Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Wandering Souls ❯ Ghost of the Past ( Chapter 4 )

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

The ghosts of Okubo, Kirishima and Sawamura finally come to visit Kuwabara...however, they have brought another ghost as well.

Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Mystery / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.18.2004 | Updated On: 02.24.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 252 | Status: Work In Progress

Wandering Souls ch4 Ghost of the Past

Nearly two weeks has past since the slaying of Okubo, Kirishima and Sawamura. Beside seeing to the funerals, Kuwabara has been tending to the wounded. Another four have died due to the wounds they received in the ambush. More would have died, but Yukina was able to save those. Unfortunately, she could not heal several at once, so as Yukina healed one, another bled to death. The healthy members of the Menboku Yaiba stayed busy tracking down those directly involved with the butchery of the gang. Kuwabara instructed them to try to find out who participated in the raid and in the executions, and leave alone those who were not there that night, for now. It would be a waste of time and get more of his people killed if he went after the entirety of both gangs so quickly. So instead he will punish those were involved in the attack, torture and killings. Of course, if a member was helping one of the guilty, he or she was expendable as well.
It was only three days ago did the ghosts of the slain friends came to Kuwabara. However they did not come alone, another came with them, one whom Kuwabara has not seen in a long time.
~~Flashback~~
Pale moonlight flickered across his face as Kuwabara began to stir. A gentle breeze rustled the curtains as he became more aware of his surroundings.
"Strange, it’s a new moon tonight… why is there moonlight then? I thought I closed the balcony door too." He mumbled as he turned away from the light. Two things dawned on him as he bolted to full awareness. For one, the tingling at the inside of his skull told him that there were some ghosts around. With one eye open, he saw that the glass door was indeed closed. Not only that but the shadows are coming from the far corner of the room, away from the balcony.
After taking a moment to attempt to locate the specters, he jumped out of bed. “All right, you ghosts, I’m tired and want to sleep. I’m not the helpless victim that you used to torment! Leave or else!” He cast a wild look around the room in a vain attempt to see those who hide in the night. However, the shadows from the corner were gone. For as long as he could remember, ghosts have haunted Kuwabara Kazuma. Sometimes he could see them, while sometimes… well, the ghosts can hide too well at times.
It used to be that he was completely helpless at the hauntings. Sleep paralysis, nightmares, and general noise making ghosts would rob Kazuma of sleep. His luck changed when he was fourteen. When he learned how to focus his reiki together with his reikan to form the Reiken, he gained a tool against the shadows of the night. The Reiken helps in two ways. It turns out that it can ‘cut’ the disembodied spirits as well as tangible enemies. This type of ‘cutting’ doesn’t destroy the ghosts but dispel them, disrupting their manifestation. Like a cloud that was dispersed, they could reform. But with more practice at focusing his reikan through the sword may yet allow him to destroy ghosts all together one day. After all, the Reiken is focused energies of the aura made into a tangible object. He was able to affect ghosts once he realized that it made sense that a spirit sword can harm a spirit. The second way that the Reiken would help is that the method to focus the blade seems to dissipate the energies that would cause the paralysis.
Genkai showed him the proper way to focus as he healed. It took a week to recover from Rando’s assault. That irked Kuwabara since he was so used to recovering quickly from the skirmishes with Urameshi. But he was never injured this badly before and Genkai was impressed that he fully recovered as quickly as he did. She used that week to show the young psychic how to deal with the excess energies and how to focus, blocking the spectral energies that would lead to the paralysis. Genkai told him that what caused the paralysis is two different energy types, such as reiki or youki, or even living and death energies, opposing each other and creating a third type of energy, a resonant energy.
A deep chuckle brought Kuwabara out of his momentary musing. It seemed to originate about three feet in front of him. “Now Kazuma, is that any way to speak to me of all people?” The amusement was evident in the rich baritone voice that echoed in the air. “And to think, I brought your friends to visit.” The masculine voice seemed to reverberate through out the room, striking a chord of memory within Kuwabara.
