InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fuyu Yume ❯ Chapter 6: To Remember ( Chapter 6 )

A/n: After a long time missing I’m back and with an update at that! This chapter we get a peek into Kagome’s past. Hopefully the next chapter should be out soon! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don’t own a thing.

Summary:

They need her help to save him but first they must brave the treacherous mountains and the secrets they hold to get to her.

Pairing:

Kagome?

Kuwabara/Yukina

Warnings: There will be a few OC’s mentioned, like Kagome’s ‘companions’ and a few others. However there will be no pairings between OC’s and regular characters, since I don’t like doing that. There may be past relationships with OC’s for Kagome but that’s it. In addition there is: Swearing.

*Fuyu Yume*
By: Kage Otome (Shadow Maiden)

Chapter 6: To Remember

There was something magical about the night. She drew comfort from the darkness and quiet surrounding--the calm. But even she yearned for the sun,loathe as she was to admit it. The sun that would never shine down upon her and her lands--no--she was not graced with the presence of the sun. In her ‘world’ there was only night and a sad imitation of ‘day’ when they skies were a soft gray, barely worth being compared to the sun. But somehow this group reminded her distinctly of the sun, odd considering she hadn’t felt the sun in centuries, not since the time she had traveled among mortals. They had a warmth emanating from them that had nothing to do with body temperature.

It almost seemed as if they actually cared about the two injured members of their group. As if they weren’t together out of necessity and orders from their boss to heal their injured ‘teammate’.

‘How peculiar...’ Kagome thought, her lips pulled into a contemplative frown as her eyes traveled over their forms, the one called Yusuke and the ice maiden, Yukina in particular.

‘It’s almost like, they love him.’

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Yusuke sat with a frown tugging his roughly handsome features into an even more rugged look. He didn’t understand why Yukina couldn’t heal him, why Kurama didn’t know what kind of poison was used, why even Koenma couldn’t do anything for Kuwabara. Shoving a hand roughly through his hair he stared long and hard at Kuwabara’s limp form, pasty with sickness, his features drawn together and twisted as if in pain. Kuwabara was just getting worse, and his dip in the freezing lake didn’t do him any good either. Yusuke’s frown deepened, it almost physically hurt to see his friend in such a condition. It made him want to get up and slap Kuwabara awake, yell at him until he yelled back.

‘Is this what he felt like when I died?’ Yusuke felt a sharp stab of pain in his heart as he saw his best friends face contort again as his body spasmed with pain.

“C’mon Kuwabara...You still haven’t beaten me, ya kitten lovin’ oaf. Come back and kick my ass!” Yusuke whispered, head bowed as his hands clenched into fists, trying to hold back his tears.

“You can’t die, ya hear me? You can’t.”

“You better not, or I’ll go to Reikai and kick your ass! Ya hear me?”

“You won’t die, I won’t allow it.”

A few moment’s later Kurama rested a hand on Yusuke’s shoulder, causing the toushin to jerk his head up abruptly from where it had fallen slouched into his balled fists. Understanding filled his green eyes, as he looked into the reddish-brown eyes of Yusuke.

“It’ll be okay.”

Yusuke met Kurama’s eyes the determined glint clear in his eyes.

“Yeah.”

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Yukina’s eyes never strayed from Kuwabara. Not once. She had never really taken his advances seriously, even after Genkai and Kurama explained the intricacies of the human mating customs. She was after all a self-reproducing being, she did not need a male to reproduce, however taboo it was for a koorime to mate with a male, even more taboo was it to mate with a human male. They were not like the ice apparition tribe, though once upon a time they had actively mated with ice apparitions and lived among them, a few koorime women choose to stay with the ice apparitions and mate with them.

Ice apparitions (Koori) needed to mate with females to continue their line though those considered Koori were strictly male, while if females were born they were called Koorime. In the Koori bloodline, unlike the Koorime, if they mated with a female it did not matter the females race, because their blood would overpower the females, overtime changing any male children they may have to be completely Koori blood, this was not the same with Koorime however, who were engineered to breed on their own. If there was to be interference (mating with a male) then the resulting offspring would be genetically half koorime and half whatever the koorime mated with...That was how her brother Hiei was created (1).

