InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Phoenix ❯ Mortal Pain ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed! I really appreciate it, it makes me want to update the more I get them.

Disclaimer: I own this really cool paperclip that is shaped like an electric guitar. But I do not own InuYasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, or my amazing collection of stolen pens. (They are stolenafter all.)

//The Phoenix\\

§Mortal Pain§

 

 

“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.”

--Anonymous

 

 

Waking was painful. Breathing was painful. Existing was painful. Everything on her body was stabbing to her brain, which, too, was painful.

 

Kagome slowly opened her eyes, trying to take in her surroundings while fighting off her throbbing headache. The room she was in had light eggshell-colored walls and a teal carpet. There was a small, bedside table, a window—closed—to her left and, after she turned her head, there was another window and a door that seemed to lead to a closet, though she wasn't too sure as the predawn darkness flooded the room. She turned her head back to where it had been, as it had been more comfortable like that, and finally tried to assess herself from her immobile placement on the bed.

 

The miko's back was aching and she started to shiver. Her body felt cold despite the coverlet on her. To distract herself, she gripped her hands, but instead of feeling the skin of her empty palm, she felt something hard and smooth under the touch of her left hand. Painstakingly, she pulled it up from the covers and let it come into view: a sword encased in a gleaming sheath, the Kiseki-Jihi.

 

She wasn't too sure how long she sat there, her eyes unable to cry, nor when or if she had fallen asleep before a she heard movement and, after hiding her sword underneath the line of pillows, she closed her eyes, feigning rest.

 

The door opened, and two people, from the sounds of it, came into her room. She felt the covers being gently pulled back and stiffened slightly.

 

“She looks like she's in pain, Shizuru,” a thick voice said from above her. It was familiar, but the functions of her mind weren't quite working to their fullest capacity at the moment, so the name or face didn't come to mind.

 

“Well, I'd imagine that she would be, Kazuma. She's probably going to wake up soon,” a woman speculated next to the male voice. Kagome internally sighed with relief; at least now if she accidentally opened her eyes, it wouldn't seem too unnatural. “I just wish I knew what the hell did this to her…”

 

“I thought you thought it was a youkai?” the male questioned confused. Kagome almost opened her eyes in shock. It suddenly struck her just who he was: the strange man from the night before. `Midoriko-sama wasn't lying about this guy, was she?'

 

“What I think doesn't matter if it's not the truth. Now get out of the room, I'm going to check the bandages,” the woman commanded while sitting on her bed, the weight dipping the bed down to her left.

 

“Fine,” the male grumbled, the sound of a door shutting followed his footsteps.

 

The woman beside her sighed. “I don't know what you got yourself into, kid, but you certainly didn't get out of it unharmed,” she told her supposedly sleeping form. She felt the woman remove a shirt from her body. The sound of a drawer sliding open and the click of scissors opening and closing reached her ears before the feeling of thin, cold metal was pressed to the flesh of her back.

 

Kagome's eyes flew open at the unexpected sensation, a silent gasp flying from her mouth. The metal was instantly pulled away from her. “You're awake?” the other woman asked, slightly surprised. “I guess you wouldn't want your back to be touched after what happened to it,” she said, moving down until she was within Kagome's line of vision. “My name's Kuwabara Shizuru, by the way.”

 

Shizuru had light brown hair down to her waist and slightly darker brown eyes that regarded her almost sympathetically. She was wearing a pair of brown slacks, a white blouse, a red tie, and a tan vest. She had a reasonably strong aura for a ningen, telling Kagome that she could probably sense ghosts, youkai, and most likely some of the miko energy that leaked through her shield. Kagome nodded in reply, letting Shizuru know that she understood.

 

“I'm going to change your bandages now; those were some serious wounds. Am I right in the guess that you don't want to talk about it?” the older woman assumed, putting the scissors lightly against her back again. Kagome nodded as Shizuru cut away the bandages and gently, though painstakingly pulled Kagome into a kneeling position on the bed. “There's a bath set up across the hall. I figured you might like one if you're wounds would allow for it.”

 

Kagome nodded again, but glanced down at her exposed skin. Shizuru smirked and reassured, “My brother's in the living room, so there's no risk for you to be seen like that. Now, since your back is pretty much untouchable at the moment, we'll have to find another way to get you there. I don't think you should be walking yet, so just put your arms around my neck and hold on as tight as you think is needed.” She bent down to the miko and Kagome did as asked, gripping soft enough to not choke Shizuru, but hard enough to keep her from falling backwards.

