This is the final chapter of Against the Grain. The sequel, With the Tide, is not only up, but finished!

I hope you've enjoyed the new edits enough to give the sequel a try. :) Put me on author's alert to hear about new stories and updates first!

Thanks so much for reading!


"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."

Unknown

Epilogue: Against the Grain


The early morning light cast a soft, gray glow over my surroundings.

It was quiet, but not unnaturally so. In this place, everything should be silent. It was just... right.

I picked idly at the dead grass as I stared at Ryo's headstone, cross-legged on the ground, thoughts pensive.

It was a stroke of luck, really, that I had managed to find this place again. It had been dark when Kurama and I had walked back from this place, but for some reason, every step that I had taken seemed to be burned into my memory. It had only taken one try to find it again.

"Hey," I said quietly.

The only answer I got was a light breeze, which ruffled my unbound hair, blowing strands into my face.

Well, what did I expect?

I felt a sad, wry smile creep onto my features.

"You know, I'm leaving today."

The headstone stared blankly at me. Ryo's headstone.

I cast my gaze to the ground, and fingered a particularly stubborn piece of grass that refused to be uprooted.

"You won't be mad, right?"

I scrubbed at the shriveled up blade.

"Karasu's dead. Maybe you saw him, if you're hanging out a little while before you go to heaven. Hope you gave him additional hell."

My lips quirked at the joke, and my gaze flicked back up to the headstone. They moved upwards, up the trunk of the tree that Kurama had planted in Ryo's memory.

With a small, sad smile on my face, I pushed myself to my feet, and stared down at Ryo's grave.

"So. This is... goodbye."

No answer. I didn't expect one.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, ducking my head in a self-assuring nod. Then I turned to leave.

He was standing there, at the edge of the trees, silent and hesitant. I smiled tiredly at him.

"Hey, Kurama."

He studied my features for a split second.

"Hello," he replied quietly, just loud enough for me to hear, and started across the field.

I walked towards him, and we came to a stop halfway, pausing, simply looking at each other.

"You followed me," I noted, as a cold breeze pushed past us, blowing straight through me.

"Yukina was worried," he stated calmly, and dug in his pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, "...when she woke to this." He offered it to me. I took it.

I knew what it said; I had written it myself. The stereotypical "I'm going out, might get hopelessly lost in the woods. If I miss the boat, I'm wandering out there somewhere."

Feeling my lips quirk upwards, I understood her concern.

"You are not lost," Kurama said, lifting an eyebrow.

"No."

More silence. I stared up at him, and saw concern there. Pity.

"Reina..."

"I'm all right now," I interrupted firmly. I felt my lips turn up by themselves, so it must be true. "Really." I studied the slight skepticism in his features. "And you?"

His eyes softened. "I am fine," he answered, voice steady and soothing. Believable.

I nodded, averting my gaze to the ground. We stood there in silence.

And, oddly... even here... I felt fine. Really.

I was utterly safe in the promise of the future... of tomorrow. Good things could happen. They would; I was sure of it.

Thank you, Ryo, I thought silently. I wouldn't have a tomorrow... if it wasn't for you.

My heart lifted considerably, as if it had been released from weighted shackles. Floating free.

Happy.

And, feeling a genuine grin appear onto my features, I raised my face and looked at Kurama.

"So, then," I said lightly. "What're we waiting for? Let's get out of here."

If he was surprised at my change of emotion, he didn't show it. Instead, a relieved sort of smile brightened his features, and he nodded.

With no more agreement than that, he turned, and I matched his pace as we made out way back to the path.

At the mouth of the trail, I turned, looking over my shoulder.

The sun was almost risen, and striking rays of golden sunlight shot through the early morning mist, swirling around like dancing specters, and glinted off of the dew that was collected on Ryo's headstone.

"Thank you," I murmured, and turned to follow Kurama.


There was no noise of any kind this early in the morning as we trudged down the path; no birds singing, nothing of the sort. Only the occasional twig snapping under my clumsy human steps, the whisper of my feet lifting rotting leaves from the forest floor.

Kurama still surprised me with his very real, but unheard company. I could see him at my side, but there was no sound as he glided across the damp growth.

Silence. I was getting pretty good at that.

I looked away from Kurama and focused on walking. Or tried to. My conscience had other ideas.

"It's… ridiculous, Kurama. Karasu's a bad liar. Don't concern yourself..."

Memories, laden with an edge of chagrin that I could not ignore.

"Perhaps I shouldn't, but I'm going to regardless," he said quietly, and something in his voice made me look at him. I sensed a double meaning, and wondered why.

I had been nervous then, I realized. Wary of the implications. Desperate to remain cool and impassive.

"Seriously… Karasu's insane. Don't bother yourself with the ravings of a madman."

"Reina… please." Kurama's eyes held mine. "I need to know this."

There was that double meaning. He had guessed it, I supposed... he knew all along... why.

He didn't look like he was going to give up anytime soon. I felt the flush fade from my face, and I shook my head, resigning myself.

Resigned to speech. But not to his answer. Most definitely not...

...Not yet, anyway.

"All right… but, listen… I know what he said was a lie, so you don't need to worry about… well… I'll just tell you," I finished, aggravated that I couldn't put my thoughts into words, without sounding too mushy.

"Please elaborate."

'…Loves you.'

Karasu knew too. He knew the truth, and I was too stubborn to see it for myself. Too proud.

But now...

I am never going to live this down.

"Ah… well…" I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand, chewing on the inside of my lip. "He said that you… oh, it's ridiculous… he said that you … loved… me."

Out into the open now, nothing I could do about it. I had basically sealed my fate with my own words.

There, it was out. And the unfathomable expression on Kurama's face didn't help.

"But I know it's ridiculous," I said hurriedly, forcing a small, amused grin. "I didn't believe him for a second…"

I drew my hood tighter around my face, cheeks stinging from the frostiness of the morning, and the nervous frown on my features.

I mean, he couldn't possibly…

Kurama glanced down at me, noticing how I was fidgeting, and then returned his attention to the path again.

Could he?

I knew what I had to do, now. I had to talk to him—get some closure at least. Despite the fact that he had no desire whatsoever to pursue things with me, Kurama wouldn't begrudge me that. I glanced up at him.

