Disclaimer: I'm grateful to my readers/reviewers. They're so smart. Unlike some other people (coughlawyerscough) they know that I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho but they don't turn me over to the government. And the readers also know that I only own Oshiro, Stato, Tsukino, the plot and the poems in the page breaks.
Recap: Kurama explains all later on.
Say It If It's Worth Saving Me
Chapter Seven
Making Plans
Day Twelve
"Well Kurama, any ideas?" Yusuke asks me as he sits down beside me.
Currently, all the detectives (Botan included) are sitting in the dinning room away from distractions. One more day before we return to the other side of our lives. One last day to figure out what information Koenma wants without having to dodge our other responsibilities. One last day.
"We all agree that there is no possible way we can obtain any information from her in one day unless by force or," I look over at Hiei, "by trespassing on her mind."
Hiei scoffs. "It wouldn't matter. I wouldn't be able to find anything unless I knew what we were looking for. Without concentration, one thought could easily sidetrack me."
"And we can't force the information out of her either if we don't know what questions to ask," Kazuma adds.
"In other words, it isn't possible to complete this mission in one day," Botan concludes.
I nod. "So we are left with only one option, one of us will have to bring Tsukino back with us."
"You said that already," Yusuke tells me.
"I was just repeating it for Botan who wasn't at our last meeting."
"So what did you guys come up with?" she asked.
"Yusuke thought that having Tsukino go to my school as a student would be a good idea. But I pointed out that she probably wouldn't pass the exam, and she looks too old," Kazuma informs her.
"Then he," Yusuke points to Kazuma, "thought she should stay with me and Keiko and work in the restaurant."
"Then Yusuke suggested that the demon stay with the fox," Hiei finishes.
Botan is silent for a moment and then says, "Why don't you just let her chose?"
We all look at her in surprise, and she grins. "If you let her chose she will feel more comfortable and more willing to talk. And no matter what, she'll someone in the group so we can all keep in contact and know what is happening."
I nod. It's a perfectly logical idea. Now I just have to hope that everyone else agrees.
"Sounds good to me," Kazuma says.
"Hn," Hiei replies.
Yusuke frowns but agrees.
"Very well then. Once she is awake we'll alert her about this."
At that moment, Yukina entered the room. "Tsukino-chan has just awoken up so we need the dinning room for breakfast."
We all look at each other, silently deciding who will tell Tsukino about who she may stay with.
"I'll do it," Botan volunteers as she stands up.
Yukina looks at her in confusion as the ferry girl runs down the hallway. "What will she be doing?" she asks.
"She's going to tell Tsukino-san that she gets to choose who she is leaving with tomorrow," Yusuke explains.
Yukina smiles. "That's a relief. I thought she had just volunteered to take over Plan A for Kurama."
Unsure what to say to that, I'm silent. Luckily Kuwabara has no such problem.
"Do you need help with breakfast, my lady?" he asks.
"Thank you, Kazuma," she says as the couple leaves the room.
Yusuke leaves soon afterwards, leaving me with Hiei.
"So what's your real plan, fox?" Hiei asks.
"You know me too well, Hiei," I reply. "I need you to go see Koenma. Something about this case doesn't seem right. If you can, try to stay away from patrol duty for a little while and see if you can find out why Koenma is being so vague."
"And what will you be doing?"
"Attempting to figure out who is attacking Tsukino-san. If they are connected to Spirit World in anyway it would explain why Koenma is being so vague."
Hiei nods. "Alright. I'll see what I can do. I suppose you don't want Koenma to know what we are doing though, do you?"
"It might be best to wait until we all go our different ways before paying him a visit."
Hiei nods. "Just try to stay alive, Fox. Whoever is after the girl, they don't care about people getting caught in the crossfire."
I nod, and Hiei disappears out the window. Since breakfast isn't going to be ready for another few minutes I go to my room to make sure I'm packed. I notice that I missed some items and start to figure out how I can get them into my overly stuffed suitcase and still be able to close it.
I really need to get bigger suitcases.
