Warnings: Angust, dark, slight shonen-ai pairings.
Kurama walked home from school, adjusting the shoulder strap on his case. His sensitive ears picked up the sound of a small child crying softly, and he looked around him. There was no one else on the street, he was alone. He shrugged, and continued to walk forward. Although he did not see anyone else around him, he heard the pitter-patter of small footsteps. Maybe, he thought, my ears are a little more sensitive then I took them for, and I am hearing the kids at the playground. Even as he thought the words, he knew how ridiculous it sounded. He knew how his ears worked, and he knew his hearing range. If he didn't know any of that...he probably wouldn't be standing there anyway. He picked up his pace, but still listening. He could still hear the footsteps behind him, but they never advanced forward, nor did they slow down; they just kept the same distance. He sniffed the air, hoping to come up with a scent, but all he smelled and tasted was autum on the air. He walked into his house, and saw that Shiori was still at work, as was his stepfather. Shuiichi was probably at a friends house [a/n Shuiichi is Kurama's younger step brother. Don't ask me why they have the same name]. He proceeded up to his room, to work on his homework, and all the same, the footsteps never left his hearing range. He finally faced behind him.
"I cannot see or smell you, but I can hear you. Show yourself." He commanded. There was a flicker, like seeing someone from a distance though heat waves. He saw a small child, about five years old, with dark colored hair, a darkish blue like Shiori's. He stood, holding a teddybear in one arm, but as soon as Kurama saw him, he was gone. What? He thought, was that supposed to be a zashiki warashi? [a/n a zashiki warashi is an omen of good luck, usually in the form of a small child in a kimono]. He shook his head, while he didn't exactly believe in zashiki warashi's, he did note however, that the child had an air of demon aura around him, but it had fadded away so fast, Kurama hadn't been able to detect if it was a good youkai or not. He shrugged, and listened. Whatever it was, it seemed to have gone, because he didn't hear anything anymore, nor did he sense anything. He sat down at his desk, and continued to work, until he fell asleep at his desk. He woke up to his mother shaking him gently.
"Shuichi," She said, "Dinners done. Will you be joining us? Or are you still sleepy?" She asked.
"I'll be down in a second, alright?" He said, and she smiled and shook her head, and went downstairs. Kurama hastily put his books away and hurried downstairs. Had he not been in such of a hurry, he may've noticed the impression in his bed, like someone was sitting atop it.
Shiori pulled the pot off the burner, setting it on the table.
"Hey, mom, where's Shuiichi?" Kurama asked.
"Hes staying at one of his friends house tonight, dear, and your step-father is working late tonight, so its just me and you." She said, "I made oden for tonight."
"That sounds great," Kurama said, getting chopsticks for him and his mother. She reached overtop the burned to get some glasses, and suddenly the burner flaired, and she shreiked. Kurama jumped up, and turned off the burner, and getting a cold wet washrag and wrapping it around her arm. For a second, he saw a boy sitting ontop of the stove. It was the same boy he'd seen upstairs, only this time he wasn't five, he was about ten. He had a grin on his face, a happy one. But it wasn't the grin of an innocent ten year old boy.
"I must've forgotten to turn the burner off, did you get burned too, Shuichi?" She asked, and Kurama shook his head slowly. After dinner, Kurama went back up to his room, and began typing on his computer. He noticed out of the cornor of his eyes, someone standing on the balcony of his window. His grip tightened on the mouse, and he focased his spirit energy. There was a soft rapping, and he relaxed his grip, getting up to let him in. It was only Urameshi Yuusuke.
"Urameshi-kun, you really shouldn't be here, you know. Your mother will kill you."
"I can't help it Kurama, I've kinda been kicked outta my house for the moment."
"What? Kicked out?"
"Yeah, mom has a boyfriend over, and her room is directly next to mine...it gets kinda loud over there." Yuusuke explained, grinning. Kurama smiled;
"I see...why did you come here, though? Its a little farther away to walk...you coulda just stayed at Kuwabara's." Yuusuke pretended to look hurt.
"You don't want me over?" He asked, looking like a little lost puppy dog. Kurama laughed, and ran his fingers though his hair.
"You can stay, but as soon as you hear my mom coming up the stairs, you'd better jetpack-it to the closet." He warned.
