A few days passed and the weekend came about. Over the last couple of days, Kurama hadn't shown up at school, saying that he needed to train a friend of his for the tournament I had to attend. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Yusuke too much either, since before the incident with Rando.
In the end, I opted to stay in bed, still rattled by that nightmare I had the other day; not to mention the other nightmares that came about along with it. I didn't even hear the door to my room slide open.
"How are you the granddaughter of Genkai when you're this lazy?" Rando decided to pop up and surprise me for the morning… great?
"I'm not feeling well. Go away." He didn't leave.
"Nightmares again?"
I sat up, glaring at him, "Who told you about that?"
"Genkai mentioned it in passing. Not to mention you woke up screaming for the past three nights."
"That's nice to know." I sighed. "Please leave, I want to sleep more."
"No can do. Since I'm stuck here, Genkai's making me look after you until the tournament. I would rather do anything else."
"I don't want to be around you either. I'm not too fond of demons who are alright with eating humans."
"All demons have eaten humans at some point, I could be no different from the demons you know."
"Kurama said that he and Hiei didn't."
"Suit yourself. Hurry and get up; Genkai wants to talk to you."
At this point, I thought he left, but I rolled over on my mat to see him sitting and staring, "I'm not going anywhere until you get up." He bit in a snarky tone.
Frustration boiled over and I hurled my pillow at him and stood up, fuming as I left the room. I paced through the hall; at least content that we were on winter break for the next couple of weeks. I found my grandmother sitting on the main porch, looking out into the field.
"Usako, sit down." Her voice was stern, but not harsh.
"What's going on?"
"Usako, in the upcoming days, I want you to be careful at this tournament. It will be full of demons that will attempt to kill you at every turn."
"Thanks for that visual." I cast her a side glance.
"When you get there with Koenma, stick by his side. With your inability to fight or even use spirit energy, it can be hazardous for you. I don't want you wandering around in a place like that."
"I understand. Maybe while I'm there, Koenma can give me some books to find out more about why I have no spirit energy."
"Maybe so. You may not be able to fight like your mother, but you're just as clever. If for some reason you can't stay by Koenma, than find one of us immediately."
"My mom can fight?"
"Yes. When she was younger, I taught her as much as I could about martial art. She took it well, and had the spirit energy needed to take down demons. Though when she got married to Koga, your father, she was quick to leave this life and form another. There are times where I wish I could've done the same."
Even when I heard all of this, I couldn't imagine my mother fighting anything. I would have to ask her about it when I talked to her next.
"Usako, promise me that you'll be safe."
"I promise." I moved away from the porch and back to my room to find it empty. I reached for my phone, not too prepared to call either of my parents.
The dial tone echoed in my ears for a couple of moments before someone finally picked up, "Usa, where have you been? You were supposed to call us a couple of days ago." my mother was calm, but there was a tinge of worry in her voice.
"I just had a talk with grandma, and she said that she trained you to fight demons when you were younger. I-is that true?"
She was silent on the other line, though her breathing became a bit coarse, "I didn't want to talk about this just yet. I didn't think it would come up. I should have said something when you were at that Minamino boy's house. You were only there for a couple days and you befriended a demon. You have quite a heart for that to happen."
"H-how did you know that he was a demon?"
"I could hear it in his tone. No one your age would act so polite. Imagine the look on your father's face when he finds out that you're dating a demon." I could hear her smile on the other line.
"We're not dating. I've only known him for a little over a week."
"What's taking you so long?"
"Mom, we're just friends, let it go." I sighed.
"Fine then, but nab him before someone else does."
"Him who?" I heard my father shout from the other line. I could even hear his rushed steps as he ran to my mother. Their argument over the phone didn't go unnoticed, and eventually my father blared from the other line, "Who's this him your mother's talking about?"
"Shuichi Minamino. I was at his house earlier last week to study." Of course, studying wasn't the case when I was actually shrunken by a demon.
"I know your mother wants you to date and gain experience, but remember my rule."
"The one where I'm not allowed to date until I'm 47?" It was an odd number, but he stuck by it like a clingy kitten.
"Exactly. Don't let this boy put any moves on you, Usako."
"He's not that kind of guy."
"All guys are like that," my father began. "Don't forget that."
