<Part 4>

  The park was nice and cool in the shade and perfect in the sun. It was a beautiful day and lots of families had taken the opportunity to enjoy it.

 Yuusuke found a nice shaded spot beside the pond to put the picnic basket and Keiko spread out the blanket as Anja handed Keiko her camera and climbed up the tree they were under in an attempt to talk Hiei out of it. Kurama and Kuronue sat one the blanket snickering at Koenma's teenage form, still sucking on his pacifier, and at Kuwabara's nervous behavior around Yukina. All and all the fierce Reikai Tantai  looked just  like a bunch of kids having a day of fun.

 "Come join us Hiei."

 "No."

 "Please?"

 "No."

 "But if you just. . ."

 "No."

 "You didn't hear what I. . ."

 "No."

 "Hiei. . ."

 "No."

 Anja growled in frustration, "Kurama Help me here!" She called down to her
brother.

 "Hiei please. . ."

 "No."

 "Would you just. . ."

 "No."

 "What are you? A recording?"

 "Yes."

 Kurama gave up, laughed, and stretched out to gaze up at her, "You're on your own."

 "Fine then." Anja said sticking out her tongue at her brother. Then she got an idea.  "Hiiieeeiii" She said in a singsong voice."

 "Hn." He looked at her with a little concern but just as he raised his eyes Anja pounced, knocking them both out of the tree and landing across Kurama and Kuronue.

 "Gotcha." She grinned and ducked as Hiei reached for her.

 Kuwabara rushed into the wrestling match and Yuusuke followed. Soon Anja was in the middle of an all out war.
 Canon sat on Yukina's shoulder signing cheers to Anja and Kuronue.
 Anja grinned at Keiko and made a quick gesture and the girl smiled and started snapping pictures.

 Hiei caught Anja around the waist and tossed her into the water unwillingly falling in right after her. Her laughter flooded the park. The two of the wrestled in the water for a little while as the fight on land calmed down and Yukina called the magic words, "The food is all ready and set."

 In a blink the blanket was mobbed by the hungry group.

 "Hiei! Anja!" Koenma cried, "you two are dripping all over the place!"

 "Hn." Hiei flicked some water at the disturbed Godling.

 Anja snickered and did the same.

 "Hiei! Don't encourage her!" Kurama shouted, "Anja don't do what Hiei
does!"

 They ignored him and kept tormenting ‘Jr' as Anja had started calling him.

 Kurama sighed.

 Anja had insisted on a watermelon which was a huge mess and a pain but also
was one of the ningen girls favorite foods. She and Canon instantly reached for it and Kuronue laughed, "You have to share that you know."

 "AHMROW." Anja said with her mouth already full of the juicy red fruit.

 "Huh?" Koenma asked.

 "She knows." All of the boys answered simultaneously.

 Anja nodded and swallowed. "You don't have to remind me." She wiped off Canon's mouth which was covered in melon juice.

 "Well I've seen you wolf down whole melons before." the youko snickered.

 "How do you stay so thin and eat so much?" Yuusuke asked right before
Keiko bonked him in the head.

 "Watermelon isn't fattening." Anja shrugged.

 "Where do you put it all?" Yukina asked innocently.

 Anja smirked, "Hollow leg."

 "Huh?!"

 "She's joking Yukina-chan." Kuwabara smiled.

 "Oh."

 Anja looked up from the group and her eyes were drawn to a boy standing
alone watching them from under a near by tree. "Shura?"

 "SHURA!?!" Yuusuke and Kuwabara jumped to defense.

 "Oi, Shura-chan! Dude!" Anja called jumping to her feet and walking to the
lone figure, "Come join us."

 "WHAT!" Kuwabara and Yuusuke face vaulted.

 "They're friends." Kurama said smiling at them as they walked back to the
blanket and sat down. "I think it's cute."

 Anja wrinkled her nose at her brother, "Everything I do you think is ‘cute'.
Ne Kuro-chan?"
 

 "She's right Kurama." Kuronue teased.

 Hiei gave an affirmative, "Hn."

 "Oi Shura!  I love your turban!" Anja giggled.

 "Covers my horns." He said truthfully.

 "What would you like to eat Shura?" Yukina asked politely.

 "I don't eat ningen food." Shura said softly, almost shy.

 "Ne you just eat ningen!" Yuusuke accused.

 Shura shrugged, "Youkai also."

 Anja looked at Shura with slight concern, "Do you drink blood?"

 "Yes. It is very. . . filling."

 She pulled out her boot knife and cut her left palm then put her hand palm
up in front of Shura as she picked up another slice of watermelon with her right
hand. "There."

 The whole group looked stunned at Anja.

 She winked at the surprised Youkai, "Just don't drink to much. A pint is fine
though."

 Shura smiled at her warmly and took her palm to his lips, drinking the blood
that collected there.

 "Gross!" Kuwabara gagged.

 "So?" Anja questioned, "I think eating meat is gross but I don't comment
when you do."

 That initiated a turning point in the groups focus and, for Anja's sake, they accepted Shura as one of them. The youkai had never felt such love surrounding a group of ningen and youkai before. It was a nice feeling. Family.
 