"Why? Your mom knows me."
"Would you rather explain to her why you couldn't use the front door like a normal person...?"
"What do I say if she catches me up here anyway?" Yuusuke asked.
"I dunno, you think of something."
"I'll say that her son was giving me passes and I came to take him up." Yuusuke joked, and Kurama threw a pillow at Yuusuke.
"Yuusuke Urameshi, if you tell her that, she'll have a heart attack, and you know thats not true." Kurama said, although secretly he was pleased. He heard a slight giggling from the other side of the room, and he turned sharply, but once again, found no one.
"Is your brother in the closet or something?" Yuusuke asked. Kurama opened his closet, and Yuusuke peered around him.
"Oh my god!" Yuusuke exclaimed, causing Kurama to jump, "This is the cleanest closet I have ever seen! Whats your secret?" Kurama said nothing, but started going though his things.He found a teddybear.
"Thats strange..." He muttered.
"I'll say," Yuusuke said, "I don't have my teddybears anymore. What do you do, collect them?"
"No..." Kurama said slowly, "I never had a bear like this. This isn't mine."
"Shuiichi's?" Yuusuke suggested, and Kurama shook his head.
"No, Shuiichi doesn't have any bears either." Yuuske threw his arms up,
"Well, I'm all outta suggestions. Why is it so important, anyway?"
"Because I keep seeing a little kid around my house, and at first I thought it might of been a zashiki warashi, but its not because it burned my mom." Kurama explained. Yuusuke sat down and thought.
"Maybe its a demon following you. They can take diffrent forms, can't they?"
"H-hah...amusing." Said a voice. Both Yuusuke and Kurama jumped, and scanned the room. A boy stood there, only this time, he was a teenager, about fifteen or sixteen. Only this time he didn't fade, he stood there, clear as day, his arms crossed, smiling triumphantly at Kurama an Yuusuke.
"Who the hell are you?" Yuusuke demanded. The boy stared blankly at them, and then he started at his own hands.
"I...am...Shuichi." He said slowly, like he was reminding himself.
"Who?" Kurama asked. He'd a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomache, he knew whatever this kid had to say, he wasn't going to like it.
"Don't you...know me? Kurama?" He asked, "I...am...Shuichi M-Minamino."
"What?" Kurama and Yuusuke asked at the same time.
"The child that Kurama impersonated...he is me. I am Shuichi. He killed me t-that day." He said.
"Right. Then how the hell did you get here, and how do you know his real name?" Yuusuke asked.
"And can you prove this accusation?" Kurama asked.
"The rekai...there are cracks in the barrier. I assumed the shape I would've been born as, and escaped. I know everything you've ever done, and I know your personality because Koenma doesn't put gaurds on said files. Proof, you ask? What right do you have to ask for proof when it was you who killed me?" He said. Kurama paled, a little bit, then regained color.
"If you are who you say you are, then why did you hurt Shiori. Wouldn't she be your mother?" Kurama asked. Shuichi grined;
"I'm glad you asked." He said, and the entire room was swept into darkness. Yuusuke gasped, not use to the pressure being put on his body. He felt like thousands of pounds had been put ontop of him. Suddenly, the weight lifted, and he saw Kurama standing infront of his, holding his hand out, creating a barrier.
"Really, Kurama, I didn't expect you to be protecting a human." Shuichi sneered.
"The hell with you," Kurama said, "You really shouldn't be talking, should you? It doesn't matter weither your a ghost, you're still human."
"But thats where you are wrong." Shuichi said, "I am not ningen after all, I would've been born 100% demon."
"How can you do that?!" Yuusuke asked, "Both your mother and your father were human...I assume." He said, glancing up at Kurama who nodded.
"Do you know what a cellular mutation is, Kurama?" Shuichi asked;
"Yeah...its when a cell mutates, and becomes anything, such as cancer, or it can disfigure your skin." Kurama replied [a/n OHMIGOD. I LEARNED SOMETHING FROM MY DREADFULL SCIENCE TEACHER...].
