Haha, it's been a while since I last updated. Sorry about that.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or its characters.

Chapter Five – A Beginning of Sorts

She already regretted agreeing to this. One week was what she said—that's all she would let her children train for certain. It had taken her and Yusuke days to hash out exactly how much training time they would start with—Keiko pointing out their young age and Yusuke arguing over how important learning the basics were till they became instinct. Age made no difference for that. Strangely when Genkai had heard the decided-upon test run, she had mildly agreed to the limit without any protest. The look on Yusuke's face had been priceless when Genkai merely bowed to Keiko's wishes—obviously he had expected his sensei to fight much harder for training time with Michiko and Kane. Today was the first day of their training, and Keiko had left work early, promising to finish up her paperwork and make the last of her calls at home before the day ended to make sure she was here.

It was important for her to be here. After all, in the end it was her choice whether or not they continue the training after the first week. It was…actually really thoughtful and sweet of Yusuke; not something she would have expected when he was fourteen. Now though, he had matured in ways she had never anticipated! He had known that she would be the biggest obstacle in their training, especially if he had decided to do it in secret. If she had found out that way…Kami, there would have been fireworks and slept-on couches for months!

The fact that he had come to her with it, had tried to reason it out with her till they came to an agreement really made her happy. It was a sign that their marriage was working and they could figure things out without violence or anger—something that seemed to break up so many households. And that was probably a big factor as to why she had finally agreed to something that she would have sworn years ago that she never would agree to.

"Nothing too strenuous." It wouldn't do if Michiko or Kane hurt themselves during this.

"Of course."

"And please, don't try to stretch them out with those crazy exercises. They're not dolls to be maneuvered around whichever way you please." Pulling a muscle would be awful! Thank goodness, Genkai was being so agreeable.

"As you wish."

"And if Kan—" She was suddenly bobbed on the back of her head. Turning to glare at her amused husband, she lifted a questioning eyebrow. "Yeeees?" If her tone was a little challenging, Yusuke should have expected it.

"Kami, Keiko, you're more demanding than any soccer mom I've ever seen! Let Genkai just do the training, she knows what she's doing."

"Well, excuse me, Yusuke, but I'm just trying to make sure that they aren't pushed too hard. They're just children, they should be having fun, not trying to beat each other up! We can always cancel this little session if you're not happy."

Before either could start another spat, Genkai coughed mildly, retrieving their attention. "If you children are done…" They both winced. She drew herself up and leveled her own stare at Keiko. "I am a trained professional, and their training will not consist of them 'beating each other up'. I plan to work more with their endurance and flexibility—while still focusing on their needs as children. Strength exercises will be used, but carefully monitored; at this age it would be easy to stunt their growth and that is something we should avoid." She sighed. "Since both of you decided to watch, I expect complete silence and obedience while I run my class. There will be no running to the children, no protests, and no telling me how to run things."

Keiko blinked. That fierceness hadn't been there before. Still, it was probably better—Michiko and Kane could be a handful if you didn't know how to take charge. She was probably worried over nothing…Genkai was often their babysitter, and she loved them. She would never put them in harm's way in a simple workout…right?

Thinking of how Yusuke described all of his training sessions, she suddenly didn't feel so reassured. M-Maybe there was still time to call this whole thing off—

Yusuke leaned over to speak in her ear. "Genkai's gone now, you know. She went to go and warm up with the kids. I thought you wanted to watch?"

Oh, right. Shaking her head, she grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go make sure she isn't doing anything crazy." So intent on her purpose, she didn't even notice Yusuke rolling his eyes as she dragged him along to find Genkai.

When they reached the room Genkai had designated for training today, Keiko quickly slid the door open, stepping inside…and pausing to blink at the scene. Yusuke was snickering behind her, but she barely heard him as she rubbed her eyes. What in the—? Genkai was jumping in the air every few seconds as a thin rope smacked against the ground before rising back up above her head. It was a good thing she was so small, because between Michiko and Kane's height, the purple and silver twisted rope never went up too high. The three of them were playing…jump rope?

