In the Garden of Ningenkai

Disclaimer: I do not own the Yu Yu Hakusho verse or any characters affiliated with the verse only the Original characters. Also music will be used in this fic that does not belong to me. Artists will be given credit at the end. Thank you.

Kurama wasn't sure how he got himself into such things he thought as he sat with the wives of his team mates at the stadium concert hall in downtown Tokyo. His nieces had been desperate to come see their favorite new artist. Botan couldn't deny her Airi anything and bought them all tickets, but Koenma and Kuwabara had insisted some one go with them for safety sake. It was never a good idea to let half demons and their mothers run around alone after dark. But even though it had been their idea to have someone go with them they all declined even Yusuke, though no surprise there. They made excuses and volunteered to stay home with the boys and so Botan asked him. And he being a gentleman had said yes.

He took the opportunity to look around the large stadium filled to capacity with what seemed to be girls of all ages from preteen up into the mid twenties it seemed. He was even relieved to see other men in the audience mostly teenagers though, he could probably guess why they were interested in the performance.

"What's the name of this band again?" He asked. The show was set to start in ten minutes or so and his nieces were brimming with excitement.

Ren, Keiko and Yusuke's only daughter rolled her eyes at him and heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Uncle Rama its not a band it's a singer, one singer, THE Rouge Chevalier!"

Kurama's eyes widened at hearing the French phrase come from his niece's mouth. Her attitude however did not surprise him she was 14 after all and as a teenager girl normally would be especially one with Urameshi genes she tended to be a little rude at times. He just smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"The Rouge Chevalier huh? Sounds like a medieval fairy tale to me." He observed giving a confused look to Botan who sat beside him.

She just chuckled. "It's a fad I guess, you have to admit it is a pretty catchy name to have." She answered.

"What's the singer's real name? He asked his natural kitsune curiosity getting the better of him.

"No one knows." Aoi answered still enthralled by the excitement in the arena. Haruna turned her sweet brown eyes on her uncle and said. "It's a secret." The Kuwabara twins though younger than Ren were just as excited to see the show. But then again anything Ren liked, they liked too. "Yeah she tells all the people who interview her to call her Rouge." Ren added. 'Some things never change' Kurama thought to himself.

Botan's little daughter Airi, the youngest of the girls at only 11 pulled on his sleeve.

"Yes dear?" He asked her sweetly.

"Uncle Rama, what does La Rouge Chevalier mean?"

Yukina turned to look at him before he could answer,"Do you speak French Kurama?"

"Yes. My step father has friends and business associates there we used to visit." Kurama felt an old familiar pain seep into his chest at the thought of France, and one French girl imparticular that despite himself he still missed. His eyes turned back to Airi's soft pink gaze and answered. "It means the Red Knight."

The twins gave each other quizzical looks. "Like the sky?" They asked in unison.

Kurama chuckled, "No like knights in shining armor. Warriors of old."

"Like daddy." Ren piped in cheerly. Keiko had to hold in a chuckle but let slip a whisper to the other adults of. "Tarnished armor maybe." They all had a little laugh at Yusuke's expense before the announcer came on to say the show would be starting momentarily.

"Botan are you sure this music is totally appropriate for the little girls?" Keiko asked always the worrier.

Botan brushed off her worry with a smile. "Of course. I watched one of her music videos and did some research myself. Her sound is provocative so is her image, but she is moderate enough to send a positive message wrapped in popular music. She seems rather cool to me."

"Cool?! She's awesome!" Ren shouted excited. "And mom I'm not little." She added belatedly.

"Sounds like you've done your homework." Kurama commented to Botan. She smiled. "Well information is what I do."

She was right about that. Kurama couldn't count how many times Botan's information had been invaluable on cases, even if Yusuke had been loath to take it at the best of times.

The lights finally went down and a female voice could be heard from the speakers.

"Hey Tokyoooo! ARE YOU READY?"

Kurama's sensitive demonic hearing suffered a painful blow from the screaming of all the females in the arena in response. He was just glad not to have his kitsune ear for this one.

"I can't hear youuuu?" The female voice taunted from nowhere. The screaming increased and Kurama was sure his ears were bleeding, maybe this had been a bad idea.

"ALRIGHT!"

The music started and all the girls stared eyes glued to the stage waiting for her to make her entrance.

The music reminded Kurama of a carnival at first and he braced himself knowing his eardrums would be bleeding again any moment. As the intro continued a girl sauntered onto the stage and as Kurama had predicted the screaming increased ten fold. He looked up at the stage to get a better look at the sensation that had the stadium in a tizzy and there stood a girl wearing a bright candy apple red tank top with jagged bottom cut and black leather pants with matching red tennis shoes. She had golden blonde hair that gathered at the base of her neck to form a halo of hold around her face. Her only head accessory was a black head band with a red rose in it. As the song began Kurama was stunned by the timber of her voice, but more so by the precision of her dance steps. Her body spoke of a life dancing, of muscles perfectly formed and lean to complete every step to perfection.

