Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Fornever Tantei ❯ To Put the Past to Rest ( Chapter 13 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: purplehairedwonder 
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.16.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 469 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.16.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 469 | Status: Completed
Author’s Note: This is the sequel to Between Death and Reality. While it is not required that you read that first, some of the things referenced here may not make a whole lot of sense.
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Chapter 13
To Put the Past to Rest
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Before the fox realized what was happening, Maya leaned in and kissed him squarely on the lips.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Botan found herself unable to tear her eyes from the monitor even though every moment that passed seemed to wrench her heart apart. Her wide amethyst eyes took in every inch of Kurama’s surprised features as they softened while the kiss continued.
“Botan,” Koenma said softly, seemingly from a distance.
Botan barely heard him for the pounding of her heart in her ears. Finally she did what seemed like the hardest task imaginable: she tore her gaze from the monitor before fleeing from the room. Her mind was spinning and yet was strangely blank at the same time. The images of Maya leaning in and kissing the fox played over and over in her mind like a movie reel and there was nothing she could do to tear the heart-breaking picture from her mind’s eye.
Tears were streaming silently down her cheeks by the time she had reached her room and closed the door behind her. She walked slowly across her room to the sliding glass door that led to a balcony outside. Listlessly she slid the door open and gazed out. The entirety of Spirit World lay in front of her, yet she barely saw any of it. A cool breeze blew and the deity wrapped her arms around herself - more out of reflex than actually feeling cold. She didn’t feel herself sink slowly to the ground, back against the doorway.
Botan realized after a moment that what had broken her heart wasn’t the fact that Maya had kissed her lover, but the way the fox’s features had softened after the initial surprised had worn off. A dry sob racked her as she looked over the endless darkness of the Spirit World night and the miniature lights that lit up villages, towns, and cities in the distance.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Koenma watched sadly as Botan bolted from the room, the beginnings of tears already forming at the corners of her eyes. It had been unfortunate timing that she would be in the room to see that. The deity had been unlucky in love for much of her life and had more or less resigned herself to living a solitary life ferrying souls.
Until she met Kurama, that is. Koenma had hardly been surprised when he had realized she had a crush on the fox shortly after they met. The legendary bandit was also a legendary charmer. Koenma knew the fox was very good looking - both in human and demon forms - but it was his personality that he had been worried about. But, like Yusuke, Botan had taken an instant liking to the fox - whether she realized it or not. She had visited the fox more than once while he was recovering from his wound at Hiei’s hands and had spoken for him at his trial.
The Prince had worried about the fox’s reaction, but he had been nothing but gentlemanly. And that had continued through the different cases the detective team had worked on. During the Dark Tournament Koenma had seen the two grow closer, thought, at that point, it had seemed to be merely on a friendly basis. By that time, the Prince had come to quite like the fox. Kurama was something of a backbone for the Tantei and he was always willing to go the extra mile for his friends.
And then Karasu had returned. Any hope Koenma had had about Kurama and Botan’s relationship being merely that of teammates and friends had shattered as he watched the deity agonize over Kurama’s pain. It was then that Botan had realized her own feelings for the fox and vice versa.
Since then, Botan had been happy. Truly happy. She had taken a risk by admitting her feelings to the red-head - one Koenma had been surprised she would take after the pain of her past - and it had paid off. She was sure she had found her soul mate in Kurama. And, despite his worries about Kurama, Koenma had given in, realizing that the fox would be good for her and to her. Well, it had taken a discussion with Genkai on the matter, but in the end he had come to his senses.
For the first time in her life, Botan was finally happy with her life. Kurama was helping to heal wounds of past loves in the deity, whether he realized it or not and Koenma was sure the ferry girl was doing the same for the fox. But seeing a lost love from the fox’s recent past return and kiss him seemed to have shattered something within Botan. The way the red-head’s handsome features had softened seemed to violently rip any hope the ferry girl had for love.