He seemed to be unaware of the frigid weather—his hands were thrown into his pockets from casual habit, jacket unzipped and flapping in the light breeze. His eyes were trained on the path, face habitually impassive, neutral.

I looked back down, and we continued on in silence as I collected my thoughts.

"Kurama?" I asked hesitantly as we walked, not meeting his gaze.

"Hm?" In my periphery, I saw him glance over at me.

I looked over at him. "I just… I'm sorry," I said quickly, ready to get it over with. "I wish… I wish I didn't feel this way. So I wouldn't be making things difficult for you." I shoved my hands into my jacket pocket, glancing down at the ground. "Maybe then it wouldn't hurt so much."

"Ah," he said quietly, and we walked on in silence.

"I… I think I'll be able to get over it," I murmured. "I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I know I'm going to have to.

"Just don't…" I paused in the middle of walking; he stopped too and turned to look at me. I drew a steadying breath. "Don't give me false hope. Don't… hold my hand, like you did after the Dark Tournament ended, and don't—"

He took a step closer to me. He was staring into me, not just at me.

I bit my lip. "And don't act like you care… that much. Because that just makes it harder. I'm not mad at you for doing what you did after the last match… because emotions were running high and I know it didn't mean anything but—"

He reached out and took my hand. I glanced up at him quickly.

"What're you doing, Kurama?" I murmured miserably. I shook my head, halfheartedly trying to pull my hand from his. "Let go. You're doing the exact opposite of what I'm asking you to do…"

"I know," he said simply, gazing at me.

My eyes stung. I blinked quickly, fighting back the hurt.

"Are you trying to make me suffer?" I breathed, barely able to speak—my throat was constricting as I tried to hold back tears.

"No," he replied quietly. He inched a little bit closer. I could feel his breath on my face. "I'm being reckless."

And even though I looked him straight in the eye, I didn't see it coming.

There was always a certain distance, a wary boundary, between the two of us. It had been necessary—he was a demon, I was a human, and though we had become good friends… and even more… the separation was an instinctive and natural thing.

Often, when I looked back on this moment, I wondered why going against the grain had been so simple.

Because when he came close, when his hand buried itself in the depths of my jacket hood and twined loosely in my hair—even when his breath fogged the air touching my skin—it was incredibly, bizarrely... easy... to lose myself. To break the habit.

To close my eyes, and kiss him back.

The icy morning was forgotten as his closeness set me on fire—not the flames I was used to, but a different kind, a deep and smoldering thing, a welcome incapacitation.

Because I was helpless, really.

Without my telling them to, my arms reached up and secured themselves around his neck. There was really no need of that—his other arm was already curled around me, drawing me closer, as his lips pressed firmly—but gently—against mine, not allowing me to hesitate, or reconsider.

Though I'll admit, that wasn't really necessary, either.

Then, as if on reluctant, mutual decision, we separated and stared at each other.

Then it hit me.

I blinked several times as this occurred to me, and stepped back, away from him, barely noticing the somewhat confused expression that dimmed his features as I did so.

"You... you kissed me," I wondered aloud, astonished.

There was an unfathomable sentiment lurking behind his gaze as he stared at me, and his eyes did not move an inch from mine.

"Yes, I did," he replied, and his voice was not like mine (puzzled, stunned, idiotic)—his tone was that of someone utterly confident in what they were saying, though not self-centered—he simply knew exactly what he was talking about, and wasn't perturbed by it in the slightest.

"But I thought that you…" It was hard to speak. I swallowed. "I thought that you… didn't want me…"

"I have never not wanted you," he murmured, walking towards me. His thumb brushed over my cheek. "I was afraid that by being with you, you would be in danger. I refused you because I cared for you, Reina," he said quietly.

"Part of me is still very afraid of losing you," he admitted with a sigh. Then his expression hardened. "And I will not let that happen… if you will have me."

There was a very, very long silence—only punctuated by the wind rustling in the branches above our heads, and birdsong.

"What changed your mind?" I asked, utterly confused.

"I could hear you," he told me. His eyes were hard, sad. "When you thought I was dead. I could hear how much pain you were in. I realized that I would be doing something almost like that to you, every day—if I refused you, distanced myself from you." He closed his eyes, and his other hand came up, cupping my face in his palms. His forehead touched mine. His eyes were closed. "I cannot stand the thought of hurting you that way. Almost as much as I cannot stand the thought of not having you."

"So, you aren't going to stay away?" I asked weakly. My hand came up, rested over one of his. He opened his eyes and smiled at me—and moved back a little, shaking his head.

"No."

I suddenly felt very light—weightless. I felt a smile take over my features.

"I can hardly believe it," I whispered. "This isn't a joke, is it?"

He shook his head again. "I'm afraid not," he teased lightly.

I nodded to myself, to him, and twined my fingers in his, letting our hands swing between us.

"Then…" I grinned at him, and he smiled back... looking almost giddy. I could definitely relate. I chuckled, and started pulling him back down the path.

"Let's get off this island."


Kurama and I walked back to the hotel, and we reluctantly parted ways when I came to my floor. When the elevator closed on his goodbye, I turned on my heel and headed to the hotel room.

The door was unlocked. I pushed it open, depositing my shoes by the doorway.

Shizuru was lounging on the sofa, fiddling idly with a pack of cards, a cigarette smoldering gently in the ashtray on the coffee table.

She glanced at me, and immediately noted:

"You have sex hair."

There was a long, appalled silence, during which I gaped idiotically at my smirking friend, and she shuffled her deck of cards with practiced ease, performing a perfect bridge without even looking down.

"What?" I squeaked when I had regained the use of my tongue.

She looked up at me, raising a single eyebrow.

"Sex. Hair. You have it." Her smirk grew. "So you and Kurama..."

"No!" I cried, clamping my hands over my ears. "I don't even—!"

"Overreaction equals guilty conscience. Let's hear the dirty details, girly."

I looked up at her with a pained expression on my face, and she snorted at my mental agony.

"What's the difference between sex hair and normal hair anyway?" I asked, trying to get the thought out of my head. My cheeks were on fire.

With another wide smirk, Shizuru rose to her feet, walked over to me, and plucked something from my hair. Then the leveled it in front of my face.

A leaf.

"In sex hair, you find foreign objects that usually occupy secretive, tryst-like places," she explained with the swiftness of someone who knew exactly what they were talking about. "Normal hair is just normal hair. No mysterious objects." She tossed the leaf over her shoulder lightly; it landed on the armrest of the couch.