Now she regretted her decision to disregard his advances as part of his personality and not really serious. Well she knew they were semiserious, but a part of her thought that maybe he’d grow out of his ‘crush’. It was apparent now, more clearly than ever, that his feelings for her were genuine. And that hiding behind her, whole self-reproducing koorime-ness, was not going to change her fondness and genuine love that had grown for this man and all his quirks. It had been drilled into her mind at a young age that this was wrong, what she was feeling, so she disregarded his feelings...so she tried to tell herself she wasn’t feeling warm and fuzzy and full of butterflies when he was around.

How foolish she was.

To deny him and herself what she had felt all along. The eagerness for his visits, the way that he blushed and tripped over himself to help her, the way he always managed to endear himself to her. The way he said her name and smiled goofily and adoringly at her. The way he made her heart stutter and stomach twist, the way he was so gentle, so understanding with her, and smiled so kindly at her, even when she made a mistake. Yukina laced her fingers with his, silent tears trailing down her face, falling to her lap with a soft ‘plink’ sound as they turned into priceless gems.

“I love you Kazuma...I do, I really do.”

And more tears fell from her eyes.

“And when you wake up, I’m going to tell it to you, show it to you over and over again, and I’m never going to pretend I don’t ever again, just please, Kazuma-kun, don’t leave me, I need you.”

She clutched his hand tighter, sobs wracking her petite body as she fell into a restless sleep curled up next to Kuwabara.

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Hiei ’s crimson orbs watched his sister, with an unidentifiable emotion that flickered through those dark orbs. He’d be the first to admit that Kuwabara wasn’t his favorite person, that he mostly thought him useless, though he had his moments. But there was a part that said Kuwabara was honorable and would take care of his sister as he’d already demonstrated. Some part of him knew that there would be no other that would take care of and love Yukina as well as Kuwabara. He was however conflicted as to how he felt about that particular bit of information.

Yukina was the most important thing in the world to him. And it ate at him that he hadn’t been there to protect her. He had come to accept Kuwabara’s being there for Yukina in a rather odd mix of anger, respect and gratitude.

And maybe...Kuwabara wasn’t so bad.

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The group began moving again as soon as the dark skies lightened to a slate gray, and they could see where they were going. After the first two hours of trekking through the sparse amount of tree’s they came to an abrupt halt at a large chasm, that would prove to be very difficult to get across. Yusuke swore colorfully as Jin’s attempt to fly across the chasm proved useless, as a large gust of snow blew him back. It appeared this was another one of those tests. Mentally, Yusuke vowed, when he met this Fuyu whatever he was going to give her a piece of his mind..maybe his fist.

Jin frowned.

“Manthislassiesurelikestomakethingsdifficult.” ; (Man, this lassie sure likes to make things difficult.) Jin muttered, blue eyes dark with annoyance.

Touya spoke, “It is part of her defenses. According to what Eiki-sama used to speak of, she put these defenses in place, to discourage and destroy all those who would seek to abuse her power. Many would come to her in hopes of her performing miracles, and seeing that she could, would begin to try and manipulate her to do more. Power is addictive, and these steps were necessary to insure only those that truly needed and wanted to get to her, with the purest intentions could get through.”

“Maybe...if we ask her?” Yukina questioned cautiously.

“LET US PASS!” Yusuke bellowed loudly, his voice echoing.

Above them, Kagome raised a brow as a small amused smile made its way onto her face.

“Well...I guess that didn’t wor---Aaah!”

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“--Aaaaahhhhh!!!!”

“Oomph.”

Sounds of struggling were heard as the members of the entourage dedicated to saving Kuwabara struggled to their feet. The standard checking to make sure everyone and everything was as it should be commenced followed by a groan of pain coming from the very unfortunate Yusuke Urameshi, who had hit rock bottom, quite literally, first, and padded the way for well, everyone else. Blinking it was rather difficult to orient himself to the pitch black of the cave, he couldn’t see even 6 inches in front of his face, even with his youkai vision. Standing he took a step forward, right into a wall.

“Fuck!” He cursed rubbing his sore nose.

“It seems somehow we’ve fallen into an underground cave.” Kurama said.

