Kuwabara looked over at Yukina and smiled, gently tightening his hand around hers. In one way, it was a way to support her, and in another, it was just him showing how much he cared. He couldn't exactly put his arm around her shoulders because she was holding the hand that he would have used for that, but he was content just letting her lean on him.

Following the fight with Kazuo, the rest of the day seemed to slip away and night fell rather quickly. Exhausted from using his spirit gun to its near full capabilities, Yusuke had made the not-so hard decision to remain at the temple and crash for the night. Although, just as before, his dreams were instantly plagued with various scenarios involving his girlfriend who always managed to nag and whine about his immaturity. "Ahh...but Keiko...I didn't...I just...ow...maaaan..you smack hard for a girl..." The teen mumbled softly, tossing and turning beneath a pallet of blankets on the temple's wooden floor.

.::.

Kat had also spent the night at Genkai's temple. After cleaning up and wrapping her wounds, she fell asleep curled up in a chair within just minutes. It was nice to be able to sleep without the fear of being murdered in your own dreams. Unlike Yusuke, Katsumi slept relatively well, though it was for a short time. The demoness awoke to the sun's first rays seeping through a window and right onto her face. At first she huddled beneath the blanket she'd been given, trying desperately to block the obnoxious light and return to her beloved dreams. Eventually though, she came to the conclusion that she was now, in fact, fully awake and there was no use in just sitting there grumbling.

With inhuman grace the girl slipped from the chair and tip-toed around the huddles of assumed sleeping forms littering the temple's floor. Sliding the temple door open she felt refreshed and free as the moist morning air softly hit her face. Kat shut the door behind herself and sat on the top step of the temple's stairs, resting her head in her hands as she enjoyed the chirping of awakening birds. What would she do now? Her teammates had been avenged, and there was nothing left for her to fight for.

Despite her exhaustion, Yukina slept fitfully, waking frequently to check on her brother. It was nearly sunrise when she finally fell into a deep sleep, satisfied that Hiei was out of danger. She didn't stir when Kat crept out of the room.

As nighttime descended on the temple, Kurama scooped the sleeping fire demon up in his arms and carried him inside. There he installed Hiei upon one of the futons that had been left out. One by one his friends seemed to fall into slumber around him but Kurama barely seemed to notice. Instead he kept silent watch over his companion, still somewhat fearful of his condition. He dully noted Yukina's similar concerns as she frequently woke to check on her brother.

As the dawn approached, Kurama's eyelids began to droop heavily despite his best efforts and tiredness eventually won out over willpower. Green eyes disappeared behind darkened eyelids and red hair dangled around the fox's face as his head drooped. His body however remained upright in a rigid kneeling position and to any outsider it may have appeared as if the redhead where praying for the safe recovery of his unconscious companion.

Hiei's first emotion as he regained consciousness was surprise. He was fairly certain he had died fighting Kazuo, but he recognized his surroundings by smell and sound, before he even opened his eyes. It took a bit of effort to convince heavy eyelids to respond, but after a few moments a slitted crimson eye confirmed what his other senses were telling him. He was in the temple, surrounded by the rest of the Reikai tantei. Blinking to clear the unusual bleariness from his vision, the still tired fire demon took in more details. His sister was sleeping next to him, one cold hand on his arm as she sprawled on a futon pulled up beside his own.

On his other side, a familiar redhead was kneeling as if in prayer. However as Hiei watched for a minute, he realized Kurama was actually asleep sitting up. 'Baka, Fox.' Hiei thought affectionately. Reaching out with the hand his sister wasn't monopolizing, the fire demon claimed one of Kurama's wrists and tugged on it gently. Hesitantly, he sent out a mental message to his sleeping...Kurama, not wanting to wake anyone else by speaking aloud. 'Lay down, stubborn fox, before you fall over on me.'

He was pleased that the small use of power didn't cause him to pass out again, though it did make him a little light headed and he resolved not to try anything more strenuous until he'd had more time to recover his energy. He tugged again on the slender wrist, encouraging Kurama to lay down beside him so they could both sleep in peace. He didn't care that the sun was rising, he was still tired and, from the look of the dark circles around his fox's eyes, Kurama could use some extra sleep as well.

