Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Worthless Humans ❯ Wishing to Apologize ( Chapter 35 )

 

Nari noticed the expression on Kurama's face and it started to make her nervous. She began to wonder if one of her scars were showing from the makeup she often put on to conceal them. “Is something the matter, dear?” She asked with a shaky smile.

 

Kurama shook his head in attempts to be rid of the shock he held. “No, no, Miss. Suzuki,” he insisted with a slight bow to her. “I apologize.” Turning to Okuro, he shrugged slightly. “So why don't we start that study session until dinner is ready?”

 

“Like I have a choice,” Okuro grumbled as he headed past the kitchen and living room to get to the hallway that would lead to his bedroom. “My room is this way, Shuichi.”

 

“Okuro, you better be in there studying,” Nari called down the hallway as she continued to work on the pasta dinner she had in mind.

 

Making it to his bedroom door, Okuro opened it to allow Kurama in first before following in after him. His bedroom was just like any normal boy's bedroom except he seemed to have some sort of interest in the darker side of things. He had posters of well known horror films featuring flesh eating zombies and vengeful undead souls. His bed had black covers and he had the shades down on his window, not wishing to view the outside world that had scorned him and his mother. Video games and DVDs littered his floor near the television he had set on the floor near his desk that had dark dragon candle holders. The very look of the place startled Kurama seeing as he never knew what Okuro was into aside from stealing and to see it all was quite surprising.

 

Lighting the candles in his bedroom so he would have some light aside from the bit that could be seen from his slightly raised shade over his window, Okuro looked to Kurama with a sigh as he pulled out his math book. “Alright, so about that problem of mine—.”

 

“So, that is your mother, is it?” Kurama asked off topic as he took the math book Okuro held.

 

“Yeah, that is my mom,” Okuro answered with a simple nod as he sat upon a pillow that was on his messy floor filled with a few articles of clothing and shoes.

 

“You know, Okuro, I don't really know much of where you and your mother came from,” Kurama felt need to pry as he eyed the half demon out of the corner of his eye. “All I know is that people said you transferred from America.”

 

Okuro scratched his forehead a bit underneath his cap and nodded at Kurama's response. “Yeah, we came from South Carolina, Spartanburg,” he said, though it was mostly rehearsed. “That would explain my mother's accent whenever she speaks. She is southern even if she is half Japanese. We moved here when we grew weary of the nasty apartment we were in.”

 

“Sounds to me like you didn't have much to start off with,” Kurama said as he sat on the side of Okuro's bed. While he was listening to the story, he could feel the fox demon spirit he had within him listening in as well. It made him slightly nervous but he knew Yoko Kurama wasn't as vicious as he used to be and wouldn't kill the two. If anything, he felt a remorseful feeling towards where they were now.

 

“No, we didn't.” Okuro hated to think on the times his mother nearly starved to death just trying to feed him seeing as she didn't have enough money to please them both. “She sacrificed a lot for me to live and worked in restaurants where she was treated like crap just to make a living for us both. She eventually got noticed when she submitted a story of hers she wrote to a magazine and so she has been writing short stories and such for magazines and the like to who will accept them. It's not much, but it gets us by.”

 

Kurama was hesitant to ask the next question threatening to jump right from his throat. He remained upon the bed with the math book's parted pages resting against his chest as he found the courage to finally ask his question. “What about your father?”

 

Okuro himself even paused in hesitation wondering how to answer that one seeing as he was never told what to say to people who asked. Bringing his legs closer to his chest, the images of his birth father being horribly abusive to his mother flashed in his mind and he almost wanted to snap but he kept himself in check as he cupped his forehead in his hand. “He, um, he was an abusive jerk that got what he deserved,” Okuro explained almost choking on his words in angered sadness. “He got killed to my knowledge.”

 

Kurama said not a word as he eyed Okuro from the bed he was sitting upon, wondering if he wanted to continue.

 

“I had another father, that wasn't my birth father, who wanted to take care of me, but I was told he got killed when fighting for my mother and me,” the mix-breed reluctantly continued. “I don't remember much about him aside from the fact that my mother gave me his necklace she made for him.”