"Ah, you're finally here. Just sit over there and watch and don't make too much noise." She easily jumped back into the air, before gently landing on her feet again, pink and white mixed hair gently falling with gravity. "We've got lots of training to do today." For some reason, both the children giggled, obviously enjoying watching their godmother and normally serious babysitter skipping rope.

Four hours later, Keiko wasn't sure what she had seen. Was that really training or just extended playtime? They had jump-roped, played hopscotch, tag, hide-and-go-seek, and a dozen other games she could see any day in the park. Sure Genkai had a huge home to play in, but besides the fascinating scenery, it could have just been a day watching Yusuke and the kids play. Was this really it? Genkai would first show them the game she wanted to play and then soon one of them would be in the middle or running around or both would. It was a little off-putting.

As if sensing her confusion, Genkai smoothly moved to walk next to her while Yusuke ran on ahead, keeping perfect pace with his out-of-breath, but laughing daughter while a tired Kane tightly held onto his head, legs once in a while kicking merrily on Yusuke's shoulders. "Are you sure you don't want the kids to stay for another hour? Each hour more is a little more training."

She smiled politely. "No thank you, Genkai. We still haven't made dinner and Michiko does have homework to do. Um…I don't mean to sound rude but…" She trailed off uncertainly—how was she supposed to ask?

"You're confused about the training." Wow, Genkai was spot on. It must have shown in her face because the martial artist snorted. "This training isn't for adults, you know. Children need special ways to be properly trained. You'd be surprised how fit a child can get if they're just allowed to play for a few hours a day outside in the sunshine. It's a shame—parents are often so wrapped up in keep their children protected and entertained, that they often forget the usefulness of just a sunny day." She shook her head in disgust. "This is just the warm-up stuff though. If they keep up this schedule for a few weeks, I'll be able to ease them into real training."

"I see…" Wait, did she say weeks? Keiko knew where this was leading. Smiling a little more tightly now, she decided to point out the situation with a little…tact. "We'll see how this week goes. Maybe they'll get tired of it."

Genkai merely smiled with grudging respect—she understood what Keiko really meant. "We'll see." The two women shared a look of understanding.

This was one of the first times Keiko had actually clashed with Genkai, and she had a growing feeling in the back of her mind that it wouldn't be the last time when Kane and Michiko were the topic of debate. And Genkai had yet to grace her with her sharp but calm wit that always sent Yusuke limping away after each battle. She wondered if Genkai was actually maneuvering her, the way she did Yusuke—perhaps in a different way though. The same methods that worked on her wonderful, if sometimes bullheaded husband (not that she should talk, according to said husband) would not work on her; they were quite different people. Perhaps Genkai would win this match, but Keiko was grimly determined not to give her the war. She loved Genkai very much, but these were her and Yusuke's children, and they would decide what was best for them—not even a well-meaning godmother would manipulate their decisions. She almost regretted agreeing to this training idea at all even with Michiko and Kane glowing afterwards with joy—it was just a foot in the door for whatever Genkai was planning.

And just as she feared, a week later Kane and Michiko were looking at her with pleading big eyes, hoping to continue "playing with their godmother". Groaning inwardly, she wanted to send a glare Genkai's way. She had totally set her up! After the first two sessions, she had been forced to stay the full hours at her job—Izumi had tipped off that Yoshinada was growing suspicious—and so hadn't been there to stop Genkai from influencing her kids' opinions. They liked training and thought it was something fun to do after school (in Michiko's case). From the set looks on their faces, they would just be devastated if she told them they could train anymore.

Even though she obviously must have felt victorious, Genkai did a good job of not showing any of her delight, looking rather bored instead. "Michiko. Kane. If your mother does not want you to train, then we'll stop." Her eyes flickered over to their mother for an instant. "It's all up to her."

Keiko scowled when her children looked back at her. Damn, that woman was good. Letting out a long sigh, she resisted the urge to start shooting glares Genkai's way. She was an adult now. Staring matches were for children. Then again, if it would make her feel better… "Well…"

"Pleeeeeaaaase?"

