Authors Note: Hi guys and and gals... Merry Christmas :) ^_^ I love Christmas, its so magical :) I hope each and everyone of you enjoy your day, and have lots of Christmas cheer and all the fancy stuff lol. Anyways lets give this a go. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa... and Happy Holidays to everyone! I own only the plot so no suing me OK? K!
Yu Yu Hakusho
Our Christmas
"So tomorrow we'll meet up at my house at noon, right?"
"Sounds good Urameshi, I can't wait. Christmas is the best time of year. Especially since Yukina can't not love my gift I got her!" Kuwabara shouted into the phone, while talking with Yusuke.
"I hope she likes it Kuwabara, I'll see ya tomorrow, Botan and I have some last minute errands to attend to." And with that Yusuke hung up the phone and tossed it onto his bed beside him. "Christmas huh..." He thought to himself. "I know Botan will love her gift. I hope she finishes her shower soon, we have a lot to do, and it's almost noon. We still have to go to Genkai's temple and pick up the gifts for everyone that we stored there for safekeeping."
He got up and walked to the kitchen, to see Botan standing in front of the sink. "Oh hi Yusuke... guess I forgot to tell you I was out of the shower." She said with a smile on her face.
Yusuke walked up to her and put his arms around her. "Whatcha looking at?" He asked her.
"The sky... grass... everything more or less. I love this world so much." She said. "And you too... most of all Yusuke."
"Aww Botan, I know. I love you too... you are... the most important person to me." He kissed the top of her head as she continued to look out of the window.
"Well don't you two look cute"
They turned around to see Atsuko standing behind them holding a camera. "Hey Mom."
"Hey you two. Aren't you guys running a little late?"
"Yeah we are." Yusuke replied. "Do you mind if we take your car? It's a bit late to catch the train to go all the way out there."
"Yeah that's fine Yusuke. What time will you be back?" She asked.
"I figure around 10 or 11, depending on traffic and wherever we decide to go to eat." Yusuke said.
"Here you go Yusuke." Atsuko handed him the keys to her car. "If it gets to be too late, just stay the night and come back in the morning... we'll wait for you to come back to open presents... I don't want you falling asleep while driving and get into a accident." She said, and she gave each of them a hug.
Yusuke and Botan walked to the door and put on their shoes and winter coats. Opening up the door let a fierce cold winter chill into the house. "It's cold Yusuke." Botan said as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"Yeah it is." He replied. "I didn't think it was going to be this cold... or this windy either." He grabbed Botan's hand and helped her down the icy stairs and the two got into the car. "You know... I'm surprised my mom let me take the car... I think in the past year I've only driven it once."
"Well it's defiantly a lot faster to drive there than to take the train and stop at every station on the way." Botan replied.
"Yeah I guess your right." He replied as he put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway.
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"Hey baby bro, what are you doing?"
"Oh hey sis." Kuwabara replied. "Not really doing much of anything."
"Oh that's great. Then your not too busy to vacuum the floor and sweep the kitchen then." Shizuru said sarcastically.
"Hey wait a minute sis... that's not fair!"
"Whats not fair? Yukina is in there cleaning the bathroom and dining room... And I just finished all of the laundry... including YOURS!" she said... placing a bit of emphasis on the latter.
Kuwabara stood up and walked to the dust closet... grumbling as he walked. "Fine...Fine... I'll do it."
"Good." Shizuru said. "And after that we are gonna go to the store and do the grocery shopping."
"What do we need?" Kuwabara replied. "The last time I checked the fridge, it looked pretty full.
"Doofus... it's not for us... it's for Christmas dinner tomorrow night... we ARE spending the day at Yusuke's house... so it's fair for us to prepare the meal for them. Although... Atsuko did insist on letting her do the desserts."
"Ohhh... I wonder what she is making for desserts... I bet it's something good!" Kuwabara stated as he pulled the vacuum and broom out of the dust closet.
Shizuru was sitting on the couch watching the TV. She had it tuned in to a news station and they were beginning to do the weather segment. "Hmm... this is cool."
"What is?" Yukina asked her, as she sat down next to her.
"Oh hey kiddo. Nothing really... it looks like we are gonna be getting snow tomorrow... and quite a bit of it too... a white Christmas... it's been a few years since that's happened. Oh! I'm so excited!" Shizuru stated, acting all giddy.
A few moments passed and Kuwabara placed everything back into the dust closet and closed the door. "OK sis, I'm done... Oh hey Yukina!"
"Hi Kazuma. Are you gonna make anything for the Christmas dinner tomorrow?" She asked him.
"Nah... you know me and cooking. I get along with cooking about as well as I do with Hiei... in fact I think I get along with Hiei even better... that's a shocker."
Yukina placed her hand over her mouth to silence a giggle she refused to let out. "Oh come on Kazuma... I'll help you make something."
