Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ Demon of Makai ❯ Chapter 15

Hey, I'm back with a new chapter. Ernesto passed, but it didn't affect us as much as I thought. Nothing was out of the ordinary except we got out of school for one day. Since it's a three-day weekend, I have time to update!

 

Serena SilverMoon: Glad to hear from you again. I thought you'd abandoned me. Yes, even the demonic Kurama can get sick in the right conditions. Boton doesn't know about Inuyasha, so she can't tell him what's going on. In fact, the Reikai members don't know about him, either, or the well. Hiei does, but he keeps things to himself to protect his Mommy(s).

 

~*~

 

Something woke Jordan. She wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't normal. Rolling over, she saw that the rain was still strong. As she tried to sit up, she glanced at Shuichi. He was lying down, still in the same clothes. So he did manage to get to sleep. But there was something wrong. She couldn't hear him breathing. Walking over on her knees, she cautiously leaned over him and froze. His face was flushed, and his breathing was shallow. He was dripping in sweat, but was shivering at the same time.

 

“Shuichi?” She shook him, trying to wake him up. He didn't respond at all. She tried again, shaking him harder. Still no response. “Come on, Shuichi, wake up. We can't afford to have you sick.” He just refused to wake up. This doesn't look good. Grabbing his blankets, she wrapped them around him. It wasn't enough to warm him up, so she went to her side and wrapped her blankets around him as well. She was rummaging around in her own pack for more blankets when he decided to rejoin the world of the living.

 

“Jordan?” he called weakly. She was by him in an instant.

 

“You shouldn't talk much,” she said, “you're sick. I don't know how sick, but it's enough.”

 

“I can't afford to be sick,” he muttered. “Is it still raining?”

 

“Yeah. We can't go anywhere, so it looks like we're stuck here until you get better.”

 

“I'm not sick,” he insisted. “Just a little under the weather.”

 

“That would mean you're sick,” she said patiently. “Now we have to find a way to get a fire started. You need to keep warm.”

 

“In my bag, there are small packets. Would you get out the red ones?”

 

She did as she was asked, wondering why he would want these. Giving them to him, she watched as he separated them into different piles. “Now we need something to burn,” he remarked. “You wouldn't happen to know where we could find some, would you?”

 

“I'll go look back there.” She indicated the back of the cave with a wave of her hand.

 

“Take one of the lights with you,” he advised, handing her one of the flashlights. “There might be bats or rodents back in the dark.”

 

Forewarned, Jordan stepped out into the dark, but she didn't turn on the light. Instead, she relied on her tiger senses, which included good sight in the dark. Not wanting to leave him alone for too long, since he might get worse, she quickly scanned the area around her. It was a little claustrophobic, being a cave and all, but it opened up a bit and got lighter.

 

Cheered by the light, she hurried forward, only to stop short. It led right outside into the rain. Her ears flattened against her skull, broadcasting her disappointment. Maybe there's wet sticks out there that I can bring inside. They'll be good once they're dry. But that means I have to get wet. Decisions, decision. I wonder which I'll choose: staying dry or try drowning myself in this. But then Shuichi won't get better. She shook her head and prepared for a big shock. The things I do for you, Shuichi. Done preparing, she charged out into the icy cold weather, her fur being drenched in seconds.

 

“Yah!” she yelped as the freezing drops seemed magnetically attracted to her, and the wind seemed to be in a contest to see which could rush by faster and make her the coldest. Using as much speed as she was able, she located some dead branches and hauled them to the interior of the cave.

 

When she as done, she checked her watch, which was still inside the cave. It had taken her three hours to find and drag back the branches. Crap! she yelled at herself, speeding back to “camp”. For some reason, it took almost fifteen minutes to get back there. Panting, she looked at Shuichi, who was laying down by a small fire, his glazed eyes staring into the fiery depths.

 

“Shuichi!” she shouted, trying to get him to look up. She succeeded. Startled, he jerked into an upright position, before relaxing.

 

“Oh, Mother,” he said, trying to get up. “I had the strangest dream.”

 

“Shuichi?” she asked, confused. Mother!? This is just great. Now he's delirious.

 

He continued trying to get up, but he didn't have the strength. “Did you need help with anything?” he asked, struggling to rise.

 

Putting aside her bewilderment, Jordan pushed him back down and knelt next to him. “You're very sick, Shuichi,” she told him bluntly. “You need to stay here, lying down.”

