Give Me A Reason To Live
Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho or any of it's characters!
As the rain fell down without mercy, Kurama ran as fast as his long legs would carry him. He was on his way to the Ramen-Ya for a prearranged meeting with Yusuke and Kuwabara. It was not an official meeting, which meant that it would have included both Koenma and Botan, but one that was just to catch up on things. Unfortunately, Kurama was running late because both girls and science club geeks had hounded him that day. He had had to hide in a tree to get away from them. That was when the rain started.
As he rounded the corner, he caught sight of his friends just walking into the restaurant and he put on an extra burst of speed. However, luck was not with him. He slammed right into someone, landing with a loud thud on top of them. He was dazed for a moment, but then he remembered what had happened. He quickly looked down and met the blue eyes of a white haired woman.
"I am so sorry!" He exclaimed, getting to his feet and offering the woman his hands.
She took them, shaking her head as she did so, as if to clear her eyes and her mind of what had just happened. The action was not lost on the redhead.
"Are you all right? Do you need a doctor?" He asked, putting his hands on her head, checking for bumps, bruises, or worse, blood.
"No, no, I'm fine. I have to go," she said, and she was gone with a swish of her long hair.
The youko stood in the rain for a few moments, just a little confused. He had never been brushed off before, even by someone who was not quite so taken with him, and it felt a little unsettling. Nevertheless, the wind made its presence known and Kurama shivered with cold. He quickly turned on his heel and walked into the restaurant.
"What took you so long, Kurama?" Yusuke asked once the redhead had taken his seat. "Were you flirting with a girl again?"
Kurama rolled his eyes. "I do not 'flirt' with any girls. No, I ran into a girl on the way here." Then he caught the looks on their faces. "Literally."
"You mean you ran someone over?" Kuwabara asked.
"Score one for pouf head," Yusuke chuckled, avoiding the fist that was aimed at his head. Once he moved the offending appendage away from his face, he turned back to his other friend. "Was she okay?"
"More or less. She ran off without even saying goodbye."
Kuwabara muttered something about phone numbers and then it was he who had to avoid a fist aiming at his head. This went on for a couple of hours and several bowls of ramen. When Kuwabara finally admitted that he had to go home, the get-together was over.
As they all waved, heading in different directions, no one noticed the pair of blue eyes watching them go.
As Hiei flitted into Yusuke's town, he let out a large grumble of frustration. His prey was not going to come easily and had hidden well inside the city. He could not even sense their energy. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was going to need a little help.
"Stupid humans. They won't let me live it down, either," he thought irritably to himself. Kuwabara in particular would stick it to him. Yusuke and Kurama would be surprised to say the least, but would not rub it in. However, that stupid, orange-haired, ignoramus would. Just the thought of the look on his face made the fire demon want to murder something, or someone.
Nevertheless, as lovely as that thought felt, he decided to ignore it for now and decided to try to find Yusuke or the fox.
Yusuke was sitting on the top of the school building, trying to get some sleep, when he felt a familiar energy signature heading his way. Without even opening his eyes, he lifted up his right hand and caught the blade of a katana between two fingers. "Nice to see you too, Hiei." He muttered, looking up at the fire demon with a somewhat dull expression.
"You don't even keep your guard up at school. How you survive, I'll never know," He grumbled, sheathing his sword. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the detective, waiting for him to ask what he was doing here at his school. He counted it down in his head. "Three, two, one..."
"So what're you doing here?"
Hiei shook his head. "So predictable." He muttered. "Listen, I'm going to be blunt. Koenma has me hunting someone and I might need a little help."
Although he heard Yusuke stifling a laugh, he knew he wouldn't have the balls to laugh aloud. But just the look on his face made him reconsider his earlier thoughts of having the detective's assistance. He gritted his teeth and waited for Yusuke to get himself under control. "Are you done yet?" He asked.
"S-sorry, Hiei. I'm just not used to you asking for help."
"Don't get used to it," The fire demon snapped.
Yusuke started laughing again and that made Hiei turn on his heel and head in the other direction. Yusuke caught up with him and they both leapt away from the school building, going in search of Kurama.
Kurama was having quite a normal day at school. The science club was pestering him to join their ranks so they could win more awards. The girls were hounding him worse then ever. While not everyone bordered good feelings towards Kurama, no one had the guts to tell him because rumor had that he could fight and fight well, too. Therefore, he was pretty much left alone.
As the bell rang for the classes to change, Kurama was stopped by his teacher. "You are wanted in the office, Minamino." He said, still stacking papers that needed to be graded.
Curious, Kurama left and headed towards the office, where the school counselors usually resided. When he entered, there was no one there except a black haired woman typing behind a desk and a girl sitting in a chair next to the door. But when he looked at the girl again, he gasped. It was the girl from the other day, the one he had run into in his hurry to get to the Ramen-Ya.
She was wearing the Meiou School uniform, but it did nothing to hide the fact that this girl was somewhat different from others. Her body looked toned, that was the only word that came to Kurama's mind. She also had the kind of eyes that were deep, as if she knew more then she let on. Her hair was white, but today she had it pulled back in a low ponytail, giving him a detailed look at her face. When she looked up at him, her deep blue eyes regarded him curiously, but then she remembered who he was. "Did you make it on time yesterday?" She asked, with a glint of humor on her face.
Kurama's face reddened. He was usually not easily embarrassed, but he had run into her the other day and he was not so unusually clumsy. "I do apologize for that. I thought about asking you to come with me, to make up for it, but you had run off."
She merely smiled at him. "Yeah, but I had to be somewhere."
