Sorry, if Kurama tends to think too much.
But then that’s what he does best. * blinks * Or is it kissing?
Anyway, YuYu Hakusho ain’t mine and never will be.
Don’t sue coz I ain’t got no money.
Don’t forget to send me your comments, minna! Domo arigatou! ^_^
SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH
I’m just another writer
Still trapped within my truth
A hesitant prize-fighter
Still trapped within my youth
Kurama
A soft whisper...
A gentle tug at my unconscious...
Hiei?
I felt a flicker of dark youki.
It was all too familiar to remain unrecognized.
Hiei. I looked around at the vast expanse of land surrounding me.
Hiei was here somewhere. I knew it.
I could feel his presence though his youki was very weak.
I furrowed my brows in concentration. Where was he?
His youki seemed so faint and distant but I was certain that it was him.
The howling wind and the pouring rain made it harder to locate him.
A cold gust of wind blew against me and I felt myself shudder.
What if something bad had happened to him? His youki was so weak.
He could have been severely injured.
Anxiously, I started towards the direction where I first recognized his being.
“Oi, Kurama!” Yusuke called.
He was running up to me together with Kuwabara.
“Find anything?” He asked. I turned towards him.
He and Kuwabara were both slightly taken aback.
“Is something wrong Kurama?” Yusuke inquired.
“Yeah, you look a little pale.” Kuwabara added. “Are you—“
“Hiei.” I murmured.
“What about the shrimp?” Kuwabara asked.
“Hiei. He’s here.” I replied.
“Huh? Are you sure?” Kuwabara insisted.
“He’s right. I can feel Hiei’s youki.” Yusuke told him.
“He’s still quite far from us.”
“Can you pinpoint his exact location?” I asked him.
Yusuke, being more powerful, would be able to find him better than I could.
He nodded and became silent.
After a few moments, he turned towards the north.
“Over there.” He gestured with his finger.
“He’s behind those mountains.
We’d better hurry.
His youki’s beginning to grow fainter by the moment.”
Kuwabara and I both nodded.
The three of us sped towards the direction Yusuke indicated,
using our energy to propel us faster.
Yusuke, who was the fastest, was in front leading the way.
Gusts of wind blew against my face
and blinding sheets of rain fell against my body.
I could hear the roaring thunder in my ears
and bright flashes of lightning illuminated the sky above me.
As we got nearer to the mountain range,
I was able to detect Hiei’s youki clearer than before.
However, anxiety once again overcame my senses.
His youki was gradually growing fainter.
Suddenly, something made us all stop in our tracks.
Yusuke turned around to face the both of us.
“You felt it too?” He asked solemnly.
I looked at Kuwabara. He nodded.
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
It couldn’t be. Hiei’s youki...his youki...it was gone.
“NOOOOOO!!!!” I cried out and sped towards the direction where I last felt his youki.
“Kurama!!!” I heard Yusuke yell after me.
I jumped up the steep heights of solid rock stretched out
in front of me and found myself gazing down at a vast subterranean valley
with numerous rocky cliffs jutting out from the mountains surrounding the area.
The air smelt of acrid smoke and dark, scorched trees stood where
there must once have been lush vegetation. It was a wasteland.
A sure sign that an ominous event had transpired in the vicinity.
In normal circumstances, it would most likely have been a strong force of nature
like a tornado or a forest fire. But I knew better.
This piece of terrain had been a battlefield.
A place of combat between struggling forces.
Very powerful struggling forces.
And I had the dread feeling that one of those forces was a bloodthirsty
fire demon named Hiei.
My eyes swept over the terrain. Searching. Probing.
Seeking out a lone figure amidst the blinding sheets of rain
and the suffocating clouds of smoke. Hiei...Where are you?
“Did you find him?”
I was slightly surprised at the familiar voice that spoke beside me.
So intent was I in my search and so intense was my anxiety
that I had failed to recognize my comrades appear at my side.
I shook my head, refusing to turn my eyes away from the terrain.
I wanted to find him. Fast.
I had the urge to just jump down from my rocky pedestal
and dash across the valley.
But I couldn’t. One false move and we could be seriously
diverted from the right course.
The valley was vast and one wrong turn could cause a great delay in finding him.
