Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sunsets Over Mulberry Fields ❯ Leads To ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha or Yuu Yuu Hakusho. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Yuu Yuu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Shounen. No profit or money of any kind is made from this fan-created crossover.

Rated M for a reason! This fic will contain sex (only on mediaminer), dark themes, violence, foul language and character death. If any of that is not your cup of tea, then there is a back button for a reason!


It was already almost noon and Shizuru was working through her third pack of cigarettes for the day. Never before had she smoked so much in her life, but then again, she had never been this worried before. Normally her ever-responsible little brother would've been home by now, or at least called, but he had done neither. His bed showed that he didn't come back home since it was cold and still made from the day before. The call from their cousin, Kagome, hadn't helped her nerves much either, especially when she asked if Kazuma was okay. The girl had a sixth sense on par with her own, so the fact that she would ask such a question on today of all days worried her more than she would ever care to admit.

Taking a cigarette from her fourth pack of the day, she headed into Kuwabara's room to look for the numbers of Kurama and Yuusuke. It was incredibly likely that he had spent the night over at one of their apartments. But the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach already told her that he wasn't before both of his comrades confirmed her fears.

He didn't spend the night...
...Last saw him yesterday...
...Said he was going home.

If Shizuru had been less of a woman, she would have broken down crying after hanging up the phone for the second time. But she was Kuwabara Shizuru, and she brushed off their concerns with her normal, flippant attitude. But so help her, if Kazuma was playing some game or anything of the sort, she would kill him. He had already taken a good ten-to-twenty years off of her life with this little stunt, so he had better be in trouble!


By his calculations, he had only a brief amount of time before his captive's friends would arrive, and it just wouldn't do for them to see their friend still alive. No, it would ruin everything if they saw their so-called friend alive. His only regret was that he had, had such little time with Kuwabara. At the same time, he was a little grateful. Harming the human hadn't turned out to be as much fun as he first thought. No matter how many times he slid his blade or claws into his frail human body, he was met only with screams the first few times he did it. Vocal cords can only take so much strain, and now all that came out was a raspy imitation.

He had even been expecting some words of remorse or regret towards the people in his life, but none left his lips. This human would probably never crack, but it was no matter. The one he needed to break wasn't him, but it would've made the torture so much more fun if he had. Instead those horrible raspy screams filled the air as he began peeling away flesh, seeing how long it would take him to start retching at seeing his own muscles. Most could never hold out long as seeing the sinew-y fat twitch and move without its protection. The sadistic smirk on his face only grew when he managed to get Kuwabara to conform in that aspect.

Feeling the energy of his rapidly approaching friends and the one he loathed more than anything, he sighed heavily. He turned to his victim, and with mock regret told him, "Looks like our playtime is almost up... And we were having such fun, weren't we?" His only answer was a glare that promised death. It was a little hard to tell through the blood and his swollen eyes, though. With another mockingly painful sigh, he once again picked up the sword he abandoned earlier and brought it up to Kuwabara's face, enjoying one last raspy scream of pain as he allowed the tip to slice into his cheek. "While I've had fun making you scream, Yuusuke's pain will be so much sweeter." Swiftly, his blade tilted down and soon found its temporary sheath in Kuwabara's chest. Humans were always talking about the pains of the heart, it was only fitting then that one would die of a true broken heart.

They say it can take up to ten seconds for someone to die after having their heart fatally wounded. He looked forward to hearing what Kuwabara's final words would be, so he could rub it in Yuusuke's face later.

"Bastard." That word came bubbling out of his mouth, surrounded by blood. It was a pity, really, that he didn't cry out for his friends or God, or curse his weakness. Other humans would've given in to that easy temptation by the second time his blade would make its way into their body. It was too bad though that even the most pain resistant person would die to that very pain. He wondered what his friends would think if they knew Kuwabara's last words were "bastard", and not something towards them.

In the last moment he could spare, he spent it putting the final touches on his surprise for Yuusuke. A message left for the idiot in another idiot's blood. He knew it was cliché, but sometimes it was the best way to make a statement.