"Does that mean you were like that to mom?" I questioned. He went silent on the other line; he was thinking about what I just said, and couldn't argue with it.
"J-just be good, alright, Usako?"
"I will."
A few more days passed, and I found myself walking with Yusuke and my grandma, who took the guise of the Masked Fighter. We walked in silence for a while, but I kept my baseball bat close just in case. I may not be an experienced fighter, but I did do Little League in first grade. Ahead seemed to be a large boat; a crowd of demons waiting ahead. My pace slowed a bit, hiding behind both Yusuke and grandma Genkai. I had a feeling that they would be able to handle the situation should things go south. In my line of sight stood Hiei, Kurama and Kuwabara, waiting as well. In a split second, Hiei seemed to vanish out of existence; quickly reappearing in front of Yusuke, sword held between the two. A gust of wind nearly knocked me off my feet at the contact. He was incredibly fast.
"You've gotten stronger, detective," Hiei smirked, "but will it be strong enough for the tournament?" Hiei glanced in my direction, though said nothing. This boat ride was going to be long. Eventually, we were allowed on the boat; though Kuwabara protested allowing me to come to a place so dangerous. All the while, Kurama remained quiet. Yusuke, on the other hand, fell asleep and was leaning against the railing. I sat next to him, knowing that I needed to wake him up should something happen. A platform began to raise in the center of the boat; turning this situation into a battle royal.
"What are we going to do?" Kuwabara questioned.
"Simple, we'll kill everyone on this boat and they'll have to let us pass; seeing as we'll be the only ones left." Hiei seemed a bit too ready to kill everyone. A brawl erupted. While Grandma Genkai, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei moved into the fray, I stayed on the sidelines. That is until two large and in charge demons came at both Yusuke and I. I clutched my eyes shut when Yusuke, still asleep, lurched up and knocked their lights out.
How the hell did he do that while asleep?
Another demon came charging from my left; I had to think quickly. Taking my bat, I blindly swung; knocking the demon off the boat.
"Sorry." I blurted out, leaning over the railing to see where they went.
"Don't apologize to someone that is trying to kill you." Hiei was back over by the rail yet again. All the other demons on the boat were dead, leaving Team Urameshi the team to continue on to the tournament. I stayed on the side leaving them to have their conversations; feeling that my presence was enough as it was. Ahead was the hotel the team would be staying at. Upon entering, we were all met with looks of disdain from the snooty rich people who gallivanted about with their wealth.
For some reason, it was this particular kind of rich people that I hated the most. I felt my hands bunch into fists.
"Look at these dirty ruffians; the girl especially. I wouldn't dare go near dogs like that."
Alright, that's it!
At this point, it felt as if I had no control over myself. "Hey, Bitch!" It immediately went quiet. "If you got something to say, than say it to my face. Don't hide behind your money like you're capable of avoiding death."
"How dare you!" she started, but I cut her off.
"What! In my priest days I wouldn't even bother to give you a decent funeral; leave people like you to the demons, my father would always say."
Before the woman could lash out, I took a swift turn on my heel, catching up with everyone else in the elevator.
"Good going, Usako." Yusuke muttered in his dazed slumber.
As the doors to the elevator closed, a realization hit me; my priest days? I shot a look to my grandma, who seemed to have the same thought.
I didn't have a memory of my priest days, if I had any. Maybe it was all of this research Koenma was doing that put the thought into my head.
"Where did that anger come from?" Kuwabara pondered while repositioning Yusuke.
"It's obvious that she was provoked. It would have done her better to remain quiet." Hiei barked.
"I'll stay quiet if I choose to." I glared at him; but it would never compare to the look he threw back. It was as if his eyes were fuming with fire.
He didn't win this fight, but I marched out of the elevator to avoid his gaze. A hand on my shoulder pulled me to a halt, "Usako, we need to talk." Glancing to the side, I met Kurama's vibrant eyes.
"But I have to find Koenma." Ever since those nightmares, I had the yearning to avoid Kurama, but I would never say it out loud.
"That can wait."
The room door was opened, and Kurama immediately pulled me to the side while everyone else settled into their rooms.
"Usako, why are you acting so distant?" he leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"I just haven't been feeling well, lately."