At the moment, I knew that even the slightest delay could be fatal.
I turned to Yusuke. “Yusuke, do something!”
My voice was trembling slightly. “Can’t you find him any faster?!”
“Shhh!” It was Kuwabara who replied. I turned to face him.
“Yusuke’s doing his best.”
He nodded toward our ally who had closed his eyes and was deep in concentration.
I wasn’t sure what he was doing at the moment
but I was hoping it would help us get to Hiei faster.
“Besides, I wouldn’t worry about the shrimp.”
Kuwabara continued with a slight smile.
“He’s too damn stubborn to let down that easy.”
After a few moments, which seemed like an eternity to me,
Yusuke opened his eyes. “Quick, he’s on that side of the valley.
He gestured towards a northeastern direction then sped towards it.
Kuwabara and I followed suit.
It still took us a minute or so before we spotted a lone figure,
lying prone on the scorched ground. “Hiei!”
Panic surged through me.
Yusuke reached his motionless form first and turned him over.
Kuwabara and I both stopped a few feet away.
I stepped forward. Tentatively, I let my gaze hover on Hiei’s body.
His whole body was soaked from the rain but dirt still clung on certain areas.
His three eyes were closed as if he was sleeping.
There was a large purple bruise on his right cheek
and dried blood clung to his cracked lips.
His bare chest was filled with cuts and there was a burnt, ugly hole in his abdomen.
Unable to withstand the sight of it, I tore my gaze away and
focused on his other limbs instead.
Both his hands were scorched and there were two large gashes on both his palms.
The dragon was not on his right arm.
That meant that he had used it previously in combat.
He had fought. Hard. It seems as if he had given everything in this battle.
But did everything include his--?
Fear gripped my heart. I knew that I was trembling.
A question was forming itself on my lips yet I feared voicing it out loud.
But I needed to know.
I HAD to know.
Yusuke turned his head towards us.
I searched his face. It was blank. His features betrayed no emotion.
I couldn’t read his expression.
Finally, I took a deep breath and spoke.
“Is he--?”
“I’m sorry Kurama.” He began. “I—“
“NOOOOO!!!” I lunged towards Hiei.
Confusion was written all over Yusuke’s features as he scrambled out of my way.
I grabbed both of Hiei’s shoulders and shook him violently.
“HIEI! WAKE UP!”
I knew I sounded hysterical but I didn’t care at the moment.
“DON’T YOU DARE DIE ON ME! Don’t you dare leave me!
Don’t—“
My voice cracked and I was now racked with sobs.
I brought Hiei’s body against my own, placing his head
on my shoulder and hugging him tightly.
Tears were streaming down my face, blurring my vision.
The terrain...the mountains...the trees...they all seemed
to vanish into a hazy myriad of dark colors.
I closed my eyes and breathed in shakily.
Sobbing, I rocked to and fro, cradling his body. He felt so warm.
Warm, like he had always been.
He had always acted so cold and hostile towards everyone but deep inside,
I always knew that there was this beautiful, radiant light within him.
The warmth of which, I had felt only in very rare, choice occasions.
But during those exceptional moments,
Hiei had made me feel a warmth that nobody else in the three worlds
had ever made me experience and no one else ever would.
An overwhelming wave of sadness washed over me
as I came to the realization that I would never again feel that warmth.
Hiei was my ally...my comrade...my best friend...my love...my life.
He was everything to me.
Even the passage of years had not triumphed to lessen
the intensity of my feelings for him.
Feelings that were not returned and now...would never be returned...
“Kurama?” I was jolted back to reality by a familiar voice.
I opened my eyes.
Yusuke and Kuwabara were both looking at me with concerned faces.
“Kurama, daijobu?”
Yusuke asked.
His concerned expression was once again replaced with one of confusion.
“You don’t have to worry that much.
He’ll be alright.” He added.
“Man, that shrimp sure is a tough one isn’t he?”
Kuwabara chuckled, shaking his head.
Now, it was me who was confused.
What were they talking about?
How can Hiei be alright?
How can everything ever be alright again?
And how can he laugh when Hiei’s—when Hiei’s—wriggling against my shoulder?!
I held him at arm’s length from me.
He stared back at me with sleepy, half-lidded eyes.