Argh, was Yusuke looking at her pleadingly too? What was the world coming to?

She gave in.

"…Fine. We'll do this for another month." She couldn't help the quirk of a smile when both kids started jumping up and down and yelling their thanks. Before they could go overboard, she waved a finger at them. "But, I expect a report on what you two have been doing each week. And at the end of the month, we'll decide whether or not you should continue any further."

Both Kane and Michiko nodded exuberantly before running off with Genkai to beg one more game of hide-and-go-seek off of her before they left and she wondered how much either of them really understood what Genkai was trying to teach them. Probably not, they were both still so young. Too young to be doing this, in her opinion, but they had already passed that obstacle, so all she could do was hold her fears to herself quietly and hope for the best.

A beeping noise distracted her from her thoughts and she looked at Yusuke who was frowning slightly at his phone, tapping the keypad a few times. "I would have thought you'd be celebrating my giving in?" she commented dryly. When he didn't react immediately, she leaned in closer to get a look at what he was staring at. "Something up?"

He flipped the phone shut with a sigh. "Kurama's called me a few times."

"You haven't called back?"

"I meant to. Just…kind of forgot, honestly." He looked sheepish as he absently opened and closed the cover of his phone. "Guess I'll just call now." Flipping the phone open again, he pressed 3 and then hit the CALL button. "Good thing I've got him on speed dial." Placing it up to his ear, he waited and grinned when Keiko patted him on the arm before mouthing that she was going to go check on the kids. What she probably meant was have another silent battle with Genkai. Kami, he had never thought he'd see the two in a fight before—even a fight of wills like this! It was kind of ironic actually, since he had always complained about how Genkai always got him in the end, while Keiko had never had to deal with that side of her personality and had assumed that he had been exaggerating. It was nice to be the observer for a change.

A click alerted him to someone picking up the phone on the other end.

"Hello?" questioned a soft voice. "Minamino Shuuichi speaking." There was a pause and Yusuke was pretty sure Kurama had then just noticed the caller ID. "Yusuke, is that you?"

"Spot on, foxy," he chirped. "Sorry I kept missing your calls—things were kind of weird around here lately."

The voice sounded amused as he responded. "Really? What have you been doing?"

"You know, the usual. Hating the job, picking up the kids, doing all sorts of kinky stuff with a certain girl which you could only dream about—and you better not, or I'll rip your eyeballs right out of their fucking sockets." Kurama snorted and Yusuke casually continued. "…Getting Keiko to agree to let Genkai train the kids—"

"Really?" he asked, sounding honestly shocked. "I thought you two decided to keep them away from any form of fighting."

He shook his head, forgetting that Kurama couldn't see it. "I know, I know. But…things just got complicated." He didn't want to mention the demon that oversaw his children, who he had had two speaking sessions with this week. Especially if Keiko overheard—he still hadn't figured out how to mention that to her. And it bothered him, how his senses told her she was harmless…and now he was actually lowering (lowering!) his guard around her unconsciously. "We'd like them to have a little bit of training. Self defense and stuff." Just in case Lei did turn out to be some horror of spikes as he so rightly (not paranoid! Not paranoid!) feared. He wanted them to be able to defend themselves; damn it, he wished they had acquired some of his demonic powers—then they wouldn't have to worry about being killed by her!

"Ah, all right."

That was something he always liked about Kurama. He was pretty quick to accept things, no matter how strange they would be to anyone else. He had always been one of those guys who would take the situation in, blink once, maybe even twice, then take over when he needed to and get the job done if no one else would. He was trustworthy and a good guy—probably why Yusuke liked to talk with him. He felt sort of…free when he spoke to Kurama—like he didn't need to watch himself at all.

"So what's up, man? You keep calling me for a reason, right? Or did you just want to hear my awesome voice?" he joked. When that didn't get a response, he raised an eyebrow, wondering if Kurama really did like his voice. "Uh, Kurama? You still there? Y-you don't really call for my voice, right? Cause that would scare the shit out of me."

