Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Ties That Bind ❯ Happy Ending? ( Chapter 13 )

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

Chapter 13
Happy Ending?

Suu-chan watches as his stepbrother lifts Shura-kun into his arms easily. He shifts his weight a bit and heads for the stairs.

"Mother, I hope you don't mind me setting him in my old room until he wakes. He hasn't slept for quite some time but he should be up within a matter of hours." Kurama looks back at her hopefully.

"Of course not Suuichi." Her voice shakes a bit. Kurama disappears up the stairs, Suu-chan lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

That was... AWESOME!!!

He has never seen his step-brother so commanding and fierce! He knew that Kurama had to be strong, and he knew Suuichi to be brilliant... but he never even came close really understanding it. Now he did.

Suuichi comes back down the stairs slowly. He greets them with a warm, unfaltering smile. Suu-chan knows now why Shura admired his brother's masks, there is no way Suu-chan would have been able to tell from that face that anything had occurred. But he does know, and this impresses him even further.

"Mother I sincerely apologize for the interruption and intrusion. I would have moved the conversation elsewhere but Shura-kun was... rather upset." Shiori shakes her head.

"Obviously dear... don't worry about it though. I'll bring him food up later. He must be starved and after not having slept for so long..." She is cut off by his laugh.

"He will likely be gone by then. Demons heal differently than humans Mother. Now that his mental dilemmas have been laid to rest he will be fully recovered by the time he wakes up, aside from a bit of weight loss that he will put back on easily enough. He will most likely slip out the window as soon as he wakes up. He will want to speak with Yomi."

"But Suuichi you..."

"I am still half human. I intend to stay that way at least for as long as you live Mother. I do not have all the benefits of health that full demons do. Hiei, Yusuke, Yomi, and Shura can sustain much more damage for longer periods of time than I can. The only reason I can keep up with them is that my fighting style focuses on taking as little damage as possible in the process of winning, and I know how to heal myself."

"But Suuichi! Why on Earth would you stay half-human if it makes you weaker?"

Kurama shakes his head. "I take the cut to my power in order to insure that I can live here, in the ningerkai Mother. Yusuke has the right to stay because he was born human. His body evolved into a Mazaku form, retreating to its ancestry, when he died the second time. Hiei can stay here because he works border patrol, keeping humans in the ningenkai and the demons in Makai. I am permitted because I am half human. If I were to retrieve my full demon form, it would be a conscious decision to give up the things that make me human, and thus, my right to live here. As Yomi's second in command am I allowed to go back and forth, so long as my primary residence is here. But because of that, and the fact that I am a lower S-class demon, I would likely not be permitted to live here without special circumstances. While I believe it possible to obtain that, I won't take any chances. So, until I have no more reason to be in the ningenkai, I will not seek my full demonic form."

Shiori smiles a bit. "So you stay here for us?"

Kurama smiles too. "Of course. I am a demon, I belong in Makai, my home. But my family is here, so I can wait."

Shiori hugs him, and he returns it. But as he moves to let go, Shiori hangs on... stopping him. "Suuichi..." She starts slowly. "Who is hurting you? Shura-chan said... said someone is killing you..."

He stiffens. "It is merely metaphorical Mother. You would be best to simply forget the conversation." He tries to move away again, but she stops him.

"Then explain the metaphor please. I almost lost you once recently, I don't want that to happen again." He sighs.

"There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of people trying to kill me. I have made a lot of enemies. In the time I've known you even, people have sought to kill me. I dropped my guard on the way home from the party. I hadn't seen Hiei for a while and I was teasing him, trying to get him to come for dinner with me, to spend the night in my home instead of a tree somewhere like he usually does. I should have realized there was an enemy afoot. I am sorry Mother... but I am not perfect."

"I never thought you were Suuichi. But please... tell me if you are in any danger?"

His smile is downright grim. "Not anymore trouble than I've been in for most of my life. I hope you don't mind my leaving so soon, but I need to take Hiei to the temple. Seeing everyone might help trigger his memories. Don't worry about Shura, he knows how to take care of himself."

She squeezes him a little tighter and then lets go. "Be safe! I love you my little Suuichi!"

He smiles. "Goodbye Mother. I love you, I'll call tomorrow."

***
Shura approaches his father slowly. He'd run all the way back, but has been dragging his feet since he entered the building. Why does the task ahead of him seem so much more daunting when he's actually faced with the object of his thoughts? Yomi speaks first.