Koenma sighed. He knew that Kurama cared for the blue-haired girl deeply and would never do anything deliberately to hurt her. Botan knew that as well, deep down, but the shock had caused her to forget that. Some scars ran deep. The Prince knew there was nothing he could say to fix this. It would have to be resolved by the parties involved, but even so, Koenma hated seeing those he cared about in pain.
“This can only be bad.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Kurama was startled into a temporary paralysis when Maya’s soft lips touched his own. His eyes widened in surprise at her audacity before his tensed muscles relaxed. He closed his eyes a moment, taking in the scent of his first human love. Under the hardness that her scent had acquired in these last five years Kurama could still smell that fourteen year old girl with the wide, innocent smile and happy laugh.
Gently, he put his hands to her shoulders and pushed her away while breaking the kiss. He opened his eyes to see Maya blink before looking back at him.
“Maya,” Kurama began, but she cut him off.
“N, don’t say anything,” she whispered. She laughed sadly. “I should have known... but a part of me deep down hoped.” She looked away, her long black hair falling to veil her face. “It was a fool’s hope. But, being the fool I am, I’ve held onto that love I once had for you. I suppose I just had to know whether or not-”
“I felt the same,” Kurama finished in a whisper. Maya nodded. “Maya, I’m sorry.” She laughed again, still sad.
“No, I should be the one apologizing.” She looked back over at him, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “Have you... met someone?” Kurama nodded.
“Yes.”
Maya nodded to herself, as if to confirm her suspicion. “How long?” she asked.
“Three years,” the fox replied softly.
Maya smiled sadly. “She’s the luckiest woman int he world.”
“I’m the luckiest man,” Kurama replied. “I love her very much.”
“I see.” Maya shook herself as if to bring herself back to reality. She looked back at the fox, eyes suddenly all business. “What do you think we should do next?”
“I need to make contact with my friends,” Kurama replied.
Maya nodded. “Do you know where they are?”
“For the night,” the fox replied. “We’re all split up.”
“I guess we know what we have to do then.”
Kurama nodded. Maya pushed herself to her feet and she moved toward the door. With her hand on the handle, she turned back to the fox with a frown on her face. Her features softened once more.
“What happened to your arm?” Kurama blinked. “And your chest?”
“It’s a long story,” the fox replied diplomatically. He had forgotten that his scars would be visible without a shirt on.
Maya nodded understandingly. “Well, if you want to share, I’m here.”
Kurama smiled. “I appreciate that.”
Maya nodded, then left, closing the door behind her.
As the door clicked shut, Kurama extinguished the lamp before lying back down and looking up at the ceiling. He could still feel her lithe form pressed against his and still smell her scent. He closed his eyes and immediately saw Maya. But a moment later she turned into Botan. The fox’s entire being seemed to warm. He opened his eyes once more.
“Botan,” he whispered into the darkness, “I love you.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Maya sighed as she shut the door behind her. She slumped onto her sleeping bag, pulling her knees to her chest, pausing only to blow out the lamp. She rested her chin on her knees, letting her hair fall into a curtain over her face.
That was so foolish, she berated herself.
“But I had to know,” she whispered into the dark. “I had to know if I could let the past rest.”
Was that the only reason you did it?
“Yes.”
Don’t you find him the least bit attractive? Weren’t you still attracted to him, five years later? She blinked at her thought. Of course she found him attractive. He was still gorgeous five years later. Wait, still? No. He was much more attractive as a maturing man.
“It’s not my place,” she told herself firmly. “He had someone whom he loves very much. My time is over.”
And yet...
“And yet...”
You enjoyed the kiss...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Yusuke lay on the floor of Keiko’s bedroom, arms behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling. Despite the night’s excitement, he suddenly found himself unable to sleep. The news report played over and over in his mind. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his head but only managed to bring up other unpleasant thoughts. Where were Kurama and Hiei? Well, he was pretty sure Hiei was at Genkai’s, but other than that he had no idea how the fire demon was doing. And he had no idea where Kurama was. The last they had checked, he seemed to have stopped moving, but that could mean any number of things. Had the fox been captured?