 

She was slightly surprised when she felt hands pulling up her thighs until she was no longer on the bed, but instead straddling the left side of Shizuru's hip. “Are you steady?” the older girl asked, holding her like she was a toddler. Kagome nodded and Shizuru walked over to the bathroom, closing the door after they entered.

 

Kagome was set gently onto the toilet. Shizuru carefully removed the rest of the clothing before she was lifted again and settled into the warm water. The slightly heated water stung relentlessly at her nerves, causing her to wince slightly in discomfort. Shizuru tentatively washed her hair and conditioned it. While the conditioner set, she took a washcloth, lathered it, and began to clean Kagome's still slightly blood-covered body. “I see that you are no stranger to pain…” Shizuru murmured, carefully examining the scars of four puncture wounds on the back of each upper arm and the rough line on her right. Kagome slowly brought her left hand out of the water and ran over the linear scar, remembering the look on Kohaku's face when Naraku controlled him. The punctures came from the experience with Kaguya while she sealed away the human part of InuYasha's soul, forcing him to go youkai. Despite the new discoveries, Shizuru pressed on; however, when the older woman reached her face, she was hard-pressed to try and remove a previously unnoticed forest-green eye shadow.

 

“Damn it, why the hell won't this come off?” Shizuru grumbled, rubbing at her top lids. Almost smiling, Kagome lifted one hand and guided Shizuru's hand away, shaking her head. “It's not going to come off, is it?” Kagome shook her head again.

 

Very few people knew that Sango's “eye shadow” was in fact a rudimentary tattoo of sorts, given to her when she ascended to womanhood and an official rank as a taijiya. Therefore, Sango did the same to her in the color of her armor when she became an official taijiya under her supervision, using the natural acidity of a certain bug youkai, the green leaves from the Goshinboku, and a thin spike of polished wood. Admittedly, it was rather painful—the acid biting into her flesh to form a permanent tattoo. Yet afterwards…she felt a feeling of accomplishment that she doubted she would ever feel again.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Kagome was clean, wrapped with fresh bandages and wearing the same pants from before, but with a newer shirt, still an old business-type one, but the sleeves were cut off at the elbow. She swallowed a tablet of something to help keep away the pain, and then Shizuru blow-dried her hair with a professional skill so that she didn't have to lay around with it wet.

 

When she was ready to leave the bathroom, Kagome was set back on Shizuru's hip, but instead of going back to the bedroom like she expected, the miko was brought down the stairs and into a big room where the man from last night was seated on a couch. “Kazuma, move your ass off of the couch and be useful,” Shizuru ordered in her almost monotone voice.

 

The tall teenager scrambled at the sound of his sister's voice. Kagome was placed belly-down on the now vacant couch, her head pillowed by the low armrest. Shizuru turned to who she could only assume to be Kazuma, as he was the only other person in the room. “I have to get to the salon or else I'm going to be late. I called the school and they think that you have some sort of flu virus so, for Kami's sake, don't go outside and start some stupid fights,” she told the orange-haired boy before turning to Kagome. “If you need anything, get him to help you. I should be home by six, seven at the latest. Be sure this baka gives you the pain-relievers at noon.”

 

Kagome nodded again and Shizuru was out the door. Brown eyes turned curiously in her direction. “I'm Kuwabara Kazuma,” the guy introduced. “Do you want a blanket or something?” Kazuma asked, fidgeting around a bit nervously. Kagome gave the tiniest of smiles and acquiesced. Kazuma left and returned a bit later, carrying a quilt for her, and set it around her gently. “So…what's your name?” he asked, sitting on the ground, leaning against the couch by her hips so she still had a decent view of the television that she had hardly noticed was on.

 

Kagome opened her mouth and whispered, “My name is Kagome.” She paused before saying, “Thank you…for stopping me that night.” Kazuma smiled a bit before frowning.

 

“Just as long as you don't try to do that again, I'll be happy,” he said. Kagome smiled a tiny bit wider and closed her eyes, exhaustion overtaking her yet again.

 

“I promise.”

 

§

 

A rough hand ran itself over slicked-back black hair for the fourth time in an hour before fisting and punching a nearby wall, leaving a noticeable dent in the concrete. Brown eyes glared at the depression as though it was the cause of all the frustration building within him.

