Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Dancer ❯ Mother Dearest ( Chapter 9 )

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

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any YYH stuff...even though I saw this adorable Yusuke pin!!!!!

A/N: Enjoy the next chapter!! Oh, but just in case of some more flamers, some of the characters might seem a little OOC in this chappie, and I'm sorry, don't get mad at me!!!!

Thoughts

Fire Dancer

::Mother Dearest::

“...Mom...”

There was no mistaking it: she was the very some from that dreams that had haunted her for so long; the same flowing hair and warm brown eyes. But Mai only stood in an awe-filled shock at the woman before her.

Why was she here?

The woman slowly approached the dancer and smiled nervously, “It's been a long time, hasn't it, Mai?” she asked softly.

But she only stood there in disbelief, “M-Mom?”

Her smile brightened slightly and she took a step forward, “Mai...Oh, gods, Mai I'm so sorry,” she whispered as tears streamed down her cheeks, “I'm so sorry—!” and she quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter's neck and sobbed onto the girl's shoulder.

Mai stood frozen before she slowly returned the embrace as teardrops shimmered in her eyes.

“Mommy...”

-:10:-

Yusuke let his legs hang over the porch as he watched the sun set behind the trees. He rested his elbows on his knees and fiddled with his wristband restlessly.

What the hell was wrong with him?!

He growled angrily and pounded his fists to his head irritably, “Stupid, stupid, stupid!!” he muttered to himself.

She had been through so much...and was even willing to confess it all in him and he had totally shoved it in her face! (A/N: yes I know he usually doesn't think practically at this point in the series...) What the hell happened to him? He had felt a little bit of compassion for her, but why in the world had he shot her down like that?!

And as he was so intent on beating himself up (not literally), Kuwabara stepped outside from the house and joined him on the porch sitting cross-legged.

Urameshi sighed and stared at the ground in frustration, “Does Genkai need us to go looking for her?” he asked grimly.

The red-head shook his head, “Nah, it's just kind of odd that you're so upset with Mai running off again—I mean, last time you didn't seem to care at all.”

Yusuke sighed again, “Because I wasn't such an asshole the last time she left...”

Kuwabara nodded slowly, but obviously realized that it was once again the Detective's fault (A/N: well duh!! And once again, remember some of the characters are OOC, like Kazuma thinking for once! Le gasp!!). But—for what seemed like the first time—Yusuke seemed ashamed of himself which didn't seem like him at all...

But before either of them could say anything else, Botan suddenly raced up the hillside in front of the house. She panted as she reached them and tried to regain her breath before she continued.

After a moment of her gasping, Yusuke raised an eyebrow, “...Yes?”

“Koenma...wants you guys...in the Spirit World...” she heaved.

Urameshi rolled his eyes irritably, “Oh, goody...”

-:10:-

“Yo, Junior, what do you want?” Yusuke called through the room. Piles and stacks of papers lined the entire room. The toddler sat behind his desk with the letters `Jr.' imprinted on his hat. A pacifier stuck out from the corner of his mouth as he smashed his stamp on the papers one by one.

And although he wasn't present yet, Kurama was sure to be somewhere nearby.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan quietly stepped into the room, a little bit confused. But Koenma continued to pound the stamp over and over again.

Botan coughed nervously, “Uh...Koenma, sir?”

The toddler paused calmly and set the stamp aside, folding his hands and watching the trio carefully.

But of course, his temper was quick to cut in.

“Thanks a lot, Urameshi, for letting your Guardian run off again!!” he fumed as his pacifier waggled in his mouth, “Can't you swallow your pride for one damn second?!”

The Detective backed off warily before putting his hands up in surrender, “Okay, okay!! Gods, I'll go after her if that's what you want!!” he retorted.

An artery pulsed in the child's temple, “The point is, Yusuke, that you don't have the control the keep your temper! Guardians are rare beings, and few Detectives like you are lucky to have one! And yet you continue to chase her away!”

The miniature ruler sighed heavily as his anger eased slightly, “The last Guardian that had been in league with a Spirit Detective was nearly fifty years ago...” he said slowly as he pressed a button on the desk and a screen unrolled behind the trio.

They turned as the `slide-show' played and as Koenma spoke behind them.

“Shunichi was the Detective's name; a fairly bright boy, really...” the toddler spoke as pictures of the boy flashed onto the screen, “And like you, Yusuke, he came across his Guardian, Kira...”

Botan turned to her boss and frowned slightly, “Kira?” she thought aloud before she snapped her fingers, “Oh! So that's what her name was…I couldn't seem to remember for some reason…”

Koenma nodded solemnly, “She and Shunichi were nearly legends of their time, not to mention that they were hardly ever separated from one another...” Photos of the pair flashed upon the screen. Some had Kira dressed in a kimono while others had her in modern clothes...but either way, she was always holding a staff in her hand. The pictures either had them laughing with one another or just smiling for the camera.

“She looks kind of like Mai,” Kazuma noticed.

“But what's all this have to do with why you called us here?” Yusuke asked almost in frustration.

The toddler pressed another button on his desk and the pictures began to fast forward until he pressed the same button once more.

He had stopped on the picture of a demon...A demon none other than Ryu.

“Hey, I know him!!” Kuwabara cried causing everyone else to sweatdrop.

Koenma rolled his eyes briefly, “Ryu was a demon back even in Shunichi and Kira's time...supposedly he had been destroyed in their final sacrifice to the world...” he said rather sadly, “...But he had escaped into the demon world milliseconds before the attack made contact...And as you know, he has returned seeking revenge on Kira, but instead found Mai.”

