Chapter Thirteen

Kurama went through too much trouble to cover his tracks in the Ningenkai. He'd bought false plane tickets and everything, claiming that he wished to spend the winter somewhere warm.

Many of his female coworkers tried to find out if anyone was going with him. Unfortunately, one of them had come to his house while he was getting Yuzuki some vegetable chow mein in town.

Ugh, that knocking was so obnoxious. Yuzuki hated migraines. Really hated them. She supposed it was the stress, or even her insanity, but nothing felt good about it.

Carefully blending her ears in with her hair and tucking her tail into her jeans (which was surprisingly not too obvious from the front), she stood up off the couch and slowly strode to the door. Kurama said she could answer it as long as she kept calm. Slowly, though, she was getting better.

On the doorstep was a woman. She was taller than Yuzuki, with plain, straight brown hair and eyes. She was thin, and had a bit of a crooked nose. The yoko could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"May I help you?" she asked the strange human. Maybe she was one of the door-to-door salespeople she saw on Kurama's television sometimes. But she only carried a small red handbag.

"Oh, excuse me!" the woman said. Her voice was high. So she was pretending to be nice. "I must have the wrong house. I'm looking for my friend-"

"Naomi?"

The woman turned just in time to miss Yuzuki's small ears perk up, as they often did when she heard Kurama's voice. The young man was coming up the walkway with two plastic bags in hand. His long crimson hair was in a ponytail, as it was windy out. Both of his eyebrows were raised. Seems this Naomi was unwanted company.

"Oh, Shuichi!" Naomi said brightly, walking to meet him. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Kurama looked slightly confused, his emerald gaze moving to Yuzuki, who was hiding her ears again.

"What are you doing here?" he asked seriously.

"You're leaving next week, right?" she asked in response. "I wanted to make sure you had someone to watch the house while you were away." She then turned to glance in Yuzuki's direction. "Seems you've gotten it covered, though. I hope you've told her everything she needs to do. Some house-sitters-"

"Actually, I am travelling with him." Yuzuki stayed in the open doorway. Being too close to humans made her nervous.

"I'm sorry?" Naomi asked, now turning to get in Kurama's face. "She's going with you to Hawaii?"

Kurama sighed, and went to lead her to the female yoko. "Yuzuki, this is Naomi Otonaki. We work together. Naomi, this is Yuzuki."

Yuzuki gave the woman a strange look. "Charmed," she replied quietly. "Did you find any pomegranates this time? It makes a great side to the breakfast I'd like to cook in the morning."

Kurama smiled then, holding up one of the plastic bags. "The last three. You got lucky.

As she went for the bags he had, this Naomi woman talked again: "Is this your niece, Shuichi? She looks much too young to be your girlfriend."

Yuzuki and Kurama both stopped completely, Yuzuki in mid-reach. Yuzuki held her breath, an involuntary rowl trying to tear from her throat. What exactly did it matter to the human anyway?

"Yuzuki has no relation to my family." Kurama almost sounded angry. "She's actually older than I am."

Naomi gave Yuzuki a strange look. "So she is your…?"

"I do not see why it matters," Yuzuki said sharply. "He and I are friends, and we can travel together."

Ignoring her, Naomi turned to Kurama once more. "Shuichi, that's not appropriate," she said. "Especially when she looks so young."

Growling, Yuzuki went inside and slammed the door. Great. Now Kurama would have to deal with this human woman all by himself.

Kurama sighed at the thought, he and Yuzuki quietly walking through the darkest, loneliest part of the city. It was better to walk that way sometimes. Especially when your travel-mate had a serious phobia of humans.

Her brothers Aki and Nobuyuki had joined them at some point, but honestly he couldn't remember when. He was too busy reprogramming his cell phone to work in the Makai. Tamara was already texting him like a madman now that she knew he was leaving with Yuzuki. (A/N: This is for text messages.)

Kurama! Be careful! You might want some tail, but chasing it to another dimension is over the top!

Kurama laughed. Tamara never shorted her words in texting. She claimed it made people look intelligent.

Lol, ok. and it isn't like that, u know.

Still, who's gonna watch my kids? Hahaha!

Yukina is in town while I'm gone. She will.

He didn't finish reading the last text, because they'd arrived at the hidden wormhole leading to the Makai. Yuzuki was expressionless again. She had been like that most of the day. But Kurama thought it was because she was nervous. After all, she only visited the Demon World to watch the Demon World Tournament. And she usually left afterward, not wasting much time. So besides watching the Dark and Demon World Tournaments, Yuzuki hadn't spent an extended amount of time in the Makai in over four hundred years.