Before he could ask where, the woman behind the desk asked him to show their newest student around. Apparently she had just started school and they wanted Kurama, whom even the teachers knew had a way with women, to show her just how well the school taught their students. As they walked down the hall, Kurama felt compelled to break the uneasy silence that had come up between them. "So what is your name?" He asked, glancing at her hopefully.
"Akira. And yours?"
The lack of her last name was not lost on Kurama. Perhaps she had just forgotten to mention it, he thought. "I am Minamino Shuuichi."
Akira's eyes lit up. "So you're the one I hear everyone talking about!"
"Beg pardon?"
"When I first got here, I heard some girls talking about you. Apparently, you're some kind of sexy god." Then she muttered under her breath, "What a load of crap."
Kurama's eyebrows came together faster then Hiei could flash out a sword. Was this girl, whom he had just met, insulting him? And even though he did not like the fact that the girls at school thought of him as a god, he did not like the fact that Akira was saying it was not entirely true. He knew he was handsome, he had no great pride in his looks, but it hurt him to hear her say that. "Excuse me!"
She looked at him sincerely. "Not that I'm making fun of you!" She said hurriedly, seeing that look on his face. "I just...I mean, you don't think of someone as a god when all they're thinking about are his looks. It should be his...intellect, his thoughts on things that should matter, because that's what makes him who he is. It's the difference your life makes then your looks on wether people idolize you."
In a moment, Kurama's hurt feelings faded. Of course, she was not insulting him, she was merely pointing out a fact he wished he could make others understand. Then it hit him. She understood him better then many other people did. In two minutes, she understood why he felt so alone in this school. And she didn't goggle at him the way other girls did, that was the first thing he noticed.
When they reached Akira's first class, she turned at the door and smiled at him. "Thanks for showing me around, Shuuichi."
"If you will allow me, I would like to show you to the rest of your classes." He did not know why his stomach was churning the way it was; all he knew was that he did not want her to say no.
"Sure, that would be great!" She said, very much enthused.
Satisfied, Kurama dashed off before he was late for class.
After school, Kurama couldn't find Akira, and he was disappointed, though he didn't know why. Girls were a mystery to Kurama, no matter how much everyone said he did understand them. He did not know why girls liked him; they just did, so he tolerated them. But Keiko, Yukina, and Botan all knew him and they didn't goggle at him the way others did. They saw him as he truly was, for they knew he was not truly human.
And Akira, she looked at him the exact same way, though she couldn't possibly know that he was a youko. All he knew about her was what the counselor had told him. She was an orphan, living at the local orphanage. The only reason she was in school was that the adults there thought she had potential and they wanted her to go the best school.
As he exited the school property, he felt a familiar surge of ki, which meant two of his friends were close by. As he turned the corner, he spotted Yusuke and surprisingly enough, Hiei. Hiei barely put up with Kurama's presence, much less Yusuke. However, those two had a little in common and there was a friendship there, though Hiei tried to deny it. Kurama would have been rooted to the spot had he seen Kuwabara.
"Hello, Yusuke, Hiei. What're you doing here?" He asked once he came up to them.y
Yusuke had the most mischievous look on his face and the redhead wondered if he re8ally wanted to know why they were there. Yusuke had a weird sense of humor and though some of it was funny, sometimes it was either downright stupid or just dangerous. "Hiei's having a little demon hunt and he wants our help!"
Kurama's eyes widened and he glanced quickly at the fire demon standing beside him. Hiei seldom had trouble with the demons he tracked down, why was this one the exception? "Who is it, Hiei?"
The youkai shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. All Koenma said was that she was here illegally, she was supposed to be reporting to him, but she ignored his orders. All I know is that she's a demon, half youko, and half koorime. That's why he wanted me to find her. Koorime's have similar power patterns and he knew I would recognize them. Plus, Koenma says she's as powerful as Yusuke; a Level-S demon."
That was something that Hiei had forgotten to mention to Yusuke and his eyes flew open. "How did she get past the barrier! Level-S demons can't get past it!"
"Koenma said that she was doing something for him and she was allowed passage. But-"
"But now that she's here she is enjoying quite a bit of freedom," Kurama said, finishing what Hiei was thinking. "Well, if we are going to find her, we had better start right away. Do you know what she looks like, Hiei?"
Hiei huffed. "Hn, not really. Koenma just said that she had white hair, which would make her immediately noticeable and-"
He stopped when he heard Kurama gasp. The kitsune's eyes were as wide as saucers and he was actually trembling. "What is it, Kurama?" Yusuke asked.
"I-I know who she is..."
"Why do you think it's her?" Hiei asked. He, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, who had joined them later after he was filled in, were sitting up in a tree, their feet dangling from the limb, looking at Akira with vast curiosity. She was walking towards the Ramen-Ya, where Kurama had run into her. Yusuke had felt it the best time to observe her when she wouldn't know she was being watched.
"Hiei, there is no one else we have seen that has hair that color," Kurama pointed out. He himself was a worthy look because of his uncommon red hair.
"You wouldn't know she was demon just by lookin' at her." Kuwabara muttered under his breath. He had been pretty much out of things since before the meeting Kurama went to with Yusuke and Hiei. "Did Koenma say why he wanted her caught?"
Hiei appeared not to have heard him, but continued to stare down at the street at the white haired girl walking, seemly unconcerned by the fact that she was being watched. But when Kurama and Yusuke also looked to Hiei for an answer, he growled under his breath. "Yes, but the first thing he told me is that she was a strong demon and that she was here illegally. He asked if I was up to catching someone as clever as myself."
