Botan made her way to the guestroom at deliberately slow pace to give herself time to think about what she wanted to say to Amaya. Even if the Spirit Detective failed to hear her shouting things that Amaya was not ready to learn about yet, the reaper had no doubt that the earlier battle would be a pressing concern for the teenage girl. Botan knew that she to provide damage control and encouragement, but she found herself faltering on both fronts thanks to her own worries.

All too soon, Botan arrived at her destination. She hesitated outside the guestroom, staring at the vague shadows through the rice paper screen. A quiet sigh slipped from her lips, her warm breath creating a cloud of thin white mist in the cold night air. She was forced to admit that it was too much to hope she would find some form of inspiration by simply delaying the inevitable.

Botan straightened up and raised her chin as she summoned all the good cheer she could muster. If nothing else, she refused to add to Amaya's worries. She slid the door open with a clatter as she threw all of her energy into her melodious greeting, imitating the sound of a trumpet playing a victorious song. "Dinner is served!"

The result was not one Botan had intended. Seeing Amaya jerk and tense up while staring at her with wide eyes made her wonder if she should have knocked first. She pressed on, knowing it was too late to take back her entrance now. "So! How's my favorite Spirit Detective doing?" As soon as the question left her mouth, she felt an unwanted pang of guilt stab her heart while an image of Yusuke flashed in her mind. Even though she meant the words as a simple, cheerful platitude to put her charge at ease, for a brief moment she felt like a liar and a traitor.

Amaya swallowed hard before she focused on the bandaged hands in her lap, her fingers slowly uncurling from the fists she held them in when Botan entered. Her answer came after a few tense seconds of silence. "Better."

Botan felt her nervousness grow, but she tried not to let it show on her face. The atmosphere between them was unusually tense, or at least it felt that way to her. The expression on the Spirit Detective's face was one she imagined someone would probably wear when they overheard something they should not have. Calm down, Botan. You're overreacting. She's probably just still shaken up from the battle. That's all. That's… all. The chill from outside bit into her back and caused her to shiver.

Amaya raised her eyes to meet Botan's as the reaper closed the door. "What about you? Your arm…"

Botan set the tray down on the floor beside Amaya and made a show of waving her right hand. "Oh it's fiiine. Don't you worry about little old me." She rotated her arm, as though winding up for a fight. Twinges of pain from her shoulder strained the smile she wore, but she was determined not to falter. "I'm a lot tougher than I look."

A grimace flickered across Amaya's face for a brief moment as her gaze focused on Botan's wrists. "Yukina told me that you healed yourself… and that Kurama wasn't injured?"

Botan tried to be discreet when hiding the faint bruises that lingered on her wrists with the sleeves of her kimono. "Right on both counts. A good night's rest and I'll be back to tip top condition." She wagged a finger, the gesture lost under her pink sleeve. "And don't you worry about Kurama. That nasty witch didn't lay a finger on him." She sat down so that she could lean in close to Amaya, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial tone. "Just between you and me, I think he was pretty upset about that. You know guys – always wanting to show their manliness by protecting us girls, even if we can take care of ourselves." She straightened up so that the other girl could see her coy wink.

Amaya's posture relaxed slightly, much to Botan's relief, the corner of her mouth tugging upward a little. "I'm glad…" She paused for a moment, a faint hint of red coloring her cheeks. "That he's alright I mean. I got worried when he didn't come back."

Botan felt her concerns start to ebb at the sight of Amaya's smile. "I wouldn't worry about Kurama." She giggled softly. "You just watch, I guarantee you that next time we go off on a mission, he's going to insist on taking on all the demons by himself first before either of us have a chance to do anything."

Amaya nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful and her gaze distant. "What happened to him back there? He left to find you after you screamed, but…"

Botan sighed, slumping a bit, as she ignored how the action upset her shoulder. Being held hostage still bothered her immensely. "It was that nasty trick of Irokafue's that did it. Kurama had to let one of those demons of hers chase him to a whole other district before he could defeat it and get back to us." She paused briefly and decided that it would be best if she did not tell Amaya about all of the victims at the meatpacking plant. It felt like too much to pile onto the other girl's concerns on top of everything else. "Anyway, he managed to take care of it and get back to us just in the nick of time to take care of Irokafue for good."

Amaya began to nod then stopped, lifting her head in a quick motion to stare at Botan with widening eyes. "Take care of… but I thought… I destroyed both of Irokafue's weak spots, didn't I?"

Botan went rigid when she realized her mistake. Automatically she began to laugh in an effort to diffuse the situation while hands fluttered about in meaningless gestures. "Y-yes, well, it seems Irokafue wasn't quite dead yet when you were through with her… But don't worry! You weakened her enough that I had no trouble keeping her at bay until Kurama showed up! She was practically helpless thanks to you!"

Amaya's eyes closed, her face contorted into an almost painful expression. "Oh…" Her head tilted downward, her bangs falling forward to cover her face like a black curtain, as she lapsed into a weighty silence.

Botan could practically see a cloud of doom hanging over Amaya's head. She silently chided herself for saying unnecessary things when the Spirit Detective needed reassurance more than anything else. "Come on, cheer up! Who cares how it happened? What's important was that we won, and now that awful demon won't be troubling anyone ever again, and all those children can go home. We should be celebrating!" She seized Amaya's hands to capture the dark haired girl's attention and felt victorious when Amaya jerked her head towards the pink-eyed girl. "Seriously, you did great back there. Really! I was amazed how calmly you took everything. Why, I was terrified and had no idea how we were going to get out of Irokafue's clutches, but you kept calm and your quick thinking saved the day. You're a hero, Amaya!"

Amaya stared at Botan, her wide blue eyes barely visible between strands of her hair. Her mouth moved, but no words came out. Her body faintly trembled as she attempted to pull back from the reaper.

Botan felt her insides twist as she realized that her pep talk was not working. "I… I know it's a lot to take in, but if there's anything troubling you, you can go ahead and tell me. That's what a guide is here for, right? I can promise you that I'm one hundred percent on your side no matter what."

Botan gave Amaya's hands a firm, reassuring squeeze, only for the other girl to lurch forward, banging their heads together. She yelped in pain as stars briefly flashed across her eyes. She nearly fell backwards, but recovered quickly, letting go of Amaya to rub the place where their foreheads collided. "Ow… That hurt!" She focused on Amaya, ready to demand an explanation for the abrupt assault, only to realize that the Spirit Detective had doubled over, arms curled close in a defensive position. "Amaya?" A beat later, the reaper realized what had happened. "Oh my gosh! Your hands… I'm so, so sorry! I totally forgot. Here, let me help…"

Amaya reluctantly pulled herself upward, her breathing coming in ragged bursts. Her movements were stiff as she reluctantly allowed Botan to take a hold of her forearms forward in a delicate hold. She watched through her bangs as Botan used energy on her hands, her vision distorted by unshed tears.

As the pain slowly died down, Amaya's breathing evened out enough for her to speak. "Th… thank you."

Botan stared at Amaya, taken aback. The last thing she expected was thanks after aggravating the blue-eyed girl's injuries. "Thank me? For what?"

"For… believing in me," Amaya said, the words strained. She managed a weak smile. "I know… there's no way I can compare to Mr. Urameshi, and I know… I don't know much of anything about demons, Spirit World, or even being a Spirit Detective…" She paused for a moment then let out a weak, humorless chuckle. "I doubt I even know as much about myself as you or King Yama do…" Botan flinched. "…But I promise, I'll do my best to get better at this, so you won't get hurt like that again… and so we won't need to wait to be rescued."

For a long moment, Botan was at a loss, overwhelmed by the numerous emotions stirred by Amaya's speech. The other girl's name slipped from her lips and her healing ceased due to her waning concentration and energy – she had not recovered enough from using nearly all of her energy earlier to do much more than take the edge off Amaya's pain.

Botan wondered if Amaya was referring to the things she said a moment ago, or if the other girl was also referencing when she defended Amaya earlier against the suggestion that the Spirit Detective was working for the enemy. She wanted to ask, but was afraid of what would happen if she was wrong, even if it seemed more and more likely that Amaya was waiting for her to bring the subject up. Either way, it was her job as guide to the Spirit Detective to help her charge during troubled times.

When Botan finally gathered her wits, her voice came stronger than she expected. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. No one is expecting you to be an expert right away. Why, even Yusuke had a hard time when he first started out. You'd be surprised how many times he managed to win by sheer dumb luck."

Amaya brushed back her bangs with her forearm to get a better look at Botan, her expression incredulous. "Really? But I thought he was already a strong fighter even before he became Spirit Detective, and that he was even more powerful than Kurama."

"Well, yes," Botan said slowly. "Yusuke was always getting into scrapes ever since he was rather young, but getting into fistfights with other teenagers doesn't compare to fighting with demons. It's true that he's very powerful now, but back when he first started out, there's no way he could've fought someone like Irokafue on his own."

