Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Invisible ❯ Unwanted Memories ( Chapter 8 )

Here's Chapter Eight of Invisible!! Please read and review!!

 

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho... Just Kasumi.

 

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Upstairs, in his mothers bedroom, Suichi found a loose but presentable dress in his mother's closet and laid it on the bed. Then he turned and saw Kasumi had hiked up her nightgown a little, blushing more than a little, and trying not to wince with her movements.

He came forward and took a hold of the bottom of the nightgown, instructing her to simply lift her arms as he carefully lifted it up over her head, leaving her standing there in only a pair of panties. He tried to keep his gaze only on appropriate places, but he couldn't help it as his eyes saw the perfectly formed swell of her breasts before he adverted his eyes. He also couldn't help but wince a little himself as he saw the other injuries that had had showed in the time the girl had slept.

Her throat was an alarming shade of purple, with the very definitive shape of a pair of man's hands, the fingers ending below her ears. Her left shoulder was looking no better, and he had to marvel at the fact that it hadn't popped out of its socket with the impact of her father's boot. Her ribs looked like a Mexican sunset, filled with dark purples, greens, and mauve's. Her back was one large contrusion, and her hip had a large bruise on the left side that told him that she was going to have a difficult time getting around for the next few days. In addition to those obviously painful injuries, were dozens of more bruises and contrusions... even a few cuts from when she had been thrown into the furniture, no doubt, that dotted every other area of her body.

He cleared his throat meaningfully, bringing his thoughts back to the matter at hand, and picked up the dress off the bed, pointedly keeping his eyes directly off of her body for a few seconds as he composed himself. Undoing a couple buttons on the collar of the dress, he instructed her to hold her arms out in front of her and very gently urged her arms into the arm holes, and then carefully maneuvered the collar around her head, and pulled the rest of the dress over her. She winced slightly from the movements, but made no complaints. He took a moment to straighten it for her, before looking at her with a gentle smile.

“How does that feel?”

She smiled shyly. “It feels fine. Thank you, Suichi.”

He nodded, his smile widening slightly. “You are very welcome. Now come... Officer Neji is waiting for us. I will carry you down the stairs.”

Once Kasumi and Suichi came down the stairs once more, the girl looking more than a little red and dressed in a loose, light blue dress that came down past her knees, the three of them all headed out to the police cruiser parked outside. Yusuke and Kuwabara both decided to put their plans aside for just a short while longer to help Kasumi bring her things back to Suichi's place. Yusuke immediately sat up front beside the officer, while the other three sat in the back.

Kasumi looked around herself a little awed. “I've never ridden in a police car before...”

Yusuke grinned and looked back. “I have... but never in the front. So we're both having a new experience.”

Neji grinned himself and looked at the former trouble maker. “It's a nice change, huh, Yusuke?”

“Ah, shove it...”

The officer chuckled as he pulled up in front of a house that could best be described as dilapidated. The pain had all flaked off the sides of it, and it was evident that the concrete foundation was rapidly deteriorating. Shingles were missing off the roof in sporadic places, and one of the windows on the top level was covered with cardboard and plastic. Across the front door was the universal yellow tape, announcing 'POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS'.

“And here we are,” Neji said.

Kuwabara stared. “THIS dump is where you lived?! I thought this place was abandoned!!”

She nodded. “This is home sweet home. Or it was, anyway...”

Neji cast a glance back and offered her a smile. “Well, let's get this over with, then. I'm sure you want to get in and out as quickly as possible.”

She took in a deep breath and nodded. The officer and Yusuke got out, opening the back doors for the three in the back. With a little help from Suichi, Kasumi was able to get out of the cruiser with little discomfort.

When they entered the house, they saw that the table was still lying in the middle of the floor, evidence that one of its wooden legs had snapped when Kasumi had slammed into it the night before. The wall that seperated the kitchen from the living room had an enormous dent in it. Spotting it, Kasumi winced.

“Well, that explains why my back is hurting me today... The wall wasn't like that before last night.”

Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged frowns, hearing this, but made no comments. Kasumi ignored the kitchen and headed into the living room slowly, the others on her tail. In the living room they saw the place in shambles. The book shelf she had mentioned was... or HAD been in the corner. All that was left of it were a few planks of imitation wood. On the floor in front of the couch, were six beer bottles, and Kasumi sighed.

