I opened the door to our apartment and froze when I smelt the rich smoke of cigar coming from inside. I knelt down to my little sister, "Why don't you go ask Mrs. Chiyo if she'll show you her new puppy?"
"Okay!" Neema sang and skipped down the hall. I silently closed the door behind me and walked around to the living area where Tatsuhiro was waiting for me.
"Young Sarama, I'm very disappointed in you," he scolded coolly.
"I'm sorry," I bowed my head, not even knowing what I did wrong.
Tatsuhiro slammed a stack of papers onto the coffee table, "Failing school is unacceptable, Sarama."
That's what this is about? I kept my head down and read my report card.
"How can I trust you too keep up with your work if you can't keep up with your grades?" he pressed.
It clicked in my head that he didn't give two shits about my grades; he didn't want the school to start interfering with our agreement. "I understand, sir. It won't happen again."
"Do you?" he made a gesture to one of his goons who were standing against the wall.
"Yes. We don't want the school to interfere with us," I announced my understanding.
"You're a very perceptive child. That's exactly why I'm here. Now you must be punished for your lack of responsibility."
I clenched my fists in preparation for what was about to happen. I wasn't entirely sure. The man Tatsuhiro had gestured to approached me and grabbed me with both hands. I let it happen; there was nothing I could possibly do to this giant. He lifted me up and carried me into my room and held me out the already opened window. Then he stepped out onto the fire escape and carried me all the way to the roof. Tatsuhiro and his other drone followed silently. I was terrified of what was going to happen. I was frozen by fear. We reached the roof and the man who had been carrying me held me by the collar and lifted me over the edge of the building. I stared down at the pavement of the alleyway and watched as one of my shoes fell off my feet.
"Well, little Sarama?" Tatsuhiro addressed me, "Is this what you want for yourself?"
"N-no, sir," I managed to choke out. The wind picked up and blew through my clothes making it seem like I could fly if the man dropped me.
"Then you have some work to do, don't you?" Tatsuhiro took a drag from his cigar, "This next semester you will be doing work of a different crime. Consider it an ongoing detention until your grades improve," he made another gesture to the man holding me. The man laughed and released the collar of my middle school uniform.
For a split second it felt like I was floating. Then the adrenaline surged through my veins and I fell. There was no time to think. I just knew what to do. As I fell, I reached out to the fire escape and caught hold of a railing. I let the gravity of my fall pull me into the fire escape and released my grip on the railing as it slammed into my chest and face. I fell down a flight of the stairs and halted where the staircase turned. I was alive, somehow. The pain caught up with me and I squeezed my eyelids tight. My body felt vibrant and hot. I couldn't move. I coughed and opened my eyes. My sight was blurry and red. Blood tricked down my face and out of my mouth. I coughed more out. I tried to move but agonizing electricity shot through my body. I whimpered and relaxed as much as I could. I stayed still and sunk into an abyss of blood and fear.
I went to my classroom after first period was over and stayed in school the rest of the day. That's the most I'd gone to class that week. After school, I went home only to be greeted by my over enthusiastic sister and father. My dad was cooking something when I walked in, "Hey, Rhea!" he sang.
"Hello," I greeted trying not to sound suspicious. I forgot that Kurama did something to him…
"How was school?" he asked with a smile.
I watched him carefully as I set my bag down next to my bedroom door, "Uh… good, I guess."
He set down his cooking utensil, "You guess?" he laughed. "What's that mean?"
I sighed and sat down on the couch, "I actually went to class," I replied with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well," he paused understanding why I didn't go to my classes usually, "That's good. I want you to continue going to class." He smiled, "All of them. I'm the parent now; you're the child who goes to school." He said this as if the past year and a half didn't actually happen. I glanced over to him and he gave me a huge grin.
"What's got you in a peppy mood?"
"Daddy's getting a job!" my cheery sister replied for him. She was playing with a puzzle at the kitchen counter.
"How?" I asked as I walked over to see the puzzle.
"I have two interviews downtown tomorrow and another interview next week in midtown," he grinned as he went back to cooking.
My dad already has three interviews lined up… in one day… and he's cooking again! What the fuck did Kurama do to my dad?! "That's…" I was shocked.
"I told you she'd be surprised!" my little sister joked towards my dad.
"Yes, very," I retorted. "But it's a good surprise," I quickly added after a second.
My dad laughed and made up three plates of rice, sausage, and stir-fry vegetables. I was definitely impressed and even more so when I started eating. My sister talked our heads off through dinner and I was pretty sure she was still trying to talk as she went to go take a shower.