This was one trip they had never intended to make. Yes, they knew that they would outlive him eventually due to their demonic blood, but they never expected it to happen so quickly. And they also expected Shizuru to be gone as well, as she was older. Their hearts were already so heavy with the sights and knowledge they had been graced with, and this trip threatened to be the feather that broke their control.

The day had just been full of surprises. It started out with them all waking to a sense of foreboding, even Hiei did. After so many years of living by the sword and fist, they should have learned to never brush off any of their feelings. Almost one-hundred percent of the time those feelings were correct. No matter what they told themselves and each other, they could not help but wonder if things might have gone differently had they listened to that feeling. If anything they could have found out about Kuwabara's abduction sooner and done something to prevent it! The call from Shizuru hadn't helped either. It was just sad that it took a call from her to get them worried about someone they called a friend. And then, to stumble upon his mangled body too late to save him...

It was amazing none of them had broken down yet. Then again, maybe the shock had yet to wear off enough for the reality to hit them.

The sound of Yuusuke's fist meeting the door sounded hollow and far-off to their ears. It was surreal to even think they would be in this situation. A human-looking Yukina answered the door, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. "Welcome, but... Kazuma isn't here at the moment."

Yuusuke opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly found a lump in his throat that stopped his words before they could be formed. How could he ever admit to their friends that he didn't do enough to save Kuwabara? Hell, how could he even tell them that his failure as a friend led to his death? How could he even tell himself that? Instead, he swallowed hard and closed his mouth, looking at the ground instead of into Yukina's eyes. There was no way he would be able to watch as sadness and pain filled her eyes.

Kurama and Hiei shared a look, already knowing what was going through Yuusuke's mind. It was almost like the Dark Tournament over again, only this time Kuwabara wouldn't be jumping back up and telling Yuusuke it was all just an act. This time, his death was for real and there was no coming back. "We know, Yukina. Is Kuwabara's father home, or Shizuru?"

Worry was evident in Yukina's carmine eyes. She could tell something had happened, but not what. Stepping aside, she held the door open. "Come in, they're both watching the TV."

The three of them stepped inside with Yuusuke trailing behind. None of them wanted to do this, but it wouldn't be right if they heard from someone else. Kuwabara had been a brother-in-arms to them, it would be a disrespect to not tell his family the tragic news. They entered the smoke-filled room after removing their shoes, easily seeing the worry and tension written into both elder Kuwabara. Their friend had not been the only spiritually gifted member of his family.

Both Shizuru and her father looked over at the trio that had once been a quad. The Kuwabara sire put out his cigarette, "That bad, huh? I can only hope he went out like a man."

Shizuru's fingers trembled, her cigarette just in front of her mouth, as everyone else in the apartment stared at the sire of the Kuwabara. One looked in thinly veiled confusion, while two met his unwavering resigned stare with remorse. The last one showed nothing, however to those who had known him long enough, his carmine eyes held a tiny bit of sorrow. While Hiei may not have held any fond feelings for Kuwabara, they were comrades and fought alongside each other for a while. He was...more than a friend to them all. At the moment it felt like he had been the glue that kept their bonds tight and unwilling to let them all go their separate ways, forgetting all about the battles and times they spent together.

Kurama took a steadying breath, knowing Hiei wouldn't say anything and that Yuusuke was unable to at the moment. "He did. His body is being cleaned up so no one will have to see how he died."

The sudden intact of breath seemed as if it sucked out all of the noise in the apartment as well. In the silence that surrounded them, they could almost hear Yukina's heart fall and shatter on the floor as she finally figured out just what they were talking about, but those were just the tears falling that she didn't even know she was crying. Her pain hadn't registered in her mind yet. "Kazuma..? Are you saying... That Kazuma is-..." She was unable to find the strength to push the words up past the lump in the throat. And it felt as if she said those words then she would be making his death a reality in her world. She didn't know if she would ever be ready to face that reality.

