No ownership of Yu Yu Hakusho or characters within. I make no profit except the joy writing brings me.
Kioji
Part ONE
Dedicated to Steffie
"She's a big girl. I am positive Keiko can handle herself."
Wincing, Kurama pulled his head away from the receiver to save his sensitive ears from the violent outbursts on the other end of the line, regretting picking up the phone at all. And he thought Yusuke called for a friendly chat.
Sighing, Kurama half-listened to the man's urgent pleading, almost amused by the complete lack of confidence Yusuke had in his own wife. As it was, he felt a bit sorry for them both.
"Yusuke," he cut in, growing tired, "may I remind you I, too, have many things—"
He stopped, interrupted by a snide remark on Yusuke's end. Kurama regretted pausing as Yusuke bombarded him with a conflicting mixture of threats and bribes, wondering if he had any chance winning this argument at all.
Yusuke blurted something that both shocked and disappointed Kurama, making him wonder about the relationship between the two. Certainly, referring to escorting one's wife as babysitting signified some dysfunction…
Finally, he ceded, figuring a compromise would be in order—and how bad could a jaunt off the main island be? Keiko was a pleasant enough person—intelligent, good natured, resilient.. His mother was always hounding him about never taking any vacations.
After placing the phone back in its holster, he rubbed his eyes and groaned.
The trip would have to be off the record. His mother was also growing insistent about getting a girlfriend.
Oven off—check.
Duffle bag—check.
Wallet, keys, money…
Check.
Train and bus tickets—
Biting down another panic attack, Keiko searched herself frantically before sighting the folded envelope by the coffee machine, pinned up next to a calendar with the day's date circled and re-circled in purple pen. Sighing, she snagged it off the cork board before shouldering her purse and bag, tingles of anxiety churning her breakfast.
If she used the stairs instead of the elevator, ran instead of waiting for a cab—she might make it to the station in time to be five minutes late. Oh, hopefully Kurama won't leave without her… she knew the train wouldn't be as forgiving.
Dancing in place, Keiko flipped the kitchen light off and pranced out the door, tripping down the hallway for a few seconds before turning back to properly close and lock up. It wouldn't be fitting to worry Yusuke about another break-in…not when he let her go all the way to Sapporo, on a train, nonetheless.
She breezed past the elevator and entered the stair shaft, murmuring to herself what good look she had in landing a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor under such short notice. And so close to work! Her mother lamented about the loss of the beautiful townhouse Yusuke procured for the two of them, insisting Keiko and Yusuke to take up her offer to live in the spare bedroom until proper arrangements were made, but she stoutly refused. After finally moving out, not even a freak fire could shake her determination to stay independent. Besides, it would be a true disaster if her parents found out she and Yusuke hadn't actually gotten married yet.
Sighing, she jumped the last three steps and pushed the door open, breaking out into a practiced sprint across the empty lobby toward the front doors.
"Are you sure? I mean, I can stand for a little bit—I'm just full of energy—"
"Keiko, I assure you I am fine."
"Oh, well, alright…," she mumbled, twirling her purse strap idly around her wrist to dispel her guilt. It was going on two hours that Kurama selflessly gave up the last seat on the train to stand in the isle—not once complaining. Keiko couldn't say the same of herself—after running the entire way in heels and then waiting for three hours for a replacement train (can you really replace those?) her back, calves, and thighs burned from overexertion. She was beginning to figure out why Yusuke thought so much of him.
She let out a nervous laugh.
"I guess all that rushing I did was for nothing, eh? It's so hard to believe that our train broke down before we even got on it…"
"All the better. We would be stranded had it malfunctioned afterward. This way we are only delayed by a few hours," he replied, smiling calmly. A thought seemed to occur to him.
"Why is it you took the train instead of flying? I believe the rates are better, and requires far less traveling time," Kurama asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Well, I've always wanted to take a train through the country—and how often do you get to see the Seikan Tunnel?"
"To be fair, Keiko, you won't see much once we're under water…"
"And for some reason, Yusuke doesn't like the idea of me flying. I tried to tell him it would be safer than anything else, but I don't think he's ever actually been on a plane…"
"Is that so?"