"I was hiking," I defended. "Clumsily. I have proof, see?" I turned and grabbed my shoe from its resting place by the wall, and showed her the dirt on the bottom of it.

"Uh-huh," Shizuru said offhandedly. She didn't sound convinced.

"I didn't," I said stubbornly. "I was hiking with—yes—Kurama, but I didn't… jump on him, or anything. He kissed me!" I protested.

She eyed me for a few agonizing seconds.

"Kurama kissed you…?"

My mouth popped open. "Shit," I muttered. "Pretend I didn't say that." I stalked over to my bedroom. "This conversation is over, Shizuru!"

"I still say you did it like rabbits in the bushes."

I whirled. "We didn't. Don't go around saying that. Okay? You realize that if Botan catches wind of this, everything will just… just…" I couldn't find the words to explain my growing dread.

Shizuru snorted a cloud of smoke. "Damn, kiddo, I was just kidding." She walked over to the couch.

"Hey, where're the others?" I questioned, looking over at Shizuru a little nervously. Once bitten, twice shy, I suppose.

"Walking." Shizuru began to deal the cards in a way that I recognized.

"Jin's game again, Shizuru?"

"Sit down and play the game, kid," Shizuru ordered. A sly, evil grin crept onto her features. "Or I'll idly mention to the rest of the group that you and Kurama went hiking… all alone in the woods…"

I plopped down on the couch next to her. "Deal the cards, woman."

As Shizuru dealt the cards, I thought over our latest conversation, and decided that it was really for the best that the others hadn't been present for that short, but mortifying, fiasco.

Keiko would be scandalized.

Botan would've scrapbooked it.

And Yukina... probably wouldn't even know what we were talking about. Poor deprived thing.

Shizuru and I ended up replaying the card game over the last couple cups of wine we had left until Keiko, Yukina, and Botan arrived.

We would've continued, but as soon as the girls returned, the hotel room was thrown into a state of frantic chaos.

None of them—I repeat, none had thought to pack.

And the boat was arriving in fifteen minutes.

Shizuru went downstairs to buy some food for the trip while the girls ran around the room, grabbing various articles of clothing and other necessities, and I skittered out of their way as they darted haphazardly from the bathroom, to the bedroom, to the living room...

"When did you pack, Reina?" Botan cried pathetically as she sat on her suitcase, using her weight to keep the clasps together so she could close it properly.

I took a sip of some complimentary coffee that I had found in the mini kitchen, decided I didn't like it, and tossed it into the sink.

"Sometime between midnight and sunrise," I said absently, walking over to the fridge and rummaging around for something that would relieve me of the nasty aftertaste of the toxic coffee.

I didn't get much sleep last night.

Now munching on some saltines, I sat cross-legged on the counter and watched my friends rush around the hotel room with cries of:

"Have you seen my toothbrush?"

"Where's my other shoe?"

"Who put my bra in the freezer...?"

The latter was most likely thanks to Jin, who had occupied our room while I was unconscious a couple days back, and had probably taken that time to raid our room for undergarments.

As I watched her idly, I yanked the Barrier Stone over my head. Demonic aura rolled off of the ice encasing her bra; an aura that I recognized—its presence there both surprised and amused me.

"Put it in the sink," I ordered, finishing my cracker and peeling off one of my gloves. "That was Touya's doing. I'll melt it for you."

Keiko did as she was told, and I directed my power to the block of ice. My fingers sparked, and the ice almost instantaneously melted. I reached down into the sink and lifted it, offering it to Keiko with a smirk.

Jin had probably coaxed Touya into doing it (probably because he had lost a bet of some kind,) but I was really enjoying the mental image of the ice demon rummaging around in Keiko's underwear drawer of his own accord.

Keiko tossed the sopping-wet object into her bag with a twisted grimace, and whipped around to the bathroom again, nearly running into Puu, who was hovering agitatedly over the scene.

"Com'ere," I cooed, holding my hands out to the creature. Yusuke's spirit beast, recognizing a reprieve from the insanity that pervaded the rest of the room (and seeing the saltines,) instantly sped over to me and settled in my arms, pecking a cracker from my hand.

I was combing a finger through the tuft of midnight-black hair on the creature's head just as Shizuru reentered the room, carrying several large bags.

Propping Puu up against the sink, I stood and helped Shizuru stuff the food into a stray duffel bag with little difficulty.

After that, I took a second to look around the room.

There were still several of Yukina's paper wards taped to the walls (they had been placed there to disguise my aura only,) peeling away from the plaster now, hanging dejectedly, as if expecting to be abandoned.

I stared at them, frowning slightly.

Then, walking slowly around the room, I pulled every one of them down, and, not fully aware of why I did so, stowed them in my backpack.


Rushing now, we girls quickly found an elevator and headed down to the lobby where, as Shizuru had informed us, the rest of our group was waiting.

We found them sitting at a table, where they seemed to be bored out of their minds. Shizuru and I headed towards them, a little further ahead of our group.

"It's just like family vacation—my dumb sister's always making us late..." Kuwabara shifted in his seat as we came into earshot, lacing his fingers behind his head and tilting his chair back. "Probably plucking her moustache..."

Shizuru and I glanced at each other. I smirked. Her expression turned dark.

She took several angry steps forward and leaned forward, until her lips were inches from Kuwabara's ear.

"Should I tell them about your... Fuzzy Wuzzums?" Shizuru growled, voice fairly dripping with acidic fury.

All four legs of Kuwabara's chair crashed to the floor as he lurched away from his sister, clawing himself across the small table—which groaned pathetically under his bulk—and he landed himself in Kurama's chair, which the fox demon had conveniently vacated seconds before.

"H-hey sis!" Kuwabara stammered, grinning stupidly up at her. "I-I was just t-telling them how p-pretty you are..."

"You're a moron."

"Sorry we're late," Keiko, Botan, and Yukina chorused as they caught up with Shizuru and I, all smiling apologetically.

Kurama glanced at me, and I smiled hesitantly at him, my heart flip-flopping unsteadily.

"Oh look," Yusuke grumbled under his breath, glancing up at their approach. "The tone-deaf sirens..."

I glowered at him.

"Here," Shizuru said, tossing her luggage at Kuwabara. "Catch."