Finally, I decide the easiest way to get everything to fit and still be able to use the zippers was to repack everything. With a sigh, I start unpacking. As I do so, my mind returns to yesterday at the mall. I was slightly surprised that Tsukino was the one who helped me, but I suspect Botan was behind that. What truly surprised me though was how convincing Tsukino's act was.
I feel my face start to heat up at the memory of the kiss on the cheek so I shake my head to remove the thought.
After Tsukino had returned with Botan, we had all gotten something to eat and returned to the temple. On the ride back, Botan was quiet which was a danger sign. After Tsukino had returned to her room, I questioned Botan about her behaviour.
"I'm just worried about Tsukino," she had replied. "Maybe I went a little too far."
"What did you do exactly?" I asked.
Botan didn't answer but suddenly brightened up as if hit by lightening. "I know what I can do! I'll see you later, Kurama."
Before I could ask anymore questions, she had run off to her room.
Now back in the present, I can hear Botan running down the halls calling for Tsukino. She sounds happy so they must have patched things up. I wonder what she meant by "went too far" though. Perhaps I'll find out today.
Black Page, Black Page
Showing My Path
An Easy Decision
"Tsukino-chan! Tsukino-chan!"
I could hear Botan coming from a mile away, but she was a faster runner than I had thought so I wasn't completely dressed when she through the door open.
"Botan-san!" I shouted as I covered my top half with the shirt I was about to put on.
She didn't seem to notice my distress. "Guess what!?" she demanded of me.
"Tsukino-chan? Are you ok?" Keiko asked as she entered the room. It only took her a second to realize what had happened, and she quickly closed the door. "Get that on quickly because in a few seconds one of the boys will come running."
As Keiko had predicted, just as I slipped on the shirt, Kuwabara rushed in.
"I heard screaming. Is everyone okay?"
We all nodded. "We're fine. Botan just got a bit excited for some reason," Keiko said as she looked at Botan who grinned sheepishly.
Kuwabara nodded and slowly said, "Well if you need anything just give us a shout. Oh and breakfast will be ready in five minutes."
He then left the room, and Keiko and I turned to Botan.
"You wanted me to guess something?" I asked her.
Botan nodded and pulled out a box. "Here you go," she said as she handed it to me.
I stared at it.
"Open it," Botan insisted.
I complied and was surprised to see the camera inside. I gave Botan a confused look. "You are willing handing over blackmail?"
Botan nodded.
"What blackmail?" Keiko asked.
I had forgotten that she was in the room and quickly pulled the camera close. "Ah, it's nothing. Really Keiko-san. Don't worry about it."
"It's about Kurama, isn't it?"
"Eh…?" I blinked, completely unable to say anything intelligent whatsoever.
"Speaking of Kurama," Botan cut in. "I was wondering if you wanted to room with him and me."
"I forgot that we were leaving here tomorrow," Keiko said.
I looked at both of them. "I thought you guys lived here."
They shook their heads.
"We just come here during the holidays," Keiko explained. "It's the only time we can all get away from our other jobs."
"So what do you say?" Botan asked. "It would be a great way to get to know everyone."
I shifted uneasily. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll just try to find a way back to Demon World. There has to be some way back."
"But that could take weeks, where will you stay until you find a place?" Keiko asked.
I shrugged. "I'll get by. I've lived through worse."
Keiko shook her head. "No you aren't. If you aren't going to stay with Botan, you're staying with me and Yusuke!"
"Don't you think you should ask Urameshi-san before you-?"
She cut me off. "Do you want to stay with Kurama?"
I shook my head. "Botan-san is okay, Kurama-san is…"
Keiko nodded. "It's settled then. Pack up your stuff, we leave tomorrow at noon."
Before I could say anything about, the human had already left the room.
"Botan-san?" I asked. "Do you recall me ever actually saying I was going to stay with her and Urameshi-san?"
Botan gave me a nervous grin. "That's Keiko for you. But don't worry, Kurama's apartment isn't too far from their restaurant so if you need me, I'm just a walk away."