As he continued to listen he realized her voice had a familiar yet unique sound to it. He also found the words of the song strangely fitting for the beauty on the stage. "All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus. When I crack that whip, everybody gon' trip just like a circus Don't stand there watching me, follow me, show me what you can do. Everybody let go, we can make a dance floor just like a circus."

After a few more songs Kurama still found himself entranced by the girl's performance. Kurama's gift for analysis allowed him to deduce many things about the girl on the stage. First thing he had noticed was that she was a better dancer then a singer. Not that she was a bad singer, but it was obvious she had more heart more skill in her dance. Every step was her own, not some copy paste steps learned to fit in with her back up dancers.

He almost felt bad for the back up dancers because the second thing he learned was that this girl absolutely commanded the attention of everyone in the stadium…and she knew it. She was born to lead, born to turn heads. Attention grabbing was something the fox knew well of. As a legendary thief, he basked in the attention it garnered him even if negative. Every trap every obstacle had been a performance for him. It would seem this girl was a kindred spirit, attention grabbing, and if her lyrics were anything to go by she was partial to red…roses…

"Control your poison babe
Roses have thorns they say.
And we're all gettin' hosed tonight."

"Roses bloom
In your dirty room
I come to play
'Cause I can't stay away
No I can't stay away-ay"

Something deep within the fox something he'd buried long ago told him that this girl was more than a kindred spirit, there was something so familiar about her, he knew that it was more than curiosity that drew him to her and he knew that he would had to know more about her regardless of the trouble he knew it could get him into.

The last song came faster then expected and Kurama could finally see what Botan had meant about a positive message.

"I can slay, my own dragons
I can dream, my own dreams
My knight in shining armour is me"

The irony of the whole performance did not escape him as La Rouge Chevalier left the stage. People started to move enmasse to leave the stadium, before anyone could suggest to do the same Botan jumped up excitedly and turned to the girls. "I have a surprise for you!" She sing songed cheerily.

Keiko and Yukina smiled at each other it seemed they were privy to the surprise that Kurama and the girls were in the dark about.

"Since I am the Lady of the Rekai I was able to pull a few strings and get us backstage passes to meet La Rouge Chevalier herself!"

A squeal of absolute joy rang out from the four little girls who quickly pounced on Botan hugging her tightly.

Choruses of "Thank you thank you thank you! Mom you're the best!" Could be heard from all the girls as they bounced back and forth excitedly between their mothers. It was late and one would think that after that show they would be sufficiently tired but that one sentence from Botan had them wound up more than buckets of sugar ever could. Kurama too was secretly thankful for Botan's ingenuity, now he could meet the enigma without having to resort to other tactics.

They moved against the crowd towards the stage and when Botan showed their passes a large security guard led them through a stage door and back through a long hall to a dressing room door. He knocked and waited for a response.

"Your guest fans are here." The man called out in a deep but friendly voice. The sight of the man was overbearing but he didn't sound half as vicious as he looked.

"Oh good!" They heard from the other side. The girls were by now literally bouncing in place.

The security guard smiled at them and opened the door. The little girls raced in and standing in the middle of the large dressing room was the woman from the stage. As Kurama entered he could now see at this close proximity why she was so familiar. She looked like her…

The woman smiled when she saw the little girls and stood in an open stance knowing that the little girls were bursting with energy and could charge her if she given leave. "Welcome ladies." She said congenially. "And gentleman." She said seeing Kurama.

"I am Rouge Chevalier, but you can call me Rouge."

"Wow THE Rouge Chevalier! I can't believe it! Pinch me I think I must be asleep!" Ren whispered in awe of her idol.

His nieces' hero worship of this girl bordered on strange. He had known of her before the show his questions in the stadium had been meant to tease. How could he not know? Anytime he visited the Urameshi house he could here the songs blaring from the door of Ren's bedroom. Airi had a few posters of her she had to show off when she got them. The twins too had their own adoration. It seemed the whole of Japan had caught Rouge fever.

Rouge chuckled. "How'd you all like the show?" She asked kneeling down to be at eye level with the girls.

"IT WAS AWESOME!" They all shouted in unison. She blinked at their enthusiasm and then chuckled. "I'm glad you liked it. This was my first show in Japan I wasn't sure if you guys would be into it?"

"It was GREAT!" Airi chimed in with her infectious smile her blue locks bouncing.

"Well Thank You."

"I love your dancing." Aoi admitted shyly. "Where did you learn how to dance like that?" Haruna finished for once more forward then her sister.

The occupants heard the door open and a tall man with dark hair in a tank top with windbreaker and sweats walked in.

"I'm glad you asked. I learned all my dance moves from Angelo here." She said pointing to the man.

The man tsked her and said, "No, no, no. It's no good to lie bella. She's so modest. She's a natural. Born to the stage just like me. Although I did teach her backup dancers everything they know." He said with a cheeky grin.