 

He watched as Okuro pulled the necklace Kurama remembered Kuronue wearing frequently. The red jeweled necklace that was made of Nari's own blood caught his attention as he drew in his breath. Kuronue's necklace, Kurama thought to himself as he looked at it closely.

 

“I really miss him,” Okuro admitted as he placed the necklace back under his shirt. “My mom said his name was `Kuronue'.” Shaking his head and clearing his throat, the half demon looked up at Kurama with a shrug. “So, anyway, what about that problem, genius? You apparently know all there is about senior studies.”

 

Smiling softly at Okuro for a moment he looked back at the math problem he was having trouble on. “Maybe it is because you are taking remedial classes and those don't really change much. Besides, I like to test my knowledge on things.”

 

Nari watched the television from where she was cooking dinner to spy what was going on in the world lately. It kept her attention from time to time seeing as she rarely surfaced from her apartment in Japan. While she was tending to the noodles that she had sitting within the boiling pot, the phone rang that was upon the wall within the kitchen area. “Hello?” Nari replied once she managed to answer her phone on the third ring. “Oh, hi Candy, it is good to hear from you again.”

 

Candy and some of the others Nari had befriended called and kept in touch with her after the horrific scene that took place fifteen years ago. Candy had managed to get a job as a fashion designer up in New York after working as a gofer girl within the very company she was designing outfits for four years ago. “Hey, Nari,” Candy responded on the other line as she was keeping up with the schedule of the coming day seeing as it was six in the morning there. “I was just calling to find out how things were going. Right now I am checking out my busy ass schedule for today.”

 

“That's right, it is early in the morning over there,” Nari chuckled as she continued to work with the dinner. “I cannot imagine how you get up so early and continue to work until almost midnight at that company.”

 

“Well, it is a choice,” Candy laughed softly in return. “So how is that rowdy son of yours? Is he still cutting up and causing people to run for the hills?”

 

“Oh,” Nari moaned at the mere thought of Okuro as she started fixing the salads that she wanted her son to eat with the meal. “He is the same. He just got detention for this week no thanks to trying to skip classes—again. One of these days that boy is going to put me in an early grave.” Looking at her watch, Nari realized the time and that Okuro's study buddy was still within the house. “Hold on for a moment, Candy.” Pressing the phone against her chest, she headed into the hallway to call to the boys that she knew were in her son's bedroom. “Okuro, can I speak with you a minute?”

 

The door to Okuro's bedroom opened as he peaked outside in the hallway to spy his mother. “We're studying ma, as you asked us to.”

 

“I know that, but I was wondering about you friend. Is he staying for dinner?” Nari wondered a bit nervously.

 

Kurama heard the question as he closed the math book he had in his hands. “Well, I would have to contact my mother and tell her I am working through dinner but I doubt she will mind.”

 

“He said he will have to call his mom first,” Okuro called back down the hall to his own mother. “But other than that I think he might be staying. This double homework I have is killing me and might last throughout the night.”

 

“You better complete it,” Nari remarked sternly before turning her attention back to the phone she held in her hand. “I am back, Candy.”

 

“So, you have company over I hear,” Candy remarked as she pulled herself up from her bed she was sitting upon while chatting with Nari.

 

“Yeah, yeah, it is my son's tutor, Shuichi Minamino,” Nari explained as she headed back to the kitchen. “He came over to give my flighty son his school book back and then offered to stay and help him with the homework he is having problems on.”

 

“Well, Nari, I wish you luck,” the New Yorker said on the other line. “Right now I have to scarf down breakfast and then make a mad dash to my work. I hope things go well, honey.”

 

“You too, Candy,” Nari said in return with a soft smile. “I hope your day goes well. I will speak to you later. Goodbye.” Hanging up the phone, she sighed a bit as she worked on finishing the rest of the dinner. She was nervous with a new face joining them, but she didn't want to appear rude and send Kurama away as she fixed the plates needed for the table.

 

Eventually the dinner was fixed and the boys were called to the table. Nari didn't know what to say with a new face in the room as she ate the food she made. Before Kurama could bother eating dinner, he managed to call his mother and speak to her about where he was. Nari listened to the conversation while she ate her food though she made no eye contact with the redhead. Looking up at her son, who sat across from her, she cleared her throat to catch his attention.