"Yah baby bro... you gotta make something too...this time... just don't make the beans."
"Yah OK sis... and thank you Yukina... I'm sure with your help... I can make just about anything!" Kuwabara said with his trademark "she is so awesome" grin on his face.
"OK lil bro... let's go grocery shopping." Shizuru said as she picked up her purse.
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"I don't like this."
"What is it Hiei?" A redhead Kurama asked him.
"This cold... I don't like it."
"Really? I think its rather relaxing... don't tell me that YOU of all people are sensitive to the cold... demon world isn't exactly the warmest place around." Kurama said.
"It's not the cold... there's something else... something masked in it. Look at the sky..."
"What about it Hiei... there's clouds..." Kurama stated.
"It's... ominous... something is about to happen."
"Come on Hiei, the sky looks just like it does on any other winter day... your just being paranoid. Perhaps the cold is bad for you since you are a fire demon." Kurama insisted.
"Fool... you forget that I am also ½ ice demon. Remember that."
"This is true... but why don't you use any ice techniques in battle?" Kurama asked.
"None of your business." Hiei replied.
"Is it... so a certain sister of yours doesn't wonder why you have ice powers? Not many apparitions have the ability to control ice... it's almost certain that she would find out that you're her brother if you used those powers." Kurama said.
"Exactly fox... and she doesn't need to know that I'm her brother."
"Hiei... you can't hide it forever... one day she will find out. Perhaps she already knows... and chooses not to say anything out of respect?" Kurama proposed.
"Perhaps... but I'll just let her think whatever she wants... It's better off that way." Hiei stated.
"If you say so." Kurama added.
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"How much farther do you think it is Yusuke?" Botan asked as she stared out the window of the car, taking in the sights of everything around her.
"Probably about 2 more hours. We should stop and eat soon also... because after this city theres nothing left for that 2 hour drive... so it will be at least 4 hours until we can eat later." Yusuke stated.
"Wow Genkai's place really is far away... we left at 12:30 and its already 3 pm. It's gonna be 6 when we get there... and possibly 11 to 12 before we get home... we should probably pick up something for dinner and breakfast... because we will probably be staying the night Yusuke." Botan said.
"Sounds good to me. I don't mind that at all." He pulled the car over at a diner on the edge of town, and there was a shopping mart on the other side of the parking lot. "Here we go... this will do."
The two walked inside and took a seat at a booth table, both opting to sit next to each other. They talked amongst themselves as the waitress brought them their drinks and took their orders. Yusuke noticed a TV in the corner and took a look at it. "Hey Botan look at the TV. It looks like we might get some snow tonight."
"Oh that will be lovely! I love snow... especially on Christmas... it's just SO romantic." She said nuzzling up next to him as he continued to watch the TV.
"But somethings odd about it Botan, look... that low pressure next to it. That shouldn't be there."
"Oh Yusuke stop worrying! It's fine... the weatherman is saying we are just getting an inch of snow. Nothing to be worried about."
"Thats true Bo... that's what they get paid for... so I might as well listen to them." Yusuke said, just as the waitress brought them their food.
Botan slowly ate her food, and a few minutes passed and she noticed that Yusuke was paying more attention to the TV than to his meal. "Strange... He never acts this way... is he really that worried about the weather?" She thought to herself. "I mean sure... we are gonna get a little snow tonight... It's nothing to be worried about. There were plenty of blankets at the temple last time we were there... so it's not like we are going to be cold or anything." She continued thinking to herself. Finally after another minute or so Yusuke took his attention away from the TV and focused on eating.
A little while later they had finished their meal, and were finishing up their shopping at the mart. "You know Yusuke... I think we got just a bit too much food."
"Nah Bo... there's never a such thing as too much food." Yusuke replied as he started placing it into the car.
For the next two hours, they spent their time listening to music and talking to each other as they continued the drive. It had started snowing so they were driving a bit slower than the speed limit. "I'm glad Botan... the drive was pretty nice and we're about 3 minutes away. Look, you can see the top of the hill now where the temple is. We'll defiantly be staying the night... I really do hate it out here... there is nothing to see, and rarely ever do you see another car pass."
"Yes it was a nice drive, and the snow is so pretty... even tho it is coming down a bit hard. I'm glad we made the trip out here. It's starting to really get dark too... Yu... YUSUKE LOOK OUT!" The last thing Botan saw was a snow covered tree coming down heading right for their car, and at that moment Yusuke undid his seatbelt and threw himself over Botan to hold her back from the force of the impact. "YUSUKE!"
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"Kazuma what's wrong?" Yukina asked. She stared at Kuwabara and Shizuru who were sitting on the couch speechless... Shizuru had a cold sweat running down her face.
"I... I don't know... I just got this weird feeling is all... hey sis where you going?"
