Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Venom ❯ Sins ( Chapter 6 )

Venom
by Badiyannu and Sakura

A/N: Badi- Hey, guys! Well, I'm sorry for all of those who were/will be heartbroken... Too bad. I feel evil... I like it. Heehee...

Sakura- Emotions. Feh, who needs `em? ^_~

~*~*~*~*~

Well, Yusuke thought, I guess that's everybody... Good thing they made it- wait...

Hiei screamed in agony then fell limp.

... Botan was missing.

~*~*~*~*~

"I... I can't believe... he's gone."

"It's all right. Just calm down..." the teenage girl comforted her companion, and rubbed his back, soothingly.

"I mean, I knew this was coming... but... I didn't expect it would hurt this much," he choked out.

"Yusuke," the girl put her hand under his chin and tilted it to look at her, "I know. Even though I hardly knew him, I am greatly depressed by his death. But... we have to get past that."

"Keiko..." Yusuke looked his friend straight in the eye and a blanket of silence covered them.

The teens had resorted to a place to share their condolences alone in Keiko's room. Yusuke had thought of going home, but his mother wouldn't understand the pain he was going through- she was probably drunk. He couldn't go anywhere else, except for his second home, the Yukimura household. Keiko Yukimura- the only person who understood him. She shared her compassion for his dilemma openly, and so, Yusuke decided to stay the night. They had prepared a spare room for him to sleep in, but all he wanted to do right now was be with Keiko.

"Keiko..." he repeated softly. Suddenly, he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, taking in her sweet scent.

Keiko was quite surprised at this outburst of affection, but she willingly slid her arms around his waist and leaned against his muscled chest, closing her eyes.

Yusuke was also startled by his actions, but he just wanted to be comforted and held, although, instead, *he* was holding *her*. Abruptly, he was overwhelmed with a rush of emotions: hate, pain, sadness, loneliness, happiness, contentment, dismal, love.

"I love you..." he murmured, unconsciously into her hair.

Keiko pulled back hastily, held him at arms length, and stared him straight in the eye.

"What? What did you say?!"

Yusuke's head raced- what in his right mind gave him the idea to say that?! Now he was surely in for it. He wasn't sorry for thinking it though. He really did love Keiko with all his heart and it was that kind of love that wasn't "puppy-dog love", it was true. Although, he didn't want to confess this to her yet. Not like this.

"Umm, nothing. I didn't say anything. I was just... thinking about stuff..."

Keiko's face twisted into hurt and she turned away, burring her face in her hands while tears poured down her cheeks. The boy next to her was taken aback and he put his hands gently on her hunched back.

"What's wrong, Keiko? Why are you crying?"

He heard a sniffle then a choked voice ramble out, "I thought you had said you love me and I was ready to return those feelings, but... but you said it wasn't true! You don't love me!"

Those words broke his heart into a million pieces. How could she feel that way?

"Keiko, I..."

"No need to explain, I und--"

The prudent girl was cut off by soft lips being pressed hard against her own. And before she could blink, a tongue pushed its way into her mouth. Ah, yes, this is what she was missing out with Hishiro. Her heart was beating wildly then it had ever before.

The passionate lip-lock reluctantly ended after about ten seconds and the breathless teens backed away from each other, still holding on. Then, at the same time, they both realized that this was going to happen, whether now or 10 years from now. They felt that this was the right time.

Yusuke pushed Keiko back down onto her bed and went in for another kiss, hoping that she was as ready for this as he was...

~*~*~*~*~

"Suichii? Suichii, what's wrong?" Kurama looked up from the bed and watched as the door to his bedroom opened slowly. It was Shiori. "What's up?" she asked smiling.

Kurama hesitated. "...It's Hiei." Kurama had once told his mother about his "school friend", Hiei. A school friend. Yes, that's all she needed to know... "...He's gone."

"What, where'd he run off to this time?" Kurama stared at his mother blankly, stifling a laugh. He had told his mother many a time that Hiei liked running away from his problems and from other people's as well.

"Uhh, well...We don't know," he said, smiling half-heartedly. His mother smiled and left the room. When she was gone, Kurama sighed pitifully and reached for something under the bed. It was Hiei's katana- he had entrusted the blade to Kurama before his death.

Kurama gasped. How could he have forgotten something as important as that? He slipped the lancet back under the bed and picked up the phone.

The phone rang once...twice...On the third ring, he answered.

"Yeah?"

"Yusuke...we forgot about something."

"Kurama? Hey...what's this about?" Kurama frowned. Yusuke sounded like he was having a hard time breathing. What was he...? Kurama thought, then another thought came to his mind. What if something was wrong with him? Like something had been wrong with Hiei? No, it couldn't be. Yusuke would have said something earlier. He wasn't the guy to hold things back, especially if something wrong. Or was he?

"What're you...? Oh, we forgot about the funeral," Kurama whispered.

~*~*~*~*~

The next day was a very mournful one; it was the day of Hiei's funeral. The gang had prepared everything for the youkai's service. The only thing that had given them trouble was what to do with the body. Should they bury it or cremate it? Hiei was a fire demon, so perhaps they should do a cremation.

"Ashes are gray and dull. Never would I want to become a pile of such monotonous," Hiei had said way back when.

So, they did what seemed right for anyone who should die in a world full of humans- they were to bury him. It seemed that Hiei had done too many vile acts for Koenma to ever think about bringing him back to the living worlds anyway. Not only that, but either Kurama or Yusuke would have to tell Yukina Hiei's dearest secret: the truth about him being her twin.

Kurama bowed his head, saying a prayer for the Jaganshi; their friends did likewise. The coffin would be lowered soon. It would be a bit interesting to see how everyone would react once the hole was covered.