I laughed to myself and cleaned up the dishes. I have a little bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I watched as my father helped my sister get ready for bed and as he kissed her goodnight I snuck out of the apartment. I left a note saying I was going out for a walk, which was true but in all honesty, it was just too weird to stay.
Whenever I felt I needed to think something through, I'd walk through the park. Tonight I managed to arrive at the park entrance without even realizing I was headed there. A cold wind picked up and I shook my head at me subconscious that was trying to tell me something. As I walked I decided to go off the path and through the forest. I lit up a cigarette and stared down at my hand. I "burned" Gouki. What does that mean? How did I do it?
After a while I decided to turn back. The sun was setting and the forest was dark. It wasn't long before I heard voices ahead that weren't there before.
"And once the moon becomes full we can use Kurama's weapon and supposedly get complete control. Isn't that right?" an angry voice fantasized.
Kurama? I stopped and ducked down behind a bush in hopes of not being noticed. There really wasn't a way of getting around them anyways. My skin was crawling with anxiety; it was like waves of some unknown substance were slamming into me. He wants to do what now?
"Sorry, I must withdraw from this alliance," Kurama replied calmly. The two demons made surprised noises.
"What's that supposed to mean? Surely you're not dropping out of the game after we've come this far!" the angry guy retorted, the wrath in his voice growing.
"Yes," Kurama answered simply.
"You coward!" I think Kurama said his name was Hiei. "Your years of hiding in this world has made you just like them; spineless and ready to be walked on!"
"I don't give a fuck if he leaves, but he has no right to the loot," Gouki cut in, I definitely recognized that voice. "Give us the pretty little mirror," he ordered. This guy…
"I can't. I have great need for it myself first," Kurama resisted coolly.
"Well," Gouki cut Kurama off, "Look what we have here." He charged through the shrubbery that separated us and grabbed my wrists. He was extremely fast for being so huge. I groaned as he twisted my arms so that I couldn't touch him. "What's your little girlfriend doing out here?"
"Yes, what are you doing out here?" Kurama asked me gently.
"I was taking a walk until this oaf found me," I retorted angrily. I didn't intend to sound so worked up but the bastard was trying to tear off my limbs.
"Gouki, let her go," Kurama sighed. The small emo kid stayed quiet.
Gouki laughed, "Or what? If she ain't your girlfriend, I don't see a point in keeping her around!" He opened his mouth to gesture that he wanted to eat me. I cringed and brought my foot up behind me and straight into his crotch. He yelped and released his hold on me. I turned around to face him and he lunged at me. I really hope this works, I threw my hands up and clasped onto his face. I felt my hands turn hot and Gouki screamed in agony and backed off. My jaw dropped when I saw the damage that had been done. His cheeks looked like someone had spooned out his flesh. It's not a burn, it's erosion… with my bare hands!
"Sweet," I grinned. Gouki growled and it took me all but a second to run behind Kurama in hopes that he'd keep Gouki from coming after me.
There was a rustling from the bushes that made us all turn to see what it was.
"Excuse me, neighbors!" A young man popped out from behind the bushes. "Couldn't help but notice there's no rain falling here. Maybe the next time you guys go stealing some magic toys, you should hide where it's not so obviously sunny," He grinned. When the hell did it start raining? "Just a tip," he added. He had slicked back black hair and was wearing a green school uniform. I found it ridiculously funny that he was holding a branch like an umbrella.
"Who are you?" this Hiei guy growled, "And how do you know about the artifacts?"
"Give us your name," Gouki added redundantly.
"Oh, thank you," the boy holding the branch started. "I hoped you'd ask! Hello, boys!" he held his thumb up pointing towards himself. "The name's Yusuke, I'm a spirit detective," he introduced with a huge grin. Well, that's not necessarily good.
"Spirit detective?" Gouki asked.
"Don't worry, he's just one of Koenma's fools," Hiei reassured his dumb partner. "He must have been the only human they could round up. His spirit energy is pathetic," Hiei analyzed.
Kurama turned to me and gently nudged me to start walking away. I glanced up at him but turned and started walking without question. I really don't want to get in trouble with the Afterworld! He stayed close behind me, probably just in case any of them decided to attack.
"Hey!" The spirit detective barked, "Where are you going?"
I glanced back but kept walking. Kurama never faltered, "Sorry, I don't have time to be arrested," he mocked before we were engulfed in the dark shadows of the trees. We started running as he finished his goodbye.