Yusuke shook his head again. No. That was no way to think. Kurama was the brains of their group, after all. There was no way he’d let himself be caught. But his own group’s prospects worried him more. Keiko had told him they had already been visited by the Organization, but that could very well means they were being watched. The Organization was after the ex-Tantei, but would take anyone connected to them in order to get to them. Yusuke wasn’t so much concerned about his own well-being as that of his friends.
Tomorrow they would have to make a move; staying at Keiko’s any longer wouldn’t be safe. They had to get the girls to safety, first and foremost, but at that moment Yusuke didn’t have a clue where to go. Any safe haven they once had would undoubtedly be being watched by now.
Yusuke rolled onto his stomach and shoved his face into his pillow.
“Damnit!” he growled, earning himself a mouthful of pillow. Groaning, her pounded his head repeatedly into the pillow.
“Urameshi?” a hoarse whisper came from his left. Yusuke ceased his pounding and looked up.
“What?”
“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”
Yusuke propped himself up on his elbows.
“Yeah. We’re in trouble.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
No one in the temple was able to sleep that night. Touya and Hiei continued to hold the barrier while Genkai and Yukina agonized over what their move should be when the barrier fell. The other five demons were uncharacteristically quiet. The stars sparkling overhead belied the somber mood in the temple.
“How much time do you think we have, Master Genkai?” Yukina asked in a hushed tone. Genkai rubbed her tired face in her hands.
“Another day, maybe two,” she replied. “I know Touya’s strength and he should hold for another day. Hiei, on the other hand, I don’t know. But if Touya keeps up the barrier that long, he’ll have nothing left.”
“So we’ll need to move in the next day,” Shishi said.
Genkai nodded. “Or makes some kind of move to get these idiots off the grounds.”
“Easier said than done,” Rinku retorted
Genkai nodded once more. “Our options are limited, but we’re going to have to do something. If we don’t, they will. And then none of us will be safe.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Maya lay awake staring at the dark ceiling. Her mind reeled with thoughts. She had a feeling that everything was going to change after this night. She had tempted fate and now it was going to bite back. Th only problem was... she had no idea how. And that worried her.
Her thoughts drifted back to Suuichi’s - no, Kurama’s - face when he first saw her earlier that night. She had to admit that she had been happy that he had recognized her after so long.
She had always known there was something special about the red-head long before that fateful day five years prior. And then she had forgotten. But when her memories had returned with the opening of the tunnel, those feelings had returned, except along with the memories came a bitterness towards the one who had done it. But she realized she had been foolish in being bitter toward the red-head. He had only been trying to protect her. But she hadn’t been entirely honest in saying that she didn’t know what had triggered the return of her memories.
One day three years before she had been out walking downtown on a bridge when a chase had come to a head right in front of the crowd she was in. A tall man dressed all in black - who she had later learned from Mitari was Sensui - was followed by three boys. One of them, the red-head holding a whip, had looked familiar to her.
“I’m disappointed Kurama. Isn’t my death worth a few lives?” the man in black had asked in a condescending tone. The red-head was only able to glower at the man, tightening his grip on his weapon.
Kurama? she thought. That names sounds so familiar... And he looks so... She gasped as images from that night came rushing into her mind. She fell to her knees as she realized the images she was seeing were memories. Memories she didn’t even realize she had lost.
She saw flashed of the red-head in her mind in his middle school years. She saw him walking down that deserted housing district as she followed him. She remembered that disgusting blob and its fetid smell as it oozed from the wall in front of a younger version of the red-head in front of her.
“Kurama, you scum! I’m gonna kill ya, I am! And then I’ll claim this town for the Demon Realm!” it growled gutturally.
“Sime ogre, you’re back. Forget the vow you made to me in exchange for not finishing you off?” the red-head replied. Maya had never before heard him use such an angry, threatening tone before. She got the distinct impression that his appearance belied his true strength. And who was Kurama?
“I didn’t forget! But I’ve got a new ally, a real killer! We’ll get you this time!”
