Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Worthless Humans ❯ Loves Beginning ( Chapter 37 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The next morning, Kurama headed back towards the apartment complexes that Okuro and Nari had taken up home within. His hands tucked away in his pockets, he made his way gradually up the stairs to their apartment room. Moving his hand from his pocket, Kurama knocked on the door for a moment. “Nari, Okuro, are you two home?” He asked as he tried the door handle only to get a resistant response.

When Kurama knocked once more, one of the neighbors at the hotel caught the redhead at the door he was before. “Oh, hello,” the middle aged woman responded as she headed for the stairs. “Are you looking for the Suzuki family that lived there?”

“Yes,” he answered as he turned around on his heels to look at the woman with wavy, brunette hair and brown eyes.

“I am afraid they moved just last night,” she responded while digging into her purse to pull out her car keys. “I am not sure where they went. I sure hope you get in contact with them.”

Kurama watched as the woman disappeared down the stairs to head for her car. Thinking on the move, he recalled sending Botan to the house in the middle of the night to speak with Nari and Okuro. I guess she must have decided to live up in Spirit World, Kurama thought as he walked down the steps as well to head to Spirit World.

Botan was the one to greet the demon when he made his appearance there at the gates of Spirit World. Heading down the halls of the large building that rested within the clouds, she offered a smile Kurama. “I wasn't quite expecting you here so early, Kurama.”

“I came here looking for Nari and Okuro,” Kurama came right out to say as he followed behind Botan. “I figured since they moved from their apartment posthaste, they must have accepted the offer to move up here.”

Hearing of Nari and Okuro made Botan stop walking as she lowered her head to hide the expression of concern she held with her sky colored bangs. “About that,” she began, Botan lifting her head when she finally found the nerve to look at Kurama. “Nari and Okuro are actually not up here but…down there.”

Kurama watched her motion and couldn't help but look at her with a worried frown. “What do you mean, Botan? They would never go back down to Makai!”

“Well, she is down there,” Botan responded with a light shrug.

“But, Botan, that place is going to kill her even if she is with the DNA of an S class,” Kurama panicked. “Why would you send her down there when it is hard for anyone to get down there to protect her and Okuro?”

“Kurama, it was Nari's decision,” Botan insisted softly as she reached into her kimono to pull out a letter. “But, here—maybe this letter she left for you will explain why she decided what she did.” Heading further down the hallway, she stopped to look over her shoulder at the redhead working away at the envelope. “Just come and see me when you are through reading that. I have more to talk to you about.”

Kurama turned his attention back to the letter he pulled from the white envelope. Sitting down upon a padded sofa nearby, his eyes began to scroll across the words scribbled upon it.

Yoko Kurama,

I am sorry that Okuro and I had to both leave so soon, and what Botan will probably tell you before she hands you this letter might amaze you that I am going back to Makai. Well, I wish I could tell you why Okuro and I were both going back, but I was forbidden to do so.

The joy that I, for once, feel as I write this letter have brought me to the point of tears that I fear will stain the paper I write upon. I have never felt this kind of joy in years and that is the very thing that has brought me back to the depths of hell once again. This is the only way I know I will be free once more…

However, this doesn't mean you are off the hook for what you put my son and me through those long years ago, Yoko Kurama. While I understand from Botan and Koenma's explanation that the barrier in Makai is difficult to break for anyone to go through, Koenma is willing to send Botan back and forth with letters that we can write to one another. I expect you to write to at least Okuro. He deserves that much from the man who was once his father and once his trusted friend.

The past is still rocky and I will always quiver in submission when I hear your name or see you coming. But I am hoping in time we can fix the path we all walked upon and tread on a new one with less cracks embedded within it. And who knows, maybe one day you can actually appear as the silver fox I feared all these years and I can approach you without terror.

All I can say is I eagerly await that time but now, I have someone who is waiting for me and I think I have left him waiting long enough.

Goodbye for now, Yoko Kurama,

Nari Kudo

Kurama folded the letter back up neatly as it was within the envelope before pocketing it as he got to his feet to hunt down Botan. He walked through the lofty halls to find the office of the Spirit World leader. His knuckles rapping upon the doors before him, he opened them to let himself on inside to find Koenma quickly approving papers that had caught up with him with Botan close by.

When Botan heard the doors open, she looked over her shoulder to see the demon entering the room from where she stood in front of the desk. “So, did you finish the letter?” She asked as she made her way over to the bewildered Kurama.