"Correct. I didn't expect any less from you. So lets say I had a cellular mutation, but of a diffrent kind. As you know, all humans and demons are born with spirit power, but only a lucky few, human and demon, can manifest it. When you are born, you are born with spiritual energy, youki. Now, with the cellular mutation. My cells mutated, and contain the simillar DNA of a demon. Demon DNA and human DNA are fundalmentlly diffrent. When I had a cellular mutation, my DNA changed with my cells. To put it in laymans terms, this isn't my real form. This is the form I would have assumed while being born. Slowly, as the cells each mutated, my truest form would begin to emerage, and I wouldn't have to live in the ningen would, I could go to the makai. Of course, I would have to kill the women from whom I was weaned, but it made very little diffrence to me. Just a simple pathetic life, that might affect the people around it, but not to the world." Shuichi laughed. Kurama clenched his fists, and Yuusuke noticed he was trembling a bit.
"But just think, Kurama. If you hadn't been born, at least she wouldn't of had to listen to lies from you all her life. She would've gone out early, painless, without having to deal with the suffering and lies of this world. She wouldn't have to pain herself with you." He grined. Yuusuke noticed that Kurama's head was done, and that there was a tear running down his face. Yuusuke felt the anger build up in him.
"God, its a good thing Kurama took your place." He said loudly. Both Shuichi and Kurama looked at him. "Kurama is Shiori's real son, because she loves him, and he loves her. He tries to please her and make her happy. All you wanted to was kill her for power. Right?" He added, looking to Kurama. Kurama smiled and shook his head.
"Say what you will, Urameshi Yuusuke. But it doesn't change the fact that he killed me for his own sake. He cannot admit to be innocent to her either. As a matter of fact, I do believe that he was going to leave her, hai? Don't you think that a women losing her child is enough to kill her? Maybe we should ask her, and let her know everything. I am substance, after all." He threatened. Yusuke stood up, and stood next to Kurama, who was still holding the barrier.
"Yuusuke, when I push you, I want you to go forward. Don't stop, and don't look back." Kurama warned.
"What? Why?" Yuusuke puzzled.
"Because I can't hold this up forever, and you can't survive here, you saw what it did to you."
"No way am I leaving. I can take it."
"Yuusuke..." Kurama began, but was cut off sharply when the barrier he was holding began to spark. They saw Shuichi on the other side, with his hand outstreached, and the golden glow of Kurama's barrier turned to a firey red. Kurama gasped in pain, but continued to hold the barrier.
"Yuusuke! I'm serious! You have to GO!" Kurama said, pushing him forward with his one hand. Yuusuke stumbled, and fell into darkness. He realized that Kurama had most likely pushed him into a demention which lead either back to the world, or back to his room. He stopped moving forward, and turned around. He thinks he can get rid of me that easily? He thought to himself, and walked back, until he fell though and landed on his knees. He realized that was a pretty stupid move to do, because as soon as he hit the ground, he felt the pressure on him again.
"Erg...that wasn't bright." He said aloud, gritting his teeth. A shadow fell over him, and he looked up and saw Shuichi, standing over him grinning.
"You stupid human," He said, "He gave you the chance to live, and you wasted it. Oh well, I guess you can join him."
"W-Where the hell is Kurama?!" Yuusuke demanded. Shuichi laughed and pointed to the right, and Yuusuke saw Kurama laying on the ground, motionless.
"He was foolish also. He said he would give up if I let you live. No sense in letting you live if you came back on your own, now, is there?" He said, laughing manically. Suddenly, he pitched forward, and Yuusuke rolled out of his way. He saw Kurama standing where Shuichi had been standing, his hands on his knees, panting.
"Ah, I knew you would probably come back." Kurama said, winking. Yuusuke sighed, and tried to stand up. Kurama opened his hands to create a barrier, but Yuusuke pulled his hand down.
"I can do it." He said, huffing as he stood. Kurama laughed and extended a hand, but a blast of ki rang threw, forcing the two back. Shuichi stood, glowing with demon youki. His expression was pure madness, and his eyes were glowing a soft blue colour.
"I hope you have finished your goody byes, because I'm going to kill both of you." He said, advaning forward. Dammit, Yuusuke thought, I can hardly fight in this condition...
"Correct, Urameshi-kun," Shuichi said, reading Yuusuke's thoughts, "This world is a strain on anyone who doesn't have full bearings of their spiritual energy."