Maya gasped. It was Suuichi standing in front of her, with that same deadly look on his face. Deadly? That meant... Who was he?! She remembered... She remembered him pulling out a plant-like sword and fighting another... could this be related. But who were the two with him now?
The man in black turned and the other two boys followed. Suuichi made to follow, but was cut off when another teen on a motorcycle landed right in front of him. He lifted a hand and point something at the red-head. He tensed.
“You can’t. Not with all these innocents standing around!” Suuichi growled.
“Not that I ever miss my target, but if it’s a change of venue you want, I’m game,” the teen replied arrogantly.
“Kurama!” a female voice called and Suuichi turned to see a brunette girl running toward him. They keep calling him ‘Kurama,’ Maya realized. Ever since then... But why?
“Stay back!” Suuichi called and the girl froze. The other boy turned his hand and launched something at the girl. She braced herself, but the blue thing she had been holding in her arms suddenly flew up and took the hit instead.
The teen on the motorcycle revved up and drove his bike over the edge of the bridge onto the street below. Suuichi lashed his whip but missed the moving target. His weapon left a deep crack in the street. Maya fell forward, her weight landing on her hands as Suuichi rushed over to the brunette.
“Keiko, are you injured?” he asked softly.
What is going on? Who is he? she thought helplessly.
After that day she found she was able to remember things from years prior that she hadn’t realized she’d forgotten. Now she had a chance to set things right, but something inside her warned her against it...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Kurama was still awake, lying on his side and staring at the dark wall.
Maya. He sighed and rolled onto his back and stared back up at the ceiling. Her scent still lingered, hours after she had left his room. He rubbed his face in his hands. He did not need this complication right now, though he was grateful for his rescue. Something in her eyes had said she would let it rest, but the fox was still uneasy. Perhaps it was just the combination of all that had happened that day. He forced his thoughts to another topic.
I need to find Yusuke and Kuwabara. And the girls. But no doubt they’ll be on the move in the morning. And the temple is surrounded, so we can’t go there. And what will they do?
Kurama groaned. At this rate he wouldn’t get any sleep at all. His right arm gave a twinge and he grimaced. The fox was well versed in the consequences of not sleeping...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Botan sat on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs, which she had pulled to her chest. Her chin was propped on her knees as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She dimly recognized that it would soon be morning and the boys would be on the move once more. She had told Kurama she would contact him in the morning, but at the current moment, she didn’t think she would be able to face him.
She looked up as her door slid open and blinked when Koenma came in. Strangely enough, he was in his teenage form. He sat down on the edge of her bed.
“Botan,” he began, “you can’t just sit here like this.”
“Why not?” she asked petulantly.
“Because it’s not like you to sit around when your friends need you,” Koenma replied softly. She looked up at him sadly.
“Kurama has help. He doesn’t need me.” It nearly broke the Prince’s heart to hear her say that, but he knew that it was not his place to get involved in the situation.
“What about the others?” he asked instead.
She blinked.
“Yusuke and Kuwabara? Keiko and Shizuru? Genkai and Yukina? Hiei and the other six? Won’t you help them?”
She shook her head as if to clear it. “You’re right, Sir.” Her voice was suddenly stronger and determined.
Koenma blinked at her sudden change in demeanor. She pushed herself up from her bed.
“Glad to hear it.”
Botan walked to the sliding glass door and slid it open before summoning an oar. Koenma froze.
“Botan, what are you doing?”
She looked back at him. “I’m going to Human World to help.” She mounted her oar. “That’s where I can be of the most use.”
“Botan, wait!”
But it was too late. Se had already pushed off and was flying into the distance. Koenma groaned.
“That wasn’t quite what I meant.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Author’s Note: Sorry it took so long to get up, but I’ve been having computer problems. My good computer with all my files on it won’t even turn on now so I’m stuck with our old POC computer that is slow as molasses. Anyway, enough of my excuses. I hope Maya’s flashback scene wasn’t too confusing. She was having a flashback within the flashback in case you couldn’t tell, heh. But yeah, so leave me a review and motivate me to work on my next chapter. Tell me you loved it, tell me you hated it, tell me you read it, but tell me something!