“Yes, I did,” Kurama answered softly. “I respect the decision that she cannot tell me who she is with so all I can do is wish her the best. What did you want to tell me, Botan?”

Botan pulled out the cap that Okuro had worn ever since Kurama met his son unknowingly. “Okuro left this here since he didn't need it anymore with where he is going,” she explained as she handed it over to the redhead. “He said it is the only thing he can think to leave as a `thank you' for convincing Nari to move where she would find the happiness she never experienced in years.”

Opening his hands, Kurama took the hat that belonged to his son with a nod. “Thank you, Botan. I am sure I will have other things to treasure by him when he writes to me.”

Botan could only smile for him as she hid her hands back within her kimono sleeves. “I am glad that you can atone for what you caused, Kurama.”

“I have done other sins that I should atone for,” Kurama answered somberly as he thought of what he had done to Yomi and some of his own members and those he robbed and killed for his own greed. “But at least I can start from here. Thank you both.” He turned his back to the two as he headed for the doors so he could head home to his mother. “I can only pray she is truly happy where she is now,” was all Kurama said before he closed the doors behind him.

Nari held onto her son's wrist tightly as she hurried through the Makai forest she never thought she would find herself walking through ever again. Her breathing was labored from all of the running she had done just to meet the one person she couldn't believe was truly alive. The fears that used to surround her were now gone as she ducked under branches and pushed bushes and towering grass out of her way to make it to her destination.

Okuro held tightly onto his mother's wrist in return as he was just as eager to get to where they were going. “Are you sure this is the right way, mom?” He asked as he made sure nothing within the woods would attack his mother.

“This is where Botan told me to go,” Nari responded almost breathlessly, “and I have no reason to doubt her now!”

The two made their way out of the thick woods and into a clearing where the sun was beating down upon them once more. As they both ran quickly through the open plain, their eyes caught the sight of a demon standing at the edge of the forest that was several feet away from where they currently were. They recognized the demon as they picked up their pace to get closer to the demonic figure. A sigh of relief escaped from Nari's lips as she saw that the creature was indeed the bat demon she figured was dead years ago.

Releasing Okuro's wrist, Nari ran as quickly as she could towards the distant figure eagerly. “Kuronue!” She screamed as she wondered if it was true.

Kuronue looked through his visor and the bangs that hung in front of his sight as he saw Nari and the elder Okuro heading in his direction. He wasn't aware that she was alive nor still there in Makai. To hear from one of the messenger girls Koenma had that Nari and Okuro were okay but were unable to tell him where they were, a part of him was relieved but at the same time heartbroken. Once he was asked to wait at the edge of the northern forest of Makai for someone, he was more than shocked to notice it was Nari and Okuro he was to meet. “Nari?” He wondered silently to himself from where he stood. “Nari!” Kuronue shouted once he realized who it was as he took off for her. “Nari, Okuro!”

Nari held tears of happiness she never thought she would express again as she opened her arms once the demon was within reach to embrace him tightly and bury her face within his chest. She could feel that he was real and the realization that he was made her heart nearly burst. “Oh my God,” she managed to say through her quivering tone. “I honestly thought I would never see you again!”

Kuronue held onto the shaken woman tightly to show her he was okay and hadn't died as most came to believe. “I never thought I would see you either,” he mostly whispered as his hand cupped the back of her head. “I was forbidden to see you or Yoko Kurama when they released me from Spirit World years ago.”

“Well, that explains how they knew about me,” Nari sniffled as she kept her face buried within his neck.

“I am sorry it took so long,” Kuronue sighed sorrowfully. “I just couldn't bring myself to ratting out Yoko Kurama and now…he is dead because of it. But I knew that is what it would come down to.”

Thinking on the fox demon she always had a tie with when it came to the bat demon, she pulled back to look at Kuronue with a shake of her head. “No—no, Yoko Kurama is not dead. He survived,” she explained softly with an eager nod. “I should know for I saw him in his new form. He was the one who suggested we move out of Human World.”

Kuronue was confused as he tilted his head at Nari. “That hardly seems like Yoko Kurama. What happened to him?”

Nari shook her head as her scarred hand touched his cheek. “That I cannot tell you. I am not allowed to, Kuronue.”

“So long as you both are still alive,” he said between the two of them. “That is all I care about. I still cannot believe you came back to Makai—all for me.”