Hours bled by unnoticed, the sun inching upward as the train barreled closer to its destination. Kurama eventually conceded to Keiko, sharing half of the seat when she threatened to join him standing up if he didn't.
"And since then, you've had to work to support yourself?"
"Yeah—but it's not like I don't want to—I mean," Keiko bit her lip, trying to explain her situation without incriminating Yusuke.
"He's got his work where he's at, right? That's not something…I can really be involved with," she finally whispered, being as discrete about her relationship to the supernatural as possible. Her companion nodded gravely.
"Yusuke is a fortunate man," he stated, amused when she averted her gaze with a burning blush, "but I wish I could say the same for you."
Keiko visibly jumped, nearly jostling Kurama out into the isle.
"Oh, no! I'm—I'm very—I mean, Yusuke is—"
"Calm yourself, I meant nothing by it," he smoothly replied, waving a disinterested hand in the air. Keiko returned his easy smile, though not as sincere.
"However, it must be taxing, to quit college in order to help support the both of you…"
Her grin cracking, Keiko blinked back a sudden surge of emotion to stare out the window. It was still a rather sore subject, her sudden discontinuation of what was going to be a stunning college career. Most people naturally assumed it was because of her choice to marry Yusuke, to ready a home for children, to assign herself to her natural role. Of course, not many people knew the truth—that she in fact had not gotten married, with no plans of children to speak of...
When we our own place, he had said, and then, after accomplishing that—when we have more money, Keiko. We have all the time in the world, Keiko. Don't worry, no one will care. It's not like it's a bad thing. Can't we enjoy what we have now?
Later, Keiko. I promise.
"Are you alright?"
Inhaling sharply, she willed her ill mood to disappear along with her heated vision. Really, what good was crying over it?
"Ah, yes! Sorry, that caught me off guard," she beamed, hoping he didn't pursue the matter further. It didn't seem right to burden a friend with her miserable life.
She froze. Since when did her life become miserable?
"What was it you were studying, if you don't mind my asking," Kurama adjusted himself to give her more room, keeping his eyes carefully on her expression.
"Well," she paused, biting her lip, "I…you might find it… um…"
"Keiko. Whatever it is, I doubt I'll find it offensive," he smiled, urging her on.
Defeated, she let out a breath.
"Criminology."
His eyebrows rose. Criminology? Why would that...
Then he remembered what he spent most of his life doing up until a short time ago, when he escaped into this human life. He let out an abrupt chuckle.
"I thought it was education you were interested in?" He asked giving her a bemused smile.
"Well, I was in a really good psychology class, and…"
Deep in sleep on Kurama's shoulder, Keiko nearly choked on a half-snore, half-growl when she felt the floor underneath her feet tremble and shake with enough intensity to hurl her into the back of the seat in front of her, the turbulence stopping as suddenly as it started. Catching herself with her outstretched arms, she looked about in a daze, missing the light but insistent touch on her arm.
"Keiko, if you please…,"
Confused, she focused on Kurama's strained voice, following his vision down her arm to her hand hidden in the creases between his legs. Immobilized, Keiko realized the mass securely locked in her grasp was far too warm and soft to be seat cushions.
"OH MY GOD, I'm sorry!" Keiko shouted, removing her imposing fingers faster than she would if she had misplaced them in an open flame, her face nearly bleeding scarlet. She heard him sigh—in relief or exasperation, she couldn't tell over the rapid drum roll in her ears.
"I—uh—didn't mean—"
"It's alright. Are you ok?"
"Ye-yeah, I guess. Are… are you—"
"I'm fine. Only a minor infraction on my person," Kurama assured her, a dangerous twinkle in his eye. Just as his eyebrows rose with another reply on the way, the train jolted again, more seriously and jarring than before. He caught her easily by the upper arm, keeping her from face planting into the armrest.
"Th—thanks," she muttered, still flustered for unconsciously groping a grown man in public.