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Chapter 13
To Put the Past to Rest
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Before the fox realized what was happening, Maya leaned in and kissed him squarely on the lips.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Botan found herself unable to tear her eyes from the monitor even though every moment that passed seemed to wrench her heart apart. Her wide amethyst eyes took in every inch of Kurama’s surprised features as they softened while the kiss continued.
“Botan,” Koenma said softly, seemingly from a distance.
Botan barely heard him for the pounding of her heart in her ears. Finally she did what seemed like the hardest task imaginable: she tore her gaze from the monitor before fleeing from the room. Her mind was spinning and yet was strangely blank at the same time. The images of Maya leaning in and kissing the fox played over and over in her mind like a movie reel and there was nothing she could do to tear the heart-breaking picture from her mind’s eye.
Tears were streaming silently down her cheeks by the time she had reached her room and closed the door behind her. She walked slowly across her room to the sliding glass door that led to a balcony outside. Listlessly she slid the door open and gazed out. The entirety of Spirit World lay in front of her, yet she barely saw any of it. A cool breeze blew and the deity wrapped her arms around herself - more out of reflex than actually feeling cold. She didn’t feel herself sink slowly to the ground, back against the doorway.
Botan realized after a moment that what had broken her heart wasn’t the fact that Maya had kissed her lover, but the way the fox’s features had softened after the initial surprised had worn off. A dry sob racked her as she looked over the endless darkness of the Spirit World night and the miniature lights that lit up villages, towns, and cities in the distance.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Koenma watched sadly as Botan bolted from the room, the beginnings of tears already forming at the corners of her eyes. It had been unfortunate timing that she would be in the room to see that. The deity had been unlucky in love for much of her life and had more or less resigned herself to living a solitary life ferrying souls.
Until she met Kurama, that is. Koenma had hardly been surprised when he had realized she had a crush on the fox shortly after they met. The legendary bandit was also a legendary charmer. Koenma knew the fox was very good looking - both in human and demon forms - but it was his personality that he had been worried about. But, like Yusuke, Botan had taken an instant liking to the fox - whether she realized it or not. She had visited the fox more than once while he was recovering from his wound at Hiei’s hands and had spoken for him at his trial.
The Prince had worried about the fox’s reaction, but he had been nothing but gentlemanly. And that had continued through the different cases the detective team had worked on. During the Dark Tournament Koenma had seen the two grow closer, thought, at that point, it had seemed to be merely on a friendly basis. By that time, the Prince had come to quite like the fox. Kurama was something of a backbone for the Tantei and he was always willing to go the extra mile for his friends.
And then Karasu had returned. Any hope Koenma had had about Kurama and Botan’s relationship being merely that of teammates and friends had shattered as he watched the deity agonize over Kurama’s pain. It was then that Botan had realized her own feelings for the fox and vice versa.
Since then, Botan had been happy. Truly happy. She had taken a risk by admitting her feelings to the red-head - one Koenma had been surprised she would take after the pain of her past - and it had paid off. She was sure she had found her soul mate in Kurama. And, despite his worries about Kurama, Koenma had given in, realizing that the fox would be good for her and to her. Well, it had taken a discussion with Genkai on the matter, but in the end he had come to his senses.
For the first time in her life, Botan was finally happy with her life. Kurama was helping to heal wounds of past loves in the deity, whether he realized it or not and Koenma was sure the ferry girl was doing the same for the fox. But seeing a lost love from the fox’s recent past return and kiss him seemed to have shattered something within Botan. The way the red-head’s handsome features had softened seemed to violently rip any hope the ferry girl had for love.
Koenma sighed. He knew that Kurama cared for the blue-haired girl deeply and would never do anything deliberately to hurt her. Botan knew that as well, deep down, but the shock had caused her to forget that. Some scars ran deep. The Prince knew there was nothing he could say to fix this. It would have to be resolved by the parties involved, but even so, Koenma hated seeing those he cared about in pain.
