It was music that reached her first in the blackness. No bass or drums. No somber guitar or twinkle of piano. Just humming. Soft and comforting in a light, airy alto. It was a voice she'd known since before memory and one that meant safety.

For a time she drifted in the dark, letting the tune surround her. Gradually she became aware of other sensations. She was warm, for one, and could feel a vibration against her back where the warmth seemed to be radiating from. So she was being held. And then there was the smell. An overpowering scent of roses. But there were other smells below it as well, like an undercurrent. The smell of clear mountain streams and a fall day. An entire life cycle rolled into one unmistakable scent. Her eyes stung, the first real connection to her body, and she thought she might cry again. No water came, however, and the feeling receded slowly.

Eventually, she could hold onto the dark no longer and came back to herself fully. Her eyes fluttered opened and immediately narrowed to slits against the mid-morning sun streaming into the room. Her father tightened his hold briefly but otherwise continued as he was, finishing the last few bars of the song and falling silent.

"Do I have to go back?" Oki asked into the silence.

"No," he answered, and there was something fierce about that syllable. "You're home now, and that's where you're staying." Oki sighed, an action that seemed to run through her entire body, and shifted to hug the redhead. He held her tighter still and her small arms encompassed as much of him as possible, clinging to him.

"I missed you. And Papa too," she whispered, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"We missed you too, little ember," he assured her, kissing the top of her head. "You'll never have to go away like that again, I promise you." She nodded against him, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a few shuddering breaths. She hiccupped once, but still there were no fresh tears. It seemed she had none left to shed.

"What happens now?" she whispered, leaning back a bit to look up at him. He ran a hand through her hair, brushing the soft skin behind one ear.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "But we're together again now, and that's all that matters at the moment."

"But...things can't go back to the way they were," Oki whispered haltingly and the words were like a knife through his chest.

"Not exactly," he agreed softly, "but it will be alright." He kissed her forehead again.

"How?" she asked, and there were tears in her voice even if her eyes were dry. "I can't feel anything anymore." She looked down at her hands almost accusingly. He took her hands in his own, squeezing gently.

"First things first, we'll have Master Genkai take a look and see what she thinks," he said. The girl visibly brightened at that, her face clearing somewhat.

"Yeah...yeah, okay," she said, nodding slowly. "If anyone can help, Genkai can." He was torn as he watched her. It was the first glimpse he had gotten of his daughter as she used to be, and yet he didn't want her to hope for too much. Likely, there would be nothing the old psychic could do at this point.

"Genkai won't tell us anything we don't already know," a strong baritone declared dismissively. Oki's head swiveled, too focused on the speaker to care about what he had said.

"Papa." The word wasn't shouted with joy the way it normally was when Hiei appeared unexpectedly. It was more of a statement, a cautious greeting. The fire demon didn't miss the difference, either, judging by the hard look in his crimson eyes. He drew closer to the bed and Oki watched but never moved-another telling action when usually she would have launched herself off the bed into his arms by now.

Kurama could feel the girl tense ever so slightly, something like apprehension dawning on her small face. She leaned closer to the redhead, half hiding her face against his chest.

The demon's exchanged a look but neither could offer an explanation for the behavior. Hiei had stopped uncertainly, still a step away from the bed, watching them. When Oki showed no sign of making the first move the fire demon gave in with a dismissive sniff.

"Fine," Hiei said, crossing his arms and looking away. "If you want to see the old woman, we'll go see her." Oki's small form relaxed a bit and the redhead nodded his thanks. Hiei only grunted and strode to the windowsill, settling in to wait while his fox and child readied themselves to leave.

(xxx)

Oki sat obediently, bent slightly forward with her shirt pulled up to her arms as the old woman examined the mark on her back. The mark that the girl had yet to actually see. She nearly jumped when she felt cold, wrinkled fingers graze her back as her shirt was smoothed down once more.

