InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Commitments Made In Blood ❯ Chapter 18

Commitments Made In Blood

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or YYH no matter how much I wish otherwise.

 

 

Chapter 18

 

 

 

Aside from the occasional whimper Kagome showed no real signs of the fact that she was dreaming. He continued to hold her as she slept, wondering what it was she was dreaming of. This would certainly be one of those times that Hiei's Jagan would come in handy, however he wasn't about to find him to ask him to invade her mind. He wasn't curious enough to invite someone who he was unsure of his attentions towards his mate to go rummaging around in her head. Not to mention the invasion of privacy issue, if she found out he was certain she would be livid.

 

 

He could always ask her about it later, if it was important she would tell him. She trusted him, or at least she had. Now he wasn't so sure since she had become aware of what he had needed to do. It might take her some time to get back to where she had been at with her comfort level of him. He could wait.

 

 

`She'll come around Youko.'

 

 

`I hope you are right.'

 

 

`I am, trust me on this. If she was going to turn us away she would have already done so.'

 

 

`Normally I would agree but you're forgetting she doesn't know about `us' yet remember?'

 

 

`Yes, that is a rather glaring detail but I still don't think you have to worry so much about it.'

 

 

 

Whatever Youko might have said in return never came for there was a knock on the door. Who in the hell would be coming to their house? They didn't have many visitors as of late, everyone knew of how Kurama enjoyed his privacy. So that narrowed the possibilities down greatly.

 

`Let me out Youko, I'll answer the door.'

 

 

`Nope. Depending on who it is will depend on whether we even answer it or not. I'm not in the mood to deal with visitors.'

 

 

`Don't I know that? Remember I can feel every emotion that comes off of you. However we can't stay secluded away forever and you know it.'

 

 

`We can try.'

 

 

Carefully Youko eased Kagome off of his lap where she had migrated to and settled her head against the pillow gently. He covered her with the blanket as the knocking came again louder this time. Whoever it was, was starting to piss him off with their impatience. He left the bedroom leaving the door open. He wanted to be able to hear her if she started to awaken.

 

 

Extending his senses he identified the visitors long before he made it to the front door. Growling softly he opened the door just as Yusuke was going to knock again, his fist already descending to meet the wood of the door which was no longer there. Youko reached up and snatched his hand as it came down and held it in a tight grip.

 

 

Surprise was evident on Yusuke's face as well as Kuwabara's and Keiko's. They very rarely ever saw this side of Kurama, and whenever they did usually it wasn't under good circumstances. Yusuke being the arrogant guy he normally was took one look at the kitsune and decided he wanted answers as to why Kurama had slipped his leash. Without waiting for an invitation he walked past Youko and into the foyer ignoring the growl he heard.

 

 

Keiko rolled her eyes at her boyfriends antics, she was quite used to his rudeness after all these years but it didn't mean she had to like it. They would have a talk later on. Truthfully she wasn't certain that she even wanted to be there at the moment considering who it was who had answered the door. Youko's presence made her slightly nervous since she had not seen him that often. His presence alone was enough to make anyone nervous to tell you the truth. However when he invited her in as well as Kuwabara she couldn't exactly refuse. It would be impolite.

 

 

Youko shut the door behind Kuwabara and moved further into the house wondering why exactly they were here. After removing their shoes they followed him into the living room. He looked at them expectantly. Yusuke didn't waste any time in getting directly to the point.

 

 

“Why are you out?”

 

 

Youko's eyes narrowed, Yusuke's attitude had always grated on his nerves to some degree. He did not appreciate the disrespect the guy directed towards him and if it had been anyone else he would not have hesitated to teach him the manners he so obviously lacked. Keiko beat him to it though when she slapped him in the back of the head in reprimand.

 

 

“Dammit Keiko don't fucking hit me so hard.”

 

 

“You needed it Yusuke.”

 

 

“Indeed Detective, what we do in our own home is no concern of yours. What are you doing here?”

 

 

Yusuke scowled at the kitsune who was basically refusing to answer his question. He was the leader of this group wasn't he? Last time he checked he was anyway so didn't that mean that he should get the answers he wanted? Youko however wasn't about to answer to him at this particular time. He had nothing against the detective aside from a dislike of his manners. Besides if he answered him one question would lead to others and Yusuke might go to Koenma with the knowledge he gained. He wanted to be able to be the one to go to Koenma, well, his human counterpart anyway. He himself had no desire to sit and speak with the Demigod at this point.

