Part Three


Chapter Thirty-Two

Oh goody. The gang's all here.

Yare yare.


Training Schedule

Kusuo slid the dining room door open and paused. It was jammed full of people. So much so that he stood in the doorway for several long seconds and debated whether he should just slide the door back closed and go foraging for something to eat in the woods surrounding the temple compound.

"Kusuo-kun!"

Annoyance burned up the back of Kusuo's neck, and he glared at Kokomi. She'd half stood from her seat to wave him over, and her cheeks pinked at his sudden, sharp attention. She offered up a sheepish smile and sat back down, patting the empty cushion to her left since Yuuta was seated on her right.

"We saved you a space, Kusuo."

His glare softening—she would get used to using just his name eventually—Kusuo nodded and skirted the edge of the room so he could take the offered seat.

"Hey, Kid," Urameshi said as Kusuo folded himself onto the cushion butterfly style and accepted the heaping bowl of rice Kokomi passed his way. Urameshi grinned. "Long time no see!"

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched. I literally saw you just a few hours ago.

"Yusuke." Keiko nudged her husband, her cheeks lightly pinked. "Don't be such a pig."

"Why is papa being a pig?" said the short-haired Urameshi twin. Reiko, if Kusuo remembered right. Which, obviously, he did.

"Is it cause ani-san and ane-san are all lovey-dovey?" asked the long-haired twin, Yuuko. "Cause mama and papa are lovey-dovey—"

"—and mama doesn't call papa a pig then."

"Don't ask complicated questions at dinner," Keiko said, her face flushing an even deeper red. "Ask me again at bedtime."

"Kay!" Both twins said together in their creepy tandem before reaching for their little rice bowls at the same time to be offered up to their mother to fill. They were like those twins from that American horror film, the Shining.

Creepy.

"Saiki-san," Yukina said, her voice soft and somehow fragile. "Is your friend Aiura-san not joining us?"

Kusuo stifled a wince at the reminder of how he'd just left Mikoto to sob alone in his room and shook his head. "She had some things to take care of. She might come later or one of us will fix her a tray."

Yukina nodded but didn't look particularly invested—or even aware—of his response as she gracefully packed rice into a small, obnoxiously red bowl that she then set in front of a small boy—probably a year or so younger than Yuuta—with mint green hair tussled by untamed curls. It took a moment for Kusuo to remember that Natsuko had been banished from that first meeting between her father and Kusuo's group to help care for her brother, Yukito.

This child must be that brother.

"Oh!" Natsuko said, sitting suddenly straighter—though considering her naturally rigid posture, Kusuo hadn't realized that was possible. "How rude of us!" She bowed gracefully, eliciting the expected round of 'ng's and only one 'offu.' "You all must be quite confused."

Straightening up, Natsuko shifted to a presenting position and made the introductions. "I am certain you remember my uncle, Urameshi Yusuke."

Urameshi grinned and offered a two fingered wave. "Yo. And of course, this is my wife Keiko and two of my kids, Reiko and Yuuko."

"Hello!"

"It's nice to meet you all properly."

Natsuko smiled at her uncle's family before motioning around them to the pretty blue-haired girl who could walk through walls. "This is Minamino Botan, another of my adopted aunts. She is married to my uncle Minamino Shuuichi—who goes by Kurama to those of his inner circle. He is a spirit fox, you see, but his mother and step-family are still unaware of his true history before he brought himself to Earth to be reborn as a human."

Kusuo and his friends stared between Natsuko and Botan, and if Kusuo's own mental state was anything to go by, none of his friends had any idea what to say to that.

And I thought my friends were weird.

"Good to meet you kids!" Botan said, her grin so bright it lit her lavender eyes from the inside. She leaned forward, almost lunging across the table with her hands clasped and her eyes dripping stars. "I really must say, Saiki-kun, that you almost stole my heart with your display at the amphitheater! Your willingness to sacrifice yourself to protect Yuu-Yuu and Rei-Rei, and of course your own little Yuu-chan, well! I just about melted in my shoes!"

She pressed a hand to her chest while the other propped her up against the center of the table. If she leaned forward any further, her nose would press up against Kusuo's even though he was doing his best to lean back out of range.