We walked in silence until we got to the park entrance. My left wrist hurt like a bitch and I kept rubbing it to try and numb it a little.
"Are you hurt?" Kurama asked after a while.
"I think it just got twisted a little too much," I replied as I lit a cigarette. He stopped and took my arm and analyzed my wrist. He started to gently twist my forearm and hand. "What are you doing?" I growled as I felt waves of pain vibrate through my wrist and arm.
He let go, "It's sprained," he informed me sadly.
"Same thing," I blew off again.
"What were you doing in the forest?" he asked out of nowhere.
"I was taking a walk. My father was tripping me out," I replied teasingly.
He laughed a little, "In a good or bad way?"
"A good one," I paused, "It's just a little creepy. You made my life do a one-eighty overnight… it's a lot to take in."
"So you aren't as accepting as you lead on," I think he meant that to be a question.
"Don't get me wrong; I'm wholly accepting this craziness," I looked over at him, "It's just very sudden, and out of nowhere."
He smiled at me, "Should I not have done what I did?"
"No," I replied automatically, "I mean, yes. I'm very glad you did all that. Thank you."
He laughed again, "Would you like to come inside for a moment?" he gestured to a townhouse we had stopped in front of.
"Sure," I replied after realizing I had been blindly following his lead. We went inside and he gestured for me to sit down. I sat on the couch and watched him disappear and reappear with a first aid kit. I made a disapproving face.
He sat down next to me, "This isn't the average first aid kit," he replied to my expression as he opened it. It was filled entirely with small vials.
"What the hell?" I asked staring at the kit.
He pulled out a vial that had a piece of paper taped to it reading "Sprains". He opened it and poured a small amount of clear liquid into his hand. He then rubbed his hands together and clasped them gently around my wrist and started rubbing the liquid in.
"What are you doing?"
"This will fix the sprain almost immediately," he replied simply. "It needs my spirit energy to work though," he added after a second.
"Ah," I replied and looked over the coffee table as he let go and started putting his crazy first aid kit away. There was a small circular mirror on the table and I picked it up to analyze it. "Is this the mirror you were talking about?"
Some of the color left his face, "Yes."
"So what's it do again?"
"It grants me any wish I want," he replied vaguely.
"Whenever you want?"
"No, only on the night of the full moon," he sat back down.
"So what's the catch?" I asked blankly.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"There's no way it's going to grant your wish without something in return," I replied easily.
He looked at me for a while in silence.
"Well?" I pressed.
He sighed and leaned back against the couch, "It'll grant my wish in return for my life." I stared at him. "You kept asking, so I told you," he replied to my expression.
"You've got to be one of the most retarded people I've ever met."
"Why's that?" he sounded taken aback.
"Your mom is going to be saved just so she can mourn your death for the rest of her life. You're not doing her any favors here," I scolded.
He frowned, "Why do you think that?"
I sighed and leaned back against the couch as well, "Look, humans don't live long. We can't even get to one hundred let alone seven. We have all kinds of diseases and we're weak. If she survives this one, another one's just gonna come along later on. We don't live forever like you do, it's just what happens. We die." He seemed to be thinking on what I said. "I don't mean to sound like a bitch but… You'll end up rolling in your grave when she gets another life threatening disease in a few years from now," I added after a long silence.
There was another silence, "You might be right, but I owe this to her. I haven't made her life an easy one. If she can survive this, then at least the last few years of her life will be happy," he finally replied. "I know her boyfriend is going to marry her and make her very happy… regardless of my death."
I shook my head, "You're stupid."
"Possibly," he smiled which I thought was strange.
I rolled my eyes and stood up, noticing that my wrist wasn't hurting anymore. "Well, that sucks. I was really looking forward to more crazy things happening on the roof of the school." He stood as well and walked me to the door. "So what are you going to do for the last few days of your life?" I turned and asked as he opened the front door.
He looked over to the mirror on the table then back to me, "I haven't really decided yet."
I walked home slowly, disheartened by what I just learned. "Four days, huh?" I asked the early night air. I got home and automatically lit up a cigarette. My father and sister were soundly asleep, enjoying the happy turn of events while I was being kept awake because I was too busy worrying about some suicidal demon. That's just fucking great…
The next day at school I didn't bother sneaking off to the roof until the lunch break. When I opened the door to the roof, I noticed Kurama was already there… with Hiei.
"Oh, great," I groaned and lit up a cigarette.
The midget turned and glared at me, "Leave, or I'll make you my slave," he hissed.
I rolled my eyes, "Sure you will," I took a drag of my cigarette.