Silence lingered for a number of long seconds as Amaya stared at Botan, processing this new information. Finally, her gaze dropped down to her hands. "How do you think Mr. Urameshi would've handled it? Back when he was first getting started I mean."

Botan let out a quiet hum as her eyes drifted towards the ceiling. Memories of Yusuke brought back so many bittersweet feelings. "Honestly, I'm not sure. He probably would've used the Spirit Gun on her, but beyond that, well…" Her brow furrowed before she returned her gaze to Amaya. "Well, to give you some idea about how Yusuke handled things back then, one of the first cases he won was because he gambled everything on striking a special mirror he was supposed to recover with his Spirit Gun so that it would reflect the blast and hit Hiei in the back, knocking him right out."

Amaya blinked repeatedly. "The Spirit Gun can be reflected by mirrors? I didn't know that."

Botan let out a quiet chuckle as she thought back to how cross she had been at the risk Yusuke took during that mission. Recalling the long round of spankings Koenma received from Yama due to Yusuke breaking the mirror – as well as allowing the three treasures to be stolen in the first place – made the memory all the more humorous. "Neither did Yusuke, but he still tried it anyway. And, just so you know, Kurama had to help save Yusuke in the nick of time during that fight too by blocking what would've been a fatal blow." Her smile widened, growing wry, as she gave a wink. "You might say Kurama has some experience in rescuing Spirit Detectives."

"So this…" Amaya made a vague sweeping gesture. "This is… normal?"

Botan giggled softly. "Well, as normal as the job gets I suppose. So don't be too surprised if you find yourself winning through unexpected means, like falling into a sinkhole full of water, or getting swamp algae stuck in your ears."

Amaya stared at Botan, eyes wide. "That's… unbelievable."

Botan let out a wistful sigh. "Yes, well, Yusuke always managed to make each case very exciting. It seems to come with the territory."

Amaya went quiet, her focus returning to her bandaged hands.

Botan had enough of the lengthy silences between them and seeing Amaya so depressed. Regardless of what the other girl might have heard, she was determined to make Amaya smile again. She took a hold of the Spirit Detective's shoulders to draw Amaya's attention back to her, certain this time that she was not touching another injury on the teenage girl's body. "So cheer up! You're doing just fine. The fact that you're giving it your all is more than enough. Really."

Amaya's expression was hesitant for a moment more before a small smile began to tug at her lips. She nodded slightly with a quiet affirmative hum. "Okay. I'll try."

Botan felt as though a heavy weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders and she was more than happy to be rid of it. "Glad to hear it!" She let go of Amaya after giving her charge's shoulders one final pat. "Now let's get you fed and rested. You've earned some R and R after today." She picked up the tray of food and placed it on her lap. "It'd be a shame to let such delicious food go to waste, don't you think?" She waited until Amaya nodded then picked up the chopsticks. "Since you can't use your hands right now, I'll be happy to use mine as a substitute until you're finished healing."

Amaya's smile grew a bit stronger and the tension between them seemed to ease. "Botan?"

Botan looked up, a bowl of rice in one hand and chopsticks in the other. "Yes?"

"You and Mr. Urameshi…," Amaya said slowly, a nervous note creeping into her voice. "You're friends, right?"

Botan blinked, baffled by the sudden shift in topic. "Well, yes. Of course. Why do you ask?"

Heat rose to Amaya's cheeks and she chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "Do you… do you think we… could be friends too?" Her words slowly trailed off the more she spoke, ending on an uncertain note.

Botan stared at Amaya, taken aback, but only for a moment. "Of course! Why, we're friends already, aren't we? I know we haven't known each other very long, but I don't see why that should matter. Especially after we've been through so much together already."

Amaya exhaled slowly and her expression brightened considerably. "Thank you."

The mood had shifted greatly for the better, much to Botan's relief. Though the two girls did not say much while the reaper helped the Spirit Detective eat, it was a far more companionable silence than before. That was why Amaya's sudden gasp caught Botan off-guard.

"I just remembered!" Amaya said, anxiety lacing her voice. "I need to call my mother and father right away. They're probably worrying about me since I haven't come home or called yet."

Botan set the chopsticks down. "Never fear, I've got that covered." She reached into her sleeve and pulled out Amaya's cell phone with a triumphant note. "I can dial them up for you and leave the room so you can have some privacy if you'd like."

"No, that's okay," Amaya said with a shake of her head. "I can't hold the phone to my ear, and the walls are so thin that you'll hear everything if I use the speaker phone anyway."

"Oh yeah, that's true," Botan muttered. A second later, she froze in place, staring at Amaya with wide eyes as her heart began to race. Compelled by the need to somehow address her earlier outburst in the living room and put the matter to rest once and for all, words tumbled out of her mouth before she could fully think them through. "I-I mean, it can't be helped if someone overhears something they didn't intend to from time to time, not just because the walls are thin. And perhaps if they did, that person might have a hard time bringing the subject up because it's difficult or strange or confusing or embarrassing. But even if that person did hear something odd, all they have to do is just ask about it and they can talk it out instead of leaving someone else wondering if that person needs to say something to that person or just keep quiet about it. Know what I mean?"

Amaya's expression was blank. "What?"

Botan held up her hands. "I-I'm just saying that if there's anything else you need to tell me, say something, er, strange you might have overheard, then you don't need to be afraid to ask me about it. I'll be happy to explain anything you like. That's what I'm here for after all." She fumbled for a moment for what else she should say, nervous laughter bubbling out instead of words.

Pink flooded Amaya's cheeks as she suddenly found the screen door interesting. "O-oh, so… so you noticed?"

Botan felt her insides twist and she nodded, her smile turning more into a grimace. "Well… it wasn't hard to figure it out."

"It was an accident," Amaya said quickly. "I didn't mean to overhear anything. I was just... I was looking for a bathroom and I heard voices so I thought I'd go ask but, well…"

Botan swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly unbearably dry. "W-well then, you must have a lot of questions…"

The tense silence that lingered between them as Amaya took her time in answering was almost too much for Botan to handle. "That's true," the dark haired girl muttered. "I'm just not sure what to ask first." Her shoulders lowered a fraction as she exhaled deeply. "It's kind of overwhelming to be honest. There's so much I don't know…"

Botan had a hard time keeping still and squirmed slightly from side to side. "Yes, that's only natural given the circumstances. Just go ahead and ask the first thing that pops into your head and we'll go from there, okay?"

Amaya nodded and finally turned back to Botan. "Yukina hasn't been here on Earth for very long, has she?"

The question caught Botan completely off-guard. She opened her mouth only to close it a moment later. She shook her head vigorously for a second to get her thoughts working again when she reminded herself that she needed to answer. "Not too long I guess… Just a few short visits before she came to live here with Genkai rather recently."

Amaya smiled. "I thought so." She giggled quietly. "Actually, to tell the truth, it was kind of funny hearing her call my cell phone a cage phone."

Botan held up her hand, wanting to slow the conversation down, as she suddenly felt as though she had lost track of what was going on with it somewhere. "Wait, hold on. Was that all you heard?"

Amaya nodded with a quiet sound of confirmation. "Well, that and that you were bringing it to me along with dinner."

Botan spoke slowly, hardly daring to believe her ears. "You didn't hear anything else before that? Like someone shouting or something like that?"

Uncertainty crept into Amaya's expression. "Yes, but I was still in here at the time so I couldn't make it out. I was worried you were in trouble at first, but I realized you sounded angry, not scared or hurt." She paused for a moment. "What were you yelling about anyway?"

Botan's hands frantically waved in front of her, as though trying to deflect that question. "Oh, nothing! Just a silly little argument we were having. To tell you the truth, I'm still really embarrassed by how I lost my temper like that. It'd be better if everyone just forgot it happened in the first place."

There was a moment of conflict in Amaya's expression that made Botan worry that she would press for more information, before she finally relaxed with a smile. "Okay, I understand. It's been a really rough day on all of us, hasn't it?"

Botan practically felt like collapsing with relief. She felt as though she had dodged a bullet from pointblank range. "You can say that again."

Outside in the walkway, Kurama leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. He was just far enough away from the door to the guestroom that he did not risk casting a shadow on the door and giving away his presence to the girls inside. From there, he managed to overhear virtually the entirety of Amaya and Botan's conversation.

Like Botan, Kurama felt relieved that Amaya had not heard anything sensitive. As curious as he was to find out how the Spirit Detective would have reacted to the information, he did not care to have her find out in such a careless manner. They had gotten lucky this time, but in the future, they would have to be more cautious about taking into account Amaya's utter lack of presence.

Kurama knew that eventually Amaya would need to learn all the things they knew about her, the state of unrest in the Demon and Human Worlds, and what happened to Yusuke. While he intended to probe a little further about what she knew about herself in the morning, specifically about the seals on her, he was aware that it was far too soon to tell her everything. So far, the girl had done a remarkable job of coping with the pressure of her new responsibilities on top of fighting for her life against frightening opponents who were far more powerful than she was. However, he knew that there were only so many burdens someone could take on all at once before they broke under the strain.