 

“So, Okuro, seeing as you got yourself in trouble with the principle again, you are grounded when you come home all this week and weekend,” Nari explained as she elaborated on her son's punishment.

 

“But, mom!” Okuro complained.

 

“I don't want to hear it,” she sighed as she raised her hand to stop Okuro from complaining further. “Son, I cannot keep supporting you. I need you to do that on your own in due time.”

 

Kurama listened to the conversation going on at the table as he continued speaking to his mother on his cell phone.

 

Okuro said not a word himself as he didn't know what to say to his mother. He had his own reason for doing what he did but he knew Nari would see it as an excuse rather than a reason. Sighing with a shake of his head, he continued picking at his food as his appetite was lessening with every word he exchanged with his mother. When he heard Kurama's phone conversation end, he looked up at him. “So what did your mom say, Shuichi?”

 

“She said it is alright if I say over here for dinner,” Kurama answered as he took his seat and began to eat the cuisine before him. “She also said if I want to stay over here tonight I might want to call her again and let her know.”

 

Hearing that he might stay over, Nari paused for a moment as she lifted her fork from the pasta she was eating. “Do you plan on staying?”

 

“Well, I could stay here for as long as it takes to help Okuro with his homework if you like,” Kurama offered. In all honesty he wanted to stay at the house a moment longer to see what all was going on within it. He hadn't seen any of the two in fifteen years and was curious as to how they both were truly doing. “That is if that is okay with you, Miss. Suzuki.”

 

The thought was tempting concerning her son's punishment and the want for him to get through high school. Twirling her fork within her pasta, Nari eventually nodded at the eager redhead. “That sounds alright with me, Shuichi. If you want, you can take my room and I can sleep on the foldout sofa.”

 

“You don't have to do that, Miss. Suzuki,” Kurama insisted as he waved his hand slightly to have her reconsider the sleeping arrangements. “I can take the foldout sofa if you want me to.”

 

“No, it is alright, Shuichi,” Nari whispered as she finished her meal. “I insist.” Pushing back from the table, she grabbed onto her plates and drink to wash them off before putting them in the dish washer. “If you boys need me, I will be in my room finishing up a few things I need to complete before tomorrow,” she whispered before passing by the table to head to her bedroom.

 

Kurama watched as Nari disappeared into her bedroom with an inward sigh. His ivy green eyes wandering over to Okuro, he could see the bit of sorrow there in his friend's expression that Okuro was trying to hide with his hat. “Your mother seems awfully on edge.”

 

“That's ma,” Okuro managed to say with a nod. “After what my birth father did to her, she cannot handle strangers too well; especially if they are male.”

 

Hearing such a thing pained the heart Kurama lacked years ago as he acknowledged his friend's words with a nod. “I am sorry to hear that, Okuro.”

 

“You don't have to apologize, Kurama,” Okuro replied as he finished his dinner. “You didn't do anything for her to be this way.”

 

Kurama wasn't sure what to say to that as he finished his dinner shortly after the mix-breed he continued to keep his eyes on. He handled his own plates with Okuro before placing his hand upon his friend's shoulder gently to try and get his attention. “Why don't you go ahead and get started on your science homework next? I will take care of these dishes for you while you get prepped for that.”

 

“Thanks,” Okuro said as he left his dishes in the sink for Kurama to take care of if that was his desire. Fixing the hat he had on his head, he headed to his bedroom with a simple close of the door to signify to Kurama he was out of sight.

 

Hearing the door close, Kurama quickly dealt with the plates and glasses in his hands before hurrying towards the apartment door. Opening the door and letting himself out quietly, he turned to the two that were waiting just outside of the apartment room door. Looking to Yuske and Hiei, Kurama sighed softly with a shake of his head.

 

“What is it, Kurama?” Yuske asked softly in the dark hallways.

 

“Well, Okuro is a demon,” Kurama answered to the two waiting for the fox demon's return. It was difficult to think on why Okuro was as he massaged his forehead with his fingers. “I know he is because—he is my son.”

 

Yuske was nearly floored by that response as he tried to catch himself from falling over at the impact of that reply. “You're—joking, right, Kurama?”

