Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Kurama no Kanojo ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

That night at the foot of Mt. Hiei . . .

"Okay, let's camp here for tonight. We should have someone act as a guard, just in case if we get attacked," Sakura suggested. Just then, a twig snapped behind them. "Who's there?"

"Gomen, gomen. I didn't mean to alarm you," Botan said as she walked out of the forest. Yukina walked out of the other side of the tree.

"Botan asked me to come along in case you needed someone to heal you," she explained as she walked over to Kuwabara.

"Whew, good thing it was just you . . ." Yuusuke replied, relieved.

"Koenma sent me to come with you just in case something goes wrong. I can use my rei powers to heal one of you," Botan stated.

"Okay, well, we're going to be camping here tonight. We'll be proceeding to the peak of Mt. Hiei tomorrow morning at first light," explained Sakura.

"You mean that you'll just go up there head first without knowing what the enemy's got in store for you?" asked Botan.

"Yeah, we've no idea except for the fact that we could be facing a lot of old enemies. The guy we're up against has a cloning machine that'll duplicate both the body and the powers that any youkai has. So, we're expecting a lot of old enemies from the Ankoku Bujutsukai," Yuusuke said.

"You guys are setting up a watch, right?" asked Botan.

"Of course. It'll be quite stupid of us not to. Let's alternate in three- hour periods. We'll guard in pairs. Sakura and I will go first," Kurama suggested.

"Okay, that's fine by me. I'll go to sleep, then," Yuusuke and Kuwabara simultaneously said. Everyone else just sweatdropped in reply.

"Are you sure you two will be fine?" Botan asked.

"Oh, yeah. It's not like we already have a defense set up, right, Sakura?"

"Yep. I've already spread one of my mists. Your average youkai will not be able to go in and get out alive. You see, if you don't have strong enough youki, the mist will freeze your lungs when you inhale it. The youkai wouldn't even realize it until it's too late. Now, all of us here have a pretty high level of youki. This mist doesn't effect anyone who uses reiki or humans, for that matter. I made it that way so that anyone working for the Reikai, like you, can come and go as they please. Besides, I don't really want to get in trouble with the Reikai, so obviously I wouldn't use something that would kill that indiscriminately. So, we're pretty safe here, that is, unless someone powerful like Yakumo or some of your stronger opponents from the Ankoku Bujutsukai attacks."

"I see. I'll be sleeping now, too. I'll take the next shift after you, so wake me up when it's time," Hiei said, satisfied with her explanation.

"I agree with Hiei. I'll help you," Botan agreed, finding a spot to set up her tent.

"Good night. Sakura and I will wake you up when it's time."

Several minutes later . . .

"I guess it's just you and me now. I think everyone's asleep," Kurama said as he looked up at the stars from underneath a cherry tree. Sakura was sitting next to him, looking at the stars as well.

"You know, I've missed this, just the two of us and the stars and the full moon."

"I know . . . so have I." Kurama puts his arm around her as she puts her head on his shoulder. A cool breeze blows by, causing Sakura to shiver. "Are you cold?" Sakura shakes her head. "Here." Kurama takes off his school jacket and puts it around her shoulders anyway.

"Thanks. It's been fifteen years . . . you really haven't changed that much."

"Well, neither have you, you're still your cheery self." He pauses for a second. "You know, I wasn't sure if it was you that was in the main office yesterday."

"Really? I was sure you'd recognize me. But then again, my human form is a bit different from my youko form, I guess." A cool breeze blows by again, and Sakura snuggles a little closer to Kurama for warmth.

"And you were saying you weren't cold?" Kurama replied with a smirk.

"Well, the girl's uniforms aren't as warm as the guy's. We're in plaid skirts; it really doesn't do much to help you keep your legs warm, even if you wear knee high socks."

"Sit here for a moment. I have a blanket in my bag." Kurama gets up and returns a few moments later with a thick blanket and wraps it around both Sakura and himself. "Better?"

"Definitely." She grew silent as she watches the cherry blossom petals fall. "I recognized you the minute you stepped into that office. You kept the same hairstyle, so it was easy for me to tell."

"Well, it lets my enemies know who I am a lot easier. There was this guy I fought against in the Ankoku Bujutsukai who used a time item on me. He must've thought I was human, because it never occurred to him that I was Youko Kurama. He wouldn't tell me when I tried to ask him the secret of the item, but it's not like I would've gotten it out of him anyway. His own teammate killed him."

"But did you find out? Can you transform into Youko Kurama if you wanted to?" she eagerly asked.

"Well, yeah, I can now. Apparently it was made from a new plant called Past Life Seeds. If I drank it in a liquid form, I could transform into Youko Kurama and stay that way for about fifteen minutes."

"Did you terrorize the guy when you tried to get the information out of him?" she asked, sure of the answer.