 

“Yes, Mother,” he said obediently. She put a hand to his forehead, and yanked it right back. He was almost hot enough to fry eggs. Digging in her bag, she produced a bottle of juice and gave it to him.

 

“Drink,” she ordered. Taking the bottle from her, he started sipping it. “I know I have a pot in here somewhere,” she muttered to herself, once again rooting through her bag in search of something that would hold water. “His temperature's too high. It has to come down, but if he gets the shakes, it'll only rise.” When a hand was placed on her shoulder, her head snapped around to look right into Shuichi's face, drenched in sweat. “What are you doing out of bed?” she demanded, taking his arm and hauling him back to bed.

 

“You were looking for something, so I thought I'd help you look,” he offered as an explanation. “You usually don't lose something, so I thought it would be best if I helped.”

 

“Shuichi,” she began sternly, “you are not to move from this bed unless I specifically say so. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes, Mother,” he said again, the obedient boy once more.

 

“But first, you need to change your clothes,” she stated, looking at his soaked clothes and knowing that he would feel every draft in those. “Can you do this yourself?”

“Yes,” he said, trying to walk and failing.

 

Jordan sighed. “You stay here,” she commanded, “I'll get your clothes.” After rummaging around in his bag, which was a lot bigger than it looked, she finally found clothes that had long sleeves, but let a little air through. Walking back over to him, she half-walked half-dragged him over to where there was a little light, but not enough for her to see what exactly he would be doing. “You change, and tell me when you're done.”

 

He acquiesced, like the mother's boy he was. She waited patiently for him to finish, half-afraid he'd collapse, or not have enough energy to finish changing.

 

Fortunately, her fears didn't come to pass. He called weakly, and she was there in an instant. Taking his wet things under one arm, she acted as his crutch again and hauled him back to the flames and handed him another bottle of juice. “Finish it,” she ordered, her voice brooking no argument. He did as he was told, and she set his things to dry by the fire. “How did you start the fire?” she asked casually.

 

“With this,” he replied, holding up a red packet. “There are matches in here, and I just emptied a packet into another one, and used the empty one as kindling. It isn't much, but it's something.”

 

“There weren't matches in those,” she pointed out. “I had to hand them to you, and those were the strangest matches I've ever felt, if that's what they really are.”

 

He gave her a strange look before saying, “We were making matches that looked like seeds in school today.”

 

“Whatever, Shuichi, whatever,” Jordan said.

 

“Are you all right, Mother?” he asked in a concerned tone. “You're acting strangely. Maybe you should be the one to lie down.”

 

“Don't you dare try to get out of that bed, Shuichi!” Jordan threatened him. “If you get worse, I'll have to blame myself. Now drink this.” She handed him another juice bottle.

 

“Mother, you're going to drown me in juice,” he sighed as he started sipping the drink.

 

“That's the idea,” she responded absently, taking the finished bottles and setting them off to one side. Going through her bag again, she finally found a pot at the bottom of the pack and set it off where it could catch the rain. Coming back inside, she found Shuichi looking at her strangely again.

 

“Why did you put that pot outside the window?” he asked curiously.

 

“So it'll catch water,” she answered him, walking towards the dark end of the cave. “I'll be right back, so don't go anywhere,” she called over her shoulder. I need to get some of those sticks by the fire, so they'll dry faster, and we'll have more fire.

 

Running along, she grabbed a handful of branches and set off at a run to make sure the redhead didn't kill himself. Upon returning, she found his staring into the fire again, the empty bottle in his hands. Setting the wet sticks near the fire on her side, she got the now overflowing pot and set it over the tiny fire after pouring a small amount of excess water out. Handing him another bottle and ignoring his complaints, she watched the water as it started to boil. She put the used bottles and caps in it and took it off the fire.

 

“Why did you do that?” Shuichi asked her.

 

“Because you're sick, you drank out of them, and they have to be cleaned,” she answered as she used tongs to get the now clean bottles and caps out of the still boiling water.

 

“You didn't use soap,” he pointed out. “Are you sure you're all right?”

 

“Yes, I'm fine, and I didn't use soap because we need to save it for us humans,” she said, starting to get exasperated with him. “Here.” She set seven bottles of juice and water next to him. “I don't want you to leave a single drop in those.”

 

He sighed and started drinking the liquids, giving her sorrowful looks. I know it's not the greatest thing, but we need to get that temperature down. I don't know how to find this demon, and how would I explain to the others that I let you die because of a fever?

