A/N: Hi everybody! New story! YAY! I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but I've been trying to work on my writing. Hopefully this story will be a little better planned out than my previous ones. For those of you who don't know, Maya Kitajima is a canon character who appears in vol. 7 of the Manga in a bonus episode that explains how Kurama met Hiei.
Pairing: KuramaxMaya (any romance though will likely be a long way off…)
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters or themes. I be broke. You no sue.
So without further ado, let's get started!
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
There are many different types of bad days. Sometimes it's as mild as getting gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. Other times the day just plain sucks from start to finish.
Today is one of the latter.
It started off with a dream that sent me screaming into consciousness. No, not just a dream. The dream. The dream I've been having since I was in junior high school. Since I knew him.
I hadn't had it in a long while, so it took me by surprise when I woke up. I glanced at the alarm clock on the little bedside table that sat next to my twin-sized bed, only to realize I was late for school.
Said bed was immediately vacated and I rushed to pull on my tan and green plaid skirt and white blouse. Rushing down the stairs and out the door, I took a moment to gawk at my mom who was passed out on the couch, bottle still in hand. Shaking my head, I made sure to lock the door behind me before sprinting off down the street to school.
I was, of course, late to school, earning me a detention. My class was then hit with three consecutive pop quizzes, all of which were difficult and I'm pretty sure I did poorly on all of them. After serving my detention, I began the trek home.
"Where have you been, Maya?" Mom asked groggily, sipping on a mug of what must have been yesterday's coffee.
"School. Where everyone else my age was." I replied sarcastically. She didn't notice my tone.
"Oh. Right. Today's Monday… oh, that reminds me! I've got a gig at Riku's club tonight."
Riku is my mom's boyfriend. The third since my parent's divorced a year ago. He owns a club downtown. My mom and a few of her friends formed a band two years ago, The Daiquiri's, and perform a few nights a week at various clubs. I watch.
"I know. He told me last week." I said, slipping on my house slippers and moving towards the stairs. "I'm going to go do my homework, alright?"
"Sure, sure." Mom answered, lighting up a cigarette.
The club was noisy, as usual. The flashing lights illuminated dancing figures on the checkered floor in bright colors, giving an eerie image to any person sober enough to notice. At that particular moment, that category included… well, me.
Mom was still singing, her friend Motoko on drums, Saki on base, and Kari on lead guitar. They were all drunk, but they were having fun and those dancing were too intoxicated to notice. Sighing, I ran a hand through my long, black hair and called a cab. It was 2:55, meaning the club would close in five minutes. Why all these people were out clubbing on a Monday night… well, technically it was Tuesday morning… was beyond me.
The club was already half empty, bartenders advising customers to call cabs. Mom finished up her last song and stumbled off the stage, sitting down next to me minutes later to finish up her beer.
"Cab'll be here in a few minutes. You ready to go?" I asked tiredly.
"I will be just as soon as I finish this." She answered, slurring a little, "Oh, and Riku's staying over tonight."
"Seriously? Did he get kicked out again?" I questioned.
"No, of course not, silly. He just wants to come over. But you've got to go to sleep when we get home. You've got school tomorrow." Mom said, giggling a little. That was her sign to stop.
"You two about ready to leave?" Riku asked, coming up to us.
"Yeah. Cab's waiting." I responded as I helped Mom up from her seat.
"You mind if I join you guys?"
"Just as long as you keep it down this time…" I winced at the memory of the last time I was home when Riku slept over.
He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Of course. No problem."
He helped me drag Mom, who was about ready to pass out, to the cab and load her in. Riku got in next to her and I followed. At the cabbie's inquisitive glance, I told him our address and we started moving.
Even after we left the club, I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling in my stomach. My brown eyes flitted back and forth between Riku, Mom, and the cabbie.
We reached our house and got out, Riku carrying Mom, who was officially down for the count. I got the door and he brought her in, setting her down on the couch.
It was then, as he was straightening up, that I felt the change in energy around him. It was what I had been expecting all day, but it still took me by surprise. He turned around to face me, his face hidden in the shadows. He stepped towards me, and I took a half step towards Mom.
"You are definitely not Riku." I growled at him.
