Warning: Crossover with YYH.
For MZephyr, you inspired me. Don't get a big head!
Hiding Underneath
Chapter One: Scared of Love
I guess you can say that I've always been afraid. Ever since my mom dad; I've just been all sorts of scared. I didn't want to feel that way again, and came pretty close to achieving that end.
I closed myself off, and buried myself in all the anger I could feel. Then I met someone who changed that.
Well, actually; I met a couple of people.
I was turning fourteen years old, and it was one of those days that my classmates decided I was better off being considered a boy rather than a girl. Despite how I acted nicely, they considered me a guy and some guys did not take the fact that I could kick their butts better than they could kick mine.
As Yoda once said, fear leads to anger.
And so, I was overcome with the worst feeling of rage I could feel and drew a demon's presence to where I was. That's right, a demon. A youkai.
This wasn't one of those things I actually read about in manga or watched on TV. This was an honest to Kami-sama, rancid-breath, butt-ugly creature who would have eaten me whole if not for my self-preservation instincts. (Jedi-like instincts, instead of Sith-like.)
My anger had turned back into fear; but with that fear came the need to survive. And so, my aura, which had been red - turned into a royal blue color which I instinctively utilized to conjure a mallet and pounded the beast into nothingness.
After it was done, I ran as far as I could and into the park. I climbed up a tree that I had known would provide me sanctuary.
About half an hour later, I met Yusuke Urameshi and his... merry band of demon-butt kicking friends.
He was fourteen then, a couple of months older than me. What a guy. And if it weren't for Keiko, his girlfriend and one of my best friends, I would have had fallen in love with him then.
As it were, I had a crush on him; until he realized it and told me that as much as he was flattered about my feelings for him - there will be someone else who would be my soul mate. "Besides, I love Keiko." He had said with that adorable grin of his. "Love her so much, that I always propose to her. I wonder when she'll take me seriously on that."
Brushing off the embarrassment I felt, and perhaps the feeling of rejection, I had told him, "Maybe when you grow up, baka!"
I am missing my point. At the time of our meeting, he had four other companions; a funny but brash older-looking guy named Kuwabara (we'd call him by his first name, Kazuma - but it's just too weird). He's our age, give or take a month or two. He's also the powerhouse of our group with an incredible sixth sense.
But here's the kicker. Two of his companions were demons and the last was one of the grim reapers of the world. I know, unbelievable right?
There was Kurama, (although we called him Shuichi or Minamino in front of people other than our little group) a more-than-a-thousand year old fox demon. Hiei, a fire-and-ice youkai with an interesting past. And finally, there was Botan; she turned out to be Yusuke's spirit guide.
Kurama was the one who got me interested in Star Wars; he is the wisest out of all of us. He'd better be - he's older than us all combined! (Besides Botan, he says.)
Hiei and I hit it off. We both had no patience for idiots and had an emotional defensive wall the size of the Great Wall of China. Don't get me wrong, it's not like we were in love. But I guess you could say, he is like the older brother I never had but always wanted... that I needed. Actually, the guys all were. Brothers, I mean. And Botan had turned into another best friend of mine.
I went with them to Master Genkai's Temple, where I had learned to harness spirit energy, chakra, aura attacks, chi and ki. I wasn't like Yusuke, I had no destiny to fight off denizens of the Demon Realm - although I had some experience. I didn't need spirit energy as much as he did; although mine had grown exponentially through all of Genkai-sensei's, and the others' tutelage and some adventures.
Gee... maybe I should tell a little bit about my friends away from Nerima.
Yusuke died a couple of months before I met him. Yes, that's right - he actually kicked the bucket. But due to his unexpected death - he was given a second chance at life with a price. He had to be the Spirit World's avatar. Botan was the grim reaper who was sent for him. He became the earth's sole Spirit Detective. The Rekkai Tantei.
Kuawabara is his oldest childhood friend. A rival, a friend and a brother - they loved each other so much that if they just thought about it; they could adopt one another!
Together those three met Kurama and Hiei.
Apparently, I met them all a couple of days after they all declared a truce - for Hiei and Kurama were wanted for crimes they had committed as demons. And Yusuke and Kuwabara were acting as cops, hunting them down here on earth. I wouldn't have known they were once enemies - they had such great camaraderie; one I had been immediately welcomed into.
Shizuru; Kuwabara's older sister, Atsuko; Yusuke's mom, Koenma; our boss, Keiko, and Yukina; Hiei's sister were a couple of others I eventually met and got close to because of these four. Although, Yukina and Kuwabara were the only ones who don't know she and Hiei were related.
So I trained with them all for a couple of months; Genkai had come to the Tendo Dojo and spoke with my father under the guise of a wayward training master who had taken a liking to me. And since Nabiki's underhand dealings had started then, Botan used a Spirit Spell that constantly manipulates her memory whenever she sees any of us together to fit into any situation. Kasumi, was the only one who knew the entire truth.