Kurama walked home from school, adjusting the shoulder strap on his case. His sensitive ears picked up the sound of a small child crying softly, and he looked around him. There was no one else on the street, he was alone. He shrugged, and continued to walk forward. Although he did not see anyone else around him, he heard the pitter-patter of small footsteps. Maybe, he thought, my ears are a little more sensitive then I took them for, and I am hearing the kids at the playground. Even as he thought the words, he knew how ridiculous it sounded. He knew how his ears worked, and he knew his hearing range. If he didn't know any of that...he probably wouldn't be standing there anyway. He picked up his pace, but still listening. He could still hear the footsteps behind him, but they never advanced forward, nor did they slow down; they just kept the same distance. He sniffed the air, hoping to come up with a scent, but all he smelled and tasted was autum on the air. He walked into his house, and saw that Shiori was still at work, as was his stepfather. Shuiichi was probably at a friends house [a/n Shuiichi is Kurama's younger step brother. Don't ask me why they have the same name]. He proceeded up to his room, to work on his homework, and all the same, the footsteps never left his hearing range. He finally faced behind him.
"I cannot see or smell you, but I can hear you. Show yourself." He commanded. There was a flicker, like seeing someone from a distance though heat waves. He saw a small child, about five years old, with dark colored hair, a darkish blue like Shiori's. He stood, holding a teddybear in one arm, but as soon as Kurama saw him, he was gone. What? He thought, was that supposed to be a zashiki warashi? [a/n a zashiki warashi is an omen of good luck, usually in the form of a small child in a kimono]. He shook his head, while he didn't exactly believe in zashiki warashi's, he did note however, that the child had an air of demon aura around him, but it had fadded away so fast, Kurama hadn't been able to detect if it was a good youkai or not. He shrugged, and listened. Whatever it was, it seemed to have gone, because he didn't hear anything anymore, nor did he sense anything. He sat down at his desk, and continued to work, until he fell asleep at his desk. He woke up to his mother shaking him gently.
"Shuichi," She said, "Dinners done. Will you be joining us? Or are you still sleepy?" She asked.
"I'll be down in a second, alright?" He said, and she smiled and shook her head, and went downstairs. Kurama hastily put his books away and hurried downstairs. Had he not been in such of a hurry, he may've noticed the impression in his bed, like someone was sitting atop it.
Shiori pulled the pot off the burner, setting it on the table.
"Hey, mom, where's Shuiichi?" Kurama asked.
"Hes staying at one of his friends house tonight, dear, and your step-father is working late tonight, so its just me and you." She said, "I made oden for tonight."
"That sounds great," Kurama said, getting chopsticks for him and his mother. She reached overtop the burned to get some glasses, and suddenly the burner flaired, and she shreiked. Kurama jumped up, and turned off the burner, and getting a cold wet washrag and wrapping it around her arm. For a second, he saw a boy sitting ontop of the stove. It was the same boy he'd seen upstairs, only this time he wasn't five, he was about ten. He had a grin on his face, a happy one. But it wasn't the grin of an innocent ten year old boy.
"I must've forgotten to turn the burner off, did you get burned too, Shuichi?" She asked, and Kurama shook his head slowly. After dinner, Kurama went back up to his room, and began typing on his computer. He noticed out of the cornor of his eyes, someone standing on the balcony of his window. His grip tightened on the mouse, and he focased his spirit energy. There was a soft rapping, and he relaxed his grip, getting up to let him in. It was only Urameshi Yuusuke.
"Urameshi-kun, you really shouldn't be here, you know. Your mother will kill you."
"I can't help it Kurama, I've kinda been kicked outta my house for the moment."
"What? Kicked out?"
"Yeah, mom has a boyfriend over, and her room is directly next to mine...it gets kinda loud over there." Yuusuke explained, grinning. Kurama smiled;
"I see...why did you come here, though? Its a little farther away to walk...you coulda just stayed at Kuwabara's." Yuusuke pretended to look hurt.
"You don't want me over?" He asked, looking like a little lost puppy dog. Kurama laughed, and ran his fingers though his hair.
"You can stay, but as soon as you hear my mom coming up the stairs, you'd better jetpack-it to the closet." He warned.
