Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ One Last Wish ❯ Checking In ( Chapter 5 )

One Last Wish

Chapter 5: Checking In

Heaven Sent Tenshi

 

Myleen stared at the manga beside her. The blues, grays, and blacks became abstract as the picture melded together into one blob. She blinked, shaking her head. She really needed to stop staring at things until they did that.

 

She sighed, leaning back on the bed as she snatched up the remote control for the TV and turned it on. She flipped through several channels.

 

“News… cooking show… more news… infomercial… infomercial… news… infomercial… man, there's absolutely nothing on TV anymore…” She sighed again, this time in frustration, as she pressed the power button and tossed the remote aside. She had just finished her manga and there seemed to nothing else to do now. This always happened; she was surprised she hadn't become accustomed to it by now.

 

She began to debate whether or not to ask the nurses to bring her some sort of video game. She stopped, however, when she remembered the last incident. They hardly allowed her to have a TV after that.

 

Utterly bored out of her wits and not the least bit tired, her mind raced to find something entertaining to do until her doctor came in to check on her… again. Nothing came to mind, though, and so she sat back and stared at the ceiling.

 

~~~~~

 

Kuwabara flopped backward onto the floor, uttering a loud groan. “How long are we gonna have to wait here?” he whined.

 

“It's only been ten minutes, Kuwabara,” Kurama replied, looking down at his watch. “Koenma told us it would take a while.” The other boy groaned again, apparently trying to ignore Kurama's remark.

 

Hiei remained against the wall, his arms crossed, as he had been since they had arrived at Genkai's. Yusuke was sitting on the floor, alongside Kurama and Kuwabara. Kurama looked relaxed. This, however, was not the case of the other two. While Kuwabara lay on his back staring at the ceiling, Yusuke was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, fidgeting, as he contemplated their mission.

 

Koenma had told them that the best way to travel to the other dimension was through a portal they would construct at Genkai's temple. This was due to the high level of spiritual energy there. The construction of the portal would take a good deal of time, causing much of the group to grow impatient.

 

“So,” Yusuke began, “what are we gonna do about the whole being recognized thing?”

 

“Well,” Kurama piped up, “Koenma did suggest disguises, though he hasn't done anything about it… I suppose we'll just need to keep a low profile while there…”

 

“D'ya think she'll recognize us?” Kuwabara asked, sitting up again.

 

“It could go either way…” Kurama muttered, “If the manga about us is as popular as Koenma made it out to be, then it's likely she will… But, there's always a slim chance that she won't…”

 

“It'd be better if she did, though…” Yusuke murmured. The others looked in his direction, confused; even Hiei looked at him from the corner of his eye. Yusuke hesitated. “If she knows about us, then it'll be easier to explain, won't it?”

 

Kurama pondered a moment. “… You're right… she'll understand the abundance of strange occurrences better if she has already read about some of the things we've done.”

 

“Yes,” Hiei added, “but that doesn't mean she will believe it any more than a normal human.” He didn't look up when he said this.

 

Kurama nodded, as did Yusuke and Kuwabara. They knew that what lay before them would not be an easy job. This other dimension didn't have other worlds like they did; myths were still myths there.

 

Kuwabara flopped back down on his back again before rolling over onto his stomach and staring at the wood grain of the floorboards. He groaned in boredom again, causing a fine layer of dust to scatter in all directions. Sitting up, he sneezed twice before flopping down on his back again. Kurama blinked several times at his stupidity and boredom before sighing and checking his watch once more. Yusuke flopped backward suddenly, as well. An image of fish surfacing in a lake came to Kurama's mind. Hiei, meanwhile, scoffed at the detectives before closing his eyes, hoping to would find sanctuary in his sleeping mind. Just as sleep began to grab at his subconscious, though, Koenma burst through the doors.

 

“Alright, boys, time to get to work!” he announced. Yusuke and Kuwabara shot to their feet.

 

“Finally!” the latter hooted as they stretched and made their way to the door where Koenma stood with Kurama and a very miffed Hiei in tow.

 

The group followed Koenma into the courtyard. Genkai stood ready between a pair of wooden poles, each larger in diameter than the master was tall. A rope was tethered between the two poles with seals attached every few inches. When Koenma gave the go-ahead, Genkai pulled at the loose end of the tie holding the rope to the left pole. As the rope and seals fell away, a wind picked up. It gust past the Spirit Detectives and through the space between the poles. Genkai lifted her arm up to the space. As her palm opened, a colorless void tore a hole into the fabric of time and space. Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke shielded their faces from the light that radiated from the portal.

 

The rush of the wind roared loudly in the area. The portal widened and the wind grew stronger. Genkai turned her back to the white nothingness. “The portal won't hold long, so you'll have to make it quick,” she instructed, her voice raised as to catch the boys' attention, “Botan will enter the portal and inform you when time's up. And when time's up, time's up. If it gets down to a kidnapping, so be it. You have no other chance; this is the only portal we can make right now. The next time we can make another one will be in a couple months. So, like I said, make it quick.”

 

Yusuke nodded. He understood the urgency. It would be a get-in-get-out-and-make-it-snappy sort of mission. He stepped forward toward the portal, trying his best to imagine what might lie beyond.

 

“Don't waste what little time we have left, Detective.” Yusuke jerked around. Hiei, with a scowl on his face, dove into the portal, Kurama hot on his heels.

 

“Hey you guys, I was gonna go first!” Yusuke screamed as he ran at the portal.

 

Kuwabara blinked several times. “Hey! You can't just leave me here!” He too leapt in headfirst.

 

Koenma sighed as the rushing air slowed its pace. “I hope they know what they're doing…”

 

“Well,” Genkai began, her eyes narrowed, “if they do, it wasn't much thanks to you. You didn't give them very detailed instructions.”

 

“Eh, they're resourceful; they'll figure it out…” Koenma turned away from the blinding light of the portal and started toward the stairs. “At least… I hope they will… Good luck guys…” He lifted his eyes to the heavens and closed them. “You'll need all the luck you can get…”

 

