Mayumi liked to keep things as simple as possible. That wasn't to say she was simple by any means. She was pretty average when it came to grades in school, and Takumi always said she wasn't terrible at her spirit training. She loved her parents, even though they were rarely home, loved her brother, even though he was always bossing her around, and loved her cousin Asaki even though they'd only known each other for a year. From the moment this half-demon had walked into the Takeda Shrine, things got way complicated way fast. However, Mayumi soon learned she wouldn't mind braving complicated things for the sake of her cousin.

Things like going to high school. Mayumi hadn't been certain she'd wanted to go down that path, although she'd been thinking about it. After some encouragement from Asaki, she took the plunge, getting into Meiou where her cousin's friends welcomed her with open arms. Because she was close with so many senpai, no one bothered her, and she was able to make friends her own age as well. With summer vacation, and Asaki's impending trip to Demon World just on the horizon, Mayumi was worried that maybe everyone would forget about her while they were away.

"It's only a month," Takumi had told her. "Seriously."

"You can't tell me you're not worried about Asaki!" Mayumi replied, exasperated. Takumi always pretended he didn't care, but she knew better. He was a big softie.

"She can handle herself. She's been training for a year now."

"I know that, but I'm still worried. What if she gets eaten?"

"By what?"

"I don't know! A big demon!"

"Then she'll give them heartburn."

"Ha ha. You're such a jerk, Takumi."

This wasn't the first conversation they would have like this nor the last.

The day before Asaki was set to leave, Mayumi was running an errand for Takumi when an errant gust of wind nearly knocked her off her feet.

"Easy there, Mayumi!" A hand on her back kept her upright, and that lyrical voice in her ear made her jump.

"J-Jin!" she gasped, turning to face him. He gave her a massive grin, and her heart skipped a beat. Stop that, traitor heart. He was a demon. Takumi would kill her if he knew she had a crush on this guy, even if it was just a tiny one. Who was she kidding, he probably already knew. She swore he was psychic sometimes, and not just in the "human psychic" kind of way that Master Genkai was.

"Doing all right, are you?" Jin asked, frowning. He had one foot flat on the ground and was kicking the sidewalk with the toe of his other foot. His hair was stirring in the breeze that always seemed to follow him around, and Mayumi couldn't help but wonder how soft it was. The little horn on his head should have been off-putting to a normal human, but she thought it was kind of cute.

"Mime ine. I-I mean I'm fine." She slapped her hand over her face, completely flustered.

"That's good. Didn't mean to give you a fright there. What are you up to?"

"Takumi wanted me to go to the store to pick some things up," she said, shrugging. "What about you?"

"Thought I'd check in on Asaki. Make sure she's ready for tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah. You guys will be leaving for a while." She hadn't meant to sound so sad about it, but her feelings betrayed her.

"If you want, I can walk you to the store," Jin said, smiling as he folded his hands behind his head. "I'm in no rush."

"Oh, um…." Politeness dictated that she decline, but she didn't want to. "That would be nice." They started walking together, close enough that Mayumi could feel Jin's breeze. It was pleasant and playful, much like the demon himself.

"You don't need to worry so much, you know," Jin said, making Mayumi look up at him. He was at least half a foot taller than she was. "We'll look after Asaki. Not that she'll need it, since she can even take Kurama on now."

"I know," Mayumi said, wringing her hands. "I know that. It's just that she's like a sister to me. Even if she was the strongest person in the world, I'd still worry about her."

"That's fair sweet of you, it is," Jin said. He grinned, and she had to look away, her face flushing. "She's lucky to have family that cares for her."

"What about you?" Mayumi asked. "Do you have a family?"

"Somewhere, I'm sure," he replied. "See, when I became shinobi, I cut all ties with my folks. Couldn't have them used against me or put in danger because of me."

"That's so sad," Mayumi said. She couldn't imagine having to give up her brother and her parents, regardless of what she chose to do with her life.

"It's all right to me." Jin rubbed his nose, looking up at the sky. "For me, it's enough knowing they don't get hurt because of my choices."

"Why become a shinobi in the first place?" she asked. "I thought ninjas didn't even exist anymore."