Kuwabara managed to catch all of Shizuru's stuff before it hit the ground. "Hey, why do I have to carry your junk?"

"Because Yukina thinks very highly of brothers that are nice to their sisters," Shizuru said sweetly, smiling in an evil way at her little brother.

"And their friends," Botan added, grabbing Yukina and Keiko's luggage and swinging it at Kuwabara, along with her own. Kuwabara caught it all with some difficulty, face twisted from the strain.

"Okay..." Kuwabara said with a weak grin in his obsession's direction. He glanced at me, and, with a shrug, I tossed my backpack on top of his precarious load.

"Oof! Thanks, Sparky," he grumbled sarcastically.

"Don't mention it."

All of the guys who were sitting—Kuwabara, Hiei, and Yusuke—rose to their feet as we prepared to go.

"Here," I heard Yusuke mutter, and glanced over to see him shoving an indignantly chirping Puu into Keiko's arms, "you don't mind having Puu duty, do you?"

Keiko shook her head, and Yusuke, with a curt nod, turned on his heel and started heading to the exit, slinging his pack over one shoulder.

"Thanks," Yusuke shot back at her, "Nobody'll take a champ seriously if he's carrying around a blue teddy bear with a beak."

Keiko watched Yusuke's retreating back for a second, then, as I strode past her when Kurama beckoned to me, I heard her murmur:

"Don't worry, Puu. He's just being a jerk."

I thought about that as we headed down to the docks, striding in a loose line with the others down the grassy hillside.

Genkai.

That must be it.

Of course Yusuke would be angry. Sad, even. I had a feeling that he channeled negative emotions with crabbiness, but I could hardly blame him, really. I could catch myself doing the same thing any day.

Again, I realized that I should be feeling something about Genkai's passing, but... I couldn't.

Kuwabara's voice cut through my inner musings.

"Oh, lookee here—our ship's arrived!" He called, pointing out at the blue horizon with some difficulty—because he was still carrying most of our luggage. (I had taken pity on him and retrieved my backpack from the top of the pile.)

I glanced out, and saw the giant boat headed our way, a long, dark streak on the horizon.

Oddly, I felt kind of sad about leaving, despite the fact that our entire stay here had been an awful ordeal.

There were memories here that I wanted to keep.

I frowned to myself and tucked a renegade strand of hair behind my ear, as the wind struggled to free it.

"Finally," I heard Yusuke say. "I can get back to skipping detention..."

Keiko shot him a glare that told him otherwise.

"Video games..." Kuwabara added with a dreamy look.

Smiling slightly, Kurama shifted at my side. He glanced down at me and smiled.

"...Various crimes," I heard Hiei say from somewhere behind me, and could hear the evil smirk in his voice.

I rolled my eyes at Kurama as he smiled down at me, and knew what reason I had to return to my old life.

The reminiscent haze that had settled over the lot of us shifted a bit, and, for a moment, all of us seemed to be feeling buoyant, happy.

"All right," Yusuke said, and this time, it wasn't in a resentful growl, it was loud, laughing: "Let's go home!"

Botan and Kuwabara cheered in agreement, and I smiled privately to myself, hiding it with a chuckle.

"Well excuse me if I'm a little insulted!"

Our momentary happiness deflated like a balloon stabbed with a needle as the voice—elderly, but tough, angry, though a little amused—rose over the din that we were making and pierced the air with the sharp dagger of incredulity.

We all spun around.

There was a short, sturdy figure standing a little ways up the hill, arms crossed behind its back, peering down at us as the silence reigned.

"Wait a sec..." Yusuke grunted, peering at the figure.

I had a feeling that I knew who this was—though I had only known her as the Masked Fighter. But... it was... impossible...

"You're just gonna leave an old fossil behind?" The figure growled.

Botan had apparently jumped to the same conclusion as I.

"GENKAI...!" She shrieked, and took off up the hill, leaving the rest of us in the dust. "I-I don't believe it...!"

There were similar exclamations of shock as the rest of the group caught on, and I joined the herd as we all stampeded over to where the wizened old psychic was waiting.

Yusuke was left standing at the foot of the hill, paralyzed, as we all gathered around his revived trainer.

This was the first time I had really gotten a look at her face, and I could see the fragility that comes with age in it... but I could also see a strength that had apparently kept death at bay.

How, who knows?

It was ironic at how happy I was to see her. Considering the fact that I had just been berating myself on not mourning her properly.

And Genkai, with a thin-lipped smirk that splintered her face into thousands of creases, lifted her eyes and stared at Yusuke.

"Guess it must've rubbed off on me, dimwit," she informed him with a snort. "'Cause I died like you did..."

She lifted a finger in his direction, and chuckled once, strangely youthful eyes glinting with humor.

"...Half-assed."

I had a feeling that I was going to like this lady.


Genkai's revival was later explained, on the boat ride back to the mainland.

Apparently the winning team would've normally gotten a wish granted upon finishing the tournament… but what with the stadium exploding, Yusuke hadn't gotten a chance to do so. Koenma had taken it upon himself to revive Genkai, knowing exactly what Team Urameshi would've wished for.

There was obviously a lot that Genkai didn't tell us—we could tell by the way she snorted instead of answering when we badgered her with questions—but I didn't really mind. I was just glad to finally meet her.

"Hey, kid," she said to me when Botan took a small break from her near-hysterical Q&A. The psychic smirked and tapped her chest. "How's the heart?"

I beamed.

"Great, thanks."

That was really the only conversation we had on the trip home—Genkai wasn't a woman of many words. I didn't mind that; I was used to it and frankly preferred silence.

The boat chugged sluggishly over the water, and, ready to see land again, I had asked Kurama how long it would take to get back to the mainland.

And, shortly afterwards, I had developed a small case of cabin fever.

It would take a little over an hour to reach the shore, so I ended up pacing around the deck, accompanied by an incredibly patient Kurama and occasionally a bored Shizuru, and it was during one of my laps of the deck that I was reunited with a few of my other demonic acquaintances.

"Rei!" Jin called excitedly from across the deck, and his image blurred as he ran over to where Kurama and I were leaning against the railing. "Ah thought yeh left earlier!"

"Nah, all of us are hardcore procrastinators," I replied with a smirk after I got over the initial shock of seeing Jin again, and pointed at his (for once) cloth-covered chest. "Hey, you're actually wearing clothes."

