Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha or Yuu Yuu Hakusho. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Yuu Yuu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Shounen. No profit or money of any kind is made from this fan-created crossover.

Rated M for a reason! This fic will contain dark themes, mild violence, foul language and character death. If any of that is not your cup of tea, then there is a back button for a reason.


Title: Sunsets Over Mulberry Fields
Chapter Four: Yet Love

"In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing."
Robert Ingersoll


This was not how they expected to be spending their week. The death of their friend had been an unexpected blow, one that seemed oddly premeditated. When they asked KoEnma about who killed him all he would say was that they were trying to track down the killer. They had a name, written in Kurabara's blood as some sick taunt, but now they needed a location.

Despite how much love they held for their friend, it was that same love that held them back from seeing his spirit. Even Kurabara understood and accepted their reasons why; he wouldn't want to see him either after stumbling across his body.

"KoEnma thinks he has a good idea of where he is. There's been some talk of unrest in the demon world, but we're still looking into it," Botan added quickly at seeing the crest-fallen look that graced Yuusuke's face. She felt horrible telling them that they still hadn't tracked down the demon who killed Kurabara, but perhaps it was for the best. It would give their thirst for revenge a chance to cool down.

Kurama sighed and ran his hand through his hair; their lack of information was starting to grate on his patience. "Hopefully something comes up soon. Unrest appearing in the demon world right now seems rather suspicious."

"Yes, we think someone is trying to overthrow Enki, but we don't know right now. KoEnma has been working non-stop trying to piece everything together."

"Who the hell cares!" Yusuke snapped, "All we need is one place and his ass will be dead."

Kurama and Botan sighed heavily; it was just like Yusuke to change his grief into anger. Yet they couldn't blame him, not over this. When the time came, Kurama's and Hiei's grief would also turn to anger as they extracted revenge. And they would be lying if they said they wouldn't enjoy it.

"How much longer do we have to waste waiting for the oaf's family?"

Once again Kurama found himself sighing, but this time over Hiei's question. "It should only be a little while longer. It's hard to gauge how long it will take for a person's body to be cremated."

Botan looked down at the ground trying to gather up the courage needed to say what she really came to say. They all knew the second they found Kurabara that there was no coming back for their friend, yet death couldn't stop him from talking. Deciding that it was now or never, Botan took a deep breath and turned to his greatest friend, "Yuusuke...?"

Yet as his brown eyes met hers, she felt her courage flee. It was heart-breaking to tell someone of another's last words to them. "Yeah?"

"Before I came here, Kurabara wanted me to tell you something," Botan's eyes filled with tears, yet she found herself smiling at remembering the scene she left. "He told me to tell you to 'start acting like a man and face what happened. No one can change the past, so stop beating yourself up -- that's my job when you get to Spirit World!' And then, he said: 'You better keep an eye on my cousin. She's as bad as you when it comes to finding trouble.' "

Yuusuke and Kurama chuckled at his messages. That was Kurabara for them... And they would give up anything to have heard him say those words himself.


She watched as what remained of his bones was passed to her uncle's chopsticks. Was it true that, that was all that was left of her cousin? In life he had literally been larger than life, that was why it was difficult to imagine all that remained of him could fit into such a tiny jar. How could even the strongest men be reduced to hardly anything? How could everything that made a person a person become nothing more than ashes at the end? It seemed a disservice to the deceased to turn them into something so nondescript as dust. Yet seeing that jar that now held her cousin and watching the bones that didn't manage to be burned passed onto her uncle, Kagome realized that those ashes were all that remained of her cousin. At least they had that to look upon and remember instead of having only pictures and memories left behind.

Perhaps that was the truth of the phoenix; that it was never its ashes it arose from, but rather the ashes of others that had been a part of it. The dead cannot truly live again, yet the survivors must find a way to give birth to their new life without that person in it. That was the hardest thing to do, and something most people never learned how to. Inuyasha was the first example of that to come to her mind; while Kikyou may have died, she was never able to truly die for him because he couldn't imagine his world without her in it. Kagome vowed that she would never be like that, hanging on to the memory of the dead in such a way, but as she was now faced with the reality of losing someone who had been a major part of her childhood, she didn't know if she could keep that vow. It hurt so much to remember, yet it felt like it would hurt even more if she tried to move on.