“It looks like Dad had a few more to drink after I left last night, too...”

The officer nodded. “Yeah... we barged in on him while he was drinking. Fortunately for us... and HIM... he was too drunk to stand, much less fight. He sure had a few things to say though... none of which I feel inclined to repeat in the presence of a lady...”

She snorted. “I can imagine.” Then she sighed, looking at the stairs. “All my stuff is up in my room...”

This time Kuwabara decided it was his turn to pick the girl up and wordlessly headed up the stairs. She let out a little cry of alarm at the sudden action, and only gave the barest wince of pain from the movement. The others followed them up the steps and into the room she indicated was hers.

There wasn't much in her room. All it basically was was a dresser, an old bed, and a small shelf stuffed with books. In the corner of the room there was a clothes hamper. The girl went into her closet and grabbed a satchel, and started stuffing it with clothes and a few of her other things. She wasn't in quite as much pain as she had been before, a sign that the pain killers were finally kicking in.

She grabbed the manga that Kuwabara had loaned to her and smiled at him meaningfully. “Um... I never even got to turn a single page of these yet... do you mind if I keep them for a few more days?”

Kuwabara grinned and shrugged. “I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to read them at Suichi's so go ahead. I'm in no hurry to get them back.”

She nodded, carefully placing them along with the rest of her books, into the bag. She almost went to pick it up, but Yusuke stopped her and picked it up for her. Then Suichi looked at her.

“Do you have everything you need?”

She nodded wordlessly.

Kuwabara looked at them. “Then let's get outta here.”

Suichi nodded in turn and they left her room, the kitsune picking up the woman once again and carefully making his way down the stairs with her in his arms. Then they went back out to the cruiser.

Officer Neji smiled at Yusuke and Kuwabara. “I'll give you kids a lift to your girlfriends on the way to the station. It'll save you bus fare.”

Yusuke grinned. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Kuwabara grinned. “Cool! Thanks!”

Once they got to Suichi's house once more, Kuwabara cast a last glance at him. “You sure you don't need any help?”

He nodded, his gentle smile in place. He held Kasumi's bag in one hand and supported her with his other arm. “I'm sure. We will be all right.”

He shrugged. “If you're sure. Later, Suichi!”

Once the police car pulled away from the curb, Suichi very gently supported Kasumi as he lead her into the house once more. Once he had her comfortably seated in a soft chair in the living room, her bag in easy reach of her, he looked at her, his features showing concern. “Are you still in pain? Have your medications taken effect yet?”

She sighed. “They kicked in, but they're not doing much. The pain's just a little less intense, is all. And to top it off, I think they're starting to make me drowsy...”

He sighed. “Yes, most pain medications tend to have that side effect.” Then he smiled at her gently. “You just relax in here... perhaps you could start reading those manga that Kuwabara loaned you. I'll go into the kitchen and make you something more effective than those pills to alleviate your pain... without any negative side effects.”

Kasumi wondered what he had in mind, but she guessed she was just going to have to wait and see. If his salve worked as well as it did, then she had no reason to think that this home remedy he was planning on making didn't work as well. She almost asked him if he wanted her to do anything, but bit her tongue before the words came. She knew he would refuse her help... and it wasn't as if she could do anything in her condition anyway. So she simply nodded and gave him a small thanking smile.

“Just call if you want anything,” he said gently, before leaving her alone in the living room.

Kasumi reached into the bag she had packed and started on the manga's. She went through two of them before Suichi returned, holding a glass of some strange blue-green liquid in one hand, and a glass of water in the other.

“This should take effect within fifteen minutes after you swallow it.” He hesitated. “I'm afraid it tastes absolutely terrible, but, I can assure you, it WILL take away your pain.”

And speed up the recovery of her internal bleeding, Youko cut in. She won't have to worry about straining those damn stitches for long. In only two days she'll be more mobile than she is now.

Kasumi took the glass with the unknown liquid with her right hand experimentally, and carefully smelled it. Under different circumstances, he would have found her ensuing expression comical. Her eyes crossed and her lips curled back, as she turned a light shade of green. Her left hand went over her nose and mouth. “Good Lord!! That smells worse than the salve!”

Suichi smiled apologetically. “I do sincerely apologize, but you can be rest assured that it WILL work... and the effects will last longer than your current medication. Just slam it back and swallow back the water directly afterward.”