"Maybe not so common, but we're still around." Jin shrugged, but despite how carefree he tried to seem, Mayumi noticed his brow was furrowed just the tiniest bit. "I had my reasons back when I started down this path. In the other worlds, you did what you could to get by. Even if it meant fighting for things you don't believe in."

He let out a sigh before tugging on one very pointy ear, hard. He winced, grinning hugely as he said, "All that's in the past now, though. Touya, that's the ice demon you met in case you forgot, and I are a lot freer than we used to be now we've stopped living that life."

"That's good, at least." Mayumi couldn't keep up with his whirlwind of emotion, but she had no problem admitting she wanted to know more. More about this strange demon with his strange manner of speaking. "Hey, how did you meet Asaki?"

"Now there's a tale for you," Jin replied, his forced smile giving way to something much more genuine. "Could you believe our hotheaded friend used to sit pretty and keep polite all the time?"

"Seriously?" Mayumi made a face and Jin laughed, which made her heart beat a little faster.

"Oh, aye she was a master actress. I remember the first time I saw her crack a smile…."

Jin was a good storyteller. He made her laugh and smile, kept her on her toes and interested. In fact, she was so engaged in what he was saying that she didn't notice the malignant energy until it was upon them.

"Look out!" she cried, shoving Jin to one side and pulling a talisman out of her pocket. She barely got it in front of her in time as a small imp demon leapt at her. It collided with the paper, sending sparks in the air as it rebounded, landing on its back. Mayumi winced at the sudden strain.

The demon got to his feet, and Mayumi braced herself for another attack when a sharp wind zipped past her, slicing the imp clean in two. She stared at the two halves of demon as its blood seeped into the pavement, suddenly remembering a very large apparition in a very small room, the stench of rotting flesh seeping into her skin-

"Mayumi?" She jumped at the sound of Jin's voice, dragging her eyes from the corpse to his face. "Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah," she mumbled, her gaze drifting to the dead demon once more.

Jin deliberately stepped in front of it as he said, "You know, that was right nice of you to try and protect me, but he couldn't have hurt me if he tried."

Mayumi blinked dumbly once. Twice. Three times as she realized what he was saying. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Of course, you could have handled that. It was such a weak demon. I didn't even think, I just moved, and I made a mess of things anyway and of course of course of course you had it. I can't believe I just-"

"Mayumi." Jin put his hands on her shoulders, and she froze, whatever she was going to say dying in her throat. "It's all right. If I weren't a demon, you'd've saved my life."

"I-I…." She couldn't think. He was too close with his outlandish clothes, those pointy ears, that big smile that made her want to laugh. "Dammit," she mumbled, swiping at her eyes with her arm. She didn't swear if she could help it, but she was just so flustered.

"Steady there," Jin said, dropping his hands from her shoulders. "Here." He turned away from her, looking around to make sure there weren't any passersby around. It was a quiet kind of day, and they'd actually been alone for a little while now. Jin used his wind to gouge a hole in the earth, kicking the dead demon into it and covering it again. Now, Mayumi wouldn't have to stare at it anymore.

"Thanks," she mumbled, reaching up and pulling on a lock of her hair. She froze mid-motion as she realized what she was doing. She'd picked up one of Asaki's nervous habits, apparently. Her cousin was always tugging on her braid or a forelock depending on her human or demon form.

"'Tweren't nothing," Jin replied, smiling. Of course, he was smiling. He rarely seemed to do anything else.

Mayumi took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Hey, Jin?"

"Hm?"

"I really like you." She forced a bright smile, saying, "I just wanted to let you know."

To his credit, he blushed, eyes wide in surprise. "You barely know me," was his reply.

"I know," she replied. "And I know I'm just a human teen. Really, I just wanted to tell you. A-anyway." If she didn't leave now, she would probably die of embarrassment. It was just...she needed to get it off her chest. Now, she could move on and be over him. That was how these things worked, right? Right?

"Sorry, Mayumi." He rubbed the back of his neck, saying, "I appreciate it, but I'm not looking for anything right now."

"Mm-hm." She nodded, wondering why her throat felt tight. This was supposed to make me feel better. Why do I feel sick to my stomach? "Thanks for letting me tell you. You should go see Asaki. I'll be fine on my own."