"...was a young, talented man with a good heart. Though is life was cut terribly short..."

Short? If only the priest knew that Hiei was a demon, and was well over the age of 300, Kurama said to himself.

"...Hiei was a great brother and an even greater friend... We've gathered here today to say goodbye to all that..." When the priest mentioned Hiei as a brother, Kurama almost kicked himself for forgetting what it was he would have to do soon.

"This is what you must do: When I die, you must tell Yukina that I'm her brother- you have to tell her before 24 hours after my death. Then, right after you tell her, you must..."

"Hey, K'rama?" Kurama was snapped from his daze when he felt Yusuke gently nudge him in the ribs.

"Would you like to say something to honor Hiei?" the priest repeated. The youko looked perplexed, as though he weren't expecting to be called on- he stood there frozen, unable to think of anything to say. That's when she stepped forward.

"I have something to say. H-Hiei was a wonderful person. Though he was distant from others and tended to be rude at times, I know that, deep down, he had a good heart. He liked helping others, but at times tried to avoid doing just that," she paused. "Hiei was almost like a brother to me..." The Koorime bowed her head, an attempt to hide her tears as they slid to the ground, solidifying into tear crystals.

Yusuke pushed the gems away with his foot; it would do the priest no good to see someone crying tears that soon turned to jewels. He too wanted to say something, but could think of nothing that seemed right for the moment.

Yusuke looked around. Yup, everyone was there: Kuwabara, Shizuru, Yukina, Kurama, Keiko, Koenma, George, Bo-. "What the- Where's Botan?" He remembered that she had been missing since the very moment Hiei had died, but he was clueless as to why she wasn't here now.

Yusuke turned in Yukina's direction to see the small Koorime girl sitting on her knees, crying uncontrollably- or was she? That's when he remembered something Hiei had told him a few days ago.

Hiei said, "... If I die, she dies."

My sins. Kurama also mentioned to Yusuke that he would have to confess some things before he was eligible for the stabbing of Yukina. I have to tell him...my sins, Yusuke thought.

Kurama looked up at the boy. "Let's do this privately, shall we?" He turned his back and began leading Yusuke away from the group; the casket wouldn't be lowered for a time, so better to get things over with first.

The green-eyed boy stopped in front of someone else's tomb. Whoever they were, they must've had many people who cared for them- the statue above the gravesite looked quite expensive. It was an angel-girl, standing with her hands aligned with her nose, head bowed and eyes closed; she was praying.

Yusuke sighed deeply. "Alright," he sighed again. "MyfirstsiniswellithastodowithKeiko."

The kitsune stared wide-eyed at the one who had last spoken. He smiled saying, "Slow down. There's no use telling me your sins if I can't even understand what they are."

"Okay, but can you remind me why I'm telling you all this?"

"According to Hiei, you can't stab Yukina if you haven't been cleansed of your sins. If your soul isn't purified, Yukina will grow evil after you've stabbed her... And I don't think that was the whole point of this mission."

"Uhh, well...I've touched Keiko's...and then there was..." The ningen looked down, embarrassed. Kurama too, turned to hide a smile. "I dumped her at the movies, and have been a jerk to her lately. I let her get kidnapped by Hiei, but that was so long ago..."

"Not all your sins have been about Keiko," Kurama muttered.

After a short while, Yusuke had told Kurama almost every sin he could think of- even those that dated back way before he met the fox. Kurama himself was getting quite bored with this conversation, and was glad that it was finally over.

It was right before the boys started heading back to the group that they heard someone yell: "Yukina!" They recognized the voice as Botan's- guess she was finally back from wherever it was she had gone.

Yusuke's face was stern as he turned to Kurama, then began running towards the others. Kurama followed suit. It's time... he thought.

Steadily, Yusuke walked over to the blue-haired undertaker. She looked shocked but very dismal. Her face was tired and she was crying. Yusuke grabbed her arm gently and began to pull her to the side. He started to walk over towards a small shrine nearby, glancing quickly at Keiko who was in a conservative black dress. She caught his eye and lowered her eyes bashfully. Every time he'd look at her… since…that time, she'd blush or avert her gaze.

"Yusuke."

The sound of his name bought him out of his trance and he stared at the woman.

"You… you haven't done it yet... the stabbing? You cannot delay anymore, Yusuke."

"…I know."

Botan handed the boy a small item wrapped in soft hide, tenderly.

"Here. Hiei gave this to me when he left. You have to use it to stab Yukina."

Yusuke un-wrapped the cloth and his eyes were immediately glued to the beautiful blade in his hands. It was only a few inches long, but it shone brilliantly when it caught the light just right. The handle was hard and sturdy, made of leather. There were small rubies embedded around the top and one single gorgeous crystal was placed right at the bottom. Yusuke knew where it came from- how Hiei got it, he didn't know- but the small crystal was once a tear.

Yusuke clutched the dagger to his chest and sighed, nodding.

"I'm gonna do it, Botan. I have to- for Hiei."

~*~*~*~*~

"Why did you bring me out here, Yusuke?"

Yukina looked around at their surroundings- just forest, forest, and forest. Although, the funeral was not far away at all. Once again she glanced around before looking back at Yusuke.

"Why'd you bring me here?"

Yusuke winced at her girlish-innocence and flinched, painfully, at what he was about to do.

"I'm sorry…Yukina."

He swiftly implanted the ruby dagger into her heart.

~*~*~*~*~

a/n: Badi: OMG! I'm sorry I had to do that! I really love Yukina- she's so cool, but it's the story's plot! Evil! Evil! Just a reminder- next chapter = LAST chapter. I'm sad it's gonna be over…