Kagome followed after her family numbly, it was just like when Shizuru had told her the news only this time the events had yet to truly catch up with her mind. She didn't want to believe that her cousin was now truly gone. No resurrections, and no evil witches would be using his ashes to bring him back to life. Or so she hoped and wished. While she would love to see her cousin one last time, she would be content to wait until they met in the spirit world. That was one of her few comforts; to know that she would be able to meet him after her own death which she knew had to come many years from now or Kazuma would never forgive her.

At seeing the shrine steps and knowing his brothers-in-blood would be waiting at the top, that surreal feeling came back. She could feel all of her emotions once again rushing to her head, but this time her strength didn't leave her nor did she start crying. All she really felt was weighted down by her grief. Before she knew it, she was at the top of the stairs, watching her family and Kazuma's friends mingle before they started to head into the main shrine. She didn't even remember climbing the stairs.

Spotting Yuusuke, someone whose pain ran as deep as her own, she went up to him, holding him back as everyone headed into the shrine to put his ashes to rest alongside her father. Gripping his arm tightly in the fear that he would leave, she whispered, "I don't want to be here... Anywhere but here."

His brown eyes shown with sympathy, he had been ready to ditch this as well. Kurabara may have been the best friend he ever had, but he just wasn't ready to see him put at rest. "Alright, but you asked for it."


He didn't know how it happened; it just did. It had just started out as a hug, and somehow it turned into this. This being, of course, the erotic thing that it was. While he knew it started with a kiss, he didn't know who had kissed who. It just happened. When her hands found the warm flesh of his back, he couldn't find it in him to rationalize what was happening and instead accepted it. What was there to think about, really? This wasn't about love or lust, it was what it was: sex.

His hands moved up under her shirt as well, only not to savor the soft feel of her skin, but to unhook her bra. If she was the one wanting this, then he wasn't one to pass up on the opportunity. It wasn't everyday that he got the chance to have sex with an older woman. Not like he even got the chance to have sex, normally Keiko was a deterrent to that. However Keiko and thoughts of any other woman were the farthest thoughts in his mind as he quickly found his now bare chest pressed intimately against Kagome's as she tried desperately to feel more of him.

Breaking the kiss (he didn't even realize they had started kissing again) he fumbled with the buttons on her blouse. She swatted his hands away when, in his inexperienced haste, he ripped a button off. As she undid the last button, he brought his mouth to her collarbone and began kissing his way down, sending small electric jolts through her nerves as he left a wet trail behind. He was annoyed when her hand gripped his hair painfully, causing him to look into her flushed face. A husky "Please," escaped from her swollen lips and made him realize just what she was wanting.

Not even caring that there was a bed just steps away from where they were standing, Yuusuke pushed her back against the wall. His communicator began to ring, the spell had been broken and they were thrust back into reality. A reality where Kurabara was dead, and they just attempted to find an escape in each other. "Fuck," he breathed out, resting his forehead against the wall just above her shoulder. He could feel her heavy breathing as his larger body covered hers, keeping her pinned against the wall.

"Perhaps you should answer it," she whispered to him. "And I... I should head back home. Everyone's probably worried."

Yuusuke knew that if he looked into her face, he would see her embarassment, and probably guilt. He had only been around her a couple of days, and he could already tell she would probably think she forced him into this situation. But that would be a lie, they both had enough chances to stop it.

"Yeah," he said, "you're right." He pushed off of the wall and headed over to his discarded shirt that hid his communicator from view. As he flipped it open, he failed to notice that Kagome had already slipped out the door.

"What the hell do you guys want?"

"Yuusuke, we've found the demon responsible for Kurabara's death."