Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Dancer ❯ A Glimpse from the Past ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any YYH stuff!!

I kinda had to change the time frame between the time after the Saint Beast thingy and when the YYH co. goes to meet the Toguros so that Mai has a chance to meet everyone and…erm…well I can't tell you what else or it would ruin if for you!

LoL, enjoy the next chappie!! (even if it kinda sucks because of that damn writer's block!!!)

Thoughts/Flashback and Dreams

Fire Dancer

:: Spirit Guardian::

“Well this sucks,” Yusuke muttered as he and Kuwabara waited outside. The rain continued to drizzle along the shingles as the day slowly began to fade away. Botan and Genkai remained inside with Mai in case she woke up…gods it would have been hell if she had woken up and first found the two boys in the room with her.

“I dunno…” Kazuma said thoughtfully, “She looked kind of pretty to me; I mean I would go out with her…” he added with a suspiciously perverted gleam in his eye.

Urameshi quickly hit him over the head with his fist, “Not that!” he folded his arms in frustration, “I don't need no frickin Guardian following me around! I've been doing fine without one, haven't I?”

“Er…well, you've almost gotten killed a few times…” he started hesitantly and muttered, “Not to mention you've already died once…”

“But I'm alive now, aren't I?”

Kuwabara didn't answer and Yusuke sighed angrily and kicked the wooden porch in frustration, “I don't need a Spirit Guardian or whatever crap Genkai's trying to pull,” he muttered dangerously.

-:-

“Is she up yet?” Botan asked as she popped her head into the living room.

Genkai shook her head, but didn't say anything. The blue-haired girl sighed and returned to the kitchen next door. The old woman merely watched Mai as she tossed fitfully in her sleep. The energy around her was growing steadily and sweat began to perspire off her brow.

The girl shivered and curled into a ball along the couch while burying her face into the cushions. Her mouth opened and closed softly as if she was trying to speak, but no words came out. Her eyes were clenched shut and she whimpered fearfully from the pits of her dreams.

Botan returned shortly thereafter and sat in the vacant armchair, “When do you think she'll come to?” she asked after a moment, “I mean, she should wake up soon, right?”

Genkai lowered her eyes and shook her head, “I'm not quite sure…did you ever get a hold on Kurama or Hiei?”

“Hiei? Gods no…but Koenma probably has Kurama swamped with work ever since the poor boy was hired to work for him…” she sighed in exasperation, “But I did leave a message…though I'm not quite sure how much help that's going to do…” she trailed off and her eyes lingered on the girl slumbering along the couch.

Mai continued to toss in her sleep, but did not show signs of waking. She whimpered softly to herself and clutched the pillow in her fist. She shuddered and clenched her eyes shut.

The woman sighed heavily and closed her eyes, “Let's pray that she wakes up soon…”

Botan nodded and placed her elbows on her knees, “I wonder what she's dreaming about…”

-:-

Where was everyone?

Why was it so dark?

…Where the hell was I?

My footsteps echoed eerily through the darkness, but I continued to travel…to where, though, I had no idea. Whispers could be heard off in the distance, but I couldn't understand what they were saying, no could I see those who were speaking.

“Hello?” I called…but no one answered me. The voices grew slightly louder, though, as if I was getting closer to them.

And then, far ahead, a faint speck of light dotted the bleak night. I sighed with relief and quickened my pace. Finally I would get out of this god-forsaken place!

The glow steadily grew as I continued to follow after it. I felt a sudden blast of heat—like a desert storm—coming from the portal ahead. But I continued to run towards it; anything was better than staying here…wherever herewas.

The light soon enveloped me and I was blinded briefly by its radiance. I blinked and shielded my eyes from the glow. By the time the light faded, I looked up and gasped.

Nowwhere was I?

Fires devoured everything and seemed to line the entire horizon as smoke billowed into the sky. Heat enveloped the air and sizzled along the earth. But no screams of terror could be heard…they were already dead.

Scorched bodies lay strewn across the ground; their horrified faces frozen in time.

A shiver raced down my spine despite the unbearable heat.

But then, a sudden blast erupted through the air and rattled the earth. I stumbled but held my ground. My eyes quickly darted towards the beam of bright blue energy that plowed through the fires ahead of me.

I raced quickly towards the light, but for what reason I could not say.

The flames lashed out at my legs, but I felt no pain. I dodged through the few spaces between the fires as the earth continued to rumble.

Then as I ran, I could see two figures standing amidst the flames. One—a boy—knelt on the ground as blood poured from a gash beneath his raven black hair that had been tied behind his head. His shirt lay in tatters along his shoulders and his injured arm was clutching his chest as his wounds bled freely.