Yusuke's eyes widened mischievously at that comment. "So that's why you're after her! Koenma made it sound like she was stronger then you!"
Kurama chuckled to himself while Hiei was looking quite murderous at the moment. While Yusuke continued to badger Hiei, which had since become a weekly event for him, Akira walked around a corner and disappeared from sight.
"She's gone guys. Think we should follow her?" Kuwabara asked, preparing himself to jump down from the tree.
"I think-"
"I think you had better tell me why you're all spying on me."
All four of them were so surprised that they jumped up, forgetting that they were sitting on a tree limb. Kuwabara fell and landed on his ass, with Yusuke right behind him, though he landed nimbly on his feet. Hiei, being the tree lounging guy that he was, had still kept his balance and was staring at Akira while Kurama was standing beside him.
"So, we finally meet." Hiei said, cracking a satisfied smile.
"Don't go getting all smug." Akira said, her face impassive. "I only came up here to see why you had dragged these other three into your little demon hunt." She looked at Kurama for a very long moment, then quickly down at the other two on the ground before she turned her attention back on Hiei. "Why have you been tailing me?"
"Koenma assigned me to capture you." Hiei answered simply.
"I figured that." She said. "Why?"
For a moment, Hiei did not answer because he really didn't know why he was supposed to capture her. He had only agreed to the mission because Koenma had used his own ego against him. Hiei's eyes turned to evil slits. "You're in the Ningenkai illegally. That's why."
Akira was silent, still staring at the demon that had been tailing her for who knew how long. He had almost caught her a few times, but she had been lucky to get away. They were both equal in speed and stealth and were able to conveniently avoid each other. For a while, Hiei and the others thought she was going to fight them and run, but she surprised them by jumping down from the tree and looking at them all. "Well, you said you wanted to catch me. You caught me. Let's go see the shrimp."
Yusuke had been on the verge of laughing, but caught himself. Apparently, he and Kuwabara were not the only ones who called Koenma by that nickname. With Kurama and Hiei ahead of them, they found a portal to the Reikai and to see Koenma.
When they arrived at the Gate of Judgment, Botan was there to greet them, but was surprised by Akira's presence. Both women stared at each other, Akira smiling and Botan looking quite shocked.
"It's been a while, Botan." Akira said, cocking her head to one side.
"Yes, it has." Answered the ferry girl. "You disappeared for a long time. I thought you would at least come back and visit once in a while."
Akira chuckled to herself while the guys looked a little confused. Why did Botan act like Akira was her friend? Wasn't she a demon criminal?
"Time flies when you're having fun like me. Anyway, we're here to see Koenma. He's in his office, I suppose."
"Yeah, follow me," Botan said, turning and heading towards the cubicle that belonged to the prince of the Reikai.
When Koenma looked up from his desk when they entered, he did not seem the least bit surprised that the demon he had sent Hiei after was in their custody, nor did he find it disturbing that she had come willingly. With a nod of his head, Jorge went away, as did Botan, but the others remained. For a while, Koenma just sat there, staring at Akira, while she stared calmly back at him. The guys were beginning to wonder what was going on when someone finally spoke.
"Well, do you have a good excuse for ignoring my summons?" Koenma asked, finally moving from his sitting position to standing on his desk so he could be eye level with the white haired demon.
"I have my own business when I'm in Ningenkai. You know that."
"Yes, but when I told you that you couldn't go there without my permission, I meant it."
The demon's eyes narrowed and she took a step toward the Reikai prince, but she stopped when she heard Yusuke speak. "What the hell are you two talking about? You all act like you know her."
"Well of course I know her, seeing as I condemned her to a sentence of servitude." Koenma stated irritably.
"What do you mean? What did she do?" Kuwabara asked.
"She instigated a battle between a whole horde of demons in the middle of Ningenkai, in front of the humans, no less."
"So?" Hiei said coldly.
"So? Do you know how hard it is to make people forget something like that! I never thought we would be able to clean up that doozy of a mess! Ever since then she has been in my service, much to her own discomfort, and she will stay in my service until I feel her sentence has been paid in full."
"So, she's like a servant?" Kuwabara asked curiously, though the others knew she couldn't possibly be Koenma's servant; that was what Jorge was there for.
"No, she's like you four, a spirit detective, though she has had much more experience in the job then the rest of you have."
Yusuke huffed at that comment; he thought she couldn't possibly have the experience that he and the others had. Both Akira and Koenma heard and guessed what he was thinking. Very quietly, Koenma got a remote out of his drawer and pressed a button, turning on the large TV that was behind them.
Akira's face appeared on the screen and then it flashed onto a list of some sort.
Name: Akira
Demon Type: Half Youko, Half Koorime
Age: Unknown, Possibly Over Two Thousand
Powers: Spirit Blast, Large Amounts Of Reiki, Control Over Plants And Ice
Fighting Skills: Trained Along With Genkai And Toguro, Also Trained By The Shinobi Master Of Ice, And Trained By Two Former Lords Of The Makai.
Reason For Sentence: Instigated A Battle Between A Large Horde Of Demon's And Herself In The Middle Of Ningenkai. She Won And Almost Killed Several Humans.
Sentence: To Serve Lord Koenma As A Spirit Detective Until She Has Paid Her Debt Back
After it appeared that the boys had finished reading, Koenma clicked off the TV and awaited their response.
Kuwabara's response, naturally enough, was one of disbelief and his jaw was wide open.
Yusuke was looking at her curiously, but it was obvious that he was impressed.