 

The sound of footsteps came to his ears through the steel door blocking his sanctuary, the roof. His hands quickly shoved themselves into the pockets of his green uniform and he stood beside the threshold, waiting for the one person he would willingly allow here to make her entrance.

 

Punctual as ever, a young woman burst through the door, her short, brown hair and light blue uniform swaying in the draft. Her brown eyes, lighter in shade than his, searched the area before turning to the door, at last finding who she was looking for in the first place. “There you are, Yusuke. You should really be in class right now,” she chastised, giving him a brief hug.

 

Yusuke shrugged in a noncommittal manner before sliding down the wall, crouching on the ground. “Class was a pain in the ass, Keiko. My time is better wasted up here,” he responded, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Keiko pulled it away from his lips mid-drag, crushed it under her shoe and took a seat beside him, carefully folding her legs so that her skirt didn't show anything unnecessary to be seen.

 

“I heard Kuwabara is sick today,” she commented casually. “Strange, he was fine when I last saw him.”

 

“Keh, the baka's probably trying to buy an extra day of break.” After a few moments more of lackluster conversation, Keiko needed to head back to class, Yusuke opting to not follow behind her.

 

Yusuke didn't buy that Kuwabara was sick: he was fine last night. It was rare enough for himself to be in school, but the detective took care of that and decided to leave around noon, lighting a new cig for his extinguished one. Sure, Keiko would probably be pissed about it—the ditching and the smoking—but he could live with that.

 

Yusuke covered some of the usual places Kuwabara might be, ending up getting into about four fights before he decided to actually check the guy's house. The fights did help to work off the frustration of having Keiko drag him into the school earlier this morning, though, so it wasn't all for naught.

 

Making it there, he was about to knock on the door when he felt an unfamiliar presence in the house. Quirking an eyebrow, he tried to feel it out only to have the door open in his face, the man he came to see standing healthily before him.

 

“Urameshi, what the hell are you doing here?” Kuwabara asked, looking at him confused. “Is there another mission already?” Yusuke shook his head.

 

“No, baka, you weren't in school today and-”

 

“You were in school?” Kuwabara interrupted, shocked. Yusuke's eye twitched in annoyance.

 

“Hai, I was in school before, but now I'm not,” he said tersely. “But anyway, you weren't in school because of the flu. Care to explain why you're completely healthy?”

 

Yusuke watched as the orange-haired teenager bounced nervously, trying to come up with a decent excuse before giving up. Kuwabara sighed. “Just shut up and come in.”

 

Yusuke stepped inside the small house, taking off his shoes by the door. Kuwabara stepped forward and signaled for Yusuke to follow him as he walked carefully into the living room.

 

There was a body of a sleeping young woman lying belly-down on the couch, covered almost tenderly in a thick quilt's embrace, making her look small and fragile. Raven hair that shone blue in the light contrasted to the pale, delicate skin of the woman's face. The only thing marring about it was the dark circles that shadowed under the lids of her closed eyes. The quilt obscured all other features, but it failed to hide the aura she emitted.

 

It was…pure…untainted, like nothing that he had ever felt in his life. She had no darkness in her soul; she was in emotional pain, that much was obvious, but she wasn't spiteful because of it, no matter how much it seemed to have hurt her. And it was strong, it seemed to be escaping from an imprisonment of sorts, or so it appeared.

 

Yusuke looked between the sleeping girl and Kuwabara, curious as to what happened so that a pretty girl like her was resting on the couch of an ugly buffoon like him. Yusuke stepped up the woman, but stepped back as a thread of the energy reached out to him, tasting his aura before returning to her body contentedly. The detective frowned slightly.

 

“What was that about?”

 

§

 

Kagome jostled herself from her dreams, which were far from pleasant, at the feel of a new aura in the room, but as it felt harmless, she let it go. Deciding that now was as good a time as any, she brought herself to the peaceful field with the clear-water brook she met Midoriko in before, hoping that she would be there again. Not one to disappoint, the older miko stepped out from a lining of trees that bordered the clearing.

 

“There was something that you wished to discuss, Wakamusha?” she asked, taking a seat beside her companion.

 

Kagome nodded. “There wasn't much time to fully explain everything before, Midoriko-sama. I'm a bit confused still,” she admitted while twiddling her thumbs nervously.

 

“What is it you want to better understand?” Midoriko inquired. Kagome looked up.