He was relieved when Kurama spoke, even if he ignored the question completely. "Where are you right now?"

"At Genkai's still. The kids want one more game with her then we'll be heading out." He shook his head. "It's crazy how much energy they had. I don't remember having so much at their ages. Sometimes I wonder if they did pick up a little bit of my demon heritage after all."

"Well, I wish we could talk now, but I'm actually pretty busy. Perhaps we could meet up later?"

Yusuke blinked. What was with the brush-off? Kurama seemed to have lots of time a moment ago. "Uh…sure? Damn it, Kurama, is there something on your mind? You're acting weird, and if there is some demon threatening your little brother, I'd like to know now before you lead me to some pit and try to betray me."

That actually elicited a laugh out of his especially-stoic-today friend.

"Yes, yes. I'll certainly warn you if someone tries to control me through such base methods," he chuckled. "But by the time you find out, I'll probably have fixed the situation." The coolness at the end of his sentence made Yusuke feel a little sorry for the imaginary threat; Kurama would absolutely destroy anyone who tried to hold a hostage in order to get him to follow orders. He had already heard the stories about Yomi's attempt to do just that.

"Thanks. What's a good day for you?"

"Perhaps next weekend? I've actually been away on a bit of a business trip—I'm in America right now," he admitted. "But by next weekend, I should return and we can speak then."

Eyes round with surprise—he personally had never gone further than three cities down (well, does going to another world count?) from where he lived—Yusuke grinned. "Well, bring me back a souvenir! What do they even have in America?" Besides the obvious: gold streets, tons of money, and apparently some hot chicks in California.

He could almost see the smirk on Kurama's face. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back—it'll be a surprise. Say hello to Keiko and the children for me."

"Yeah, yeah. See you later, man."

"And next on the news, it looks like another beautiful sunny day tomorrow! We may have a few clouds coming in, but chance of rain is next to none this whole week. Around the Osaka area, we could get some—"

The news droned on in the background as Kuwabara scratched his head with the tip of his mechanical pencil. He was trying to brainstorm a new design idea for the current project he was heading—they had gotten nowhere today, everyone wanting to branch out on this one, so each person agreed to think on it a bit more till the next meeting. Scratching out his last bullet point, he shifted his head one way then the other till he heard a loud popping sound. It sucked being in charge sometimes. The team worked well in general, no matter who was placed on them, but when they came to a rare standstill like today, all the different egos and personalities tended to explode at one another. Kuwabara just didn't like having to deal with that—he'd rather just be one of the workers doing his share of the project. But for some reason his boss's boss had seen something in him that he liked and had personally suggested that Kuwabara run a team. Three years later, here he was, still in charge even though he obviously wasn't well-equipped for the job in his opinion.

He had decided to leave work early, figuring home would be a more suitable atmosphere to thinking. Heh, thinking. He grinned. A long time ago, some of his friends would have been shocked to hear that Kuwabara was now a successful engineer who actually worked with some of the leading Japanese scientists of their time—after all, he was just a nice, if sort of stupid guy. And for a long time, that was what he thought he was too. But then something happened—he didn't know—maybe it had all started when he teamed up with Yusuke for the first time against that one guy…what was his name? Some crazy guy who had wanted to learn from Genkai and kill her. Kuwabara had been worried about his freaky psychic powers acting up, but after that he had started to realize that they could actually be useful. It was after that that he became a part of the Reikai Tantei.

A time he was still very fond of and sometimes found himself reminiscing over. Weird how all the times he thought he was dead or going to die now seemed like fun times. He could have sworn he had been scared shitless during the actual process.

But those days were far behind him; he had more important things to do. Like his job and taking care of his wonderful family. With just a glance at his watch, he knew exactly where the three of them were.

Two twenty-seven.

Yukina was outside in the backyard, teaching their children proper meditation techniques to keep their tempers under control. She had insisted that they not send them to public school, instead deciding to dedicate her time to training them both in mental and physical arts. At first, Kuwabara had been confused but accepting about that. It wasn't until she explained that ice maidens always taught their own children that he began to understand how much it meant to her to be able to teach her own children, both male and female.