“This can only be bad.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Kurama was startled into a temporary paralysis when Maya’s soft lips touched his own. His eyes widened in surprise at her audacity before his tensed muscles relaxed. He closed his eyes a moment, taking in the scent of his first human love. Under the hardness that her scent had acquired in these last five years Kurama could still smell that fourteen year old girl with the wide, innocent smile and happy laugh.
Gently, he put his hands to her shoulders and pushed her away while breaking the kiss. He opened his eyes to see Maya blink before looking back at him.
“Maya,” Kurama began, but she cut him off.
“N, don’t say anything,” she whispered. She laughed sadly. “I should have known... but a part of me deep down hoped.” She looked away, her long black hair falling to veil her face. “It was a fool’s hope. But, being the fool I am, I’ve held onto that love I once had for you. I suppose I just had to know whether or not-”
“I felt the same,” Kurama finished in a whisper. Maya nodded. “Maya, I’m sorry.” She laughed again, still sad.
“No, I should be the one apologizing.” She looked back over at him, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “Have you... met someone?” Kurama nodded.
“Yes.”
Maya nodded to herself, as if to confirm her suspicion. “How long?” she asked.
“Three years,” the fox replied softly.
Maya smiled sadly. “She’s the luckiest woman int he world.”
“I’m the luckiest man,” Kurama replied. “I love her very much.”
“I see.” Maya shook herself as if to bring herself back to reality. She looked back at the fox, eyes suddenly all business. “What do you think we should do next?”
“I need to make contact with my friends,” Kurama replied.
Maya nodded. “Do you know where they are?”
“For the night,” the fox replied. “We’re all split up.”
“I guess we know what we have to do then.”
Kurama nodded. Maya pushed herself to her feet and she moved toward the door. With her hand on the handle, she turned back to the fox with a frown on her face. Her features softened once more.
“What happened to your arm?” Kurama blinked. “And your chest?”
“It’s a long story,” the fox replied diplomatically. He had forgotten that his scars would be visible without a shirt on.
Maya nodded understandingly. “Well, if you want to share, I’m here.”
Kurama smiled. “I appreciate that.”
Maya nodded, then left, closing the door behind her.
As the door clicked shut, Kurama extinguished the lamp before lying back down and looking up at the ceiling. He could still feel her lithe form pressed against his and still smell her scent. He closed his eyes and immediately saw Maya. But a moment later she turned into Botan. The fox’s entire being seemed to warm. He opened his eyes once more.
“Botan,” he whispered into the darkness, “I love you.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Maya sighed as she shut the door behind her. She slumped onto her sleeping bag, pulling her knees to her chest, pausing only to blow out the lamp. She rested her chin on her knees, letting her hair fall into a curtain over her face.
That was so foolish, she berated herself.
“But I had to know,” she whispered into the dark. “I had to know if I could let the past rest.”
Was that the only reason you did it?
“Yes.”
Don’t you find him the least bit attractive? Weren’t you still attracted to him, five years later? She blinked at her thought. Of course she found him attractive. He was still gorgeous five years later. Wait, still? No. He was much more attractive as a maturing man.
“It’s not my place,” she told herself firmly. “He had someone whom he loves very much. My time is over.”
And yet...
“And yet...”
You enjoyed the kiss...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Yusuke lay on the floor of Keiko’s bedroom, arms behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling. Despite the night’s excitement, he suddenly found himself unable to sleep. The news report played over and over in his mind. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his head but only managed to bring up other unpleasant thoughts. Where were Kurama and Hiei? Well, he was pretty sure Hiei was at Genkai’s, but other than that he had no idea how the fire demon was doing. And he had no idea where Kurama was. The last they had checked, he seemed to have stopped moving, but that could mean any number of things. Had the fox been captured?