I nodded and led the way to the dinning room. We ate breakfast and Keiko informed Urameshi of her plan to have me stay with them. Surprisingly, he took it quite well. He did tell me that I would have to help out at the restaurant, but I wasn't too worried. There was no way it could have been as bad as the bar I had worked in previously.
I spent the rest of the morning packing so when lunch came around I decided I would spend the afternoon looking around the temple. During my walk, I learned that Genkai had a room full of arcade games, and she enjoyed defeating Urameshi on every one. I quickly grew bored with staying inside the temple, but I didn't really want to go into the forest after what had happened. The sound of something cutting through the air wasn't helping either.
Finally, my curiosity of the forest overpowered my paranoia. I informed Yukina of where I was going and walked into the forest. After going a few feet I was faced with a decision of where to go. I decide to avoid the lake with the bamboo at all costs and went in the opposite decision. Yet another brilliant mistake on my part.
I had barely been walking for an hour when suddenly I heard something huge ripping itself out of the ground. The next thing I knew, a giant mimosa plant was heading right for me. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was the Demon World version. I struggled to remember the fight I had heard over the radio when Kurama had used the same plant in the fight against the demon Karasu.
"Unless you want to be plant food, don't move."
I hoped that breathing didn't count as moving.
The plant moved closer to me. Its hand-like leaves and acidic drool dripping heads reached out towards me. I forced myself to hold my breath and hoped it wouldn't notice me.
The plant creeped closer and closer, and I heard something else moving towards me. I couldn't move my head to look, but I had a feeling I wouldn't like what was behind me.
The mimosa was feet from me, and I suddenly remembered two other things Kurama had said. "Looks like you've been recognized as suitable prey," and, "I guess all your trembling caught its attention." If even a small twitch would alert the thing, it most likely had sensed my breathing. I couldn't move from my spot though. In the highly unlikely chance the thing hadn't sensed me, moving would cause it to attack me for sure. So I waited as the plant inched closer and closer.
Finally, the plant was within striking distance, and it lunged at me. I was about to jump out of the way when I felt myself shoved from the side. I was about to rise from the ground when I felt pressure on my head.
"Keep your head down and don't move," a male voice whispered above my head.
I held my breath and waited until I was told it was safe to move again. Once the person was sure I was going to listen, I felt him move away from me and turn to face the plant. I was tempted to raise my head and warn him about the plant, but before I could, I felt something huge fall to the ground.
Then person was at my side and helping me to my feet. I looked over to where the plant had been to see the cut up remains. I tried not to think of how that could have been me if it wasn't for whoever had saved me.
"Are you alright?" the man asked.
I turned away from the plant to come face to face with Kurama. At once I noticed he was still holding my arm. I pulled it out of his grip and turned my back slightly to him. "I'm fine."
He sighed in relief. At least I think it was in relief. I wasn't facing him so it was hard to read his expression.
My eyes fell on the plant again and I muttered, "Where did that thing come from?"
"Demon World," Kurama replied.
I glared at him. "I meant, how did it come here."
Kurama shifted uncomfortably. "Well… I summoned it."
I stared. "Why?"
"Training."
"I thought the next Demon World Tournament wasn't for another two years. Don't they only hold that every three years?"
Kurama nodded. "Yes, the tournament isn't until year after next, and at the moment, it's only being held every three years. I believe just last year a demon named Wakahisa won. But I'm not training for the tournament; I'm just training in general."
He seemed to sense my confusion because he continued talking after a moment. "You can never be sure when something may attack so it is a good idea to be prepared and keep your skills sharp."
"You haven't had a detective case in seven years, right? So why bother being ready when nothing is going to happen?"
Kurama shrugged. "Training is now a hobby of mine, more or less."
"And summoning a demonic plant that could kill anyone in the area is now a hobby?"
He frowned. "I apologize for that, I wasn't aware that anyone else was in the area."
I shrugged. "Thanks for stopping it from eating me," I reluctantly said after a moment.
Kurama nodded. "You're welcome, and I never had the chance to thank you for getting me away from those girls."