Shock, happiness, confusion and relief all flooded through me at the same time.
“HIEI! YOU’RE AWAKE!” I cried.
“Hn.” He replied. “Who wouldn’t be after all that racket you made.”
Kuwabara and Yusuke both laughed.
I joined in, tears still streaming down my face.
Then I stopped and turned to face Yusuke.
I narrowed my eyes accusingly.
“But you said that he was dead!”
Yusuke held up his hands defensively.
“I never said that Hiei was dead.
I was going to say I’m sorry because I couldn’t determine how bad his condition was.
You cut me off before I could say that he was still breathing.”
I felt myself blushing. Kuwabara cracked up.
“You should have seen the look on your face Kurama!!!”
He slapped his knee. “You were so pale, you practically looked—“
Yusuke hit him on the head.
“Hey! Why’d you do that for?!”
He yelled rubbing the sore spot.
Yusuke shot him a look. He shut his mouth after that.
I turned to Hiei. He had fallen asleep once again.
I must have certainly looked like an idiot but I would have to feel sorry for myself later.
Right now, we had to take care of a certain fire demon first.
A few hours later...
I found myself gazing down yet again at the subterranean valley
where the rest of the Reikai Tantei and I had found our comrade.
At the moment, this valley was not the place I most definitely wanted to be.
True, the storm was already on its way out of the vicinity
and the thunder was no longer rumbling overhead.
Neither were the bright flashes of lightning snaking their path across the darkened skies.
The rain itself had lessened down to a patter and its cold drops
were now trickling down the side of my face and clinging to my eyelashes.
The wind still blew yet with not as much intensity as before and it swept
my damp tresses backwards, away from my pale face.
The terrain still seemed cold and desolate but not as much as it had recently.
In fact, a few brilliant rays of sunlight were now streaming out from the
darkened storm clouds hovering above me.
The air itself had begun to smell crisp and fresh similar to the breeze after a spring shower.
It promised a new beginning, a fresh start.
But still...this was not where I wanted to be.
I wanted to be some place else.
More specifically, I wanted to be with someone else.
My thoughts drifted back to a darkened chamber within a
certain S-class youkai’s domain.
Mukuro’s palace to be exact.
The Makai Lord—or Lady, for that matter, didn’t seem too happy
to see her heir in the condition we brought him in.
“Stubborn fool.” She had remarked.
I wasn’t sure if she had been referring to Hiei’s pride or if he had
disobeyed a previous order, but I wasn’t in the position to care at that time.
All that mattered then was getting Hiei the care he needed in the fastest way possible.
I had used some of my plants and even my own youki
just to keep him breathing until we could get him to Mukuro’s territory.
I wasn’t too happy with the arrangement but I didn’t have any choice in the matter.
True, Mukuro was more reasonable and trustworthy than Yomi
was but I had always felt a slight tinge of antipathy towards the woman.
Or was it jealousy? I wasn’t certain but I just didn’t like the fact that she too,
had special feelings for the koorime and being her heir,
Hiei had to spend much more time with her, here in the Makai.
However, the fastest and surest way to ascertain Hiei’s recovery was through
one of Mukuro’s regenerating tanks and I was not willing to risk otherwise.
I hadn’t wanted to leave the koorime, who was then floating in one
of several regenerating tanks filled with a bright greenish liquid and had numerous
tubes attached to his naked body. He seemed so fragile, so vulnerable.
I had placed my palm against the cold, hard glass of the tank, wishing
that I could touch him, hold him in my arms.
It hurt to see him this way after such a long time...
Just how long was it? One year? Two?
Two years meant nothing to a youkai, but still...
“Oi, Kurama!” The familiar tone snapped me out of my reverie.
“Over here!” Kuwabara called. “Yusuke found something!”
Unwillingly, I forced myself to set my thoughts to the task at hand.
Koenma had summoned the four of us, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and I for a mission.
Normally, I would have jumped at the opportunity get out of my dull,
ordinary day-to-day activities as Shuuichi Minamino and revel
in the ardent heat and exhilaration of battle as I relive my nature as
a Reikai Tantei and as Youko Kurama yet again.
However, I wasn’t too eager to see a certain fire demon at that moment,
much more be on a mission with him.
