A New Life in an Old World
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Naruto
"There's another one!" Jiraiya squealed with glee. "Why didn't you tell me this was a hot-blooded man's paradise? This world is great!" Everyone groaned, then Tsunade punched Jiraiya for the third time since they arrived.
"Maybe we should go to Keiko's." Kurama said. "She will give us a place to stay for a while and also give us an update on the last six years." He smiled. "I'm sure that she will be happy to see that we are safe."
It took the group five minutes, and many almost suicides, to get to the Yukimura residence. They saw Keiko brushing the front of the shop and Yusuke couldn't help himself but to go over to her and pinched her ass. "You have a fine ass now, Keiko." With a scream of 'Yusuke you pervert', Keiko turned around and punched Yusuke into the ground.
Kurama could see an amused expression on Orochimaru's face. "They are just like Tsunade and Jiraiya." The other Sannins could see the similarities too. Kurama smiled as he approached the pair.
"Keiko, do you mind if we go in?" He asked. "We would like to know what has happened in the last six years, and we need to get our friends acquainted with Tokyo. They are not from here."
"So I see, Kurama." Keiko said as she turned from Yusuke. "Please go in, I'll shut the shop early and we can all have a chat. We have a lot to catch up on it seems." Her eyes rested briefly on Orochimaru and she gave a small smile. "Please enter and I'll make you all some ramen." She saw the blonde's eyes brighten. "I've been told that I'm very good at it." She led them all inside. "Now, you can tell me where you all have been. Kuwabara said something about you all being swept to a new world and becoming ninjas, but you know what Kuwabara is like."
"He told you the truth, Keiko." Kurama said. "We were all there together for three years, and Hiei, Yusuke and myself were there a further three years after he left as I am sure you've counted. While we were there we set down roots, building lives for ourselves, we were quite happy."
"Then why did you come back?" Keiko asked as she served the ramen. "If you were so happy, why didn't you stay?"
"Because I had to see my mother again." Kurama said. "I was offered the chance to go home with Koenma, but I chose to remain where my heart belonged." His hand caught Orochimaru's. "I would have never forgiven myself if I returned home, knowing I left the one I loved behind."
"How long have you and he been…" Keiko started but feel quiet before she could finish the question.
"Going out? Lovers?" Kurama asked, teasing the girl, watching as she blushed bright red. "It must be at least four and a half years now, at least." He smiled slightly as he remembered what had happened. "Lets say that Orochimaru, here, wasn't exactly the nicest guy when we first met, were you, love?" Kurama paused in thought for a moment before looking at Orochimaru. "You know, we have never actually gone on a date before."
"A… date?" Orochimaru asked, unfamiliar with the term. Jiraiya laughed.
"The snake doesn't know what a date is!" He howled in laughter. "You need to get a life!" Tsunade suddenly hit Jiraiya. "Ouch, what was that for?"
"You're being an idiot." Tsunade said. "I think that its sweet that he is going on his first date at his time of life."
"What do you mean?" Keiko asked.
"Orochimaru, here, is nearing sixty." Jiraiya said before laughing again. The laugh was cut off quickly when one of Orochimaru's hands gripped him by the throat, the gold eyes now an angry red.
"You have no feelings do you?" Mamushi asked. "Orochimaru is already sensitive about the age gap between himself and Shuichi, even though the fox doesn't care." He gave an other squeeze before releasing the ninja. He then remembered that Keiko didn't know who he was. "Please forgive me. I am Mamushi, and am to Orochimaru as Youko Kurama is to Shuichi." He gave a small smile before he pressed his lips against Kurama's, and smirked when he pulled back. "That was worth all of Orochimaru' threats." Mamushi said. "It was worth it to see you so shocked." With that he released Orochimaru to take control of his body again.
"That damned snake." Orochimaru grumbled. "He likes taking advantage of any situation."
"Don't worry about it." Kurama said with a smile. "He may be an annoyance, but he is also a very good protector, is he not? I can live with him stealing kisses as long as he is there to protect us when he is needed."
"You are too kind to him." Orochimaru said.
"Not at all, you are the same towards Youko, are you not?" Kurama asked. "We need to accept each other's demons." Then Kurama grinned. "I just remember that I have to introduce you to my mother." He took Orochimaru's hand again and dragged him towards the door. "I'm sure that she'll be so happy to see the person that I have settled down with."
"I'm coming too!" Jiraiya shouted as he followed the pair.
"As if I'll let you go anywhere by yourself." Tsunade said. "You'll probably grope every girl you meet, you pervert." Jiraiya gave her a grin.
It didn't take long to get to Kurama's home, and the red-head stood nervously at the door, his hand poised to ring the bell. Suddenly Orochimaru's hand covered his, and pressed it against the door. "Orochimaru!" Kurama squeaked, but knew that he would probably never have done the deed had he been left to it himself. He could hear movement on the other side of the door and his eyes closed, then he felt strong arms wrap around him and leaned against the hard body. The next thing he heard was his mother's voice crying out 'Shuichi' and felt himself being pulled out of Orochimaru's grasp into his mother's arms. "Mother, please not so tight." Kurama said as he hugged her back.