 

 

“Kurama up and disappears for damn near a week and no one had seen hide nor hair of him. We were worried dammit!”

 

 

“We're touched Yusuke however as you can see there is no need to have worried. We are just fine.”

 

 

Kuwabara watched the verbal match that was going on and wisely stayed out of it. He had no desire to piss off the kitsune who was considerably more volatile than his human counterpart. Now why he didn't practice that same theory with Hiei whenever he was around was anyone's guess. However these was another reason he was being silent at this particular time. His senses were screaming at him that there was something unfamiliar in Kurama's home. Something extremely powerful. He wasn't sure if it was friendly or not and it set him on edge. He wasn't sure why the others hadn't sensed it. Did Youko even know there was something strange in his house?

 

 

Yusuke certainly hadn't noticed it he was too busy being pissy with Youko and Keiko didn't have any spiritual awareness. So Kuwabara took it upon himself to investigate the strange presence he felt. However Youko noticed the fact that Kuwabara was leaving, and not in a direction he approved of. He would not allow Kagome to be disturbed by them.

 

 

“Kuwabara it doesn't concern you.”

 

 

Unfortunately this gained Yusuke's attention off of the fact that Youko was the dominant force in his friends body. Seeing the Direction Kuwabara had taken he narrowed his eyes. He had been heading toward Kurama's bedroom, which was totally unlike him to do. He wouldn't be surprised if Youko indeed had a lady friend there but why would Kuwabara be interested in finding her? The bedroom door was open, however it was dark in there and they couldn't see if there was indeed someone in there.

 

 

However the kind of energy Yusuke felt radiating from the room gave him a start. If felt partially like Youko's but it was mostly of an origin other than demonic. What the hell was in the room and why was Youko determined to keep it a secret?

 

 

“Spill it Kitsune I want to know what the hell is going on here.”

 

 

“You tread on dangerous ground detective. Do not presume to order me around in my own home. My business is my own.”

 

 

Yusuke ignored the danger signs that Youko was sending out. It hadn't progressed to the growling and threatening stage yet but it could rapidly become so. Until Kurama had the chance to talk to Koenma then he considered Yusuke and Kuwabara a threat. With the mindset Kagome was in if she saw something as a threat to her, the power contained within her might lash out at the perceived threat. And knowing Yusuke he would attack first and ask questions later.

 

 

Yusuke had started towards the bedroom intent on finding out what the kitsune was hidng. Youko immedietly barred the doorway growling. If possible the kitsune had somehow become much more intimidating. Unfortunately Yusuke was not going to allow the Fox to make him back down. It might have gotten ugly if it hadn't been for the timely arrival of the last member of the group.

 

 

Hiei came in through the balcony having felt the rising energy as the two faced off. Under normal circumstances he might have watched with interest until they wore themselves out. However at this point in time it would cause more trouble than it was worth and he didn't feel like being caught in the middle of the war that would happen if the two got into it and then had to be drug into Koenma's office to explain why they were fighting.

 

 

“That's enough Detective.”

 

 

Yusuke's gaze swung over to Hiei for a moment. So the fire Apparition was in on whatever this secret was as well. This news did not please him at all. He would get answers out of one of them come hell or high water. Keiko watched the three of them nervously. Something huge was obviously going on but she'd be damned if she knew what it was.

 

 

“Someone is going to tell me what the fuck is going on and they are going to tell me now.”

 

 

Youko's ears swiveled back toward the bedroom when he heard Kagome stirring in the room. If she wasn't awake yet with all of the noise she would be shortly. It was time for his “guests” to leave.

 

 

Hiei knew he wanted them gone and would help him out this time. But Youko was going to have to figure something out soon, Yusuke would not be put off so easily. He knew he would be back and when he did he was going to want answers.

 

 

“Fine Yusuke, come with me.”

 

 

They turned to follow Hiei out the front door but Yusuke turned at the last minute and stared hard at Youko for a moment.

 

 

“If Hiei won't answer my questions you can be certain I'm coming back. And I expect Kurama to be back in charge next time.”