"Of course I did. What else did you expect me to do, politely ask him?" he said with a snicker.

"You know, your methods of interrogation will never change." They fell silent for a moment and simply looked at the stars and the falling cherry blossom petals.

"There were many times on nights like these when I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about you and what I'd say if I ever saw you again, but now, I can't seem to find anything to tell you," Kurama said with a note of hesitation.

"Well, you don't really need to say anything." She looked away from the starry sky and turned to look at his face. He turns around to look at her. In the moonlight, she seemed even more beautiful to him. He leaned to kiss her, but stopped as he felt someone's eyes on him.

"Yuusuke, how may I help you?" Kurama asked without even turning around.

"Damn, how'd you know it was me?" Yuusuke asked, frustrated, and surprised.

"Let's see, you usually sleep like you're training in your sleep, that's how. Ah, Kuwabara-kun is there also anything I can help you with?"

"What? How'd you know?" Kuwabara replied, surprised.

"Let's see, I trained you before. Of course I'd know what my own student's reiki feels like. Oh, and Hiei, Botan? Are you two up as well? Hiding up in a tree won't help to disguise your ki as well. In that case, the two of us are going to sleep. You four can decide who's next. C'mon, Sakura. I'll go set up a tent for the two of us." Kurama got up and wrapped his part of the blanket around Sakura and then walked over to his bag and got up a tent and started to set it up.

"You know, Kurama's just too good at this!" Yuusuke whined.

"Rats! And all the atmosphere they were building!" Botan complained. Sakura didn't say anything but simply sat where she was and blushed.

Fifteen minutes later, inside Kurama's tent . . .

"You know, you really didn't need to do that. You could have just ignored them," Sakura said as she snuggled closer to him in the sleeping bag.

"I know I could've, but I really didn't feel like letting them watch us; it was a private moment between the two of us."

"You'll never change, you know that? That's why-"

"Hang on to that thought, Sakura. Is there anything I can help anyone of you with? Or is there some other reason why you're all just hovering around our tent? Namely eavesdropping," Kurama interrupted. He stopped for a moment and then said, "If it'll get all of you to stop eavesdropping on our private conversation, just ask whatever it is that's on your minds!"

"Kurama, how old are you?" asked Kuwabara.

"Um . . . good question," Kurama replied. Botan, Yuusuke, Yukina, and Kuwabara face fell as they heard Kurama's answer. Hiei was up in a tree and crashed face first to the ground when he heard. "I'd say I'm around 2100 years old, I think. When you're as old as I am, you kind of lose track of the years."

Some time in the middle of the night . . .

"Kurama, Kurama, wake up!" Sakura hissed as she shook Kurama awake. When Kurama wouldn't respond, she lost her temper and slapped him back and forth on both cheeks, hard. "Wake up, baka!"

"Ow . . . what is it, Sakura?" Kurama asked, sleepy, confused, and holding both cheeks in pain.

"There's someone around here. And they're not human," Sakura replied. Kurama sat up with a start and got serious.

"Where and how powerful?"

"Not far from here. They're pretty strong. The mist is not even phasing them."

"I see . . ." He thought for a moment. "Let's go. No doubt it's Yuusuke and Kuwabara-kun's turn to stand guard. Only the two of them would fall asleep like this." He got out of the tent with Sakura following shortly after. Yuusuke and Kuwabara were fast asleep at the foot of a tree. Hiei and Botan were sleeping not far from them, Botan in her tent, Hiei at the foot of a different tree. "Just as I thought. It's this way. Let's go. Sakura, be ready for anything."

"Kurama, wait. There's no point in going over there blind. Let me send a shadow of myself over there." She summoned a ball of water in her hand and threw it. It landed several feet away from them in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, another Sakura was there, looking exactly like the original.

"I forgot you could do that," Kurama replied, amused.

"I figured you did. Let's follow after my shadow, but at a safe distance." Sakura's shadow took off towards the power source.

Several minutes later . . .

"Sakura, let's wait here and see who it is. Can you get your shadow to lure the person towards us?"

"Yes. Okay, now, let's see, got it! They're chasing my shadow! We'll trap him in that clearing over there!"

"Got it. Rose Whip!" Sakura's shadow turned back into water and disappeared as the person who was chasing it entered the clearing. It was Karasu. "Guess you were right. Leave this to me. I fought him once before and I lost because of the ten count. This time, things will be different." Kurama calmly walked into the clearing, ready for anything.

"Ah . . . Kurama, how nice to see you again. This time, you'll die, for sure!" Karasu took off his mask breathed in a bunch of air as his hair color turned from black to blonde.

"Don't be so sure, Karasu!" Mist suddenly swirled around Kurama, hiding him from view. Black lightning bounced off the trees as a gust of wind suddenly blew the mist away to reveal Youko Kurama. "It is you who will die this time!"

Back behind the trees . . .