"Shuichi, my little boy!" Shiori cried, holding the child. Kurama realised that she still hadn't realised that they had company.
"Mother, can we get inside before you finish choking me?" Kurama asked as his mother finally realised that they were not alone. She then led the group inside, motioning for them to remove their shoes before leading them to the sitting room. Now that she was over the elation of knowing that her son was safe, Shiori gave him a hard slap across his ass.
"How dare you go off like that and not tell me!" She shouted. "Anything could have happened to you!" Her eyes moved to Orochimaru. "Obviously something did, is she pregnant?" It took Kurama some time to realise that the 'she' his mother referred to was Orochimaru, and he blushed.
"Mother!" He cried as she turned to the three Sannins. "The 'she' that you refer to is a 'he'!" That seemed to stop her, Kurama took that opportunity to stand between his mother and the one that he now called his mate. "Do you forget the letter that I had delivered to you? He is the man that I mentioned." It took Shiori a moment to remember the letter that she had kept for the last three years, by then Orochimaru had the kitsune in his arms again and she couldn't believe how good they looked together.
"Trust me, Shuichi is well looked after." Tsunade said. "Orochimaru is an old friend of mine and he loves your son very much, in fact I have never seen him so close to another as he is with Shuichi. I have never seen a pair so devoted to each other. I don't know very much about Shuichi, but Orochimaru is so distrustful of others that I found it hard to believe that he actually settled down in a relationship." Tsunade smiled. "I'm Tsunade, while Shuichi was… away from home he worked for me." She pointed to Jiraiya. "That's Jiraiya, when Orochimaru and myself was younger, he made up the third person in our team. A warning, keep him away from your panties."
While all this was happening, Jiraiya was looking Shiori over. "At least she has matured gracefully, flat-chest Tsunade." Jiraiya said. "You aren't worth peeping on." Tsunade growled and tried to strangle the perverted ninja. Shiori tried to move between them.
"I don't suggest that you do that." Orochimaru said. "They always sort out their differences this way, ever since they were twelve. Most of the time it's Jiraiya who gets soundly beaten." As if Orochimaru could tell the outcome, Jiraiya screamed at Tsunade to stop, that he was sorry, anything to get her foot away from his crotch. "See what I mean?" Tsunade gave him one last glare before she released him.
"How can you stand by and let her beat him up?" Shiori asked. "Isn't he your friend?"
"He brings it on himself." Orochimaru said with a shrug. "Friend or not, I'm not going to have Tsunade try to kill me too, I'm too sensible to get on her bad side. She may be a medic, but a medic is more deadly than an ordinary person. They know what to do to kill." He saw Shiori pale. "I wasn't always a nice guy, in fact for a very long time I was one of those you'd want to avoid at all costs. Your son changed all that for me."
"Orochimaru, I don't think that is helping." Tsunade said. "You need to reassure her that her child is in safe hands. Telling her that you had a hand in a lot of your home village's problems, even when you fought with them isn't an example of what you do."
"As if I could, or would allow another to, harm him." Orochimaru replied. "He saved my life twice, and I have only returned the favour once. I am still deeply in debt to him. He is the only one that I ever loved or cared deeply about. He is somebody worth risking my life for."
"I am still here, you know." Kurama said as he felt Orochimaru's lips kiss his hair. "You don't need to talk about me as though I am absent." Orochimaru then turned Kurama's face up for a kiss.
"As if I could ever forget that you are here." Orochimaru retorted. "I'm sure that you'd never let me forget anyway." Kurama laughed as he playfully slapped his lover. "Ouch that hurt!" Orochimaru said as he pretended that his shoulder was sore. "I am in so much agony I fear that it is dislocated! I fear that it'll need kissed better."
"Kiss slut." Kurama said quietly. "You know I can't resist you, especially when you're being playful." Orochimaru smirked. "Evil snake." He then turned back to his mother. "Anyway we need to go now, we have a lot to do tonight. I just thought that you'd like to know that I was safe and sound."
"What are you talking about, you're staying here." Shiori said. "It won't take long for me to make your bed up and…"
"No, mother, its fine." Kurama said. "Really, we have a place to stay for tonight and they are expecting us. I don't want to put you through such trouble anyway."
"Shuichi." She said warningly.
"Mother, my bed is too small for both of us." Shuichi pointed out. "We come as a pair now." He smiled as his eyes closed. "We belong to each other. Just because we do not have a physical manifestation of our union, it does not mean that it is not there. I love him with all my heart and spirit and I'm sure that he feels the same too. If you want to take me in for the night, you have to be prepared to take in both of us."
"Love, you need to speak with your mother." Orochimaru said. "One night apart won't kill us, will it?" He kissed Kurama again. "I am sure that she wants to get reacquainted with you, it has been a long time since you last spoke, It's not as if you don't know where I'll be, and you may actually enjoy yourself. You missed her when you were with us, for a long time you were miserable."