 

“Mother,” he called softly. Jordan looked at him. “Must I finish all these? I don't know if I'll be awake long enough to finish them.”

 

Putting a hand on him, she felt how he was much cooler than earlier. “Go to sleep,” she told him.

 

He gave her a brief smile before lying down. He was asleep in seconds. Jordan looked at herself. Mother? I'm not sure that being called someone's mother is very flattering, even if the person is delirious. She tried going to sleep, but after Shuichi tried to leave (still delirious), she decided to stay closer to him. After all, if he got out in the rain and got worse, she wouldn't be able to help him. Crystal was the healer, not her. He still tried to leave, but she got to him before he could go five steps. That was when she gave up on trying to sleep. When he got up, she just about shoved a bottle of water or juice down his throat; he still had a fever to fight, after all.

 

“Dang it, the fire's too low,” she muttered to herself, scooting over to the dying flames and adding the branches. “Now I need to get more. Better make it quick.” Going almost faster than the original trip, she grabbed more branches and speeded back to the sick boy. Thankfully, he hadn't moved since she left him. Digging around in his bag for the dry food he claimed to have, she found her quarry and sat next to his sleeping form. Leaving about two-thirds of it to one side, she started eating the crackers. About one fourth of the way through one roll, she set them aside and went outside for the water collector, as the pot now was. Boiling it, she poured it into the clean bottles for both herself and Shuichi.

 

“Jordan?” she heard her name called. Turning to the now awake Shuichi, she smiled at him.

 

“So, you're back to yourself?” she teased.

 

He looked at her questioningly. “You've been calling me `Mother' for the past,” she checked her watch, “eighteen hours.”

 

“I'm sorry, I don't recall anything past feeling not quite like myself,” he confessed. “I do apologize for being a burden to you.”

 

“This is why you don't travel alone,” she informed him. “What would've happened if I hadn't been here? What would you have done then?”

 

He shrugged. “I would've born it to the best of my abilities, I guess,” he replied. “It's not like I would've been able to take a break if I had gotten ill alone. No one would've known if I had achieved what I set out to do.”

 

“I don't think they know now, even though we both left,” Jordan commented.

 

“But there's a better chance of making our goals with more than one person doing it,” he pointed out.

 

“Here.” She pushed the dry food towards him. “You need to eat. I've basically filled you with liquid to the point of bursting, but you haven't eaten anything, and I know that's bad, but I needed your fever to come down.”

 

He started on it immediately. “These are from my bag, aren't they?” he asked as he ate, somehow talking in between the small bites.

 

“Yeah,” she admitted. “You said you had them, so I looked for them. They weren't that hard to find.”

 

“Thank you,” he said gratefully. “I doubt I have the energy to go to my bag, so if you didn't, then I wouldn't be eating.”

 

“No problem,” she waved away his thanks, even though she was glowing inside. “By the way, now that you're not delirious, why don't you heal yourself,” she suggested. “I saw you heal the people back in the human town, so I know you can.”

 

“Actually, I can't,” he contradicted her. At her puzzled look, he expanded on his answer. “A healer can cure others, yes, but he can't heal himself. You can't see what you're doing, since it's your body. It's physically and mentally impossible.”

 

“Oh.” That's definitely a damper. “So we just have to wait, then?”

 

“We can't afford to wait,” he responded, setting the food off to one side. “We've wasted enough time because I was sick.” He tried getting up.

 

“Oh, no,” Jordan stood up and pushed him back down. “You're not going anywhere. If you go now, you'll get worse, and we'll be stalled even more. You'll stay here if I have to sit on you.” She crossed her arms and sat between him and the entrance/exit.

 

“As you wish,” he said, settling back down. “We'll stay here for now.”

 

“Good. Now, go to sleep. I know you've had loads already, but it'll help you fight this thing.” She lay down beside him.

 

“Don't you think you're a bit close?” he asked, sounding a little surprised.

 

“I'm not taking the chance that you'll go back into delirium,” she replied, trying to find a comfortable position. “If you try and leave, I'll have to tackle you again, so it's just better all around if I stay here.”

 

“Suit yourself,” he said, taking it all in stride.

 

When Jordan woke up, she was surprised to find that they had slept for eight hours, but what surprised her more was that she was in Shuichi's arms, or he was in hers. His face was buried into her neck, so all she saw was his red hair and felt his steady breathing.

 

“Eep!” She scrambled away from him, back to “her side” of the cave. He stirred, looking up at her.

 

“Are you alright?” he asked sleepily.