"Who's there?" Sakura asked as a twig snapped behind her. She looked all around her, but neither saw nor sensed anything. A handkerchief suddenly went around her mouth and nose, and she blacked out. Kurama . . . help me!

Meanwhile . . .

"Last time we fought, I took it way to easily on you," Kurama said. "I won't be so careless this time."

"Enough talk!" Karasu threw several hand grenades towards Kurama, who used his whip to destroy them before they even touched him. Karasu was about to attack again, he suddenly realized he couldn't move. He looks down at his legs to find them both being held in place by two thick vines. "What's this?! No matter, I'll just get you from here!" Just as Karasu pulled his arm back to throw the bomb, two thorny vines wrap around his arms, cutting through straight to the bone. "Ahhhh . . .!"

"As I said before, you'll be the one to die this time. It's time for me to finish you."

"I wouldn't be so sure!" Kurama looks around to find large number of Trace- Eyes above him.

"I guess you don't remember our previous fight. Let me refresh your memory." Kurama mutters something in another language. A Makai Mimosa sprouts from the ground and destroys all of the Trace-Eyes before they even touched him. "See? Now, to finish you." The mimosa moved its carnivorous branches around Karasu, each branch throwing itself on top of another until Karasu could not be seen and all that was visible was a huge ball. "Now, then, to make sure that you can't blast your way out . . ." Kurama pulled a blade of grass from his hand and let it grow until it was a huge sword. He then cut the ball in half. Pieces of the mimosa fell all around him and on the ground right underneath the center of the ball was Karasu in a huge pool of blood and organs. He'd been sliced in half from head to toe.

"Kurama!" Yuusuke yelled as he and the others arrived at the scene. He stopped short when he saw Karasu's halved corpse. "What happened?"

"Sakura woke me up telling me she sensed something nearby a little while earlier. We decided to come out and investigate. I ended up finding Karasu here and decided to take care of a little bit of unfinished business. Where's Sakura?"

"We didn't see her when we ran over here. We came over here because we thought Yukina might be here. She's missing. We noticed that when Hiei woke us up a little while after you two took off."

"What?!" Kurama suddenly frowned. The tree where Sakura should have been behind suddenly moved all on its own towards him. A rolled up note with an arrow through it was stuck to its trunk. Kurama pulled out the arrow and read the note. The others huddled around him to see what was written on it.

It read:
Kurama,
If you want Sakura back in one piece, come to the peak of Mt.
Hiei. You may bring only one person with you. Don't even think about
pulling a fast one on me. I have eyes all over this mountain. I'll
be watching you.

P. S. I also have Yukina.

"Kurama, do you have any idea who it could be?" Botan asked, concerned. Kurama did not reply and simply set off for the peak of the mountain. Hiei started to clench his right fist in anger.

"Hiei, you're coming with me. The rest of you stay here." No one protested what Kurama said. They could all sense the anger that was emanating from him in huge waves. It was even worse than the time Kurama killed the one of Yakumo's 'demon gods', who had taken on Kuronue's form to put Kurama at a disadvantage. Hiei, who was now very angry and pissed off, silently followed Kurama (he'd reverted a little while ago).

Up on the peak of Mt. Hiei . . .

"Ugh . . . where am I?" Sakura asked as she looked around. She was in a large cage with a steel floor and bars. Lying next to her was Yukina, who was still unconscious. Powerful demon wards were wrapped all around the bars and the top of the cage. She knew it'd be futile to try to escape. The wards prevented her from touching the bars. "What a headache. It must've been the stuff they used to knock me out."

"Ah . . . so, our little water using youko has awakened. You're just in time to see the end of your traitorous boyfriend, Kurama, and his friend."

"You b****** . . . what have you done to Kurama?!"

"My, my, my, how rude of you . . . for just for that, Toguro Otouto?"

"Yes?"

"Teach our foul mouthed friend a lesson."

"Yes, master." Toguro Otouto stuck one finger between the bars and had it grow. Sakura dodged out of the way of the finger only to run into the bars. She screamed as the wards repelled her, sending her back onto the cold steel floor of the cage.

"No . . . I must not give in!" She tried to summon her Ice Spear only to get 'electrocuted' by the wards. (AN: You know what I mean, don't you?)

"My, my, my, aren't we just a little stubborn? Trying something like that won't work! You will sit there in that cage as you watch your boyfriend die! And you will be unable to do anything about it!"

"Kurama isn't as weak as you think he is! He'll come for me, and when he does, you're going to wish you hadn't pissed him off!" Sakura had given up on trying to escape. The only thing she could do is to have faith in Kurama.

~ To Be Continued ~

Kurama no Miko2003: Hello again, peoples! Yep, yep! I'm doing really nicely today! Maybe I'll get done posting this fic today! Enjoy, peoples! And please, review! I really want to get some feedback for this fic!