Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Written In the Stars ❯ A Gift ( Chapter 8 )

Written In the Stars

Chapter 8

Arella awoke from her dream with a start, finding herself on a strange bed in complete darkness. She sat up, wanting to get out of the bed and have a good look around so she could get an idea of where the heck she was.

She then felt a slim hand gently place itself on her shoulder and slowly push her back down onto the bed.

"Lie still," a familiar voice said.

"Youko Kurama?" she asked, seeing his form sitting besides her on the bed, his features highlighted by the moonlight shinning though the window.

A smile graced his beautiful face and he nodded, "So you remember me?"

Arella nodded, "Yes, how could I forget? You saved my life, I am forever in your debt."

Kurama just smiled, "Just tell me one thing, how is it you know who I am, yet you don't cringe in fear? Others would have fled for their lives, yet you smile at me." Kurama's head was now cocked to the side, curiosity shinning in his golden eyes.

"My mother told me stories about you, how you helped save her save the rest of the Angels that had been captured by Morfran. She said she could sense that you weren't as bad as others made you out to be, and I believe her, especially now, after what you did for me."

"You truly are your mother's daughter," Kurama said, tracing a slim finger along the side of her jaw, studying her face. He then reached from behind his back and picked up a beautiful orchid that shinned like a star.

"This is for you. It's called a Starlight Orchid. Their very rare and hard to find in the Makai, but they are very beautiful and someone such as yourself deserves to have one," He then smiled and tucked it into her hair.

In that instant, she automatically recognized the smile on his face. It was all too familiar and knew right away the only other person who had that same exact smile.

"One more thing, Arella," Kurama said, "You can trust Shuuichi and his friends, they will not harm you, they only wish to help you anyway they can."

She smiled and nodded, "I know that now. I know that I can trust them."

Kurama's finger traced her face just once more and once again, she fell into a deep sleep.

***************

Arella's eyes slowly fluttered open. She tilted her head to look at her surroundings. She found herself wrapped in a blanket, and Kin resting beside her with a few bandages on him as well. Arella continued to look around the room, and tried to sit up. She reached over and lifted Kin into her lap. It was at that point that she realized that she wasn't alone.

She saw a short man standing at the door. His hair was dark and held up like a flame and he held a sword in his hand as he gazed out the door. He seemed to be guarding it in fact. She was just about to speak, when someone spoke to her first.

"He generally prefers to be left alone when he's thinking," said Genkai. Arella turned to see the old woman coming towards her with a cup from which steam was rising. "He's not the most social person in the world, but he's more dependable than a watch dog."

Hearing Genkai's comments, Hiei looked back at the pair of women. He took a deep breath and then stepped outside to avoid anymore of Genkai's insults. Arella turned her attention back from the door and to Kin before looking at Genkai. "Is…" began Arella.

"Your pet is fine," said Genkai. "And so are you. Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better." Genkai presented the cup to her. Arella stared at it for a moment, and then finally took the cup and sipped it. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hot chocolate?" she said.

"Yeah, what did you think it was, poison?" asked Genkai.

Arella smiled, slightly embarrassed that she'd considered it. "Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in my temple," Genkai said, "You'll be safe here. Right now though, there are a couple of friends of mine that wish to speak with you."

Arella just nodded, "All right, but could I possibly clean up first?"

"All right, the bathroom is though the next door, we'll be waiting for you," With that said, Genkai left the room.

When Arella had finished washing up, she changed into a pair of jeans, lavender tee shirt and a pair of white sneakers, her hair now tied back in a braid. As she was about to walk out of the room, she heard Kin give a small bark to her. She smiled and walked over to where he was resting on the bed. "Hey, you want to come with me?" she asked. When Kin gave another bark, she smiled, "All right then," she then scooped him up carefully into her arms and walked into the next room.