Nari smiled for once as she looked up at the towering demon, her hands sliding into his. “Well, I didn't think you would risk everything just to save my son and me. I guess we both surprised each other.”

Okuro finally made it to his mother and Kuronue's side as he stood there before the two, slightly winded from the almost mile long run they had to perform just to locate the bat demon. Once he caught his breath, he straightened up to look at the demon he hadn't seen in some time and had nearly forgotten the face of. “Is it really you?” He asked as he came closer. “Are you the one I often struggled to remember?”

Kuronue looked at the elder Okuro in surprise. He didn't expect the half demon to grow so quickly. “Goodness, boy,” he said with a soft laugh, “if you are a demon at all, you are terribly under shape if your mother could beat you without much of a sweat. I guess we will have to work on that.”

“Blame her,” Okuro insisted as a joke, pointing to his mom. “She made me study and rot in a human school.”

The bat demon that had been a distant memory within Okuro's mind extended his hand to accept the mix-breed's in return. Bringing the boy he had accepted as his son years ago close to his chest, he patted him on the back before receding to look at him. “I didn't expect you to be damn near to adulthood by now. I didn't even expect you to make it out of here alive without me there.” Kuronue smiled at the demon with a nod. “I guess I was right in telling Yoko Kurama you were different from the others.”

Okuro had never been hugged by a man in quite some time as he accepted it from the demon that was a stranger and yet familiar at the same time. Remembering the necklace around his neck, the mix-breed was quick to pull out the item that Nari had made for Kuronue years ago. “I was given this when your death was announced,” Okuro explained with a slight movement of his fox tail. “I thought you might want it back.”

Kuronue opened his hand to take back the necklace he thought for sure he had lost when Sensui attacked him. His dark indigo eyes looked at Okuro closely to study his expression. “Are you sure?”

“The only reason I held onto it was because I needed something to remember you by,” Okuro explained softly with a nod. “Besides, it was made for you, and I know you never took it off.”

“Thanks, son,” Kuronue responded as he worked on putting the item back on.

Nari remained near the bat demon, not wishing to part from his side ever again. Her head resting against his chest still, she gazed up at the Kuronue with a light shrug of wonder. “Where are we going to live, Kuronue?” She inquired tenderly.

“Well, I cannot have you in the Makai city limits,” Kuronue said as he looked to where the city was located. “It is already hell there thanks to you being spotted before, to my understanding, and so more human slaves have been dragged under and beaten to be sold.”

Hearing such a thing disgusted both Nari and Okuro as they shook their head in horror. “I cannot believe it,” Nari said in repugnance as she looked out at the world around them. “We have to stop them!”

Making sure Nari wasn't going anywhere, Kuronue kept a firm grip upon her shoulder so as to keep her close. “Nari, we cannot do anything right now. Koenma is working on it himself, so let him tend to it. Don't you think you have endured enough in the slave business?”

Okuro massaged his forehead. “Kuronue is right, mom,” he sighed. “Why can't you just rest for a moment and let the big guys handle it?”

“I just can't imagine those people going through what I had to go through,” Nari responded somberly at having to recall such a thought.

Kuronue whispered within Nari's ear, “We will deal with it all later when we can. Let us just allow the others to handle the situation.” Looking between the two he had never thought to see again, he nodded over his shoulder at the woods behind him. “Come on, I think I have a place for us to stay. We will have to remain in seclusion so no other demon will find the chance to ridicule you both.”

Nari turned towards the woods with Kuronue as Okuro walked on the other side of the bat demon knowing he would be better off next to someone who was much stronger than him and knew the area. Nari leaned against the demon she had missed with her hand resting on his mid-back between his wings. “Where is this place you have in mind?”

“Well, unfortunately we are going to head back to that mansion you obviously were withheld within when Yoko Kurama moved up here,” Kuronue explained. “I cleaned out the bodies and buried them properly nearby so don't worry about that. In the mean time, I will work on making a house with a demon carpenter.”

“You mean you've been living in that mansion for all these years?” Okuro asked with a twist of his coal black ears.

“It was the only place I had hope for either of you returning,” Kuronue answered as he continued through the thick woods that soon engulfed them. “I could tell you both were once there amongst the blood sprayed on the walls and furniture. I just prayed you both survived the onslaught.”

Nari was a bit nervous to head back to the mansion given her beliefs in the afterlife. She feared how many angry souls and the like could be lingering there given their horrible departure from the world. But regardless, she remained close by his side as they made it through the woodlands that were all too familiar to her regardless of the fifteen years she had not seen it.