Hiei growled and got into a fighting stance.
"She doesn't care about your motives, Hiei," Kurama stepped in.
Hiei snapped back at Kurama, "If she's not ignorant, she's in the way," he growled angrily.
"No," I replied lazily and they both looked at me. "I really don't give a fuck what you do with your new shiny sword that turns trees into gargoyles." Their eyes grew just a little bit wider when they realized I had witnessed more than I had lead on the night before. "To tell you the truth, half the time I agree. Humans can really fucking suck."
Hiei let out a small evil chuckle, "Then you should team up with me. I can even help you make that corrosive power of yours stronger," he offered.
I deadpanned, "What part of 'I don't give a fuck' don't you understand?"
"She has a point," Kurama noted to distract the aggressive midget.
"Fine," Hiei turned back to Kurama, "I'll be seeing you in Hell," and he straight up disappeared. I blinked in disbelief. Kurama gave me a faint smile.
I took another drag off my cigarette, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your lunch meeting," I joked a little.
He seemed to force a bigger smile, "No. I should thank you. He was pestering me to rejoin him."
"Oh," I replied and looked off to the side, "You're welcome then." I sat down against the fence and he followed suit. We sat in silence until my cigarette burned down to the filter. I tossed it over the fence. "Kurama—?"
"I know," he cut me off. I looked up at him but he was facing away from me. "My decision is stupid, right?"
I sighed, "I won't pester you about it, but are you sure there isn't another way? Maybe a different magical item?"
He looked back to me, "Why is this so important to you?"
I thought about it a while before replying, "It's probably the same reason you decided to wipe out the entire mafia."
He nodded once in understanding, "Unfortunately, this is more of a last resort," he answered my question finally.
I let my head drop in defeat.
Randomly, Kurama started laughing quietly and I looked at him like he was crazy, "What's so funny?" I asked taken aback.
"I'm surprised at how well your arguments have gotten under my skin," he replied with a small grin.
I looked at him funny, "What?"
"I'm starting to second guess my decision because of your lecture from last night," he explained.
I laughed, "That sucks for you," I replied sarcastically. I have a tendency to turn to cruelty when I didn't want to deal with emotions.
He gave a small laugh, "Yes, it does. I think it's because I've never been called 'stupid' before."
I laughed again, "Really? Why?"
He gave me a slightly evil grin, "Because no one's dared to."
"I'm so scared," I teased.
"You should be."
"You're not gonna do shit."
"What makes you so confident?"
"Because then you would have wasted your time offing the mafia."
"What if I didn't do it for you?"
I grinned, "You aren't going to do shit."
He lifted his eyebrow curiously.
"You don't want that pretty face of yours to be corroded," I continued to tease.
"You'd never be able to get close enough to touch me," he retorted playfully.
"Wanna bet?"
He laughed and stood up, "It's very tempting to prove you wrong, but you're right. I'd never bother wasting time fighting a human."
"That's rather insulting," I stood up as well.
He turned back to me with a grin, "Good," and ran inside.
"I guess I deserved that," I mused and picked up my bag and headed back to class.
I got home only to be greeted by the last person I wanted to see. My mother.
"Well, hello Rhea," she greeted with hidden intent.
I stared at her. After a moment I found my feet and walked over to my room to set my bag down, my eyes never leaving my mother.
"I thought we settled this uniform issue," she continued.
"Funny, the dean said the same thing earlier this week," I retorted coldly.
"Come now, let's not be acidic towards each other," she offered with a dry tone. "Shall we go out for coffee?"
Ha, acidic. Where are dad and Neema? I nodded once and followed her out of the apartment. My mother was a successful businesswoman who had left my father, my sister, and me for money. Three years ago she started showing back up, using her money to make our lives miserable. She knew I'd hate going to Meiou High School so she pays for me to go there, even though I'd prefer the free, public high school where I wasn't forced to wear a frilly uniform. She completely ignores my little sister and constantly tries to get my father in legal trouble. In other words, she likes forcing us through hoops… that have been set on fire.
I followed her silently to a café down the street from the apartment. I studied her the entire way. She bought my drink and sat us down at a table outside. I lit up a cigarette.
"That's bad for you," she lectured.
I took a drag and flicked ash on the ground, "I thought you'd be happy that I'm forcing myself to have a long, painful death."
"You shouldn't smoke, it's un-lady-like."
"So are your family values," I reminded her.
She sat back, "I've decided that when you graduate from Meiou, you'll be going to college in America."