Of course. Kumiko was, in her own right, a growing little ice maiden too with her own set of powers that had shown up from practically the moment of birth. It still confused him, how she really was not of his blood at all, only Yukina's, but that didn't stop him from treating her as if she was his legitimate daughter. And she certainly acted like it, following him around like a lost puppy whenever he had time to play. Her brother was the same way—they seemed to know how little time Kuwabara had and so accordingly treated time with him to be a real treasure.

Akihiko also had powers though. He had always been able to see ghosts with unerring detail that Kuwabara still couldn't mimic, and he also had been astounded by how powerful his son's spiritual powers were already, though there were no signs of any manifestation of his power like Kuwabara's Spirit Sword. That was probably not going to occur until he was much older. It was as if the mixture of his and Yukina's blood had only enhanced his abilities to the fullest. While Yusuke and Keiko's children seemed perfectly normal, he had a feeling his and Yukina's would always be uniquely powerful in a world of humans. Perhaps it was better that Yukina homeschooled them; other children would never understand why Akihiko would suddenly start talking about a ghost he could see or why Kumiko could heal any bloody knee with barely a word. There were too many awkward questions that could be asked.

Not to mention the lack of identification. After some wrangling with the Japanese administration, he had finally been able to procure some proof that his two children existed, just in case something ever happened to him or Yukina—they would not have to go down documented as mystery children. What was still a problem, though, was Yukina's lack of identification. They couldn't exactly waltz up to a hospital and tell them that she happened to be an ice demon who decided to come live in Japan and that's why she didn't exist on their system. And acquiring that information was proving to be…tricky, even with Genkai's assistance. That's one thing he and the old woman agreed on; Yukina needed to become a citizen of Japan if they were going to continue living here.

Lost in his thoughts, he inattentively sketched out another suggestion to appease all the factions of the team as the clock ticked on. The news continued buzzing in the background, something about sports that he really didn't care about in the slightest. Loud laughter and giggles suddenly erupted from the door in the living room as Yukina and their children must have stepped inside.

He checked his watch. Yep, exactly three. It sounded like they were about to take a break.

Grinning to himself, he pretended to be lost deep in his work, even as he heard Yukina's soft footsteps that were soon muffled by the carpet. "Hello, Kazuma," she said with a sweet smile that he could almost hear in her voice. "I'm glad you came home early. Akihiko and Kumiko are having a snack right now, but they would be happy to spend some more time with you later; if you are available that is."

"Of course." He was grinning like an idiot, but he didn't mind. He always did that around her. Kami, it still stunned him sometimes, how close he had been to never having this family. If Yukina hadn't changed her mind…he didn't really want to think about that. "How's your day been, my beautiful Yukina?" He was not gushing—men don't gush.

"Oh, it's been lovely, thank you. Kumiko has been making excellent progress with her control on forming small ice balls while Akihiko is growing more confident in his ability to identify any ghost that he encounters. And the plants have been blooming beautifully—I think we'll have the best flowers yet."

If Yukina had ever been a bloodthirsty demon, Kuwabara couldn't imagine it. She seemed to almost glow with contentment about her own life, even if once in a while she would grow silent and sad. Those were the times he knew she was wondering about her long lost brother. Personally, he was beginning to think that this lost brother was a jerk—if he really cared about Yukina, he would have found her by now, right? No matter how far away she was from him, he should have been looking for her just like she'd been searching for him before settling down with Kuwabara.

He took her hand into his, marveling at the softness and gentle chill that emitted from her fingers as they intertwined with his.

"Yukina…have I ever told you how lucky I am that you chose me?"

Putting her other hand up to hide her smile, she giggled lightly. "Every day, Kazuma." Her kind red eyes took in his smiling face as she sat into his lap, resting the tips of her fingers on his cheek while still holding his other hand firmly. "And I feel the same."

A goofy grin split his face.