"Smart little girl." He replied, voice steely. I saw him pick up a paperweight from the shelf. I took another half step to the couch. "But not smart enough."
I saw the weight in time to dodge, but I never saw his fist. It caught me hard in the jaw and I flew back, towards the wall.
My vision swam for a few moments as I tried to shake of the daze. When I regained my senses, he was only about three feet in front of me.
"Who are you?" I questioned him, spitting blood out of my mouth from a split lip. He didn't answer, just stepped toward me again. When he got close enough, I kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him staggering backwards into a shelf. I ran towards Mom, shaking her hard as I got to the couch.
"Mom! Mom, wake up!" I shouted at her. Her eyes fluttered a little, but her mind was still in the sleep world. "Mom! It's Maya! Please wake up!"
"Maya? What's wrong?" she asked, voice raw from singing.
"We need to go now." I told her, dragging her to her feet. It was then that Riku came up behind me and grabbed me around the neck.
"Riku!" my mom shrieked. "Let go of her, dammit! What the hell are you doing?!"
I tried to tell her that it wasn't Riku, but I couldn't get enough air in my lungs to form words. I managed to wiggle down a little, and I sunk my teeth into his arm as hard as I could. He immediately recoiled and I fell to the ground coughing. My mom dragged me from the floor and we went running into the kitchen. Mom grabbed the phone off of the receiver and dialed the police.
I began looking for anything I could use as a weapon. Meanwhile, it appeared that Riku had recovered and stalked loudly after us. Mom and I crouched down behind the island that sat in the middle of our kitchen, staring up at him. As I focused on him, I saw it. The thing that haunted my dreams of the last year. There, sitting on Riku's right shoulder, was a blob of what looked like green goo with a face.
"Are things like that always so repulsive?" I heard the voice of a younger me flitter through my thoughts.
"I'm sure you're mistaken, Maya." He had said. His voice struck me dumb. I heard it as if he was standing right next to me, though I knew he wasn't. I tried to remember more from that day, but all that came was a sharp pain in my head and fog.
My mind snapped back into focus when I heard the deep thud of his shoes hit the linoleum not two feet from where I was crouched. Mom signaled for me to be quiet and motioned to the door behind her. We crawled together over the cold floor, being careful to stay out of Riku's line of vision. Together, we hid in the coat closet and waited. Mom spoke softly into the phone, presumably to the police.
"The police are coming, we just have to wait." Mom whispered to me. I was relieved, but only for a moment. A distinct smell sent my heart racing.
"Mom? Do you smell smoke?" I asked, my voice breaking. Mom, face pale, opened the door a crack. Thick, black smoke floated into our hiding place.
"Maya, go! Get outside!" She yelled, and off we ran, crouching low, under the thick layer of black above us. I reached the door first and wrenched it open. Hearing a grunt, I spun around to see Riku with a chunk of Mom's hair fisted in his hand. My heart skipped two beats. The smoke escaped through the door, blowing out around me. I could see flames licking the couch in the living room. Smoke rolled in every corner, pushing against the ceiling, twisting and turning like snakes in the dark.
"Nowhere left to run, huh?" he gloated.
"Let her go." I heard myself say. The words came without any direction from my brain. "Let her go now!"
The flames had spread to the staircase, eating their way up onto the landing and into our rooms. A small part of my mind worried for my things. My clothes, schoolwork, drawings. The picture I kept of my dad. All of my memories. The larger part of my brain shoved that to the side and worried for Mom.
I heard something click.
"Drop the woman and put your hands on your head!" someone shouted from behind me.
I saw him drop Mom on the floor and then pass out himself, but then someone grabbed me by the shoulders and hauled me away to the ambulance. Firefighters were already putting out the flames. I saw two policemen help Mom out of the house and three others come out with Riku, who looked extremely confused. Instinctively I checked his right shoulder, where there was no longer a blob monster.
Someone covered my mouth with an oxygen mask and then the policemen sat Mom down next to me. We were both wrapped in blankets and the police asked us a few questions. Instinct told me what to say. I was too tired to pay attention. I slipped into unconsciousness with his face in my head.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
A/N: So yeah, that is the first chapter. I know you're probably thinking "Dude, where the heck are the guys" and I promise they will come in later.
Review pwease!