When she entered the room, all eyes turned to her. She instantly recognized Shuuichi, and his friend from before, when Ciaran had convinced her to come with him. She also recognized the old woman from before and the man that had been standing at the door. Right now, he was polishing his sword. The only one she didn't know that well was the tall one with the short red curls. She vaguely remembered him from the field.

Kurama quickly stood on his feet when Arella entered the room. "Arella," he said. "You're... You're feeling better I assume?" he said.

Arella sighed. "Yes, fine, thank you," she replied. She looked around the room, still a bit nervous. Especially, since she was certain they knew her secret now. She turned to face Genkai and took a deep breath before speaking. "You said they wanted to talk to me?" Arella stood there stroking Kin's fur as she waited for a reply.

"We...we," began Kurama, but he couldn't manage to get the words out. Personally, he was shocked. He'd never been one that was actually shy. However, there was something about Arella. Something that kept Kurama from being his usual self.

"We were thinking it would be a good idea for you to stay here with us for a few days," said Genkai stepping forward. "At least so that I can watch over your injuries before you go home," Genkai stopped in front of Arella and looked from the girl to Kin. "Besides, I'd enjoy spending the time with the daughter of an old friend."

Arella's eyes widened in surprise, "You... you knew my mother?" she asked.

"Yes, Amata and I were good friends," said Genkai. "I think you'd like to hear some of the stories about her. It'll give us something to talk about while you're resting up. So, what do you say?"

"Whoa! You mean Granny over there knew her mom?" asked Kuwabara.

Genkai turned to look at Kuwabara. "Yes, moron," she snapped. "And I knew yours too! Found her when she was still a tadpole. Hadn't even started sitting on lilies catching flies!"

"What the... Hey!" called Kuwabara.

Genkai sighed and turned to face Arella again. "So, child?" she asked.

Arella smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'd really like that!"

Arella then looked over at Shuuichi and asked in a soft voice, "Would it be all right if I spoke with Shuuichi privately for a few moments, I have to ask him something."

Everyone seemed confused by the request, but they complied and all of them, except for Shuuichi, went into the next room. When they were alone, Arella looked him in the eyes and said, "Why didn't you tell me you were Youko Kurama?"

Kurama looked at her, a bit shocked and asked, "How did you know?"

Arella smiled at him gently, "I didn't know until last night, when you gave me this," she then pulled out the Starlight Orchid that had been given to her by the mysterious fox. "When you smiled at me as you were giving me this, that's how I knew. I would recognize that smile anywhere; you were the only one who's ever smiled at me like that. Also, if you had told me earlier who you were, I wouldn't have run away all of those times. I'm sorry for all of that, really, it's just that it's really hard for me to trust people, especially when I'm living with people like my aunt and cousins and I was kind of afraid that you would think that I was some kind freak or something."

Kurama smiled. "I could never think of you as freak," he said. "And as far as smiles go... yours is far more unforgettable than my own." Kurama stared into Arella's eyes. He could feel an attraction between them. An attraction so powerful, that he didn't feel he could deny it any longer. "Arella, I.…"

"Shh," she whispered. Eventually, they both found themselves leaning closer towards one another. Their eyes began to shut, as they got closer. Kurama brought his hand up to Arella's face, where he began to caress her cheek softly. Just as their lips, were only inches away....

"I think I left it in here!" shouted Kuwabara. "Hey, did you guys see... Holy crap! You guys were gonna kiss!" Kuwabara looked over towards Kurama. "I knew it! Hiei said you'd never kiss a girl. Heh heh, well, he owes me twenty bucks now! Go ahead... finish up! I'll just get on outta here."

Kurama and Arella watched as Kuwabara slipped back out of the room. Kurama then turned to face Arella. He was lost in her eyes once again, but shook his head and cleared his throat. "Umm, I'm sure you're still very tired... and you need time to settle in here," said Kurama. "I'll... I'll let Genkai know that we're done here," Kurama started towards the door, then stopped, looking back at Arella. "We are... done, right?"

