The Key

First Fight

Riane sighed, having no desire to focus on school. It all seemed to trivial, now that she knew what was expected of her. She had to complete her task, and make sure that this world did not get destroyed. How she was going to do that, she knew she would find out in time. Hell, she spent so much time thinking about it, she wasn't even scared anymore. Besides, she had to think about who could be a possible enemy, which was anyone here. Once she had finally been able to sense Hiei around, she no longer needed training. She was kind of grateful for that, but she knew they were really waiting until she fought in a real situation, not just someone trying to get her to become stronger. There was however, only one demon at this school, and she knew who he was, so there was no need to worry about such things.

As time progressed, she only felt detached from herself more and more. She knew that finding out the mistakes of the past would help them figure out the future, and what was to come. She, however, had not been to any of their meetings for their plan of action, but she was going to invade one, and then probably ask Yusuke what happened last time. She knew Kurama would be the best, but the loss of his mate made it a touchy subject, and she wasn't going to let him dwell further into pain because of it. He had done nothing but try to help her, and she wasn't going to show her appreciation by bringing up such a depressing moment, even though the temple was good enough to let him wallow.

Yes, Riane could see his emotions, despite his best efforts to hide them. The two of them got along well, and her only hope was that she was able to comfort some of the pain. She couldn't explain the attraction she had to him, but she knew that it was a good thing. his intelligence really astonished her, and she wanted nothing more than to solve this case and be done with it. What's more, Kurama seemed to have this way about him that made her submit. No matter how much she wanted to argue, she would listen to him, and only him. She didn't understand why that was, it was never like that before, but it was there.

But that wasn't what needed her attention, it was the matter at hand. As her class ended, she started walking away, no destination clear in her mind. She knew Kurama had already left, and was happy that she was finally able to wander without an escort. She had taken to thinking on her own, but this was the first time she'd be able to walk by herself and become consumed in her own world of thoughts.

...

"So what's the plan then?" asked Kuwabara. They were all sitting in the dojo, regrouping from the last meeting they had.

"Continue to observe until they make a move. It would be foolish to go charging in until we have a clear view of their objective," said Kurama.

"Makes sense, have you figured out that prophecy thing yet?" asked Yusuke.

"No, it seems unclear. The beginning is straight forward. When the moons shine becomes dark was when the eclipse took place, and the time of despair was the panic it caused by how long it lasted. The rest of it is completely obscure, and has no sense of time."

"Wouldn't the chosen one be S-" Kuwabara was cut off.

"No. It speaks of the chosen one completing a second and third task... Riane is the one it speaks of, the chosen one, the key. I cannot make out who the one with the pure heart is, nor the nightwalker and his curse."

"So if that's the case, then Riane still has to complete a first task before the other two," said Genkai.

"Yes. The prophecy is as useless to us now as it was never knowing it. Riane does not know her focus, but she believes she will when the time is right."

"Yeah, I remember someone telling me about people being guided by destiny or something like that. I think it was..." But Yusuke looked at Kurama and then dropped the subject.