"If you're sure?" He frowned, looking like he almost wanted to stay. So much for those permanent smiles. Mayumi had gone and mucked that up.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Goodbye, friend. Come back safely, okay? Let Asaki know I'll miss her." Before he could say anything, she turned and ran in the opposite direction of the store, swung a left, and took the long way around the block. She made it maybe half a mile before she couldn't run anymore. Whatever was in her throat needed to get out.

When she discovered it was a sob, she was more surprised than anything else. Dummy. You knew he was going to say no. Why are you so upset? But it hurt. Even knowing she had no chance, a rejection was still a rejection. She let herself cry a little, let the tears run and tried to stifle the sobs so no one would look her way. Once she was done, she skipped the rest of the way to the store, got what she needed, and headed home.

"What took you so long?" Takumi asked her when she put the groceries on the kitchen table. He was still pouring over the same ledger he'd been working on when she'd left. "And are your eyes red?"

"I ran into a friend, and we chatted," Mayumi replied. "Sorry about being late." Giving him a big smile, she said, "Anything I can do to help?"

Takumi gave her a long look, and she knew she wasn't fooling him. There was that weird mind-reading expression on his face again. Please, Takumi. Just this once, let me get away with this lie. I'm fine.

"Here." He pulled one of the ledgers off the stack to his right, sliding it to her. "Check behind me."

"Okay!" She clapped her hands together before flipping open the first page and blanching at the sheer amount of numbers before her. At least it would keep her mind off of troubling things. And really, she would be fine, eventually. Come tomorrow or next week or the week after that, maybe. It didn't matter how long it took. She would be fine again once the aching stopped.

…

It had been three weeks since Asaki had left for Demon World, and Takumi was relieved to see Mayumi finally acting like herself again. Something had happened to her the day before that had made her try a little too hard to pretend she was okay. His sister was many things, but a good liar was not one of them. He hadn't pressed her. It seemed like she needed the time and space to figure things out.

Whatever she'd decided, he wasn't privy to, which was fine. Perfectly fine. Not like he was worried or anything. He definitely hadn't been plotting the murder of whoever had made her cry.

Maybe he was a little too overprotective, but considering how often their parents were away, Mayumi and Takumi were all each other had. At least until Asaki had stumbled in, fumbled around, and situated herself perfectly beside them like she'd been there all along. He hadn't wanted to accept her at first. She was the half-demon spawn of their disgraced ancestor, after all. But Mayumi had taken her in with open arms, helping Takumi look past the sins of her parents...and maybe the sins of the rest of the family too.

None of this, of course, would be sufficient for convincing his parents, when they did return from overseas, why they'd let Asaki into their home. That was a problem for future Takumi to worry about, and current Takumi was willing to let him have it.

Speaking of his parents, was it bad that Takumi wanted them to stay away just a little longer? It wasn't that he didn't love and miss them. It was just, when they came back, he would probably have to hand the reins of the shrine back to his dad. He'd really enjoyed getting to handle the upkeep, his nose constantly in various ledgers and books. Would he really have to give it all up soon?

Probably better to get it over with now than later. After all, it'll be Mayumi's someday. Takumi sighed as he made his way back from a meeting with the heads of a few other shrines in the area. Hino's dad had been there, but not her, which wasn't entirely surprising. The meetings bored her to tears. It wasn't that she didn't love her shrine and want it to be the best it could be. She just preferred to be hands-on, not listen to old men talk for an hour.

Running a hand through his hair, Takumi found himself meandering down the street toward the Hino Shrine where Ai Hino was presumably doing some chore or other. He couldn't help it. They'd known each other since childhood, and Hino had always been close with Mayumi. She refused to be friends with Takumi, claiming it was because she wanted to keep his little sister as her own. Of course, that had put her on Takumi's bad side for a long time. At least as long as it took him to fall in love with her.

It wasn't just how beautiful she was, with her straight black hair, pale skin, and light brown eyes. She was kind, dedicated, and unflappable, always willing to lend a hand or stand up for what she believed in. She had this way of speaking that commanded a room, and she wasn't afraid to make decisions. In short, she was all the things Takumi wished he could be.