Amaya's voice floated through the air, barely muffled by the screen door. "Hi, Mama, it's me." Whatever response her mother made was too quiet for him to make out, suggesting that Botan was holding the phone to her ear rather than using speakerphone. "I'm sorry. I got caught up after the exam with a friend and lost track of time. I wound up falling asleep while we were talking and I just woke up a little while ago. I guess I probably stayed up too late last night."

Kurama cocked his head slightly. Interesting interpretation of the events.

"I know, I'm sorry," Amaya said softly before forcing a small laugh. "I guess I was just worrying too much. You know, the exam is such a big deal and all." She paused, obviously listening to her mother. "I think I did okay. I felt pretty confident about my answers." She waited for about a minute in silence. "Actually, since it is so late, I thought I'd spend the night over here. I'm still too tired to take the long walk home. Oh, by the way, Nanako wanted me to let you know that she thinks that the new prototype mascot design makes the phoenix look too much like a penguin, and that you should consider something like a swallow or a peacock as a base instead."

The comment about a phoenix that looked like a penguin brought a smile to Kurama's lips as he thought of Puu. It was a pity he could not see request to see the design or show it to Yusuke. No doubt, the former Spirit Detective's reaction would have been quite amusing to say the least. The faint sound of Botan's not quite stifled laughter hinted to him that she could see the humor in it as well.

Amaya continued speaking after half a minute. "She says that's why it'll be better and more recognizable. Maybe all you need is a new drawing style." She let out a prolonged yawn as her mother responded. "I told you yesterday, didn't I? I thought it looked cute, but Nanako does have a point." She made a quiet noise before her voice grew heavier. "Oh yeah, I'm also supposed to tell you that she wants reservations for two for Valentine's Day." She yawned again. "You know, get it before the rush." She waited for the reply. "Downtown." Another yawn followed by a sigh. "Okay." Her voice grew vague as she spoke, her words coming out slightly distorted from exhaustion. "Goodnight, Mama. I love you."

The beep of the phone ended the call. "Maybe you should get some sleep," Botan said with a touch of concern. "It really has been a long day."

"Not just yet," Amaya said. The fatigue was gone from her voice, replaced with a different note of weariness, one Kurama was intimately familiar with every time he had to lie to Shiori about certain activities he refused to let his mother find out about. "I'd like to finish eating first at least." She sighed. "And I'd really like a bath. I feel dirty and there's this weird smell, but…"

"Oh," Botan said. "That's probably just the herbal medicine Kurama used with the bandages. Don't worry about that. You can wash it off after we finish healing your hands in the morning."

Amaya let out a breathy laugh. "Of course he can heal too. Is there anything Kurama can't do?"

When Botan let out a thoughtful hum, Kurama could imagine her making an almost exaggerated show of considering the answer. "Not really." She paused to let out a sly giggle. "Unless you count getting a girlfriend."

If Kurama had not been leaning against the wall, he likely would have fallen over instead of sliding down a few centimeters.

Amaya made an odd noise that was difficult to decipher. Kurama was not sure if he was glad he was unable to see her expression at that moment. "Y-you're kidding!"

Botan laughed merrily. "Nope! He's been single as long as I've known him, and, unlike Hiei, he doesn't have the excuse of having a poor personality to explain it."

"But he's so… so nice," Amaya said, her tone incredulous. "Not to mention he's very a, ah… he looks so… uh…"

Botan's voice went a note lower. "Drop dead gorgeous?"

Amaya's answer was an almost strangled sound that reached an impressively high pitch.

The conversation's sudden change in direction nearly made Kurama regret listening in on the girls in the first place. It was uncomfortable enough to overhear his peers at school gossip about him when he was clearly within earshot without Botan discussing his lack of a love life to the new girl in their group.

Botan's laughter tinkled like chimes. "Oh, don't act like you didn't notice! You got a good look at Kurama with the Psychic Spyglass after all."

Amaya sputtered out seemingly random syllables for a number of seconds before she finally strung them together into something coherent. "I-I wasn't… It… it was an accident! I swear! I didn't mean to see him like… that… it…"

Botan feigned a scandalized tone. "Oh sure, the first time, but I seem to recall you got at least one more good look, didn't you? You naughty girl."

Kurama barely suppressed the urge to put his hand over his face and cover up his uncomfortably warm cheeks. He supposed he should have expected something like this – Botan never could stop herself from teasing people when it came to relationships. Her laughter overtop Amaya's incoherent stammering certainly did not help him feel any more at ease with the conversation. He sincerely hoped that Botan did not plan to try out some matchmaking on him now that Yusuke was not around to be the target of her more mischievous activities. Embarrassment aside, it felt highly inappropriate for her to pair him off with Amaya, particularly given the circumstances.

Botan's laughter quieted down, but it carried over into each word she spoke. "I wonder what Tatsuo would say if he knew you saw another man naked before him!"

The statement made Kurama pause to reassess his previous assumption.

"You… you can't tell him!" Amaya said, her voice cracking due to its high pitch.

Botan giggled. "Oh don't worry, I'm only teasing. I wouldn't dream of ruining things between you and Tatsuo. Especially not before you finally confess your feelings for him."

Amaya made an odd sound that was almost like a young animal's cry. "I can't believe that something like that… How do you even know…?"

"Oh, it's just one of the many things Spirit World likes to keep track of," Botan said, her tone far too jovial for anyone else's comfort. "You have no idea just how important love is in the grand scheme of things. Which is why you need to hurry up and let Tatsuo know how you feel, before some other girl snatches him away from you. He is quite popular you know."

Now the conversation had become more uncomfortable for Kurama for different reasons. While he did want to find out more about what was in Amaya's file, her love life was not one of those things he necessarily needed to know. While he could leave the girls to gossip in privacy, at the same time, he hesitated, as he knew there was still a chance that Botan could let something important slip while they were having such a candid conversation.

Amaya groaned as though in pain. "Can't… he… Tatsuo is… There's no way I could…"

"Sure you can!" Botan said. "All you have to do is take the aggressive approach – confront Tatsuo when he least expects it, look him square in the eye, and give him a one-two punch of love!"

Amaya's tone was faint, but clearly skeptical. "'One-two punch of love?'"

Botan hummed softly. "Well, okay, maybe that kind of approach might be a bit too aggressive for you. Oh, I know! Since Tatsuo is the most popular boy at your school and Kurama is the most popular at his, you could always ask Kurama for advice about what kind of confession would make him fall for a girl."

Kurama could not help but wonder why Botan kept insisting on dragging him into this sort of conversation. Was it overcompensation for not being able to meddle with Yusuke and Keiko's relationship anymore, or because she could not stand to see a friend remain single? Even if he had any intention of letting on that he overheard the conversation, he doubted anything he said to the reaper would deter her from her matchmaking urges.

A sudden thought occurred to Kurama that made him look at the conversation in a new light. Perhaps Botan's true intent was to distract Amaya from thinking about the earlier mission. Romance certainly had a way of diverting one's thoughts away from their problems. Not to mention how distracting it was to talk about rather embarrassing things of a personal nature.

"Ask him…," Amaya said slowly, her voice an octave higher than usual. "I… you want me to ask Kurama what I'd have to say to him to make him fall in love with me?"

"You never know," Botan said with a giggle. "It might just work on Tatsuo too."

Of course, Kurama could not dismiss the idea that Botan's true incentive behind the suggestion was to find out what he was looking for in a girlfriend so that she could go on the hunt for one, or if this was simply idle teasing on her part without much more thought than that. It was hard to tell for sure, though her suggestion seemed more forceful than her usual tactics.

It took Amaya a moment to come up with a reply. "And you think that'll help?"

Botan tried to sound innocent, but the sweetness of her tone was too artificial for Kurama to be convinced that it was sincere. "Well, it couldn't hurt, could it?"

"Are… are you just teasing me?" Amaya's tone hovered somewhere between mortification and wariness. "I… I can't ask him something embarrassing like that. He would think that I… that I think… B-besides, if you want to know what kind of girl Kurama is looking for so you can tease him too, you should just ask him yourself."

"Oops," Botan said, her voice still light, but somewhat chastised as well. "You caught me. But I really do think it couldn't hurt to get the male perspective on things. Plus it would be nice to see Kurama find a nice girl, don't you think?"

Kurama resisted the temptation to interrupt their conversation and inform Botan that he already had a woman in his life who was more dear to him than all others – Shiori. The love of a mother was more than he ever deserved. In any case, romance would simply complicate things for him.

Amaya sounded a touch put off. "In that case, why don't you ask Kurama out on a date?"

The question was enough to make Botan lose her teasing tone, replacing it with shock. "What? Me?"

Kurama's eyes drifted towards the sky. As if this conversation couldn't get any more awkward.