"I'll have you know that I haven't seen such a display of chivalry since my own Kurama-kun was your age!" The blunette's expression turned inward and swoony. "Well, except for my Kurama-kun of course. He's always chivalrous…"

Urameshi reached around his wife's back to snag the hem of Botan's striped, pink shirt and tug. Botan yelped as she crashed back onto her cushion. "Ow!" Rubbing her bottom, she glared at Urameshi. "Hey, now, Yusuke! Is that any way to treat a girl?"

"Had to shut you up somehow or you'd keep babbling for hours, and I'm hungry dammit!"

"Well excuse me for having manners, you demon world neanderthal!"

"What'd you say, cotton-candy head?!"

"You heard me, trigger-happy freak!"

Botan and Urameshi were on their feet, nose to nose, with poor Keiko trapped between them. The brunette woman sighed. "Yusuke."

His name was the only thing she said—she didn't even sound angry, just exasperated—but suddenly Urameshi was back on his cushion with a nervous grin as he side-eyed his wife. "Sorry, Keiko. Got carried away." He cleared his throat as Botan settled back on her knees and continued the introductions. "You guys know Nadeshiko, of course. Her parents will drop by later to help you train."

Yamato grunted, her chin propped on her palm as she leaned heavily on the table. "And that's everybody," she said, scowling. "Can we eat now?"

"Nadi-chan, there's no need to be so rude."

Yamato groaned and dropped her forehead onto the table. She waved a hand over her head, pointing to each of Kusuo's friends in turn. "Nendou, Kaidoh, Yumehara, Mera, Kuboyasu, Hairo, Saiki, Teruhashi, Yuuta, Akeshi, Toritsuka, and Aiura is bitching in the love-birds' room. There, we all know each other. Can we eat now?"

Urameshi laughed before Natsuko could again scold her cousin for being rude. "Yeah, kid, let's eat. Is that okay, Yukina?"

"Hm?" Yukina started at the sudden address and looked around with bewildered red eyes. "Oh. Yes, of course."

All around the table, hands clapped together in thanks. "Thank you for the food!"

For a while, everyone was too busy stuffing their faces to talk—the food was amazing—but all too soon, Yamato spoke up, and it was all Kusuo could do to stop a snarky remark about her irritating voice ruining the taste of the food.

"Natsu and I worked out your training schedules while you guys were off doing whatever today. We had to tweak somethings after the shit that went down at USJ, but the plan's solid now."

"Language, Nadi."

"Sorry, Keiko-ba," Yamato said blandly, obviously more reflexive than remorseful. She fished a piece of paper out of her pocket and flattened it against the tabletop with one hand. "So, the next week will be prep work. Can't have you idiots running off half-cocked like you have any damn clue—sorry Keiko-ba—what you're up against."

She pointed at a row of individual blocks that pared names together, some of which Kusuo knew and others he very much didn't.

"Teruhashi will spend her mornings with Natsu to try and teach her how to close her territory. If she manages that, they'll move on to training for control and mastery later in the week. Aiura is with me, practicing foresight, Akechi in the dojo with Touya-ji and Jin-ji to beat the timidity out of him and see if he has combat applications for that crazy brain computer of his. Mera is with Mitani—he's the only psychic we have who remembers that freaky Gourmet guy, and your powers are similar enough that he should be able to give you some pointers. Yours and Gourmet's, not yours and Mitani's."

Her eyes landed on Chiyo next, and Yamato frowned. "Not sure what to do with you, really, since you don't have a power. You wanna learn kendo or judo or something?"

"Yes!" Chiyo said almost before Yamato had finished speaking. She blushed at the sudden, surprised attention of Shun and the rest but pushed on without backing down. "I don't want to be left out of this, which means I need to be strong enough to protect myself. I'll do whatever you think is needed to make that happen."

Yamato actually smiled at Chiyo. "You've got some real guts, no doubt about that." She paused, thoughtful, her eyes sliding to Keiko, who nodded and smiled back.

"I would be more than happy to help her," Keiko said. "Would that be all right with you, Yumehara-san?"

"Ah, um, please," Chiyo bowed politely, which Keiko returned.