 

 

His only response was a growl that he heard long after he had shut the door and walked down to the sidewalk. Youko was pissed, who was Yusuke to demand which of the two of them were in charge at a given time? If Kurama didn't need to maintain a good working relationship with him he would have put him in his place the moment he stepped through the door.

 

 

`That could have gone better.'

 

 

`Your friend has a death wish Red.'

 

 

`You can't kill him Youko and you know it. Koenma wouldn't stand for it and besides Yusuke is my friend.'

 

 

`How you tolerate him I will never know. He had better learn his place, especially concerning my mate. She is not his concern. At least not yet anyway.'

 

 

`You're forgetting that eventually she will be `our' mate Youko. And since we still have to work with Yusuke she's going to come into contact with him at some point. You are going to have to learn to tolerate his presence around her.'

 

 

`I know it Red, it doesn't make it any easier.'

 

 

`I understand your possessive Youko but don't you think you are carrying it a bit too far?'

 

 

`Absolutely not. You consider the condition we found her in. Do you want to risk something like that happening to her again? Besides we have yet to complete the entire bonding ritual. I'm not aware of any process that can reverse the process we have started but that does not mean it does not exist. Until it's completed I'm not going to let other males around her.'

 

 

`Perhaps we should worry about this another time. I think she is awake.'

 

 

Indeed she was, in fact she had heard the majority of the confrontation that had happened in the living room and it worried her. She had felt the power of the one who had been determined to come and see her and it worried her. She felt the demonic energy he had, although it was clear to her that he wasn't a full demon, nor a hanyou. Still, it concerned her someone so powerful would take in interest in her. And the fact that Kurama was determined that he was not coming in just reaffirmed her fears regarding this Yusuke fellow.

 

 

She was extremely glad when they left, Hiei had come in through her window and had startled her. He didn't even bother to acknowledge her presence as he darted past her. But now they were all gone, with the exception of Kurama. She wondered if he was going to come back into the bedroom. Part of the conversation concerned her, what had he meant by `He expected Kurama to be back in charge?' Wasn't he in charge now? Or did it have something to do with the scene she had walked in on earlier where he felt like two different people?

 

 

She was brought out of her reflections on the days events by movement at the door. She looked up and once again was struck by how handsome he was. Her heart twisted once more when she thought of the resemblances between him and Inuyasha. But Inuyasha had told her to move on. She didn't know if she could or not, but for him she would try and do as he asked. She managed a weak smile at him which he returned to her. He left his expression unguarded when they were alone, she could see every emotion play across his features. She could see the devotion that Inuyasha had spoke of in his eyes.

 

 

He crossed the room and sat on the bed next to her. They were both certain she had heard part of what was going on. She had questions, and they were certain they knew what those questions were.

 

 

“How are you feeling Kagome?”

 

 

“Okay I guess, alittle tired. Is everything okay? I heard someone yelling.”

 

 

“That was just Yusuke. He's always yelling about something.”

 

 

“He didn't feel… normal.”

 

 

“Yusuke is anything but normal, you'll get used to him eventually.”

 

Kagome looked at Youko sharply. She wasn't at all certain she wanted to get used to this guy. He seemed dangerous, and she had enough danger as it was in her life. She wanted no part of adding anything more to it. Little did she know she really had no choice in the matter. Fate had chosen the path she had been set to walk and like it or not Yusuke and the others were going to be a part of that path.

 

 

“What did he mean?”

 

 

He knew immedietly what she was referring to. The time had come to explain exactly what they were and hope that she could accept them. Shuichi still felt that while she may be surprised that she wouldn't turn them away. If she could love a hanyou, a person who was accepted by neither the human world nor the demon world then certainly she could come to love an avatar such as themselves. Youko wasn't so sure but it wasn't something that they could keep hidden from her.

 

 

`I suppose it's time to tell you exactly what we are.”

 

 

“We?”

 

 

***************************************************************** *****

 

 

Yusuke stormed out of Kurama's house quietly followed by the others. He couldn't understand what in the world would possess Kurama to allow Youko out. He himself had said on numerous occasions that allowing the kitsune out could bring problems. Youko had no problem ignoring human customs and that could cause problems.