Hiei appeared not to care, though, as we all know, he was just itching to see how strong she really was.
Kurama was smiling at her warmly, but Koenma could not read the look in his eyes.
"Well, now that you all know each other, you can start working together," Koenma said abruptly, turning on his heel back towards his chair. "Akira, the next time I tell you to come and see me, I mean it. Don't give them a hard time, either. You can all go."
Without nodding, Akira walked out the door with the others behind her.
When they arrived back in Ningenkai, Yusuke and Kuwabara headed to their homes, while Hiei went to do whatever it was he did while he was there. Yusuke suspected that he stayed over at Genkai's temple, where Yukina was. It was a high possibility.
Kurama on the other hand, stayed beside Akira with his hands in his pockets, looking as if he had something to say.
"Well?" She asked, looking up at him; he was a head taller then she was.
"I'm surprised. I had no idea that you were in Koenma's debt."
"Not by choice. But I guess I do owe him, though Kami knows when I'll have my debt paid off." She ran her hand through her hair irritably, imagining herself as an old hag still serving under Koenma. She chuckled to herself at the thought.
Kurama didn't know what was so funny to her, but he wasn't bothered by it. He seldom saw her laugh and for a moment, he thought about how beautiful she was. When that thought passed through his head, he was shocked at first that he would think that, and then he shrugged it off. "Are you going home?" He asked, trying to cover up his earlier shock.
The white haired girls face immediately settled into a frown. "No. I only stayed at the orphanage so I could avoid Koenma searching for me. But since he's found me, I guess I'll just go..."
"Go where?" Kurama pressed.
For a moment, she said nothing, and Kurama was beginning to wonder if she did have a place to go. Then she looked up at him and flashed him a smile. "Don't worry, I'll find someplace." And with that said she ran off down the street, only turning briefly to wave goodbye.
As Kurama watched her go, something inside his heart tightened and he wondered why.
Over the next several days, no one had heard from Akira. Hiei could have cared less because now that he had taken her to Koenma, his job was over. His only interest in her now was how powerful she was. He did not want anyone telling him she was a Level-S demon; he wanted her to prove it.
Koenma was slightly worried because he thought she had run off without telling him again. However, this was nothing unusual, she had disappeared for much longer then this before, so he wasn't overly concerned.
Yusuke and the others were reasonably bothered. They all liked Akira and though they did not know her very well, they did not want to see anything bad happen to her. The people at the school she attended could have cared less. She was, after all, an orphan teenager that nobody wanted.
But after a week and still no word, a particular redhead was beginning to show his concern. He was always watching for her in school as well as out. He even tracked down Hiei a few times to ask if he had seen her.
Just as he was about to go and hunt her down after he got out of school, he felt her energy. He looked around frantically, and finally saw her sitting beneath a tree at the other end of the school.
"Akira!" He yelled once he finally ran up to her. "Where have you been!"
She smiled up at him. She had never seen him so...worried. "Places. You weren't worried, were you?"
The calmness in her voice took Kurama by surprise. "Yes. I thought you might be hurt."
Akira laughed and got up. "You're not far from the truth."
At his confused expression, she rolled up the right sleeve of her shirt, revealing several deep cuts. But that was just the beginning. Her other arm also sported some gashes, as well as her back. "What happened!" Kurama exclaimed, placing his hand gently beside a cut on her arm.
"Cat demon. Snuck up on me while I was trying to kill yet another demon. Damn thing nearly took my finger off. But I blasted him to dust," She added with just a hint of satisfaction.
Kurama smiled at her, but then told her to come with him to his home so he could treat her wounds. His mother was out with some friends and it would be late before she got home. The white-haired demon smiled and followed him.
"You took her to your house!"
"Yusuke, not so loud, please!" Kurama said. He had just told Yusuke and the others about Akira, but he had not expected such an outburst from Yusuke. "Where else was I supposed to take her?"
"You could've took her to Genkai's!"
"It was too far away and my home was close by." The redhead reasoned, giving up trying to make the spirit detective lower his voice. However, Yusuke was weighing the options in his head and he seemed to take Kurama's excuse. "What I can't understand is why she was fighting a cat demon. They are very easy to take down, once you figure out their fighting technique."
Kuwabara just looked confused. "But you said she was fightin' another demon, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"So she had most of her attention on it instead of the cat demon. What's the worry?"
Kurama looked dead serious for a moment. "What could draw the attention of an S-class demon that she didn't even notice a low D-class demon?"
And for that comment, Kuwabara had no words.
Over at the temple, Genkai came to the door when she heard someone knock. When she slid it open, she was not surprised to see Akira. She had been staying there for the past couple of weeks before she had disappeared, but now she seemed to have returned. "Had fun while you were gone?" She asked, standing aside to let her in.
"If you call hunting down demons fun."
"From the way you look, I'd say you found something to do." She said, looking at Akira's bandaged up body. Kurama had done a good job in treating her wounds. When she left, she merely said goodbye and kept on walking, making her way straight to the temple. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Akira walked farther inside and leaned against the wall, a grim expression on her face. "I thought you'd like to know that I found out where he's hiding."
In that moment, the look on Genkai's face changed from curiosity and was replaced by a hard stare. "Are you sure?" She asked, taking a step forward.
The white haired demon nodded. "I'm sure it's him. I've spent years looking for him, learning every detail about him. I know it's him."
"And just what do you plan to do when you find him?"
Akira's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to kill him."