 

“J-just ducky,” she squeaked.

 

Now he was looking at her with concern, and crawled over to her. “Are you sure?” he asked, sitting beside her.

 

“Yeah, I'm sure.”

 

He still looked puzzled. “If you say so.” He looked over his shoulder to the back of the cave. “We'd better be careful. I think a family of particularly large water imps have joined us, though they're pretty far back there and shouldn't come this way unless something bothers them.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“I can smell them.” From the surprised look on his face, she surmised that he didn't mean to say that.

 

“How can you smell these things?” she asked him. “No one's nose is that good.”

“I almost went blind once, so I had to rely on my other senses to get me around,” he offered as an explanation. She didn't buy it for a second.

 

“Don't lie to me,” she said flatly. “No one can get their sense of smell that good. I don't know what you are, but you're not human.”

 

“But I am,” he protested.

 

“Not full human,” she replied. Silence, then…

 

“You're part right,” he finally admitted. “I am full human, or at least Shuichi is.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

“They used to call me Yoko Kurama, or just Yoko. I died, and possessed the unborn child of a woman, and became her son. She named me `Shuichi', but I go by Kurama to my friends in Spirit World.”

 

“Spirit World?”

 

“I work for Koenma sometimes, the ruler of Spirit World. They consider me a part of the Reikai Tantei, though the only one who works for them full-time is Yusuke. Kuwabara helps him out, even though he isn't required to.”

 

“Why do you help, then?”

 

“Hiei and I were either to help them or be sent back to Makai. We were excused after the second major mission.”

 

“Hiei? What does he have to with you?”

 

“He was a thief, and enlisted my help in stealing three artifacts, the Reikai artifacts. I only agreed because my mother was dying, and one of the items would heal her.”

 

“Why did you have to steal them? Couldn't they've loaned them to you, or something?”

 

He laughed bitterly. “Loan? These were three of the most dangerous items in the three worlds of Makai, Ningenkai, and Reikai. The one Goki, our partner in crime, wanted stole human children souls and stored them inside the Orb of Baast. Hiei took the Shadow Sword, which turned any human it cut into a low-class demon.” He hung his head. “I was after the Forlorn Hope. Its power was at its fullest during the full moon, and would grant a person a single wish. However, the conditions were severe.” He stopped talking.

 

“What conditions?” she prodded.

 

“In order for the wish to be granted, the person making the wish would forfeit their life.”

 

“But you're still alive, so then, what happened? Did your mother die?” Jordan was now thoroughly confused.

 

“No, I didn't die, but neither did my mother. Yusuke wanted the mirror to take his life instead of mine, because no mother should be saddened by the loss of their child. Well, the Forlorn Hope granted my wish and didn't take any lives, since they were pure wishes from both of us. I personally think that it couldn't take Yusuke's life and grant his wish at the same time, so it just didn't take any lives,” he finished.

 

“Well, that's a good thing, then, isn't it?” she asked.

 

“I suppose it is,” he agreed. “No one was killed.”

 

She sighed. “Life is so short,” she said meditatively. “We only live long enough to know what we want, and then we die. But you don't have that problem, do you? You're a demon, after all.”

 

“What makes you think that we get what we want?” he asked.

 

“Well, you have time to find what makes you happy. And when you find it, you're all set for the rest of your life.”

 

“What if what we want is mortal?” he questioned softly. “My mother is mortal. What I want is for her to live out her life being happy, but I'm sure that I will be devastated when she dies.”

 

“So what would make you happy is to see your mother live for as long as you.”

 

“Yes, but that's not all I want,” he added so she barely heard it.

 

“What do you mean that's not all you want? What else would make you happy?” she asked. He stiffened and snapped his head towards her. From his reaction, she surmised that she wasn't supposed to have heard that last comment.

 

“What?”

 

“You said that wasn't all you wanted. What else do you want?”

 

His face was getting an interesting shade of red. “Um, nothing,” he answered too quickly, suddenly finding the opposite wall of the cave very fascinating.

 

“No, I know you're lying to me. Tell me what it is. Is it embarrassing? Is that it?” Jordan prodded, curiosity just about consuming her.

 

“It's not really embarrassing,” he relented a bit, “but I'd rather not talk about it.”

 

“So it is embarrassing,” she exclaimed triumphantly. “I knew it!”

 

“What about you?” he changed the subject. “What would you want, since you're here on this earth so short a time?”

 

She deflated. “Something I can't have,” she answered sadly. “It's beyond my reach at the moment, and probably for the rest of my life.”