Maybe he should pay Hino a visit. He could pretend it was to bother her about not coming to the meeting. That would work. She thought he was pretty naggy, after all, so she'd buy the story. Her dad had said he and his wife would be out for the rest of the day at the end of the meeting, so there was no risk of having to answer awkward questions there.

Yes? No. Yes. No? Just pick something already. His indecision lasted until he came within a block of the Hino Shrine. The sudden chill that raced down his spine made his stomach drop to his feet. Something was very wrong nearby. He'd been so focused on himself and his stupid crush that he hadn't noticed until now. What was worse was that the wrongness was coming from Hino's.

He ran the rest of the way, the air growing heavy around him. Hino was in danger, he just knew it. It was just like when Asaki and Mayumi needed him, almost a year ago now on her first mission. Even though he hadn't known exactly what was wrong, he'd gotten this terrible feeling. The TV report he'd seen on the way to help them had only confirmed it. Now, however, he was going into danger completely blind.

Well, not completely. The moment he stepped onto shrine grounds, he could tell there were three people here who weren't supposed to be. Hino Shrine employed a few priests and priestesses along with Hino and her parents, but these were additional bodies he didn't recognize. He could sense their life energy like a beacon, leading him forward. It was like he had a perfect mental map of the shrine building, and he could tell exactly where the intruders were. Unfortunately, he could also tell that they were with her. Hino.

The smart thing to do was to gauge the situation. As he navigated the main building, he took into account all he could from what the energy signals gave away. Three completely human males with no spirit awareness. They were antsy, their pulses high. Probably armed, all things considered. What did they want with Hino? The shrine was pretty big, but it wasn't exactly a gold mine. None of the shrines in the area did business to get rich, after all. They were just labors of love or passed down by blood.

When Takumi reached the back of the shrine, where he knew the donations were kept, he paused just outside the sliding rice-paper door to listen. The energy was coming from inside this room, but he couldn't just burst inside. He needed to be sure of what was going on first.

"I already told-ah!" The sound of Hino crying out in pain made him inhale sharply through his nose, his hands balling into fists. Not yet. Don't move.

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first time. There's no way a big shrine like this only makes chump change." One of the three men, probably in his mid to late thirties.

"This is all we have. Just the wishes of parishioners. You can't take it!"

"Shut up!" A dull sound followed by Hino's scream made Takumi's blood boil. He'd heard all he needed to.

He took a deep breath, sliding the door to the right and stepping inside. The scene before him was enough to make a weaker man tremble, but the only tremor in Takumi was one of rage. Hino was laying on the ground, blood trickling from a blow to her temple. Judging by the man standing over her, the butt of his gun dripping red, that was the cause. The other two men were leering into the safe where Takumi could see mostly 5-yen coins: the cost to petition the gods. These men were going to need all the prayers they could get.

"Hey, who the hell are you!" the man who'd struck Hino snapped, turning to face Takumi. He was sweaty and dressed in nondescript jeans and a T-shirt with his black hair slicked back.

Takumi ignored him. "Hino, are you all right? Can you hear me?"

"T-Takeda," she whimpered. "Get out of here! They'll kill you!"

"I'm glad you're okay," he said, smiling. "Don't worry. I'll call the hospital."

"Excuse me. I'm talking here," the sweaty man said as the other two stood at attention, their hands going to their belts where guns hung.

Takumi turned his gaze on the sweaty man, narrowing his eyes. "I'm listening."

"Get on the ground."

"Tch." Takumi reached in his pocket, his fingers brushing the little stone he always carried with him, carved with the character "mi."

"I said get on the ground, or I'll blow your fucking brains out."

"Try it," Takumi replied, planting his feet and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Takeda, no!" Hino screamed as the sweaty man raised his weapon and pulled the trigger. Takumi didn't even have time to blink before the bullet hit the barrier he'd created, lost all momentum, and fell to the ground. Useless.

The three men stared blankly at Takumi, and the young man could feel their confusion and unease. "Do it again," he growled.