"Why? Your mom knows me."
"Would you rather explain to her why you couldn't use the front door like a normal person...?"
"What do I say if she catches me up here anyway?" Yuusuke asked.
"I dunno, you think of something."
"I'll say that her son was giving me passes and I came to take him up." Yuusuke joked, and Kurama threw a pillow at Yuusuke.
"Yuusuke Urameshi, if you tell her that, she'll have a heart attack, and you know thats not true." Kurama said, although secretly he was pleased. He heard a slight giggling from the other side of the room, and he turned sharply, but once again, found no one.
"Is your brother in the closet or something?" Yuusuke asked. Kurama opened his closet, and Yuusuke peered around him.
"Oh my god!" Yuusuke exclaimed, causing Kurama to jump, "This is the cleanest closet I have ever seen! Whats your secret?" Kurama said nothing, but started going though his things.He found a teddybear.
"Thats strange..." He muttered.
"I'll say," Yuusuke said, "I don't have my teddybears anymore. What do you do, collect them?"
"No..." Kurama said slowly, "I never had a bear like this. This isn't mine."
"Shuiichi's?" Yuusuke suggested, and Kurama shook his head.
"No, Shuiichi doesn't have any bears either." Yuuske threw his arms up,
"Well, I'm all outta suggestions. Why is it so important, anyway?"
"Because I keep seeing a little kid around my house, and at first I thought it might of been a zashiki warashi, but its not because it burned my mom." Kurama explained. Yuusuke sat down and thought.
"Maybe its a demon following you. They can take diffrent forms, can't they?"
"H-hah...amusing." Said a voice. Both Yuusuke and Kurama jumped, and scanned the room. A boy stood there, only this time, he was a teenager, about fifteen or sixteen. Only this time he didn't fade, he stood there, clear as day, his arms crossed, smiling triumphantly at Kurama an Yuusuke.
"Who the hell are you?" Yuusuke demanded. The boy stared blankly at them, and then he started at his own hands.
"I...am...Shuichi." He said slowly, like he was reminding himself.
"Who?" Kurama asked. He'd a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomache, he knew whatever this kid had to say, he wasn't going to like it.
"Don't you...know me? Kurama?" He asked, "I...am...Shuichi M-Minamino."
"What?" Kurama and Yuusuke asked at the same time.
"The child that Kurama impersonated...he is me. I am Shuichi. He killed me t-that day." He said.
"Right. Then how the hell did you get here, and how do you know his real name?" Yuusuke asked.
"And can you prove this accusation?" Kurama asked.
"The rekai...there are cracks in the barrier. I assumed the shape I would've been born as, and escaped. I know everything you've ever done, and I know your personality because Koenma doesn't put gaurds on said files. Proof, you ask? What right do you have to ask for proof when it was you who killed me?" He said. Kurama paled, a little bit, then regained color.
"If you are who you say you are, then why did you hurt Shiori. Wouldn't she be your mother?" Kurama asked. Shuichi grined;
"I'm glad you asked." He said, and the entire room was swept into darkness. Yuusuke gasped, not use to the pressure being put on his body. He felt like thousands of pounds had been put ontop of him. Suddenly, the weight lifted, and he saw Kurama standing infront of his, holding his hand out, creating a barrier.
"Really, Kurama, I didn't expect you to be protecting a human." Shuichi sneered.
"The hell with you," Kurama said, "You really shouldn't be talking, should you? It doesn't matter weither your a ghost, you're still human."
"But thats where you are wrong." Shuichi said, "I am not ningen after all, I would've been born 100% demon."
"How can you do that?!" Yuusuke asked, "Both your mother and your father were human...I assume." He said, glancing up at Kurama who nodded.
"Do you know what a cellular mutation is, Kurama?" Shuichi asked;
"Yeah...its when a cell mutates, and becomes anything, such as cancer, or it can disfigure your skin." Kurama replied [a/n OHMIGOD. I LEARNED SOMETHING FROM MY DREADFULL SCIENCE TEACHER...].