After re-righting Keiko in her seat, Kurama smiled briefly, gesturing for her to stay put before trotting down the aisle with a lethally serious look on his face, nothing genial about his rapid departure.
Keiko watched him go with anxious brows—was this really the same guy who cracked jokes at his own expense? The one who chivalrously parted with his homemade onigiri and smiled as she ate it?
Feeling another noiseless rumble, Keiko wondered if she was imagining that they were slowing down, like something heavy hopped on or the conductor dropped an anchor off the side. Perhaps they were pulling into the station early? But all that shaking—couldn't be normal—
She had no more time to ponder the dark air radiating from Kurama or the train's reduction in speed, her attention immediately captured by the hair-raising screaming in the back of the cabin. Twisting around frantically to assess the commotion, Keiko pulled off her seat belt and froze, her face as pale and motionless as marble, unable to move even as people pushed each other down in the frenzy to get away.
In all the tranquil years between herself and the ghastly tournament, Keiko forgot what a demon looked like, what seeing one felt like. There was no strong Shizuru or bubbly Botan to help fortify her composure—no Yusuke to chase after, distracting her from all else. As she started to tremble, only the last few lines from a poem came to mind as she gazed at the monster bent over at an unnatural angle—
Hell has found me;
even kind enough to send
a Real Estate Agent.
It stopped chewing, slowly swallowing bit by bit as if it relished each second too much to release the moment. Even from her half-turned position ten seats away, Keiko could smell the stench, the pure animalistic lust, the cracking—
Suddenly seized in what can only be classified as sneezing, the demon plunged an angry talon into the remains of his victim, brushing the corpse to the side. He lifted his short snout into the air and inhaled, excited shivers dancing across his molted gray skin. Creating something like coughing and laughter, he stretched his neck out and violently shook the multiple folds, the creature's face contorted in pained concentration. It relaxed before tensing up again, ultimately erecting his entire body into a bending arch reaching to the ceiling as it choked and struggled with swallowing, resembling a disastrous crossbreed between a bat and an earthworm as it flailed almost pitifully against the battered seats. Finally, it collapsed into a quivering pile of creases and shadows, sporadically jerking and twitching as the motion of the train's dying crawl to stillness disturbed it.
Unable to keep her breath in any longer, Keiko bit her lip to rouse her lungs from shocked silence, panting heavily into a hand as she watched with her slowly blurring vision. Her eyes involuntarily darted to the indescribable mess sloshed around the foot rests, her heart sickening.
That was…, she thought faintly.
Her vision failed her—the speed of the events taking place eluded her merely mortal eyes. Keiko only heard the air whirl by and felt the sudden impact of the ground against her skull, harsh and insulting to her already abused senses. Tasting blood from her bottom lip, she lifted her head and tried to concentrate on the colors through the white fog overtaking her vision, failing as her eyes dropped dangerously.
A splatter of liquid on her face cleared her haze, Kurama's vibrant hair and narrowed eyes coming into full clarity, his crouched form perched just over her feet. Though he tried to block her vision, Keiko could see the monster re-folding itself in place, liquidating and disappearing as it sunk to the floor somehow, out of her vision. She blinked and refocused on Kurama, noticing the growing scarlet stain in the fleshy crock of his shoulder. A hand unconsciously touched the thick wetness spread across her forehead.
His mouth moved in silence, the sound of his voice creeping into existence with the strength of a falling brick building behind it.
Run far… run screaming…
"—and do not look back!"
Kurama's eyes popped wide, zeroed in on the space behind Keiko.
It was the first time she ever saw a frightened look on Kurama's normally composed face, and seeing it terrified her more than the monster itself.
Without hesitation, Kurama leaped over her sprawled body, firmly grasping her around the shoulders to better protect her head, his pained gasp muffled in her hair. Both of them were hurled into the air as a monstrous force crunched through the steel encasing like rice paper, cutting right through to the tracks underneath. Kurama buffered their fall with his uninjured shoulder, carefully rolling to his knees to take Keiko in his arms and sprint through the open door to the next cabin away from the furious creature behind.