“No shit sherlock.” Yusuke replied one hand rubbing his nose the other trying to get some feeling back into his undoubtedly bruised butt.

Hiei summoned a flame to his hand to light the way, that is if there had been a way to get out, not only had the top closed up but the entire underground cave seemed to be completely enclosed. The flame dimly lit the ‘room’ up, casting shadows everywhere, making the already skittish group, on edge. After all it wasn’t that comfortable staying in such a small enclosed space, with no exit whatsoever to speak of.

“Hey, what’s that?” The slowly recovering Rinku asked pointing weakly at something on one of the cave ‘walls’.

“It looks like tally markings, to keep track of a score or something.”

“Um...guys?” Yukina’s voice sounded shaky.

They turned to look at the only female of their group concerned, only to see the pasty expression on her face, as she pointed at something just beyond the light’s reach. Hiei extended his hand out further, coaxing the flame larger, illuminating the previously shadowed area, drawing out a sharp inhalation from the other group members.

Bones.

Many, many bones.

Humanoid in shape.

“Well, fuck.” The every eloquent Yusuke said.

Well fuck, indeed.

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“ ;I wonder, if they will find their way out, or suffer the fate of those before them.” Kagome mused to herself, eyes light and full of curiosity. There hadn’t been a group before them that had intrigued her as much. Not even Mithrial. Light blue, almost white eyes dimmed at the name, a pang of pain in her heart startled her. Kagome placed a slender hand against her chest, over her heart, closed her eyes and let the memories pour over her mind.

Flashback

“Mithrial, Mithrial!” A younger Kagome called, cheeks ruddy with exertion as the 5 year old looking Kagome ran around looking for her companion and best friend. Pink lips pulled into a childish pout of frustration at being unable to find him, her dark hair lightened to a pale beautiful silvery-white color as her power poured from her body into the air around her searching for the devious wolf-pup.

A indignant bark echoed throughout the air as Kagome’s snow pushed the startled wolf-pup from his hiding place into the open. Kagome’s eyes light up with delight, her hair darkening back to the inky blue-black as her power receded back into her body. She grinned at the irate wolf-pup who’d been her playmate ever since she could walk. Mithrial had been born to the white wolf pack just a few months before her. Then she’d been born, her mother residing with their pack, they’d been inseparable ever since.

“Kagome! That wasn’t fair!” Mithrial said, shifting to human form, his disheveled white hair sticking up at all angles, a scowl on his face. He looked every bit the angry boy, except for the twinkle in his violet eyes.

“I don’t know what your talking about...” Kagome started off innocently enough before she yelled, “Race you to the den!” and took off, Mithrial hot on her heels.

End Flashback

A wistful smile overtook Kagome’s face as she remembered the trouble she and Mithrial had gotten into as children. As they grew older though, their duties separated them for years. Mithrial had become leader of the pack while a teenager in wolf years, due to his parents early demise at the hands of a rival wolf pack. As he grew older, Mithrial had gained more territory and been worshiped as a sort of God by certain peoples. Especially those that had looked to him for protection and leadership, and even more so those that had seen his battle prowess, those that had feared him.

And she had traveled the lands offering her aid where it was needed. She had tried her best to do good, to believe in the goodness in people, of all races. Mithrial had found her after about 500 years of separation, after he passed the duties of the pack onto his younger brother. He had done his job, but the pain of his dearest friend called to him. They met up with each other and ended up traveling for some years, before they returned to Japan weary from their travels, Kagome’s heart heavy with the findings she’d made of the majority of humans, things Mithrial had already known and tried to tell her. But Kagome was if anything stubborn in her beliefs. She had always had a strange fascination with humans even as a child.

But then she witnessed first hand what humans had done and continued to do all the while condemning youkai and other beings. Youkai and other beings weren’t what she’d call perfect either but there are lines that they don’t cross. Youkai don’t pretend to be your friend before stabbing you in the back, they just try to kill you in the first place after all youkai are ‘bad’ by nature, Kagome thought of Mithrial, but some youkai they can be just as bad if not worse than humans. Her father had informed her at a young age that demons balanced out the holy beings, even angels that had once roamed the earth plentifully and humans were the neutral force, going either way.