Yusuke shook his head again. No. That was no way to think. Kurama was the brains of their group, after all. There was no way he’d let himself be caught. But his own group’s prospects worried him more. Keiko had told him they had already been visited by the Organization, but that could very well means they were being watched. The Organization was after the ex-Tantei, but would take anyone connected to them in order to get to them. Yusuke wasn’t so much concerned about his own well-being as that of his friends.
Tomorrow they would have to make a move; staying at Keiko’s any longer wouldn’t be safe. They had to get the girls to safety, first and foremost, but at that moment Yusuke didn’t have a clue where to go. Any safe haven they once had would undoubtedly be being watched by now.
Yusuke rolled onto his stomach and shoved his face into his pillow.
“Damnit!” he growled, earning himself a mouthful of pillow. Groaning, her pounded his head repeatedly into the pillow.
“Urameshi?” a hoarse whisper came from his left. Yusuke ceased his pounding and looked up.
“What?”
“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”
Yusuke propped himself up on his elbows.
“Yeah. We’re in trouble.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
No one in the temple was able to sleep that night. Touya and Hiei continued to hold the barrier while Genkai and Yukina agonized over what their move should be when the barrier fell. The other five demons were uncharacteristically quiet. The stars sparkling overhead belied the somber mood in the temple.
“How much time do you think we have, Master Genkai?” Yukina asked in a hushed tone. Genkai rubbed her tired face in her hands.
“Another day, maybe two,” she replied. “I know Touya’s strength and he should hold for another day. Hiei, on the other hand, I don’t know. But if Touya keeps up the barrier that long, he’ll have nothing left.”
“So we’ll need to move in the next day,” Shishi said.
Genkai nodded. “Or makes some kind of move to get these idiots off the grounds.”
“Easier said than done,” Rinku retorted
Genkai nodded once more. “Our options are limited, but we’re going to have to do something. If we don’t, they will. And then none of us will be safe.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Maya lay awake staring at the dark ceiling. Her mind reeled with thoughts. She had a feeling that everything was going to change after this night. She had tempted fate and now it was going to bite back. Th only problem was... she had no idea how. And that worried her.
Her thoughts drifted back to Suuichi’s - no, Kurama’s - face when he first saw her earlier that night. She had to admit that she had been happy that he had recognized her after so long.
She had always known there was something special about the red-head long before that fateful day five years prior. And then she had forgotten. But when her memories had returned with the opening of the tunnel, those feelings had returned, except along with the memories came a bitterness towards the one who had done it. But she realized she had been foolish in being bitter toward the red-head. He had only been trying to protect her. But she hadn’t been entirely honest in saying that she didn’t know what had triggered the return of her memories.
One day three years before she had been out walking downtown on a bridge when a chase had come to a head right in front of the crowd she was in. A tall man dressed all in black - who she had later learned from Mitari was Sensui - was followed by three boys. One of them, the red-head holding a whip, had looked familiar to her.
“I’m disappointed Kurama. Isn’t my death worth a few lives?” the man in black had asked in a condescending tone. The red-head was only able to glower at the man, tightening his grip on his weapon.
Kurama? she thought. That names sounds so familiar... And he looks so... She gasped as images from that night came rushing into her mind. She fell to her knees as she realized the images she was seeing were memories. Memories she didn’t even realize she had lost.
She saw flashed of the red-head in her mind in his middle school years. She saw him walking down that deserted housing district as she followed him. She remembered that disgusting blob and its fetid smell as it oozed from the wall in front of a younger version of the red-head in front of her.
“Kurama, you scum! I’m gonna kill ya, I am! And then I’ll claim this town for the Demon Realm!” it growled gutturally.
“Sime ogre, you’re back. Forget the vow you made to me in exchange for not finishing you off?” the red-head replied. Maya had never before heard him use such an angry, threatening tone before. She got the distinct impression that his appearance belied his true strength. And who was Kurama?
“I didn’t forget! But I’ve got a new ally, a real killer! We’ll get you this time!”
Maya gasped. It was Suuichi standing in front of her, with that same deadly look on his face. Deadly? That meant... Who was he?! She remembered... She remembered him pulling out a plant-like sword and fighting another... could this be related. But who were the two with him now?