"Now hold on," Botan said, her words fumbling a bit. "You don't seriously think I…" She forced a laugh. "Kurama and I are just friends. It'd be terribly awkward, don't you think? Besides, we work together, and I've always heard that co-workers really shouldn't date, and the same is true for dating your boss. Not to mention he's never even hinted even the slightest bit of interest in me. Or at least not that I've noticed, and I'm pretty sure I would've noticed something like that. With all the men in my life, you'd think that if any of them was interested, they would've said something over all the time we've spent together, bantering off of each other, working side by side that he'd even give the slightest hint that I…" Her tirade slowly tapered off into nothing.

Despite the mild awkwardness Kurama felt over the topic, he could not help but wonder if Botan had been thinking of someone in particular – if not him, then someone else he knew. Despite supporting Yusuke and Keiko's relationship, she had been especially close to Yusuke… Sometimes Botan and Yusuke almost behaved like an old married couple with how they carried on. Although, one could argue that Yusuke had a similar rapport with Kuwabara.

Amaya cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "Would you mind helping me to the bathroom? Please?"

Botan let out a tiny startled yelp. "Huh? Oh, sure! Of course!"

That was Kurama's cue to leave. He moved silently down the hall as he filed away everything that he had overheard. Amaya and Botan's conversation had been very informative, but much of what he learned were things that he felt he would have preferred not to think about. Such was the downside of listening in on other peoples' private conversations, he supposed.

Amaya was up early the following morning to watch the sunrise over Genkai's well-tended garden. The temperature had dropped during the night, bringing with it a fresh layer of snow to cover everything in white. Although the borrowed kimono she wore was insufficient to keep out much of the cold, watching the first rays of daylight reflecting countless tiny glittering rainbows across the smooth blanket of white had a calming effect that allowed her to ignore her discomfort for the moment. Her dreams were an unpleasant mishmash of troubling images, but thankfully, none of it forced her to relive an alternate, tragic version of yesterday's battle. Thoughts of the real events that transpired and the consequences they faced from this point forward were far more pressing than any scenario her subconscious could conjure up.

Amaya felt more than heard someone approach and turned just in time to see Yukina appear from around the corner. The ice demon's eyes widened briefly upon spotting her, but a moment later Yukina gave her a smile that she managed to return despite her mood.

"Good morning, Miss Mamori," Yukina said with a slight bow of her head. "I didn't expect you to be awake this early. Did you come out to watch the sunrise too?"

"Good morning," Amaya said almost automatically, and she noticed that a new ribbon adorned the other girl's hair. "Yeah, it's really pretty out here."

Yukina nodded with a soft hum and came to a stop at Amaya's side. "How are you feeling today? Are your hands feeling any better?"

With some reluctance, Amaya removed her hands from where she tucked them into the kimono sleeves to shield them from the cold, and held them out to Yukina for inspection. "Yes, fortunately. I can actually hold onto things again."

Yukina's smile grew brighter. "That's wonderful. Would you like me to finish healing you now?"

"Yes, please," Amaya said, privately relieved that Yukina had spared her from needing to ask. Her hands hurt less than they did before, but the pain was still severe.

Waves of brilliant energy washed over Amaya's hands, slowly easing away the ache with gentle warmth that banished the chill in the air. It came entirely unexpected, as she assumed that an ice maiden's energy would feel cold.

"Your clothes are clean now," Yukina said. "After we finish here, I'll bring them to you so you can get dressed while I make breakfast." She paused for a moment. "You could take a bath first before you get changed if you'd like."

The prospect of a hot bath tempted Amaya, but at the same time, she felt uncomfortably indebted to Yukina after how kind the ice demon had been to her. "Actually, I'd like to help you with breakfast first if you don't mind."

The offer brought a quizzical expression to Yukina's face. "I don't mind, but shouldn't you be taking it easy? You were nearly possessed by a demon yesterday."

A sudden sensation of cold that did not come from the air seized Amaya's insides. "Possessed?"

Yukina blinked slowly, growing a touch distressed. "Oh, I thought Botan had already told you by now. She said she wanted to be the one to let you know after you were feeling better. You see, Master Genkai believes that the demonic energy that burned your hands was part of a curse that was supposed to allow Irokafue's soul to possess your body." Upon noticing the panic growing on Amaya's pale face, she was quick to continue. "Oh, but don't worry, Miss Mamori! Master Genkai destroyed the curse and got rid of all the demonic energy, so there shouldn't be anything for you to worry about. You just need to take it easy for a little while."

The prospect of a bath had become very unappealing to Amaya at this point. The idea of sitting in a quiet place with little to distract her while she had this new terrifying kernel of information churning around in her head to join the rest of her troubled thoughts was far from pleasant. "I… if you say so. E-even still, I think I'd rather help you out in the kitchen right now. My mother is a professional chef and taught me how to cook, so it won't be any trouble for me."

"Alright," Yukina said. "If you insist. I'll be happy to accept your help."

Initially, Amaya worried that learning about nearly being possessed would have troubled her too much to properly focus on cooking. However, once Yukina showed her the layout of the kitchen and told her what they would be making, she fell into the familiar, comforting rhythm of cooking with someone. The busywork served as a welcome distraction, allowing her mind to drift to other, less stressful topics. "Hey, Yukina? Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Yukina looked up from the tofu she had been chopping with an inquisitive hum. "No, I don't mind. What is it?"

"I was just wondering," Amaya said slowly. "Are you and your master the medical staff for the…" She faltered for a moment. "This… Spirit Detective agency thing?"

Yukina blinked. "Not really. I don't work for King Yama, and neither does Master Genkai. Spirit World only allowed me to stay in this world pretty recently." Her eyes drifted towards the ceiling, her expression pensive. "Although, now that I think about it, I've had to heal Kazuma a few times since I met him and Yusuke, so I suppose that counts."

The new name caught Amaya's attention. "Kazuma? Don't you mean Kurama?"

Yukina snapped her gaze back to Amaya, staring at the other girl blankly for a brief moment. "What? Oh, no, not at all. I don't think I've ever had to heal Kurama. He seems like someone capable of taking care of that on his own." She paused for a moment, her gaze sliding down to her hands as she resumed chopping. "I suppose the same could be said about Hiei."

"Oh," Amaya said. "I thought you were pronouncing Kurama's name wr…" Her voice tapered off before she gave a brief shake of her head. "Never mind. I haven't met anyone named Kazuma yet, or Hiei. Who are they, and what're their jobs?"

Yukina glanced at Amaya, eyebrows raised. "Job?"

The question and expression on the ice demon's face made Amaya feel acutely aware of her ignorance about her new position, bringing warmth to her cheeks. "Well, I'm Spirit Detective, Botan is my guide to train and educate me and I think Kurama is my… partner?" She paused for a moment, brow furrowing. "Or maybe he's our bodyguard until I'm strong enough? Botan didn't really tell me what his title is."

"I don't think anyone else besides Yusuke was ever given an actual title like that," Yukina said. "Kurama and the others are just Yusuke's friends. They liked to help him out whenever he had to battle with criminals."

"Oh, I see," Amaya said quietly. She took a moment to pour rice into the rice cooker before she continued, speaking at a more normal volume. "So what happened to Kazuma and Hiei when Mr. Urameshi retired? Was Kurama the only one who decided to help out the new Spirit Detective, or will I get to meet them soon?"

Yukina let out a thoughtful hum as she set aside the diced tofu and reached for some green onions. "I'm not sure. Kazuma would probably help if you asked, but he's busy focusing on studying for entrance exams right now." She paused for a moment, her gaze going distant. "As for Hiei… I'm afraid he's probably never going to come back to this world."

Amaya stopped in the middle of reaching for a carton of eggs to focus on Yukina. Something about the way the ice demon phrased her answer seemed off to the Spirit Detective. "What do you mean? Did something happen to him?"

Yukina snapped back to the present and glanced over her shoulder at Amaya. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that. Hiei chose to leave. You see, Demon World has gotten pretty dangerous lately. One of the three kings of Demon World invited him to stay at their palace and fight for their army, so he left a few days ago."

"Oh," Amaya said. A second later, the implications fully sunk in, causing her eyes to widen. "Wait, army? Never coming back? You mean he left to die in a demon war?"

A meaty thunk of the knife biting deep into the cutting board made Amaya jump. The temperature around Yukina dropped noticeably, giving the dark haired girl goose bumps. Tension hung in the air like a fog, so thick that it was almost suffocating. Amaya scarcely breathed, afraid that the slightest sound or movement could cause the ice demon to snap. After a moment that felt far longer than it really was, warmth slowly returned to the kitchen.

"I'm sure it's nothing like that," Yukina said, an odd note that almost could have been mistaken for cheer underlining her voice, had it not been so tense. She turned to smile at Amaya before she went to the stove and turned it on, the expression not quite as happy as she likely intended. "Hiei never really liked being here in Human World. He's been wanting to return for quite a while now. I'm sure he'll be much happier there than he was here."

The discomfort Amaya felt was intense. She tried to ignore it and the little voice at the back of her mind that reprimanded her for being so thoughtless with her curiosity. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean… That was rude of me to say something like that."

"It's okay," Yukina said softly as she focused on adding ingredients to a saucepan. "It's nothing I haven't asked myself already… But Hiei has reasons to keep fighting, so I'm sure I'll see him again someday."

