Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Entering Another Realm ❯ Shuichi’s Death ( Chapter 19 )

Disclaimer:  I don't own YYH or Inuyasha!

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Shuichi's Death

            "How?" repeated Kagome solemnly, creasing her forehead in concentration. "That...I don't know. Hey! Don't look at me like that! Do I look like a genius to you? Well, glaring a hole through my head isn't going to solve the problem!"

            "Then WHY did you say YOU COULD FIX IT?!?" Yusuke practically yelled, puncturing his sentences by emphasizing specific words and phrases.

            "I didn't think you guys would actually believe me…I mean, I wasn't serious. You guys are way too gullible."

            "Then we'll have force that fox back in time to kill him to ensure Shuichi's safety!" Kuwabara interrupted, balling his hands into fists. "Pretty lady, please step aside; I don't want to fight a girl. It's against my code of honor."

            "Wait, wait! Back up. Who's Shuichi and what does he have to do with Youko?" she questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

            "Youko Kurama was killed by a bounty hunter. Well, he didn't really die, because his spirit left him and took residence in the unborn human child, Shuichi's, body. Now, for reasons I don't know, he's dying! But I know that if Youko dies Shuichi will live!" Yusuke growled, giving Kagome and Youko a quick, shortened explanation.

            "So what you're telling me is you're going to kill Youko so you can save a human version of him…Why don't you just let him carry on with his life then? I mean, you said he was your friend, right?" Kagome asked, looking at the spirit detectives as if they had knocked a few screws loose in their heads.

            "It's not the same!"

            Kagome was going to retort when Youko pulled her aside and quickly whispered something into her ear. Suddenly, a light bulb seemed to go off in her mind as she happily bounded over towards the spirit detective. "Youko just reminded me of something really interesting. I think there might be something I can work out after all, that is, if you will all cooperate."

            "HOW?!?" asked a non-too-patient Yusuke.

            "I need to see this Shuichi person first." she replied. "Only then can I decide if this plan will work." When no one answered her, she smacked her lips and proclaimed, "Then it's settled! We'll visit this Shuichi tomorrow…after school." Yusuke looked about to scream his frustration, but was silenced at the warning look Hiei was flashing him. He grumbled incoherently under his breath as he watched Kagome nearly drag Youko towards her shrine house.

            "We'll agree with her terms." Hiei intoned before settling himself onto the highest branch over-looking the enchanted well house. At Yusuke and Kuwabara's questioning gaze, he growled, "So that they don't escape."

            "Oh," they replied at the same time before trudging towards the well house. After entering, the duo found a comfortable spot beside the well. In mere seconds, both boys were snoring loudly. An irritated look flashed across Hiei's ruby eyes as he glared at the well house beneath him.

            "I can't believe those two have survived till now." he grumbled, preparing himself for a long night spent in the presence of two snoring buffoons.

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            "What are these strange contraptions?" asked Youko, who was curiously poking the television set. Kagome grabbed his larger hand and pulled him upstairs, trying to hide the grin that was threatening to spill over her features. Stopping before a room on the second floor, she pulled out a polka-dot key and inserted it into the key hole. With a soft click, the room swung open.

            "It's amazing I haven't lost it with all that I've been through." she muttered under her breath. She was startled out of thoughts when the shower suddenly turned on. She quickly hurried to the bathroom on the opposite side of her room. She had to stifle a giggle at the sight of a dripping wet fox youkai, who was glaring murderously at the shower handle.

            "What is this?" he demanded as Kagome turned off the shower.

            "Another time," she replied, motioning for him to go into her room. After Youko left the bathroom, much to Kagome's relief, she whipped out a hair dryer and a pair of her grandpa's clothes. "This'll have to do for now."

            When she entered her room, her eyes bulged to the size of saucers. "WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!? PERVERT!" she yelled at the sight of Youko undressing himself. She quickly slammed her eyes shut and blindly hurried out of her own room.

            Immediately, several bedroom doors swung open one by one. After this, three heads popped out of their respective rooms like popcorn. "Kagome, when did you get back home?" her mother asked with a mix of confusion and relief. "Is Inuyasha here as well? I heard some racket."

            "Sis, what's with the screaming?" asked Souta, who looked like he was half-asleep.

            "I heard someone scream pervert!" her grandfather interrupted, pulling out several scrolls. "These will ward off evil…and perverted…. spirits!" he assured. "You have nothing to fear…" he trailed off. Souta was wide awake now as he eyes became larger and larger.