 Yomi watched his son from the shade near by. Out of sight to the foolish child. He was angry with his son for joining the human's to eat and surprised when Anja offered her blood for Shura's drink. Baka Shura, never get too close to a human. They will hurt you. The demon growled and went back to the Makai, resolving to have a long talk with his son when he got home.
 

 Anja finished off her tenth piece of watermelon and Shura looked up from her hand intrigued, "How do you fit so much inside you?"

 Yukina smiled and replied for Anja, "She has a wooden leg!"

 Anja stared for a moment then burst out laughing. "S. . . sorry, but that's. . .
ahaha. . . that's ‘hollow leg' ‘kina."

 "You're leg is hollow?" Shura asked shocked.

 Anja shook her head, "It's just a joke baka." She giggled and placed Shura's
hands on her legs, "See, both real."

 Shura blushed and yanked his hands away but nodded.

 The blush made Anja's smile wider. She looked down at her palm, "Hey! The
cut is gone!"

 Shura nodded, "Our saliva has a powerful healing agent in it."

 "Cool!"

 They all settled into nice cuddling and conversation. Anja, Shura, and
Kuronue all curled up on the grass together as Anja nursed her eleventh piece of
watermelon and Kuronue teased her for it.

 "Hey it's good!" She grinned, "At least I don't gulp down whole pies!"

 Kuronue blushed, "that was just one time."

 Kurama started to laugh, "You ate a whole pie by yourself?"

 Anja snickered, "It was Thanksgiving and he was in ningen form over at our
house."

 The ningen/youko grimaced, "There were so many pies out I thought it was one for each person. How was I to know about ningen customs?"

 She traced her finger over his abdominal and grinned, "It was cute though."

 He grimaced at the memory. "Well at least I don't do it constantly." He gestured to the almost empty plate before him.

 Anja grinned, "But it's a fun food." She grinned, "Love the seeds. . ."

 Kuronue looked at Koenma and snickered, hiding his face behind Anja.

 "What? Yipes!" Koenma yelped as he caught a watermelon seed on his forehead. When he opened his mouth to protest, another found it's way inside. "Why you. . .!"

 Anja sprang up and ran from the angry god upsetting her Chibiera who once again flew to Yukina for protection, and Kurama just laughed. "That ningen!"

 The rest of the gang couldn't help but join in on it and soon the war had started again. They were all shocked when Anja grabbed them to her and turned them toward the blanket. When Keiko snapped a picture of them though, they caught on to what she had been doing.

 "You planned that!" Kuwabara gasped.

 "Well, how else would I have gotten all of you to pose for Keiko huh?"

 Five sets of eyes focused on the camera and Anja snatched it up quickly and
ran, "Oh no you don't, I'm getting this developed!"

 "Get ‘er." Yuusuke said.

 With an EEP Anja was off running, Shura was by her side in an instant,
"What did you do to anger them?"

 Anja smiled as she ran, "Relax Shura, it's a game."

 "Game?"

 "You know, fun." She smiled as she reached a one hour photo place and hurried inside, "Don't you think Hiei would have caught me by now if it was real?"

 Shura looked relieved and Anja laughed.

 "May I help you?"

 "Yes." She smiled, "Could you develop this in an hour four me?"

 The store keeper nodded then turned to the shop window, "Do you need some ‘help'?"

 Anja turned and laughed, "Ah! No! Those are my chibi-nissans!"

 "All of them!"

 "Well that one is my Koibito."

 "And this one?" He pointed to Shura.

 "He is my Koibito too."

 Shura and the man both blushed and the shop keeper retreated with a comment on American morals.

 Anja laughed and went out to greet her friends.

 "I better get a copy of those." Yuusuke and Kuwabara laughed.

 "Why? What else was on that roll?" Anja asked.

 The two ran back toward the park snickering.

 "Guys! Yuu-chan! Kuwa-chan! What did you do?!" Anja ran after them.

 Kurama and Kuronue exchanged looks and Hiei just grunted. Shura walked
back to the park with them, a little confused. "Are they always like this?"

 "Most of the time." Kurama nodded, "At least around Anja, she seems to
bring out their insane sides."

 "Insanity breeds insanity." Kuronue laughed, "But her's is a wonderful
insanity. Ne Shura?"

 Shura nodded as he watched he retreating back.

 Kurama looked at the three just as Anja caught them "Anja! Matte! Yuusuke
stop that! Kuwabara!" He ran to aid his friends. Hiei and Shura followed.

 Just before Anja caught up to the two a light flashed around her. The last here friends heard of her was a high pitched scream, "Kuronue! Shura! Niisans!"

 "Anja!" They all gathered around where the light had been but there was no trace of anything.

 "Who would want to. . .?" Keiko asked Yuusuke, worried for her new friend.

 "It has to be Youkai." He growled.

 "But who?! All of the Youkai Anja knows she befriends!"

 Shura shook his head and shivered in the warm autumn sun, "Not all."

 Kurama and Kuronue froze, "Yomi!"
 
 

~tbc~

this next one will contain my first lemon scenes so go easy when you read it, ne?

C&C. . . blah blah blah. . . you know what to do.
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Raihne