There was a tension in the room that made the hair on her neck stand on end, and neither of her parents looked pleased. Kurama was striving to pretend that nothing was wrong, but Hiei let his sullen attitude roll of him in waves.

"The child should wait outside," Genkai advised, as if Oki wasn't sitting right in front of her.

"Oki," Kurama began, but the girl cut him off, bristling.

"No! I'm not going to leave just so you can talk about me," Oki said, standing and crossing her arms. There was a pause as Kurama and the old woman exchanged a look. Hiei had affected a bored attitude which usually meant he simply did not want to be involved. One glance and Kurama knew he would not be any help.

"Oki, please," the redhead tried again, kneeling to be on level with her. Oki glared at him for a moment, waiting a few seconds to see if he would crack. When he only stared passively back at her, Oki heaved a sigh and dropped her arms. "I promise-"

"You'll explain it to me later, I know," Oki muttered, interrupting him again. It was the answer she had been getting all morning as she tried to question her parents on the train ride to the temple. The redhead reached out to touch her shoulder but Oki sidestepped him and fled the room.

Once outside, she realized she really had nothing to do and sat on the wooden steps, aimlessly drawing in the dirt with a stick. She knew there were arcade games hidden in one of the rooms-she and her cousins had sneaked off to them more than once-but she found she had no energy to venture that far. Even after having slept for a good portion of the previous afternoon and the rest of the night, she still felt drained. The odd feeling wasn't helping her mood at all, and neither was the fact that the plants around her were utterly mute.

In a fit of frustration, Oki growled and snapped the stick in half, tossing the pieces to the ground. She was just beginning to regret destroying her drawing tool when she heard the sound of voices drifting through the morning air.

Oki stiffened at once, praying it was only animals. She knew from experience that Genkai's temple was a popular destination for her relatives on the weekends and she wasn't ready to face them yet.

Luck was not on her side, however, as Yusuke's head came into view at the top of the stairs, followed quickly by Yuso's. Oki crouched on the steps like a startled deer.

Yusuke's smile froze in place when he saw the girl, eyes growing wide.

"Oki? How did you-"

"What are you doing here?" Yuso said over her father's words, loud enough to drown them out. Oki's shoulders hunched, her body tensing further at the anger in her cousin's tone. Her eyes went to his arm, but he was wearing a long sleeved shirt.

"Yuso!" Yusuke growled at his son, but the boy ignored him completely and stalked towards his frozen cousin.

"I thought they took you away," the boy said matter-of-factly. "Because you killed some lady."

"Yuso!" Yusuke's continued protests didn't faze the children at all. Oki's eyes were too wide, her mouth dry and slightly opened. She tried to speak and had to stop and lick her lips.

"I..." she began.

"Save it," the boy retorted. He glared at her for a moment and then tilted his head, his expression softening as his narrowed eyes widened slightly. "Hey...what's wrong with you? You feel..."

-Oki had begun to tremble as he talked-

"...You feel so weak."

The world held its breath for a moment and then Oki launched herself off the steps, rushing at her cousin and throwing a solid punch for his face. The boy gasped and leaned back, reaching up-and grabbed her wrist. Both children froze, staring at his hand on her arm.

"Whoa...why are you so slow?" Yuso breathed. The comment triggered Oki to snarl at him and swing her other arm around. This time she aimed high and soared over his attempted block. Her fingers grazed his hair and closed, yanking harshly.

"Ow! Let go!" Yuso cried and flung out his arm in a desperate punch. He aimed for her face, knowing she would doge.

His fist connected, crushing cartilage and effectively separating them.

Oki fell back on her butt, both hands cupped over her face, her eyes wide with surprise and watering in pain. Yusuke and Yuso wore identical looks of shock, staring at the fallen girl.

