Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Body and Soul ❯ Flood Gates ( Chapter 3 )

Before I begin, I would like to give a special thanks to Alicester and Inuyasha-lovers for reviewing this story. As I quick reminder, I encourage you all to review as your imput is always appreciated. And also note that the italics that appear in this and any following chapters will signify a flashback.

 

“Shiori? Are you feeling alright? You look a bit pale.”

 

The trees were lush and green with pale blossoms beginning to bloom on the branches. There were so many, they were countless. She would have more apples then she knew what to do with this year. Then again, if her daughter were to get to them, they'd be gone in minutes. Perhaps this was a good thing, heaven knows that they didn't have the storage space for them all.

 

“Really? You don't suppose I've caught that flu going around do you?”

 

Tiny green shoots poked out from the soil. The herb garden was coming along nicely. Rumor had it that the local farmers had said that since spring came so early that this coming winter was going to be brutal. It was simply impossible to have too many herbs on hand for those who needed them.

 

“Maybe you should go home and lie down, just in case. Rest is the best thing for illness after all.”

 

Oh, that mischivieous daughter of hers! Still playing in the river when the cloths needed washing! There was absolutely no way she was going to allow her to sit, soaking wet, at the table when they were having company over.

 

She pulled the comforter and blankets tight to her body, feeling a slight chill coming over her. Of all the times to be ill too. What horrible luck.

 

Reaching over to the bedside table, she set the alarm for five o'clock. Dinner wasn't going to make itself after all.

 

Her fingers were stained red and purple and the basket of berries was nearly half empty. Insects hummed in the hot summer heat. A small fire was lit on the other side of the room. Slowly but surely, it was dying down but no one paid any mind. The were too engroused in the conversation. It seemed that this man, Johnathan Wyatt, was indeed deserving to being called one of the finest doctors in Europe. Even her daughter, usually so lively, sat still, listening intently.

 

Sighing quietly, she gripped the covers as she rolled onto her side. This had so far been one of the most unusual dreams she had ever had. It was so real…

 

The snowstorm was the worst the village had seen in ages. Great trees and houses alike were crushed and snapped in half like twigs beneath the weight of the snow. The wind howled and blew even the heaviest of wagons off the roadways.

 

As if all of this had really happened…

 

Her home and clinic was filled to bursting. Every available cot and cushion held a patient in her care and more were arriving by the hour. With no where else to put them, the new arrivals were led quickly to the barn where they lay warm in piles of clean hay, waiting to be tended to.

 

Her alarm had been beeping for well over three minutes but she paid it no mind. This dream-scenario was far too familier for a mere clock pull her from it. And it didn't go unnoticed.

 

With Johnathan downstairs offering his assisstence where he could, she rushed up the stairs with her long winter skirt clutched in her fists. Her dying patients looked at her grimly, sad smiles on their faces as they turned to look to the right side of the attic space.

 

“Mother? Mother are you alright?” Shuiichi called softly. He put a hand to her shoulder and shook her gently. She didn't wake up.

 

“Iie…kite imasu…”

 

What were once bouncing, red curls, now lay flat and dull on the pillow. The color had drained from her face and sweat glittered on her forehead. Her breaths were quick and shallow, more like a fish plucked from the lake. With an agonizing groan, her eyes slowly opened, the green color dull, dark, and glassy.

 

This wasn't happening.

 

With her arms and legs tangled in the bed sheets, Shiori half-heartedly thrashed against Kurama's grip. She squeezed her eyes shut as a desperate cry escaped her throat.

 

“Iie…this cannot be…”

 

“Mother…help me.”

 

He called out to her again.

 

“Mother! Wake up! Please, you must wake up!” Kurama's voice grew louder.

 

“Iie…” was her panicked reply. In the recesses of her mind she could hear him. She could feel his hands trying to shake her back to consciousness. The scene before her, however, was like a car crash. You want to look away but, in your shock, find yourself unable to.

 

“I don't want to die…I don't want to die…”

 

“Mother!”

 

“Kite Imasu!”

 

“I don't want to die!”

 

“Mother, please, wake up!”

 

“I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!”

 

Leave, leave! Couldn't he see that the girl was in pain? Couldn't he see that she was dying? Couldn't he see that… they were the same person?