Shizuru stood up and ran for the bathroom. She knew something happened to Yusuke and Botan. She had a similar feeling when Genkai was murdered by Togoro. She sat down on the toilet lid and cradled her face in her hands. "No... they couldn't have..."
She sat there for a few minutes and heard a knocking at the door. "Shizuru... are you OK? Can I come in?"
"I'll be right out Yukina." She replied. She took a damp towel and wiped her face off and opened the door to face Yukina, who was looking very worried.
"Whats wrong Shizuru? You and Kuwabara are both acting very strange." She said.
"Yusuke... and Botan... something happened to them." Shizuru studdered.
"What? No... it can't be... not them..." tears formed in Yukina's eyes, and it wasn't long before her tears were falling and Hiruseki stones were hitting the floor.
Shizuru placed her arms around Yukina's back. "We don't know for sure yet... we'll wait... there's nothing else we can do." Shizuru pulled herself away from Yukina as she heard Kuwabara yelling to her.
"Sis! Come look at the TV hurry!" Shizuru rushed to the living room to see Kuwabara pointing to the TV. There was a loud buzzing noise and a red bar at the bottom with a message playing.
"Attention residents of Sarayashiki province. An extreme blizzard warning is now in effect until noon tomorrow for all of Sarayashiki and up to and including 250 miles away in all directions. This is a record size storm with snowfall up to 10" per hour at the heaviest times. All emergency medical services will be shut down and power outages will be certain... we advice all resid..."
At that moment the power went out in the city. "Oh no Shizuru... if something happened to them... then..."
Shizuru grabbed a couple of candles from underneath the coffee table, lit them and placed them on top. "Don't worry Yukina... please... they are gonna be OK... they are together." Shizuru's cellphone started ringing and she pulled it out, and Atsuko was on the caller ID.
"Hello Atsuko."
"Shizuru thank goodness. Did you see the news? Are all of you alright?" Atsuko asked.
"Yes we are fine... I don't know why the power went out all of a sudden... it's not even snowing yet."
"Shizuru, why don't you, Yukina, and Kuwabara head over and spend the night here. I would feel better knowing you are all safe."
"Ok Atsuko. I'm gonna grab the food for tomorrow, and we'll be over in about 10 minutes." Shizuru said.
"Ok Shizuru, I'll see you then. Please be safe on your way over." Atsuko said before hanging up the phone. "Yusuke... Botan... please be safe."
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"Hiei, why don't you stay at my house tonight?" Kurama asked.
"No thanks."
"Why not?" Kurama said.
"Because... I like my tree." Hiei retorted.
"Fool... even you can tell the weather is about to get bad."
"Believe me Kurama..." Hiei said. "We aren't gonna be the ones getting the worse of it. The detective is in the middle of the storm right now... I can sense it and things don't seem pretty. My jagan eye doesn't work as well as it used to... but I can still tell that they are dealing with some trouble right now."
"Your right Hiei... Something is defiantly going on... I can feel it." Kurama replied. "Now come... your staying at my house tonight."
"I don't think you heard me fox... I'll be staying outside like any other night."
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After a knocking at the front door, Atsuko ran over and opened it to see Shizuru, Yukina, and Kuwabara standing there... holding the food for tomorrow. "Oh come on it, hurry up... wow it is really starting to get bad out there." Atsuko said as she watched the trees sway in the wind. Snow was now falling quite hard. "Come on, let me grab some of that." Atsuko insisted as she took a few things from each of them. "I hope Yusuke and Botan are OK, none of us had any clue that we were going to get a storm. I was expecting a little snow... but NOT this!"
Yukina and Shizuru looked back at each other, trying to hold back the tears in their eyes. "I'm... I'm sure they are OK Atsuko." Shizuru stated. "They should be at the temple by now... Hey lil bro... have you tried calling them?"
Kuwabara pulled his phone out. "Yeah sis... I called a few times and it didn't even ring... I even sent a text message... perhaps they don't get signal all the way out there."
"That would make sense I suppose... it is all the way in the middle of no where, and there is nothing around that place for 2 hours in any direction." Shizuru said. "Well... there is the train station that is a 10 minute walk from there. The train only stops there when we go there... people just seem to travel by and no one pays any attention, or even wonders why there is a stop in the middle of the woods."
"Well Shizuru, we have gas here so lets get some of the cooking done for tomorrow." Atsuko said.
"That sounds wonderful, and a great way to pass the time." Shizuru replied.
A few hours passed, and in that time the power had come on and off repeatedly. Every time they would turn the TV on, but with their luck, the cable was out also. "Atsuko do you have a radio? Maybe we could listen to the weather on that."
"Actually I don't have one Shizuru... I'm sorry." Atsuko said to her.
"Oh it's OK. The storm will probably be over by morning." Shizuru added as she looked at the clock on the wall. "Wow... its a little after midnight."