 

“Well, for one, why is it that I can't hide my markings here?” It was something that she greatly wanted to understand. Midoriko smiled at the troubled expression on her face.

 

“You cannot hide anything from the mind, Wakamusha. No matter what happens, you cannot lie to something that will always see the truth,” she answered. “But I doubt that is your most desperate question. Something more is causing you angst.”

 

Kagome nodded. “Midoriko-sama, I feel so…consumed. You tell me that I'm a legend and just recently give me the markings that demons have known about for centuries. I'm not that special, I'm not that strong. I'm just who I am, Midoriko-sama,” Kagome caved, spilling forth all of her worries. “Who dictated my markings? Who gave me the title of `Jun-Namida no Miko'? How am I to be her when I'm me?”

 

Midoriko quickly hugged her. “Spoken like a true heroine,” the Shikon's creator mused, holding her tighter. “Kagome, you are a legend because you are you. Do not try and change because of a different name. It is not either `Kagome' or `Jun-Namida no Miko'. It is `Kagome, the Jun-Namida no Miko', do not forget it.

 

“As for the bearer of the name and the markings, your friends Kaede and Jinenji are responsible. Jinenji gave you the name, for your kindness and love that you showed to him, and Kaede prayed to me at my cave, begging to know what became of you. I came to her the night after her request in her dreams, and told her that you survived the pull of time and what transpired in The Shikon Battle. She pleaded that I give you the markings, and the name with which Jinenji honored you.

 

“Your true name has been lost in the sands of the centuries, as have the names of your companions. To all who know the legend now, InuYasha is the `Hokori no Hanyou'; Miroku is `Jounetsu no Houshi'; Sango is `Meiyo no Taijiya'; Kirara is `Yuuki no Neko'; and Shippou is, as he often called himself, `Seigi no Kitsune'.”

 

At that one, Kagome let out a tearful laugh. “The Fox Demon of Justice…I almost forgot he called himself that…” She took a deep breath, glad that her friends received the titles that they deserved: `The Half-Demon of Pride', `The Monk of Passion', `The Demon-Exterminator of Honor', `The Cat Demon of Courage', and `The Fox Demon of Justice'. “Is Jinenji…alive?” Kagome questioned, hoping…

 

“I believe so, but he has been forced into Makai, as he could never fit in with ningen society. It will be difficult to see him without tipping off Koenma,” Midoriko said. “I believe my dear friend Kirara has been checking up on him every now and then while she searched for you, Wakamusha.” Kagome looked up at that.

 

“Kirara's alive too?” she asked, more hope building within her. She wasn't alone after all?

 

“Of course Kirara is still with the living,” Midoriko beamed. “Do you not remember? Kirara was injured in a previous battle and Sango told her to stay with Kaede for the time being. Kirara, when able, was supposed to fly out to where you guys were going to stay. However, all that was left for her to find was the battlefield and the body of Shippou.”

 

“Poor Kirara…” Kagome whispered. And I thought I was alone.

 

“Yes indeed, but Kirara knew that you would be back again, and she's been waiting. Now that you have resurfaced, it is doubtless that she won't find you soon.” Midoriko was still smiling, happy with the memories of her precious fire-neko.

 

“Midoriko-sama?” Kagome murmured. She wasn't particularly fond of the next question, but the answer needed to be known, not only for her safety, but also for the safety of many innocent young women.

 

“Hai, Wakamusha?” Midoriko finally let go of her, pulling back from the hug to look deeply into her midnight eyes.

 

“What happened to Kikyou?”

 

There was a pregnant silence following the question, one where Midoriko turned her face away and stood, walking over to the brook and kneeling beside it. Worried, Kagome followed, standing beside her.

 

Midoriko's voice fluttered over to her. “You feel it, that gapping chasm where the piece of your soul should be. You feel it all the time, don't you?” Kagome lowered her eyes.

 

“I do, but it's my fault Kikyou is still walking. I gave her more of my soul when Naraku attempted to destroy her so she could continue her existence. Kikyou is my responsibility now. I take it she's still around?” Kagome assumed knowledgably. Midoriko nodded.

 

“You will have your chance to face her, Wakamusha. You will have that chance relatively soon, if I am not mistaken. You see, Kikyou somehow manages to cross the barrier from Makai, where she was forced to go, and Ningenkai. She comes to this realm to…harvest the souls of dead young females, and if she sees fit she will force the soul out of a living girl's body by the use of Kanna's mirror, which she manipulates with her tainted energy. It is also with this mirror that none of the previous detectives were able to survive an encounter with her, as it can reflect attacks. Kikyou comes at least once every fifty years or so for this harvesting, always evading the Reikai and even the Makai forces, searching for your soul so she can finally be complete,” she explained.