Jin plucked the sleeve of his thin sweater, and grinned mischievously, pointed ears twitching comically.

"Disappointed?" he asked in his trademarked, hard-to-understand Irish accent, and waggled his eyebrows at me.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Yes, Jin. Utterly devastated."

Kurama smothered a chuckle with a fake cough.

Jin left after we exchanged a few more words; he said that he was going to go find Touya, Chu, Rinku, Shishiwakamaru, and Suz—ah, I mean, Beautiful Suzuka—all of whom were apparently scattered all about the boat, and "Itchin' t' see our favorite 'uman!" as Jin had proclaimed before he darted out of sight.

I seriously doubted that Shishi and Suzuka would be that happy to see me. Shishi was too busy staring at himself to notice much of anything, and I was always making jokes at Suzuka's expense. If anything, Suzuka would seek me out for revenge.

Jin seemed to be taking his time, so, after waiting awhile, I plopped down on the deck, back against the railing, and scuffed idly at some peeling paint that was located in near proximity to my shoe. Kurama sat down next to me, and we waited.

Then suddenly, the world was a blur.

Something that felt like iron jerked me up from the deck, and before my mind could catch up with what was happening, a bruising pressure was pressed to my mouth, silencing my cry of surprise.

Then, it was over and I jerked back, staring wide-eyed up at my assailant.

He grinned down at me.

"JIN...!"

My hand clenched into an automatic fist, and it snapped out at his face. It was a vain attempt at revenge, though—he ducked and darted back off across the deck, bent double with laughter.

The momentum of my failed rage sent me spinning in a circle. I saw the ground coming and braced for the impact, but someone's hands steadied me, capturing my fist before it connected with his face.

Kurama gave me an amused look as he set me back on my feet, but didn't release my hand.

After a moment of silence, I saw his eyes slip from my face, and he gave something over my shoulder a long, hard look.

I heard Jin chuckle nervously.

Kurama allowed a small, amused grin to creep onto his features, then he smiled down at me.

"That was unexpected," he mused, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well..." I shrugged, and grinned—I couldn't help it—and nodded at my fist. My thumb was curled over my knuckles, correctly positioned for a punch. "...At least I learned how to deck someone properly." I frowned. "Though I didn't even land it. So I suppose it doesn't really count."

"That can be remedied."

"Jealous, are we?" I smirked. He all but rolled his eyes.

Then, as I turned to shoot Jin a glare, I saw something that brought an end to my temporary good mood.

Jin, I saw, had rounded up the rest of my demonic friends. But that was inconsequential, comparatively...

Because Touya was handing something that looked suspiciously like money to Jin, and both of them were laughing. Hard. Touya was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Touya?" I cried, mouth popping open in angry shock. "You put him up to it...?"

Touya finished dealing out the bills, and waved cheerily at me, smirking, as Rinku grinned up at me from behind Touya's kneecaps.

"It's not like he wasn't willing, Reina!"

I shook my head, glaring daggers at him. "I really don't like you right now."

Touya laughed, obviously unperturbed by my Death Glare.

"That's frigid!"

Chu, who was standing behind Touya, clapped Suzuka on the shoulder as he bent over, wheezing with laughter, tears streaming from his face. Suzuka shot Chu's hand a nasty look, as Shishi, who was hovering indifferently in the background, shot me a glance and smirked.

"Stop with the cheesy ice references...!" I growled, feeling my face turning hot from a mixture of irritation and embarrassment.

Touya smirked, and blew a sarcastic kiss at me. I saw the fog coming across the deck, and I knew that it was going to be as bitingly cold as my insult. I dove behind Kurama as it passed.

"Finally, you're useful for something," I chuckled, grinning up at him and shivering as Touya's power turned the comparatively warm air into an arctic icebox. "Human—er, demon shield."

Kurama actually rolled his eyes this time. His breath fogged in the air.

"Ah, take it like a man," Chu chortled, appearing behind Kurama and reaching around him, taking my arm and yanking me into a bone-crushing headlock, rubbing his knuckles painfully over my scalp, which messed up my hair and knocked my jacket hood askew.

"I'm... not—a man...!" I choked, gasping for breath. Chu released me, and I was instantly tugged further away from Kurama.

"Don't throttle her, Chu," Touya reprimanded, punching me lightly on the shoulder and grinning.

I glared. "I still don't forgive you."

"Not necessary," he replied easily, and his grin widened.

I shot him a withering look. "And don't touch me again," I added, referring to the punch.

A gleam that was more common in Jin's eyes appeared in Touya's, and I took a precautionary step back.

"Frosty..." I warned.

In a flash, he had curled one arm around my shoulders, and I swear I felt a something crack in my arm as I struggled to get free.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I grumbled despairingly, trying to twist around so I could sucker punch Touya's face.

He simply laughed, and released me, thumping me on the back in a way that was probably meant to be friendly and light—but instead sent me staggering across the deck, where I narrowly avoided falling flat on my face by grabbing someone's arm.

That someone was none other than the Beautiful Suzuka, who was glaring at my hand like it was a poisonous spider.

I quickly released his arm, and balanced myself by bracing my palms against my knees—and looked up at him pleadingly.

"You're not going to hug me, are you...?" I questioned, half sarcastic, but also partly out of real apprehension.

One of Suzuka's manicured eyebrows lifted into his hairline, then he frowned.

"You have my... most heartfelt assurances," he replied stiffly, crossing his arms.

I grinned. "Thanks."

"—But ah will...!"

I yelped in real fear as I heard heavy footfalls announcing Jin's approach, and dove behind Suzuka just as the wind-wielding shinobi's arms curled around the empty space that I had just been occupying several seconds ago.

"Not the face...!" Suzuka cried, throwing his arms up as Jin tried to reach around him, who was wearing a manic grin that quite possibly frightened the narcissistic demon more than it did me. I simply grabbed the back of Suzuka's shirt and used him as a living shield, like Kurama before him.

"Hey, Jin..."

I glanced over at the owner of the voice, and paled instantly.

It was Touya.

And, he was wearing a creepy, mischievous grin.

Not good.

I released Suzuka as Jin paused in his abduction attempt, and my former protector shot me a glare right before disappearing off to find a mirror or something.

Shishi and Rinku, I noted, were also gone.

That was all I registered before Touya sealed my fate.