Nearly too late, Kurama felt the train lose traction as something vital connecting the carts was obliterated. He set Keiko down in a flourish to summon sturdy, leafy lines from the earth and sent them down through the gap in between carts to ensnare the metal structure before it fell any further down the rails, paling when he remembered sighting the bridge up ahead. His numerous plants pawed and mewed at the train, unable to penetrate deeper to get a better hold.
Deciding time was of the essence, Kurama mentally targeted the massive demonic energy emanating from the thing currently eating the caravan and its passengers. Releasing energy into the most ruthlessly demanding demon summon he could call for, he accidentally lost control of the vegetation keeping them all from plummeting. He corrected his mistake, cringing when the cars closest to his plant now entangling the demon began to crumple inward like a wetted newspaper ball, knowing very few people would survive this mess.
The tension beneath him slacked, breaking him from another lapse in his concentration. Before the last car could escape with the last of the survivors, Kurama dove for the emergency cable linking the two carts, realizing his strength alone wouldn't be enough. Spotting the sturdy metal railing, he quickly wound the thick woven steel around it before he lost too much slack, pulling tight with inhuman ability. The entire contraption lurched forward, gaining a steeper incline as the broken railroad tracks bent away from their foundation to point down at the river.
He swore bitterly, frustrated with his own ineptitude.
Keiko shrieked from the very car he was trying to save, apparently displaced with all the commotion. Kurama grit his teeth and did his best to keep calm.
Tapping into more energy, he unfurled his rose whip tangled in his hair, willing it to travel down the cable to Keiko, winding it securely under her arms and down her body like a harness. Several heads popped up behind her, all equally frightened and bloody. Grimacing, Kurama sent another steely vine down to assist the others, finding that maintaining control over so many things at once was exhausting, and soon to be impossible.
"Climb!" He shouted, feeling the strain worsen as the Feral Vine continued to grow and feast on the gremlin. Soon, now, he'd have to cut it down himself before it too, grew untamable. He was damn lucky he was able to catch the gremlin's tamer by surprise, managing to only lose the use of one arm in the quick, violent fight. He had hoped the gremlin would flee once its master perished, but…
The train shuddered, beginning a downward slide on the tracks, no longer anchored securely by Kurama's crafty vines. Groaning, he did all he could to keep the lone cart from slipping, the course cable mercilessly biting into his wrists as he held the last small cab from derailing and dropping into the rapids below.
"Do not make me repeat myself," he snapped through gritted teeth, trying to fortify his footing as the cable began to cut the iron bar it was wrapped around. Kurama knew once it gave out, he'd have to let go, or else lose his arms entirely.
It's just like babysitting, Kurama! Come on, you owe me!
Babysitting indeed.
Terror stricken, Keiko gaped up at him from below, his thorn whip wrapped around her waist with gentle savagery. She nodded, taking hold of it and pulling herself up, wincing as she pricked her hands. Behind her followed a few more beaten passengers, too shell-shocked to pass judgment on the strange, writhing vine helping them attain the balance needed to clear the railing and reach safety. Keiko shrieked when the metal lurched and growled under her feet, foretelling most certain disaster. Panicked, she grasped Kurama's shoulder for support before remembering his injury, grimacing at the dying crimson spreading down his arm. She could not recall seeing him get it.
"I said run like hell, get off the train! Find phone—"
A sickening, sliding crunch erupted from below, drowning out even the wailing of the last woman clinging desperately to Kurama's rose whip. Sobbing hysterically, Keiko nearly dropped to her knees as it reverberated through her body, liquidating the vital tension in her muscles keeping her upright. She shook her head vigorously, unable to discern the words from his lips amongst the screaming and shrill metal screeching. Kurama suddenly arched in pain, simultaneously lessoning his hold on the cable and control of the life-sustaining plants, his eyes scanning and holding Keiko's as he silently mouthed three syllables, the last snarled branch snapping and releasing the final two cars. They effortlessly glided off the broken bridge like butter across a hot pan, screaming passengers, demon plant, gremlin and all.