"Yeah," Yuusuke admitted softly, almost afraid that if he said it louder or with more conviction it would make the truth just that much more true. "Yeah, he's dead... All because we were too fucking late and too fucking stupid to realize there were still enemies out there! And so some twisted fuck killed him just to get to me! If only... If only we had stayed on our toes and actually paid attention instead of thinking the human world was some safe place.. Then maybe, he would still be here... I'll never be able to forgive myself..."

Not even Yuusuke could hold back his emotions and could stop his tears. Kuwabara had been his closest friend and first true friendship, and because of that he had been killed. While Kuwabara might have been the strongest human in the human world, he was no match for a more powerful demon on his own. And that was why he had been chosen. That just made the pain that settled in his heart and soul that much more unbearable. They hadn't even parted on good terms! What kind of person has their last words to their friend be "Screw you"? He hadn't even thrown in a goodbye, just a small lecture. Seriously, what kind of friend does that, especially ones who had lived most of their lives in fights and knowing how easily it all could end? What was worse was that he also fell into the type of person who let their friends get killed.

He guessed everyone had been right about him: he was nothing more than a heartless punk.

Kurama laid a comforting hand on Yuusuke's shoulder; his inner torment wasn't going unnoticed. In truth they all felt guilt for not doing anything more. Hiei and Kurama had lived for centuries, regret was something they had learned how to live with. This instance was different though, as there was really nothing more they could have done. How were they to know Kuwabara was in trouble or that there was someone after Yuusuke? True, they should have expected someone to be upset with him and for something like this to be pulled... But peace and quiet has a way of lulling one into a false sense of security. Normally slip-ups like that were easily corrected, but this time it had a fatal consequence.

"Yuusuke, it's not your fault. It's no one's fault."

"I know, but dammit! It doesn't take away from the fact that he's still dead!"

Shizuru looked around, seeing everyone dealing with their sadness and shock in their own ways. Precious hiroseki stones still fell to the floor as her brother offered comfort in the only way he knew, keeping his hand on her shoulder. Hiei was so socially inept at these kind of situations, but only his sister would be able to pull something resembling care out of him. Yuusuke also joined in the tear-fest Yukina started, and she knew he would only cry over her stupid little brother. Lifetime friendships strengthened through the things they faced were the only kind of things someone as rough-and-tumble as Yuusuke would cry over. Strong demons-once-human were allowed to cry over comrades-in-arms. Just like big sisters were allowed to cry over foolish little brothers who leave the world before them. But it wasn't like her to cry, she couldn't cry. So much still needed to be done so that her little brother could be at rest.

It was with trembling fingers the she put out her forgotten cigarette before standing. "Someone needs to let Aunt Miyoko know, and Kagome..." She was amazed at how her voice managed not to crack and at how speaking didn't cause her to completely fall apart. Perhaps later that night, when everything had settled in and there was no escaping the reality of the situation would she be able to cry over her foolish little brother. It wouldn't do if anyone saw that weak side of her. But she knew her strong facade couldn't last forever and headed into another room where no one would know if tears fell.

The father of their dear friend took out another cigarette and lit it. Everyone had their own ways of dealing with their grief, smoking was his temporary solution. "If Kazuma was here, Yuusuke, you'd find his foot shoved up your ass for acting this much like a child."

"Shut up. Just shut up! None of you know how I feel!"

Yukina sniffled and finally found her voice, "Yuusuke... We all loved and cared about Kazuma. While none of us may want to admit he's g-gone... We all are suffering the same."

"I know that! But..." The right words that had been in his mind moments before seemed to have fled, leaving him with an emptiness that echoed the one in his heart.

"But he was a friend, a very dear one... One we will all miss," Kurama finished for him, knowing those words needed to be said. For some reason, it just seemed right to validate the changing position of Kuwabara from a dear friend to a fallen comrade. It was a change they all had hoped would have happened years in the future.


Reviewer Responses:

squeefan: I'm glad you thought it was an interesting beginning! I hope this chapter was good, despite the sadness. And thanks for reviewing!

HeartStar: I'm glad to know you loved it, and I hope this chapter was just as good. Thanks for reviewing!

misfits284: I hope I didn't make you wait too long to read more, and thanks for leaving a review!

yusukekuramasgirl: I hope this update was soon enough. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter.