Fighting to Live Again

Author's Note: This is a sequel to Learning to Live Again. Please read that story first, otherwise this story may not make much sense. :) Please let me know what you think about this by leaving your opinions through a review or a private message. I love reading what you all think. :) Pairings are: YusukexAurora(OC), KuwabaraxKeiko and HieixMukuro.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuYuHakusho, its universe or its characters. I only own my plot. I do not make any money off of this story.

Thanks and enjoy...

Chapter One: If You Only Knew

Nearly twenty years had passed since the war fought in Yusuke's lands. Yusuke and Kurama frequented Human World to visit their family and friends. Aurora never accompanied them. Not unlike their fiery friend Hiei, she had a decided dislike for humans. Since she had no family nor acquaintances there, she really had no reason to go along. Yusuke never minded, well, not openly. He wished sometimes that she would go to meet Kuwabara or his mother. However, he never pressed the issue. And neither did Kurama, for whatever reason.

Kurama's mother was still doing quite well. Her husband had retired, and for the most part, they spent their years in quietude. The younger Shuichi was now married with a young son of his own. Interestingly, they named him Kurama. Now, whether or not that was a coincidence, Kurama still wasn't completely sure. He knew that his younger step-sibling was always a bit suspicious and ever-perceptional. Still, regardless, he didn't mind sharing his birth name with his adorable, little nephew.

Yusuke's mother finally married not long after he had taken up full residence in Demon World. She now lived with the man on the west end of town. Yusuke liked him. He managed to keep his mother clean and had significantly reduced her drinking habit. He was also a bit better off than most of her boyfriends.

Four years after the war in Yusuke's lands, Kuwabara had confided something. He was in love. I know. Yusuke had said, thinking of Yukina. Kuwabara had shaken his head. With Keiko. I'm gonna propose. At first, Yusuke couldn't make any real words pass over his lips; he had merely nodded. He wasn't angry, how could he be? He was just... shocked. After a few minutes with Kuwabara fearing the worst, Yusuke managed a real smile. Good for you, Yusuke murmured with sincerity. I'll be expecting an invite.

The wedding of Keiko Yukimura to Kuzuma Kuwabara had a beautiful occasion. The bridesmaids were Shizuru, Botan and Yukina. The groomsmen were Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei. Everyone, even Hiei, enjoyed themselves. Shizura, while being escorted down the aisle by her brother's best friend, had whispered quietly, thank you, Yusuke. The demon king eyed her. For what? She smiled, the tears filling her hazel eyes. For allowing him this happiness. To this day, Yusuke sometimes still pondered her words, wondering exactly what she had meant.

Keiko and Kuwabara had their first child three years later, a girl. They named her Genkai, in loving memory of an old friend. She was beautiful, Yusuke decided. Hair of her mother, eyes of her father. She possessed no fighting abilities like her father, though, in many ways she took after her favorite aunt. Not unlike Shizuru, she had had her first vision at a young age. It had been nothing too surprising, but it brought smiles to many faces. Mommy is going to have another baby. She informed the elder Kuwabara sibling in her sweet, little, singsong voice. Shizuru smiled, she had seen the very same thing. In fact, over the coarse of the next decade, it seemed Keiko would be having three more babies.

Shizuru, herself, never really did find romantic love. When asked, she would smile; a smile extremely similar to Kurama's, and say, I never needed a man to validate myself. In truth, though she never spoke of it, her heart belonged to a man she could never have. He was gone, gone forever. Because of that, she never found another, and instead, she took on her role of favorite aunt quite seriously.

Genkai, Yusuke's favorite mentor, passed on from the world of the living a few years later. She was content with her life. As she told them more than once, I've had a good, long life. No tears when I'm gone. Though Yusuke did his best to respect that wish, hours after her funeral was over and everyone else was asleep, he couldn't hold back the sobs. The tears he shed were not for her, they were for himself. Her death was an undeniable reminder of what was to come in his life. He would outlive nearly everyone he ever cared for, Kurama and Hiei included, as they were several hundred years his elder. For a few hours, he allowed himself to feel some things he never usually did; misery, self-doubt and loneliness. After the night was over, he locked those feelings away for the day he lost the next person he loved.

In the years that followed, they all climbed those steep, never-ending stairs to visit their favorite mentor. Genkai's grave was beautiful in its simplicity. It was a dark stone with her name inscribed into it. All year round, snow or sun, a single red rose was always in bloom right in front of her stone. A reminder that she was never forgotten. It was, of course, Kurama's handiwork.

More recently, Hiei had done something that surprised many. He had mated with Mukuro. It was a private affair, but not without well-wishes after from his friends. Outwardly grudgingly, though inwardly proudly, Hiei allowed Yusuke and Kurama to throw a congratulatory party in honor of the two "newly weds", as Yusuke called them.

Kurama remained a constant resident at Yusuke's Tourin fortress. Though he visited his mother often, he had long ago realized Demon World always had been and always would be, his home.

Koenma and Botan remained at the forefront of the Spirit World. Every so often, Koenma would call upon his ex-employees when he needed some experience or simply some muscle to get rid of a problem, usually in the Human Realm. Though his father had fired them, Koenma made no never-mind about requesting their occasional assistance. Usually, one or more of them were happy to help.

Lastly, Yusuke decided he, too, deserved happiness in the arms of a lover. One cold winter day, he pulled Kurama aside. I need to ask you something. The demon king had murmured to the fox. Anything, Yusuke. Kurama already knew exactly what was about to be asked. I love her, fox-boy, and I'm asking your permission to propose to her. Kurama smiled. You do not need my permission. Yusuke had laughed and muttered, yeah right.

Kurama did not mind at all that his dearest friend was in love with his sister. In fact, it had happened once before. Though he had been very careful to give Yusuke a warning. Be careful with her, Yusuke. She is not as unfailingly strong as she can seem. Go slow. Take everything with her one step at a time. Remind her often that you love her. In the face of her tears, be silent and hold her. In the face of her anger, let it burn itself out. In the face of her laughter, join in. In the face of her neutrality, encourage her emotion. Do not be afraid to love her.

Over the course of twenty years, life fell into an easy pattern. One filled with countless times of joy and laughter. One not without reminders of mortality and loss. One enjoyed by many. Though time and distance separated the ex-Spirit Detectives and their friends and family, they reunited often. Demon World fell into a time of relative peace and prosperity. Human World remained mostly in the dark of the reality of that other race who often coexisted in their world. However, as they say, all good things must come to an end.

Yusuke would look back upon those quite years and wonder, fruitlessly, where it all began. When exactly was the beginning of the end? Where did they go wrong? In what point in time did they become so comfortable with their uneventful lives that reality escaped them? And lastly, most importantly and impossibly, who's fault was it?

:-:-:-:-:

Yusuke sat quietly, watching the woman he had come to love. She sipped lightly at the cup of coffee in front of her. Though it was not a very common beverage in the Makai, Yusuke and Kurama had introduced it to her after one of their Human World visits, and she had taken a strong liking to it. The same went for the cigarette she had just been enjoying, which now rested extinguished in the tray sitting nearby.

He could tell by the gentle haze glazing her eyes that her thoughts were not currently on anything close by. He realized, with some concern, that this had been becoming a more frequent occurrence recently. He realized, too, that there was something she wasn't telling him. He didn't know what it was yet, though. He resisted the urge to sigh. She was too much like her brother in that way. The exact moment he pointed out the fact that he could see there was something bothering her, she would avidly deny it and do better to hide it further. He needed to figure it out on his own, or at least without involving her. He made a mental note to ask Kurama when he saw him later that day.

Moving with pointed slowness, he took the empty coffee cup away from her lax grip. He was immediately doused in cold fear when she did not even blink. "Rora?" he asked softly. She didn't seem to be aware of where she was, the fact that she hadn't blinked in minutes or that he had spoken to her. Touching her shoulder, he tried again, "Aurora."

She gasped. He noted briefly that she had also, apparently been holding her breath. "Yusuke?"

Yusuke felt himself pale. She asked, in both tone and inflection as though she truly wasn't sure. "Yes," he murmured with carefully gentle deliberateness. "Who else would I be?"

At the utter fear in her eyes, he placed more effort into smoothing the lines of concern from his face and offering a gentle smile. The visible fear did not ease. In fact, if anything, it merely increased. This was extremely unnatural of her. Even with Yusuke and her brother, there were always carefully constructed walls that separated those she loved from emotions such as this one. "Is Kurama here?"

Yusuke swallowed, not missing the the deliberate way in which she phrased that question. 'Kurama', not 'Yoko' or 'my brother', as she nearly always referred to him, and 'is he here', not 'where is he'. Which she should have known. "Yes, in his room." It was still early, the fact that he was not drinking coffee with them right now meant that he had not left his room this morning yet.

She surged to her feet without another word and whirled in the direction of her brother's room. Dread swirling through his mind, Yusuke followed her. Something is very wrong...

Without knocking, Aurora opened the door and stopped just past the threshold. "Kurama." It was spoken urgently, regardless of her quiet vocalization. If she was afraid, Yusuke decided, then he had a damn good reason to be so himself.

The fox in question did not respond at first. He was still in bed, uncommon for him, but not unheard of. Slowly, with Aurora stepping closer to the bed with each moment of silence, he turned sleepy green eyes to them. "Yes?" Though his eyes stated he was just waking up, his voice was as clear as ever.

Crying out softly, his sister rushed to the bed. "Oh gods..."

It was instantly apparent Kurama was equally unsure of this as Yusuke. Confusion was evident in the green-eyed stare he gave Yusuke as he pulled his sister into a hug, hushing her tears gently. Yusuke could only shake his head, concern and fear etched vividly across his face.

Finally, she lifted her head to gaze at him, as though he wasn't real. She touched his face with infinite care, as though he might break. She hardly dared to breathe, as though she might shatter this moment. "You're alive," she breathed.

Realization hit Kurama like a ton of bricks. "Yes," he reassured her with the same amount of gentleness and deliberateness Yusuke had only a few minutes before. "What did you see?"

"See?" Yusuke echoed quietly, also beginning to understand.

"I won't let it happen," she told him passionately, as though he might not believe her. "I won't allow it."

"What did you see?" he repeated carefully.

"I'll show you," she whispered. When they had gotten to their feet beside his bed, she raised one hand to Kurama's forehead.

Yusuke had only seen Aurora do this a small number of times; he could count those times on one hand, with fingers to spare. He knew why; Kurama had told him. It was extremely mentally draining to portray memories to someone else like that, it was even more difficult to show memories of visions, as they were often obscured, blurry and as easy to catch as smoke. What the meaning of these visions were was equally as vague, the pictures and images overtaking the last in rapid succession, with no clear order or time-line.

Kurama held his breath as he watched, transfixed, by what she showed him. He no longer had to wonder what had her so worked up and fearful. It was now quite clear.

Yusuke stood atop a hill, before a vast army. He was alone. He was nearly unrecognizable. His body was still muscular but it was much too thin. There were dark circles scoring his eyes. His clothes were torn and filthy, his hair was unkempt and greasy. His eyes... They were the worst part. Emotionless, dead brown eyes, more mud than chocolate gazed hopelessly forward...

Hiei lay bleeding on the ground. Wincing, he tried to speak. Yusuke knelt beside him, also speaking. However, it was as though someone had pressed mute; no sound at all could be heard...

Aurora, herself, sat sobbing in a lone chair within a filthy room. She was dressed in human clothing; they did not seem to fit her well. She, as the others did, looked sickly thin, but there was something decidedly wrong with her stomach...

Kurama dropped to one knee. It was quite plain he would not be getting back up. The life had clearly left his eyes before he even hit the ground...

Keiko, a very pregnant Keiko, was being supported by an exhausted-looking Shizuru, with Botan standing nearby, all of them in tears. An unfamiliar man was lying facedown and very still before the three of them...

Yusuke held Aurora close, swaying and stepping in time to what was most likely some kind of music. There was no mistaking the love in his gaze as he stared at her, no mistaking the careful gentleness he used while holding her. This should have been a happy scene, but their faces were too pale, eyes too tired, frames too thin and clothes too tattered. Then, for just an instant, she smiled at him. It was a heartbroken smile, weak and fragile, but it caused a light to ignite in his expression. Hope...

Koenma was seated behind his desk in Spirit World, gazing helplessly at a piece of paper before him. What was written upon it could not be seen as a single tear dripped from his eye to the parchment...

Kuwabara, with a sad smile embraced Yusuke tightly, mouth moving in speech, but like before, there was no sound...

Yusuke jumped quickly into the path of a large piece of shrapnel, saving Keiko and Botan from being struck instead. The metal stuck out of his back at an odd angle and he dropped, face first, onto the pavement. His blood began to pool as Hiei blurred to his side...

Kurama again, though this scene in which he was dying was different. With one bloody hand clasping Aurora's and the other tracing her face gently, he spoke to her before he died. The words, this time, were discernible by reading his lips. "Name her Nozomi*..."

A bomb was exploding, buildings were falling, ash was coating the air. Another bomb was dropped, adding to the obvious chaos of wherever this was...

Snow fell around and on top of a grave marker, nearly black, a heavy contrast against all the white. The image faded before the name could be read...

Kurama stepped away from his sister slightly, gasping. He wasn't sure what that all meant, but he was certain it occurred in the Ningenkai, that much was clear. Death was heavy within those visions, which was rather rare. Usually, they were much more vague, merely hints at what could or would happen. "Dear Inari..." was all he could manage to speak for a long time.

Yusuke stepped forward. "I want to see," he murmured with some determination. It wasn't needed however, as Aurora simply nodded and beckoned him forward.

By the time the last image had flowed from her fingertips, through his mind, her eyes had taken on an immense exhaustion. As her trembling hand fell away, she stumbled gently. Though he was lost in as much confusion and terror as Kurama had been, Yusuke did not allow her to sway any further by closing the small gap between them and holding her close. His eyes however, were not focused upon her; they stared blankly forward in an attempt to process what they'd just indirectly seen.

"Will those things all happen?" he finally asked quietly, breath still ragged and quick.

She shook her head faintly. "Not all of them, no."

Kurama explained further, "Some of those things will. It's quite difficult to predict. Some change based on our actions, some merely on fate. Others are destined to be and will not change, regardless of what we do in an attempt to prevent them."

Yusuke's eyes focused onto Kurama. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he said, "I won't let it happen, either, fox-boy."

Something like a smile graced his lips, "I know, Yusuke."

"Well, what do we do now?" The dark-haired man asked softly.

Aurora frowned, Kurama sighed. "We need to get in touch with someone who may know more of what this might mean."

Aurora's frown deepened as Yusuke caught Kurama's drift; Koenma, the King of Spirit World.

AN: Nozomi is a girl's name, meaning Hope.

Let me know what you think of this first chapter! Tell me if you caught any of the subtle hints. Thank you all for reading and reviewing! Until the next update...