 

Hiei said not a thing as he watched Kurama closely with his narrow, hard eyes. He knew Kurama would not joke about such a thing. The halved fire demon knew a good bit of the redhead's past but not the fact that he had a son.

 

“The woman that is Okuro's mother is Nari Kudo…not just Miss. Suzuki,” Kurama explained with a sigh of sorrow and disappointment. “I promised Okuro I would help him with his homework so I think I can handle this from here. Okuro is not a threat. He doesn't and won't cause problems. And if he does, I can take care of it.” Grabbing back onto the doorknob of the apartment door, he exhaled through his nostrils with a nod to the two. “So, please, let me do this alone…”

 

Yuske was confused as he watched Kurama disappear back into the apartment room, wanting to be alone in this task. Shrugging at Hiei who was still there beside him, Yuske thumbed for the door. “What is Kurama talking about? Since when did the guy have a son that was older than him?”

 

Hiei looked up at Yuske with his hands in his pockets while keeping the same neutral expression he mostly held. “You don't know anything about him, do you, Yuske?” He wondered bitterly. “Yoko Kurama was a fox demon who started the Makai revolution in human slave trafficking.”

 

“Why hasn't Koenma said anything about it to me?” Yuske asked as they remained in the hallway. “I am the Spirit Detective, aren't I?”

 

“This is all in Koenma's hands and not yours,” Hiei expressed sternly as he headed on down the stairs to the next floor. “He is still trying to take care of it as we speak. As far as Kurama goes, Nari Kudo—do you know who she is?”

 

Yuske shook his head at the fire demon's question.

 

“She was Yoko Kurama's sex slave,” Hiei explained. “He beat and raped her for years and even went so far as to make her immortal. That was the kind of ruthless demon he used to be and now he has been reduced to the caring half human you see now. I was unaware he had a son, though. That fact escaped my knowledge.” Bitterness was expressed on every word as Hiei wished Kurama had remained the same way he used to be.

 

Stopping at the bottom step, Yuske looked up at the top of the stairs with a shocked frown on his face. He couldn't believe such a thing was going on in Makai. Being the new detective for Koenma, he figured he would have been clued into the slave operation still going on. I can't believe it, Yuske thought as he continued to eye the door he could just see at the top of the stairs. That is hard to believe Kurama would do that…

 

Eventually the wild detective turned his back upon the sight to head on home. Considering all he had been dealt that one night, he had a lot to think on. His hands in his pockets Yuske headed down the stair steps with Hiei right in front of him.

 

 

 

 

The clock within Nari's bedroom continued to tick tock away while Kurama remained in the woman's bed later that night. The sound catching his attention seeing as it was getting louder every moment he concentrated on it, Kurama looked over at the clock that was resting diagonally against the opposite wall upon the writing desk Nari used. He could see that it was almost three in the morning from where he was lying upon the bed. The thoughts wandering through his mind kept him from sleeping as he pulled himself up from the covers to sit up in the foreign bed he was upon. His hands covering his face, Kurama pulled the white covers from his body to get to his feet and tiptoe to the bedroom door so he could peek outside of the room and into the hallway.

 

The apartment was quiet and dark except for the running TV that was on the lowest setting possible but not quiet enough for Kurama's hearing. As he headed down the hallway in his bare feet, he made it to the living room where Nari was found on the foldout fast asleep. The only light within the room was the running television. The flashing pictures on the television rolled over the calm expression of the sleeping Nari. Kurama headed over towards her steadily so as not to make a sound. The bright light bounding off of his figure as soon as he passed within sight of it, his form changed into that of the silver fox demon Nari had come to know and fear from her past—the very demon that haunted her dreams at night.

 

Yoko Kurama's gold eyes watched as Nari shifted slightly under the covers that partially covered her body. He looked down at her baggy, long-sleeved white t-shirt he could clearly see with her wild, blond hair caressing her face as she had her head tilted to the side. His hands carefully grabbing onto the blanket she had partially covering her cold form, he moved it slightly to cover up the rest of her.

