Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Stay Gone ❯ Questions ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: Questions

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Kagome's hand reached out to brush away a stray branch. The sky was getting worse, and they still hadn't reached the hut.

"Hurry up; we need to get to the hut before the rain starts!"

Kurama was just behind her and taking an agonizingly slow pace. He was oozing with a self-confidence that was shown by the small smirk on his face.

What in the world his he so smug about? I think that the chance of a thunderstorm would be more than enough motivation to get under some type of cover.

Sneaking a glance back, Kagome noticed that he still wore that smirk. Fine, I'll just ignore him, and then maybe he will stop.

'This isn't a thunderstorm,' said Youko haughtily.

'I know that. Must you state the obvious?'

'Of course. It's in my nature to do so. And anyways, the girl hasn't realized the current state of the weather yet.'

Kurama turned to the said "girl" and noticed that Kagome looking at him sourly. He was about to put on a blank look until he noticed that his mouth wouldn't move from its position.

'Youko! Stop smirking! It's irritating her!'

'I'm bored; I will do as a wish.'

'Watching a Teletubbies video sounds awfully tempting right now…' thought Kurama. Youko automatically relinquished his claim on the muscles. 'See? That wasn't so hard.'

Youko remained silent.

Up ahead, Kagome was still searching for the trail towards the hut. Kurama could hear her muttering about old huts, how no one ever needs them, and not finding trails that lead to them.

Kurama ducked his head and smiled in amusement. You would never guess that she would have that broad of a vocabulary.

He spotted an herb on the side of the road. He recognized it as a specific one that soothes and treats burns.

Kurama bent down and grabbed it with an outstretched hand in one swift movement. Kagome hadn't even noticed. Good, he thought, I don't want her acting like a mother hen; even though I seriously doubt that she would do that.

"Okay. We're here," Kagome announced.

"That's good. Now can I ask my…" He was cut off.

"Later," she snapped. "We need to get that hand treated first."

Kurama was stunned. That was the second time she had cut him off! Unbelievable!

"Come on. We haven't got all day!" Kagome walked up to the hut and went inside.

He sighed in defeat as he went up to the door. When would she not be pushy?

The hut was a tiny, single room with thin walls and an earthen floor. Kagome had piled some sticks in the center and was attempting to make a fire. Unsuccessfully.

I wish Hiei were here, thought Kurama. He could make that pile of twigs a pile of ash if he wished it.

"Sit and relax while I take care of that hand of yours."

Kurama awkwardly sat down against the thin walls with one knee bent in a laid-back pose.

"Comfortable?" she questioned. He nodded. "Good. Now give me your palm."

He smiled slightly. "You don't know how much you sounded like a Palm Reader."

Kagome practically had her nose in his hand. "Hush up and let me concentrate!"

"Do you know what you are doing?"

"Yes, I have studied herbology and ancient healing since I was 15."

Interesting, hardly anyone in Tokyo knows about plants. And she has been studying them since she was a child. "And how long ago was that?"

"Seven years."

Kurama leaned back farther into the wall. "How did a 22 year old become the head of an archeological dig? Most people your age would still be students."

"Look who's talking, Mr. Minamino. I looked up your files and you are only one year older than me. So tell me, how did you get in the Museum's good graces?"

Kurama's throat was dry. "It's… strictly confidential."

"Confidential, huh? Or is it just that you don't want to tell me? Don't want me to use the same moves you did? Fine, I can live with that."

Kurama threw up his hands in defeat. "Alright! I'll tell you, as long as you promise to answer my questions."

Kagome looked him straight in the eye. "Deal."

Kurama gulped. No one ever had made him act like this before. It was as if he was going through puberty all over again! "Well…" he started. "A friend of mine has connections to the Head of the Board of Directors. All he basically did was pull a few strings to get me started, and here I am!"

"Hm, that seems plausible. I guess it's your turn to ask the questions now."

"Okay, how did you get the job?"

"I skipped the 11th and 12th grades and went straight on to a Community College. I took the freshman and sophomore years in one. I guess that the college was so impressed that they let me go on to Tokyo University." Kagome looked at his face. "Unbelievable, I know, but it was tough. Thank goodness, I had my family to help me.

"Wow," he said in awe. "Its hard to imagine anyone doing that, let alone anyone with a son. What's his name by the way?"

"Shippo," she said with a slight hint of parental pride. "He's around ten now, but you would never guess it."

Kurama smiled at that. "I know what you mean, my brother, Shuiichi, is also like that."

Kagome looked puzzled. "But I thought that your name was Shuiichi."

"It is, but he's my step-brother. Everyone just calls me Kurama now."

"I see."

"Okay, next question. How did you get into my files?"

Kagome smiled. Again, Kurama was amazed at the change in her face. "Oh that's easy. Shippo is a wiz at the computer. He doesn't do anything illegal, but he can get into anything if he really wants to."

"Why would you want to check my files?"

"Oh, I do that to everyone. This is a major dig; I can't have anyone untrustworthy around here."

"Hm," he said in agreement. It was another thing out of the ordinary for a regular human. "Okay, how did you recognize that youkai?"

Kagome looked at him steadily for a while and then quickly turned her attention back to his hand. "My grandfather is a fanatic about ancient legends and myths. He talks about them all the time. When I saw it, I automatically labeled it as a youkai."

She's lying; her voice and her scent are betraying her. She knows more about youkai than by descriptions from her grandfather's stories. But how does she know?