Once Akira had healed from her wounds, she began training with Genkai. It was Yusuke, oddly enough, who had discovered that the training was taking place. The first person he had told was Kuwabara and he had gone and blabbed to Kurama. "I think she's got it in for somebody." Kuwabara stated with his arms crossed, as if his comment settled the matter.
"But why would she train to kill someone?" Kurama asked, although deep down he thought he knew why.
"Because there is someone who has hurt her and she is seeking revenge."
Everyone turned and Genkai was standing in the doorway, her hands behind her back. She had just finished training with Akira and was coming back into the temple to get something to drink. She had heard every word they had said. "So you guessed why she's been training with me?"
"We've come to believe that she is out to kill someone." Kurama said. "Is this true?"
The old woman nodded. "She's trained with me before, but this training is of a different sort. At first she was just a beginner, though she was better then many other beginners, about as good as Yusuke. Now I've taught her the finer points, so now she can get the revenge she deserves."
"Who's she after?" Yusuke asked as Genkai was leaving.
She stopped a moment, seeming to consider the question. But when she turned around, her face was set. "If you are her friends," Her gaze settled on Kurama for a moment, "then you will have to ask her yourself." With that said, she left.
Thus at a loss, the three men left one another, each with his own thoughts. Yusuke desired to know who it was she was after, but mostly he wanted to see how strong she was. Kuwabara shared that thought, as well. Kurama, on the other hand, did not want to know who it was or how powerful he might be. The one thing he really wanted to know was why. Why did she seek to kill someone? What had he done to her that made her feed revenge for so long? He wanted answers and when Kurama wanted something, most of the time he got it.
Unfortunately, asking Akira was proving to be harder said then done. After everyone heard what Genkai had said, they were all very eager to find her. Yusuke and Kuwabara turned the streets upside down, but they found no trace of her. Kuwabara couldn't even sense her spirit energy. Kurama did not search the streets, but went to Reikai to ask for Koenma's help.
"Why do you want to find her?" He asked, glancing at Kurama curiously.
For a moment, the redhead looked down at his shoes, wondering if he should tell Koenma what he knew or not; whether the prince knew or not, never entered Kurama's mind. "We're...just wondering where she is. She's been training with Genkai, but that was a week ago." He looked down and just barely got out, "We think she's out to kill someone."
Kurama waited for a reaction, anything, but he had not expected to hear what Koenma said next. "Well, I'm surprised. I would've expected you to find out sooner."
The redhead looked at the Reikai prince with wide green eyes. Had he heard Koenma right?
Koenma just shook his head. "Don't look all surprised. Did you not think that when I have someone working for me that I don't find out all I can about them?" He asked, looking at Kurama really seriously.
When Kurama said nothing, Koenma stood up on his desk and faced Kurama. "Akira has had a hard and tedious life. When she was born, the only person she had was her mother. Despite the fact that she was a Koorime, she was skilled in martial arts and many others as well. About seven years ago, Akira and her mother were attacked by a group of demons. Even though Akira had succeeded in reaching the S-class level of demons, her mother had no hope of reaching that level."
Kurama's eyes widened. "Her mother was killed?"
The prince nodded. "Yes. And ever since then Akira has been scouring the demon realm to find all of the demons that had attacked them. One of them was a B-class demon and he is living in the Ningenkai. Akira knows for a fact that he was the one that gave her mother the fatal blow."
"And now she's out to kill him." Kurama finished, running his hands through his hair.
Koenma watched as Kurama walked around the room. He knew the fox might have feelings for Akira, but there was still the fact that she listened to him above others and he might be able to talk sense into her. "Kurama, I trust Akira, but I do not trust her judgment in this matter. She's an S-class and he is B-class. A battle between them in the Ningenkai could mean disaster. You have to find her and this demon. If you have to take them to Makai to fight it out, then do it. But don't let it start in the Ningenkai."
As he saw the look in Koenma's eyes, Kurama could tell that this was deeply troubling to him. "I'll find her," he said and left the office.
While Kurama was in Reikai, Akira was standing on top of the school building, gazing down at the students coming out of the school. For hours she had stood there, wishing she could find the demon that had killed her mother. She knew he was there, but she just didn't know who he was. Just the thought of him made her face flush with anger.
He had killed her mother, the only person in her life that had meant something to her. When she found that demon, she was going to make him pay.
After she watched for a few more minutes, she picked up her sword. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Keiko standing in the door. "Akira! There you are!"
Perplexed, Akira walked towards her, slinging her sword over her shoulder. "Were you looking for me?"
"Not me, but the guys. Yusuke and the others have been turning the town upside down trying to find you."
Akira's eyes widened when her brain registered those words, but then a look of concern crossed her face. Even if the guys did know, she wouldn't let them get involved. Most likely they would try to stop her and now she had to think of a way to stop them. She didn't intend to kill them, but hurt them a little if she had to.
Keiko saw the look on her friends face and frowned. She didn't know the whole story, Yusuke had only told her so much, but she didn't want Akira to do something stupid. As the white haired demon prepared--- to run off, Keiko ran after her and caught her by the shoulder. "Akira! I don't know what's going on, but I think you need to find Yusuke."
"What for?" Akira snapped.
"Whoever it is you're after, it's not worth risking your life over."
"I'm not going to risk my life, I don't want Kur-" Akira stopped and cleared her throat, "I don't want the others to get hurt!"
And before Keiko could stop her, she was gone.
Needless to say, Keiko found Kuwabara, who told Yusuke, who found and told Kurama. They had no idea where she was, but Keiko said she had seen her head somewhere downtown. That added much to their relief; she was headed away from the city and all the people. But it still left the problem of finding her and getting her away from the demon that she planned to kill.