"You see girls I've been dancing since I was very young. All kinds, like everything practice makes perfect. Right?" She said winking at the little girls.

"Rouge who are these bello piccolinas?" Angelo asked.

Rouge's eyes got exagerratedly big and she gasped. "Well I don't even know your names yet! May I know them?" She asked politely.

"Well I'm Ren, and these are my friends Aoi, Haruna, and Airi. And these are our moms. OH! And uncle Rama, of course." She said with a grin.

"I'm very pleased to meet you all." She smiled genuinely and continued to chat with the little ones while the very Italian choreographer Angelo turned to the ladies. "May I say that you have very beautiful daughters ladies."

"Thank you." Botan accepted with a smile. Soon the man, Angelo made his exit after telling Rouge it was a good show and he'd see her later.

Soon Rouge led the children to a table across the room where she allowed them to pick out any merchandise they wanted and she would sign it for them. As the girls looked over all the things on the table Rouge turned back to the adults. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She repeated politely.

"It was a great show." Yukina complimented.

"Thank you. Its not often parents find this kind of show entertaining."

"Oh I think its great." Botan chimed in cheerily. Keiko readily agreed. It seemed this Lady Rouge had mystified them all. The girls brought over their trinkets for Rouge to sign when Airi asked. "Rouge what's your real name?"

Botan was about to scold her for asking personal questions, but Rouge just smiled and Kurama was thankful to the little girl for asking the question he wanted desperately to know the answer to. Ever since he had walked in the room he had been struck silent at how much she looked like her…like Suzette.

"Well, I'll tell you, only because we're friends." The girls nodded vigorously smiled permanently printed on their faces. "But you have to keep it a secret ok?"

They nodded enthusiastically.

"My name is Rose Kei Lin Heffernan."

"Heffernan?" Aoi made a face at the strange word.

"Now I see why you use the stage name." Keiko commented. Rose just smiled and nodded in reply then looked back at the girls. "You see my name actually literally means Rose Thorn Whip Demon, so its actually a lot cooler then it sounds."

The words hit Kurama like a ton of bricks that couldn't be a coincidence and from the looks on the girls' faces the word Demon had slipped past them easily either. Kurama took a chance and stepped forward closer to Rose. He had to know. It was eating away at him and he had to know for certain. "Excuse me Miss Rose, but you remind me of an old friend of mine. Do you know Suzette Bellerose by any chance?"

Rose's eyes became quizzical as she stared at the red headed man before her. She was sure she'd never seen him before then how did he know who she was?

"Well she doesn't go by that name anymore, she's called Sue Heffernan now, but yes Suzette Bellerose is my mother." When the girl answered she looked straight into the man eyes and in the same instance they both noticed the green.

This man had the deepest green eyes she'd ever seen.

Kurama realized. She had his eyes…. Memories came floating back to him ones he had long since tried to forget. His mind started whirling. Almost 20 years ago, she looked about that age.

20 years ago, to the night he had had and lost the only woman who meant everything to him. And now standing before him was a girl who's eyes, who's very name mocked his loss.

"May I ask how you know her…sir…?" Rose asked leadingly wanting to know this man's name since he seemed to know her mother and to her knowledge her mother knew no one in Japan. Heck her mother hadn't even wanted her to come here.

"Suuichi Minamino." He answered flawlessly. He wasn't sure if the girl knew what was being discovered in that moment, but he was sure if she said his name to her mother she would soon know… "Your mother's family and mine were business associates years ago."

Rose seemed to by the surface excuse. "Well I'll give her your regards but I'm afraid she hasn't been in touch with her family since she married my father." She turned to the rest of them with a smile and said, "Love is blind you know."

"Yeah it is." Keiko added which caused Botan and Yukina to chuckle a little.

After Rose signed autographs and took pictures with the girls Keiko said it was time to go get the girls to bed. Rose bid them good bye and as they were leaving Kurama decided to come back after getting the girls safely home and track Rose for a while. He was almost certain she had suspicions about him and he wanted his thoughts confirmed….

As they headed back to the Urameshi residence Yukina turned to Kurama. "How is it you really know her mother?"

Kurama smiled at the koorime, always too perceptive for her own good. He looked away and sighed staring up at the sky, he could now see Suzette's face all too vividly in his memory because of Rose's reminder. "She was the only human woman I ever allowed to see the real me."

Yukina's eyes widened a little and when Botan overheard his words she gasped in surprise. Before she could speak Yukina quietly added in. "You loved her?"

Kurama didn't answer as they had just arrived and as soon as the girls had unlocked the door Kurama was gone. Keiko, Botan, and Yukina looked at each other puzzlingly before Keiko sighed to herself and asked. "You don't think…"

"Maybe." Botan replied. They all went inside wondering what their friend was going to do concerning the girl…

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Song lyrics courtesy of Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, The Veronicas, and the Cheetah Girls I hold no particular attachment or affection for any of them, but hey if the song fits…wear it.