"Your right Shizuru... why don't you kids go to bed." Atsuko said, as she pulled a few blankets out of the closet. Kuwabara do you mind sleeping on the couch? And Yukina and Shizuru... you two can take Yusuke's and Botan's room.
Everyone agreed, and washed up the best they could in the dark and went their separate ways to go to bed for the night. Atsuko walked by the bedrooms on the way to her bedroom and saw that Shizuru was still up and sitting on the bed. She walked in and took a seat next to her. "Hey... don't worry about Yusuke... He'll be fine."
"Atsuko... how did you know I was thinking about him?"
"The look on your face is nothing but worry. I've noticed it all evening. I know something happened to the two of them... but they will be OK."
"How... but how did you know something happened?" Shizuru asked.
"I'm his mother Shizuru... mothers know these things... plus I had a strange feeling quite a few hours ago. So please don't worry. It will make you age faster."
Shizuru laughed that last statement off. "Yeah your right Atsuko... they'll be fine... I hope. We won't know for sure until they come home though.
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The next morning Botan woke up... She was in the temple... "How... did I get here?" She looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was 10 in the morning. "What... what happened yesterday." She tried to remember... all she remembered though, was yelling to Yusuke... then the sound of the impact... and blood. She looked at her body. Her clothes were torn, and she had some small cuts and bruises... but nothing major to worry about. "YUSUKE!" She stood up, looking around for him. She ran around frantically looking for him, and stopping when she saw a small trail of blood leading into the wash area. She was crying as she ran into the wash area to see Yusuke sitting in the corner, with a large bandage wrapping his left arm that he held as if he couldn't move it. His bandages were soaked in blood. "Yusuke!" She yelled as she ran to his side and plopped down on the floor next to him and held him as he sat there.
He looked over to her, seeing the tears in her eyes. "Hey...you... How... are you feeling... Botan?" He mustered.
She could tell that he was tired, and dehydrated... he had lost a lot of blood. She immediately began using what little of her healing powers she had left. It wasn't much since she had a human body now... but it was enough to stop the bleeding and restore a tiny bit of his energy back to him. "Stupid... why would you throw yourself in front of me? Look at how hurt you are."
"Bo..tan... if I didn't... it would be you sitting here hurt... I couldn't bear to see you like this... plus... I acted on impulse alone. Besides... I'm not gonna die that easily... I'm a demon now remember? I can tolerate a lot more than my human body would ever take." Yusuke tried standing up. With the pain, he remembered that he had broken his left arm in the impact when the tree went through the window... the bleeding came from a branch impaling his bicep as the tree crushed his forearm.
"Yusuke.. please... you should stay sitting down." Botan pleaded as he continued to stand up.
"Nah... I'll be OK Botan. I want to go look and see what it looks like outside." She stood up with him, and helped him maintain his balance as they walked to the front of the shrine.
They stood at the door and opened it... only to see a wall of snow in front of them. "Oh...my...god Yusuke... theres like six feet of snow here." Botan said.
"Well... it looks like we really will be here for awhile." Yusuke said.
"That's OK with me... I just hope the others are OK and aren't worrying about us." Botan said. She saw Yusuke take a seat on the ground after shutting the door. "Yusuke... you look like your starving."
"Yeah I am a bit hungry... and a little cold." He said as he continued to sit there, cradling his broken arm.
"I'll make you something... is there even any food here? God... there's no way I can make it to the car to grab the food we left there."
"Yeah... there should be canned soup in here somewhere." He replied.
Botan helped Yusuke back up and walked with him into the living area, and helped him sit down on an old couch, and she draped the blanket that had covered her the night before over him to help warm him up. She walked into the kitchen... hoping to find some soup... or just anything that she could make for him.
A few minutes had passed and she returned to him with a bowl of soup, and a sling that she fashioned from a couple of rags, to help support his arm. She wrapped it around him, and took a seat next to him, and helped him eat. "Thank you Yusuke."
"Hmm... what for Botan?" He asked as he finished the soup she had made for him.
"For saving me yesterday... one... you covered me so that I wouldn't be hurt. And two... even in the condition you were in... you still managed to bring me here despite me passing out after the impact." She said as she cried.
Yusuke wrapped his one good arm around her and held her. "Botan... I've told you countless times that I would protect you no matter what happened. Hey... look up there." Yusuke said as he took his arm and pointed upwards.
"What's that?" She asked.
"Mistletoe." Yusuke said, as he leaned over and the two of them shared a soft passionate kiss.
"I love you Yusuke... and Merry Christmas." Botan Said.
"Merry Christmas Bo... and I love you too... I love you so much. Look like this year..."
"It's Our Christmas."
Awww so sad and cute ^-^ make sure you guys read the prologue.
Read and Review :)