Yu Yu Hakusho: The Next Stage

Chapter 21: Awakening

Everyone sat in silence as all eyes were turned on Koenma. He was in deep, quiet

conversation with a red ogre, who spoke in urgent whispers. Koenma, who was in his toddler form, had a serious expression on his face and nodded at various points in the discussion. The ogre handed him a stack of papers and swept out of the office. As the doors slid closed with a resonating thud, Koenma turned to the awaiting and uncertain faces.

"Well, folks, I have some good news and some bad news."

He flipped through the paper stack, then turned his head up again.

"My father has issued the all-clear to send the human souls back to the earth. However, a few of us must go ahead before we can allow anyone to return to their body."

"Why?" asked a few of the guests in the office.

"Why? Well, we have to get those Stones back from Mayumi before we can ensure safe passage back to Living World. When we can be certain that it's safe, then we can sort all this out."

"Oh, you mean May is still a threat?" Takashi suddenly shouted angrily.

All of them jumped as they whipped their heads around to gaze surprisedly at him.

"Takashi..." Koenma began.

"NO! You think May's still dangerous, don't you? You have to send a team down to steal those Stones from her, and she never even got a thank-you for getting them back single-handedly! You're just a bunch of ungrateful bastards, and you don't give a damn about how much pain she's feeling right now! Don't you think she feels guilty enough already? I'll kill you all before I let you lay a hand on her!"

Everyone gazed wide-eyed at his outburst, and Kuwabara began to stand up.

"Look, son!" he started. "I won't hear another word! You've gotta trust Spirit World to do the right thing. No one said that they were ungrateful for Mayumi's help, okay? But you've gotta understand that those Stones are dangerous when under the control of one person! They could be just as dangerous around your neck, or Yuki's or Tohiro's or Marth's, got it? Just sit back and let Spirit World do their thing, okay?"

"They want to hurt her!" Takashi cried.

"No," Koenma intervened. "We don't want to cause her any damage at all! We're just going to go down and take the Stones back…without harming her," he added, seeing the enraged look in Takashi's face. "We'll go down and make sure she's settled and after that's done we'll let you come down and visit her, okay?"

Takashi was breathing heavily and glaring at Koenma, but after a few moments nodded his head and stormed back to his spot against the wall.

"Okay, now that's settled, I need a few of you to come down with me. Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke, you're coming with me. The rest of you sit tight and you'll be back on Earth in no time. Let's go."

The four men woke up with heavy groans and mumbling. Teenage Koenma stood next to Yusuke's body, who lay all alone in the park. The others were back in the ballroom on the Spirit World's island a few miles away in the other dimension.

"Here," Koenma said, squatting next to his body and placing his hands in the air above his chest. Energy flowed from his palms into Yusuke's limp and bloody form. As Yusuke's eyes peeled open, he took Koenma's offered hand and was helped to stand up.

"The other three are going to meet us downtown. That's where Mayumi is."

Yusuke stood still as Koenma began walking. He turned around mid-walk to gaze at the Spirit Detective.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Just thinking."

"Look, I know things are awkward between you two, but I think you're going to find your daughter very changed when we find her."

Yusuke and Koenma leaned against the front wall of a destroyed laundromat. The sky was dark, and the stars were dull. A bent streetlamp flickered overhead, and the "OPEN" sign next to them was cracked and shooting sparks. They watched the other three approach them from down the street.

"Hn," was Hiei's greeting with a nod.

"Well, let's get started," Kuwabara said quietly.

"Where do we begin our search?" asked Kurama, looking at Koenma.

"She should be here downtown, according to our resources. I think she's close to the main square."

They started for that location without another word or glance at each other. As they approached the square, they began to search around the alleyways and the rundown stores for any sign of Mayumi. They waded through the deep water that flooded the plaza and struggled to see around them in the flickering lights that surrounded the area.