He just had to bring that up, didn't he? I felt my face start to colour at the thought of one certain memory. I tried to avoid thinking about it by asking Kurama another question. "Why don't you just turn those girls down and get it over with?"
"It's… hard to explain."
I nodded, ready to leave it at that, but it appeared Kurama wasn't finished yet. I tried to figure out why he was talking to me so freely. Was it another attempt to gain information? I doubted it. He hadn't asked a single question, so was he planning on asking me some once he was done explaining?
At that thought, I started to regret asking so many questions.
Black Page, Black Page
Slowly Taking Me Back
"Why don't you just turn those girls down and get it over with?"
I have never truly thought about it before, and I'm not so sure I want to answer her question, but I have to answer.
Near the beginning of the conversation I realized that she responds to honesty so hopefully this will help her trust me. I suppose this is my goal for the day, getting Tsukino to trust me at least a little bit. Though saving her from a plant I had foolishly summoned without checking the area wasn't really what I had in mind.
"It's… hard to explain," I reply to her. "Hearts are very fragile. Once they are broken, it is very difficult to repair them, and even once they are repaired there are sometimes scars. Human hearts are especially fragile."
"So you're leading the girls on, which in turn could make things worse when you eventually inform them the truth, rather than informing them now so that they can get over it?" Tsukino asks.
Once again, I hadn't really thought of it like that. "Most of the women who are interested in me are at a very… unstable age where they're hearts are even more fragile." Why do I have the feeling I'm not helping myself?
"So you lead them on."
"I don't lead them on. I tell them that I'm not interested, but I do it subtly so that they don't feel any pain."
"That's so noble of you," she says sarcastically. "You do realize that's going to get you raped one of these days."
I'm a bit surprised by her bluntness, but I don't show it as I reply, "I appreciate your concern but rest assured, I will act before I find myself in that situation."
"Just like you did at the mall."
Sensing that continuing on this topic was only going to cause more problems, I change the subject. "Speaking of malls, are you packed yet?"
She nods. "I'm all set to go. Now I just have to hope that Keiko-san and Urameshi-san don't fight the whole way."
"Would you like to ride with Botan and me then?" I have no idea where that came from, but if she replies positively, it's a good plan for Botan and her to bond.
"No thanks."
I shrug. "I suggest some sort of way to keep yourself amused then because it's a very long trip."
Tsukino gives me a suspicious look. "Are you trying to get me to ride with you?"
I shook my head. "I'm just warning you."
She just shrugs it off and turns back to the house. "I'll see you later," she says.
I reply and then walk deeper into the forest to complete my training routine. As I practice with my rose whip, I muse over what I learned.
Well the charmer approach failed. Miserably at that. Maybe it's just because it's me though. She doesn't act so annoyed around the others. I wonder if her being a cat, and me being a fox have anything to do with it. In any case, she knows that I'm trying to get information from her, and I just have to keep up the act until the others obtain the information. It would be nice to talk to her and learn the information first hand rather than from someone else though, but if that's the only way we can complete the mission that is what we must do.
Black Page, Black Page
Nothing's going Right
The next day was murder. I ended up riding with Kurama and Botan because Kuwabara and Yukina were riding with Keiko and Urameshi, and the van was filled with stuff for the Urameshis' baby. I had thought Kurama was going to be smug about it, but surprisingly he seemed virtually indifferent. Botan was ecstatic though and was practically bouncing all the way down to the car. Kurama offered to help me with my bags, but I turned him down. There was just something off about the guy. That and the fact that somehow I always ended up blushing around him. I couldn't remember what kind of demon he was, which bothered me, and I wasn't about to ask while he was around.
Botan passed out as soon as we got onto the highway, and it was tempting to follow her example, but I forced myself to remain awake. The last thing I wanted was to become nocturnal again. Luckily though, it was easy to keep myself awake. My mind kept drifting to all the "fun" things that could happen while Kurama was driving. We could get a flat tire, run out of gas, run into Oshiro's gang, the car could explode, etc. Such fun that could have happened. But nothing of note did happened.
