Disclaimer: We don't own YYH or the characters.

Written by: FireStorm1991 and Just 2 Dream of You

A/N: We are uploading this to our new joint account. 1&2 have been combined as well as 3&4. Thanks~


Confessions in Ice

Chapter One

Kurama was waiting for Koenma in his office in Spirit World. The prince had called him in for a special mission. He hadn't even called for Yusuke and Kuwabara to help, which was surprising, and he hadn't called Hiei either - but Kurama could understand that - Hiei wasn't easily found for missions. But this situation made Kurama wonder, what kind of mission could it be?

When he entered Koenma's office, he was surprised to find it empty. Just then, Koenma raced in to the room out of breath, causing Kurama to sweat-drop.

"Kurama, you're here!" Koenma said in shock. "Well, it's good to see you're on time."

Kurama smiled faintly. "What's all of this about, Koenma? And why aren't you bringing Yusuke or Kuwabara in on this?"

"Because I'm not asking for your help as a spirit detective," Koenma revealed to him. "I need your help as Youko Kurama."

Kurama was a little shocked by the revelation. He hadn't gone on a raid in a very long time, and he had already decided to give up on his past as Youko Kurama after the Demon World Tournament. So why would Spirit World be asking him to steal anything? "What are you trying to get a hold of?"

Koenma sighed and sat down at his desk. "Have you ever heard of the item, Reality of Change?"

Kurama's eyebrow's twitched slightly and he paused in thought. Yes, he had heard of it and it was very dangerous. "Yes...I have. If I am to understand correctly, it is an item that will transport you to an alternate reality?" Such things couldn't be real, but he'd heard the rumors all the same. And now that Koenma was talking about it, it had to be real.

Koenma nodded. "Yes. It is quite a problem. We've received intelligence that it's in the hands of a very powerful demon lord, and that isn't good at all. We believe this demon intends to cause trouble with it."

Kurama approached the prince's desk. "What kind of trouble?"

"With the Reality of Change, he can transport himself to any reality and do as he pleases. Now, I know that the things he does in other realities won't affect us but it's still horrible! I may not be in charge of those realities, but what kind of ruler would I be if I just sat back and allowed this to happen? It's like watching a crime and walking away."

Kurama nodded in thought. Koenma was right. For humans and demons alike, their greatest flaw was not caring what happened to other people so long as it didn't hurt them personally. This lord was obviously wanting to do things in other universes that he couldn't do here. "How can you be sure he intends it for evil purposes?" Kurama asked. "Is it just because he's a demon?"

It went silent for a while and Koenma shut his eyes. "He's an S class and has a lot of power and influence...he has this item. What do you think?"

Kurama sighed. He had a point. But then it dawned on him; an S class with influence...and Koenma was asking him for this mission. "Koenma, why have you chosen me for this? I don't think it's just because of my past. What is the name of this lord?"

Koenma sighed heavily. "Okay, you caught me, Kurama. It's..." He paused and the room went cold. "Yomi."

Kurama inhaled and closed his eyes. He hadn't changed at all. He was still trying to be king and was going to do anything to get it. He let out the breath he was holding and composed himself. "I assume he still wants to be supreme ruler of Demon World and this is how he plans to do it?" Koenma simply nodded, so Kurama continued. "Then he would have to choose a reality where Yusuke lost and he had won all the fights at the tournament."

"Believe me, he will find that reality. Anything that can happen does in alternate realities. That situation has occurred." Koenma messed with some papers on his desk. "So, you see that we can't allow that. He could put a poor, unsuspecting reality in chaos. It isn't right."

Kurama narrowed his eyes. "No, it isn't. I will stop him, Koenma. I guarantee you that." He looked down. 'And I will put a stop to him permanently...' his thoughts added.


After his meeting with Koenma, Kurama returned to his home to start packing for the journey. A journey in Demon World would be long, and being prepared was the most important thing. While he was busy packing, his mother stuck her head into his room.

"Oh, Shuichi, are you going on a trip with your friends?" Shiori asked.

"Yes, mother," Kurama replied, flashing her a smile. "It was a last minute trip."

Shiori chuckled and shook her head. "They always are. Well, in that case, I'll get started on dinner so that you can leave with a full stomach."

"Thank you, mother."

Kurama watched her leave the room and couldn't help but reflect on everything going on. He just couldn't believe that Yomi would try something like this for power. Sure, they both wanted to be in control of Demon World at one time or another - Kurama, after living part of his life in Human World, lost that desire. Maybe that was the difference between him and Yomi, although he thought Yomi, for the most part, had changed at least a little bit. He did remember Yomi telling him that he and his son would be training for the next tournament.