"Four hundred and one," Yuzuki corrected him blankly. "Four months, one week and six days."

The late fall breeze gave him chill bumps, tickling across his arms almost slowly. Why was she reading his mind?

"Are you ready, sister?" Aki asked. "And you know that he does not have to come."

"He's just doing his job, Aki," Nobuyuki chimed in. "The Mari welcome everyone, do they not?"

"Yes, and Kurama has a duty." Why did she sound so sad? "He is to be treated as a royal guest."

Both of her brothers nodded, mumbling "Of course." Already treated like royalty and she'd had her banishment removed for a day. Maybe she was still a spoiled brat.

No, they are obligated, the dark voice whispered. It was their father's dying wish. They have no choice but to obey, and she knows it.

Stop talking to me, Kurama inwardly snapped.

But I am you. So you are talking to yourself.

Stop.

The journey into the depths of the Makai was long. They never stopped for rest, only pausing to drink water occasionally. The four traveled day and night for four or five days. Passerby demons avoided eye contact, it seemed that it was almost legendary to see yoko from the Mari Forests.

Then again, Kurama had only seen it once. It was a legend to many apparitions. He barely remembered his experience there.

When he began to see many different colored flowers glowing in the moonlight, growing infinitely, he knew they were getting close.

Yuzuki was secretly clutching Kurama's hand, traveling behind her brothers. The clouds hid most of the natural moonlight. It was quite dark. And the female yoko was still too afraid of total darkness to face it alone. She'd grown dependent on Kurama protecting her from it, taking her mind off of her cruel flashbacks. But her brothers couldn't know. No, they could never know about that. No one could. She thought it was embarrassing enough with no one knowing.

In the distance, Kurama could hear music. The rhythm was slow, and it was quite intense. The yoko's ears were tingling slightly. It was beautiful. Strange, yet amazing and intriguing.

"The Mari practically has its own orchestra." Even though she wasn't singing, Yuzuki's voice sounded too perfect with the music, too in-synch with the percussion. "They play most nights, and it isn't uncommon during the day to hear it in the streets."

"And when you train?" Kurama asked in reply, keeping his eyes on the flowers. Trees were beginning to surround them; they were entering the Mari Forests.

There is no particular songs for those things," Nobuyuki said, answering before his sister could. "So there is no set rhythm to what is being played."

"I see." Everything was strange here. The trunks of the trees were ranging from deep violet to a light blue, the leaves lighter or darker than their trunks. Nearly all of them bore fruit or flowers. The grass still stayed green.

When the music got louder, Kurama began to see houses. They were surprisingly much like Demon World homes. So the Mari still used the rest of the Makai's advanced technology, meaning they were still part of the Demon Realm. Kurama just wondered why they stayed so detached so much that they were almost considered fictional.

Sixty or so fox demons played a variety of instruments in a group; demons surrounded them in a large circle while dancing, eating, talking, and a few even making out. Kurama had never seen such a massive amount of fox demons before. They all wore robes varied in color, and their hair was all silver with the tint of some strange color in them. Very few of them had silver hair. Kurama wondered how such a thing could happen.

Entering the crowd, Yuzuki knew that it didn't take long for someone to notice who she was. Many shades of golden eyes began to gaze upon her, and nearby conversations dropped to whispers. Nearly all of the Mari were here tonight, witnessing her return from the outside world. She, her brothers and Kurama made their way through almost a thousand of them, and that did not include the surrounding and the rest of the circle around the musicians in the clearing. Eventually, the music stopped, but Yuzuki hadn't heard when. She avoided eye contact with the other youkai, keeping her gaze forward and her ears perked high. She'd let go of Kurama's hand and began walking on her own right before she'd been seen.

Among the hushed whispers, Yuzuki could hear her name. All fell silent, though, when her brother Aki spoke:

"My brothers and sisters of the Mari!" he half-shouted. He knew all would hear. "I know that all of you have noticed that someone is here. Someone we have not seen in over four hundred years." He glanced to his sister. "My sister, Yuzuki-the true leader of the Mari-has returned to rule as my father's dying wish."

Hushed whispers again. Yuzuki had to remind herself to keep calm. She wasn't sure why she was filled with such strange nervousness. It wasn't like she'd ever been in front of a crowd of demons before.

"Yuzuki's return also means that we may start my father's funeral rites, beginning at dawn. My father was a great demon, known for his wisdom and his kindness." Aki paused to look around at all the yokos who stared at either himself or Yuzuki. "My father wrote in his last entry to bring Yuzuki home. Luckily she has been kept safe under the care of Yoko Kurama."