Behind him was a woman draped in an elegant red and pink kimono. Pointed ears protruded from beneath her bright crimson hair that fell past her waist. She bore a golden staff and held it before herself and the boy. But she too was wounded and blood drenched the precious silk of her gown.

They both faced the same direction, and I followed their gaze.

And there, between the raging flames, a shadowy figure loomed over the earth with its crimson eyes ablaze. It was cloaked in midnight black fabric that hooded its form. The demon sent a shiver down my spine; watching the creature just stand there…not to mention the fact that an eerie aura pulsed around it.

But none of them seemed to notice me as I stood within the flames. They all seemed locked in battle, even though the boy and girl seemed to be on the loosing side.

Then, the crimson-haired girl knelt beside the boy and put her arm around him gently as tears streamed down her face.

“Shunichi(a/n: yes, it's supposed to be Shunichi not Suichi)…” she murmured, “I think this might be the end…”

He shook his head forcefully, “Kira, we're not giving up now…you've stood by me since the beginning, will you not stand with me until the end?” he clenched the ground as he tried to stand, “I need my Guardian, Kira…I need you…”

The girl smiled sadly and rose as she held out her hand to the boy. He grasped it firmly and staggered to his feet to face the monster before him. Several of his wounds opened once more and bled, creating a crimson pool around his feet.

“Ryu!!” Shunichi roared across the battle field, “This is the end for you!!”

The demon laughed mirthlessly, “You waste your breath, boy!! There's no hope for either of you!”

But before Ryu could finish, Shunichi pushed his wrists together—palm outwards. His eyes blazed angrily as he glared at the demon.

Kira suddenly realized what he was going to do, and tried to stop him, “Shunichi, NO!!” she cried as a bright blue orb started to grow in his palms. But the blast already erupted from his hands. It roared across the battlefield towards the creature; ripping away the earth from its path.

But almost immediately, the boy collapsed; his energy terminated.

Ryu made no move to step aside from the attack, and merely swiped it away with his hand. The creature laughed at his useless attempt and Kira quickly fell beside her friend as tears fell along her blood-stained cheeks.

“Shunichi!!” she cried and shook the boy gently…but he did not stir, “…Shunichi…”

He was dead.

I could only stand and watch in horror. What was this? Was it all adream?!

“Bastard!” Kira screamed and grasped her staff furiously, “You did this to him! You killed him!!” her body shook and suddenly began to glow a pale red color, “I'll kill you for this!!”

And before Ryu could reply, the girl pointed the staff towards him as a pink orb formed at its pinnacle. I felt the energy from her pulsing through me…it felt as though she was ready to put her entire life on the line for her fallen comrade. And Ryu must have known it.

The pink light suddenly raced towards the creature, enveloping the smoky sky. Two different cries could be heard through the air and I shivered. Smoke and dust were flown into the air and lighting flashed above the fires.

I covered my eyes and waited for the smoke to clear. When it finally did…I realized that I was suddenly alone.

The beast Ryu was gone entirely…only a small wisp of smoke remained. My eyes fell on the spot where Kira and Sunichi were and I felt tears building up in my eyes.

The girl now lay in a crumpled heap, her staff lying several feet away. Blood poured from her wounds and blended with Shunichi's.

Without exactly knowing what I was doing, I stumbled towards her, but slipped and slid the rest of the way towards them. I cried out, but I was able to stop myself. I struggled to my knees and crawled to Kira's side.

Her face was raised towards the sky, an eerily calm expression plastered on it. I froze, though, when I got a good look at her…

I murmured, “She…she looks like…”

Carefully, I reached out my hand to touch her scarred cheek. But before I could make contact, a bright flash surrounded me and I was suddenly blinded. I cried out and shielded my eyes from the sudden radiance.

-:-

Mai suddenly sat straight up on the couch, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Her orange hair lay in strands over her face.

“Holy crap, that was a crazy dream,” she panted and then looked around warily; suddenly noticing her surroundings, “What the hell…?”

Botan suddenly poked her head through the door and smiled brightly, “Oh, hello!” she chirped, “You're finally up, I see! We were getting a little worried when you didn't wake up a few hours ago!” she stepped into the room cheerfully.

The dancer stared at her, “Who the hell are you? And where on earth am I?”

“Oh, I'm sorry!” she laughed, “I'm Botan and you're in Genkai's house…er…Yusuke and Kuwabara brought you here after you fainted—.”

“You mean the red-head and the boy who needed to get detergent for his mom?” Mai asked, trying to remember.

“Uh, yeah…” she said and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

Mai frowned slightly, “But why the hell did they bring me here?”