"Jin..." Touya mused, still smirking, "didn't you say that Reina... was afraid of heights...?"

If I had paled before, I was probably transparent now.

Because Jin turned back to me with a wide, evil smile.

Kurama, who had been watching the whole scene amusedly, smirked.

"Back off," I warned, shrinking back as Jin slipped forward, his eyes glinting in a way that meant nothing good.

"Rei..." Jin warned, slinking into a crouch and advancing on me as I skittered across the deck. "There's an easy way, an' a hard way... but yer goin' airborne no matter wha'."

"Don't you touch me!" I snarled desperately, whirling as he lunged forward, hands outstretched to take me. He missed me by inches, and as he stumbled forward, off balance, I took advantage of his preoccupation and darted for Kurama.

...Which didn't work.

"HELP...!" I shrieked as Jin jerked me into the air, and deposited me over his shoulder. I kicked fruitlessly at him as he hesitated to see if Kurama was going to do anything about my predicament.

He'd better.

I strained to look at Kurama, drumming my fists against Jin's back.

"Kurama!" I gasped. "Kick his face in! Attach him to a parasitic plant! Anything...!"

Kurama smiled innocently, blinking up at me.

"Now, why would I do that...?" He mused, eyes glinting mischievously.

"Because he's going to kill me!" I cried pathetically.

"No ah ain't!" Jin retorted indignantly, and jostled me, obviously disgruntled that I would think of such a thing.

"You see, Reina..." Kurama said smoothly, crossing his arms in an unconcerned way and leaning more heavily against the railing. "You will have fun."

I opened my mouth to plead, but he lifted a hand, smiling as he continued:

"Rest assured, if he so much as considered dropping you, I would have him disemboweled and writhing on the bottom of the sea in a matter of three seconds."

Jin and I both stared dumbly at the fox demon as he smiled genially up at us.

"B-but..." I whimpered. "I... don't fly. I don't do heights..."

Kurama smirked.

And I instantly became very angry.

"Some boyfriend you are!" I accused, jabbing a finger at him and glaring.

I was going to add more on the subject of Kurama's lack of manliness, but then Botan appeared out of nowhere, and grabbed Kurama by his jacket collar.

"WHAT?" she squealed, and continued in one breath:

"You didn't tell me that you and Reina were DATING so you'd better spill the beans PRONTO fox boy or you're going overboard...!"

"Reina!" Kurama cried, trying to wrench himself free of Botan and shooting me a desperate look.

"What?" I asked innocently, smirking and trying to wriggle free of Jin's grasp. "You will have fun, Kurama," I finished, imitating his voice. I lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh you are clever, my dear," Kurama managed sarcastically, trying to pry Botan's fingers off of his jacket.

"Yes, I know." I launched a vicious kick into Jin's gut, but my foot simply bounced off and my toe throbbed. "Holy, Jin, you have abs of steel!"

He sniggered and began walking across the deck.

To the front of the boat.

Where, I assumed, I would meet my demise.

"Yusuke...!" I cried pathetically as we passed him. "Help me!"

Yusuke looked up, interested. But not in a way that was going to help me any, I don't think... because he grinned evilly and shook his head.

"Nah, Sparky... I don't think I will." He shot a thumbs-up at Jin. "Have fun."

As Jin made his way down the deck, I shot pleading looks to my companions—Genkai simply snorted and smirked at my predicament, Shizuru pointedly lit up a cigarette, Yukina waved cheerily, and Kuwabara grinned stupidly.

Chu, needless to say, was laughing his head off, and Suzuka, who had reemerged from wherever he had disappeared to, was actually smirking as I begged for help.

Keiko didn't seem to be amused, though. She actually looked worried, and was inching forward tentatively to help.

"Keiko! Take out his kneecaps!" I ordered, writhing in Jin's grip and shooting her the most desperate, pleading look I could muster.

"Um..."

And as Keiko edged forward hesitantly, Jin paused, and turned to look at her, a creepy and very disturbing grin slipping onto his features. An actual growl slipped past his lips, and he flashed his fangs menacingly.

Needless to say, Keiko skittered away with a squeaked: "Sorry!" And hid behind Yusuke.

Only one person left.

I knew that helplessness would not work on him, and I knew that asking nicely wouldn't either. So, when I pleaded my case to Hiei, I unloaded everything that my mind could think of to sway him.

"Hiei..." I warned severely. "I swear to God if you don't help me... I'm…I'm going to imagine Kuwabara NAKED...!"

Hiei's eyes bulged.

"Yes, that's right! Constantly!" I continued, nodding furiously and kicking at Jin.

Hiei regained a little bit of his composure... though I saw his face twitch into a grimace, obviously disgusted at the mere thought.

"I doubt you'll be able to bring yourself to imagine it," Hiei growled.

"You wanna bet?" I shot back desperately. Hiei glared.

"I doubt it," he repeated.

We had a glaring contest for a few more seconds, and then Jin sighed in an annoyed way, and began walking again.

"Crap!" I yelped, writhing, trying to break free.

"'Tis not working, Rei."

"Let go!"

"No!" Jin retorted, and grabbed the railing with his free hand, hoisting himself up with me in tow.

"Let—AHHHHHH...!"

In the middle of my desperate urging, Jin had leaped off the deck of the boat.

We began to plummet to the black, dark water.

"AHHHHHH...!"

Then, a gale picked up, ripping past us, around us. Circling.

Lifting.

And we rocketed into the air.

Jin was laughing manically as I shrieked my head off, wanting to claw myself out of his grasp but realizing, as we broke through a few low-hanging clouds, that that probably wasn't a good idea.

The wind slowly began to die as we leveled off, and we floated easily many hundreds of feet over the now-tiny boat, held aloft by a silent, barely noticeable breeze.

If I wasn't so terrified, I would have admired what Jin was doing here. After all, flight was pretty incredible.

But I was scared.

Jin apparently thought otherwise, though.

"See? 'Tis not so bad."

I let out another yelp of terror as he swung me from his shoulder, taking both of my hands in each of his.

My feet dangled into empty space, and I stared at the worn sneakers, the frayed shoelaces, with wide, terrified eyes.

"I swear to everything that is holy..." A red-headed speck on the deck of the boat waved cheerily up at me, and I resisted the urge to throw my shoe at it, "if you drop me, Jin..."

