InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Trudging Through Spiritual Malaise ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

~*~

 

It had been nearly two weeks since he had met the woman named Kagome and she had crossed his mind on more than one occasion. There was something about her that was just otherworldly and her presence alone made him feel good. Although she was a beautiful woman - and any male of any species would feel a physical attraction to her - he found he wanted to see her again for entirely different reasons. He was very much smitten with Yukina and if he had any say in it, he would marry the ice maiden one day.

 

Kagome though, she made him feel special…worthy. He didn't feel incredibly awkward or stupid around her. There was a presence to her that made him feel warm and comforted, like his mother used to. When he had started making that tea for Shizuru he had almost been upset with the amount provided, thinking it would take at least a month before more was needed. He wanted to visit Kagome sooner than that.

 

So it was almost a blessing in disguise for him that his sister had been having an extremely stressful twelve days. With his job as a Spirit Detective, the option of having an actual, paying job wasn't present. Missions from Koenma never had a specific time or date and his frequent disappearing acts would never go over well with any boss. That being the case, his sister was always the one to work and provide for them. He always felt horribly guilty about leaving her to be the breadwinner but when he'd made mention of it to her, she had shrugged it off and pointed out to him that he was needed to make sure the world was safe and her efforts weren't in vain.

 

Her most recent job had been lost due to the company filing for bankruptcy and she had been strung out lately looking for work. It wasn't easy to find a well enough paying job and they were slipping behind enough as it was. She had applied for every open position she could find and had yet to receive any call backs.

 

A headache had attacked every day for two weeks.

 

So now, Kuwabara found himself humming slightly off key and walking happily to the little shop he'd entered on a whim. There was an anxiety in his heart today and he could only pray that the impending event was a good one. A grin broke out onto his face as the quaint store came into view and as he stepped up to the door, his body and mind were flooded with a complete sense of peace. How he loved that feeling.

 

The chimes on the door gave a soft tinkling sound as they jolted from their immobile position and the pleasing aromas of herbs and incense swarmed his nostrils. He poked his head inside the door and gazed around the building, a grin curling his lips when a head of raven hair snapped up and locked gazes with his own. “Hey Kagome-sama.”

 

Cerulean eyes blinked a few times before widening marginally and Kuwabara watched nearly spellbound as those brilliant orbs relaxed and crinkled into a beautiful smile. “Kazuma-san! How are you today? I wasn't planning on seeing you so soon…is everything alright?”

 

The same expressive blue gaze quivered with worry and genuine concern and the young Spirit Detective couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he entered the store fully, the chimes echoing behind him as the door closed. “I am fine Kagome-sama. I know it hasn't been long since I was last here but Shizuru has had a pretty rough week or two. I need to pick up some more of your miracle tea and pay for the stuff I got last time.”

 

Hopping down off her stool, the young miko walked towards him, grabbed his hand and lead him back to the counter before slipping into the back and coming out a few seconds later with two cups of tea. Kuwabara gave her a grateful smile and sipped at the warm brew, his nerves calming down some with just being around Kagome.

 

She allowed him a few moments of peace before setting her own mug down and pinning him with soft eyes, “What's been happening Kazuma-san?”

 

“Please don't throw that title in…I really don't like it. Makes me feel old.” The large man quipped and grinned at the young woman across from him with a light chuckle.

 

“Oh? Well then, I don't ever want to hear you call me `Kagome-sama' either. If you do, you'll graduate to Kuwabara-sama.” She laughed heartily at the look of disgust that crinkled his face.

 

Hearing her laugh was somehow magical. He knew she wasn't laughing at him like so many liked to do; no she was laughing with him. His heart warmed in his chest and he was happy to have a little slice of heaven in everything that was so horrible. Thinking on that train of thought reminded him of his sister's problems and he looked up into those beautiful blue eyes with a solemn face.

 

“My…job…makes it very difficult to have a normal job and it doesn't pay. But it is something that I have no choice but to do and that leaves Shizuru to cover the bills. She was let go from her last job two weeks ago and hasn't been able to find another. Every morning she is up and gone before I am even awake and she doesn't get home until after five in the evening. When she finally makes in the door, she is so exhausted that she just drinks your tea and goes to bed. I don't even know if she's been eating much.”

 

Sapphire orbs burned with worry as she watched Kuwabara talk. Once he was finished, she walked out from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around the heartbroken man, bringing his face to rest against her shoulder. In a matter of seconds, his large hands grasped tightly to the back of her shirt and she felt tears soak her shoulder but she only held him tighter, rubbing her hands in soothing patterns up and down his back.

 

A few moments passed before Kuwabara had himself under control and he pulled away from Kagome with a sniffle and a blush of embarrassment, bowing his head. He couldn't believe he'd actually cried on the woman at his second time in her presence. Soft, strong fingers were under his chin and tilting his head up so he was lost in azure eyes and a gentle smile.

 

“Don't worry about it. I don't mind at all. Now,” she stated as her smile turned into a grin and a brilliant twinkle entered her eyes as she stood, “you said your sister needs a job ne?”