"If you're gonna work with Keiko, I should bring the kid," Yusuke said. "The twins are too short to spar with you, but Kota will be glad to help out."

"Glad to help out?" Botan said, surprise in her voice as she pointed at Yusuke with her chopsticks. "That boy is just like you were, way back when, and you really expect him to 'gladly help' some random girl—no offense, Yumehara-san—with beginner martial arts?"

"Yup," Yusuke said, cracking his knuckles. "Or else I'll give him something to be glad about, the little bastard."

Keiko rolled her eyes. "That literally makes no sense, Yusuke." A light blush dusted her cheeks. "And can you please stop bringing that up? We were married before he was born!"

"Barely," Botan chirped. "I thought for sure you were going to pop before Kurama-kun and the other boys managed to drag him back from Demon World to sign and stamp the registry."

"Anyway!" Yamato broke in, and thank kami because Kusuo didn't think he could take any more domestic shenanigans. "Depending on when Kazu-ji decides to show back up—sorry Yuki-ba—Toritsuka will train with him to hone his sixth sense. Until then, you'll be working with my mom and Bo-chan." Yamato shot Toritsuka a feral grin. "Aren't you the lucky bastard?"

"Nadi."

"Sorry, Keiko-ba."

"And the rest of us?" Hairo asked, sounding more curious than annoyed at being left for last.

"Hm?" Yamato stared at him a moment, as if lost in thought, before shaking her head. "Sorry, I was thinking about how much fun mom will have with your pervy friend." Toritsuka whimpered at that, not that Kusuo could blame him. "What did you say?"

Hairo motioned between himself and the other Reborn. "What will the five of us be doing."

"Oh, you'll be working with my dad. He has some top-secret video files for you to watch or some shit like that. Sorry Keiko-ba."

Keiko sighed. "We both know you're not actually sorry, Nadi, so why bother apologizing?"

Yamato shrugged. "Because you expect me to."

"Smart girl," Yusuke muttered, then grunted when Keiko's elbow dug into his side.

"Shun," Kusuo said, frowning at his pale, trembling friend who looked like he was staring a particularly gruesome-looking ghost in the face. "What is it?"

"W-w-we're going to be t-t-t-train-ing with G-G-God?!"

"Psh, hell no," Yamato said, waving an absent hand as she used her chopsticks to sift through the tray of sashimi for an elusive piece of salmon. She didn't even bother to look up. "My dad is awesome, don't get me wrong, but when it comes to fighting, you're better off asking Yuki-chan over there. At least he knows how to punch something without breaking his hand."

Natsuko frowned. "That's not very fair, Nadi-chan. Don't you remember what Shizuru-ba-san said about how he defended her from those street thugs?"

"Video or it didn't happen." Yamato stuffed the slice of pink fish she found between her lips with a contented sigh. "My point, though, is no. Dad won't be training you guys, he's showing you video files. Apparently, they'll help you figure out how to channel your spirit energy faster or some shit. I don't know and don't care as long as I don't have to babysit you."

"And Yuu-chan?" Kokomi asked. The boy perked up at his name, turning away from his across-the-table near-babbling conversation with the Kuwabara boy, Yukito.

Yamato shrugged. "Take him with you, leave him with Yuki-ba, lock him in your rooms. Whatever. Actually, scratch that, just leave him with Yuki-ba. She'll be watching Kora, Yuki, and the twins too, probably, so what's one more kid?"

Yusuke swatted the back of Yamato's head, making her yelp. "The hell, Yuu-ji?"

"Don't just go volunteering people, Nadi. Who the hell raised you?"

"Oh, I don't mind," Yukina said before turning questioning red eyes on Kusuo and Kokomi. "That is, if it is all right with you?"

Kusuo shot Kokomi a questioning glance. She looked uneasy at the proposal, and Kusuo didn't blame her. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the thought of letting the boy out of his sight either, but if it was only during the morning while Kokomi was training, and the compound was supposed to be sealed and hidden away so Akemi Homura and her people couldn't find it...

Yare, yare; how did my life end up like this?