~~~~~

 

The dead grass had been stomped into the grey dirt. The trees surrounding the camp were just as lifeless. Several small tents had been erected around the central one, the largest by far and the most menacing. A pair of gruff guards stood on either side of the entry, a solitary black flap of cloth.

 

A little demon that looked to be dying of starvation stood before the sentries. “The Lord is expecting me,” he announced, rising from his hunched position. The sentries nodded. The demon released the breath he was holding and pushed aside the flap of the door. It was dark inside; shadows lingered within, shying away from the few candles near the table on his right. A large throne loomed before the demon. He swallowed hard and followed the dark red carpet that led to his master. A figure was seated on the chair. It lifted a hand, beckoning the demon closer. As he obeyed, he stopped and dropped his head, falling to one knee.

 

“My Lord,” he murmured.

 

“What have you learned…?”

 

“The portal we require will take time, my Lord… perhaps longer than you would like…”

 

“And how long is that?”

 

“Three weeks, my Lord.”

 

The figure sat back against the throne. As it did, candle light crept over the face. The peeved man had soft, though masculine features and a pair of dark, narrow eyes. Short black hair lingered in those eyes, though it was unable to hide his long, graceful ears. He sat with one leg propped over the other, crossed in a comfortable fashion. He held his hands together, allowing them to be engulfed in the long black robe he wore over his other garments. His high-collared, cream colored shirt was covered by something resembling a kimono, though much shorter, stopping at his waist, and a long, white sash. He also wore a pair of cream pants that had a slight puff to them at the bottom of the leg; these were tucked into a pair of light, tanned-hide boots with black rubber soles.

 

On this man's face was a look so hard to define, it was amazing. He was annoyed, perhaps to the point of anger, but it wouldn't show. He looked merely to be pondering what he had been told.

 

“You have three days.”

 

The demon nearly leapt out of his skin. “But, Kargon, my Lord-”

 

Kargon lifted his hand again, this time to silence the demon. “I will not wait three weeks, nor will I wait a week. You will work day and night, and by sunrise of the fourth day, you should best have that portal finished. I took you in for a reason, and sneaking into other dimensions was that reason. Now finish that portal, or I will feed you to the others.”

 

The demon lowered his head. He knew they would eat him, alive if they could. “Your word is law,” he murmured, rising to his feet and brushing his loin cloth down as he backed out of the tent.

 

Kargon's left eye twitched. He rose from his seat and strolled over toward the table. On it were random papers with Miryn's picture, bounty, and background information in ink. He placed a hand on her picture, a fleeting picture as she disappeared into the trees. Slowly, he crumbled the paper and threw it aside in his lack of patience.

 

“You may have escaped, my dear… but I am not finished… Myleen will be in my possession soon…” He snatched up a picture of Myleen as she sat in her hospital bed. He gazed at it a moment before hovering it over a candle. He watched as the flame licked at the photograph, singeing the edges. A smile tugged at his lips. He pulled back and waved the flames away, leaving a half burnt Myleen in the picture. “Very soon…”