 

“I see. How is it that you know all of this, Midoriko-sama?” Kagome asked, truly curious at the wealth of knowledge the older miko seemed to possess.

 

“While your soul was transferred directly to this era, mine had to wait out the time shifts as a bystander to everything. I witnessed the making of the three worlds, heard your legend spread throughout the lands, all from the Shikon's power.” Midoriko stood, smiling gently. “It's time for you to awaken, Kagome. Have fun meeting the leader of the Reikai Tantei. He's quite the character.”

 

§

 

Yet again, Kagome awoke to pain in her back. She shot her eyes open to see Kazuma and a man with slicked black hair and brown eyes arguing over something. Unable to distinguish the sounds so soon after returning to consciousness, she settled with interrupting them. Sure, it wasn't something that she'd normally do, but she was hurting!

 

“Kazuma?” Kagome greatly disliked her voice in the real world: it sounded so weak and broken. However, the weak and broken voice was enough to gain the attention of the other occupants in the room.

 

Kazuma rushed over, kneeling beside the couch. “What's wrong, Kagome? Are you cold? Hungry?” he listed, tucking the quilt closer to her. Kagome could see that the teenager behind Kazuma looked fairly surprised by her caretaker's action.

 

“I'm amazed, Kuwabara. You haven't tried to ask her out on a date yet,” he commented, casually putting his hands in the pockets of his green uniform.

 

“Shut it, Urameshi!” Kazuma yelled over his shoulder fiercely before turning back to her, acting as though he never shouted. “So, what's the matter?”

 

Kagome was cursing herself, she really was. Tears were starting to escape her eyes as the throbbing pushed its way to her head, pounding against her skull mercilessly. She cursed herself for being so weak. “My back…it's…” Her voice tapered, and her smoky midnight eyes closed tightly to resist the urge to whimper. Sweat was forming on her brow, the blanket encasing her to the heat that her body seeped with the racing of her heart.

 

“Kuso! I forgot about your pills!” she heard Kazuma exclaim, and then the sounds of his footsteps faded as they headed upstairs to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Another set of steps, lighter than Kazuma's were, came closer to her. Kagome opened her eyes, seeing that the other boy had moved nearer. He had not halted when she unfastened her lids, but instead kept going until he was able to pull the blanket away, folding it over at the waist.

 

“You looked hot,” he justified, stepping back. Kagome just nodded, her eyes softening at the gesture she doubted was a common occurrence, as Kuwabara returned with two capsules and a glass of water. He put them on the coffee table and pulled her carefully into a seated position not letting her back hit anything. She saw the other guy—Urameshi, she thought Kazuma called him—watch the actions with a critical eye.

 

“Here,” Kazuma said as he pushed the pills into her delicate hands. She placed them on her tongue and accepted the glass of water as it was placed to her lips, sipping the clear liquid gratefully as it aided the consumption of the medication. The glass was set aside on the table.

 

“Thanks,” Kagome whispered, moving back to her previous position. Sighing contentedly, she felt the effects of the painkillers take action. The room remained silent, something for which she was grateful, and as soon as the pain was no more than a burdensome headache, the miko opened her dark, smoky-azure eyes again to assess the stranger.

 

The slicked-back, jet-black hair held a bit of a green sheen to it when the light hit it a certain way and helped to give him the hardened punk appearance. Dark chocolate eyes blazed with false annoyance, more for show than anything else, but held undercurrents of curiosity and concern. His green school uniform accented his features, bringing out the tan-ness of his skin and the firm muscles beneath his clothes.

 

“I'll go out on a limb here and say that something is wrong with your back?” he smirked. Not in the mood for witty banter, Kagome simply nodded.

 

“Who are you?” the miko asked, her voice thankfully sounding a bit stronger, but her throat remaining horribly sore. The teenager walked over to an armchair within her line of vision and plopped down.

 

“Urameshi Yusuke. And you?” Yusuke queried.

 

“Kagome,” she answered. Kagome could see the large aura surrounding his body, giving testament to the power she was sure he was packing. The blue energy flamed around him unrestricted; she could see how he would be the leader of this `Reikai Tantei'.