Offering up a deliberately casual shrug, Kusuo left the decision in Kokomi's hands. Considering he was supposed to be reviewing top-secret material from the world of the dead (and seriously, the hell was his life now?) he doubted that was something Yuuta would find interesting. And depending on the content, Kusuo was pretty sure he wouldn't want the boy to watch it anyway. That all meant Kokomi would be the one watching him most of the day until Kusuo could get away, and he didn't want to put more on her than she was willing to take.

"Well, then, I suppose..." She glanced down at Yuuta while working her lower lip between her teeth. "What do you think, Yuu-chan? Do you want to spend tomorrow with Yukito-chan and his friends?"

Yuuta's eyes went wide with excitement. "Can I, Ane-chan?"

"...Only if you promise to be good for Yukina-san."

"I promise!"

"Glad that shit's all out of the way," Yamato said, dumping more tempura onto her plate from the bamboo bowl they were in. "Now eat, drink, mingle; I don't care. Just let me eat in peace."

Kuboyasu scoffed and muttered, "She's the one who brought it up in the first place."

Mera muttered something unintelligible through her mouthful of food. She swallowed what she had before reaching for the rice bucket to pile more into both her bowl and Kuboyasu's.

"Eat," she said, jabbing her chopsticks his way. "Or do you want to be useless when the fighting starts?"

"Who're you calling useless?!" Kuboyasu snatched up his bowl and shoveled the rice into his mouth at warp-speed.

"Are you okay, Kaidoh-kun?" Chiyo said softly, her right hand coming down atop his pale and trembling left. He jumped and stared at her like she was some strange creature he'd never seen before.

"Oh, um, fine." He forced a smile but didn't try to retract his hand. "Thanks, Yumehara."

Kusuo sat in silence as he ate, trying to digest everything that had happened over the last few days. He'd thought for sure his life couldn't get any crazier than when that Amamiya guy showed up at Yuuta's birthday party shouting nonsense about Dark Reunion, but somehow, Kusuo couldn't doubt that someday he would look back on this summer and realize that was actually the least crazy thing to happen. Swallowing a sigh, Kusuo picked at his food, forcing himself to eat. Like Mera said, he couldn't let himself be weak when the fighting started, and since he didn't know when that would be, he couldn't afford not to eat when food was in front of him.

Finishing only what was originally placed in front of him, Kusuo laid his chopsticks across his plate and bowed. "It was delicious."

The more polite hosts (so not Yamato or Urameshi) responded appropriately, and Kusuo asked, "The dishes?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Saiki-san," Keiko said, smiling and waving him off with her chopsticks. "We'll take care of things tonight; you just get your rest for tomorrow. If Koenma is showing you what I think he is, you'll definitely need it."

A bit unnerved but unwilling to show it, Kusuo bowed before shifting to Kokomi with a raised brow. She shook her head.

"You and Yuu-chan should take a bath," she said. "I want to visit…visit my brother." She glanced at Yukina, worrying her lower lip. "If that's all right?"

"Oh, of course! I should have offered to take you to see him sooner." She shook her head and pressed a hand to her cheek with a despondent sigh. "I'm afraid I'm not at my best right now..." She shook her head again and forced a smile. "Just let me know when you are ready, Teruhashi-san."

"Thank you, Yukina-san. You all done, Yuu-chan?"

"Yup! The food was dishes!"

A wave of muffled snickers went around the table while several of the girls coo-ed at Yuuta's 'inerrant adorableness.' Rolling his eyes, Kusuo stood and held out a hand. "Come on, Yuuta."

Yuuta took Kusuo's hand and stood, bowing to the packed table in imitation of Kusuo. Then, once strait again, Yuuta waved at everyone as Kusuo led him toward the door.

"Good night! See you tomorrow, Yuki!"

Yukito waved back. "Night-night, Yuu-chan!"

Once in the hall, the door closed behind them, Kusuo had barely realized that he didn't know where the bath was before a mental map appeared unexpectedly in his head. He stiffened, shuddered, and muttered, "Fuck, that's unnerving."

"Did you say something, Aniki?"

"No, Yuuta." Because like hell Kusuo was stupid enough to repeat what he'd said loud enough for Yuuta to hear. Kokomi would skin him alive and smile angelically while doing it. "Let's get you ready for bed, kay? It's been a very long day."