 

Nari felt the rest of her body being covered from the chilly air that engulfed the apartment room. Moving slightly with a moan, she brought the pillow underneath her head closer towards her. She didn't sense the demon nearby seeing as she was in such a deep sleep.

 

Looking down at the sleeping Nari, the fox demon cautiously sat down on the side of the sofa so as not to disturb her. As he gazed down at her, the images that had lied dormant within his memory since his rebirth began to play one by one. The images didn't faze him, but this time he felt remorse for what he had done unlike back in those days where he was numbed to that feeling. “I am sorry,” he mumbled with his eyes holding a bit of pain within them that Nari never witnessed. “I am sorry you had to suffer as all the others did.”

 

The windows close to the sofa began to rattle slightly as the wind howled against them. The silver ears of the fox demon shifted over to the sound as he was quick to shift forms from the one he was within to the normal, student redhead everyone knew him as. As he headed towards the windows that were threatening to blow open, they eventually did so to give way for the young messenger girl that often checked on Nari considering her circumstances.

 

Botan lowered herself down to the floor, her ore disappearing as she did so to see Kurama there before her. It came as no surprise. She was sent there to speak with the fox demon on Koenma's behalf. “Kurama, what are you doing here!” Botan asked in a high whisper so as not to startle the sleeping Nari.

 

“I am sorry, Botan, but I had to spend my night here,” Kurama explained as softly in return. “I didn't realize all this time that Okuro was my Okuro. Why didn't you tell me?”

 

“Dear, this is quite a mess,” Botan thought aloud as she looked between the two. “Koenma didn't want you to know. He feared what it may drive Nari and Okuro to do.” The stressed messenger pointed down at Nari there within the dark room. “Do you not think she is a big enough train wreck with all you put her through in the past as Yoko Kurama? If you were to show up in that form before her, no doubt she will suffer a heart attack!” Pointing in the opposite direction where Botan knew Okuro was sleeping, she continued. “And what of your son? If he knew who you were, I fear him trying to kill you!”

 

Kurama looked at Nari with a sorrowful frown upon his face. “I need to apologize and atone for the sins I have committed against her and the boy I refused as my son,” he explained.

 

“Kurama, we cannot have you do that,” Botan insisted with a shake of her head. “There was a reason we changed Nari's last name and this was one of the many.”

 

Sighing softly, Kurama looked back down at Nari with a shake of his head before having the strength to look to Botan. “If you came here to speak with her, do as you wish to. I will be down the hall in her bedroom,” he whispered before heading towards the hallway once more.

 

Botan watched carefully as Kurama disappeared into the darkness that had shrouded the apartment room before turning to Nari to shake her gently awake. “Nari, wake up,” she whispered within the weary woman's ear.

 

Hearing her name called to her, Nari rubbed her eyes with her fists before sitting upright on the foldout sofa. “What is it, Botan? What are you doing here so late at this hour?” Grabbing onto the remote, Nari turned the running television off seeing as she must have passed out when watching it.

 

“I am sorry for being so late but I had to speak with you,” Botan replied quietly as she sat down close to Nari. “It is about your current living situation. I don't feel it is wise for you to be living where you currently are.”

 

“But, Botan, I cannot just pack up and leave right now!” Nari insisted softly with a shake of her messy hair. “I have a decent job here and Okuro hasn't graduated yet. And, dammit, I am going to get that boy to graduate before we even consider it.”

 

Botan was desperate to get Nari to move somewhere else being her past was so close with where she was living now. Thinking on the situation a bit more, she eventually came upon an idea. “Why don't you just find somewhere else to live in Japan? You don't have to skip country or anything. Just move away from here—from this place.”

 

Nari could tell something was up as she tilted her head at the worried Botan. Her knees brought towards her chest with the blanket draped over them, she felt the need to ask. “Botan, what is the matter with you? You have never demanded I pack up so quickly and leave.”

 

Knowing she was caught in her own words, Botan stopped for a moment as she began to sweat a little with a nervous twitch. “Well—um—Nari, just consider it, will you? I really don't want you to get hurt.”

 

Nari knew that Botan wouldn't order her to move unless it was for her own good. However, the thought of packing up so quickly really made a battle for her. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do seeing as Nari was fine with her current living situation. Cupping her forehead in her hand, she nodded slightly at Botan who was eager to hear her decision. “Alright, Botan, I will consider it. But that doesn't mean I am going to pack up right away. I need to tie up a few things first before even thinking of it.”