"Why not just let her kill him?" Kuwabara asked as they headed downtown. They had already searched the area around the high school where Keiko had seen her, but it had proved futile.
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Because, you baka, she might accidentally kill someone."
"Especially if she loses control," Kurama added, sticking his head down an alley to see if he would see her. "She is filled with revenge and rage. She won't care what happens as long as she kills him."
Kuwabara just shook his head and kept on walking. As he walked around the corner, he bumped into something, but when he looked down, he discovered it was someone. Hiei scowled at the large boy, still trying to find a reason deep inside as to why he didn't kill him. Kurama and Yusuke sighed as the two just glared at each other. "Come to help us out, Hiei?" He asked, trying to avoid what would have proved to be a gruesome fight.
"Hn. You need all the help you can get." When the guys didn't reply, he rolled his eyes. "Idiots! She's already found him! She's at a playground a few blocks away!"
Their eyes widened and they ran after the fire demon, fear in every step that they took.
When they reached the park, no one knew what they would see. Yusuke expected to find her beating the hell out of someone; Kuwabara also shared the thought. Of course, Hiei knew, but he didn't feel like telling everyone.
Reaching the monkey bars, the first person they saw was a very tall man. He had pale skin and black hair, and he was just standing there looking at Akira. She had a murderous look on her face, but it appeared that no damage had been done to either of them. The tall man turned when he heard their footsteps and smiled at them. "Well, well. It seems we have company." He turned his head back to Akira. "That was very rude of you, to invite them."
The white haired demon growled, "I didn't invite them. They were just leaving." She looked at each of them pointedly, as if to tell them with her eyes to get lost.
The black haired man looked from Akira to the guys, and though he couldn't know what was going on between all of them, he did know he could use it to his advantage. Without so much as a twitch, the man was able to produce slim but powerful bits of energy to appear before him and he aimed first at Hiei.
Now, aiming something at Hiei is like trying to strike air; more then likely you're going to miss. And the energy did miss him, but that didn't stop Hiei from trying to kill him. There was a flash of light as his sword flashed out of its sheath.
"Idiot!" Akira yelled, trying to intercept him.
But even Akira was not fast enough to stop Hiei when he was out to kill someone. The sword came down but it did not strike its target. He moved to the side just enough to miss the sword and he managed to grab Hiei by the scruff of his shirt and kicked him back towards the others.
Hiei managed to land nimbly on his feet, while Akira shot past him, heading straight towards the demon. He braced himself to meet her, but she slid right between his legs and spin kicked him on the neck.
The black haired demon hit the ground hard and his body slid until he collided with a merry-go-round.
"All right!" Kuwabara exclaimed, punching the air with his fist.
Akira didn't appear to hear him. She was breathing hard, not from the exertion, but from the fury that she was trying to contain in herself. She wanted to kill this demon, this thing that had killed her mother, the thing that had...
"On your feet, Tomo! We're not finished yet!"
At the sound of his name, Tomo jumped to his feet, a trail of blood coming out of his mouth and nose. "How do you know my name! You never knew it before!"
The white haired demon smiled. "I didn't waste the years after my mother's death for nothing," She said, standing tall before him, her power floating around her. "After what you did to her, and to me, I was not going to let you get away with it. You deserve death, or far worse if I can manage it."
The guys were stunned by her words. They had never heard her sound so cold. Yusuke and Kuwabara were wide-eyed, while Kurama's face remained impassive. Hiei, on the other hand, had a smirk on his face.
"Wait a minute." Kuwabara said, interrupting the tense silence. "She said that he did something to her. What did he do?"
"Dummy. He killed her mother, that's what." Yusuke said while rolling his eyes.
"No." Hiei said, taking a step forward and putting his sword away. "He killed her mother, but he must have done something else to her. Didn't you hear her? 'After what you did to my mother, and to me.' The only question is what."
They did not have time to wonder what Tomo had done to her, because the battle was starting to heat up. Akira's sword was out and she was swinging like a mad woman trying to strike Tomo, who was able to evade most of her killing strikes.
After about ten minutes and it appeared that Akira was not getting any closer to killing Tomo, the others decided it was time for them to step in. They fought like a well oiled machine; Kurama using his plants to trip Tomo and confuse him; Hiei circling around him with his sword at the ready, making sure that he didn't escape; Yusuke and Kuwabara were the brute force, using their energy to the best of their ability to try and bring Tomo down.
Deep down in herself, Akira was torn. She was touched that they were helping defeat this enemy she had chased for a little over seven years and yet, she was angry at the fact that they were going to take her revenge away. Even though she tried to keep the former thought in her mind, eventually her anger made her lash out. "Leave him to me! Can't you see you can't beat him!"
At those words, they all stopped; even Tomo, who looked rather smug, as if the comment was a compliment to his powers. Yusuke, however, was not to be deterred. "You weren't doing so hot yourself!" He shouted at her, dropping his guard. "You were just swinging your sword around until we stepped in!"
Hiei and Kurama stood off to the side, one watching Akira and the others, while the other stood guard and watched Tomo, who didn't move. The entire time he was smiling and for the life of him Kurama could not see why.
"Why can't we help you!" Kuwabara asked, beside himself with anger. "We know he killed your mother; we wanna help you get your vengeance."
"That is not something you can help me with," she spat back at him, once again withdrawing her sword and attempting to walk towards Tomo, but she stopped short when she realized that her enemy was laughing at her.
Hiei's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you laughing about?" He asked, his grip on his sword tightening.