"You are ready to speak with me now? I take it that Kurama has helped you come to some sort of conclusion. You went to him for advice... correct?" Shura is stunned, but gives Yomi nothing, determined to show that he cannot be read so easily, his thoughts are his own.

"Yes Father." Yomi nods.

"Good, then you will go back to your training tomorrow. If you should choose to share your dilemma with me I will listen. I am aware of the fact that I have not provided you with the Motherly support you need."

Shura shakes his head, and braces himself mentally. "I don't want things to go back to the way they were Father."

Yomi stiffens for a second. "What are you asking for Shura?"

"Freedom. I am not you, I will never be you. I am myself and I need time to find out who that is. I want to know what a mother is, to learn about life outside of leadership, to find my own path. You know that feeling; nothing you say will change my mind, not when you sought the same." Shura finds himself looking into the blank face of his father, Kurama's words come back to him; his father is feeling with strong emotions. For once, Shura is the one that knows his Father's thoughts, instead of the other way around.

"Kurama... was right. I didn't know what I was asking of him."

Yomi pulls Shura to his chest, and for the first time in either of their lives, they experience a simple hug.

***
Shiori has just finished cleaning up the patio from the interesting interruption of her tea time with Suuichi when there is another knock at the door. Kazuya had gone back to work and Suu-chan left to play. She quickly checks her appearance in the mirror and hurries to answer the door. The person that greets her is someone she rightly thought that she would never see again, or at the very least, not without Hiei.

"Mukuro-san! Please, come in. I am sorry to say that Suuichi is not here at the moment. If you wish I can give you his apartment address or perhaps just take a message?" The woman steps in and follows her to the back patio.

"I am not here for Kurama. I have come to speak with you, if you have a moment Hatanaka-san." Mukuro smiles and accepts the tea that Shiori offers her.

"Of course, I can speak with you, after all you have come quite a way."

"Well you see, it is a bit of a long story. But events in my past, and more recent events have brought me to a different state of mind. One that I am most unfamiliar with. I need more information before I can move forward, and I think that you are the perfect person to enlighten me."

"You want... my advice?"

"Advice... not exactly. More like, your opinion, your motives. My dear, I wish to know what it is that makes you a mother, and what exactly being a mother entails."

Shiori smiles. "I see, so this is about Hiei. I see him as a son too, whatever information you need from me, I will provide, providing that it causes no harm to either Suuichi or Hiei."

Mukuro smiles as well. "Excellent."

***
Yukina skips happily down the steps, tugging her Daddy behind her. He came along willingly enough, just not with her exuberance. She realized some time ago that he doesn't exude the energy that she does, but it doesn't bother her in the least. That he is willing to come along for the ride is enough for her.

Meiyo suddenly stops and pulls her behind him, his face taking on a serious expression for just a moment before relaxing and letting her go. She looks at him questioningly until she spots the 'why' of it out of the corner of her eye, quickly dashing down to meet them.

"Hiei-kun! Kurama-kun! You have returned! Oh my, Hiei-kun you've grown so much!" She giggles happily, Kurama-kun smiles at her.

"As have you Yukina-chan. You look even more adorable than the last time I saw you. Please excuse the unannounced visit, I didn't have time to send word ahead."

"Oh I don't mind Kurama-kun! I..." She trails off as Hiei-kun grabs his head. "Hiei-kun are you alright?" Kurama braces his shoulders and gives her a smile.

"He's fine Yukina. This is supposed to happen, you see I thought that seeing everyone would trigger the memories that I haven't been able to retrieve, and it seems so."

"Oh thats wonderful!" Hiei-kun's arms drop and his eyes come back in focus.

"Yu... kina..."

"Oh Hiei-kun I am so pleased that you remember me!"

He looks away quickly and shakes off Kurama-kun's arms. "I do. Everything." He stares at Kurama, who just nods with a smile.

"Good. Glad to have you back Hiei."

Yukina claps excitedly. "Oh I am so glad! I am glad you have come home too! I wanted to introduce you to someone but both of you left before I had the chance!" Meiyo comes up behind Yukina and places his hands on her shoulders, his and Kurama's eyes lock, the kitsune takes a step backward in shock. Yukina doesn't seem to notice. "I am sure you already know him Kurama-kun! Its Meiyo! The man you freed from the prison... well you see he is also my Father. Isn't it wonderful?"

Silence.