Kurama gasped when he thought of that...his son. There was no way that Yomi would abandon his son for power, was there? He couldn't have been as cold-hearted as they both were.

"Shuichi?"

Kurama jumped and looked to his bedroom doorway. He saw his step-brother gaping at him. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Shuuichi asked. "You looked very serious right now."

"I'm fine," Kurama replied. "Just thinking. Hey, why don't you go down and help mother in the kitchen? I'll be right down."

Shuuichi smiled at him. "Okay, bro. See you in a bit."

Kurama watched as his little brother went downstairs. Seeing him now didn't help the situation. It only reminded him of how Yomi threatened his parents and brother to force him to do his bidding. Yes, Yomi would definitely being willing to leave his son for power.

Perhaps he was thinking that Shura would be in any reality he chose, so it didn't matter. Kurama frowned at that. A replacement was not the real thing; Yomi should know that. He sighed heavily and finished packing his bag. All he needed to survive was in there, as well as several weapons hidden in places. If he had to, he would fight Yomi. Though, that would require changing into Youko...and he was sure he wouldn't have to do that ever again in his life.

Another reason to be angry at his former friend.


It had been a while since Kurama had visited the outskirts of Yomi's domain. The last time he was coming as requested by Yomi. This time, he was going against his old partner in the name of Spirit World. The only problem was Yomi's ability to hear everything once in the kingdom. He was going to have to be very careful if he wanted to get into Yomi's fortress undetected, if that was even possible. If Yomi did hear him, then he would deal with the confrontation just like any other. He would not let Yomi endanger any humans, alternate reality or not.

The problem was not just getting into Yomi's domain, but dealing with his soldiers. Yomi would probably know that he was there, but his soldiers didn't need to know. Kurama slid down the side of the cliff and then used his whip to grab hold of a tree branch before he hit the ground. If anything, Yomi could think the sound was a small rock slide.

Kurama waited patiently until a gust of wind blew before he jumped into another tree. He did that for about an hour until he was at Yomi's fortress. He was able to scale the building and enter through a window cut out into the stone. When he finally allowed his foot to touch the ground, he knew that Yomi would be there in seconds.

He decided to make use of his time in Yomi's personal office. He searched files for information regarding the Reality of Change. As he predicted, he found nothing. He would have to wait to confront Yomi himself. When he heard the door open he knew the confrontation would be happening sooner rather than later.

"Why am I not surprised?" His low voice spoke, calm as usual.

Kurama straightened up and turned around, looking Yomi straight in the face. Even though he knew he couldn't see him, he shot him a glare. "Why am I not?" Kurama bit back, words laced with venom. "I know exactly what you're trying to do and it won't work."

"And what is it that you think I'm trying to do?" He asked, coming forward. Kurama prepared to defend himself and Yomi chuckled. "This isn't an attack, old friend."

"I stopped being any friend of yours long ago."

Yomi made a "tsk" noise and shut the office door. "How disappointing."

It went silent and Yomi moved again, over to his window. He couldn't look outside, but seemed to be entranced by something. "Don't you care what you're doing?" Kurama finally asked, shattering the silence. Yomi said nothing. "And what about your son? Are you really prepared to leave him?"

Yomi "looked" down. "My son is a disappointment too. He hasn't grown as a fighter in these easy years and it's quite...disheartening." Kurama frowned and Yomi continued. "I have chosen a reality where everything has fallen into place. A place where I may rule and fix the problems with this world. A place where my son isn't weak."

"A place where Yusuke and Mukuro can't stop you," Kurama stated.

"A place where none of you can stop me."

Kurama gripped his hidden rose whip and said, "I cannot let you do that, Yomi, not just because it will cause problems in another world, but because that is the coward's way to deal with a problem. You are being rash, yet again. Apparently, you didn't change that much."

Yomi frowned at the jabs Kurama was making. Yes, he knew it wasn't the ideal way to become the supreme ruler over Demon World, but he didn't make the decision overnight. He wasn't being rash, in his mind. He was doing what was best for him. "You got the chance to choose the life you wanted," Yomi stated. "Why can't I?"

Kurama lowered his whip for a moment. He hadn't thought about it like that before, but he still didn't want to allow another universe to fall victim to Yomi's desires of "unification." He couldn't allow him to go into a world where no one would be able to stop him or where demons could go into Human World and harm his family. It couldn't happen like that.

"My decision won't destroy the lives of many," Kurama replied calmly. "If you have your way, Demon World will still be at odds with Spirit World, the Kekkai Barrier will still be up, and demons will still attack humans. How can I sit back and let that happen? How could I let you create a world where my family is in danger and my friends' lives are at risk?"