Okuro had never seen the woods so he took in everything that was to pass him by till the area finally thinned out to open up to the mansion that had harbored many nightmares for him growing up. The very look of it made his ears nearly wilt to the side of his face in despair as he turned from the building. “I never thought I would see this place in some time.”

Kuronue heard the sorrow and mixed in anger that dwindled within Okuro's tone. His hand gently met with the young boy's shoulder as he tried to lighten his adopted son's spirits. “Look at it this way, son, you won't be here forever, and all the evils that once were are no longer.”

Nobody disagreed as both Nari and her son followed Kuronue towards the towering mansion doors that neither of the two thought to hear open or close again.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The night hours were rather hard on Nari even if they all decided to sleep in one room. One of the emptied rooms had a large bed with an extra one resting against the opposite wall. Okuro took one of the beds within the room while Kuronue and Nari took the other. It was the first time in years that Nari had been able to sleep with the demon she actually came to care for and love. For Okuro it was different to sleep in an area and be able to wake and know that a man who was willing to be his father was nearby. It was a relaxing feeling but something kept Nari wide awake and tossing and turning through the nightly hours.

Pulling the intricately designed covers off of her body, Nari got to her bare feet to head for the balcony that rested within their bedroom they chose to sleep within. Her hands gently grabbed onto the cold iron bars that made the railing for the balcony as well as the designs crafted within the center. She gazed up at the stars within the Makai sky as well as the full moon that was out within the ankle length, white gown she had on that night.

“Is something bothering you?” Kuronue's voice asked softly so as not to disturb Okuro as he stood in the shadows of the room.

Nari's gown spun when she turned around to look at the bat demon that stood there in the room before making himself known by stepping into the moonlight. “I guess I am just nervous about being back here and the fact that…the slavery is still going on.”

Kuronue made it to Nari's side as he looked out at the world she was nervously staring at. “Nari, I can only promise you that it will all be fixed in due time.” Leaning against the railing, he intertwined his fingers upon the barrier with a flex of his wings that were a bit stiff. “I am sorry that this all had to happen to you. I know you lost a lot coming down here when you were only fourteen.”

Nari sighed a bit through her nostrils as she nodded at his words. “I gave up and gained a lot of things within the progress,” she whispered in response. “While my first sexual experience wasn't exactly one I wish to continue to remember, I eventually found the man of my dreams even if he is demon with bat wings.” Shifting her gaze over at the demon close to her, she felt of the strong wing that was closest to her. “And I got a son who means well and I love him dearly.” Gazing back up at the sky above her, she smiled at the clear sky above her. “I did lose my childhood and my family, but I guess so long as I have the things I do, I can put up with what I lost.”

Kuronue placed his hand upon Nari's shoulder in attempts to reassure her that everything would be fine in Makai. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss upon her lips with a smile gracing his features yet again. “At least with me you won't have to worry about death finding you or Okuro and myself for some time. So we can live out the next coming years without problems.” Embracing her once more, he kissed the side of her head while rubbing her arms from the cold night. “Come on, let's go back to sleep. I have to get up early to hunt for someone who will be willing to help me make this house out here. I promise everything down here will be alright and nothing is going to happen ever again.” He could sense her anxiousness and felt need to remind Nari as he helped her back towards the bedroom.

Nari followed the bat demon back into the dark room quietly. “I know it will, Kuronue,” she whispered within the darkness. “I know so long as you are here, everything will be. I cannot thank the heavens enough for that…for sending you back to Okuro and me when we really needed you.”

Helping the human woman he loved over to the other side of the bed, Kuronue made sure she was alright for the night as he kissed her one last time on her parted lips. “Goodnight, Nari,” he whispered, his breath caressing her face. “I hope you sleep well this time and without worries on your mind. Remember,” Kuronue grunted as he made it to his side of the bed, “nobody is going to harm you ever again. I intend to keep that promise through the coming years. I love you and goodnight.”

“Thank you, Kuronue,” Nari responded as she turned on her side to face where she knew the demon would be resting. “I thank you for saving me so long ago and for all you continue to do. I love you too and goodnight to you.” In attempts to sleep once more, Nari closed her eyes with the hand she had resting upon the pillow near her face accompanied by Kuronue's. The feel of his hand on top of hers soothed her restless mind and, for once, she was able to sleep soundly without a worry or fear in her mind or heart.

THE END