The words came to him as if from a dream and indeed at first Kurama did believe that he had dreamed them until he felt the gentle tugging on his wrist. Green eyes snapped open and when they caught sight of Hiei's red ones, Kurama's face softened into a smile. Carefully willing stiff limbs to move, Kurama managed to lie down as Hiei had instructed him to. Pressing his body lightly against the fire demon's he reveled in the warmth of Hiei's living flesh, not realizing until that moment that he had been cold. Words escaped the fox as an intense sensation of relief washed over him and finally reassured of his friend's condition Kurama allowed deep sleep to claim him.

Hiei waited until he was sure Kurama was sleeping again before he allowed a small smile to creep onto his face. He lay still and stared at the ceiling; listening to Yusuke muttering in his sleep, reveling silently in the feel of Kurama snuggled up beside him on one side and Yukina's hesitant grasp on his arm on the other. For the first time in his life, Hiei was truly happy to be alive; not because surviving meant he was powerful or because he didn't want to give any enemy the satisfaction of killing the forbidden child. Hiei was happy to be alive because people cared enough about him to keep him that way.

The fire demon knew he would never say it, especially to the oaf or Urameshi, but he appreciated the small group's friendship more than any of them could possibly understand. Too tired to berate himself for his unusually sentimental thoughts, Hiei let sleep claim him again after only a few minutes.

Yukina shifted closer to her brother, waking up just enough to note Kurama's new position and Hiei's small smile that lingered as he slept. A contented smile graced her own face as she rested her head against Hiei's shoulder and shifted her grasp to his hand.

Keiko stormed up the last few steps to the front of Genkai's temple. Having run to the place and up many of the steps, she had become so exhausted she'd fallen asleep barely even half-way up the hellish stairs. Now she was really mad, and she knew that Yusuke had to be here. She stormed right into the room were everyone was asleep, and as she normally would have been considerately quiet, now was not the time for that. Keiko took a deep breath and marched over to where Yusuke was sleeping. "YUSUKE YOU JERK!!" She yelled before bringing her palm down to smack him as hard as she could manage. And considering it was her, that was pretty hard for a human female. The force of the blow should be enough to wake him right up, if not put him back to sleep again right after becoming conscious. Keiko crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the dark-haired boy to wake up so she could yell at him some more.

Kuwabara jumped awake, screaming something incoherent about kittens being chased by dogs, until he realized what had woken him up. He bit his lip and stared at Keiko as she glared at Yusuke's sleeping form. He did not envy the Spirit Detective at this moment, not when Keiko had yet to unleash her fury on him. Kuwabara looked over at Yukina who was sleeping close to her brother and he smiled, but knew they would probably wake up soon as well from Keiko's outburst. "Hey, uhh Keiko. Maybe you should calm down." He suggested.

Keiko glared at him angrily. "I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!! IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS ANYWAY, KUWABARA!!" She yelled again as she began tapping her foot on the floor.

Hiei's eyes snapped open but he couldn't move, pinned down by Yukina on one side and Kurama on the other. That did not stop him from voicing his displeasure. He wasn't afraid of Yusuke's woman, even if her temper did rival some demon females he'd encountered. "Woman! Perhaps you should consider that some of us were trying to sleep! Drag your idiot boyfriend outside to scream at him next time." He growled crankily. It did not help his mood that he felt rather like he had recently been mauled to death by something vicious...

The fire demon ignored the little voice that mentioned that that was actually fairly accurate. He wondered if he looked as tired and sore as he felt. Moving was going to be annoying for a day or two as it would pull on his freshly healed wounds.

Yukina stirred slightly at Keiko's shout but Hiei's voice caused her to bolt wide awake. She sat up and smiled brightly at her brother, ignoring his sour expression completely. She was just happy to see him alive and well...er...mostly well at least. "Ohayo, Niichan."

Kurama awoke to find his face mere inches from Hiei's. At first he struggled to determine what had woken him but Hiei's shouting soon revealed the source of the commotion--Keiko. Still lying down, Kurama stretched his body out for a moment before curling back up against the warm figure beside him contentedly. Keiko was unusually mad and being quite rude but it wasn't any of his business and he had no intention of getting involved in their argument. Allowing his eyelids to close again, Kurama willed sleep to come once again but it would not. Although he had been too preoccupied with the events of the previous evening to think about it, the issue of Taykayo's disappearance and the tunnel to demon world returned to him now. They had solved one pressing issue but it seemed their ordeal was far from over.