The whispers grew louder. Aki continued: "My sister will soon be the ruler of all the Mari, as it is her rightful place. Do any of you have any objections to this?"

No one spoke, but one did step forward. Yuzuki recognized the youkai as her former friend, Ruka. Her hair was a silvery sea-foam green. She was tall and wore peach-colored robes that only covered what was necessary. Her skin was slightly dark compared to most of them, and her eyes bright.

"Yuzuki?" she asked, blinking. "Is that… is that really you?"

"Of course, Ruka," Yuzuki replied, a half-smirk creeping across her lips. "Who else would I be?"

Her eyes widened, and she rushed forward, pulling Yuzuki into an embrace. The younger female had almost forgotten how smooth Ruka's skin was. Best friend, sure, but this was the female she'd mentioned to Kurama months before. Yuzuki had never forgotten her, but had never said her name.

Nobuyuki smiled at them. "Now, the party may continue," he called. "My sister and her companion need their rest. Many of you will be able to speak with her tomorrow."

Kurama found that Mari food was delicious. The food was strange-looking, and there was no meat, but at least it tasted good.

Many people sat around them in this room; he was in the manor that royalty lived in. But surely not this near three-hundred people were royalty? As far as Kurama knew, it was only Yuzuki and her brothers in the royal branch. If that were the case, why were there so many people in this room?

They were all seated at a very large table, everyone sitting on the floor. They were eating, chatting, and laughing. Everyone was giving Yuzuki strange looks, but were respectful to her all the same. She was waited on and didn't have to do much of anything. Kurama was surprised they weren't trying to feed her.

He was sitting on one side of the female, with that Ruka girl on the other. She sure did talk a lot. At least, she did in the redhead's opinion. She was asking questions that Kurama could tell Yuzuki wasn't comfortable answering. But there wasn't a whole lot that could be done about that.

"So, Kurama, how long have you been watching Yuzuki?" Kurama was knocked out of his thoughts by the demon asking him a question. Her dark eyes were on him, while Yuzuki's were on her plate.

"About seven months, total, I suppose," he replied, continuing to observe the strange-looking strip of purple fruit on his plate. "She's only lived with me for six months."

"I see." Ruka paused. "So is it true that you used to be a bandit?"

"A long time ago, yes."

"Hmm."

"Ruka, I don't think that Kurama wants to answer any of your questions."

"It's fine," she said, blowing Yuzuki off. "Kurama, you should know that Yuzuki is under the best protection here in her homeland." She smirked. "So why did you come with her?"

"I came to do my job, Ruka."

"Well, we got her back. Your job is over now. Unless you two are something more than client and bodyguard."

"Well, we aren't. My job still stands until I am called off or until my presence is no longer required."

"Did she put you up to this? Are you two-?"

"Ruka!" As quiet as it was, Yuzuki's snap of anger was legitimate. "Kurama is a royal guest. I will not stand for you antagonizing him."

"What?" The darker-skinned woman looked appalled. "But… But Yuzuki…"

"You will respect him the way you will respect me. Do not speak out of turn again or I will see to it that you will not eat dinner with me for a week."

What the hell? This was the first time she'd shown any sign of having real power over any of these people. And it was because someone was being disrespectful towards him?

"Kurama, let us leave now. I am not hungry anyway." He moved to stand with her, noticing for the first time that the top of her head came only to the bottom of his chest. "I will show you to your room; it will be across the hall from mine, just in case."

He nodded in agreement, leaving the dumbstruck Ruka with her mouth agape.

They had entered a different way, so through the foyer of the manor, he noticed a large tapestry on the wall. It looked quite old, but the colors had not faded in any sort of way. Yuzuki didn't give it a second glance, keeping her pace.

"That is a portrait of my family," she said quietly, like she noticed Kurama staring at it.

The large tapestry was beautiful, but Yuzuki wasn't in it. But her mother was. He only knew it was her mother because she had a different face. Yuzuki's mother had the same hair and face shape, but was very tall. It made Kurama wonder where Yuzuki's height (or lack thereof) came from.

"Kurama will sleep in the room across from mine," the female told the guards when they reached the hall of bed chambers. "Make sure he has everything he needs; I want him to mourn with us so that he may learn more of the Mari culture."

Yuzuki then was bowed to, and she entered what Kurama assumed was her old bedroom. He politely asked for directions to somewhere he could bathe. Hopefully he would be able to rest tonight. Dawn would come soon.