“YOU!” After taking a moment to calm down, Kuwabara smiled as he looked at this ghost of the past that finally allowed itself to be seen. “Well, it took you long enough to come and visit me, old man! I thought that you may have finally passed over without coming to say goodbye.”
The specter of a man with long hair and the faint hint of a ‘Fu Manchu’ goatee stared at the living psychic. “Watch your tongue boy! I was only thirty-two when I was killed, not eighty-two!”
Laughter from the shadows by the stereo system caught Kuwabara’s attention. The pain of loss hit him with a wooden plank as he stared at the three ghosts. Pale, transparent and intangible they stood, watching the two leaders bicker.
“Man, it’s just like the old days, right Kirishima?” The ghostly Sawamura grinned at his long time friend. “I remember how they would always bicker but grin through it all.”
“You’re right. They always did try to act as if they didn’t get along.” The ghost shook his head, sending locks that were blond in life to fall into his eyes. “But we know better. You hadn’t joined the gang yet Okubo, but what we told you earlier is true. Our friend there practically raised and trained Kuwabara-san.”
“Sawamura…Kirishima…Okubo…” Kuwabara turned away from the friendly sparring to address his slain friends. “Why didn’t you guys go with Botan? You didn’t have to stay and be restless ghosts.” Although he stood there with his head held high and shoulders squared, one could see the haunted look in Kuwabara’s eyes. Turning to face the ghost of the older man, he continued with the barrage of questions. “And where have you been? If you’ve never passed over, you had to have haunted some place…”
While the other two looked around for any reason not to meet their living leader’s eyes, Okubo spoke up. “We know all about how the other ghosts giving you trouble, Kuwabara-san. We figured that as ghosts, we may be able to chase them off.” He paused as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. “We took a few days to show up because we needed to…adjust to the slayings …and to get the hang of being ghosts. You know, learning what we can do. We ran into Akeno-san after that pretty ferry girl left…” Okubo trailed of at that point, looking at the older ghost.
Akeno sighed as he closed his eyes. “After the events of my death I thought that you would hate me. I took care of you for so long, as if you were my own son. I even went as far as grooming you to take over the gang.” Opening his eyes, they looked hollow as he tried to describe what has held him back. “I feared that you would hate me for abandoning you, for causing the…disfigurement. That fear caused me to become a fixated ghost. I could not move from that alley where that car wreck changed your face and left me bleeding to death four years ago. Not until the bodies of your friends here was dumped at the karaoke bar that is at the opening of the ally did I try to see things rationally.”
Placing a hand on Akeno’s shoulder, Sawamura took over the explanations. “We first realized that we were ghosts at the wherehouse where---where--- we---were killed. But as they moved our bodies, we followed them. We figured that they wanted to drop off our corpses where our gang would find them. A grisly present, if you ask me.” Shaking the grim and gruesome thoughts out of his mind, Sawamura went on. “After that, we noticed a ghost in the alley. One that wore the Menboku Yaiba colors and symbol.”
“Three guess who that was and the first two don’t count.” Kirishima joked as he jabbed his thump to point at Akeno.
Rubbing his jaw, Kuwabara looked at his mentor. “Damn it all to hell, Akeno Michiro.” He softly whispered as he walked up to the former gangster as he pointed to his face. “I can’t hate you for this, you did the best you could that night. There’s only so much a person can do when the car’s brakes have been cut.” With a glance at the trio, he looked straight into Akeno’s eyes. “I take it that they set you straight, that’s why you are no longer bound to that alley?”
“Yeah, they did.” Grinning as he straightened the collar of his duster, Akeno then startled everyone by raising his voice. “ENOUGH WITH THIS MUSHY CRAP! It’s time we got down to business, there are dragons to bleed!” Everyone gave a predatory grin at that proclamation.
“There are dragons to bleed.” That is the oldest of battle cries for the Menboku Yaiba. Whereas the Supaida no Yoru are a new rival, they were created only ten years ago; the Aka Doragon have been rivals with the Menboku Yaiba since the 1950’s.
“I haven’t been idle.” Kuwabara stated as he stepped out onto the small patio that extended only two feet from the sliding glass doors. He didn’t turn around as he felt the four ghosts pass through the wall. “I have been tracking the ones that played directly in the attack and in your slayings. I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start my hunt. In three nights, a senior member of the Aka Doragon, Benjiro, is going to be home alone after his parents leave for a week in Europe. And four blocks from him is where Chiko of the Supaida no Yoru spends his time…alone on the weekends.”

