Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Strings ❯ The Stage is Set ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: It's not mine blah blah I have an important issue to address …

-Okay issues seem to be arising over my decision not to let you know who 'you' fall in love with. Look my intent is to create a love triangle, and then surprise you. That's 50% of what this whole story is about. You've spent some time with Hiei, now it's time for some Kurama time, but this is just to warm up the triangle. I have decided who you're going to fall in love with, and I thoroughly intend to keep you on the edge of your seats wondering until the end (my evil ploy to keep both sets of readers hooked as long as possible), and along the way there shall be demons to fight, magic to be summoned, and gods to be reckoned with…so I hope you'll all see this through, and bear with the times your man isn't the center of 'your' attention

Sorry, just had to get that out. I LOVE YOU ALL *glomp*

~ The Stage is Set…

You awake to the feel of cool stone beneath you, and the sun slowly warming your back through your nightgown. Your body aches all over from your jaw to your feet, and it takes all the energy you can muster to raise your head. You lift weighted eyelids, and are forced to wait for the bleariness to pass. Your brain is sluggish to take in your surroundings, but eventually a clear picture comes through.

Your arms are stretched out in front of you, like maybe they'd attempted to break your fall and went limp. Your upper body is flat against a smooth stone porch, while your lower body slants down along similar stone steps. You turn your face forward, and see a set of high double doors, behind which you can hear familiar voices slowly growing louder. It must be the temple, you think. I've never seen it from the outside before…

"But where could they have gone, Genkai? Kit couldn't possibly have been strong enough to just up and wander off! And Hiei isn't the type to just disap- well okay maybe he is." The blue haired girl, what's her name? Botan?

"There is no use for panic, Botan." Kurama's voice, though soft, is slightly reproachful. "We will find her. And I'm sure Hiei will turn up." Does he…I mean, is that concern in his voice? It couldn't be. W-why would he be worried about me?

"Do not rule anything out yet," Genkai responds with her usual command and level-headedness. "I think there is much we still don't know about her. And even though it's not strange for Hiei to leave without word, I doubt it is just a coincidence."

After a thoughtful pause, Botan speaks up again, "Too bad. We could really use him on this new case."

Your head is spinning. Why didn't Hiei return? Was it he who left you here for the others to find? Why are you so sore? Your memory of the previous night is returning to you in snatches. You recall the spell- something in I about time, maybe the future, and flight, but aside from that, its meaning is lost to you. Among those in the priesthood, only two you meet were fluent in the divine, and both had not accomplished that until they were into their late fifties. At the time you felt sorrowful, knowing that despite your constant study you would never have even the beginning of a chance to accomplish such a thing. Now you wish you'd spent less time being sad, and more at study.

Your body shudders violently as you recall 'it' coming to you first in your own room, then again as you and Hiei stood in the remains of the temple. Then, as if cued by your memory, you feel 'it' stir within your chest cavity, sluggish, as if even 'it' is exhausted. Panicked at the thought of losing yourself to it once more you force all thoughts of 'it' away, instead turning your attention to the next topic you can pull from your mind. The books… You turn your head, about, seeking them. You spot them, lying off to your left, one stacked neatly atop the other. It's as if they're waiting for me, you think half-dazed, deeply glad to find them safe. 'It' does not stir again.

Suddenly you hear the great doors groan as they are pushed open, and you try to raise yourself up to greet them, but the weight of your body is too much for your aching arms, and they tremble before dropping you against the stone. Kurama is in the middle of a sentence, "-the lake. Genkai and I will search-" his voice halts and you feel the weight of three sets of eyes upon you. You can't help but cringe under their gaze, and lower your eyes.

A moment later they all rush forward, and their hands are on you, rolling you over to onto your back. You squint through the direct light, until someone leans over you, casting you into their shadow. Kurama's face looms over your, eyes narrowed slightly, and crinkled at the edges with worry. I wonder if I look as bad as I feel, you think glumly, suddenly (and vainly) wishing you weren't laid out, unable to move, in your nightie.

"What happened?" he asks, and the tenderness in his voice is so alien to you, you want to cry at the sound of it. How could he really be so kind? It must be a joke of some sort, an act…it has to be. You're not really sure you believe in the alternative. You open your mouth to respond, and croak.

"Bring her inside," Genkai says, and you see her rise, somewhere to your right.

Kurama slides his arms beneath you, pulling you up against his chest. Fr the barest moment, you allow yourself to feel small and safe. He carries you tenderly towards the doors.

"Hey what's this?" Botan asks, and you watch Kurama glance over his shoulder. "These books look really old."

Your eyes widen, and you struggle feebly in Kurama's arms. "Mine," you rasp. "Mine!"

Kurama turns to Botann. "Give her the books," he says coolly. His voice is, as always, gentile, but there is no room for argument either. Botan comes into view, looking a bit skeptical, but in the end she delicately places the books in the cure of your body. You clutch them as tightly as you can manage and sigh with relief. You let all other worries, for the moment, slip away.

"I think," you whisper dryly against Kurama's chest, "I'm going to sleep again. At first, you're not sure he's heard you.

"It's okay," he murmurs, and the sound rolls through his chest, against your cheek. You nod, and sink below the aches of your body, into a deep heeling sleep.

*~*~*

When you wake, your mind is still reeling from the dream. In it a voice is whispering- you can't remember what- and it's everywhere. You have no body, and yet somehow you are wrapped in a perfect, luxurious warmth. You know this feeling, but how? As you try to recall, your brain refuses to pull up the memory, and after a moment you let it go. The the dream slides away.

"They're gone, I'm sure of it. Not even a single scar. It's as if it never happened" you hear Kurama whispering somewhere to your right. "I can't figure it out. How is she healing so quickly?"

A noise, as if someone was about to speak and then halted themselves. Then Genkai says, "She's awake," not even bothering to whisper.

You open your eyes slowly, as if afraid the motion might be painful. But aside from the sudden sting of the lights, you feel nothing. Kurama kneels down beside you and smiles. You try not to see the concern there. A façade, you think, it must be, but the argument is a weak one. How can he be anything but suspicious? First I heal a fatal chest wound in two months, and now the marks I made just twenty-four hours ago have vanished without so much as a scar to show for it.

"How are you feeling?" he asks as Genkai joins you.

"Fine," you mutter, surprised to find your throat isn't dry.

Genkai places a hand to your forehead. "What happened?"

What could you tell her? Last night I awoke with a strange being inside of me, walked out through the window, found my old temple, retrieved two terribly old books (on of which might help me summon a god), and quite possibly done real harm to one of your friends. Then I woke up where you found me. No I don't have any proof, you'll just have to take my word for it…the word of a stranger… Not possible. They'd kick you out for certain, if they didn't kill you that is. You stare at Genkai for a long time and don't say a word. After a moment she frowns.

"Perhaps we will talk when you're feeling better." She stands to go. "I'll send for you when dinner is ready. Kurama?"

Kurama looks up at her. "I'll be along in a moment." She nods, and exits without another word. Those green eyes light again on you, and your heart beats frantically at what he might say.

***

Me: Whew! Finished! Now I know you seem to be spending a lot of time in bed, but remember…this is still just the beginning of your second conscious day among the YYH gang. Things are about to really pick up though. I hope your brains are working. Maybe you'll even figure out what I'm up to before I reveal it ~_^ Such as…where's Hiei? Just off causing trouble….or…something else? Hehe *glomp* I'm too tired to put anything amusing in my A/N today…MAD LOVE anyhow