The loving, touching scene was suddenly broken by a crashing noise coming from the dining room. "Mother, there appears to be another ghost trying to acquire Akihiko's assistance again," called the calm, light voice of their daughter. "He seems unwilling to simply accept our declination."

Both Kuwabara and Yukina tried not to laugh when Akihiko's voice suddenly roared up. "GRAAAA, LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU WEIRDO!"

Another crash and Kumiko sighed loudly enough for the parents to hear. "He seems to have destroyed another plate in his attempt to remove the ghost from our vicinity." At five years old, Kumiko already started sounding like an unemotional textbook, the way Yukina did at times, while Akihiko liked to use more simplistic sentences that conveyed his emotions strongly—something Kuwabara thought came from his side of the family.

"Akihiko, what did I say about using plates?" Yukina called mildly, and the yelling and violent noises suddenly quieted. She directed her attention back to Kuwabara, gently caressing his cheek. "Please hold on, Kazuma, I better check on the children. I'll return in a moment."

He couldn't help himself. "I'll wait for you forever if I have to." Even with the cheesiness, the response seemed to please his love and she sent him a sweet smile before gracefully moving towards the source of the problem.

Turning his attention back to his work, he grimaced in dismay. Damn it, nothing was coming to mind at all right now. He'd much rather be thinking about Yukina than about this project. In the back of his mind, he was vaguely listening to the news still (better than this work right now).

"—And police are still on the lookout for any clues. The kidnapper is still at large, and if anyone has any information of his or her whereabouts, please contact the police immediately. It's been over a week now since the first kidnapping, and shockingly there is now three whole blocks of people gone missing. Police have been stationed around nearby areas in hopes of avoiding any more tragedy. We don't know what the kidnapper's motive is, but things are looking bleak for the original victims."

Kuwabara shifted in his seat, eyes now on the news. Whoa, three blocks was a lot of people.

The woman on the television raised a hand to her ear and her expression turned intent. "This just in, bodies of the first four victims have been found. I repeat, the bodies have been found. We have cameramen on the scene, and I must warn you now that the images are graphic and not for people who cannot handle the sight of blood and nudity. If you cannot handle this, please change the channel."

Once the warning had been given twice, gory images were flashed on screen of blank-eyed people laying at awkward angles in the water as a reporter began to speak in front of them, looking mildly horrified. "There are plenty of bite marks and no signs of drowning. It looks as if they have been tossed into the river after the time of death. The police are now looking for fingerprints or any clues to our killer, but still no statement has been issued to our station. It almost appears as if someone has…ripped apart some of the victims in a macabre mockery of a predator consuming its prey. These bodies were found half an hour ago by two local runners who called the police after spotting them in the river."

Sometime during the report, Yukina had walked back in, immediately captured by the scene on TV. She moved behind Kuwabara's chair, placing a hand on his shoulder. "How awful," she said sympathetically and Kuwabara nodded his agreement. "Do they have any leads?"

"None, I guess. These kidnappings have been going on for a while," he gestured towards the discarded newspaper which he had been skimming an hour ago, "and now the kidnapper has turned into a murderer. Bastard—how could he do that?"

"It's actually fairly common in Makai." Kuwabara looked at her incredulously and she smiled. "It's true. There are many demons that would do something quite similar to that, sometimes out of hunger or anger or even just for fun. One of the common ploys was to kidnap an enemy's child and torture the other demon with hope to save the child, till consuming it."

"But what was the point of giving the parent hope?"

She shrugged, strangely undisturbed by the topic. "I suppose it made the game even more fun. When demons aren't out looking for food or mates, they generally are focused on selfish entertainment if they are of the unsavory sort."

"That's disgusting." His hand was clenched into a tight fist, and he found himself wishing he was still a spirit detective—he'd show those demons the error of their ways! Forcing his hand to relax, he jerked his head towards the television. "So this guy's acting like a demon, huh?"

"Very closely. Except no demon would try that ploy with a human."

"Really?"

"Of course. They'd simply eat them all." The matter-of-fact way she said it sent a shiver down his spine at the cruelty of Makai. Kami, he was glad Yukina wasn't there anymore!