The man in black turned and the other two boys followed. Suuichi made to follow, but was cut off when another teen on a motorcycle landed right in front of him. He lifted a hand and point something at the red-head. He tensed.
“You can’t. Not with all these innocents standing around!” Suuichi growled.
“Not that I ever miss my target, but if it’s a change of venue you want, I’m game,” the teen replied arrogantly.
“Kurama!” a female voice called and Suuichi turned to see a brunette girl running toward him. They keep calling him ‘Kurama,’ Maya realized. Ever since then... But why?
“Stay back!” Suuichi called and the girl froze. The other boy turned his hand and launched something at the girl. She braced herself, but the blue thing she had been holding in her arms suddenly flew up and took the hit instead.
The teen on the motorcycle revved up and drove his bike over the edge of the bridge onto the street below. Suuichi lashed his whip but missed the moving target. His weapon left a deep crack in the street. Maya fell forward, her weight landing on her hands as Suuichi rushed over to the brunette.
“Keiko, are you injured?” he asked softly.
What is going on? Who is he? she thought helplessly.
After that day she found she was able to remember things from years prior that she hadn’t realized she’d forgotten. Now she had a chance to set things right, but something inside her warned her against it...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Kurama was still awake, lying on his side and staring at the dark wall.
Maya. He sighed and rolled onto his back and stared back up at the ceiling. Her scent still lingered, hours after she had left his room. He rubbed his face in his hands. He did not need this complication right now, though he was grateful for his rescue. Something in her eyes had said she would let it rest, but the fox was still uneasy. Perhaps it was just the combination of all that had happened that day. He forced his thoughts to another topic.
I need to find Yusuke and Kuwabara. And the girls. But no doubt they’ll be on the move in the morning. And the temple is surrounded, so we can’t go there. And what will they do?
Kurama groaned. At this rate he wouldn’t get any sleep at all. His right arm gave a twinge and he grimaced. The fox was well versed in the consequences of not sleeping...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Botan sat on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs, which she had pulled to her chest. Her chin was propped on her knees as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She dimly recognized that it would soon be morning and the boys would be on the move once more. She had told Kurama she would contact him in the morning, but at the current moment, she didn’t think she would be able to face him.
She looked up as her door slid open and blinked when Koenma came in. Strangely enough, he was in his teenage form. He sat down on the edge of her bed.
“Botan,” he began, “you can’t just sit here like this.”
“Why not?” she asked petulantly.
“Because it’s not like you to sit around when your friends need you,” Koenma replied softly. She looked up at him sadly.
“Kurama has help. He doesn’t need me.” It nearly broke the Prince’s heart to hear her say that, but he knew that it was not his place to get involved in the situation.
“What about the others?” he asked instead.
She blinked.
“Yusuke and Kuwabara? Keiko and Shizuru? Genkai and Yukina? Hiei and the other six? Won’t you help them?”
She shook her head as if to clear it. “You’re right, Sir.” Her voice was suddenly stronger and determined.
Koenma blinked at her sudden change in demeanor. She pushed herself up from her bed.
“Glad to hear it.”
Botan walked to the sliding glass door and slid it open before summoning an oar. Koenma froze.
“Botan, what are you doing?”
She looked back at him. “I’m going to Human World to help.” She mounted her oar. “That’s where I can be of the most use.”
“Botan, wait!”
But it was too late. Se had already pushed off and was flying into the distance. Koenma groaned.
“That wasn’t quite what I meant.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Author’s Note: Sorry it took so long to get up, but I’ve been having computer problems. My good computer with all my files on it won’t even turn on now so I’m stuck with our old POC computer that is slow as molasses. Anyway, enough of my excuses. I hope Maya’s flashback scene wasn’t too confusing. She was having a flashback within the flashback in case you couldn’t tell, heh. But yeah, so leave me a review and motivate me to work on my next chapter. Tell me you loved it, tell me you hated it, tell me you read it, but tell me something!