Kurama hesitated a moment longer. His body was still tired and sore and he could have used the rest but he finally gave up on going back to sleep. The fox slowly opened his eyes and after a moment pushed himself up in a sitting position. Turning slightly to face Hiei, he studied the demon beside him. Color had returned to his face and it seemed a full night's rest had done him some good but beneath his appearance Kurama sensed Hiei's less than average energy levels. Brushing red locks back from his face he asked quietly, "How are you feeling Hiei?" Hopefully the fire demon would be able to hear him above the noise of the dispute taking place on the other side of the room.

"WAHHH WHAT THE-KEIKO?!" Yusuke screamed, snapping free from his slumber the second his girlfriend's hand came into contact with his unsuspecting facial features. The teenage boy instantly sat up and crossed his legs loosely, rubbing the side of his now aching face as he mumbled a slur of cuss words under his breath. "Geeez. It's nice to see you too, sunshine!" He groaned, his hand slipping from his reddening cheek to just hover over the throbbing point of impact. That was going to leave a mark. "You know, Keiko. You still smack the hardest out of any girl I know." It was an honest statement. Urameshi had fought several girls before, but no one quite left the sting that his own girl did. Brown eyes flickered up to meet her angry, looming presence. 'Maaaan. Cue the flames and pitchforks, this girl is peeved.' Boy, was he in for a lecture...

Hiei blinked, forgetting his ire at having been awakened as he heard Kurama's softly spoken question. He covered his surprise at the concerned tone with his usual gruff manner. "Hn. Like I was hit by one of those ningen vehicles." He smirked as he said it, not wanting the redhead to worry. His expression softened just slightly as he tried to reassure Kurama. "I'll be fine in a day or so, Fox."

Yukina watched the exchange thoughtfully, totally forgotten for the moment as her brother and his...well, she wasn't certain what they were to each other anymore but she thought it was sweet. Something had shifted between them in the past few days. The little ice demoness sincerely thought it would be a good thing for both of them.

Kurama chuckled softly at Hiei's response. He was surprised at how much Hiei seemed to pick up about human life despite his hatred for the ningenkai. "Try to rest today Hiei, we'll need our strength," Kurama reminded wondering where Botan was. The flippant girl usually acted as an informant between the Spirit and Human worlds and he was surprised she hadn't shown up yet considering the possible threat to humanity. The team's hands were tied at the moment until further information was given. They would all need to use the downtime to regain their strength.

Kurama turned to Yukina who seemed to be watching them carefully, "Why don't we go prepare breakfast for the others?" he asked. Then, without waiting for the koorine to respond, he pushed himself to his feet and padded off towards the kitchen before the demoness could try to refuse his help. As he walked, Kurama took a string from his pocket and used it to tie his hair back into a pony. Once inside the kitchen he washed and dried his hands and then waited for the demon girl to arrive. Though he could have prepared the meal himself, Yukina would know better than he where things were kept which would make the process to much smoother.

Hiei was about to protest the recommendation to rest when Kurama changed the subject and made his hasty exit. That left Hiei no option except to scowl at the redhead's retreating back. He didn't register when his scowl faded into a vaguely contented expression. Once the fox and Yukina had vanished from the room, he allowed his eyes to drift closed and tried to tune out the growing storm on the other side of the room.

Yukina hurriedly rose and followed Kurama towards the kitchen. "Kurama-kun, wait please." She bowed slightly. "Thank you for offering to help but you don't have to. It is my honor to prepare food for everyone." She was sincere, even though part of her was insisting she was tired and wouldn't mind a little bit of help with the mundane task.

Kurama heard the ice demon's protests from down the hall but waited for her to appear in the kitchen before responding, "It would be an honor if you allowed me to assist you. I rather enjoy cooking." Kurama smiled at Yukina and asked, "What do you suggest we make?" as if to make it final that he would help her. The fox gave a quick glance around the room and tried to asses what might be hidden behind the cupboard doors as he considered what they might prepare for breakfast. He wasn't sure what was on hand to cook with but eggs sounded rather delicious...