"I would rather that you stay." Kurama said stubbornly. "You know that I would. Not to mention that you and she have to get used to each other. You both are large parts of my life. Plus we have Sasuke to care for, or have you forgotten about him?" His hand moved to the vials of blood in his pocket. He pressed his lips against Orochimaru's ear. "Blood only has a certain length of time before it becomes unusable, plus I want to take you with me when we speak to Koenma." He kissed Orochimaru's cheek. "Now, please stay." Orochimaru sighed gently, how could he refuse his partner's request when he looked so adorable.
"Fine, I'll stay, however you and your mother need to talk." Orochimaru said. "I will not take 'no' for an answer." He could see the retort building up in the kitsune's mind. "I mean it, Shuichi." Orochimaru said firmly. "You both have seven years to catch up on, don't you?" Kurama couldn't disagree with that. "Right, that's decide then, is it?" Kurama just nodded. "That's good."
"I guess I expected to have to surrender on a few points." Kurama said. "I'm just happy that you're going to be here with me." He hugged the snake Sannin.
"Wow, this place has changed quite a lot in seven years." Yusuke said as he and Hiei walked along the street, stopping outside one of the houses. "Do we have to tell him that we're back?"
"Detective, just do it." Hiei snapped. "You're the one that wanted to come here so get it over with." He gave Yusuke a kick towards the apartment door. "I want to spend as little time as…"
"Hiei-san!" Yukina shouted as she ran out the apartment. "Yusuke-kun!" She hugged the pair. "Where is Kurama-kun? Is he okay?"
"Hey, Shorty, it looks like you've grown a few inches since we last saw each other." Kuwabara said. "Well, don't stand in the doorway like a pair of idiots, come in. Hey sis, we have company!"
"Hiei-san, tell me everything!" Yukina said excitedly.
"Well, there isn't much to tell." Hiei said. "We're all fine."
"Hiei, tell me!" The siblings glared at each other.
"For the love of…" Yusuke said. "It's nothing to worry about, Yukina. We've all grown up since we left here. Kurama has even fallen in love, no exactly the type that I thought that he'd go for, but each to their own."
"He's still with Orochimaru then." Kuwabara said. "What does he see in that traitorous beast anyway?"
"You haven't seen them in the last four years, how can you judge him still?" Hiei snapped. "You know nothing about what we have had to do over the past few years. You went and left us, remember."
"Yeah, and I would do it again." Kuwabara retorted. "I have a nice home and a good job, things I wouldn't have had if I remained there. Anyway how did you get back?"
"It's kinda a long story, Kuwabara." Yusuke said. "We just found out the way to get here recently. I just thought that you'd like to know that we are back."
Shuichi caught Tsunade's arm before she could leave. "I would like you to come with us." Shuichi said. "I'm sure that Koenma would be glad to see you again."
"You… you're going to see Koenma?" Tsunade asked. She had a lot to say to the young God, and Shuichi knew it. "Can I really go with you both?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't going to go through with it." Kurama said with a smile. "Mum, we'll be back later." He led the group out of the house, and heard a familiar cry. "It looks like Puu has decided to find Yusuke." Kurama said, when the large bird-like creature dropped to the ground beside him."
"Puu, puu!" The bird said, nuzzling the kitsune.
"I'm happy to see you to." Kurama said with a laugh. "Yusuke is either at Keiko's or Kuwabara's. We need to go to see Koenma. Tell that lazy detective to get his ass moving." The bird voiced his approval before seeking out its detective. "Puu is Yusuke's spirit beast, the manifestation of his spirit. Eight years ago, Yusuke died saving a child and was given an egg. In that egg he nourished Puu with all his actions that he did. Had he been selfish, Puu would have killed him, rather than be devoted to him. I'm hoping that Koenma can do the same for Sasuke." He led them to a, seemingly dilapidated, archway. Kurama concentrated his spirit energy and focused it on the gateway, making the air feel as though it was full of static. "Walk through the archway. On the other side of it is the Reikai, the world of the dead." The group walked through the, newly created, portal.
When they exited the portal, they were standing in front of a large fortified gate. "On the other side of this gate lies the heart of the Reikai, it is through there that the Shinigami do their work, collecting the souls of the dead and transporting them here to be 'processed'." Kurama approached the door, not knowing what to expect, And just as he was about to push the buzzer, the door opened to reveal a young woman in a pink kimono and with blue hair in a ponytail.
"Kurama!" She shouted and leaped into Kurama's arms. "It's been so long!" Kurama laughed as he hugged the woman back. "Who are your friends? Koenma said that we would get a visit from you, but I don't recall him saying that we would have company."
"It's okay, Botan, Koenma-san knows who these three people are." Kurama said. "Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-san, Orochimaru-koi, this is Botan, one of the Shinigami that I mentioned. She spent most of the time with us before we went to your world." He looked at Botan. "This is Tsunade, the woman that the four of us worked for when we were in that world, Jiraiya, an open pervert who writes pornographic material, and Orochimaru, my partner. That three is probably amongst the strongest fighters in the world they came from." Botan's jaw dropped as she looked at the three Sannin.
"Uh, welcome." She said when she had regained her composure. "Welcome to the Reikai."