"Correct. I didn't expect any less from you. So lets say I had a cellular mutation, but of a diffrent kind. As you know, all humans and demons are born with spirit power, but only a lucky few, human and demon, can manifest it. When you are born, you are born with spiritual energy, youki. Now, with the cellular mutation. My cells mutated, and contain the simillar DNA of a demon. Demon DNA and human DNA are fundalmentlly diffrent. When I had a cellular mutation, my DNA changed with my cells. To put it in laymans terms, this isn't my real form. This is the form I would have assumed while being born. Slowly, as the cells each mutated, my truest form would begin to emerage, and I wouldn't have to live in the ningen would, I could go to the makai. Of course, I would have to kill the women from whom I was weaned, but it made very little diffrence to me. Just a simple pathetic life, that might affect the people around it, but not to the world." Shuichi laughed. Kurama clenched his fists, and Yuusuke noticed he was trembling a bit.
"But just think, Kurama. If you hadn't been born, at least she wouldn't of had to listen to lies from you all her life. She would've gone out early, painless, without having to deal with the suffering and lies of this world. She wouldn't have to pain herself with you." He grined. Yuusuke noticed that Kurama's head was done, and that there was a tear running down his face. Yuusuke felt the anger build up in him.
"God, its a good thing Kurama took your place." He said loudly. Both Shuichi and Kurama looked at him. "Kurama is Shiori's real son, because she loves him, and he loves her. He tries to please her and make her happy. All you wanted to was kill her for power. Right?" He added, looking to Kurama. Kurama smiled and shook his head.
"Say what you will, Urameshi Yuusuke. But it doesn't change the fact that he killed me for his own sake. He cannot admit to be innocent to her either. As a matter of fact, I do believe that he was going to leave her, hai? Don't you think that a women losing her child is enough to kill her? Maybe we should ask her, and let her know everything. I am substance, after all." He threatened. Yusuke stood up, and stood next to Kurama, who was still holding the barrier.
"Yuusuke, when I push you, I want you to go forward. Don't stop, and don't look back." Kurama warned.
"What? Why?" Yuusuke puzzled.
"Because I can't hold this up forever, and you can't survive here, you saw what it did to you."
"No way am I leaving. I can take it."
"Yuusuke..." Kurama began, but was cut off sharply when the barrier he was holding began to spark. They saw Shuichi on the other side, with his hand outstreached, and the golden glow of Kurama's barrier turned to a firey red. Kurama gasped in pain, but continued to hold the barrier.
"Yuusuke! I'm serious! You have to GO!" Kurama said, pushing him forward with his one hand. Yuusuke stumbled, and fell into darkness. He realized that Kurama had most likely pushed him into a demention which lead either back to the world, or back to his room. He stopped moving forward, and turned around. He thinks he can get rid of me that easily? He thought to himself, and walked back, until he fell though and landed on his knees. He realized that was a pretty stupid move to do, because as soon as he hit the ground, he felt the pressure on him again.
"Erg...that wasn't bright." He said aloud, gritting his teeth. A shadow fell over him, and he looked up and saw Shuichi, standing over him grinning.
"You stupid human," He said, "He gave you the chance to live, and you wasted it. Oh well, I guess you can join him."
"W-Where the hell is Kurama?!" Yuusuke demanded. Shuichi laughed and pointed to the right, and Yuusuke saw Kurama laying on the ground, motionless.
"He was foolish also. He said he would give up if I let you live. No sense in letting you live if you came back on your own, now, is there?" He said, laughing manically. Suddenly, he pitched forward, and Yuusuke rolled out of his way. He saw Kurama standing where Shuichi had been standing, his hands on his knees, panting.
"Ah, I knew you would probably come back." Kurama said, winking. Yuusuke sighed, and tried to stand up. Kurama opened his hands to create a barrier, but Yuusuke pulled his hand down.
"I can do it." He said, huffing as he stood. Kurama laughed and extended a hand, but a blast of ki rang threw, forcing the two back. Shuichi stood, glowing with demon youki. His expression was pure madness, and his eyes were glowing a soft blue colour.
"I hope you have finished your goody byes, because I'm going to kill both of you." He said, advaning forward. Dammit, Yuusuke thought, I can hardly fight in this condition...
"Correct, Urameshi-kun," Shuichi said, reading Yuusuke's thoughts, "This world is a strain on anyone who doesn't have full bearings of their spiritual energy."