Suddenly Koenma's shouts came from the opposite end of the square. They came splashing through the water toward Mayumi, who lay huddled asleep on a park bench. Yusuke pushed his way toward her and knelt down next to her. He stared at her Ma-zoku markings left upon her face, and also at her tangled raven hair and tattered dress. She was a mess, and Yusuke felt instantaneous sadness at the sight. Gently, he slipped the necklaces from her throat and handed them to Koenma, never taking his eyes off her face.

"Mayumi, it's alright. I'm here now. Wake up."

Her blue eyes fluttered open as these words reached her ears. Yusuke was startled to find a blank look in her face. She began to mutter inarticulately, and none of them could make out any words they recognized.

"Mayumi?" asked Yusuke shakily, and he backed away in shock.

She continued to stare blankly into the velvet night sky and mumble quietly.

"She must receive bed rest immediately," Kurama whispered urgently.

Kuwabara picked her body up from the bench. She hung limply in his arms, still muttering and staring above unfocusedly.

Back at the ramen restaurant, Kuwabara placed Mayumi's form down onto her bed. Hiei leaned in a corner, staring at her as she mumbled and stared at the ceiling. Kurama stood frozen at the end of the bed, and Koenma watched silently from beside the window. Yusuke pulled the blankets around her and then strode briskly from the room. The others followed suit.

Mayumi's eyes slowly opened, only to be greeted by the darkness of the bedroom. Reaching over to turn on her lamp, she lifted herself to rest upright on her pillows. As she gazed around the room it was hard to believe what had just happened. Everything from the training in the mountains to the fight with Takashi and the masquerade and the rescue of the Stones came flooding back into her mind. She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair as she remembered the transformation and the alleyway. After that she had blacked out and couldn't recall how she came to be here in her room. Oh well. Not like it really mattered. Nothing mattered anymore.

There was a soft tapping at the door. Mayumi opened her eyes and stared at the entryway, surprised to hear someone present.

"Come in," she called somberly.

The white wooden door swung slowly open to reveal Yusuke in the doorframe. Their eyes met for a moment, but then they looked quickly away. He slid over to her desk and sat down in the chair. For a few minutes he rocked back on the rear oak legs as Mayumi concentrated on the fibers in her quilt. After what seemed like forever he sat the chair on all fours and leaned forward toward his daughter.

"Everything's alright now. Koenma has possession of the Stones and everyone is back safely to their bodies. All the damage has been repaired and no one has any memory of what happened."

Mayumi was silent. She reached her hands up to her face and tried to feel if the strange black markings were still present, but Yusuke answered that question as well.

"They're gone. You're back to normal."

"Can you define normal?" she asked softly.

Yusuke blinked. Rubbing the back of his neck he began to speak again.

"Well, you're not exactly a pure human. Your mother is, but I have an ancestor who was a demon. Actually, he was a Ma-zoku, which is what you transformed into the other night. King Raizen was his name, and he fell in love with a human healer. Since he ate humans, he didn't feel worthy of her love and decided to stop eating humans, which was what he had to eat in order to survive. Eventually, he died from it."

"Have you ever been one of those?" Mayumi asked, her eyes wide with horror. That thing she became the other night was capable of eating people? Oh god, what would have happened if she had began to feast on them?

"Yeah, I have," Yusuke replied pensively.

The silence resumed. It seemed to ring throughout the whole room, echoing off of the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Mayumi buried her forehead into her palms. Resting her elbows on her knees, she began to talk in a dull, sad whisper.

"I thought a lot about us, the night that I woke up after the...incident," she began, having much difficulty stressing the last word. "I realized that all this time you've been protecting yourself from the pain. Now I understand that it was probably difficult for you to shun your only child. You have a good heart and a good soul, but you pushed me away when you found out that I was going to ultimately kill you. I don't blame you; it's not your fault. I'm ashamed of what I've done, and I don't feel any hatred for you anymore. In fact, I wish that I had known before that it's my fault for disgracing you and our family name. For that, I'm sorry."