Arella looked up at Kurama for a few seconds and then nodded. "Yes, I... I think so." Kurama offered one final nod before stepping out of the room.

Arella looked up as she heard Kuwabara's voice muffled through the door. "You sly dog, you!" She only smiled and shook her head at the outburst.

***************

In the days that followed, Arella's wounds started to heal and she got the chance to get to know Kurama and his other friends a bit more. Yusuke and Kuwabara reminded her of brothers the way the acted around each other and all. She head heard of Yusuke's reputation before, but she never believe it and now that she had gotten to know Yusuke, she knew it was a lie, considering how nice he was being around her.

Genkai reminded Arella of what her mom might have been like if she had had the chance to grown old, just not as cranky as Genkai. Arella felt that Genkai was the grandmother she never had.

Next was Kayko, Yusuke's girlfriend, at least the way she saw it. Yusuke would never admit it though. She and Kayko seemed to get along like they were life long friends, which Arella was happy about, considering she never really had any friends before. Kayko was the first to actually want to get along with her and try and be friends.

Then there was Hiei. In all the time she spent at the temple, Hiei hadn't really tried to talk to her at all. From what little she could tell, Hiei seem very cold and distant from the rest of the world.

Maybe he's just lonely. Arella thought as she stepped outside with a sandwich in her hand. She was surprised though she found everyone standing outside. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, looking at each of them.

"Well, for starters," Yusuke said, "How about you tell us how you defeated that dragon. None of us were able to near the guy, yet all you did was shoot him with gold arrows and he's dead."

"Oh, well, when my mom was alive, she taught me about dragons and how to fight them. I guess she felt that the time might come where I might have to face one," she then pointed to her jaw, near the corner of her mouth, "There's a vain in dragons over here called a Fire Vain. This allowed the dragon to breath fire. I shot that first because then the dragons won't try and shoot fire at you. They could still shoot fire, yes, but they won't because if they try to do it while the Fire Vain is still injured, they would just be making it worse and it is quite painful, no dragon with even the highest pain tolerance can stand it. My other two shots to the rips where just distractions to advert is attention. When he guard was down, I shot his wing. Not only does it hurt them a lot, it causes them to automatically change back into human form and since their human form doesn't have wings, it goes though their chest, killing them."

"Damn! Next time we go up against a dragon, someone remind me to bring her with us," Yusuke said.

"Yeah, but how did you get him to become visible again?" Kuwabara asked.

"Oh, I used this dust called Dragon Dust. It was given to the Angels by the other dragons that lived in Makai, the white, blue, jade, and purple dragons. These are all peaceful dragons, but they did want to help the Angels defeat the black dragons anyway they could, so they created this dust for us, it causes the dragon to reappear when it becomes invisible and blends in with the environment around it," Arella replied.

Just then, Yukina came out from the small temple and walked over to where Hiei was sitting and looked over at Arella, "I wanted to let you know that Kin's asleep, he fell asleep after I changed his bandages."

It was then that Arella noticed something she hadn't noticed before. "Yukina, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Yukina asked.

"I'm sorry if this is too much of a personal question, but are you and Hiei related? I noticed that you both kind of look a bit alike….." Before she could finish her explanation, both Kurama and Yusuke placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Umm, Arella, we need to talk to you for a minute," Yusuke said, he and Kurama leading her away from the others. When they were alone, they proceeded to explain to Arella about Hiei and Yukina and Hiei's little secret. When they finished, she gave both of them an annoyed look.

"How the heck was I suppose to know that?! I'm new to the group, remember?!"

Hiei had followed the others out as they led Arella out of the room. "Ignorance is never an excuse," he said from a distance. He started walking towards them. As he did, Yusuke and Kurama turned to face him, and stand beside Arella. "Now, that you have been entrusted with a secret... I assume you will honor it. It is... for her own protection. You must promise never to speak of it."

"I... I promise," said Arella.