The black haired demon managed to get his mirth under control long enough to gaze at them all, with his eyes landing last on Akira. "They don't know! All this time they've been fighting beside you and they didn't KNOW!"
Four pairs of eyes turned to Akira, whose face was bright red. Her eyes were downcast and Yusuke could have sworn he saw her shivering. He thought she was scared, but Hiei knew for a fact she was shivering in disgust. At herself.
"What do you mean?" Yusuke demanded, looking from Akira to Tomo. "What don't we know?"
Tomo stopped laughing, but merely chuckled as he took a few steps closer towards the group. Kurama, being foremost among them, stepped forward, ready to challenge Tomo.
The black haired demon locked eyes with Kurama, assessing something that the youko was not even aware of himself. It seemed they stared at each other forever, but finally, Tomo broke the silence, but not his gaze. Still staring at Kurama, now malevolently, he said, "Do you know that the woman you fight with allowed me to rape her on the field I killed her mother on?"
His words were like a bombshell. At first there was silence, a long, stunned silence. At first, Yusuke looked from Akira to Tomo, trying to tell himself that this had to be some kind of lie. But the smugness on the demon's face and the disgust on Akira's proved to him that it was, in fact, not a lie. His stunned and surprised expression turned to one of anger and disgust, but his disgust was aimed at the black haired demon in front of him, not Akira.
For Kuwabara, the words were like a slap in the face. He was always attuned to the way people felt, their emotions his way of interpreting the way he understood them. He blamed himself for not seeing it before, how obvious it should have been. His hands started to quiver and shine, his spirit sword slowly taking form.
Hiei's expression didn't change one iota. He'd suspected that was what had happened; he just couldn't understand why Akira had allowed it to happen.
And to Kurama was the hardest hit of all. Like Hiei, deep down he had suspected she had been shamed, but he hadn't wanted to believe it. But what hurt him most was that this man, this demon, had used a hurt person for his personal gain, a person that Kurama was starting to feel deeply for. Someone he might be able to love. As his rage grew, his hair began to turn white.
Tomo was beside himself with amusement. Not only had he made Akira relive her shame, but he now angered her dear, dear friends! The thought of it was overwhelming, enough to make any demon glow with pride. His happy moment was not long lasting. The one and only thing he had not counted on was the rise in power that he felt coming from these men. The black haired humans' powers were rising to unimaginable lengths; and he even thought he felt demon energy rising from him! The orange haired boy was shining in bright light, his hand containing a spirit sword that he had not imagined any living human or demon could make. The short one just looked at Tomo as if this was the hugest mistake that he had ever made, which Tomo now believed he had. The redhead, although it was now slowly giving way to silver, was barely able to contain the rage that was swelling up inside him. Tomo could feel it in the marrow of his bones. When he saw the fox ears and tail, he knew he had made a grievous error. That was Youko Kurama! He had heard about him and heard of his prowess in the Dark Tournament. The others must be the other spirit detectives he ran around with, one of them being an S-class demon of fine breeding.
With his attention on the guys, no one paid attention to Akira. Shame and guilt racked her soul. Guilt at the fact that she couldn't have saved her mother, and shame at herself because she had allowed him to have his way with her. Both feelings angered her and filled her with rage, turning into power. With her energy burning around her like fire, she strode towards Tomo.
The black haired demon was now visibly concerned about his well being now. In an attempt to save his own miserable hide, he decided to lie a little. "She actually presented herself to me, in order to spare her life!" He yelled, backing away from them slowly. "The little bitch had it coming to her!"
And with those words past his lips, something sharp grazed his face, leaving a long trail of blood. He looked aghast at Kurama, now fully into his youko form. The demon fox was glaring at him with his bright, yellow eyes. "You would be wise not to say that again. Not unless you desire a slow and painful death." His eyes narrowed and he cracked his whip to emphasize the threat.
With the four of them cornering him, he tried to find a chance to get away, but then again, he had forgotten about Akira. She stepped in front of the others, her power flowing around her like water. The only visible remains of her fight was cut at the top of her forehead, which left a long trail of blood through her, long, white hair. Glaring at Tomo, she said one word, "Die."
With that said, her power burst forth in all directions, shining so brightly the guys had to turn their heads. Tomo's arms came up to cover his face, a vain attempt to protect himself, but Akira's spirit energy was too much and he disintegrated in a few moments.
The others watched for a long while as her energy burned out; even though he was dead she let her power flow, as if she didn't want to feel it anymore. As the light vanished around her, Akira's shoulders slumped and she gazed at the others, tears streaming down her face.
"Are you ok?" Kuwabara asked, releasing the hold on his spirit sword.
"I...I think so..."
Hiei huffed. "I guess it's over then. You got what you wanted."
Akira gave him a puzzled look and her eyes rested on Kurama; now back in his human form. "Yes, it's done." And with that, she fainted.
It took four days for Akira to awaken; she had used all of her demonic and spiritual energy, and barely had any life energy left by the time her rage had left her. It was a miracle to them all that she was alive. They had taken her to Genkai's, and there they had Yukina heal her. The koorime had shared some of her life energy with her; it did not pain her to do so, but it did weaken her somewhat. But in the end, Yukina was fine and Akira was going to be all right, providing she woke up. On the third day, they had begun to worry, because her body was suffused with fever. Upon request, Hiei used his Jagan Eye to look into her mind, and he said she was plagued by nightmares; when her mother had been killed before her eyes and the rape she had gone through, not to mention years of hating herself and combing the demon and human world to find the demon that had caused her so much pain and self humiliation.