Yukina smiled shyly and acquiesced. It would be easier to cook for so many guests with an extra pair of hands. "Um...How about rice omelets, miso soup, and tea?" She suggested after pondering the supplies she knew she had on hand. They could start the rice and then make the soup while they waited for it to finish. The omelets filled with rice and topped with ketchup would be quick to put together for everyone and the soup would stay hot while they readied the main course.

Yukina was an accomplished hostess and she knew having every part of a meal reach the table steaming hot and carefully prepared was key in making sure the honor of the household was maintained. Genkai had done so much for her, giving her a place to stay and helping her acclimate to the human world. Yukina would not have the reputation of the temple sullied by poor treatment of guests, even if they were all friends. In her mind that made the customs even more important because it allowed her to show the others that she cared about them through the work that she put into seeing to their needs.

Kurama waited patiently as the demoness quickly calculated the options and then nodded approvingly. Rice omelets and soup, the thought of food made his stomach whine impatiently. Thinking of the steps they would need to take to prepare the meal, Kurama reasoned that rice always took the longest to cook. "So we'll start with the rice then?" he asked, rifling through the cupboards at random to find a container that they might use to wash the rice in. Though he knew he was likely getting in Yukina's way, he was happy to help out in the kitchen. His mother usually insisted on cooking so it wasn't often that he was able to prepare any meals.

Yukina nodded and pointed at one of the lower cabinets. "The rice cooker is in there with the bowl to wash the rice." She retrieved the rice from the pantry area once she was certain he had seen where she was pointing. Returning with the ten pound burlap sack she set it on the counter and left him to get the rice cooker going while she used a step stool to reach the miso paste and some of the other ingredients for the soup.

The electric rice cooker had taken some getting used to but, once she figured it out, the little koorime was quite pleased with how much easier it made things. The rice wouldn't overcook or dry out even if it was left to stay warm for hours. She assumed Kurama would know how to work the human contraption.

The aqua haired demoness smiled softly as she methodically set out the ingredients and put a pot of water on to boil. She glanced over to make sure Kurama didn't need any help with his part of the preparation.

Kurama was grateful when Yukina designated where the rice cooking implement were stored. As he finished pulling out the rice cooker and washing bowl, the petite demon returned with a rather heavy looking sack. Kurama thought of reproaching her for not allowing him to help her but decided against it. Yukina was not the weak creature that most people treated her to be. Opening the sack, he poured into the washing bowl an adequate amount to serve eight people. After filling the bowl with water Kurama stirred the mixture with his hand for a minute then carefully drained out the water.

After repeating this procedure a few times, he was satisfied with his concoction and filled the bowl one more time to allow the rice to soak. Looking over to where Yukina was preparing the soup, Kurama was surprised at the progress she had already made. Lifting the sack of rice off of the counter, he followed the direction that Yukina had taken earlier to retrieve it and put it back where he presumed she had taken it from. Upon his return, Kurama inquired if there was anything he else could help with as the rice would need to soak for a few minutes yet.

Yukina smiled. Kurama wasn't a bad help in the kitchen. Of course that made sense when one considered that his mother had been sick for a while. He must have had to cook for himself. "Hai. If you wouldn't mind slicing up the tofu for the soup..." She gestured vaguely towards the refrigerator.

Her water was boiling and she began carefully measuring the ingredients into the hot water.

Kurama nodded but wasn't sure if Yukina caught the movement as she seemed quite focused on what she was doing. Opening the refrigerator, he removed the block of tofu sitting on the first shelf and closed the door behind him. It only took him a moment to spot a cutting board onto which he carefully deposited the plain looking substance. Seizing a knife he began diligently cutting cubes of tofu to add to the soup. It wasn't a very difficult process but one needed to be wary of how the tofu often stuck to the wooden board.

It only took him a few minutes to finish cutting up the pale block into cubes. Once finished, he set the cutting board down next to Yukina so that she could add them to the soup when she was ready. Reasoning that the rice was sufficiently soaked, he added it to the rice cooker along with the appropriate amount of water and set it to cook. Almost every household in Japan had one of these devices and his was no different.