 

Yusuke eyed her curiously. “What happened?” he asked, gesturing to her back with a jerk of his head. Kagome winced at the question, but knew that she'd have to talk about it someday. Why not now?

 

“Someone attacked me,” she answered vaguely. There, she talked about it. Hey, it didn't mean that she had to go into detail. She looked up and noticed that Yusuke seemed to be aware of her unwillingness to describe.

 

Instead, he pointed to Kazuma. “And you met the idiot…?”

 

“Hey!” Kuwabara exclaimed indignantly.

 

“When he found me, after everything happened,” Kagome finished, a veiled look of offense in her eyes. She snuck a glance at Kazuma and noted that his anger was a pretense for the most part and relaxed. Maybe it was just how they got along? The miko turned her head to her not-so-handsome hero with a heart of gold and smiled. “I owe my life to Kazuma.”

 

The statement held more than just one meaning to it, but only Kazuma would actually pick up on that. If he hadn't shown up when he did, she would have purposefully fallen in that river. Whether or not she would have drowned was pending, since Midoriko practically reassured pseudo-immortality because she was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, and it wouldn't let her die anytime soon.

 

Unbidden, a yawn captured Kagome, drawing attention to her. The painkillers had the nasty side effect of drowsiness, and if it weren't for the fact that they actually worked she would have forgone them and used some of her healing herbs.

 

“You wanna go to bed?” Kazuma asked. “Urameshi's gonna be staying for a while and ya could get more sleep in your room.”

 

Kagome could tell that he wanted to talk to Yusuke alone, probably about their jobs and what attacked her, and he didn't want to risk it if she had no clue what was happening. But, really not willing to press the issue, she nodded. Kazuma pulled her into the same position he did when giving her the medicine, and lifted her easily into a similar position that Shizuru used, trying not to be offensive and not let where his hands held her be perceived as perverse.

 

“Bye, Yusuke,” Kagome said as Kazuma carried her out of the room.

 

“See ya, Kagome,” he returned, giving her a bit of a wave.

 

§

 

Once Kazuma left the room, Kagome quickly pushed her hand under the pillows and retrieved the Jihi no Kiseki. The sword almost seemed to hum with joy as her hand came in contact with its sheath, making her wonder just how much personality it had.

 

She brought it close to her side, letting herself get smothered in the comfort it offered to her, like a true friend. Things were starting to take shape but so much was left uncertain.

 

When would Kikyou show up? How much has time changed her since they last saw each other? How much more tainted did she become? Kagome understood that Kikyou was as much a victim in this as all the souls lost to her, but it wouldn't make it much easier to destroy her. When Kikyou was alive, she was kind, generous, and strong. That clay model of her that existed today was muddying her memory.

 

It's so sad, Kagome thought as she fell into slumber. I feel bad for Kikyou, too.

 

§

 

“Are you going to tell me what happened when you met her or are you going to keep it a secret?” Yusuke asked Kuwabara when the other guy returned. Kuwabara glared at him before falling back onto the couch Kagome had been laying on no less than three minutes ago. The detective took in the battle waging in Kuwabara's eyes. Finally, the war was settled.

 

“I felt her energy while I was walking home, and I decided to see what it was. You felt it, Urameshi. It's so…not dirty, and it actually made me feel better the closer I got. When I did see her, she was standing on the bridge a few blocks away. I came up behind her and saw her back.

 

“It was really messed up; I was amazed that she didn't die from blood-loss. And she was so sad. I'm pretty sure everyone she cares about is dead. I don't know what I did really, but after talking to me for a while, she fell back and I caught her,” Kuwabara told him.

 

Yusuke was silent for a moment. It would certainly make sense for her to want to die if the people she cared about were gone and she was injured. “What hurt her?”

 

Kuwabara scratched the back of his head. “Damned if I know for sure but sis thinks that it might have been a youkai, but if it was then wouldn't Koenma have told us about it by now?” he pondered.

 

Unable to stop himself, Yusuke thought, So this is what Kuwabara looks like when he's thinking… Shaking his head clear, he returned to the subject at hand. “Probably, but I'll check with Kurama and Hiei later to see if they picked up on anything. The Jagan could have found a demonic energy easy enough,” the detective suggested.

 

But still, he couldn't shake the feeling that the girl was hiding something.

 

§§§§§

 

A/N: I know, I know. It was crap, but review anyway and tell me what you thought. Make my paperclip happy in the very least.