Mayumi reached down and pulled the sheets off of her. Climbing to the floor, she touched her chest into her knees in a bow. Yusuke stared down at her form, startled by her words.

"Don't even," he began, climbing down to the floor beside her. "Don't even for one second blame yourself for this. You have no reason to feel guilty for blessing this world with your light. I have been a terrible father to you and I should be the person apologizing here, okay? I don't want to hear any of those words come from your mouth ever again. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful daughter as you. What's done is done, but everything's fixed now."

Yusuke bent down and kissed the top of her head, which was still bowed toward the carpet. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she was rooted to the spot.

She could feel him stand up and move from the room, closing the door behind him.

Once again, Mayumi awoke to find herself safely under her blankets, the room shadowed in darkness. Her eyes slowly focused as she sat up and switched on the lamp nearby. However, she was startled to hear a voice from the desk.

"Hello, May."

She jumped. Craning her neck to find the source of the voice, she was surprised to see Takashi's form in her office chair.

"Oh, uh, hi!" she said, with a forced sweetness to her voice. The truth was, it felt kind of awkward to be speaking to him, after the fight and all.

"I just came to make sure you were doing okay," he muttered, quickly averting his eyes toward the ceiling.

They sat in the silence for what felt as if forever. Neither teen was sure of what to say, or what to do, or how to act. The tension was growing louder and louder, and both were unsure as to how to break it.

Finally, Takashi decided that the responsibility fell to him.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I got mad over something that doesn't even matter anymore. I let you go all alone on the rescue of the Stones. I let you transform and go through all this pain." He hesitated. "And I let you get hit by that car six years ago."

Mayumi shot a look at him.

"Of course it's not your fault!" she cried. "I'm the one who walked out in front of it. Besides, there was nothing we could do, right? It was the barrier that was trying to catch me. It would have found another way."

Takashi looked down at the carpet, playing with his thumbs.

"None of it's your fault," she continued. "It's mine. I'm the one who killed billions of people single-handedly, all because I lost control. That...that thing that I became is gone for now, but it still is down deep inside of me. For all I know it could be unleashed at any time, and I can't stop it. I've destroyed the entire earth, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Stop talking like that, May!" Takashi shouted, leaping out of his chair, which was sent crashing to the ground. "You don't have to worry anymore! Those stupid Stones are gone, and they can't hurt you now. So what if you have demon blood? So do the rest of us! No one is perfect, and that's what makes you yourself, May! You're my closest friend for a reason, May, and that's why I love you!"

His words rang throughout the room, and he stood paralyzed on the spot. As his cheeks burned red, humiliation and foolishness began to overtake his thoughts. Why did he have to say such damned things now, and at a time like this? God, what was going to happen to their friendship now? He tried to say something, but no words came. He envisioned her shouting at him, telling him that he was stupid and to leave her alone and never speak to her again.

Mayumi stared in shock at him, as the meaning of his words filled her soul into every last inch. That was exactly what she needed to hear all through her life, is to have someone love her for who she was, and not what she should have been. Tears started to roll slowly down her cheeks, and then they became full-blown sobs. She buried her face in her hands as she let her feelings of loneliness and guilt go.

Takashi gaped at her. He had expected an enraged Mayumi, or a disgusted Mayumi, or (what he had hoped would be) an ecstatic Mayumi, who leapt upon him and showered him with expressions of love in return. However, the last thing he had expected was May to cry! Did his outburst of unrequited passion make her sad? This was not a scenario that had played through his mind in those few seconds of shock and embarrassment. Was he really not cut out for the world of romance? Had he not proven himself worthy of her affections?

"Thank you, Takashi," whispered Mayumi.

She threw the blankets from her body and threw herself at him. With her head buried in his chest she sobbed for what felt like days. Takashi simply held her close to him, which was all Mayumi had ever needed.