"As if that hasn't happened before," Yomi retorted, bringing up the time Kurama sent a hit man after him. "You sat back and let me get attacked by an assassin you paid off."

"So you are doing this to get back at me for my past sins?" Kurama questioned.

Yomi chuckled in amusement. "Don't be so vain, Kurama. I'm doing this because I want a different life for myself, a chance to start over. You of all people should understand that. Yes, I'm doing it a different way. It will be easy for me to become Demon World's sole ruler and I will unify all demons, but I will set laws. Demons will still be allowed to feed on humans, but not in Human World, only the ones that enter our realm. Demons feed on humans. It's how it should be, Kurama. You know I've always felt that way."

Kurama shook his head in frustration. He did know of Yomi's views. He himself never fed on humans, but he too felt, at one time, that demons should be able to feed on whatever they wanted. His view changed as he was raised in the human realm with a human mother he cared about. Kurama no longer believed that demons should feed on humans, especially now that the two worlds were integrated.

"Not everyone feels the way you do, Yomi," Kurama said with a sigh. "Even in another dimension, no one, not even I, will ever agree with you."

Yomi glared at Kurama and took out an object, the Reality of Change. "It disappoints me that you feel that way, old friend. You used to have similar beliefs to me. It makes me wonder; how would you be if you had never been killed and never escaped to the Human World?"

"I do not believe in reliving the past, Yomi," Kurama stated, turning to face his old partner. "You of all people should know that."

Yomi chuckled, holding the object almost lovingly in his hand. "I don't believe you would be so high and mighty if you knew the truth."

"And what truth would that be?" Kurama prepared himself, for he could sense that an attack was imminent.

Yomi held up the Reality of Change. It was small, perhaps five inches in length, and two inches wide, shaped like a short rod. It was royal blue with brown writings etched on it. Kurama expected it to be more mystical than it appeared, but it was very plain.

"Did you know that when it sends someone, they can't come back? The object does not travel with you. Therefore, I have not been able to test whether it works, other than sending someone and having them disappear. When I choose to leave, my reality will have to be woven perfectly in my head."

"No one can achieve perfection," Kurama stated blankly. "Believing that is often the state of a delusional mind."

Yomi continued unperturbed. "All you have to do is think of what you want, and it'll send you there. Imagine, Kurama - I could think of a reality where we are both women." Kurama frowned at his lame attempt of humor. Yomi shook his head and took a step forward. "But I think I've thought of a better one..." Kurama knew what was coming. He pulled out the whip and got in stance. "I think you need to see your true self. What would have happened if you had not been tainted by humans. You need to see you are no better than me."

And then he disappeared.

Kurama braced himself and brought the whip out to defend as Yomi's fist came crashing to the ground, splintering the floor, bits of marble flying all over. Kurama jumped and thrust the whip forward, only to have it pass through an after-image. Yomi hadn't shown such speed with Yusuke! He wondered why and thought perhaps Yomi had been training for that in recent years.

Kurama gasped as another hit was swung at him, the wall crumbling behind him. Before he could react, an energy blast was headed straight for him, and he had no choice but to block. The ball of energy hit him dead on and propelled him out the window, shards of glass exploding all around. Kurama shouted as he fell down, preparing to hit the ground. A sore spinal-cord is not what he had in mind, but there was nothing he could do as Yomi's energy was pounding down on him. He could see the ground get near and Yomi appeared in front of him. A small beep sounded and he smiled. "Farewell, old friend." Yomi threw the Reality of Change at him, the object touching his leg.

Kurama hit the ground, his back cracking and popping from the force and slid backwards, his head hitting a tree. "Unh!" He was motionless for a minute and sighed, catching his breath. What was odd, was that Yomi's energy was nowhere no be found. It had disappeared seconds before he hit. He sat up and let his eyes focus on the surroundings.

He was in Demon World, no doubt, but the forest looked nothing like it did when he arrived. The trees were dead and the smell of blood was all around. In the distance he could hear screams of agony and howls of hunger.

His eyes trailed down to his pants and he gasped. His pants were white, as well as the rest of his outfit. "No..." And his voice was lower. His hands reached up and felt ears on the top of his head. Long white hair stretched down his back, and a tail beneath him. "Damn you, Yomi..."

He was Youko Kurama, and if he were to guess correctly; he was in a different reality.

Yomi chuckled and bounced his new beloved toy in his hand. "That's one problem gone. Now for the others that I know Koenma will send..."

~To Be Continued