Genkai then decided that they needed to show her that everything was going to be all right, so they performed a mind link between them all. Genkai had both her hands pressed to Akira's temples, with Yusuke's hand on her left shoulder, Kurama's on her right. Behind Yusuke, Kuwabara had his hand on his friends' shoulder, with Hiei's on Kurama's. Together, they sent forth their memories of the battle, how she had defeated the demon and how proud they were of her that she was able to right the wrong done to her. Even as they did it, Akira's face softened and her fever slowly left her.
The next day, Yukina went to check on her, only to find her sitting up and crying. "Akira, what is wrong?" Yukina asked, worried that her patient and friend was feeling pain. But when Akira raised her head, she was indeed crying, but she was also smiling. It seemed she was happy that her vendetta was finally over and she could start a new life, living the way she had always dreamed of.
The others all came to visit her after they discovered that she was awake, but Kurama was the last to do so, having to take care of some things that concerned his family. When he arrived at the temple, Genkai was in the garden with Yukina, watching the koorime plant her flowers. Kurama greeted them and asked if Akira was awake. Genkai shrugged her shoulders. "She is awake," Yukina said, "But I don't think she's in her room."
Kurama's eyes widened. "Should she be up? She is still weak!"
"She should, but she does not listen." Yukina said. "She does not like staying in bed all day. She is probably walking around the forest; she might even be at the lake."
Kurama nodded his thanks for the information and made haste inside the temple. He checked inside her room and she was indeed not in her bed, so he cut through the back door and started walking into the forest. Genkai's forest, Kurama thought, was one of the most peaceful places to be, he thought. True, his home was a wonderful place to be, but with his little brother and his parents, it wasn't always peaceful. But here, this was peaceful. He had gone deep into the forest before, when he had fought with his old memories of Kuronue, when he had thought his friend was still alive, only to discover it had been a vicious trick. He defeated the demon that had worn the face of his friend and after the battle was over he had come back to the lake again, to try and let his old memories rest. He never thought to come back.
As he neared the clearing, he heard a splash and a flock of birds flew off. As he gazed at the lake, he saw a form swimming under the water. At first he felt a little embarrassed that he found Akira out here when she obviously wanted to be alone, but there was something he had to know. He remembered the look in her eyes when she had fought with the demon that had killed her mother. It was a soft look, not a look a friend would give you. He had also felt something when they had done that mind link with her. It was a strong sensation, it made him feel complete.
She broke the surface near the center of the lake, and when she looked up she saw him. Even from the shore, he could see how red her face was. For a moment they just stared at each other, but she seemed to come to her senses and she headed towards the shore where he stood. When she came close, Kurama noticed the towel that was lying next to the white robe on the ground. He picked it up and turned his head as she walked out to take it. "You are such a gentleman. Some men would have liked to find a naked woman."
Kurama chuckled. "I, fortunately, am not like most men. And if you want to be critical about it, I am not technically a man."
That sent Akira into peals of laughter. "True! Too true!" She walked out of the water with the towel wrapped around her. He held out his hand to help her and it seemed he did it just in time, for her knees decided to give out on her.
He caught her around the waist and picked her up as easily as if she were a sack of potatoes. When she looked up at him, her face was white as a sheet. "I'm sorry; I guess I'm not as well as I thought I was."
"It's all right; at least I was here to catch you." He said, leaning her against a thick tree. As she settled herself, Kurama went back for her robe and brought it to her. "Do you feel better now, Akira? Do you need to go back to the temple?"
Adamantly, she shook her head. "No, I'll be all right. I just need to sit here for a while."
Kurama sat down beside her and watched her, to prove to himself that she was going to be all right. When he was convinced, he smiled and asked, "Why did you come out here?"
Akira looked at him and shrugged. "I needed to be alone; and lying in that bed was making my butt ache."
The comment caused Kurama to bust out laughing. "I guess you're right. And I'm sorry that I haven't been able to come and see you until now."
Akira didn't say anything at first, but just stared at him, the look in her eyes unreadable. Her blue eyes bored deeply into his, and he wondered briefly what it was that she was looking for. It seemed as if she stared at him for hours, but eventually she blinked and said, "I have seen you."
Perplexed, he asked, "How? When did you see me?"
Akira closed her eyes and apparently brought the memory to her mind to describe it to him. "While I was out. Even though my body was asleep, my mind was still working and I could hear your voice. I remember when you all did that mind link with me. I was touched by how much you all cared for me." When she looked at him again, there were tears in her eyes. "Kurama, I thought no one in the world cared about me, I thought no one could. But you guys showed me that it wasn't true."
She couldn't go on for a moment because her tears had overcome her. She was crying so hard that she was shaking, so Kurama put his arm around her shoulder and let her lean against him. They stayed that way for several minutes, Kurama sitting up strongly while she leaned against him in her weakened state and shed away the final remnants of her anguish. When she did finally stop, they still sat together. When she did not stir, the redhead thought she might have fallen asleep and upon looking at her face he found that he was correct. Very carefully, he picked her up in his arms and slowly made his way back to the temple.
Just when they were about to exit the forest, he stopped and found that she was looking up at him, and she said barely above a whisper, "Kurama, you gave me a reason to live."
The youko was taken aback at first, but then he smiled down at her. "I am glad, Akira. You are very welcome."
Very slowly, she pulled his head down and softly kissed his cheek. His face turned as red as his hair, but regained his composure and continued on into the temple.
Genkai and Yukina said nothing as they saw the two emerge from the forest, but they did smile at each other and then continued on with their work.