 

“What is it?” Curiosity flared in his eyes.

 

“I'd rather not talk about it,” she primly threw his words back in his face.

 

“You can tell me,” he wheedled.

 

“Not until you tell me first,” she countered.

 

Shuichi, now Kurama, threw up his hands. “You'd laugh if you heard,” he told her.

 

“Not likely,” she answered. “Now what is it?”

 

“It's not really a wish, just a feeling,” he said, moving his head into his arms.

 

“Okay, that's fine. What is it?” Now Jordan was getting impatient. Here she was, trying to not rush him, and she wasn't getting anywhere.

 

He mumbled something unintelligible, even with her acute hearing. “Care to repeat that?” she questioned.

 

“I, um, I…like you.” The last part came out in a rush so she almost missed what he said again.

 

She blinked. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she stammered, still not sure she heard him correctly. “Did you just say that you…like me? As in, like me, like me?”

 

Now she couldn't see his face, since it had burrowed itself back into his arms once he had said…that. “I told you I didn't want to talk about it,” he said, his voice almost hysterical. On the edge, actually.

 

Putting an arm around his shoulders, she whispered in his ear, “That's what I wanted, too.”

 

He lifted his head about a centimeter off his arms. “What?” he asked quietly, almost as if he was afraid that he'd misheard her.

 

“I like you, too,” she repeated.

 

He raised his head and looked at her with his deep green eyes filled with shock and a small amount of disbelief. “Why? What would make someone like you fall for someone like me? You don't seem like the type to go for just looks.”

 

“I've seen how you act around others,” she said simply. “You're polite and caring.”

 

“I try to be,” Kurama said hesitantly. “There are times when I'm not either, though I try to make those times few and far between.”

 

“That's more than some people I know,” she commented. “It's hard finding polite people nowadays. So you basically stand out in a good way.”

 

To her surprise, he embraced her. “You don't know how glad I am that you didn't reject me,” he murmured in her ear.

 

She smiled and embraced him back. “You don't know how glad I am that you admitted that you liked me,” she whispered back. “Ever since you ran into me my first day at the shrine, I couldn't help but think about you. I didn't want to get too close because--” she cut herself off. Here she was, pouring her heart out to a guy that just revealed that he liked her. What happened to her wariness? Apparently, it melted.

 

“Because of what?” he asked.

 

Jordan sighed, pulling away from him. “My sister and I ran away from Momiji's Orphanage before we went to the Higurashi Shrine,” she explained. “I think someone with lots of money was going to buy us, so they're probably looking for us. I'm hoping they've given up now, but I don't think I'll feel safe until I'm eighteen, when they won't have any claims on me anymore.”

 

“They won't find you,” he declared confidently. “We'll all help you stay hidden from them.”

 

“That's sweet of you,” she said, “but I don't think they'll listen to a sixteen year-old.”

 

Neither of them spoke for a minute, just enjoying each other's company and listening to the rain. Or lack thereof.

 

“Shouldn't there be a sound?” Jordan asked Kurama.

 

“What do you mean?” He sounded confused.

 

“Rain. Shouldn't there be the sound of rain hitting something?” They turned their glanced outward, to the sunny entrance.

 

“How long has the sun been out?” Kurama asked as they threw things into their packs.

 

“I don't know,” she answered. “I just noticed it.”

 

“Then let's find the demon.” Kurama waited for her to finish, then walked out.

 

“Don't overdo it,” she warned him. “I don't want you falling sick again.”

 

He smiled at her. “I won't,” he promised. Pausing, his head snapped to the left. “There's a demon nearby.” Running the direction his head had been facing, she followed him as best she could. She didn't know what he was looking for, so she had to keep behind him. He knelt down beside a tree stump and spoke in low tones to something she couldn't see. Coming up behind him, she saw he was talking to a tiny lizard demon.

 

“Does it know what we're looking for?” she asked when he stood up.

 

He nodded. “Yes. It appears that the demon we're looking for is who I thought he was. And we're either lucky or unlucky.”

 

“Why?”

 

“The demon is the same one that attacked the human village and destroyed their shield.” He turned back to the demon and said a few words. The demon answered him, and Kurama shot up and sped in a different direction.

 

“What did he say?” Jordan shouted to him.

 

“He's coming back. I think he's attacking the village even as we speak,” he shouted back. “We have to hurry. They'll need us.”

 

Crystal. “Wait for me, I'm coming.”

 

~*~