Part 2 (FoR/YYH)

"It's still hard to believe that you guys won!" Ganko exclaimed, her blue eyes bright, as she entered the hotel room where the Hokage team had been staying since they had entered the Ura Buto Satsujin. The young blonde haired girl, who was holding her enchanted yellow stuffed fox Kondo in her arms, climbed onto the nearest couch and sat down, letting out a tired sigh. "Omedetou!"

"Who would have thought that you morons could do it!" Kondo added happily. He was greeted with quite a few pairs of upset eyes. "Ah...haha...just kidding..." Ishijima Domon, the tall dark skinned boy who faintly resembled Frankenstein's monster incarnate who, up till that moment, had been standing in the corner of the room, took the stuffed animal from Ganko and threw it against the wall. Kagero, who had watched the exchange, sighed, a sweatdrop falling down her pale face.

After finishing his business with Kondo, Domon yawned, plopped onto the center of the water bed in the other room, and began snoring loudly. Kirisawa Fuuko, who was stretching out her lithe arms, looked at the tallest member of the Hokage and growled ferociously, blue eyes narrowed. "Domon no BAKA! You can't take up that much room! Where am I going to sleep!?" Somehow, the purple haired member of the Hokage managed to move Domon to the side so that she could fit onto the bed and was soon fast asleep as well.

Sakoshita Yanagi entered the room last, closing and locking the door behind her, before putting a soft hand on the arm of Hanabishi Recca who looked through clouded deep blue eyes as if he were going to fall over from exhaustion. "Let's get some rest, Recca-kun. Tomorrow we're going to need to pack and get ready to return home."

"Home...that's the last place I want to go..." Recca muttered tiredly, flopping down on his single bed tiredly as his hime quickly got comfortable on the double bed next to his. As Kaoru Koganei, the youngest fighter on the Hokage team, crawled next to her and let his head drop onto his pillow, Recca's eyes narrowed. Lucky brat. These were his last thoughts before he dropped off to sleep.

Kagero watched as Ganko gathered Kondo in her arms and wandered off to the waterbed where Fuuko and Domon were already dreaming and climbed next to them, before lying down on the vacated couch and turning a lazy eye to Mikagami Tokiya who was looking out of the window in the room with a blank expression on his face and a hand halfway through his long gray hair. "Mikagami-kun?" The Hyomon Ken master turned to her questioningly. Kagero sat up slowly. "I'd suggest that you get some sleep since Yanagi wasn't able to heal all of your wounds due to her exhaustion."

Wordlessly, he did as asked, though Kagero knew that he would have argued had any other of the Hokage members said these words to him. She watched as he winced while trying to get comfortable on the couch opposite hers before lying down again. A knowing expression appeared on her face. "Mikagami-kun, if you ever want to talk about what you found out today...I'm here to listen." Pushing a strand of black hair away from her eye, she watched as his blue eyes widened in surprise before softening, and she allowed herself to smile as he nodded.

She felt slightly guilty about not taking the Hyomon Ken master's thoughts into consideration earlier that day. Her son's fight with Kurei had taken up most of her concern, and she had forgotten that Recca was not the only one to be emotionally stirred during the final round of the Ura Buto Satsujin against the Uruha Kurenai team. Mikagami's search for revenge had ended, and the blame was now placed on the teacher that he had trained with for seven years of his life. Meguri Kyoza had killed his sister so that he would use his will for bloodshed to push forward his studies in the Hyomon Ken. "Kagero-san?"

"Nan desuka?" Kagero asked, her thoughts lost for the time being. She found the teen's saddened light blue eyes looking back at her.

"Meguri Kyoza..." Recca's mother noticed the bitterness in his voice as he said the name, "...killed oneechan so that I could learn the technique that has been the strongest force in my life. Would it be...irresponsible to continue using the Hyomon Ken after I learned it from the murderer of my sister?"

Kagero regared him with a small amount of shock. It was no secret that Mikagami Tokiya never revealed his feelings. Instead, hed cover them with a snobbish or sarcastic remark that would make people see him as a stuck up punk and nothing more. She had to admit that this was the first time she had seen true sorrow in his eyes. "Mika-- Tokiya-kun." She held back a grin as she saw his head rise at the name.

"Tokiya-kun, Meguri Kyoza...what he did to your sister is unforgivable. However, he's dead, and think of all the good the Hyomon Ken has done for the people who are now in your life. Koganei was not killed by Mokuren...the Hokage won the Ura Buto Satsujin which meant that you all got to keep your weapons and Yanagi-chan was not taken. Wouldn't you say that, besides the death of your sister, the Hyomon Ken has done more good than harm?"

"Yes, but--"

"I assume you remember Recca's fight against Kukai." Mikagami nodded, showing that he did. "Kukai was willing to let Recca kill him so that he would gain experience, harden his heart, and learn to be a killer so that he could win the Ura Buto Satsujin. Recca didn't choose this path, but if he had...don't you think he would have become a lot like you?"