"Ahm not gonna drop you!" He assured me loudly, probably irritated at my blatant distrust, and I looked up at him.

He grinned, tapered ears sticking straight out and twitching comically. "Yer not afraid anymore, an' you know it."

"Shut up."

"Tha's 'cause I'm 'ere," Jin stated proudly, as we bobbed in a slight breeze that wasn't his.

"Don't flatter yourself." My cheeks stung as I spoke. "It's cold up here."

"Not t' me."

"Because you're a demon." I rolled my eyes. "And I'm human. Can we go back down now?"

"Admit it," Jin sang, grinning toothily.

"Admit what?" I growled. My fear was fading in the face of my irritation. As long as I didn't look down.

"Tha' yer havin' fun."

"Sure. Fun," I snorted.

Jin's fingers slipped on mine. I sank a little, and stared up at him in horror.

He was still smirking widely, eyes shining with impish glee. "Wha' was that, Rei...?" he asked menacingly, lifting an eyebrow, face almost lost in the sun. It seemed so much bigger up here.

"Fun!" I squeaked, panicked. "Having fun! So much fun…!"

His grin widened impossibly, and he pulled me back up to his level.

My teeth were starting to chatter. "Ground, please? Or deck? Or whatever..."

Jin blinked, smile fading slightly. "Yeh don' look so great, Rei..."

"That's probably because my toes are turning black and crumbling inside my shoes," I answered in a quick breath, just before I started to shudder. "H-heat's sup-p-posed to r-rise..." I stuttered. This was so not fair.

"Okay," Jin allowed uneasily, pulling me to his side. "Hang on."

I locked my arms around his ribcage as we began to sink.

Hours, it seemed, later, my numbed feet touched the deck, and a different pair of arms caught me as I stumbled away from Jin.

I glowered up at Kurama as I began to thaw out.

He smiled. "Did you have fun?"

Without waiting for an answer, he leaned forward, down to me...

THWACK.

My palm was pressed over his face, blocking his mouth and nose. Effectively denying him the lip-lock that he so blatantly sought.

"I'd prefer to keep my face to myself," I said sweetly.

"Why?" he asked, a little miffed, voice muffled by my hand. "Your hands are cold," he noted.

"Because you're repenting for your lack of testosterone. And yes, I know."

One of Kurama's arms released me, and his fingers curled around my wrist, prying my hand from his face. He lifted an eyebrow at my glare. "Come again?"

"You heard me. You're not a man. A real man would've saved the damsel in distress."

"You were not in distress."

"Then you're atoning for being incredibly unobservant as well," I sniffed, pulling away from him and crossing my arms.

Kurama studied me. Then he frowned.

"You are not serious."

"Yes, actually, I am." I smirked widely at his slightly put out expression. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Kurama rolled his eyes, and took a step closer to me, arm snaking around my waist again. I lifted my hand, ready.

"You are quite cruel, Reina. Did you know that?"

"You think that's cruel…?" I asked, and then with a smirk, I lunged at him and snaked my frozen fingertips under the collar of his shirt at the nape of his neck. He recoiled instantly with a startled grunt, shuddering convulsively at the chill, and I turned and bolted across the deck before he could assume revenge.

When we finally reached the shore, it was time to say goodbye to all of the people that we had met during the Dark Tournament.

"I'll see you around, Frosty," I told Touya with a smirk, after I had disentangled myself from Jin and Chu, who apparently were set on taking me with them—wherever they were headed. They were going after Keiko now, and Yusuke was trying to fend them off.

Touya quirked a smile and clapped me on my shoulder. "You take care. Don't zap any big demons and kill yourself, all right?"

I snorted and grinned. "Right. I'll remember that."

After another round of goodbyes, my group headed to the nearest bus stop.

It was an hour's walk through the forest, during which Botan kept up a steady stream of chatter, and snapped pictures of everyone with the camera that she had apparently thought to bring along. I wondered nervously how long she had had that in her possession—I hadn't realized that she had been capturing potential blackmail all this time.

She kept trying to get all of the couples in the group to pose for her.

And Kurama and I were apparently a novelty—because we had just started dating (What a strange word to apply to the two of us…) And that prompted her to harass us both while brandishing a camera. Which was a little annoying.

Kurama took it well, though. Chivalry was still alive, and kicking, apparently.

Though he would always smirk a little, and glance at me sideways. And I would shrug, and fight a smile.

Truth was, I didn't really mind.


We were almost home.

We had stopped in a little town that I didn't know the name of, and had about an hour before we had to catch the bus that would bring us through Mushiyori City, and, beyond that, home.

And the only thing on Kuwabara's mind (other than Yukina, that is) was… food.

So, to that end, we had walked to a small fast food restaurant that was a fifteen minute's walk from the bus station, and had occupied three booths.

It was like being in the midst of a small army.

We dominated most of the space in the tiny diner, and an old couple was giving us dirty looks as they sat at a crooked table across the room.

Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, and Yukina were seated in one booth, Botan, Shizuru, and Genkai in the other, and, to my distaste, Kurama and I were sharing a booth with Hiei.

Hiei might actually be more displeased at the seating arrangements than I.

After all, if he wasn't on probation, he wouldn't even be here.

Hiei was still paying for breaking into the Spirit world vault (Kurama had long since paid his dues with good behavior,) so that meant that he was still sentenced to my hometown. So Botan, who was the head ferrygirl of Spirit World, was laden with the task of "escorting" the nasty little fire demon back into the city limits.

Red eyes narrowed in my direction told me that I was musing a little too much over Hiei's punishment, so I rolled my eyes and twisted in my seat to talk to Yukina.

"I do not know what to get..." she confided quietly, blinking up at me and gesturing to her menu helplessly.

She, at least, was willing to brave Kuwabara's choice of fast food. (Which was greasy and unappetizing-looking.)

Yukina's brother had flatly refused when Botan had timidly asked him what he wanted.

Hiei probably preferred eating children, anyway.

"The number four looks good," I replied absently, giving the menu a single glance and ignoring the glare that I could feel burning a hole in the back of my head.

It was then that Kuwabara leaped into the conversation in a desperate attempt to claim his obsession's attention.

"It's really good, Yukina!" he cried, grinning widely when she turned to look at him.

"And I'll get it too," he added with a goofy, puppy-dog esque smile. "And then we can share a shake! Which kind do you want, my love…?"