“Yeah, so?” Urameshi questioned, “We beat his ass, didn't we?”

The child shook his head...

“Not quite...”

-:10:-

Mai could only watch her mother from across the fire in a silent awe. The woman stared sadly into the fireplace as she sipped gingerly at the tea in her hands. The Guardian wrung her hands nervously in her lap as she watched the elderly woman. It was as though she was staring into a photograph; as if not a single day had passed...the woman was exactly as she looked in her dreams.

But even though she didn't speak, the question still hung in the air as if it were palpable.

Her mother gently placed the cup on the saucer and turned her eyes on the girl, “It was never supposed to take so long, Mai...I never planned to keep you away for this long...I never planned to leave you in the first place…”

She lowered her eyes, “Then…then why?” she asked softly.

“I needed a job, honey,” she replied, “Without any money, I couldn't support you and me together...but I had no college degree and no one wanted me to work for them...Not to mention that I had no home, and I traveled from motel to motel each night...

“But eventually I did find a job...and that's why I came here to find you; I've made enough money to take care of you again!” she said with a smile.

But Mai frowned, “How did you find me, though?”

Her mother smiled almost deviously as a certain light in her eyes gleamed, “I have my sources, dear...”

-:10:-

“Ryu used the same devious trick he used nearly fifty years ago and escaped Mai's Spirit Gun attack the other night—“

“Wait, wait, wait!!” Yusuke snapped irritably, “That bastard is still alive and out there somewhere?!”

Koenma nodded slowly, “Unfortunately, yes...And he's probably searching for some way to find Mai once and for all...”

The Detective cursed darkly to himself and stared back at the screen where the picture of Ryu still waited on the screen. But not for long, however, as a beeping noise echoed in the room and the screen changed so that Kurama was visible on the monitor.

“What is it, Kurama?” Botan asked worriedly.

The red-head glanced around him cautiously before he spoke, “I just walked Mai back to her home,” he told the group, but before he could continue, the blue-haired girl sighed with relief.

“So she's okay?”

Suichi shook his head, “I'm not sure...Everything seemed all right when I left, but just a few minutes ago, I felt a foreboding presence back at the bookshop. I was just about ready to go check it out, but I wanted to make sure Yusuke and Kuwabara would be willing to back me up on this one...just in case that is.”

The group looked at one another warily...Mai was smart enough to avoid another attack from a demon, wasn't she?

-:10:-

Another awkward silence followed as the two women sat alone in the book store. Mai wrung her hands nervously and kept looking to either side of her while her mother's eyes seemed to never leave her. It was unnerving the way she just stared at her like that.

But to break the tension, the woman smiled amiably, “So where are those friends of yours?” she asked casually.

Mai blinked, “What?”

“Your friends, honey,” she repeated with a lilt of laughter, “Don't look so surprised, I've learned a lot from my…sources…” she added as she trailed off.

But the Guardian stood swiftly; ignoring her question, “Do you want more tea?” she asked nervously, almost hoping that the woman would agree so she could leave her gaze.

Her mother paused as if trying to comprehend her daughter's sudden change of subject, but then she nodded and smiled sweetly, “Yes please.”

Mai stood cautiously and picked the tray up from the ottoman and started to head back towards the kitchen.

But even before she had reached the door, her mother called to her again.

“Mai...”

The dancer turned, but was suddenly thrown into the air by a strong force. The tray smashed to the ground with a crash and books toppled around her. The air within her was knocked out of her and she gasped in surprise.

She rapidly glanced up and gasped in horror as a single tentacle extended from the woman's body and writhed in the air dangerously.

“M-Mom?!”

Mai felt the sharp tentacle suddenly constrict around her abdomen as she choked and gasped for air. The woman before her disintegrated before her eye; her skin turned an olive gray and her eyes grew cold and hard. Slithering arms crawled from her body and latched onto the Guardian forcefully.

The girl stared in horror at the new monster before her.

“Ryu!” she gasped in terror.

The demon smirked wickedly and continued to hold the girl into the air and tightened his grip, “You didn't think I'd be destroyed so easily, did you?” he snarled malevolently.

And with a mighty thrust, the girl was thrown against the shelves. Tomes toppled around her as the shelving lost its hold. But she did not have time to recover as Ryu snatched her up again and slammed her through the glass door at the front of the shop.

Glass shattered around her as the Guardian rolled onto the pavement. Shards of the door dug into her flesh and scratched her face ruthlessly.

Mai groaned and struggled to stand with much difficulty. But the demon soon followed through the broken entryway and raised his limb high above his head. And before the girl could dodge the blow, Ryu whipped his arm around and she was sent tumbling into the street.

The Guardian cried out as she felt the shards of glass digging deeper into her flesh. The wound on her stomach threatened to reopen as she sensed the small trickle of crimson blood down her abdomen.

Ryu leapt after the girl and landed before her. He shoved his arm onto her chest, pinning her down.

He drew his face so close to hers that his nose nearly came in contact with hers.

“I will not fail this time, Guardian...

“I will kill you!!”

-:10:-

“Dammit!” Yusuke cursed as he raced down the road. Botan and Kuwabara stumbled after his rapid pace. Cars honked and screeched to a halt as the trio dashed madly across the street.

They were beginning to sense it now; Ryu's energy was close now...but whether or not he had completed his terrible deed was uncertain.

“Can't she stay out of trouble for one frickin day?!” he roared as he turned a corner. The duo behind him tried desperately to keep up with him as he thundered down the pavement towards the bookshop.

But it didn't matter how swiftly he ran...

A cry of terror already raced through the night.

-:10:-