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*< /font>

AUHTOR’S NOTES=I was going to wait to say there will a pairing…a triangle actually of Yukina/Kuwabara/Botan… but someone already said it. :p However, my revenge is this to give some teasers that will not yet appear in the story. They will not appear until several chapters away.

Yes, there will be some romance at some time. I plan several twists in this story; some that you had better hang on tight. The triangle is one clue, it will not be the traditional type of triangle. Yes, I did kill Okubo, Sawamura & Kirishima…but they WILL be appearing in the fic more. Remember, they refused to go to Reikai. Also attentive readers will want to read chapter 3 again… there’s a very important clue in there of what is to come concerning the three. Congratulations to the reader in the following chapters that can identify the main clue. Another clue is this: There is more going on than even Koenma realizes.

Here are a few things to think about in general, they may/may not have bearing on the story:
1- Have you ever noticed that at the beginning of the series, Kuwabara was constantly bugged by ghosts, spirits and sleep paralysis, hearing voices? That was the reason he went to Genkai’s when she was having her tournament, his powers were getting out of control. He wanted some help/advise with his spirit awareness, by then it was going wonkers on him. HOWEVER, six months later after he meets up with Yusuke who has finished beginner’s training with Genkai it was different. He never again mentions having sleep paralysis. We see him gaining information through a dream during the Dark Tournament about the evil Doctor's’ brainwashed henchmen. It was after he gained the reiken that we no longer hear about him having so many troubles. That is what gave me the inspiration to connect the reiken to the lessening of the troubles. However was it that simple or did Genkai show him how to focus for end the paralysis?

2-Did Genkai help him before he left her temple and Yusuke’s training start? Maybe, just maybe she gave him some advice but I’m not yet certain she taught him anything… or did she? Kazuma never mentions that Genkai taught him anything…. However, he never mentions anything about his parents or about the fact that both Kuwabara siblings have such high awareness seems to indicate that the psychic powers run in the family. We do have three clues about some connection between the Kuwabara family and Genkai. Kuwabara knew about Genkai, that she was a top class psychic… he did give the impression that it was at Genkai’s Tournament that he first SAW her…or that he remembers seeing her. Nevertheless, it is obvious that he knew ABOUT her. This happened when Shizuru was comforting Botan after Genkai’s death= Shizuru said that Genkai came to visit her before Botan took her to Reikai. Shizuru said that she’s known Genkai for a long time. The third clue was after Kuwabara defeated Elder Toguro. Kuwabara, in a cold rage, approached Urameshi and punched him in the jaw, saying that Genkai meant a lot to him too. We are lead to believe that the only time that Genkai was around Kuwabara was during her tournament. In addition, there was very little interaction between the two at the Dark Tournament (D.T.). If so, then why did he react like that? Kuwabara acted as if he was very close to Genkai, as if she was an adopted grandmother or mentor.

What ARE Kuwabara’s psychic powers? A-We see Kazuma using astral projection to taunt Yusuke when Rando throws him in a pond filled with Hate Fish. He didn’t have any trouble doing that as he lay there, his body is all broken and bloody. B-We see Kazuma using telepathy, first in Rescue Yukina, then later in contacting the others while he fought Risho. Did you get the impression that he was familiar to telepathy? As if that wasn’t the only time he ever used it. C- Bakabahamut reminded me of this= The final rounds of D.T., Kuwabara used telekinesis to grab the hilt of the Trial sword and cut Elder Toguro up BEFORE the Trial sword lands in his hand. I get the impression that Kuwabara is the type to use or show only the smallest bit of power that's needed. That way, he doesn’t reveal his full powers… after all during the D.T., Hiei, Yusuke and Kurama are shocked when Kuwabara contacts them telepathically… only the Masked Fighter (Genkai’s not yet been revealed) was not surprised.