Kagome had returned to Japan and with Mithrial’s aid built her mountain home, claiming her territory and offering her protection to the village of humans at the base of her mountains. Kagome thought, ‘there are some humans, who aren’t so bad’. A sigh tore itself from her throat as her light blue eyes opened, Mithrial had been her greatest friend and confidant for so long...his betrayal was unexpected, biting and horribly painful. They had been lovers, yes, but above all else they were friends, the best of friends, so him, trying to kill her for what had been entrusted to her, instilled in her a pain that she had never before felt.

Kagome’s eyes darkened as her memories returned to a young hanyou and his miko. This miko, Kikyo had guarded the infamous Shikon no Tama for the majority of her life, until the day she died, defending it from the one she thought was Inuyasha, but in actuality was Naraku, a being who had started off as a human, Onigumo, but gave his soul in exchange for power and becoming what he was, a hanyou, with shape shifting capabilities. Both Inuyasha and Kikyo fell that day, tricked by Naraku into believing the other betrayed them, Kikyo to death, Inuyasha to an eternal sleep.

The Shikon had reemerged when a young woman, an untrained miko, fell through the Bone Eater’s well, taking her through time, back to the Sengoku Jidai, 50 years after Kikyo’s death. And the young miko’s journey began. After shattering the Jewel that had been torn from her side, she and the hanyou, Inuyasha, whom she freed from the Goshinboku in which he was pinned to, in an attempt to save her life scoured the lands searching for fragments of the jewel, gaining allies and enemies along the way.

It had pained Kagome to watch as the young girl, the reincarnation of Kikyo fall in love with Inuyasha. She knew it had been a doomed love from the start. Especially when Kikyo was brought back to life in a clay body, not truly living, but not truly dead. In Inuyasha’s heart, Kikyo would always be first. In her own way, Kagome pitied all of them, witnessing first hand how the Shikon wove it’s spell of pain and destruction.

In the end it came down to a single moment, that would decide the outcome of this great and terrible battle three years in the making between Naraku and the young miko’s group. Neither side was to win. It is the law of the world--balance. There cannot be a great evil without their being a great good. All the world comes in pairs, men and women, right and wrong, good and evil, health and sickness, it’s all about balance. The outcome of the battle was to be this---both Naraku and the young miko were to perish, the Shikon vanishing with their demise, never to be seen by mortal eyes again.

But she was no mortal.

The Shikon caused death and destruction wherever it was, the thirst mortals had for power was endless. Granted not all humans were like this, just many. After all, given the opportunity to have almost limitless power and one wish, any wish, how many do you really believe would turn that opportunity down? Whenever the Shikon had surface the only thing it truly brought was great death, so the Kami had decided that instead of condemning any great number of lives to death by bestowing the Shikon to another mortal they would give it to a neutral god and or demigod to protect. In the end the choice was between Koenma and Kagome.

After witnessing some rather interesting events in Reikai where several powerful objects were stolen (2), the Kami came to their decision. Kagome’s home was the ultimate defense, nobody ever stole from her. Kagome would guard the Shikon no Tama until the Kami decided otherwise. She took her responsibilities seriously establishing other defenses and safeguards just in case. Mithrial had helped her in this, and him turning around and trying to steal it was surprising. The pain in her heart she had felt was unparalleled, but she had her duty to protect what was entrusted to her. So she did--she fought him, and barely managed to hold him off before evoking the spell that would banish him from her mountains.

Bloody and pained, that had been the first and last time Kagome cried.

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(1) The whole thing about the Koori is made up by me, except the Koorime who are self reproducing they have a female child every 100 years or something like that (which belongs the plot made by Togashi Yoshihiro). I am also aware that Hiei and Yukina are twins, perhaps Hina had become pregnant with Yukina (it was her 100th year) the same day she mated with Hiei’s father, thus having twins, or something else, this is all murky so I just made some other stuff up. I also speculated that maybe if Koorime mate with a male that their offspring from said mating would be male. Anyway, yeah...Sorry if that was confusing.

(2) Yes I am talking about when Kurama, Hiei and Gouki stole the Forlorn Hope, Shadow Sword and Orb of Baast.

A/n: And that’s the sixth chapter, questions, comments, concerns?