 

~~~~~

 

Myleen looked up from the floor as it passed beneath her. She watched the walls come and go as people did the same. She smiled. It had been nearly three days since her nurse had agreed to take her for a walk. Well, this was as close to a walk as Myleen would ever get. Her eyes wandered over to the tires of her wheelchair. She watched them spin for a moment.

 

“Having fun?” her nurse asked as she pushed the chair down the hall, a smile on her face.

 

“Yeah…” Myleen was nearly lying, but what did it matter? “I like getting outta that room… it's so… stuffy in there…”

 

“It's good to get out and get some fresh air some times…”

 

Myleen nodded. “Though, I'd hate to consider this fresh air…” She shrugged as the nurse giggled.

 

“You're right… Would you like to go outside?”

 

Myleen nodded again. “Yes, please, I would like that very much.” She smiled as the nurse turned the chair into an elevator. They rode it down to the first floor and made for the courtyard in the center of the hospital. Spring seemed to have sprung there; the smells of various flowers blooming wafted over Myleen. It brought her joy to be outside, amongst nature at its most beautiful. She thanked her nurse softly as they ventured down a path, leading to the heart of the courtyard and the stupendous fountain at its center. The nurse wheeled Myleen up to the lip of the fountain and sat down. Myleen, meanwhile, stuck her hand in the cool water, smiling once more. She loved it there.

 

The pair sat in silence for well over five minutes. All the while, the nurse watched Myleen as she played with the water within her reach. She had always admired Myleen; she was so young yet so responsible, so grown up. She hated to think of what Myleen's life was like; all the check ups, the medications, the accidents, the scares… She was surprised the poor girl could function. And with only three months left… If it were her, she doubted she could do it. And how her poor parents were able to care and provide for her was a mystery to the nursing staff. She sighed.

 

“Myleen…?”

 

Myleen looked up, her hand exiting the water. “Yes?”

 

Suddenly, the nurse couldn't remember what she was going to ask her. Myleen's sweet, innocent face caused her to black out. She swallowed hard. Then, all her questions hit her at once. But which one to ask?

 

“… How do you do it?”

 

Myleen paused. “Huh?”

 

“… How do you… keep going?”

 

A sad smile pulled at the girl's lips. “You mean, when I know I'm going to die soon?” The nurse nodded. She looked down. “Well… that's a good question… I ask myself that same thing sometimes… I try not to think about it, really… but… hmm… I guess it's…” Her voice trailed away.

 

“It's what?”

 

“Well… sometimes I wish… I wish my life had more meaning than to just be a test subject for a group of doctors…” The nurse nodded, though Myleen couldn't see. “I guess that's what keeps me going… the thought that some day, I might do something big… something exciting, maybe… I hear about these people who do these amazing things and have these wonderful adventures and… and I wish I could have one, too….”

 

Myleen's nurse rose to her feet and placed a hand on her shoulder. The young girl lifted her head to see her face. There were tears in Myleen's eyes.

 

“Would you like to go back?”

 

“No… please, I-I wanna stay here… I like it here…”

 

“… Alright… anything you want…”

 

The nurse took her seat again and watched as Myleen turned to stare at the water.

 

“Anything?” Myleen squeaked.

 

“What?” The nurse looked up.

 

“I can do anything?”

 

“Well, Myleen… wi-within reason…”

 

“… I… I want to walk…”

 

Her nurse's eyes widened a bit. “What?”

 

“I wanna walk… I haven't walked in a while… And I wanna see if I can still do it…”

 

“But, Myleen…” The nurse rose to her feet, scrambling over to stand in front of the girl's wheel chair, “I don't want you to stress yourself out; what if your heart or your lungs give out?”

 

“They won't… I have my cane…” Indeed, wedged and hidden between Myleen and the seat of her chair was a small, cherry wood cane that had once belonged to her grandfather.

 

“Myleen, just because you have a cane doesn't mean you won't stress yourself out trying to stand or keep your balance…”

 

Myleen shook her head. “You said `anything'; I want to at least stand up!” Startled, the nurse jumped, her muscles tensing slightly. She had never heard Myleen raise her voice to anyone. The girl froze, realizing what she had done. She pressed her hand to her mouth. “I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell… I just…”

 

“It's been a trying afternoon… perhaps-”

 

“No, please… I just want to stand up…”

 

The nurse hung her head. “… Alright.”

 

Myleen looked up. Her nurse moved the small metal platforms for her to rest her feet against out of the way and slowly helped the girl up. Myleen placed her left hand on the woman's shoulder and gripped her cane with her right, steadying herself as best she could. But Myleen's legs shook horrendously; she was afraid she would fall, but she leaned a bit more on the nurse and soon regained a bit of strength in her legs, despite the muscle deterioration there. After a few moments, Myleen was able to lean away from the nurse and depend solely on her own two feet and cane. She leaned heavily on the cane, though; luckily, it supported her well.

 

She smiled as the nurse mimicked her action.

 

“I can still do it…” Myleen chirped quietly, as though she were surprised. The nurse nodded and the girl took her seat again.

 

“That's very good; I didn't expect that you'd have that much strength left in your legs… You haven't been up and out of bed in…”

 

“Eleven months, two weeks, and five days,” Myleen supplied.

 

“… Since your lungs really began to give you problems.”

 

“My heart too… Only four years after I'd been admitted here… Six if you count the time when I was coming here at least three times a week…”

 

“You've been having problems with your body since you were born, haven't you?”

 

“Uh-huh… The disease didn't really make mincemeat out of me until I was five or six, though…”

 

The nurse nodded again and took hold of the wheelchair. She began to wheel Myleen back to her room. The ride was made in silence.