 

 

It was a well known fact that if he saw something he had no problems taking what he desired. It didn't matter if it was jewelry, money, or something else entirely. Youko's sexual appetite was very well developed and he had no problems seducing anyone he found attractive. That could cause problems considering that the majority of humans were no longer aware of the existence of demons. That was why whenever Youko was let out he had been under the assumption it was always in the Makai and never in the human realm. Apparently he had been mistaken and it was not something he enjoyed knowing.

 

 

Once they had gotten a sufficient distance from Kurama's house he turned to Hiei. The expression on the fire demon's face only served to infuriate him. It was one of bored indifference, as if it was no big deal about the fact that Youko Kurama, the most feared Makai thief was loose and involving himself in God knows what. For crying out loud once he had felt the energy in the room it had made his own skin tingle.

 

 

“Spill it Hiei, you know what's going on don't you.”

 

 

“I do.”

 

 

“So tell me what you know.”

 

 

“It's not my place to tell you.”

 

 

“Fuck Hiei if you don't tell me what is going on then I'm going to Koenma. I may not like dealing with the toddler but this is Kurama we are talking about. If he's involving himself in something dangerous then the rest of the team needs to know about it.”

 

 

Hiei knew that Yusuke was serious. He wasn't the leader of the team for no reason. Unfortunately for Youko his secret was going to come out sooner or later and it wasn't Yusuke's place to be the one to bring it to Koenma's attention. He'd have to give the Detective the information he wanted, or at least part of it.

 

 

“Fine Yusuke but this goes no farther than the three of us. Kuwabara I warn you now, if you breath a word of this there will be nothing that will save you from Youko's wrath.”

 

 

“You don't need to warn me Shorty, I can keep my mouth shut.”

 

 

Hiei looked at him like he clearly didn't believe him but the warning had been made. Anything that endangered the Kitsune's mate would likely meet a messy end, friendships be damned. He made the decission to go ahead and tell them some of what he knew.

 

 

“Youko has taken a mate.”

 

 

“Say what?”

 

 

“You heard me right Detective, Youko has taken a mate.”

 

“Okay, so he has a mate. What the fuck does that have to do with anything? And doesn't that mean that they both have a mate now?”

 

 

“No, so far it only involves the girl and Youko. It will eventually include Kurama.”

 

 

“So that answers one of my questions. Now answer the other one.”

 

 

“The girl is the energy you felt. She is a Miko and she was badly injured. That is all you need to know right now. Youko will not permit you anywhere near her.”

 

 

“Who so you mean to tell me Youko chose a human girl as a mate? A Priestess no less?”

 

 

Hiei wondered briefly how it was he ended up being the one stuck explaining these things to these stupid humans. Of course the girl was human, so far there had been no cases that he had known about of a demon miko.

 

 

***************************************************************** *****

 

 

“Yes, when I say we I mean it in the sense that I am two separate beings.”

 

 

Kagome looked at him like he had grown another head. How was it possible for one person to be two separate beings? It didn't make sense, at least she had never heard of anything like it. But she also knew he had no reason to lie to her.

 

 

“How is that possible?”

 

 

“It's complicated. You see, I have two separate souls and we both are able to take over our body. We have two forms, and two separate consciousness'.”

 

 

“How does that work exactly? I've never heard of anything like that. Was that what was happening earlier with you?”

 

 

Youko nodded, please she was asking questions of him instead of completely flipping out. Perhaps this would be easier on the three of them then he had thought.

 

 

“Yes, what you seen was an argument we were having with each other. My human half goes by the name of Shuichi Minamino in public. Kurama by those who know of what we are. My name is Youko Kurama, and most of the time I am not the one who is in charge. It would be too difficult to explain what I am to others, as you can imagine.”

 

 

“So when you said you were having an argument with yourself, I take it that means you are able to talk with each other?”

 

 

“Yes, we constantly know what the others thoughts and feelings are. That argument was over who had control of our body. I wanted to come out and be with you, Kurama was being difficult and wanted to stay in charge.”

 

 

`You started it.'

 

 

`No, I finished it Red.'

 

 

“Can I see your other half?”

 

 

Youko was reluctant to hand over control again, what if Kurama refused to let him come out again. He disliked being out of direct contact with his mate. And he felt a small wave of jealously before he stamped it down. He had no reason to be jealous of the request she had made. After all she was going to be seeing a lot of that side of him.