Amaya knew that the topic needed to be changed, but it took her a moment to find some segue that did not make her appear even more insensitive. The last thing she wanted to do was to create a bad impression on one of her new co-workers, particularly after Yukina had been so nice to her so far. Not to mention she felt distinctly nervous about angering a no doubt powerful demon. "Y-you would know better than me, so you're probably right. I'm guessing you came to Earth to avoid the war, or…?" Her voice trailed off on an awkward note, as she hoped that she was not blindly wandering into another sensitive topic.

Yukina blinked and cast a curious look in Amaya's direction. "Yes, actually." She paused briefly. "Well, I should say it was one of the main reasons why I chose to stay here. My friends all live here in Human World, and Demon World is so dangerous that I really don't have much of a reason to go back there except to visit Ree."

Amaya allowed herself to relax slightly. "Who's Ree?"

"She's a friend of my mother," Yukina said. "She raised me since I was a baby."

If Amaya had not grown skittish towards the conversation, she would have pried a little further into Yukina's background and shared her own experiences with adoption. She was more than well aware of how sensitive a topic adoption was. "Have you thought about suggesting to Ree that she should come live here with you? I mean…" She hesitated, not wanting to imply that Ree would be at risk from the war like Hiei.

Yukina let out a thoughtful hum as she slowly stirred the miso soup. "I never thought about it, actually. I doubt Ree or any of the other Ice Apparitions would be willing to leave Glacial Village like I did. They prefer to ignore whatever is going on in the rest of Demon World, and they're safe hiding away on a floating island that constantly changes location. Besides, there's not much else there besides snow and ice, so I can't imagine any of the kings would want to bother taking over a place like that."

Despite the light tone, Amaya suspected Yukina held some form of bitterness towards the homeland of the ice maidens due to the way the red-eyed girl phrased the explanation. However, the Spirit Detective did not intend to call attention to it. "That's good! Er, it's good that they won't be in danger." She whisked the eggs as she fumbled for something else to say. "So, how do you like living here so far?"

"It's so interesting here," Yukina said. "Kazuma has told me so many wonderful things there are to do and see here in Human World. In fact, he promised to show me something amazing called a movie later today. Have you ever heard of it?"

Amaya tried to suppress a smile that crept up along the corners of her mouth. "Yes. Actually, I've seen a few myself. A lot of them are really fun to watch."

"I can't wait to see it," Yukina said. "I just hope no one gets hurt."

Amaya set the bowl of eggs beside the stove, the plastic making contact with the counter a little harder than she intended. "Why would someone get hurt?"

"Because something is going to blow up because of a man and a woman who keep missing meeting each other during a festival," Yukina said. She paused for a moment, her eyes drifting upward as she lightly tapped her chin. "I think there was something else about a rival fighting them and trying to pit them against each other. Oh, and there was something about hearts being destroyed." She turned back to Amaya, clearly confused. "I have to admit I wasn't sure about some of the things Kazuma was talking about when he was explaining the movie to me, like how love can be a shape, but he assured me it was good."

Amaya felt taken aback for a moment before she considered the movies that were in theaters. The description was strange, but there were not many films currently playing that involved festivals and an emphasis on love and hearts. She could only hazard a guess as to what Yukina had in mind. "Is the movie called 'An Explosion of Love?'"

Yukina's eyes lit up. "Ah, yes, that's it! Now I remember."

Amaya did her best not to let her amusement at Yukina's innocent ignorance show. "My friend Nanako saw that movie earlier this week with her boyfriend and told me all about it. It's a romance story about a couple who fell in love while writing letters to each other and are trying to meet face to face despite a jealous ex-girlfriend interfering. There's no real explosions involved, I promise. It's just called that to sound more exciting and catch everyone's attention."

Yukina blinked. "Oh, well, I suppose it worked, considering how excited Kazuma is about seeing it with me."

Amaya suspected that this Kazuma person was more likely interested in the company rather than the movie itself, but decided not to say as much aloud. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it. A lot of people have been giving that movie positive reviews."

The tension lessened as the girls set about to finishing their work preparing breakfast while making innocent small talk. While Amaya did want to know more about Yukina's background and Yusuke's friends, she hesitated to dig deeper. Instead, she indulged in the ice demon's curiosity by retelling the plots of some of her favorite movies and trying to answer some unusual questions.

"I'm afraid I'm still confused," Yukina said as the two girls carried the food out into the dining room. "Why would loving more than one person at the same time be bad? I love all of my friends. I can't imagine just choosing one over all the others."

Amaya felt as though she was getting in over her head with the conversation. She had been ill prepared for how little Yukina knew of not just about humans, but about romance as well. She could handle the former, but the latter made her acutely uncomfortable to discuss. "Love triangles are a bit more complicated than that. You're probably better off asking someone who's experienced in going out on dates and being in relationships about it. They'll be able to explain it better than I could."

Yukina blinked at Amaya, her red eyes wide with curiosity. "What's a date?"

Unwanted warmth came to Amaya's cheeks as she found herself at a loss for how to respond. "Well, um… that's… Hang on a second. Let's put these down first." She tried to buy time by focusing on setting out the dishes, but all too soon, the task was done, leaving her with the uncomfortable dilemma of figuring out how to explain the concept of dating and romance to someone painfully ignorant to it. The conversation was growing so awkward she started hoping that someone would come by and interrupt it.

The trill of a large bird spared Amaya from having to answer. Both girls looked up in time to see Pu push open the outside door with his beak, allowing in a burst of cold air. The Spirit Detective had the misfortune of being close to the door at the time, the head of the giant blue phoenix with a mane of shaggy black hair and drooping puppy ears appearing right beside her before he letting out a loud twitter for attention. Instinctively, she shrieked and jumped to her feet before scrambling further into the room, away from Pu as he shook snow from his wings onto the walkway. "Wh-what is that?!"

"Don't be afraid, Miss Mamori," Yukina said, her voice soothing. "This is Pu. He's Yusuke's spirit beast." She turned to Pu, blocking him from entering further into the room. "I'm sorry, Pu, but there's not enough room in here for you to sit with the table out, and it's too cold for you to keep the door open while you eat outside. Go ahead and get comfortable in the other room. I'll bring breakfast to you there."

Amaya held her hand over her chest and tried to will her rapid heartbeat to calm down. "O-oh." She watched Yukina shoo Pu down the walkway, feeling foolish and a little annoyed with herself for getting scared, however briefly, by another ally when first meeting them. "S-sorry about screaming like that. He startled me."

A scratchy woman's voice came from behind Amaya, causing the Spirit Detective to jump with a yelp. "A little early in the morning to be so high strung, isn't it?" Genkai gave Amaya an appraising look through narrowed eyes as the young woman whipped around to face her. "If you get so jumpy about every little thing, you're not going to last very long in this line of work."

"Good morning, Master Genkai," Yukina said cheerfully with a nod of her head. "Did you sleep well?"

"Up until I heard all the racket out here," Genkai said, her gaze still focused on Amaya.

Amaya felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment, and she backed up so that she could properly bow to Genkai. "I'm sorry, Miss… Master Genkai. Please forgive my rudeness. I think I'm still a little… on edge from yesterday."

Genkai looked at Amaya a moment more letting out a quiet snort. "At least you have better manners than that dimwit."

Amaya straightened up and did her best to regain her composure. "My name is Amaya Mamori. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for healing me… and for stopping that… monster from possessing me." She paused briefly. "Oh, and thank you for letting me stay here last night."

Genkai raised her eyebrow ever so slightly before a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. "You can thank me by trying harder not to get yourself killed next time." She turned to approach the table, hands tucked behind her back. "I'm not running a charity or a halfway house for Spirit World or Demon World you know."

Amaya felt uncertain how she should respond, as she hesitated to go with her first instinct to give another apology for something she knew she could not help. Mercifully, the appearance of Kurama, closely followed by Botan, spared her from having to say anything.

"Good morning, everyone!" Botan said, her voice brimming with cheer.

"Good morning, Botan," Yukina said. "Good morning, Kurama. How are you feeling, Botan? Are you feeling any better?"

Botan rolled back a sleeve and winked as she pumped her arm, showing that not only had her shoulder mended, but also the bruises had disappeared from her wrists. "I'm fighting fit and ready to face the day." She breathed deep and beamed as she turned towards the table. "And the first thing I'm going to take on is this delicious looking breakfast."

Amaya felt a little more relaxed seeing Botan doing better, which allowed her to greet the pair with a sincere smile. She had noticed the reaper's injuries the night before, despite Botan's attempts to hide them, and was glad that her guide had recovered as well. It allowed her tension to ease slowly as they all sat down for breakfast.

The peace was barely lasted long enough for Amaya to take two bites.

"Amaya," Kurama said, "would it be alright to ask you what happened after I left yesterday?" His expression was serious, but the hint of softness to his eyes promised the Spirit Detective that he would understand if she did not wish to speak.