            "Who's that dear?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, inclining her head towards the man standing behind her daughter. "And what is he doing in your room…like that at this time of night?" she asked suspiciously. "Do you need to tell me something, Kagome?" she asked, her voice laced with fear…not for herself, but for her child.

            Kagome slowly turned around to face the inevitable before taking a deep breath. "YOU PERVERT!!! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY MODESTY?!?" she demanded, her voice causing everyone to wince. Youko stumbled backwards at the sheer volume of his soon-to-be mate's voice. The next second, he found that said mate had slammed the door right in his face, leaving him blinking wildly.

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            "WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!? PERVERT!" a voice had ringed from the house. Hiei had barely kept himself from falling off the tree he was residing in at the sudden scream, which left his sensitive ear drums thrumming even several minutes afterwards.

            When he had thought his poor ear drums had finally recovered, someone had screamed, "YOU PERVERT!!! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY MODESTY?!?" A permanent scowl seemed to be etched on his face as he covered his ears with both hands.

            He sent a withering glare in the direction of the shrine house before tuning his gaze downwards to the well house. Sometimes he almost envied the buffoons for their weak human hearing and their ability to sleep through a hurricane…almost. No doubt, he sourly mused, the fox and the girl were trying to settle their…differences.

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            After giving some vague information to her family, she hurried back into her room. She wisely kept her eyes tightly closed this time and asked, "I hope you're dressed in something!" When he did not reply, she slowly slid the hands that covered her eyes slowly from their location.

            The sight that greeted her was not one she was expecting. Youko was in her bed, glaring at her. "Well," she thought cryptically to herself, "at least it's an improvement." She sighed when his glare only intensified by the second. "Oh come on, you're not really mad at me, are you?" she asked, climbing onto her bed.

            She grinned when he didn't respond. "He can be so childish sometimes." She drew herself closer to Youko and snuggled into his bare chest. After a few seconds of tense silence, she felt his arm snake around her waist. She smiled softly before running her hand through his wet locks of silver tresses. When she began to massage the base of his ears, Youko couldn't stop his eye from sliding shut.

            "Do you always scream like a banshee every night?" he asked softly, causing Kagome to pinch his ears.

            He growled as Kagome replied, "I do NOT scream like a banshee and I wouldn't have screamed if you hadn't undressed yourself!" she muttered, her face flaming a bright red.

"Also, I must ask, why did you call me a pervert when it is you who was looking?" he smirked, causing Kagome to avert her gaze.

"B-Because I said you are! Anyway, let's not talk about this anymore. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow…ugh…I really don't want to go to school. Not to mention, I'll have to deal with Hojo."

            "School?" asked Youko, quirking an eyebrow.

            "I'll explain tomorrow morning." she promised.

            "And who's Hojo?" he asked, narrowing his golden eyes.

            "Good night Youko," Kagome yawned, closing her eyes.

            "Who is this Hojo?" he demanded, but no one answered.

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            "I AM SO LATE!?!" Kagome screamed, storming into the bathroom, grabbing her breakfast, and running down the shrine steps at a record-breaking time. She did not even notice when she had accidentally trampled Yusuke and Kuwabara, who had just excited the well-house, in her attempt to get to school on time.

            Hiei dropped down and glared at the two boys lying next to his feet. Yusuke and Kuwabara groaned as she they pushed themselves upright. "What's wrong with her?" grumbled the spirit detective. "It's just school."

            "What's wrong with you shrimp?" Kuwabara asked, noticing Hiei's angry glare.

            "Didn't sleep well?" Yusuke joked.

            "Yeah, your eyes are red." Kuwabara added.

            "Idiot, his eyes are NATURALLY red."

            "Who are you calling an idiot?"

            "So what if I'm calling you an idiot? You want to fight me? I'll beat you to a pulp!"

            "Oh, you asked for it, Urameshi!"

            "Shut up, both of you." hissed Hiei. "Youko just left the house."

            "What?" they asked in unison, only to find their short companion gone.

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            "Man, I can't believe I couldn't understand a word Mr. Kanawaki said." Kagome moaned, burying her face into her textbook. "I am so doomed. I'm never going to get into a good college. I might not even graduate!"

            "How are you feeling Kagome?" asked her three friends, Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka. When Kagome just glumly shook her head - her three friends thought the worst. "Um, let's go eat lunch." they suggested, hoping to cheer Kagome up.

            "Okay," Kagome replied, following her friends to their usual lunching spot. As she dug through her backpack, she mournfully realized she had forgotten to bring her lunch to school. "Why me?" she asked, earning several curious glances from her fellow peers.

