Well, this is my first real attempt at a decent YYH fanfic. Admittedly, it may not be very good as of right now, due to the fact I tend to start off things slow, but I did only some up with this idea yesterday afternoon. In other words, bear with me. ^^; Anyways, this fanfic does involve Kurama with an OC, so if you don't go for that sort of thing, there are plenty of yaoi and other stories floating about for you to look at. I kindly ask that no one flame me, but if you do, give a good reason. I'm always looking for ways to improve. Anyways, I'll try to keep this relatively active, unlike my other YGO fic, which I do need to update. Oo; Here's a few pointers:
Slant print translates to a character's thoughts.
Three asterisks (***) indicate a scene change.
I also may be making cultural references and using some Japanese words during the course of this fic. If I do, I'll be sure to put notes at the end of every chapter. Honest. ^_~ Now, then...On with the story!
--------------------------
"Well, he was tougher than your average demon."
Yusuke slowly got up from his kneeling position and looked over to Kuwabara with a slightly annoyed look on his face.
"You act like you did something! Hiei and me did most of the work! You stayed behind and watched most of this whole thing."
Kuwabara walked straight up to Yusuke getting about an inch from his face. Yusuke could tell he'd had fish for lunch.
"So what are you saying? That I'm a coward?!"
"Well, if the shoe fits!"
"I dare you to say that again!"
"IF THE SHOE FITS!!"
Hiei simply looked on at the two bickering boys wondering how he could have gotten stuck working with the idiots.
"It's amazing how they can go on and on with their petty bickering," he said with a slight sneer. Kurama looked down at his fellow demon and chuckled softly.
"Well, it is Yusuke and Kuwabara you're talking about."
"...Point taken. But he's dead, so what's the point in arguing?"
It was true that the small band of Spirit Detectives had chalked up another win for Koenma by "solving" their latest case- Taking out a particularly nasty fire demon. He'd been hard to find located so deep in the Makai, but with Koenma's connections, he'd been located before he could cause panic among the residents of a nearby community, who would have more than likely fled to the Human Realm at the first sign of danger. He hadn't been able to find him before he started destroying some of the Makaian Forests, though.
Kurama looked over at the forests as Yusuke and Kuwabara kept fighting and Hiei just kept watching. It's been a long time since he was there last. Nearly 30 years. He wondered if they were still there...
As he gazed on, Yusuke and Kuwabara finally called a cease-fire for the moment and stepped away from each other, eyeing the other warily.
"I guess we'd better be getting back now. Keiko's probably worried or something..." Yusuke mumbled. Kuwabara had to visibly struggle with himself not to say anything. "You two ready?"
"I've been ready. I was just waiting to see if any more demons decided to try to come and eat you from all the noise you were making." Hiei replied.
"Nice to know you care, Hiei. What about you Kurama? ...Kurama?"
Kurama was still gazing into the forest's depths, thinking about his past. There were so many things that happened in that brush. Seeing it again was bringing all those memories flooding back...
"Yo! Kurama! Are you ready to leave?!"
Kurama snapped out of his trance and looked at Yusuke bewilderedly.
"Oh, um... Now that I think about it, I think I may stay here for a bit longer. Check out a few things. You all can go on ahead."
"Are you sure about that? I mean, if you've got a feeling, maybe we should all..."
"No, no. I assure you. It's nothing you should concern yourselves with. I just need to see something. Go on."
"Well, okay, I guess. Just be careful."
"I will. No need to worry, Yusuke."
Hiei felt there might be, and Kurama knew it. His glare practically burned a wound into his left cheek.
"Go on, Hiei. I'll be fine."
With that, Kurama began walking away from the group towards the forest. Soon, he was lost to sight, swallowed by the underbrush.
"Do you really think we should leave him here alone?" Kuwabara said to no one in particular.
"If he says he'll be fine, then he will." Hiei responded. "I'm going." And he immediately did just that, disappearing into thin air, as per his trademark.
"God, I hate it when he does that." Kuwabara muttered with a sour look on his face.
"You're just mad because you can't do it."
"What was that, Urameshi?!"
And so, the truce was broken and the argument started up again as Botan showed up on the scene to try and take them home...
***
Kurama pressed on through the dense forest, not knowing exactly where he was, but still knowing he was going in the right direction.
"I guess after 30 years, this place would be a bit more lush."
Soon, though, he came to a wide clearing lined with sycamore and ash trees. It seemed familiar to him. As he sniffed the air, he could tell why. Though it was extremely faint, he could smell his own scent there. He'd been there before. As he explored the clearing a bit more, he found an old mark on the trunk of an older ash tree. It seemed to be made by two pairs of claws, one smaller than the other. Immediately, he thought of his younger years...and of her.
"How could I have forgotten...?"
Just then, his memories were interrupted by the sound of a fox's howl coming not far from where he was. He turned toward the sound and saw a kitsune running in his direction as fast as she could. She looked frantic. Despite his human nature, he hid himself out of sight behind the ash tree and let her pass by. Unfortunately for the girl, she fell not far after she passed the trunk, tripping on one of the aboveground roots. She moaned audibly as the sounds of another, heavier, pair of footsteps approached.
"Got you this time, poppit..."
Kurama heard the sound of the hunter notching a bolt in a crossbow, and prepared to help aid the girl, when she turned to look at the man herself. Kurama was stunned by what he saw.
"Keita?!"
---------------------------------------------------
Who's this "Keita" person? How does Kurama know her? Better yet, what connection do they share? What's with that hunter guy sounding like a reject from Pirates of the Caribbean?! Find out in the next chapter! ^^