Kurama pulled over just in front of the Urameshis' house/restaurant (they lived above their restaurant), and, for some reason, he felt the need to get my bag out of the trunk while I got out of the car. I took my bag from him and then went to help the Urameshis unload their van. After helping for a moment, Kurama said goodnight, got into his car, and drove to where he and Botan were living.
After he left, Keiko showed me where I was to be staying. The room wasn't all that different from the one at Genkai's except that instead of having wood and paper for walls, there was dry wall that had been painted a nice light blue. The window looked out to the back alley and there was a closet.
Since we were all tired, we all turned in right away, but Urameshi promised to show me the restaurant before it opened the next day. As I lay down on the bed, I wondered if Oshiro knew where I was, and if he didn't, how long it would take him to figure out where I was. It had taken a week for them to find me at Genkai's... Unless they waited a week to speak to me.
A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of them finding me again. The fire had really scared me. I had thought that they didn't want to get involved with the Spirit Detectives, but that didn't seem to be the case anymore. It appeared that I had used up my last chance by the lake, but why were they trying to kill me now? Had Stato been acting on his own instead of following Oshiro's orders?
I shook my head and tried to get some sleep. None of that mattered; all that mattered was that I had to get back to Demon World as soon as possible. Once I was back home, I could move on and forget about all the stuff that had happened to me. But the longer it took to find a way back, the less likely would it be that I would take it.
Finally, sleep came upon me, and I drifted into the black nothingness.
Hours later, Keiko shook me awake.
"Time to go. Yusuke is waiting for you in the kitchen. He wants to show you the restaurant before the breakfast," she told me.
I nodded and got dressed as soon as she left the room. Once I was dressed, I explored the house looking for the kitchen. Luckily, the house wasn't all that big. It was big enough for a family but small enough to not get lost in for hours at a time.
When I finally entered the kitchen, Urameshi grinned at me.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
I nodded and followed him to the stairs leading to the restaurant. Once down there, Urameshi showed me around. The restaurant had many tables with chairs all around the room. There was half a wall separating the kitchen from the seating room. The walls were a covered with wood and one or two pictures of scenery on each wall, some even seemed to be of Demon World.
"Who painted these?" I asked.
Urameshi nodded. "Botan did. We even have some paintings she did of us when we were detectives up in the attic somewhere. I wanted to put one of pictures she did of us at the end of the Demon World Tournament, but Keiko said Hiei's glaring would scare off customers."
I nodded. It probably would have. "Speaking of customers, what exactly did you want me to do?"
"Can you cook?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Never tried to before."
Urameshi nodded. "Well, until we figure that out, you can serve the food to the customers, okay?"
I nodded. "Do I have to wear a uniform?"
Urameshi shook his head. "Nah. What you are wearing is fine... only you might want to hide your ears."
I realized I had forgotten my hat back in my room and felt my ears go back so they would be less visible.
Urameshi didn't notice though. He appeared to be thinking. "You know, I know a few demons who owe me a favour. One of them is a genius at disguising himself. If you want, I could ask him to do something about helping you blend in."
I smiled. "Thank you, Urameshi-san." If I was lucky, Oshiro hadn't already found me and wouldn't if the disguise was a good one.
He grinned. "Call me Yusuke." Then he led me into the kitchen part of the restaurant. He pulled a box out of one of the cupboards and handed it to me. "In there are all the recipes for the food. Pick one you think you can make, and we'll give it a shot."
I felt a bit of fear enter my blood stream as I opened the box. To buy some time, I looked at the cards. Odd symbols covered them, and I stared at each one for at least a second, trying to figure out what the symbols meant. This was what I had been afraid of. I figured I could handle the cooking if I knew what was written on the cards, but I couldn't read the language at all.
"Baka," I thought to myself. "Did I honestly think the knowledge to read and write would just appear out of nowhere? You'd think I would know by now that I can't read anything, not even any of the languages in Demon World."
For a moment, I stared at a recipe trying to figure out how to tell Yusuke about my problem when a voice cut through the silence.
"She can't read Yusuke."