Kurama-kun opens his mouth to speak, but closes it and looks to Hiei-kun, who has the strangest expression she'd has ever seen. "I know you have been doing me the favor of searching for my brother Hiei-kun, but I was hoping you could give me back my Hiruseki. You see, it seems that Mother's soul is hiding in my and my brother's tear gems. That's why I need to give it to Father, after all, mates belong together."

Hiei-kun is now wearing a scarily angry look, he turns to run and Kurama-kun is suddenly there, blocking him. "Don't." Kurama-kun breathes out. "Don't run, not now."

Hiei-kun growls at him. "Out of my way Fox!"

"NO! I will not let you run from this!"

Yukina gasps as Hiei-kun reaches for his sword. "Don't make me hurt you Fox."

Kurama-kun's eyes narrow. "If you were going to, you would have already. But do what you feel you need to, I will not let you pass."

Hiei-kun growls again. "Why Fox!?"

"She accepted him Hiei, bloody past and all. You saw his fights for yourself. She doesn't care about his past. You don't care what your father has done, do you Yukina?"

She blinks a few times. "No."

He nods. "It makes you happier to have him close to you right? No matter what he's done?"

She smiles sweetly. "I am happier now than I have been in a long time. I have my Father and soon I'll have my Mother. The only thing that could make this better is if my Brother were here." Hiei-kun visibly flinches and Kurama-kun smiles.

"She's happier this way Hiei. She just wanted a family, a home, a place to belong. Isn't her happiness what is most important?"

"Don't toy with me fox!"

"Fine then! I'll be straight! Everything you have ever wanted, everything you've been denied, everything you've always denied needing is standing less than five feet behind you with open arms! All you have to do is turn around and face it! Stop being a coward! Stop hiding behind promises that you've been released from or insecurities with no basis!"

"I'll cut you down!" Hiei-kun hisses.

"I told you, do what you need to. Less than five feet Hiei, it's now or never. You deserve better, and so does Yukina. Either the truth or your alternative. You owe her."

Hiei-kun's hand drops, she knows he is watching her out of the corner of his eye. "Would it make you happy Yukina, to find your brother, even if... even if he is a monster?"

Yukina's heart beats once. "It doesn't matter..." She whispers. "I love him anyway... please Hiei-kun... tell me where he is."

Hiei-kun turns slowly, stepping right in front of her. "I hid them in my stomach... just like you said to." He pulls not one, but two hiruseki from his mouth. He places one around her neck, and the other around his own. "I couldn't stand to loose Mother again." He whispers.

Yukina feels her eyes fill with tears and spill over, they hit the steps, tiny bells tinkling. She lunges forward and he catches her, envelops her in a hug and refuses to let go.

"Brother! I love you so much!" He nods, looking entirely relieved.

"I... I've been watching you. I've tried my best to protect you." She sniffles and nods into his chest.

"Thank you Brother." He shakes his head.

"No, thank you Sister."

Kurama smiles, as he feels Yusuke and Kuwabara approach. The twins won't be separated for some time yet, but that is ok.

He knows they will laugh and party and tease...

...and in the end, the ties that bind them together will be stronger than ever.

Too bad that is his greatest fear.

***
A familiar sadistic grin spreads across pale skin, his cold laughter filling the air around him. He twirls long black hair around his clawed finger, watching Kurama from afar as he smiles and laughs with his hard earned friends and family.

"Well done little kit. You are proving to be quite the adversary. It's ok though, that's the way its supposed to be. Laugh, smile, grow, and love... I'm still waiting."
_____________________________________________________________ _________________________

A/N: So Shura is becoming his own person and Hiei is reunited with his family. Kurama gets to finally be himself and both of them have the happiness they've always wanted right? Happy Ending for all parties?

Wrong!

The character at the end didn't sound too nice. Guess you'll have to wait to find out who now won't you? Think back to chapter one. Yeah, that guy, he's still loose. This is the last chapter of "Ties that Bind" though. The sequel, "Scientific Corruption" will be up as soon as I work out the kinks in the plot. Until next time!

Please review!!!

-san: Mr. or Mrs.
-sama: Lord
-kun: Young man that is a friend
-chan: Female, young boy, or lover
Makai: Demon world
Reikai: Spirit world
Ningenkai: Human world
Kitsune: Fox spirit
Baka: idiot
Ningen: Human
Mazaku: Type of demon that Yusuke is
Sakura Tree: cherry tree
Jagan: Hiei's 3rd eye
Hiruseki: tear gem

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor any of its characters. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. The plot and original characters of this fic, are however, mine.