The news had switched back to the main reporters, and the woman who had been on earlier was now listing the areas police were keeping a close eye on. One of the names sounded familiar to Kuwabara and he chewed on it for a bit. Wait, that street…didn't Kurama live there?

"Crap! Crap!" He scrambled to his feet, nearly running into Yukina who was still standing behind him. A phone, he needed a phone!

"Kazuma, what is it?"

Grabbing the phone on top of small cabinet, he quickly dialed in the numbers to Kurama's home phone. 'Pick up, pick up, pick up,' he chanted impatiently. A beep alerted him and he quickly talked into the receiver. "Kurama, it's—"

"Hello, you've reached Minamino Shuuichi's phone. I am currently unavailable at the moment but if you could leave me a detailed voice message, your name, and your number, I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you."

The phone beeped in his ear, and he hung up. Damn it, why was he not picking up now of all times? Ah right, his cell! Kuwabara punched in the numbers and tapped his foot impatiently, a concerned Yukina hovering behind him. This time it only rang twice before a sleepy-voiced Kurama picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Kurama!" He ignored the immediate protest of his friend at the volume of his voice. "Are you watching the news?"

There was the distinct noise of a yawn from the normally polite man. "Kuwabara, it's seven in the morning, and this is the first time I've been able to sleep in. Why would I be watching the news?" He sounded mildly irritated.

Kuwabara blinked. "Um, Kurama, it's twenty past three. What are you talking about?"

Apparently, Kurama wasn't much of a morning person when he didn't have to be, and Kuwabara later could have sworn that he had heard Kurama mutter a curse. "I'm not in Japan right now, Kuwabara. I'm in America, and there is quite a difference in time. Now, why do you sound so worried?"

"There's a killer on the loose, Kurama, and he's stalking your neighborhood."

"What?" The fox's brain didn't seem too awake right now.

Kuwabara let out a long-suffering sigh. "Come on, keep up! Man, there was a kidnapper who stole a lot of people—three blocks now—except they found some of their bodies and so he's a murderer now. And all his victims have been near your area! Actually, I think your street is the closest to the last missing block!"

"…Kuwabara. I am not there at the moment. I do not think a killer will come after me right now, though I appreciate your concern."

Oh. Well that did make sense. A killer couldn't go after a guy in America, right? Sometimes Kuwabara's body moved faster than his brain—Yukina claimed it was endearing. "I guess you're right. Still, give me a call back when you get back, and we'll totally be on the lookout for that crazy guy. Don't want you to go missing too."

Kurama chuckled. "Indeed. I'll call you when I return. Now, may I get another hour or two of sleep before I have to deal with the outside world?"

"Yeah, sure. Get your beauty sleep, since I guess you care so much about it with your girly face," Kuwabara grunted. "See you later."

Yukina was watching him when he lowered the phone back onto the stand. "Where is he?" She seemed to have picked up on what had sent Kuwabara running for the phone.

"America of all places, can you believe it? Hey, and that guy never even told us he was leaving! Geez, he should be more considerate than that." He scratched his cheek. "Oh, and I guess it was seven something over there in his time. Whoops."

Giggling at his embarrassment, she slipped her arm around his. "I think it's very sweet of you to check on him. Though, Kurama is quite powerful in his own right. I'm sure he can handle some kidnapping human."

"I guess…it just freaks me out though. We've always been so caught up in the dangers of Makai and demons that it's sometimes hard to remember all the dangers in our own world." He sighed. "Why can't things be simpler?"

"Things are never simple." Did her eyes look sad?

Before she could start brooding about her brother again, Kuwabara nudged her chin up so that she was looking at him. A gentle smile (only for Yukina) was on his face. "Come on, let's go check on the kids. We'll talk about it all later, if you want."

She smiled back sweetly at the concern he was emanating, feeling better even if the solemn melancholy did not leave her eyes. "Sure."