"Shut up!" The sweaty man shot once more, and once more the bullet hit and fell. "What the hell is going on?!" He shot again and again, all of the shots failing to break through Takumi's barrier. After about seven bullets, Takumi raised a hand, lowering his barrier. He gestured for the man to continue shooting, and he obliged. This time, Takumi caught the shot in his bare hand. At least, that was what it would look like to the men. They wouldn't be able to see the barrier he'd constructed to protect himself.

"I'm done playing games." Takumi coated himself in spiritual energy before he charged forward, clotheslining the sweaty man and throwing him to the ground. Bullets bounced off of his back, completely harmless as he lifted the man by his shirt front and punched him hard in the face, breaking his nose. He lost consciousness, and Takumi dropped him before turning on the other two.

"Either you sit down and shut the hell up, or I make you," he said. When they turned to run, he snapped his fingers, and they both tripped over an invisible wire made of his spirit energy. Before they could get up, he walked over, grabbed their heads, and knocked them together hard enough that they would lose consciousness. It was all over in the span of a few minutes, and Takumi hadn't even broken a sweat.

"T-Takumi?"

Takumi stiffened, surprised to hear his first name coming from Hino. She'd never called him that in all the time he'd known her. Turning, he rushed over to help her to her feet. "Ai, are you…." Ai? He'd never called her that either.

"Takumi, what just happened? What did you do?" She was clinging to him for support, and his hands were around her waist to steady her. Despite how dire the situation had just been, he couldn't help but notice how soft she felt or how sweet she smelled, like hydrangeas.

"It looks like the bleeding has stopped," Takumi said, touching her head wound gently. It had bled a lot, but it wasn't deep or serious. "I should call an ambulance and the police." He let her go, turning to walk away. His emotions were high, adrenaline coursing through his veins. If they stayed close like that, he would probably do or say something stupid.

"Takumi, what-"

"Stop calling me that." He turned to face her as her hand fell on his arm. Her eyes were wide, and she looked hurt. Dammit. Everything was going pear-shaped too fast for him to stop it. "Every time you say my name, my heart beats faster." What kind of embarrassing crap was coming out of his mouth, and why couldn't he take it back? "If you keep it up, I can't guarantee I'll let you go."

The hurt faded from her eyes, replaced with something heavy and warm. She reached up, touching his face with her fingertips and making Takumi's head feel light. "Takumi," she whispered.

He knew what he should be doing right now. She was in pain, and the men who hurt her needed to be arrested. The logical half of his brain knew this. The emotional side knew one thing and one thing alone: Ai Hino.

"Ai, I love you," Takumi said, pulling her gently into his arms. She didn't hesitate, immediately wrapping her arms around him as she rested the uninjured side of her head against his chest.

"I love you too, Takumi," she whispered, her voice trembling.

Her words made his heart want to dance, and he tilted her head up just a little so he could kiss her forehead with every ounce of feeling he could manage. "I promise, I'll explain everything," he told her, one hand cradling the side of her face as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "Later. Right now, we need to make some phone calls."

Ai nodded, swiping at her eyes and sniffling hard. "R-right. Um, should we tie these guys up, o-or…?"

"They're not getting up any time soon," Takumi said. "You should rest. I'll take care of everything else."

"But, Takumi-"

"Ai, let me take care of you," he said, brushing some of her hair out of her face. She blushed, and Takumi had to resist the urge to pull her close again.

"You're always taking care of me," she mumbled, looking down at the space between them. "Since we were kids."

"And you've always hated it, I know," Takumi sighed.

She shook her head, much to his surprise. "I know I said I did, but...I really didn't mind. I liked knowing you were there for me."

"Aw, man" Takumi said, covering his face with his hands. Did she really just say that? All this time, he'd thought he was just getting on her nerves, when in reality, she'd liked it? Thank all of the gods in all the worlds for this woman right here in front of him.

"Wh-what is it?" Ai asked.

"I really, really love you." He lowered his hands, grinning at how bright red her face was. "Now come on. You're going to reopen that wound if you don't relax." Taking her hand in his, he led her from the room, knowing there were still so many things he had to do. He needed to call the police and an ambulance for Ai. He would have to tell her parents what had happened and eventually explain to Ai about his spirit powers. He also needed to properly ask her out.

All of that would come, sure. For now, he would just focus on the feel of her hand in his and the idea of a future where he could continue to take care of her. Always.