"Fuck that," I snorted.
"You don't want me to pay for your education?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to be monetarily connected to you. You're dead to me."
She sighed, "If you don't go to college—"
"If I decide to go to college, I'll go on my own terms," I cut her off. "The only reason you want to help is to watch me squirm."
Her lips twitched up, "How's Neema?" she changed topics.
"You'd know if you gave her the time of day."
"Rhea!"
"I remember what you said when you left. Neema was three years old and you told her she would be your last mistake," I reminded her aggressively.
My mother went silent; I wasn't letting her get a leg in to fuck up our newly found freedom. "Has it occurred to you that I'm trying to make amends?"
I studied her, "Pushing us around with your money is not 'making amends'. You're supposed to use motherly love and affection for that shit," I replied.
Her face contorted for a split second, "I could if you'd let me."
"You don't have it in you." I felt a tap on my shoulder and my mother and I looked at the person who interrupted our conversation, "Oh, Shuichi! Thank god!" I exclaimed and stood up giving him a quick hug.
He blinked in surprise, "Am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all," I gritted and pinched his back telling him he'd better play along. I turned back to my mother, "Sorry I had to cut our heart-to-heart short. I have a date."
Kurama looked confused for a split second then caught on that I was in need of an escape and he wrapped his arm around my waist to play the part, "My apologies, ma'am," he spoke to my mother. "The movie starts in fifteen and I already bought the tickets," he gave a light smile to her.
My mother stood up ignoring Kurama, "Rhea, aren't you at least going to introduce us?"
I gritted my teeth again, "This is Shuichi."
"Properly," My mother ordered.
I took in a deep breath trying to hold myself together, "This is Shuichi Minamino. Shuichi, this is my mother," I growled the last word and shot her a glare.
Kurama released his grip on my waist and made a small bow and shook my mother's hand, "It's very nice to meet you," he recited.
"What an upstanding young man," my mother complimented him, "Maybe you can teach my daughter a thing or two about manners," she managed to insult me.
Kurama gave a small laugh, "I'll work on it," he reassured her. I grabbed his arm and started walking off. We turned a corner and I let go of him.
"What was all that?" he lifted an eyebrow.
I sighed and leaned against the brick wall of a building. We had dodged into an alleyway to get away from the busy Friday afternoon commotion, "My mother," I replied regretfully.
Kurama slipped his hands into his pockets, "Should I kill her too?"
"Yes."
Kurama sweatdropped, "I was kidding."
"I wasn't."
"I noticed. Where are we going on our date?"
"We're not."
He laughed, "I'm just teasing." I didn't reply. "Is she really that bad?" he asked after a moment.
"I'd rather not talk about it." There was another silence. I took the opportunity to calm myself down. "So what are you doing around this part of town?" I asked after a minute.
He leaned up against the wall opposite of me, "That spirit detective has beaten Gouki and is coming this way. I plan to make a deal with him."
"A deal?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, if he can give me three days, I'll return the mirror and turn myself in."
"How are you going to do that if you're dead?"
He smirked, "That's the point."
"Ah," I looked down at my feet not sure was else to say. He started heading into the crowd again and I followed him. "So what else do you know about this spirit detective guy?" I was following slightly behind him because of how crowded the streets were and noted that it was getting dark already.
"His name is Yusuke and has the ability to concentrate his spirit energy to the tip of his finger and use it like a gun," he replied dryly.
"That's way more useful than whatever the fuck I have," I groveled to myself.
"Yes, but your spirit awareness is tenfold what his is," Kurama offered.
"How do you know?"
"I do my research," he smirked but it faded as I felt my hair stick on end and a strange beeping noise came into earshot. I looked up and saw the spirit detective a couple of yards away with a walking stick. He looked like he just had his ass handed to him. There was a girl with blue hair with him.
"Looks like someone's spidey-senses are tingling," I joked.
Kurama's lips twitched up for a moment. "Go home. Now," he ordered under his breath.
His tone made my spine tingle so I didn't argue. "Okey dokey," I turned on my heel and fell into the crowd. I looked back for just a second and saw the blue haired girl staring at me. Oh, shit! I started running.
Author's Note:
Hey! Something from the original content! Finally, right? XD Want a disclaimer? Read chapter two. I'm glad I got to post this, A tornado might come fuck up my shit soon. XD
Special Thanks:
Thanks to crossyourteez, mrsbeggins, and guest person for reviewing!
And thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! Please feel free to leave a review, follow and favorite. There's more where this came from and it'll be up soon!