"I can tell. You don't seem the type to lash out against anyone. Even then, you look like you haven't slept in days."
"Do I look that bad?" I messed with the ends of my short hair, finding it somewhat dirty and unbrushed. "Man those nightmares have been keeping me up more than I thought."
"Nightmares?" he questioned. I mentally cursed, remembering that I didn't want to tell him about those nightmares. The look he gave me contained an energy that nearly warded me off.
"It's not important. I just haven't been sleeping well. It could be that I'm just worried about everything. You guys are fighting for your lives here, and I don't think I want to witness anything like that."
"Understandable. But for now, you need sleep. Head into the room that I'm taking. I'll check on you later, or if Koenma comes by."
I stepped up to argue, but was quickly shut down and walked over to the room. Hiei remained close to the door, "So you're not going to tell him about your nightmares of being chased by a fox? I think he would be interested in hearing about it." I forgot he could read minds.
"I don't want to talk about- why would he be interested?" I questioned.
"Call it a hunch." Okay, he was definitely hiding something, and I didn't want to find out what. I stepped into the room, making sure that the door was closed behind me. From outside, I could hear their hushed chatter, though it wasn't clear enough to make a proper deduction. Despite how tired I appeared, I didn't want to sleep. I was covered in nothing but chills, and sleeping could always make it worse.
I wish I knew more about my soul and why it was like this. Koenma said he would find answers, but my anxiety about it came faster than he could look.
"Dammit, I need answers." I should have asked Hiei more.
"Answers you say?" a disembodied voice spoke at me.
"Who said that?" I looked around the room to find myself in silent darkness.
"You did… well I did, but I'm you; but only for a short time. I have to make this quick."
Am I going crazy? I looked around again, still physically alone.
"No. With what little spirit energy I had before my death, I sealed a bit of myself into my soul. I had a feeling that my next life would have some... questions." the voice commented.
"You're damn right I do. Starting off, you used the last bit of spirit energy you had; meaning I have no energy to speak of. You were also a shrine maiden." I questioned.
"Yes and yes. I also apologize for taking over your body when that wealthy woman talked at you. I never put up with it in my life, and you shouldn't have to either."
I nodded as I listened.
"Let's start off with our name. It isn't different, and I can guess that both of our parents were odd enough to name us little rabbit. We grew up as a shrine maiden, and at a young age, demons killed my parents." Their voice shook with exhaustion. Their time here was short. "That left me to care for myself for what little life I did live. I was born weak, but being the head of a shrine made no difference to demons."
"What was the shrine dedicated to?" I questioned, finding time to step in.
"A demon god. He and some of his followers ransacked our town; taking people to do with what they wanted. That's what happened to my parents. He said to build him a shrine to worship him. If we did, then such a disaster wouldn't happen again. From what I know, the shrine fell shortly after my death."
"H-how did you die?"
"One demon wanted to corrupt my being far among imagination. Their name is fuzzy in my mind, but I do remember the feeling it gave me."
In an instant, my heart rate quickened and my palms felt clammy. I shivered involuntarily, as if expecting something to jump out at me.
She continued, "That feeling you have now was what I felt the day I found myself cornered; the day I died. Because of him, I fled from my post at the shrine, taking refuge in the woods. That was the first nightmare you had. Sadly, it was a memory of ours. That night, he went through measures to take what I had."
The voice paused, unsure of how to explain it to me. I understood, but I also knew that they couldn't continue on without telling me what happened.
"It started with my sanity. He had been wearing away at it for some time up to that point; it's one of his favorite motives to get information. Next, he took my body. I'm sure you understand that. Last was my life, leading us to now."
"Was coming to me and telling me all of this a way to ease any faults in your past?" I asked.
"No. I just didn't want it to happen again. The demon who did that to me is still alive, though where he is is beyond me. This is the last of my moments, Usako. Don't let your life end the way mine did. Live long enough to see and understand tomorrow."
The voice faded, and I leaned back on the pillow. I didn't want to sleep, the need to avoid my nightmares still strong. That heavy feeling never left my chest. It was as if whatever killed me then was looking at me now.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Welp, Usako had a chance to talk to her past self and learn only a smidge more. Kurama seems concerned for her and is a bit of a pest about it. What do you guys think?
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This is Emerald, signing out~