It would be a good 20 minutes at least for the rice to cook so Kurama went back to see how Yukina was coming along. The rice was cooking and Yukina was working on the soup. They would still need to prepare the eggs and the tea but these things wouldn't need to be done until it was almost time to serve the meal. "What else can I do for you Yukina?" he asked, hoping he wasn't being a bother by constantly having to ask her what she'd like to be done.

Yukina finished adding everything except the tofu to the miso broth and tasted it gingerly. Nodding in satisfaction at the taste she then turned to Kurama with a nervous but determined look on her face. "We have a few minutes while the rice cooks. Would you please sit down, Kurama-kun? I...I'd like to talk to you." She seemed uncomfortable at being even so slightly pushy, but she refused to be swayed from the course of action that had been on her mind ever since she realized she was alone with Kurama. It was too good of an opportunity to waste.

Kurama was taken aback when Yukina asked him to do a different sort of task than he was expecting. He raised an eyebrow slightly at Yukina's uncharacteristic request but didn't deny it. "What's on your mind?" he asked as he walked over to the small table off to one side of the kitchen and sat down like Yukina had asked him to. After making himself comfortable he looked up to study the ice demon but was careful to keep a passive expression on his face that would not intimidate her. He wasn't exactly sure what sort of conversation Yukina had in mind but he could guess that it was related in some way to Hiei...

Keiko made a point to ignore Hiei and then Yusuke was awake, and she glared at him as darkly as she could manage. "Oh, give it a rest!!" She said when he commented on how hard she hit him. It was only because he deserved it. But then, her expression softened slightly and she sighed. "Can we talk outside, Yusuke?" She asked again, her voice sounded a bit upset, and a little tired as she walked out of the room and waited for him to follow.

---

"Hey, mom, I don't really feel all that great. I'd rather avoide school for a while, can you call the school and let them know I'll be out for a few days?" Taykayo asked sweetly, for all the world looking like he was just tired and overwhelmed. His mother looked at him for a long moment but eventually nodded her head and didn't bother with questions. Taykayo sighed slightly as he walked to the front door. "I'll be out for a little while. I'll be home late tonight. If I'm not back by eleven, I'm at a friend's house." He called over his shoulder as he walked out the front door. He knew his mother thought that something was going on with him, but it was something he couldn't tell her about. He was worried about the things that guy had said to him, about his friend Shuichi being a bad person. It didn't make any sense, but then, Taykayo wasn't good at judging people, and he often found it hard to differentiate between good people and the people who just wanted to manipulate him for his powers.

Last night his vision had cleared and he saw the entire prophecy. Hiei had died and then the guy who had caused the damage either died or disappeared. It was hard to see through the wall of energy that boy had unleashed upon the enemy. And then everyone had chipped in to save Hiei, something that made Taykayo feel relieved and angry, though he couldn't hold the anger in him for long. He'd never been a very angry person, and it wasn't in him to hold a grudge. Patronis was right, for a human he was too, well... everything. Too simple, too gullible, too innocent, too trusting, and even too forgiving. Those were his flaws. Everything that he was was too much. All his traits and qualities were good, but there was just too much of it all that it became a flaw. Taykayo sighed and held a hand to his head. What was he going to do? "Maybe I can try talking to them. Shuichi might understand, or maybe he can help. They really don't seem like bad people, but they could be acting." Taykayo let out a frustrated cry and then found himself heading towards the Temple. "Well, it's worth a try." He said softly as he walked on his way.

Keiko's reaction wasn't one that the teenage boy had expected. Instead of a long winded lecture in front of his intimate group of friends as to permanently scar his male mind for the rest of his natural born life, she seemed sad and pretty tired. "Uh, yeah, sure Keiko." Yusuke replied, much more quietly as the tone of his girlfriend's voice sank in. He watched her leave the room with a less than an enthused expression. Was she leading him outside to lay into him out in the open? Or...could she be genuinely upset? Was it the movie thing still? Dozens of thoughts poured into the spirit detective's head as he rose to his feet and followed her outside. With the door shut behind them, he slipped his hands into his pant pockets nonchalantly, "So, what's on your mind?" Warm brown eyes locked onto the girl's face, taking silent note of the hint of exhaustion that exuded from her features. Though he may not show it all the time, Yusuke did honestly care for this girl and her well-being. Keiko was, in this strange and dangerous life he'd come to lead, his whole world. His everything, when it came down to it.