 

 

`You will give me control back as soon as I ask for it?'

 

 

`I will Youko.'

 

 

He sighed and nodded at her. He'd still be able to see and hear her at least, even if he couldn't physically touch her. It would be enough for a little while. He concentrated and receded back into Kurama's mind as he let his human counterpart take back over.

 

 

She watched, fascinated as his long silver hair gradually darkened into crimson locks. It was a gorgeous shade of red she noted, but one she had seen before. It couldn't be could it? His body structure changed slightly, growing considerably shorter but still of a lean but muscular build. His eyes changed colors until they reminded her of emerald gemstones. It was him. The man who had caught her attention the one day she was with her mother.

 

 

She wasn't sure which way she liked him better. Both forms were absolutely gorgeous to her. Her breath caught as she stared into his eyes, noting the golden flecks that appeared that told her Youko was still very near the surface. The thought was strangely comforting.

 

 

 

 

Reviewer Responses:

 

 

 

MysticAngel77: Hehe thanks for the cookies, they were delicious. I'm hoping to speed things up a bit now but I don't want to take the relationship too fast. It would cheapen Inu and Kags relationship I think. Hopefully I can get the story moving along without it seeming to go too fast. I know there are several people waiting for the lemons but they probably won't happen until the last couple of chapters.

 

 

Mija: It was rather sad wasn't it? It won't be the last we see of Inuyasha either. He will make at the very least one more appearance, possibly more. He wouldn't abandon her even in death, though I can imagine the heartache he is going to go through watching her fall in love with Kurama. This chapter is considerably longer than the last. I expect most of them will be from here on out.

 

 

crazy-punk-gurl: It's quite alright, you've reviewed now and that's what counts ;-) I'm hoping for a big surprise in the final battle though I'm sure some have sort of an idea of what's to come. I don't want to spoil what I have planned out though so I'm not going to say any more. I'll have to think on the three kings idea. It's actually quite good. I'll see if I can somehow work it into the plot but no promises. Thanks for the help :-)

 

 

inuyuyu_15: Thank you for the chocolate, it was quite good. I believe she's taking it quite well but I think Yusuke is treading on thin ice at the moment. If he isn't careful he's going to be on the wrong end of Kurama's rose whip. Eh well, I had to keep him in character of being pushy and obnoxious. He'll come around though. Poor Hiei has to put up with all of them though.

 

 

Person...  : Nope, I don't think I really do anymore. I catch an hour or two of sleep here and there. It's surprising these chapters make sense considering it all. Hope you enjoyed the interaction between the two of them in this chapter, there is more to come in the next one as well.

 

 

Rabid: I feel bad for the both of you and I think I might have sympathy sickness. After finding out about the both of you I was cursed with a stuffy nose. Pray I do not catch whatever it is that is infecting us or updates will likely cease until it passes. Blech. If it does I might have to borrow that 2 x 4 you were talking about. Congrats on using up every character. I don't think I have managed that one quite yet. You're close on your thoughts about what is going to happen concerning the whole going to the past thing. No, Naraku is not going to be hit by a car, at least I don't think so anyway. It might be amusing trying to explain himself when he went to the hospital though I don't think the humor of it all would quite fit in with the tone of the story. I could be wrong though.

 

 

Arbor: I always wondered about that, which is probably why Hiei is a bit more talkative in my fics than some others. As for the Shuichi/Youko thing, it never made sense to me how both of them would fall head over heels in love with her immedietly on sight, so I played with a bit. Shuichi is slowly growing in his levels of affection for her. Not like he has much choice in the matter though. I think if it turned out that he couldn't stand her Youko would take control and never let him out again *snickers*

 

 

Shabopo: Honestly I have absolutely no idea how old Youko is. I've heard everything for three hundred to a couple thousand years old. I'd tend to lean more toward the thousand year mark though if he was truly as experienced and skilled as everyone says. Plenty of time to perfect himself. The time paradox thing is giving me a headache trying to decide how to send Youko back to the past. Maybe Koenma will have something that will allow him to go back.

 

 

bloodbunny: If I killed him off now that would bring about the premature end of the story and then readers would come hunting for my blood. We wouldn't want that, none of the other stories would ever get finished.

 

 

As always, thank you to everyone who reviewed. I hope you enjoyed this particular chapter. Until next time!