 

Kurama hadn't headed back to the bedroom he promised he would as he listened from the shadows in the hallway. Hearing Botan's eagerness to have Nari and Okuro leave made him a bit nervous and equally saddened as he tapped his finger silently in thought upon the wall close by. I have to tell her before she thinks of leaving. I cannot handle the burdens of what have done in the past towards her any longer…

 

 

 

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Nari thought on what Botan had urged late that night within the morning hours of the next day. Her cup of coffee she was holding in her hands that were slightly covered with her sweater's sleeves kept her warm within the cold apartment room. The air conditioning had been on the fritz once more and it was way too cold within the rooms of the apartment. Nari had complained about it a few times but every time it got fixed, it was only a matter of months before it would choose a time to break once more. Sighing softly, she walked over towards the kitchen's dining room table to think on the situation handed to her while she rested her head upon her palm.

 

I don't understand why she would want me to move so quickly, Nari thought as she sipped her coffee once more. That makes little sense to me…

 

As she continued to think on the matter, there came a knock at the door that slightly startled her since she wasn't expecting anyone that day. Okuro had gone off to school and so she wasn't sure who would be there in the afternoon hours. Leaving her coffee at the table, she headed to the door to see who was there. Her arms buried within her sweater, she was hesitant to answer the door as she called to whoever was on the other side. “Who is there?”

 

“It's me, Miss. Suzuki,” Kurama's voice called back from the other side of the door.

 

Wondering what `Shuichi' was doing at her apartment room on a school day, Nari unlocked the door and opened it to reveal the redhead. “What is the matter, Shuichi? I thought you were supposed to be in school.”

 

“I have to speak with you, Miss. Suzuki,” Kurama insisted softly from where he stood. “If I don't get this off my chest now, I will regret it forever.”

 

Nari wasn't sure what was on his mind but she eventually allowed way for him to come inside of her small home. She watched closely as Kurama entered before bothering to shut the door behind her. Nari kept herself warm within her sweater as she headed back over to the chair she was previously sitting within to enjoy her coffee. “Please, have a seat,” Nari insisted as she pointed across the table from where she was.

 

Kurama did so with a nod but not without noticing the chill within the place.

 

“I apologize for the cold,” Nari responded when she noticed his discomfort. “The air conditioning and the heat is acting weird as always. It's nothing new around here.” Bringing the rim of her coffee cup to her lips once more, she shrugged at the appearance of Kurama. “So why did you skip school to come here to me? What is the matter? Does it have anything to do with that wild son of mine?”

 

Kurama shifted slightly within the chair he took as a seat. “Yes and no,” he answered as he intertwined his fingers there upon the table. “I came to talk to you about what happened to you…fifteen years ago.”

 

Having to hear such a thing made the nervous smile turn into a nervous frown as she tried to laugh off the thought with a shake of her head. “I—I don't know what you're talking about, Shuichi. Why does my past bother you?”

 

“It bothers me because I do believe your past…is my past too,” Kurama answered vaguely. “And first of all, my mother and classmates call me Shuichi but Spirit World and Makai call me Kurama.”

 

The name `Kurama' made Nari's heart nearly stop as she backed out of her chair, prompting it to fall over and roll upon the floor. `Yoko Kurama' began to bang loudly within her mind and make her become short of breath at the loudening words that made her heart pound. Regardless of the redhead trying to tell her to calm down, she cared not to as Nari attempted to make a mad dash for her bedroom.

 

“Stay away from me!” She ordered frantically as she tried to run down the hallway.

 

As Nari was desperately trying to make it down the hallway to her bedroom, the walls began to swerve and twist around her, making her terribly dizzy and sick. Her palms banging upon the wall desperately to stay anchored Nari eventually lost her footing and fell upon the floor beneath her. The fear she hadn't felt in some time overwhelmed her body and she passed out there upon the floor not wishing it to be true.

 

Kurama quickly ran over to Nari's body to pick her up in his arms with a sigh of disappointment. “That went well.”