sometimes they're inaccurate."

"I see," Kurama said. "Perhaps the files are not as inaccurate as you may think."

"Oh no, they're very inaccurate!" Yasashi hurriedly said. "Wildly inaccurate, in fact!"

"I disagree," Kurama replied. "In my experience, the files are worryingly accurate, down to the last word: the discrepancies between the contents of the files and the facts occur because the authorities in spirit world – and by that, I primarily mean Koenma – often try to conceal the true contents of the files or the reality. Koenma is nothing if not a bureaucrat. I don't doubt the accuracy of any file he has created on Hiei or Yukina. I should like to see the file he keeps on me: he probably knows more about my life than I do…"

Kurama smiled but Yasashi was starting to sweat and could not return his gesture.

"You give Koenma too much credit, Kurama," she said.

"Have you ever read the file he keeps on me?" Kurama asked her.

"No!" she hurriedly replied, frantically shaking her head.

"That's unfortunate," he said. "What about your own file?"

"It's dead."

"…What?"

"I mean it's gone."

"Gone?"

"Yes. It, uh, I mean, well, it's not there. I tried to find it just before I was returned to my demon form and the locker the file is usually contained in was empty. I guess it just flew away, in a breeze. Just like that…"

Yasashi chewed at her lip as she watched Kurama, silently hoping that he would not sense her awkwardness; she had at least told him the truth, the file had, after all, disappeared.

"You don't find that suspicious?" he asked instead.

"Flying files is a common problem in spirit world," she replied, before grinning nervously.

"This is serious Yasashi," Kurama pressed. "Doesn't it concern you that Koenma's file on you has gone missing?"

"Did I say it had gone missing?"

"Yes."

"Did I?"

"Yes."

"Ah, well, I meant to say it has moved."

"…Moved?"

"Into the archives. It was thirty years old, there was nothing new to add in there, it was probably archived."

"…I see…"

"But even if it hadn't been archived, reading it would be a totally pointless and boring thing to do."

"I disagree. You retrieved a lot of valuable information about demon world for Koenma: I imagine your file is the basis for a lot of the current records spirit world has been able to create on demon world. That sort of information – and the fact that you supplied it – would be considered very meaningful and interesting, to parties from spirit world and demon world alike."

"No, it's really boring…"

Kurama's frown deepened and Yasashi realised that she was not going to manage to convince him to forget about the Raspberry Sundae file; which, she also then realised, she had no idea of the true location of. The fact that it had not been in the file room, combined with Koneko's evasiveness when she had tried to take it by force, left Yasashi wondering where the file actually was, and, perhaps more importantly, how had Yukina managed to find and read it?

"I wouldn't want anyone I care about to read my file," she said slowly. "I feel it wouldn't give a fair reflection of who and what I am. And… And lately – very, very lately, in fact – I've been thinking that some people who read it might not understand it. Some people might take it out of context. Some people might read pages and pages of my acts as an informant for spirit world and they might conclude that that's all I am: a mole who would sell any secret to save her own life. But… That's not really fair."

Kurama nodded, his face softening in an almost sympathetic way that was incredibly welcoming to Yasashi at that moment.

"I imagine my file, if read as a standalone piece, would appear far worse than yours," he said gently. "Centuries of murder, theft and betrayal in pursuit of power, a decade of falsehood hidden in the body of a human, appended by a few moments of vain attempts to redeem my sense of honour and integrity. Surely nothing in your file could be any worse than anything in mine, Yasashi."

Yasashi was unable to answer. Kurama's words were so genuine and heartfelt, so profound and meaningful, there was no possible way she could argue with him other than to tell him the truth: that – according to Hiei at least – her own file contained a record of words she had never intended to be recorded, words that had subsequently caused Kurama's own life to shift onto the path he was now on. She opened her mouth to try to tell him that he had no reason to fear the contents of his own file – for although she had never seen it herself, she was already confident that it would tell a far more noble story than her own did – but she could not find the words, and instead found herself placing her hand on top of his, which had been resting on the space of roof between them. He smiled gently and placed his other hand over hers.

"We don't have long together this time," he said. "Not that we ever did in the past – but let me do this one thing for you now, and I promise, one day we will be reunited, and we will rewrite our own destinies, making them something we don't have to fear anyone else reading about."

Yasashi reached her other hand over and placed it on Kurama's hand.

"Wow," she said. "Yoko Kurama really is Superman."