"Final question, what was that blue glow that you and your arrow were emitting?"

She sighed. "If I told you that, I would have to kill you."

Kurama raised an eyebrow at that. Despite her display of power, he still seriously doubted that she could really do some major damage.

Seeing his skeptical look, she elaborated. "No one is supposed to know what it is. First of all because I can't control it. And secondly because it might invite the wrong type of people here."

"Hm," he said through pursed lips.

"Now, I need some herbs to act as a salve for the burn. I saw one on the way here but…" Kagome trailed off when Kurama pulled out the very herb she was talking about. "How did you…?"

"I know a thing or two about plants myself," he said with a kind smile.

"Thank you," she said when he handed it to her. "Just give me a moment to prepare it." Kagome went outside and came back with two rocks: one to hold the herb on, and one to crush it with.

As Kurama watched Kagome grind the herb into smithereens, he felt a great sense on peace descend upon him. Just being in her presence calmed him down almost to the point of dropping his guard. Mentally, he knew that that was dangerous, but he sensed that Kagome wasn't harboring any ill will.

Kurama sighed in contentment. It seemed that even Youko was pacified.

Kagome had finished preparing the salve. Grabbing a bandage wrap from a bag of hers, she proceeded to wrap up his hand.

To Kurama, the ointment felt like an ice cube.

Kagome was checking to see if anything else needed attention, when she asked a question. "Where did that vine come from?"

Kurama immediately stiffened up.

"I mean one second it was there and the next it wasn't."

Youko, sensing Kurama's distress, tuned himself to Kurama's thoughts.

'What's going on?'

'Kagome just asked where that whip came from.'

Youko shrugged nonchalantly. 'Why not just tell her? I mean she obviously has some powers of her own; it won't hurt her to know that others have the same abilities. You humans always seem to shun those different than you, and maybe she doesn't know about spirit energy.'

Kurama was skeptical. 'But what happens if she is a youkai?'

'Kill her. If she is dead, you would be the next person in charge, so you don't have to worry about losing the case.'

'True. But I don't think I should.'

Youko yawned, 'You better make a decision because she looks ready to hit you upside the head.'

'Hey, where did you learn that phraseology?'

'American cowboy films. I watched them while you were asleep.'

'What else did you do?!' Kurama asked in panicked tone. But Youko did not answer; he had blocked all forms of communication to and from Kurama. 'You would think that after having someone in your head your whole life, you would know them very well.'

"Aren't you going to answer my question?" interrupted Kagome.

"Huh?" blinked Kurama. "Oh yeah, the whip thing. I need to say a few things before I tell you, so can you please be patient?"

Kagome gave him a glare.

There wasn't a reason for that! "Okay, I know you were lying about the youkai. You didn't just learn about it from your grandfather." Kurama held up a hand as Kagome made a move to object, "I don't know how or why you could recognize it, since there have been very few youkai in the human world since approximately 300 years ago."

"How do you know this?!" she blurted.

Kurama casually waved his hand. "My boss is the prince of the Spirit Realm. I'm sent on all these missions to find stray youkai, destroy collaborators and…" he paused, "to find magical artifacts." Just as he suspected, Kagome immediately stiffened up.

"Magical artifacts?" she choked.

He gave a nod.

She put her hand to her breast. "But why are you here, then? There isn't one here."

Kurama leaned back. He was studying her, waiting to see what her next action would be. He wanted to be prepared to see if it would be an attack or a flight of fear. "Again, you are lying. You know that there is one here; you are the one looking for it. Tell me, why do you want the Shikon no Tama?"

Again, Kagome was a statue. You think she would have gotten used to the unexpected questions by now.

"I…" she started.

Kurama tried prompting her with a "You…"

"I… I am the Shikon's Guardian." It was Kurama's turn to be shocked. "I was the one who had it in her body before I broke it, I was the one who collected all of the shards and purified them, I was the one who fought beside my friends and beat Naraku, I was the one that lost it inside the earth, and I am the one who is trying to find it."

"But, that was five hundred years ago!"

She looked at him. "I know."

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Osuwari- commonly mistaken as the word "Sit" in Japanese. In actuality, it is a command of obedience for a dog.

Youkai- Japanese Demon; doesn't translate correctly

Miko- Priestess of the Shinto Religion, has magical powers; sometimes called a sorceress; doesn't translate properly

Haori- The "shirt" usually worn by men during the Feudal Era of Japan; it is the outer most of the layers in the outfit.

Makai- Youkai world; only used in Yu-Yu Hakusho

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Reviews

Fire Elfglow- I know what you mean about the sarcasm. I am so sarcastic at home that my mom's FRIEND wanted to slap me silly.

BloodRoseOTDemon- I'm glad you liked it; you're a first time reviewer for my story, aren't you?

Amethyst- I'm keeping my stories up, at least I'm trying too… I'm kind of grounded from the computer, so I have to be sneaky.

Askukay- I know that cliffies are evil! But please don't put me OR my cliffies in clown world! *Falls down on knees and begs* Pretty, pretty please! I didn't even know that this chapter was going to turn out as one! It just happened!

Smilebehappy39- lol, I just loved your review! I automatically thought "Nemo".

Thanks to all the people that reviewed my story. Since you didn't leave a question or comment that I can reply to… I'll just put your name at the bottom of the chapter.

Dark_lil_Hiei, 45, SilverKnight7, Kristie