The miso soup suddenly held little more flavor than warm wet mush in Amaya's mouth and she swallowed it hard. For a moment, she almost asked if she could do it later – she had already gone over the battle in her mind so many times that she felt as though she was drowning in the memory, and desperately needed more time to breathe. What stopped her was the knowledge was that debriefings were also a part of being a detective. She sipped her tea to buy her a few more moments to mentally prepare herself, as well as figure out where to start.

Amaya straightened up and tried to look Kurama in the eye when she spoke, even if her insides squirmed due to being the center of attention. "Well…," she said haltingly. "When you ran off, you left too quickly for me to warn you that I saw a lot of people coming from all directions outside… and that they didn't look right." She grimaced at the memory of the way the workers moved – particularly their twitching eyes. In the end, focusing on how they moved saved her, but it still disturbed her. "After you left, I also saw through Irokafue's body. It was like the front half of her chest wasn't real, so that it could hide two these strange black spheres where her uh…" Her gaze slipped down to her chest and she noticed that her borrowed kimono was a bit more open than she would like, so she tried to adjust it without being too obvious about it or her embarrassment.

Kurama raised his eyebrows. "Can you describe those spheres?"

For one strange moment, Amaya found herself distracted by how the question could have been taken in a different direction, particularly since the person asking was male. She gave herself a mental slap, as Kurama had not shown himself to be anything but a gentleman so far.

Genkai snorted, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "Funny, asking about a woman's 'spheres' sounds more like something the dimwit would do."

Amaya covered her mouth to hide her sudden urge to laugh, though it came out as a less dignified snort through her nose. Botan was less inclined to hide her giggling, while the blank expression on Yukina's face made it obvious the innuendo went completely over her head.

Kurama took the quip in good humor and chuckled as well. "Yes, I suppose he might at that."

Amaya cleared her throat to make sure she could keep her voice steady, privately grateful to Genkai for easing some of the tension. "The… spheres…" She had to pause for a moment to keep a tremor that was almost laughter out of the word. "…W-were black, like tinted glass, and I'm not sure if it's because of the Psychic Spyglass or if that's how they actually looked, but I could clearly see that there something like fire burning in each of them, but the fire was white." She paused for a few seconds before deciding to continue before someone could ask her more questions. "I… I thought they must've been her weak spots if she was trying to hide them, so I tricked her into getting close to my Territory, then destroyed one with my talisman." She paused as she looked down at the hand she used to touch Irokafue, which bore no sign of yesterday's battle, feeling embarrassed that she was naïve enough to think such a thing. "The other one I shot with my Spirit Gun when she tried to make me kill Botan. It seemed like it finished her off, but…"

The amusement in Kurama's expression gave way to something more serious. A quiet hum thrummed at the back of his throat as he took in this new information. "Botan, as I recall, you said you heard a scream before the two demons and the workers stopped moving?" He waited to see Botan nod before he looked back to Amaya. "Was that when you destroyed the first sphere?"

Amaya nodded as the moment played vividly in her mind. "I tried destroying both of them at the same time, but as soon as I touched it with the talisman, it exploded and I couldn't get a shot off with my Spirit Gun. I…" She hesitated, caught in the memory of the pain that had distracted her and slowed her down at a critical time. "Before I could try again, she was already using dozens of workers as human shields, and I couldn't get a clear shot until I tricked her into thinking she managed to control me too."

"It was a convincing performance, to say the least," Botan said. "Even I was fooled!"

Amaya felt her cheeks warm as she gave Botan a smile that mingled an apology and thanks. "I used to be in the drama club, so I've had practice with acting."

Kurama's expression betrayed nothing of what he thought of this new information. "Was that how you tricked Irokafue to get close enough for you to use your talisman?"

Amaya blinked, surprised that Kurama had guessed so accurately, and then nodded. "Yeah. You see I…" She let out an awkward bit of laughter as her embarrassment mounted. "I kind of… acted like a total catty bitch." Just saying the words made her cheeks turn a rosy hue, and she forced herself to finish her explanation quickly. "I thought that if I kept insulting her and made her angry enough, she'd get closer to yell in my face, and she'd be so distracted trying to intimidate me that she wouldn't realize what I was up to until I got her, and it, well, half worked at least, so…"

Botan's eyebrows shot up as she stared at Amaya with wide eyes. "You really did that? I can't even imagine it."

Genkai snickered behind her teacup. "Sounds like the typical tactic of our favorite dimwit." She set her cup down. "He'd probably be thrilled to know the next Spirit Detective is carrying on the tradition."

Strangely, Amaya felt a little relieved by the favorable comparison to her predecessor, even if she felt fairly certain that Genkai was merely making a wry remark.

Kurama inclined his head slightly towards Amaya. "Was there anything else you observed that stood out to you in particular? Not just while we weren't there, but anything you didn't have a chance to mention before, or any concerns you might have?"

Amaya could have spent hours rambling ad nauseum about the many concerns she had, but she worried that she had voiced too many complaints already to speak up about others. Or at least, anything that felt more like a personal grievance about her role as Spirit Detective. "Well… it has been bothering me that Irokafue's flute didn't work on me. Not that I'm complaining!" she hastened to add after seeing the others' curious looks. "I don't even want to think of what would've happened if it did, but… Well, I figured it didn't work on you, Kurama, because of how powerful you are, but if it made even Botan move against her will, then why didn't it work on me?"

"That's an excellent question," Kurama said in a near mutter. "Unfortunately, all we have right now are guesses rather than answers."

Botan felt her skin crawl at the reminder, compelling her to rub away the goose bumps on her arms. "I don't know about you, but I'm just happy that it didn't. Anyway, they took the flute back to Spirit World and are examining it as we speak, so we'll probably have more answers about what exactly it was really capable of soon."

"So, um…" Amaya hesitated for a moment, poking at her rice with her chopsticks between glances at Botan and Kurama. "Would you mind telling me what happened after you both ran off… and while I was unconscious?"

Amaya remained silent as she took in every word Kurama and Botan said, refraining from doing more than grimacing at the more unpleasant parts – such as when Botan was injured and how a number of the controlled people came to dying in the crossfire of Kurama's 'game' with the purple demon. They left out mention of the victims of the meatpacking plant, as well as the lengthy conversation the pair had with Genkai afterward, due to their unspoken agreement that it was too soon for the Spirit Detective to know too many things upsetting things all at once. The blue-eyed girl was unaware of these omissions, save for one – the attempted possession.

"Oh, that reminds me," Botan said, bringing Amaya's thoughts away from that little detail. "I received an update this morning from the cleanup crew. It seems they couldn't find any sign of that demon you froze, Kurama, or that weapon of hers. All they found was ashes encased in blocks of ice and those dead flowers of yours."

Kurama was unconcerned to learn that the flowers he grew were dead – he used his energy to end their lives before he left with Amaya. What bothered him was the lack of a body, though he could not say that the news surprised him. "I suppose that's to be expected. Once Irokafue died, her body, as well as those of her 'children,' self-destructed with white fire." He glanced towards Amaya. "Perhaps it's somehow related to the flames that were inside those spheres she carried with her."

The conversation had dulled the taste of the food, but Amaya continued to pick away at her half-eaten breakfast, both out of politeness and because she knew that she needed to regain her energy. She washed down a mouthful of bland rice with weak tea before she asked a question that had been bearing down on her since she woke up that morning. A part of her hesitated to voice it, because she could not think of any answer that would not trouble her. "What's going to happen to the children now?"

Botan blinked, startled by the sudden question, and lightly tapped her lower lip with her chopsticks. "Well, they'll be sent home of course."

"How?"

The quiet question brought an undercurrent of tension in the air, though both Botan and Yukina appeared confused. Botan was the first to break the silence. "What do you mean?"

Amaya hesitated for a moment as her stomach twisted itself in knots, making her regret her persistence to continue eating. "Some of them…" She paused to find a better way to phrase her thoughts, her eyes drifting to the table. "What Irokafue said about the children not aging… the summer clothes… that many children going missing without it being all over the news…" She forced herself to meet Botan's gaze. "She must have been doing this for years, kidnapping only one or two at a time so that no one will notice. How can the ones who have been trapped there for years go home again when they haven't aged at all?"

Botan flinched back slightly from the question, stammering for a few moments in her attempt to come up with an answer. "Uh, well, I…" She grew more uncomfortable as everyone present focused their attention on her. "Last I heard, a committee is being put together to decide how best to deal with this situation, but I think they'll probably come up with a convincing story to explain everything and make sure that none of the children will have to remember anything that happened to them."

Yukina looked to Botan, hope in her eyes. "So the children are going to be okay then? That's such a relief."

Amaya found little comfort in Botan's words even if Yukina could, as they did not really answer her question. She felt compelled to press further on the topic, but she found herself at a loss for words. Explaining away Horumon's rampage had felt flimsy enough – though admittedly it likely felt that way since she had witnessed the truth up close and personal – but she could think of only one way what happened to the children could remain hidden. "So you're sure that they'll be able to go back home?"

