Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Cloaking Shadows ❯ Reflection ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Author's Note: To those of you who remember me, I'm back, and my older series will be continued shortly. To my new readers, I hope you enjoy this story and review afterward! Thanks, all!
________________________________________________________________________ _______________________
Standard Disclaimers Apply
How many nights have I spent under the stars? As a young kitsune I would often sneak away for hours and not return home until early morning. Even in my older years as a notorious thief I had always been drawn to the quiet silence of night. The solitude only shadows could offer.
As the infamous Youko Kurama I had been known throughout Makai by all. My cunning wit and ruthless dealings with enemies had spread like fire through Makai, and by the time I was barely out of my teens the mere whisper of my name was able to invoke shivers of fear to all who heard. There was nothing I could not have. Anything I desired was easily obtained. Riches filled my dens, and other demons and kitsunes flocked to my side, willingly throwing themselves at me.
But, despite all of this, I was never happy nor satisfied. The one thing I really wanted was the only thing I had difficulty finding. True friendship, true feelings. Although I was rarely alone, I was always lonely. No one saw me. They saw what my name promised. Danger, death, riches.
I spent over half my life seeking the unattainable, until I met Kuronue, a bat demon seeking to rival my reputation as a thief. And for the first time, I found a true friend, one who stuck by me because of who I was and not what I could do for him. The years we spent stealing and facing risk after risk were some of the best of my long life.
But, like all good things, our time together ended with Kuronue's blood spilling to the ground as I fled. His death came only a short while before my near demise. A hunter, taking advantaged of my weary frame of mind, shot me, dealing a fatal wound. I did the only thing I could do at the time. My spirit escaped into the human world and became the child of a human mother.
I was by no means an easy child to raise. My mother tried as hard as she could, but there wasn't much she could do with a child that saw her as inferior. Eventually it wore her down, and I broke her spirit. It wasn't until she lay on her deathbed that I realized what a fool I had been for fifteen years.
She had willingly given me what I had so long sought. Love. She loved me despite my faults, but I had been too blind to see. It took her eminent death to shake me from my pedestal, and it was then that I knew what I had to do. My life for hers. I owed her more than words. I vowed to save her, and so when the cunning fire demon Hiei discovered me in human world, I didn't hesitate to help him steal the three treasures from Spirit World. The Forlorn Hope Mirror would grant my wish, healing my mother, and I would be freed from my guilt.
Things didn't go quite as planned. I survived thanks to Yusuke, Koenma's freshly appointed Spirit Detective. He offered his life for mine, and somehow we both lived. That was the beginning of the change for me.
I owed Yusuke, but there was so much more to it than that. I now consider him my friend, and, despite what he may think, Hiei has also changed and become my friend. All of this is foreign to him. He and I have never had much experience with team work, yet now we find ourselves key members of a team based on loyalty, trust, and honor.
Hiei, despite his dark reputation, is honorable. His betrayal is not one I see forthcoming. I have had my fair share of betrayal, and I don't desire to witness it again.
Kuwabara, the fourth member of our unlikely team, may be dense at times, but his naivety combines well with his ability to sense what others may not.
After fighting together and nearly dying numerous times, how can the four of us not trust and rely on each other? The Dark Tournament's brutal battles may have left us scared but they also drew us closer as a team. Which is why we are the best at what we do: capturing demon criminals and restoring peace.
And so here a I am. Am I a fox posing as a human, or have things been reversed? Either way, I am no longer the same Youko that hunted and stole without care. In Makai I am a traitor to my kind. What was once my home is now even more hostile, if possible, than it had been before. A traitor, marked and tried, can not return to what once was. Would I, if I could? No.
I am Kurama, known as Shuuichi Minamino to my human family and friends, and a new era of my life has begun. I may not have my full strength in my half human body, but I don't worry about the future. The loathed, despised Spirit Detectives have faced unbeatable opponents before yet we still remain.
Power alone can only get you so far. It takes priorities worth fighting for to tip the scale in battle. Without them you're nothing.
________________________________________________________________________ ___________
Author's Note: Please Review! Chapter Two will be up soon, and the Spirit Detectives will find themselves facing devastating odds.