The question was as blunt as any comment could be, and Kagero watched as the young man grimaced. Whether it was from his injury or her comment, she didnt know. "So...Meguri Kyoza believed, as Kai told me, that my revenge would drive me forward?"

Kagero shifted and cradled her face in her palm so that she could face the Hyomon Ken Master. "Hasn't it?" A nod. "Tokiya-kun, I can tell what you're thinking though I'm sure you don't want me to. What I believe is that you don't have to search for another cause to drive you forward now that your sister has been avenged. You already have one."

Mikagami regarded her momentarily before questioning, "What?" As he saw the gleam in her eye, he was pretty sure that he already knew the answer. "Them?"

"Aren't they?" Kagero asked him seriously. "Despite the fact that you regard them so cooly and try not to hold them close to you...aren't they your driving force now? Yanagi-chan? Fuuko-chan? Domon-kun? Koganei-kun? Maybe even my son?"

She didn't receive an answer, but this didn't bother her. In all honesty, Kagero hadn't been expecting one. After his sister's death, Mikagami had been constructing an emotional barrier around himself...nothing goes in and nothing goes out. Well, after a death that seems the most logical thing to do, but she had watched over the last few days since the Ura Buto Satsujin had begun...slowly, the wall had been cracking, and she was almost positive that with some persuasion and by having him spend most of his time with the group that his barrier would crumble completely and he would have to come right out and say that the Hokage was where he belonged.

Mikagami kept a quiet eye on Kagero, waiting until he was positive that she had drifted off to sleep. After she had, the Hyomon Ken Master looked up at the ceiling in quiet thought. What had she been talking about? The Hokage wasn't his driving force in life. As the realization of Meguri Kyoza's guilt had set in, Mikagami had to admit that he wondered what his life stood for anymore. Ever since he had joined with his sensei seven years ago, Mikagami's purpose in life had been to shed the blood of the man who was responsible for his sister's death. Now he knew that his training had been a waste...

...or had it? Kagero-san had a point. His Hyomon Ken had done much good. Yanagi was safe, Koganei had been freed, and every one of the Hokage members was alive and well. Thinking of Kagero's question one last time, Mikagami closed his confused blue eyes before folding his arms over his stomach loosely and letting out a deep sigh. "I...I guess they are." As he let the darkness claim him for the night, he didn't see Kagero's pleased smile from where she lay on the couch across from his.

Glittering moonlight shined through the window and touched his cherubic face gently, making him seem all the more angelic. Beautiful while awake, and a god at night. The figure twitched once in his sleep, a getle smile tugging his lips upward as he dreamt soundly, pleasant images in his mind.

Minamino Shuuichi, better known as Kurama, let one of his eyes slide open as he heard a knocking at his window, not pleased that his slumber had been interrupted. What the-- He felt a familiar brush of youki. It's one in the morning!

Turning sleepy emerald eyes towards the pane of glass, Kurama groaned as he saw Hiei sitting there, an annoyed expression on the Jaganshi's face. He reluctantly rolled from beneath his warm blankets and stumbled over to his window, opening it for Hiei who slid in and looked over his best friend's sleeping attire with amusement. "Hn. Polka dots?"

"It was all I had washed," Kurama mumbled, all the while wondering why the hell he was apologizing for the type of pajamas he had on. "Anyway, what are you doing here, Hiei? It's past midnight, and I have school tomorrow." The half-youko yawned, making his need for sleep apparent to the youkai.

"You don't have to go," Hiei offered. Seeing the cold expression he got in return, the Jaganshi snorted. "Right. It's a stupid ningen thing." Looking out the window from which he had entered, Hiei frowned as he remembered what had caused him to come here for shelter. "One of those annoying hooting animals was in your tree and I couldn't sleep," the youkai explained as he took off his black cloak revealing his standard black tank and pants.

Kurama couldn't help but grin. So, an owl had been making poor little Hiei frustrated. How cute. He snickered. This action only seemed to make Hiei more annoyed, and the half-youko finally calmed himself. "Why didn't you just move to another tree?"

Hiei gazed at him through crimson eyes, smirking before muttering, "You ask too many questions." Taking this as the best reply he was going to get, Kurama returned to his bed, climbed in, and growled as he realized that his covers were no longer warm. "Well, go to sleep. I'm not losing more of mine over you."

"Grumpy at night, aren't you?" Hiei voiced with a snicker as he leaned against the wall, taking the pillow that Kurama threw deliberately at his head and using it to get comfortable on the floor.

Kurama grinned at this. "Better than being grumpy all the time," he retorted smugly, green eyes sparkling.

Hiei growled. "Annoying kitsune." Kurama wanted to ask "why, if I'm annoying, didn't you just stay out with the owl?" but pushed down the urge and forced himself try and get back to sleep. He thought he heard a soft "Hn." from the youkai, but this was quickly gone from his mind as he let himself return to his slumber again.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Owari!
For now!
Bwahahahaha!!!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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