            "Hey Higurashi-san!" greeted Hojo, running towards the four girls. "How are you feeling?" he asked, directing his full attention to Kagome. She really hated to burst his bubbles, since he really is a nice guy, but Kagome just didn't like him the way he wanted her to.

            "I'm fine Hojo." she replied, sighing slightly.

            "Are you sure?" he whispered, his eyes shining with worry. When he moved his hand to touch her forehead to check for a fever, a threatening growl sent him tumbling back in fright.

            "Could this day get any worse?" Kagome whispered; dropping her head into her open palms as all her friends leapt to their feet. "Youko, what do you want? I thought I told you to wait for me at home."

            "You did no such thing." Youko replied, stepping out from the confines of the shadow. Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi gasped as Youko tossed Kagome her sack lunch. "And I thought I was doing you a favor by bring you that."

            "When did you get a boyfriend?" demanded Ayumi.

            "Why didn't you tell us?" piped Yuka.

            "Are you going to share?" asked Eri, looking slyly at Youko, who grinned in response. "He's a hottie!" 

            Kagome quickly pulled Youko aside and whispered, "Where's your ears and your tail?"

            "I'm a fox…I specialize in disguises." he proudly replied.

            "What are you guys talking about?" questioned Ayumi. Hojo felt uncomfortable and out of place when Youko suddenly wrapped his arms around Kagome and planted a kiss on her lips.

            "Ew, break up you two." Yusuke interrupted with an annoyed voice. "I've been chasing you two and waiting for you two all day! I can't wait any longer. We're going to go visit Shuichi now so we can get this mess fixed! I expect you two to explain to him what you are doing!"

            "The Shuichi?" asked Eri.

            "As in Shuichi Minamino?" asked Ayumi, her eyes widening.

            "The cute one with red hair and green eyes?" added Yuka, looking slightly dazed.

            "Yeah," Kuwabara replied, scratching his head.

            "Did you say explain?" asked Yuka.

            "Yeah," Yusuke drawled.

            "I FINALLY GET IT!" Ayumi exclaimed. "Kagome was never sick to begin with!" she began, causing Kagome to tense. "She was dating Shuichi behind our backs!" Kagome felt like slapping her friend senseless. "Now, she dumped Shuichi and replaced him with this hottie!"

            "You are, like,  way off." Kagome thought to herself.

            "That's why you weren't interested in Hojo!" exclaimed Yuka, her eyes lighting up. Hojo slowly edged away, his eyes drooping with sadness, but no one ever noticed. "But I can't believe you two-timed Shuichi! I heard he's really sweet! I never expected you to go for the playboy type!"

            Kagome tossed Youko an accusing glare, causing him to grin in response. "Bye guys, we got to go." she interrupted.

            "Wait, I want to go meet Shuichi!" her three friends cried in unison. "We've only heard about him, but we've never actually MET him! Please, Kagome! You already have a boyfriend! Give us a chance, please?"

            "Some friend she is," Yuka grumbled as Kagome disappeared with the pack of boys. "She's so lucky!"

            "Hey, where's Hojo?" asked Eri.

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            "We'd like to visit Shuichi Minamino. He's in room 205." Yusuke told the nurse. The nurse's eyes suddenly turned sorrowful as she bit her lips. "Can we go see him now?" he asked impatiently, tapping his foot.

            "Yeah!" echoed Kuwabara.

            "I'm sorry. Shuichi Minamino passed away yesterday at midnight." the nurse replied, bowing her head. Time seemed to still as Yusuke and Kuwabara tried to steady one another. Hiei clenched his fists, but no other signs belayed his inner thoughts on the passing of his friend.

            "Great!" Kagome smiled.

            "What?" Yusuke demanded, rounding on the cheerful girl. Youko immediately intervened, hiding Kagome from view.

            "I meant everything's perfect!"

            "You planned this?!?"

            "No, but I sort of expected it."

            "If I had allowed Koenma to send us back in time so I killed this damn fox, none of this would have happened!"

            "You couldn't have even if you wanted to." Kagome replied. "Like Koenma said, in order for history to remain as it is now, Youko needs to be killed at the exact place and time by the same person. So, calm yourself…it's for the best that's Shuichi is gone. My plan will work nicely."

            "What was your damn plan? All you care about is Youko and no one else! You are so selfish!" Yusuke yelled, a stream of tears sliding down the sides of his cheek. Kuwabara was crying all of them a river, while on the other hand, Hiei stood indifferently on the sideline, giving the grinning girl behind the silver kitsune a peculiar look. After a few seconds of scrutinizing, he couldn't stop his own grin from surfacing. 

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TBC~

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