I jumped and turned to face the door. Standing there was Kuwabara and Hiei. I must had been so wrapped up in my dilemma that I didn't hear the bell.
"Really? You can't read?" Yusuke asked me.
I nodded and looked over at Hiei. "I was just about to tell you when Hiei-san spoke. But how did you know, Hiei-san?"
Hiei just ignored me and looked around the restaurant so Kuwabara answered.
"He can read minds."
I nodded as Yusuke said, "Speaking of minds, do you know where Kurama is? He usually is over here by now."
Kuwabara shrugged, and Hiei remained silent.
Yusuke nodded. "I guess I'll just have to wait for Botan to show up." He turned on the stove. "Tsukino-san, why don't you go help Keiko with breakfast? Tell her I'll be up there in a minute."
I nodded and did as he had asked. On my way up the stairs, I heard Yusuke ask, "So what will you guys have?"
Keiko was already done making breakfast so I just passed on the message. She nodded, and sat down at the table with me. We talked while waiting for Yusuke to show up. She told me a bit about what the men did now that they were retired from the world of the supernatural. Slowly the conversation turned to questions about me, and before I realized it I had explained about my job at the bar.
Luckily, Yusuke came in before I could say too much, and we started eating breakfast. As we ate though, I recalled my plan to get away. I asked if Yusuke needed any help today, and he shook his head.
"Nah, today will be slow but tomorrow we could use your help," he told me.
I nodded and then excused myself. I went to my room, put on my cap and coat, and then opened the window. If I was going to get away, now was the time. Oshiro didn't know where I was, and the detectives didn't suspect anything. Without a second thought, I jumped out the window and disappeared into the back alleys.
Black Page, Black Page
Will We Win The Fight?
Day Fourteen
I had slept in much longer than I had planned and ran to the restaurant to meet with the other detectives in an attempt to be on time.
"You're late," Hiei informs me as I enter the restaurant. "What took you?"
"I'm afraid I slept in," I reply.
Kuwabara nods as he eats his dish. Apparently, Yusuke had made breakfast for us and then returned upstairs to have his own.
Kuwabara motions to my dish, and I sit down. I've just started eating when Yusuke walks into the restaurant.
"Hey Kurama. Where were you? You're usually the first one here. Kuwabara's the one who usually gets here after I finish breakfast," he asked.
"I'm afraid the drive tired me out causing me to sleep in."
Yusuke nods. "At least you didn't have Keiko yelling in your ear to keep you awake."
I nod. "So how is Tsukino-san coping?" I ask.
"Well we just found out that she can't read Japanese," Kazuma tells me.
"And she seems to like the idea of being in disguise to hide her ears and stuff," Yusuke adds.
We all look at him in confusion.
"Since she can't really wear a hat all the time, I thought that Suzuka could give her a disguise," Yusuke explains.
"And how do you plan to gain Suzuka's help?" Hiei asks.
"We just get Kurama to tell him to."
Why is it I'm always the one being forced into things I'd rather not do? "Yusuke, why don't you just ask him?" I ask.
Yusuke grins. "Because he owes you one for the whole Yomi thing."
I frown. "Yusuke, if anything, I owe him one for even going along with my plan."
Before Yusuke can think up anything to say to that, Kazuma cuts in. "Let's just ask him, and if he says no, then we'll just force him to."
I just sigh and say nothing. The mission seems to be getting more and more doomed as time goes on. We still know virtually nothing about Tsukino or what Koenma wants from her. I just we get this figured out before those people who attacked Tsukino show up again.
A/N: So this has now been somewhat betaed and before anyone asks, no, there has not be been a second tournament yet. Notice how Kurama says seven years since their last case, that was when they were fighting Sensui. The Demon World Tournament wasn't part of their job as Spirit Detectives so that took up three of the seven years. Therefore, this story is taking place four years after the series. Therefore, Yusuke is 22, Kuwabara is 22, Kurama is 23, and Hiei is …? Anyways, that's all that has really changed and thanks for reading and reviewing for previous chapters.
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.
-D101