I even trained alongside Yusuke in his prepartion for the Dark Tournament. Although, I had to admit that Genkai had asked me to meditate more often than I would have liked. She had been teaching me the basics of Reiko Hado Ken. Of course, I kept my self study of Tendo Ryu up with it. Basically, I was learning two styles at the same time.
I wish I could have gone to the Dark Tournament, but that wasn't meant to be. But I heard about everything that happened during it a couple of weeks after they came back over the phone.
It was after the call that I first encountered the dangers Yusuke and the gang had to face at a timely basis.
I decided to visit the gang in Nagoya during a three-day weekend from school because I wanted to catch up with them personally. What did I get for my pains? A bunch of spirit bullets nearly hitting me.
Later I learned that this head case, Sensui, decided to pull a Hitler except on a more massive scale of genocide.
That's when I had drawn upon both my learnt lessons in Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū and Reikō Hadō Ken and battled the bullets with my own. Yusuke apologized for acting like the rabbit in Alice and Wonderland but he had another crisis to handle but shouted for me to help at Moriyama Hospital.
Before I could go, I was warned by Kitana, another grim reaper (the one who was eventually assigned to me
as my Spirit Guide), that I had better go back to Nerima and protect it with my abilities as the sole Spirit Avatar there. They had dispatched other Spirit World avatars in other parts of Japan.
We won, at a price. Yusuke died again. But this time, he awoke with his demon inheritance.
Apparently, his ancestor was one of the three Top Dogs in Demon World and was dying - and he had to journey off to fight off those fools who decided to question the Makai Ruling System. Of course, it was a little bit more complicated than that, but what can be done now? Kurama and Hiei went with him, I think.
The truth is, the barrier that stands between the Makai, and the Ningenkai? It was in jeopardy. Yup, another apocalypse was in our hands.
It was during this that Koenma decided to bestow me the honor of becoming the earth's spirit detective in Yusuke's stead while he was away. After all, even if he died again; he still came back!
I continued my training under Genkai-sensei, and a former spirit detective, Kuroko Sanada. Well she's married now, but her little kids insist that the last name I call her is her maiden name. I've taken to calling her Kuroko-sensei to avoid disrespecting her husband, and appeasing her kids's wishes.
Nerima became the hot spot for D Class apparitions during my training. Apparently, all of Koenma's detectives (What? Did you really think King Enma will not send earth defenders to other places to defend humans from demons, too?) - anyway, Koenma's detectives draw thrice the amount of apparitions that his father's detectives do. In essence, there's only one spirit detective - the one chosen by Koenma.
I dealt with these apparitions nearly every day. A couple of B Class apparitions even possessed Kuno and his sister; made them more barmy than usual after I was done dealing with them. The possession was the reason why Kuno had went completely overboard with the whole Date Akane Campaign thing and Kodachi had hated me ever since.
It was pretty ironic how I have to keep saving these two by beating them up.
Then my dad had to make the announcement a couple of months after I took up the mantle as the Rekkai Tantei. I was to be engaged to Ranma. And you know what happened when we met.
Botan misfired her Mind Bending Spirit Spell, and we all received it. She had just cured me and Kasumi off of the spell that night, but the damage was done. (Nabiki and my dad weren't affected for they had one already) Ranma knew me to be an uncute, macho-chick with thighs so thick, built like a brick. So, I kept acting like it - going along with what I had acted as.
Yeah, you know it wasn't pretty.
I had to pretend I was in love with Doctor Tofu, had to pretend I didn't know Ryoga's curse; which is kinda stupid, if you ask me. Although, it was kinda hard, I had to tone down a lot of my abilities. Besides, I developed a technique that no one else had.
I had learned how astral projection worked.
Many people think that you have to be unconscious for this to work. But, I had harnessed control of my mind in a span of weeks that I able to live two lives. Of course, in that couple of weeks I had to work on strengthening my astral body so that it was like the real thing.
That body lived in Nerima, with half of my power, and skills. I didn't train my astral body in any spirit techniques so it wouldn't exude much spirit energy. No apparitions went after it. (Besides, with the Nerima Wrecking Crew there, did you really expect they would stay there?) It was the one that had no patience to cook, no real weight to swim, had less maturity, had less understanding and became ill-tempered with her fiance so quickly. She remained a shell of Akane Tendo. However, she was able to sympathize with Ranma's tortured spirit; being a spiritual being she was able to control Ranma in Nekoken. If I had been there, I could have cured Ranma of his curses... but I believed that he had some lessons to learn.
As Akane Yukimura, I attended Serei High School as Keiko's adopted sister. I kept training with both Genkai-sensei and Kuroko-sensei this way.