Though I admit that I have missed him terribly,
seeing him would rekindle memories that I simply would not
have been able to endure for a second time.
Yet disappointment mingled with my relief when I found out
that the Reikai Tantei would be short one member on this mission.
Koenma had said that Hiei didn’t seem to be available
at the time being and the task was too urgent to remain
unresolved for a moment longer.
I had wanted to inquire more about our comrade but Koenma’s
explanation had seemed sufficient for both Yusuke and Kuwabara
so I chose to remain silent as well.
Though I was bothered by the koorime’s absence,
I half-heartedly decided to carry out the mission.
Koenma had told us that a certain S-class youkai was causing trouble in the Makai.
He did not pose a threat before and usually kept a low profile in the past.
That was why Reikai chose not to bother with him.
However, only recently, he had surfaced and for some unknown reason
was now wreaking havoc in certain parts of the Makai.
To prevent further damage, Koenma had sent the Reikai Tantei to suppress him.
He had remarked that with Yusuke, who was now Upper S-class,
we would not have much trouble.
With that, he had opened a portal, which he said
would take us to where the youkai was last sighted.
I had jumped in first, followed by Yusuke and Kuwabara.
Upon reaching the Makai, I had felt Hiei’s youki which eventually
led us to find our comrade drenched and half-alive in a forlorn and
desolate valley situated between the mountains.
The same valley we were standing in at the moment.
I turned to where I had heard Kuwabara call my attention.
He was standing in a fairly large crater together with Yusuke.
I strode over to crater’s edge and jumped in.
“What did you find?” I asked Yusuke.
He was examining something in his hand and looked up at me.
“Remember what Koenma told us about how we would be able to identify the youkai?”
I stared at him blankly.
“He told us that the youkai had a metal patch sewn over one eye
with the character for “blood” carved into it, remember?”
Kuwabara added sarcastically.
I saw Yusuke nudge him with an elbow.
“Uh...yeah.” I nodded although I didn’t know what he was talking about.
I didn’t really pay much attention to Koenma back there.
Yusuke flipped the thing he had in his hand over to me
and I reached up with mine to catch it.
Opening my palm, I found myself staring at a blackened piece of thin
metal with the character for “blood” carved on one side of it.
“The patch?” I asked out loud. “Yup. You’re right about that one.”
Yusuke answered. “So then...” Kuwabara scratched his head.
“Where’s the youkai?” “Right here.” Yusuke replied.
“NANII?!?!!” Kuwabara exclaimed. “Where?! Where!? Where?!!”
He yelled, his head swinging back and forth in all directions.
“Baka!” Yusuke hit him on the head.
“I’m not that sure but I have a theory.”
Yusuke cleared his throat and Kuwabara and I took that as a sign to let him talk.
After all, Yusuke with a theory? This, I had to hear.
“We found Hiei in this valley remember?”
Yusuke began. “And judging from the condition we found him in,
it seems that he had just been in a battle.
A very HARD battle at that.
Knowing Hiei, only an S-class youkai could have inflicted that much
damage on him.”
I was beginning to catch up with what Yusuke had in mind,
but I decided to let him tell it himself.
“This crater we’re now standing in is just some distance
away from where we found Hiei.
I’m certain that the patch we found belongs to the youkai we’re looking for.
The same youkai Hiei fought with and incredibly, he had won over the bastard.”
“NANII?!” Kuwabara exclaimed once more.
“You’re telling me that the shrimp beat an S-class youkai all by himself?!”
“You got that right.” Yusuke replied with a smirk.
“The patch was blackened, scorched.
Most probably by Hiei’s Kokuryuhaa.
And this black stuff we’re standing in, are probably the bastard’s ashes.”
“Ugh!” Kuwabara yelled as he pulled one foot up then set it back down.
“Nah, no way. You probably just misinterpreted everything.
You can’t possibly think of something as logical and complicated as that!”
“NANII?!” Now it was Yusuke who was yelling.
The two started bickering just like when we were younger.
I, on the other hand, turned my thoughts towards a certain fire demon,
who was currently recovering.
Hiei...
You’re as irascible and stubborn as you’ve always been...
And as always...
You never cease to intrigue me...
To be continued...
(
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