Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi

Author's Note: Kitajima Maya is a character that appears in the manga I don't know about in the anime in a side-story explaining how Kurama and Hiei met. She is Kurama's classmate, has a crush on him, and after confessing her love, Hiei appears and attacks them, believing Kurama is working for a demon who may have eaten Yukina. Maya is later taken captive by said demon, rescued by Kurama and Hiei, and then Kurama erases her memory of the evening and her love for him.

Burning Bridges

People's lives, who they are, are shaped by the choices they make. Decisions cause one to change and grow, just as much by the choosing itself as by the consequences of the action. People's responses to life carry them through phases and transitions in their existence.

Someone had asked that morning where he was going, to which he replied, I'll know when I get there. Had they asked yesterday, or any of the days before that, he would have had a ready answer. Maybe the truth, or an excuse, perhaps vague, but always concise and purposeful. Anyone who knew him would have found it strange to hear him admit a lack of knowledge, a lack of control.

I suppose it was inevitable that this day would come. Something I had anticipated in the back of my mind, but to which I had never given much thought, because I never truly knew what it would mean for me. I simply assumed I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

Well, that bridge is now here.

Memories of yesterday flitted back into his mind. Being summoned by Botan, the sheer intricate loudness of the palace in Reikai, dodging the oni with the natural grace of a fox, standing alone before Koenma's desk. For once, the prince looked serious, but not harried or frustrated. His work had been cleared to the corners of the desk, leaving the center clean save for a single paper and a folder.

He picked up the file and tapped it against the desk to line up the papers inside neatly again. "Kurama, your case had been thoroughly reviewed, and it has been determined that because of your services rendered to the Reikai, you are eligible for pardon." He slid open a drawer, the contents rattling until he emerged with an ink pad and seal.

"You are hereby released from your parole." The thump of stamp on paper broke the ensuing silence.

Kurama walked out.

From behind the door, he heard Koenma sigh and place the processed paperwork aside. The deity may not have wanted to accept it, but really, what reason did the former demonic thief have to stay with the Reikai Tantei?

Hiei had been waiting for him when he turned home. Kurama had repeatedly offered to give him a key to the apartment, but the little fire demon stubbornly enjoyed breaking in through the window.

"Koenma granted me pardon. I've stopped working for him."

Hiei did not have much of a response to that. He had always wondered what Kurama would chose to do once he was free, and it made sense. "I haven't. You got off lightly because you made an attempt to reform."

"The youko Kurama died years ago." A casual statement, but although Kurama's tone was often deceptive, his words were important. "I can't deny that any more. I can't go back to the Makai—I'm considered a traitor twice over. I have no reason to live as anything but a human."

Hiei waited patiently; the fox always needed everything explained before he got to his point.

"I have no use for anything demonic anymore. So our partnership is over."

Losing a good ally was not the end of the world. Besides, Kurama was being practical for once, rather than sentimental, so it was a good thing. "Hn. You were getting soft anyway."

He was suddenly alone in the house, and he knew he would never see Hiei again.

We spend our whole lives anticipating, growing, changing, but we never stop to plan for the changes we wish would come.

This morning he had left, saying he would know were he was going once he got there. But in order to find his destination, he would have to find what it was he truly wanted.

The youko Kurama had died years ago in some wasteland in the Makai, shot by a hunter. For ten years he hid in the human world, denying that death. But then he realized that he had been changed, just a little, with new wisdom and values. Growing up just a bit, too foolish still to realize it was impossible to undo that and be the demon again. The image he had striven to return to was frozen in time, unable to live—because to live is to change. And when he changed, this is what he had become.

So he started a new phase in his life. He had wanted to be simply Minamino Shuuichi, Shiori's son.

But a few years later, Hiei appeared. And at that turning point, he abandoned his path to become simply Kurama, a demon again. He had cemented that choice when he became a tantei, and until now, he had not been able to get out.

What did he want? He wanted to cut off his old ties, start again. In order to make way for new life in spring, all the old must be cleared away by the fires of autumn. He could never be Youko Kurama again, and he had burned all bridges he had crossed that led him to becoming Kurama. Now there was only path left, if he wanted to pursue it.

It was a few years too late, but he still wanted to be Minamino Shuuichi. Shiori's son.

There would be no more supernatural threats. No more excuses to Mother. No need to keep his hair long, so he had cut it short again, the way he had worn it as Shuuichi.

All that waited was to cross the one bridge he had not burned, to pick up where he left off.

It is time to stop thinking "until this day comes" and to start thinking "from this day forward."

The wind teased him, pushing and pulling him along the sidewalk, swirling leaves about his feet. Shuuichi shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, protecting them from the autumn chill. The streets were nearly empty at this evening hour—most families were sitting down for dinner, or relaxing afterward.

His fingers brushed against a scrap of paper in his pocket, the contents memorized in his heart. A name, and an address.

Kitajima Maya had confessed love for him one day after school. But Hiei had shown up, and Shuuichi had decided to take a different path, one too dangerous to risk Maya following. So Kurama had erased her memory of it.

He had been the most popular boy in the class. She had a sixth sense and loved it, and he emitted an aura tinted by the allure of a demonic kitsune. They were fourteen. It was just a silly childhood crush.

But what if he had chosen her? Could it have been something more?

Even if she did not remember, if the potential had been there so many years ago, it would still be there now, an unopened flower in her heart. Shuuichi wanted to know if he could make it bloom.

For all he knew, she may have married by now, even had a child. But if nothing else, seeing Maya would give him closure—and the strength he needed to continue crossing this bridge.

The address in his pocket revealed a small, modest house in a nice neighborhood. Shuuichi adjusted his jacket and ran a hand through his hair before realizing that he did not have to. So he rang the doorbell.

The young woman before him had kept her dark hair short, her childish features maturing into something tastefully pretty, though not radiant. The brilliance lay in her eyes—not the color, but the intelligent warmth behind them.

"Good evening, Kitajima-san. I'm sorry for coming by unannounced—"

Maya held up a hand to hush him, a smile stealing across her lips. "I thought you felt familiar. I would recognize that red hair anywhere… Minamino Shuuichi-kun! Come in, I'll make tea, and if I can find a yearbook, we can reminisce on our childhood days and make fun of our classmates."

Despite all that time, she had waited for him at the bridge at which he had left her. Smiling, he followed her inside.

…
So long ago

Another place

I can feel your heartbeat

It's not a dream

Remember us

I can see it in your eyes

-(Opening song from The 4400)
…

…
Owari
…

-Windswift