Yukina took my last name and attended the school with us, as well - and the three of us, with my spirit guide, Kitana looked after Nagoya in Yusuke's stead.
It was a wonder, that Kuawabara got accepted into Nanzen Boys High... but we were all proud of him. He concentrated in his studies after Yukina had expressed her approval of high-achieving people. But the poor guy still hasn't proposed to her, and she didn't really understand her feelings for him.
Kurama eventually came back, and explained that Hiei had gotten a job in the Makai. He had no news of Yusuke except about his idea and participation in the Demon World Tournament.
Keiko had explained to me before he left for the Makai that Yusuke had told her he'd be back in three years. "To be honest I don't know what to think. But, I believe that he will come back to me."
And he did. Good thing he did come back in time, too... because she had gotten tired of waiting.
I was still waiting for Ranma to grow up. Akane Tendo was not being treated well, and it showed. Okay, granted she wasn't treating him well either. But at least she was trying. Okay, maybe Ranma kept saving her; but would it kill him to be honest of his feelings?
Actually, bit by bit I had to feed my astral body a lot more energy at times, especially when Shampoo showed up with her Forgetfulness Shampoo. I could have killed her for doing that.
And Ryoga as well, for cutting my hair.
Cologne sensed who I was when she came to town, and I had paid her a visit telling her that she must train Ranma in my stead. And she did.
It was a good and bad thing she did or else we'd all have been screwed when Happosai showed up. Although, to be fair... Happosai was possessed by a demon as well. But he prevented Ranma from completely being trustful of Cologne's underhanded training. Because my real body was away, she didn't think I would be a problem in getting Ranma to come back with them to China. She was training him in Amazon techniques she knew she could counter easily.
I guess, Yusuke was right. I would meet my soul mate. I love Ranma Saotome. I just need for him to realize how he feels about me.
"Want me to beat the crap out of him for you?" Kuwabara and Yusuke offered, when I told them about the reversal jewel.
I shook my head, "He already lost so many brain cells as a child. I don't need for him to lose any more."
But then Jusendo happened.
I... don't know what exactly happened... but I guess living two lives in completely separate bodies would eventually give me more abilities. I learned how to teleport myself and merge with my astral body - which was in China.
I should have probably mentioned that my astral body and my real body do not share the same knowledge when we're apart. We learn about each other's day after a night's sleep.
An onslaught of memories assaulted me, but I got the gist of it. I needed to get Ranma away from the water; and I did.
I got turned into a doll. But that didn't stop me from helping Ranma. Instead of surrendering into the power; I fought on - although my mind was weakened from how I've maintained astral projection for nearly two years.
Eventually, even my love for him couldn't overcome my exhaustion and I finally gave in.
It felt weird being in a limbo, and I knew that I died, from the way I was floating above my body. I wanted to say good-bye to my real friends in Nagoya - and didn't want to watch my rivals claim their victory. They've wanted me dead for a long time, I saw no reason to stay there... even Ranma wasn't reason enough.
I could pass away in peace, knowing I loved Ranma with my entire being and I died for him. To save him, and let him live longer. And that he loved me that he had killed for me.
I teleported to Genkai's temple, where Genkai sensed me, Yukina (as an apparition) could see me and Yusuke violently got up from where he laid on Keiko's lap. She merely observed, knowing that she learns a lot more when she just waits and listens.
"Alright, who's the bastard I'm going to go after?" Fury blazed in his eyes after seeing my ghost form.
I beamed, even if a little miserably. "You don't need to. Ranma killed him."
"Who was he?"
I turned around and saw Hiei blaze with black dragon fire in his aura.
"I don't trust a ningen like that one you call your intended to get the job done well."
Kurama nodded, "I'm afraid I agree with Hiei, in this case."
"Yeah!" Kuwabara said, huffing and puffing as he burst through the doors of Genkai-sensei's sitting room. "As
much as it pains me, I agree with what the midget said!"
Hiei ignored this.
I knew I had to tell them now. "Saffron."
They all looked at each other save for Kuwabara. "The Phoenix King?"
I nodded.
"I'm still unimpressed." Hiei said, a swirl of black fire consumed him and he disappeared.
Kurama hmmed before taking a seat in front of the tea table, and pouring himself a cup.
Kuwabara looked understandably confused.
Yusuke clenched and unclenched his fists.
In their silence, I heard it.
"Akane, I have some thing to tell you. You... you gotta wake up!"
I felt the voice pull me away, and realized I started fading from Genkai-sensei's temple. This alarmed every one in the room.
Ranma said, "I love you." Then he screamed.
"AKANEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
"I have to go back to China." I told them before I disappeared back into my body, and into the arms of the one I loved.
It was too bad that he was scared of love.