Ah the weekend! Keiko absolutely loved the weekend and looked forward to it every single day it wasn't the weekend! It was a time when she could spend all her time with her children, though Yusuke still had to work both days. It had been nearly a week and a half since she had let her children continue their training, and she had to admit it sounded all right. Nothing dangerous was going on, just games and light stretching. And they did seem happier because of it. If Genkai kept looking so smug though, Keiko might just have to do something about it!

The one downside was that Michiko and Kane had somehow acquired even more energy than before, and that meant that she could barely keep up with them—not that she really could before.

Today they had begged and begged to get to go see the animals at the zoo. She had relented, knowing how much they enjoyed seeing all the different sorts of creatures. The car drive was long though—took her a good hour through traffic, so she had warned them that they were only going if they were both able to wake up bright and early.

Unsurprisingly, they did just that. They were ridiculously energetic.

It had been a lovely trip though, with the three of them going from one area to the next, seeing giraffes and lions and everything in between. Michiko constantly begged to go back to the seals, while Kane seemed determined to see every single type of snake known to man. Overall, they had both behaved wonderfully, and the only damper on the whole day was the lack of Yusuke's presence. But that happened every weekend—it was expensive to take care of two children and Yusuke was determined to pull his share of the weight. A smile tugged at her lips; he really was a great guy, trying to make sure that his family could get the best possible things.

Sitting down on the couch in the living room, she noticed that Michiko and Kane had left the television on, though the sound was now muted. They must have been checking to see if there were any cartoons on in the afternoon and been disappointed. She grinned a little as her eyes lowered to where her children were.

No matter how much more energy they had, they were still children, and like children after a long day of play and watching animals, Michiko and Kane were laid out of the carpet. Michiko was still trotting two ponies across the floor and happily muttering whatever story was going on in her head, but Kane had actually fallen asleep, sucking his thumb contently.

She sighed happily, fully reveling in her freedom away from the office. It was nice to have some time to think about nothing at all.

The phone started ringing.

Without even moving from her position, she grabbed it from the side and spoke into it quietly to avoid waking Kane. "Hello, this is Keiko."

"Keiko! Oh thank Kami you're home!"

She blinked, recognizing Izumi's voice. It was rare for Izumi to call her, since she was always traveling on weekends and often getting into strange adventures that she would relay back to her friends the next Monday. And she sounded strangely frantic, different from her usual chipper voice. Getting up, she moved away from the living room to speak at regular volume. "Izumi, is something wrong?"

There was silence for a moment on the other side and then a vague noise as if a door had been pushed open a little. "I don't know. Something really strange is going on." Her voice was down to a whisper. "You know about that crazy kidnapper-turned-murderer case? And how the police haven't figured out how it's happening or who's behind it?"

"Yes, it's been all over the news. Why?"

"My block is now in the police-watched zone. A-And I don't know—something-something just seems off today. I'm scared I guess. I didn't even want to leave my house to go out!" The last word came out with a burst of hysterical laughter. "I don't know, I just feel really tense. I'm sorry, maybe I'm just calling for no reason...but this whole thing is just freaking me out; I wanted to hear a friendly voice."

Keiko nodded, worry creasing her forehead. "Of course. If you want, you can come over and we can talk. Maybe that would make you feel better?" She hadn't realized Izumi was in one of the patrolled areas now. It really was an insane case—there were no leads apparently and no witnesses that could even give a clue as to who was doing it. Anyone who might have known the answer was dead. Kami, why hadn't the police found the killer yet?

"No, no, thanks though," Izumi said, sounding more relaxed again. "I was just going a little crazy there. Thanks for listening. I—" She suddenly let out a sharp gasp, loud enough for the speaker to pick up even as Keiko heard the phone on the other end clatter to the floor.

"Izumi? Izumi, what happened?" she asked.

She waited on the line for another minute, but no one picked up the phone. There was a sound of shuffling and then nothing. Keiko began to feel more than just a little worried, and began speaking frantically in the phone when she couldn't hear anyone moving around at all. "Izumi! Izumi! Izumi, talk to me! Come on, this isn't funny! IZUMI!"

There was no response.

And that's the end of this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!