She looked at the concoction critically for a moment, considered, and then let out a sigh. “Well... as the old saying goes... What doesn't kill you will make you stronger.” She plugged her nose with the index and thumb of her left hand as she quickly slammed back the concoction. Her expression turned so alarmed the moment she set the glass down that Kurama was almost positive his remedy was going to reverse course on her as he quickly handed her the glass of water. Her hand was over her mouth again instantly as she fought to keep it down, and once she thought she had it in hand for a few seconds, she removed her hand and slammed back the water as well. Suichi sighed in relief.

She shuddered once she was finished with the ordeal. “Sign me up for Fear Factor... after drinking whatever THAT was, I could handle whatever THEY could dish out...”

He smiled at her gently. “The hard part is done. Now all you have to do is sit back and wait. You'll be feeling much better in no time.” Then he sighed, casting a glance back at the kitchen. “And now, I have some chores to take care of. You just relax in here.”

She nodded silently and returned to her manga.

After listening to him rummaging around in the kitchen for a few minutes, she started feeling strange, just sitting here while someone else worked. She tried hard to focus on the manga that Kuwabara had loaned her, and then blinked, realizing that her pain was almost non-existent now. Her head still felt swollen, but not painful... and the fire she had felt in her stomach and ribs was now gone. She paused, gently prodding her ribs experimentally and marveled at how there was no pain with the contact.

She wondered what the heck had been in the mixture and why Suichi wasn't bottling and selling it... He could make a killing with his remedies!

She felt a smile coming to her lips as she thought of Suichi for a moment, his gentle smile, his polite mannerisms, his kindness and selfless generosity... She felt her heart skip a beat as she remembered the way he had helped her change clothes twice now, and how, when she had been hospitalized, he had held her hand whenever she had been ready to break down, continually staying at her side and offering his support.

All out of sympathy, she thought. There was nothing more to it than that. There couldn't be more to it than that. How could Suichi possibly have an interest in a girl like her? Her self esteem was at rock bottom, and she cowered at shadows. Her appearance could best be described as plain, as far as she was concerned, and her head was seriously fucked up from the years of abuse she had endured at the hands of her father. He simply felt sorry for her, and thus, being the kind man that he was, had taken it upon himself to help her however he could.

That was all there was to it. She was the most invisible person that she knew... shying away from others whenever she could. Kasumi wasn't used to others taking any interest in her as Suichi and his friends had. It was an entirely new experience for her, and she knew she was going to have to get used to it. Until the day that Suichi had raced into the janitors closet, fleeing his morbid fan girls, she practically ceased to exist as far as anyone was concerned. The only one who had acknowledged her existence had been her father, and he had loathed the very sight of her.

She felt her throat constrict, this thought entering her mind and she quickly shoved any more thoughts from her mind as last night's events returned to her. She forced herself to return to her manga.

She sat there for what felt like hours, forcing her focus to remain on the words and images on the pages before her. She had actually finished all but three of the manga, when Suichi finally reentered the living room.

“Well, the kitchen is clean now. How are you feeling, Kasumi?” he asked gently, coming forward to crouch at her side.

She gave him a small smile. “Much, much better. I can't feel any pain now.”

He smiled in return. “I am very happy to hear that.” His expression turned a little stern, then, but there was a knowing and light teasing glint in his eye. “But don't think that just because you can't feel any pain, that I'm going to have you running around and trying to do any work. I realize it is a hard habit for you to get out of, and I can almost sense your restlessness even from in the kitchen.”

She blushed. “Am I really that easy to read?”

He gave a light chuckle and she almost shivered at the sound of it. “No, but I know that old habits die hard. You're used to doing things for others... not having others do things for you. I noticed since I first met you that you always seem to be put off whenever someone does so. You've worked long and hard enough, in my opinion, and I think it's time you had time to sit back and let someone wait on you.”

She smiled a little, and then nodded.

“I'm going to give my mother a call now, and explain the situation to her. Just stay here and keep on with your relaxation, Kasumi. This will not take me long.”

Kasumi gave him another nod, and then felt her smile widen a little as she saw him reenter the kitchen. Then she picked up her borrowed manga, and started reading once more.

 

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Okay, in the next chapter, Kurama gets a little 'hands on' with Kasumi, applying the salve! Is anything more going to happen? Or is a certain Silver Fox going to behave himself? R&R!!!