Botan blinked owlishly at Amaya, as though the Spirit Detective had spoken another language. "Well of course! Why wouldn't they?" She paused for only a beat, cutting off any chance for a reply. "Anyway, you really shouldn't worry about it, Amaya. Spirit World intelligence has been covering up demonic activity for centuries. If anyone can figure out a way for this whole mess to blow over completely without anyone else finding out, it's them."

Concerns still lingered at the back of Amaya's mind, but she forced them back as best she could as her eyes dropped to the table. She wanted to believe Botan, and have faith in the people who chose her to be Spirit Detective. She opened her mouth to ask about one last detail that would not leave her alone, but quickly covered it up with her cup, swallowing both her question and a generous amount of lukewarm tea in one gulp. She could not ask here, now, with so many people around. Her one question would open her up to many in return that she did not want to answer. She regretted that she had not thought to talk to Botan about such a personal topic last night when she had the chance, but she supposed she would find out the answer either way eventually.

The doors slid open with a clatter as a loud, boisterous, and rather rough voice broke through the weighty atmosphere. "Good morning, Yukina, my love!"

Amaya jerked at the newcomer's sudden appearance, her instinctive yelp drowning in another mouthful of tea. She choked the liquid down before coughing as she rapped her chest to clear her lungs.

Yukina's face lit up with a smile as she turned towards the open door. "Good morning, Kazuma. I didn't expect you to arrive here for a few more hours yet. I would've made more for breakfast if I had known."

The tall teenage boy with the burnt orange pompadour standing in the doorway could have been intimidating due to his size and the toned body barely hidden by his long green jacket, if not for the goofy smile on his face and the way he giggled. "Don't worry, I already had a big breakfast on the train. I was just so excited to spend time with you that I couldn't wait until our…" That was when Kuwabara noticed the other people in the room. "Huh? Kurama? Botan? What the heck are you guys doing here so early?"

"Freeloading," Genkai said, though her sarcasm lacked any real bite. "What else?" She sipped her tea calmly without once glancing towards the door, her eyes rarely straying far from the Spirit Detective.

"Good morning, Kuwabara!" Botan said, smiling brightly at her friend. "Actually, we've been here since last night." She spared a brief glance towards Kurama and Amaya. "You see, we just closed a new case, but there're a few… problems, so we came here for Master Genkai's help."

Kuwabara's eyes widened in surprise. "New case?" He paused, as a sudden thought struck him like thunder. "You mean Yusuke's back?" He looked around for his friend and rival, but halted upon noticing Amaya. "Huh? Who's this?"

The question made Amaya too self-conscious to reply, at least not right away, so she drew out the chewing of her rice to delay her response.

Botan felt flustered as well, but recovered much more quickly, sparing Amaya the need to answer. "Oh, right, you two haven't met yet. Kuwabara, allow me to introduce you to Amaya Mamori. She's…" The rest of what she intended to say slipped away from her, as a part of her still refused to voice the simple fact that Yusuke had been replaced.

Kuwabara failed to notice Botan's hesitation or the hint of pain in her expression, as he already focused on the newest member of their team. "It's nice to meet you, Amaya." He flashed Amaya a grin before subtly shifting his stance, his chest puffing out slightly. "The name's Kazuma Kuwabara, the number one punk of Sarayashiki Junior High."

"It's nice to meet you too," Amaya said, and she meant it despite the awkwardness she felt. She glanced at Botan, wondering if her guide would explain the situation, until she saw the look in the other girl's pink eyes. "I–"

Kuwabara let out a short bark of laughter, accidentally cutting Amaya off. "About time I got to say that without that punk interruptin' me." He returned his attention to his friends. "So where is Yusuke anyway? If he thinks I'm gonna help when he came back early without lettin' me or Keiko know, he's got another thing comin' unless he's got a darn good excuse!"

Botan felt her stomach churn unpleasantly. "A-actually Yusuke is still… uh… still visiting Raizen."

Kuwabara's expression turned blank. "Huh? But I thought you said we had a new case. How can there be a new case if there's no Spirit Detective to take the case?"

Botan shifted in place as she moved her chopsticks around on her plate without any real purpose. "Oh, uh… well… a-about that…"

"There is," Kurama said, his voice just loud enough to interrupt Botan while still carrying a soft undertone. "King Yama has already seen fit to appoint a successor for Yusuke." He gestured towards Amaya, who looked up almost on cue.

Kuwabara stared at Amaya, blinking slowly. "A successor?" His entire body jerked as the ramifications sunk in. "Wait, what?!" He failed to notice how Amaya flinched at his shout and whirled towards Kurama. "What do you mean King Yama replaced Yusuke?! Koenma's the one in charge of who gets to be Spirit Detective, and there's no way he'd let that fly!" He paused when he remembered the new Spirit Detective was present with them, and cast a sheepish glance Amaya's way. "Uh, no offense."

Amaya fixed her eyes to the table, her hands moving mechanically to force herself to finish her breakfast. The polite thing would have been to lie and claim that she was not upset by the topic, or by the fact that they were talking as though she was not present. I wonder if they all reacted this way.

"Now, wait a minute, Kuwabara," Botan said. "I'm as upset as anyone…" She glanced at Amaya. "Er, I mean, I… Well, I mean I didn't want Yusuke to leave either, but Human World still needs a Spirit Detective right now, and since Koenma, uh, took an extended leave of absence, King Yama had to take over and pick out someone who could handle the job." She turned towards Amaya pointedly. "And I think you're doing a wonderful job so far, Amaya. I'm sure Yusuke would say so too if he were here."

Amaya swallowed the last bit of food she had spent too much time chewing, as warmth spread through her cheeks. While she hesitated to completely raise her head or speak, she showed her appreciation towards Botan with a smile half hidden by her bangs.

"I agree," Kurama said, casting a kind gaze Amaya's way. "In fact, I dare say Yusuke would feel relieved that you're here while he's away. Your help was invaluable yesterday."

The heat intensified in Amaya's face and she fumbled for a moment before she could reply. "Th-thank you…" She straightened up, tucking her bangs behind an ear as her smile strengthened. "I'm glad… that I could help."

"Yesterday?" Kuwabara looked from Amaya to his friends and back, his expression hovering between frustration and concern. He sat down at the table beside Yukina with little grace, settling on feeling sour towards secrets kept hidden from him. "Okay, someone better fill me in about what's going on right now."

It was tricky to be brief when summarizing the events that had occurred in the past handful of days, despite leaving out certain things that Botan and Kurama had agreed to keep from Amaya for now. Botan did most of the talking, with Kurama taking over whenever she faltered on certain details, and Amaya speaking up only sparingly. By the time they finished, Kuwabara was leaning back on his arms, his eyes wide.

"Whoa…," Kuwabara said. "That's heavy stuff."

"Those poor children…," Yukina murmured.

Kuwabara straightened up and leaned across the table towards his friends. "So, what, the kids are gonna be alright, right? You said they got changed back and are gonna go home, but I don't wanna think they're gonna have nightmares of having eyes that glow in the dark."

Botan tried to smooth over Kuwabara and Yukina's concerns with a smile. "Don't worry. Spirit World will make sure none of the children remember anything that happened to them. They're going to be just fine, I'm sure."

"I sure hope so," Kuwabara said before he exhaled deeply. "Man, why do I always gotta be the last one to find out about these things? If I'da known there were demons that got through the portal, I would've hunt 'em down myself and sliced 'em into itty bitty pieces with my Spirit Sword!" He held his fists close together and pantomimed cutting down invisible demons for a few moments before he scowled. "And how long were you gonna wait until you told me Yusuke's been replaced, huh?" He paused and glanced at Amaya with a hint of guilt in his expression. "Er, no offense."

Despite the fact that her breakfast was not sitting well in her stomach, Amaya wanted there to be more for her to eat so that she could use it as an excuse not to respond. As things stood, she could only give Kuwabara a half-hearted smile in an attempt to diffuse the awkwardness of the situation.

Botan shifted around to find a more comfortable position to sit in. "Uh, well, that… well it isn't exactly an easy topic to discuss, you know. And it's not as though we were keeping it a secret or anything. King Yama only told me about a few days ago – he hasn't even made a public proclamation to Spirit World about it yet – and I was just looking for the right time to let everyone know about it." She placed her hands down onto the tabletop. "B-besides, if I interrupted your studies again, I'm pretty sure Shizuru would kill me!"

"Botan does have a point, Kazuma," Yukina said. "Shizuru has been cracking down on your studies pretty hard, hasn't she? She only lets you visit Master Genkai and me after you pass those practice tests she gives you."

Kuwabara's expression contorted at the thought of Shizuru – more specifically his sister's wrath. "Okay, I guess I can understand that. It's not like I'm wild about getting on my sister's bad side either."

"Besides," Kurama said, "you're far from the last person in our group to find out." A wry smile tugged at his lips. "For instance, I doubt Hiei has any idea of what's been happening on this side of the barrier since he left."

Kuwabara let out a short burst of laughter. "Hah! So Shorty gets to be the one left outta the loop for once." His grin stretched nearly from ear to ear. "Serves him right for running off like that."