Oki cautiously peeled her hands away and stared at the amount of blood filling her cupped palms, more blood than she had ever seen before, especially coming from her own body. Then she was on her feet and running around the side of the temple, fleeing at a human's pace. Yusuke and Yuso watched her go and then turned back to the front of the temple to find the door was now opened. They regarded the three who stood in the doorway with a few confused blinks.

"Anyone mind telling me what the hell is going on?" the former Spirit Detective demanded.

(xxx)

Kurama sighed as Oki slid the door shut with more force than was strictly necessary and straightened once more. His daughter's anger was a new response in all of this, but not a reaction that he begrudged her. His hands found their way into his pockets as he turned his attention to the old psychic. She sat cross-legged, staring into her cup of tea instead of drinking it.

"Koenma's right about one thing, that seal isn't permanent," she began, not lifting her gaze to either of the demons she was addressing. "As she grows and her energy level increases she'll test its boundaries and eventually break through it, but not for several decades most likely. In the long run, though, it might not be such a bad thing." Genkai took a sip and then finally raised her eyes to them, ignoring the dangerous hitch to Hiei's shoulders.

"This seal has been set on her energy as it is now, and while she is exceptional for a five-year-old of either human or demon descent, she still hardly scores a letter on the ranking system at all. That will change over time, however, and when it does the seal won't be able to contain all of her energy anymore. She'll be able to access some of it, though it will still be fairly minimal. In doing so, it's possible that she'll increase her overall energy level even more." Hiei remained as tense as ever but Kurama's eyes brightened somewhat.

"You're suggesting to think of this as a training tool, like the spirit cuffs you employed for Yusuke," Kurama surmised.

"Something like that, yes," Genkai agreed with a nod.

"And what if she doesn't see it that way?" Hiei spoke up for the first time. Kurama opened his mouth, but the fire demon quickly cut him off. "Whatever the potential side effects of this seal may be in the future, it doesn't change what it has done to her now. It has not limited her energy the way the Detective's training cuffs did, it has locked it away completely. This is entirely different." His crimson eyes narrowed at Kurama in particular. "You and I both know what it's like to start again from nothing," he finished venomously.

"I haven't forgotten," Kurama replied, eyes flashing. He said no more, but the look on his face was clear. Don't start this here.

"Tell her whatever you want," Genkai cut in fearlessly. "The fact is, I can't remove it. No one can, except Koenma or King Enma himself." Hiei looked ready to say a few choice words to that, when he was stopped by a sudden commotion outside.

"Ow! Let go!"

"That sounded like Yuso," Kurama said as he turned, noticing Yusuke's energy nearby as well. He strode to the door, knowing the other two were on his heels. The sunlight dazzled after the darkness of the room but his eyes adjusted quickly.

Oki was sitting on the ground with her back to them, both hands raised to her face. Yuso stood over her with his arm still raised in the follow through to a punch. Yusuke stood frozen behind them, jaw slack. There was a scent of blood on the breeze and a smear of red on the young boy's knuckles.

Then Oki scrambled to her feet without a word and ran.

"Anyone mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

Kurama ignored Yusuke's inquiry and instead hurried around the temple after his daughter. Behind him, Genkai approached the stricken pair at the top of the steps, but he didn't wait to see what she would tell them.

There were drops of blood on the wooden porch of the temple and the sight made Kurama quicken his pace from a jog to a full run. The trail led to one of the larger rooms, disappearing behind a door that had not been completely closed.

"Oki?" he asked as he slid the door open. Sunlight fell across the floor, illuminating a mass of blue feathers. The phoenix turned his head to the light, his odd floppy ears pulled back and a small sad trill issuing from his throat. Oki was pressed into the bird's breast sobbing. There was more blood on the floor and gruesome smudges where her hands clutched at blue fathers.

The redhead stepped into the room and crouched behind his daughter, touching her shoulder gently.

"Oki, you're bleeding. Let me see," he said. When she didn't turn on her own he gripped her shoulder firmly and pulled her back. She came away from Pu's breast reluctantly, revealing yet more red staining to the spirit beast's plumage. He sighed when he saw her face, a mess of blood and tears.