Hiei simply grunted and walked past them heading out into the pasture to train. They watched him leave, and were brought back to the events before them as they heard Genkai clear her throat to announce her presence. "Well," said Genkai, "I see you're just as popular as ever today. Come with me."

Arella nodded and turned to look towards Kurama. He offered a brief smile and curt nod as Arella started after Genkai. She led Arella into the dojo and towards one of the walls on which several weapons hung. Genkai stood by the wall, with her hands poised behind her back. "Choose one," said Genkai.

"What?" said Arella. "But, Genkai... I don't know the first thing about any of these weapons. I only know how to use my bow and arrows!" Arella continued to her explanation, but was stopped as Genkai raised her hand to silence her.

"Just pick one, child and take it into your hands," said Genkai. Arella took a deep breath and studied the wall. There were so many to choose from. So many different types of weapons were mounted on the wall. Finally, Arella reached out and took a sword into her hand. It was a Chinese sword that had a golden hilt and a long silver blade that gleamed brightly in the sunlight. The sheath for the sword was silver and gold and decorated with tiny diamonds that shinned like little stars.

She turned to face Genkai. "Okay, now what?" she asked. She watched as a rare occurrence happened, and Genkai actually smiled. "What is it?"

"You've chosen your mother's sword," said Genkai. "It was left in my possession to give to you when the time was right. Personally, I think you're a little late, but it's now or never." Genkai shrugged and started to leave the dojo.

"Wait, Genkai!" said Arella. "Are you going to teach me to use it?"

Genkai paused and looked back. "Teach you to use it?" she repeated. "Sorry, that wasn't part of the deal. You're on your own there."

"What?! But what good is a sword going to do me, if I don't know how to use it?!"

Genkai turned and continued towards the exit. "You'll figure something out," she replied and disappeared out the door.

"Genkai wait!" said Arella. She ran towards the door, but when she got there, Genkai was nowhere to be found. Arella looked down at the sword in her hand. The sword that had belonged to her mother. "Now, what?" Suddenly, Arella's attention was drawn to sound of someone grunting and thrusts through the air. She looked down on the field below, and saw Hiei practicing with his own sword. A smile quickly appeared on her face, as she started down the stairs towards the field.

Arella paused several feet away and watched as Hiei continued to practice. Every one of his moves was so fluent. She stood their admiring it in awe. Finally, Hiei decided to recognize his audience. He was on one knee with his blade and hand fully extended when his eyes fell upon Arella who was standing beside him. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Um... I was just watching you," she said. "You're really great with your sword." Arella watched as Hiei stood on his feet and turned towards her.

"In all the time that you have been here, you haven't approached me this directly before. You want something, what is it?" he asked.

Arella gulped and stared at Hiei. She slowly pulled the sword into view from behind her back. She stared down at it, and then back up at Hiei. "I was hoping... I was hoping you could train me. Teach me to use the sword and be as good as you are."

Hiei wasted no time in scoffing with amusement. "You've got to be joking," he said. "I don't have time to take on a novice pupil and train them. Look at you... You're not even holding the sword correctly now!" Hiei turned away from her. "Now... leave me." Hiei then set back to training.

Arella watched and raised her hand to begin to speak, but stopped. She turned and started to walk away, leaving Hiei alone.

"The first rule is to never give up," said Hiei. Arella stopped and turned around. "You're going to have to learn that rule well before we begin. Because once we do... there is no quitting."

Arella began to smile. "So, you'll train me?" she asked.

Hiei took a deep breath. "Listen," he began, "in my past I have done some things that I am not very proud of. Some of those things include the death of several Angels. Then, I was ruthless... and didn't care who suffered. In case we ever come across such an opponent... I don't want the same fate to befall you. So, to answer you question... yes, I will train you."

Author's Note: I know Kayko's name is really spelled Keiko, but I like the other spelling and I'm a fan of the dub. I wouldn't even know YYH existed if it wasn't for the dub. Then I wouldn't know that Kurama existed and that would be a crime in itself!