I resisted the urge to snort, and flicked my gaze up to Yusuke's.

He was smirking. "Whipped, much? What d'ya think, Sparky?"

"Takes one to know one." I countered, smiling sweetly.

Narrowly avoiding the chopsticks he hurled in my direction, I turned around and sat back down, glancing to my left and rolling my eyes at Kurama, who was seated closest to the window.

He smiled crookedly in return, and glanced back at his menu. His knee bumped mine, whether by accident or on purpose, I don't know. But I rolled my eyes and ignored the disgust that was now the dominating expression of Hiei's features.

"So, Hiei, what do you plan on doing once we get back?" I asked after we had gotten our food and I picked hesitantly at it (it looked like a heart attack on a plate, but Kurama had already informed me that my meal was on him, and I didn't want him to waste his money.)

I was obviously bored out of my mind to be talking to him; we had studiously disregarded each other's presence up until this point. I flicked my gaze up to Hiei's, and lifted an eyebrow, waiting for his reply.

The sullen and angry demon regarded me with a feral glare, and replied with his trademarked:

"Hn."

"Oh, come on," I ribbed, cocking my head and feigning interest. "There has to be something, Hiei..."

He glared a little more.

Then, he smirked. Evilly.

"You'll find out, woman," he replied, still smirking. His eyes flashed dangerously, and I blanched.

But I wasn't through teasing, yet. I swallowed my apprehension and continued in a musing voice, tapping my chin with a single, gloved finger:

"Aha. So that's where the contents of my underwear drawer disappeared to."

Kurama snorted into his flat soda, and tried to cover it with a fake sneeze. Hiei's features convulsed into a grimace. I smiled innocently.

And so the afternoon continued. After eating (well, eventually deciding to not consume the throbbing goo in my case, and hiding it in a napkin so as not to offend Kuwabara in Yukina's case,) we still had some time left over to hit the stores.

Botan's idea. Not mine. I hated shopping.

Yukina was thrilled, though—she hadn't shopped much in the Human World—so I tagged along and didn't complain. Much.

Kuwabara kept us company, and, not to be outdone, Yusuke and Kurama came along too. Hiei took up residence outside every store we went into, always finding an abandoned park bench so he could make small children cry and old ladies fix him with a death glare every time they passed him, and Genkai disappeared off somewhere, doing whatever old psychics did in their spare time. Bingo? Cockfighting? Maybe a mixture of both.

It seemed that one of Botan's goals in life was to see me wearing something other than jeans and my favorite navy blue jacket.

...So every time we encountered something frilly and pink, she wrestled me into a dressing room and locked me in there with the said item of clothing, threatening to leave me there until I paraded myself in front of them all while wearing whatever godawful article of clothing she had unearthed.

Kurama would let me out before I succumbed to Botan's wishes and humiliated myself, though, so the afternoon ended without consequence.

After checking my watch, I announced that it was time to catch the bus and go home.

We headed to the bus stop, Hiei shadowing us and Genkai appearing out of nowhere, and waited there until the bus reached us.

I fiddled with the Barrier Stone while we waited, sitting on the arm of the park bench next to Yukina. Kuwabara's bulk took up the rest of the space.

And, as luck would have it, I immediately got the chain stuck in my hair.

Sighing wearily, I stood and took a few steps away from Yukina and Kurama so my aura wouldn't bother them, and pulled the amulet over my head, grabbing the unruly bulk that was my hair and twisting it over my shoulder so I could better see the tangle and work the Barrier Stone free.

After a few minutes of effort and smiling apologetically at Yukina and Kurama, who, despite my distance, still noticed my spiritual energy, I finally unraveled the knot.

My gaze traveled aimlessly over our group as I absentmindedly replaced the Barrier Stone.

Then my fingers froze, dropping the Barrier Stone so that it bounced against my sternum, and I looked carefully at the thing that had caught my attention.

Frowning slightly to myself, brow furrowing, I lifted my hand to the pendant at my neck, and, with a habitual, easy tug, pulled the chain back over my head again.

I stared at Yusuke.

Something there… a warm, nervous feeling.

My frown deepened.

Somehow, his presence called incessantly out to me, like a foghorn, like a train wreck. Awful, sort of… but impossible to look away from.

Something was happening here.

Something in my chest... twisting in sickened apprehension.

A buzzing in my head.

"Reina...?"

I jerked out of my reverie to look at the person who had interrupted my fixated study.

Kurama stared worriedly down at me, and, as I looked at him, I could feel his aura smoldering dully on my skin, reminding me that my energy was probably bugging him right about now.

"Sorry," I murmured, edging a little ways away from him. I turned my face back to Yusuke, ducking my head so Kurama wouldn't be able to see what I was looking at. I didn't want him to worry.

Nothing.

Just Yusuke standing there, talking with Keiko. He snorted at something she said, shrugging offhandedly, lips quirking upwards in amusement.

"Is there something wrong?"

When I looked back up at Kurama, I saw that he was now looking in the general direction of our group, trying to pinpoint the source of my unease, eyes calculating and narrowed slightly with concerned study.

Trying to find out what was wrong.

And, in that moment, oddly... I didn't want him to know.

And I wasn't so sure if there was something there, anyway.

"No, nothing," I concluded in light tones, slipping the Barrier Stone back over my head. I could still feel my insides writhing nauseatingly, in contradiction to my assurance.

Firmly, I repeated my words to myself, forcing myself to believe them. Repeated them.

Relief came instantaneously, like a blackboard cleared of convoluted writing. And I realized, as I smiled and tapped Kurama's elbow to get him moving, and we walked up next to our friends, and as I glanced up at Yusuke's familiar, smirking face, that I was probably being silly.

Must be imagining things.


THE END

Against the Grain is officially over. Er, again. XD

Well, I hope you guys have liked the story, and I hope that you'll stay tuned for the sequel, With the Tide.

I'd like to thank everyone who is reading this for having the patience to read this monster of a story. And I'd like to thank every single one of you that has faithfully reviewed, offering inspiration, and that awesome constructive criticism that made Against the Grain what it was.

(Oh yeah, and on a side note, Hiei never once said Reina's name. Never. :D )

This is your last chance to review this story! Yes, lurkers, even you! I can see you on the amount of visitors per chapter… don't be stingy now ;P

Nah, I love you regardless. Until next time!

crossyourteez