 

He watched her with curious dark eyes as she walked back behind the counter, grabbed up the cordless phone and dialed a number. Her voice was soft but cheerful and her laughter rung merrily in his ears like the bells at the front of her store. In only a matter of moments, she was walking back towards him with an even happier grin on her face than before.

 

“Do you think Shizuru would mind working with me?”

 

~*~

 

“Damnit!” Yusuke growled as he walked down the street from Kuwabara's house with Kurama in tow while Hiei flitted through the tree tops. “I just don't get it! Where the hell could that oaf be? If he isn't at the arcade he's with me.”

 

The fox lifted his shoulders in a shrug that still managed to look elegant before sweeping his long bangs from his eyes, “I don't really know Yusuke. It isn't like him to disappear in such a manner. It is odd that he isn't even at Genkai's visiting Yukina.”

 

I don't find it odd, I find it acceptable.

 

You would say that wouldn't you Hiei. Sooner or later you will have to accept that Yukina likes Kuwabara as much as he likes her.

 

I might be forced to accept it however I refuse to like it.

 

“- I mean seriously! Damnit all to hell…what if there was a mission?!” The detective continued to rant and rave completely pissed off and not just a little hurt that one of his closest friends was just seemingly gone and hadn't said anything to him. As they made their way slowly into the rest of Tokyo, Yusuke sighed moodily and kicked a rock out of his path.

 

“I am sure he is fine Yusuke. Maybe he had an errand to run for Shizuru, she didn't look too well when we were there.” Kurama said in his calm voice, hoping to settle the young man down. He too couldn't quite understand why the fourth member of their team was suddenly M.I.A. but it was entirely possible that Kuwabara had something important to do if he was unavailable to his friends.

 

“Whatever. Let's just get going.” Came the unhappy grumble as Yusuke started walking a little bit quicker to their destination.

 

~*~

 

“Kazuma are you sure about this?” Shizuru asked warily as they walked down the sidewalk together. Her brother usually had a really good head on his shoulders and was often times a rather surprisingly good judge of character. However when he'd come home with more tea for her headaches - she still didn't understand how anything could work so well - and told her he had gotten her a job, she was quite unsure. The details she'd been given were sketchy at best and all she could really glean from the entire conversation - as she was being rushed to get dressed to leave - was that the woman who made her pain-relieving tea wanted to offer her a job.

 

The entire scenario almost sounded too good to be true, especially when her brother was raving about what a wonderful person this `Kagome' was. Everything she'd heard about the woman and her store sounded absolutely delightful and that was the biggest reason for her doubting. Shizuru couldn't seem to wrap her mind around the fact that she was being offered a job so easily when she had been slaving around all of Tokyo for anything that paid somewhat decently.

 

A sigh from her side directed her attention to the gentle giant that was her brother. “Trust me please sis? Seriously there is just something about this woman that…I don't know really. She just…she feels like…home.”

 

It was rather surprising how such a simple phrase managed to change the woman's entire outlook on their impending evening. Home? She couldn't remember a time when even she had actually known what `home' felt like so she seriously doubted Kazuma did. It had been just the two of them struggling for so long that nothing really managed to feel like that, no matter how much work and tears were put into their lives. Both siblings tried so hard to breathe that tender, warm emotion into their own homes and yet Shizuru knew nowhere had ever felt that way.

 

Kuwabara being able to explain something in that one way only was kind of a shock. She knew if she couldn't remember what `home' felt like than her brother had never really known. If he could only feel that one word to associate with this woman…then maybe, just maybe things were going to be okay for them. Suddenly her heart felt a little lighter and it didn't feel as if the world was pressing down on her shoulders; somehow she knew that Kazuma would always live through his fights and they wouldn't lose one another. Tilting her head to the side and catching her brother's attention, Shizuru smiled; a true, warm hopeful smile.

 

Something she hadn't been sure she could do again.

 

The large man simply returned the smile with a matching one before sliding his arm over her shoulders and giving her a hug. “I promise Shizuru, Kagome is a great person. You'll love her.”

 

Nodding her head, the woman settled against her strong brother's side, relishing in the safety and comfort he gave her. Really, Kuwabara was just like a big teddy bear.

 

Soon after she'd begun to relax, Shizuru felt something tickle her senses and she tensed slightly, not recognizing the presence as evil but completely unknown and incredibly strong. It made her uneasy. However her brother's arm only tightened around her shoulders in another sideways hug and he grinned down at her, walking past the store and to the beautiful house standing next to it.

 

Shizuru had to admit that already all the tension in her body was melting away, leaving her to feel boneless and warm. She knew without a doubt that if there was a bed right in front of her, she'd fall soundly asleep. Continuing her steps under her brother's guidance, the two soon found themselves standing in front of a beautifully carved oak door. Kuwabara reached over and rang the doorbell, then let his arm drop back to his side and cast a grin at his sister.

 

Kuwabara looked up from Shizuru as the door opened and smiled brightly at the woman behind it, “Hello again Kagome. This is my sister Shizuru.”