Botan felt a growing sense of relief that the tension in the air was slowly fading away. "Anyway, there's nothing more any of us can do right now except wait for Spirit World intelligence to track down where the demons might be hiding."

"And continue my training," Amaya said. A beat later, when everyone looked her way, she almost regretted saying anything at all. "Right?"

Botan felt her enthusiasm multiply thanks to Amaya's willingness to grow as a Spirit Detective. "Right you are! We'll be much better prepared for the next mission. I guarantee it." She paused and glanced over at Genkai, her gaze almost innocent. "And speaking of training…"

The look Genkai returned was deadpan. "Just because I took the dimwit as my successor doesn't mean I'm going to be training every Spirit Detective King Yama sends my way."

"Yes, well," Botan said, flustered. "I wasn't trying to imply… But you, trained those boys from Mushiyori, didn't you? Amaya also has the power of Territory, so perhaps you could at least give her a few pointers on how to use it? Any sort of tips you might have for her at all would be of great help to us."

"I didn't say I wasn't going to do it," Genkai said, her voice not quite as sharp as before. "Showing you kids how to not get yourselves killed is easier than picking up the pieces. Just don't expect me to pull off the same results I got with Yusuke." She cast a pointed gaze in Amaya's direction.

Amaya tried hard not to flinch as Genkai stared hard into her eyes, despite feeling as though the elderly woman was somehow gazing deep into her soul and judging her lacking. She tactfully averted her gaze towards the table as she bowed her head. "I appreciate whatever help you're willing to give me, Master Genkai."

The corner of Genkai's mouth quirked upward slightly.

Kuwabara's curiosity grew as he looked to the new Spirit Detective. "Oh, so you're from Mushiyori like Mitarai and the other psychics, huh? So what kinda stuff can you do?"

Amaya felt almost relieved to be given a chance to prove that she could do something worthwhile. She traced a circle on the table around her teacup, creating a glowing blue ring that turned a dome that completely surrounded the cup. "Those barriers I made that we told you about? Those are my Territory." She carefully balanced her empty rice bowl on top of the glowing shield, demonstrating that there was a distinct space in between two dishes. "I also know how to make protective talismans, and Botan taught me how to fire the Spirit Gun."

Kurama watched intently as Amaya push the bowl down through the barrier with little resistance, until the dish was balanced directly on top of the teacup. "That reminds me… Where did you learn how to make your talismans? I don't recall you ever mentioning that."

Amaya blinked and looked up at Kurama in the same instant that her Territory disappeared. "Oh, I got it from a book I once read. I've been reading books on the supernatural since I was little and, well, when those demon insects invaded, I kept testing different symbols until I found something that works."

Kurama tilted his head slightly. "Do you remember which book you read that told you how to make the talismans you've been using for your charms?"

Amaya's brow furrowed as her eyes drifted towards the ceiling. She was not completely able to suppress her discomfort as she finally gave Kurama a shrug. "I've read a lot of books."

Genkai rose to her feet. "Alright, that's enough sitting around talking. Come on, Girl." She spared Amaya only a short glance before she headed towards the doors, her arms folded behind her back. "If I'm going to teach you anything, I need to know what you're capable of."

Amaya moved to her feet quickly after a belated start and spared the others a brief glance before she followed Genkai. She felt her pulse quicken, as she suspected that she was going to be tested more critically than with Botan or Kurama, if the elderly woman's attitude was any indication. She tried to ignore the sound of the others' footsteps as they followed as well, likely out of curiosity. She did not need the risk that performance anxiety would make her do something humiliating in front of a small crowd.

The place Genkai brought Amaya and the others was a sizable clearing in the woods a fair distance from her home. The large pine trees overhead had caught much of the fallen snow from the previous night, leaving nearly a circle of brown grass that framed dozens of large rocks lying scattered about. The master of the Spirit Wave technique jerked her thumb towards one of the more sizable boulders. "Let's see how much damage your Spirit Gun can do to this rock."

Amaya looked at the stone then nodded, somewhat relieved. This test was not much different than the one Botan had her perform the other day. "Alright." She nearly asked if Genkai wanted to see the full extent of her power using the Concentration Ring, but thought better of it. Botan had not wanted her to use it during her initial trial of the Spirit Gun, and she did not want to look foolish by asking unnecessary questions. She closed her eyes so that she would not focus on how so many people were standing nearby, watching her as she shifted to a more braced stance, and focused instead on her task and the small relief she felt that her hands were well enough that she could perform.

The experience was much like the first time Amaya fired her spirit gun, only the tension was noticeably higher. She feared failing the others' expectations even more thanks to the realization that everyone present, even Botan, wished that it were Yusuke standing there instead of her. She forced herself to ignore the strange tension that built inside her body when she gathered her Spirit Energy, the sensation focused particularly where her finger glowed a brilliant blue. She knew now was the time to release that energy, but somehow it seemed noticeably more difficult without the Concentration Ring. For a moment, she panicked that her bad experiences with the Spirit Gun had created some form of subconscious interference, and she forced herself to unleash her attack.

Pain.

The light of her Spirit Energy was almost blinding when Amaya used her Spirit Gun. The recoil shuddered up her arm and rocked her to the bones. For the span of a heartbeat, there was a sense of bewilderment among those watching, as the energy never left her body, leaving the boulder completely untouched. Confusion turned to alarm as the Spirit Detective teetered backward, crumpling like a ragdoll.

Kurama almost reacted too late to catch Amaya before she hit the ground. He called her name, but the Spirit Detective did not answer. Her jaw was taut, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth where her teeth bit into her cheek when they clenched. Her eyes were skewed closed, spilling trails of tears down her face, which served to highlight the agony etched in her expression.

Botan ran to Amaya's side along with the others. "Oh my goodness! Amaya!"

Kuwabara took one look at Amaya before he turned his attention to his friends, and then their surroundings. "What the heck happened? Did someone attack her or somethin'?"

"No," Genkai said, her voice calm despite the situation. "There's no one else here but us."

"Oh dear," Yukina said. She knelt beside Amaya and brought her hands to the Spirit Detective's cheek, healing the only injury that she could see.

"Amaya!" Kurama said, raising his voice. "Can you hear me?"

Amaya shuddered as she slowly moved her head in a nod, though it was clear the action took a toll on her. With much effort, she managed to open her eyes as she forced her teeth apart. She moved her mouth as though speaking, but the only sound that passed from her lips was her ragged breath.

Yukina looked over Amaya, a growing sense of confusion mingling with the worry in her expression. "I don't see any injuries, do you, Master Genkai?" She turned to Genkai, who had been the last to approach, though the martial arts master had been watching Amaya the entire time with sharp eyes.

Botan hovered nearby, not wishing to crowd Amaya or get in the way of Yukina or Genkai. "What happened? Where does it hurt?"

Amaya did not utter a sound, though her lips still moved as though she was speaking with great difficulty.

Botan had been ready to ask another question when Kurama spoke first. "She can't speak," he said, never taking his eyes off Amaya. "Amaya's voice stops working whenever she's in significant pain."

Kuwabara outright gawked at Kurama. "Say what? How do you know that?"

"It's what she's trying to tell us right now," Genkai said, only sparing Kuwabara a brief glance out of the corner of her eye. "You're lucky at least two of us know how to read lips." She moved in closer, Botan and Yukina moving aside to give her some space as she examined Amaya more closely. After a moment, her brow slanted as she let out a low, displeased hum.

Botan felt her anxiety grow stronger by the second. "What is it, Master Genkai?"

Genkai regarded Amaya, who tried to look back at her with eyes that were reluctant to focus. A second later, she struck, her fingers jabbing the Spirit Detective's neck where Yukina's ribbon covered it. Amaya's eyes rolled upward as her eyelids closed, her body going completely limp against Kurama.

Kuwabara jerked then whirled towards Genkai. "Hey, what the heck did you do that for?"

Genkai ignored Kuwabara, turning her attention to Kurama instead. "I have a strong hunch about one of the seals."

Kurama's gaze lingered only a moment longer at Amaya's face, now relaxed and free of pain, before he met Genkai's gaze. "What is it?"

"Whoever wanted to hide Amaya didn't want her hurting anyone either," Genkai said. "At least not by herself. If I'm right, unless she uses some kind of tool like her talismans to draw it out, whenever she tries using her Spirit Energy to attack, it's going to rebound inside her and make her feel like she's being dragged through Hell."

"Master Genkai," Yukina said, "isn't there anything we can do to help her?"

Genkai shook her head, her expression stoic as she regarded the others. "There's no injuries for us to heal, so it'd be a waste of time and energy to try. This is just the seal using Amaya's own Spirit Energy to torture her whenever she does something she's not supposed to. Not even painkillers will do much to help her right now."

Genkai focused back on Amaya, but no matter how often she looked at the girl, there was no trace of Spirit Energy to read, just the barest hints of something more that eluded all of them. "The best thing we can do for her is to let her sleep through it."