"What happened?" He asked her gently, guiding her head to tilt back slightly and examining her nose. It didn't appear to be broken, but blood was gushing down her face all the same.

"I'm a weakling now, that's what happened," she whimpered, her voice muffled by the combined congestion of the injury and crying. Fresh tears cut tracks through the blood on her cheeks. She mumbled something else through a sob that sounded vaguely like "too slow" and "can't take a punch," but he couldn't be sure.

Kurama pulled her close, uncaring about the blood that immediately soaked into his shirt. He murmured soothing words in her ear and stroked her hair as she cried, a situation that was quickly becoming frighteningly routine. Pu, for his part, let out another soft trill and extended his long neck to nuzzle against the back of Oki's shoulder.

Hiei stood just beside the door and watched the scene unfold, just as he had the night before. It was another situation that was becoming routine. The fire demon closed his eyes briefly and then, with an impressive leap, he was gone.

(xxx)

Shiori was busy cleaning the dishes from lunch. She hummed absently to herself as she worked, spreading suds with a sponge.

She was a normal human, without any psychic abilities to speak of. But even so, she was a mother and as such had a keen sense of when something in her house felt off. It was just such a feeling that made her glance over her shoulder and then gasp in surprise at the figure she found standing behind her.

The wet dish slipped from her grasp and shattered on the tile.

"Hiei!" Shiori gasped, leaning back against the sink and pressing one damp hand to her breast. "My goodness, you startled me!" Something like guilt passed over his child-like face and he glanced away. Then Shiori was closing the distance between them and pulling him into her arms. He stiffened at the touch, but not as much as in years previous.

"Yusuke told me about what happened," she explained, holding him tighter. "I tried to call but..." she trailed off and then quickly rerouted. "I know you boys prefer your space when you're stressed so I thought it best to wait for you to come to me."

The body in her arms tensed and she tightened her hold in response. It was hard to remember that Hiei was in fact older than her, given his size and appearance. Especially in times like these, when his obvious anguish pulled at her heart and made him seem so much like a lost child.

"Why are you here?" she asked, finally pulling back to look at his face. "Something must have changed."

He looked up sharply and then relaxed somewhat, features melting into a smirk.

"On occasion, I find myself wondering how he fooled you for so long," Hiei muttered, shaking his head. The almost-smile lasted for only a moment, however, before evaporating. When he fixed his eyes on her again there was something she had never seen there before: desperation.

"Oki..." he began and then stopped, frowning as if there was a bad taste in his mouth and looking down. "I...can't explain," he admitted instead, "but, the short version is that we've got her back."

"Is she alright," Shiori whispered. He closed his eyes and she knew the answer before he said it.

"No. I don't think she is," he whispered. His fingers twitched and worked into fists but released when he forced himself to take a deep breath. It seemed to take some effort for him to raise his head again and those crimson eyes glinted strangely at her. "Kurama and I-I'm not sure we know what she needs. But you..." He trailed off, unsure how to continue. He nearly jumped when she placed a hand against his cheek.

"I'll help in any way I can, of course," Shiori vowed. "This is my granddaughter we're talking about, after all." The fire demon visibly deflated, obviously relieved that he wouldn't be forced to actually voice his plea for help. "Do you want me to come over this evening."

"Tomorrow," Hiei suggested, shaking his head. "I should go," he added with a glance at the kitchen clock. Even though he knew that Oki was more than safe, being separated from her for any length of time was still weighing heavily on him.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Shiori agreed and kissed the top of his head. He blushed at the gesture and glanced away again. And then he was gone, as if he had never been standing in her kitchen at all.

A/N: The song that Kurama is humming in the beginning is "Romantic Soldier." I imagine he used it as a lullaby for Oki. Thanks again to all my reviewers! You guys brighten my day every time!