“Uh, well…the nurse decided that you needed to go home and rest…” she lied quickly, “But since we couldn't figure out where you lived, Yusuke…er…took you here to his grandma's house!”

The dancer nodded slowly, obviously not entirely convinced. The two sat in an awkward silence for a moment, before a low rumbling caught their attention.

“Oops,” Mai blushed and stared down at her stomach, laughed slightly, “I guess I haven't eaten in awhile…do you, erm…”

“Oh!” Botan laughed, “Of course! We have food ready in the kitchen,” she beamed, “I made it myself too!”

She smiled back and carefully lifted her legs over the side of the couch before standing back on her feet. Botan led her through the living room and into the kitchen on the other side where three other people already sat around a table.

The first two, the girl already knew…Yusuke and Kuwabara, but the other—the older looking woman—she didn't seem to recognize.

“So, the princess finally woke up!” Kuwabara commented as the two girls entered, a giant smile plastered on his face.

Mai returned the grin nervously and turned to face the others at the table. The other boy, Yusuke, looked less than ecstatic about her revival and the old woman—who she presumed was Genkai—didn't seem surprised that she was awake.

Botan suddenly pushed a warm bowl of something into her hands. Kuwabara suddenly leapt from his chair and moved to Mai's side, “You can have my seat!” he said excitedly.

“Uh…Kuwabara, there are enough chairs for everyone—,” the blue-haired girl started to say, but he shot her a dangerous look, “But she can have your chair!”

So the girl took his chair which put her between Yusuke and across from Genkai. She placed her bowl awkwardly on the table and lowered her gaze away from the others as Botan and Kuwabara took the seats left vacant.

The group sat in silence for a few minutes. Mai was able to sense a great amount of distaste coming from the raven-haired boy next to her who kept his eyes on his food or fiddled constantly with his wristband.

After awhile, Genkai took a sip of her tea and set it quietly down on the table, “Do you have any parents, Mai? Or relatives that we might be able to contact?”

She suddenly bit her lip and stared down at her folded hands; trying to find the right words to say, “No…I…I live in the spare room in the old bookstore down by school…Ms. Megumi lets me work there to pay for rent…”

Urameshi snorted, “You live in a bookshop?”

“Yusuke!!” Botan quickly hit him from beneath the table, but Mai flushed with embarrassment and bowed her head in shame.

“Aw, don't worry, babe!” Kuwabara said with a grin, “Urameshi can be a bit of an ass sometimes!”

“Shut it, Kazuma,” the boy muttered dangerously and glowered to himself.

Genkai sighed with frustration, “All of you just be quiet,” she said calmly, “If you've already forgotten, Mai is here for a reason…”

“Because I'm sick?” she tried softly.

The woman shook her head sadly and folded her hands together, “No, Mai…” she turned to Botan briefly, “Would you mind getting the book from earlier? It's on the table in the other room…”

The blue-haired girl nodded and left the room briskly. She returned soon enough and handed the tome to Genkai.

She took it carefully and pushed it gently towards Mai. The dancer looked at it carefully before carefully opening the leather cover. She peered at the title page curiously, before she frowned in confusion.

“What is this?” she asked in awe and slight fear.

Genkai watched her carefully, “Are you willing to listen?” she asked, “What I have to tell you is extremely important…” she glanced quickly at Yusuke, “And it concerns you most of all, Mai…”

The dancer glanced around the table nervously. Botan and Kuwabara grinned at her confidently while Urameshi seemed uninterested in the whole ordeal. She sighed and slowly nodded.

-:-

Mai clutched the edge of the table, trying desperately to release her shock and partial fear. She felt the others watching her as Genkai finished telling her everything…

And she meant everything.

“Are you alright?” Botan asked quietly after a moment.

The dancer nodded and slowly released her grip on the table. She felt her body tremble as all the news suddenly sunk in for the first time. Was this all a joke? Was this just some sort of prank?

Then, she shook her head and quickly rose from the table, “I…I'm sorry—I just can't!”

Before anyone could stop her, Mai was running out the temple and down the path towards the road. Tears streamed down her face as she ran, but where she was heading, even she did not know…

Gods, this is all just some bad dream, isn't it? She thought as she turned a corner, There are no such things as demons or Spirit Detectives…There's no such thing as the Spirit World!! Not since—

No…

It hadn't been real for nearly eight years now—

But as the tears and pain swept through her, she did not notice the shadow following her from behind…

-:-

Wow, as I'm reading over this, I suddenly realized how crappy this is compared to the sequel on Fanfiction.net—O! but that's the other thing, if you're too impatient for me to update, you can read the entire story and the sequel (With Every Drop of Blood) but I'd really appreciate it if you could review there if you do decide to read it ^_^

Ciao!!