A/N: This is the LAST chapter for this story!!! T_T

I hope all of you enjoyed it. We WILL be writing a second and third story for Tora and Gene (one on Sensui and one on the Makai Tournament) BUT it will not be posed on here. So if you want to read either of those PLEASE tell me and I will give you a heads up as to when it will be started (it will be on my other website)

Thank you so much for sticking with me!!

I love all you guys

Enjoy

Chapter 35

Soft eyes gazed over the scattered papers that lay across a wooden desk. While leaning forward, Gene ran her fingers through the black curls on top of her head, the tuffs of hair falling around the horns on the sides of her temples. With a soft sigh, she thought back on the life she lead only a year before this. Never a dull moment, and never tied down to one place for too long. Not to mention all the riches. There was always a down side though. Fighting to survive, while hiding from any potential enemy who could over power you.

Leaning back in her chair, Gene stretched her arms up before resting them on the back of her head. A specific file stuck out from the other ones scattered on the desk. Reaching an arm out, she unburied the other half of it while lifting it open. Youko Kurama. While sifting through the papers and photos, the young demon gave a soft sigh as her heart once again felt the pain of loss.

"He'll never accept me..." She rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, I tried to kill him." Gazing at a small sketched picture of the assumed Youko form, Gene couldn't help but stare long and hard at it before smirking. "I've never even seen his Youko form in person, but this can't possibly be it."

It was hard to take her eyes off of the sketched Youko. It had been more than 15 years since anyone in the Makai had even seen Youko, so it didn't surprise her in the least that the picture looked so proportionate. The scale on the picture said that Youko had to be roughly 8 feet tall, golden eyes and silver hair.

'If you ask me, he sounds more like a God than a demon...'

With that thought in mind, a sense of longing came over her as she laid the photograph down, closing the folder. As pain tugged her heart strings, Gene thought back on the times they shared, the sense of missing him growing even greater.

Feeling a mentality for a strong change, Gene pushed away from the wooden table and stood from the chair. Walking away from the table, she gazed into a makeshift mirror on the wall, which was simply made up of frozen crystal clear water. Draping her long black curls over her shoulder, she gripped it tight while staring at her reflection. Wanting to change and, in a sense, cleanse herself of the wrong life she lead a year ago, she lifted a pair of scissors from an end table next to her. Closing her eyes tight, she exhaled while placing her hair in-between the metal blades. While the curls fell around her, a weight seemed to lift off her shoulders. Opening her eyes to take in her reflection, she smiled at herself for the first time in a long while. Feeling anew, she turned to embrace a new beginning.

Strolling down the side walk, feeling like a completely new person, Gene clutched the strap of her messenger bag. Bound and determined to cleanse her soul in attempts of washing the blood from her hands, Gene had one destination in mind.

Approaching a tall stone wall, Gene took this time to pause and think over what she was about to do. The name Meioh Private Academy was engraved on a plaque next to the entrance of this refined school. Standing there for a moment, many different thoughts ran through her mind. Thoughts of her plan going exactly the way she wanted to, although that seemed to be overshadowed by the thoughts of failure. 'Maybe I can go back to my room and regroup. Maybe practice what to say...?' For a moment, that thought seemed like a good idea before she pushed it aside. 'Practicing what to say is silly...' With a sigh, she moved to lean against the stone wall. Closing her eyes, she let out a big sigh. 'How can this be harder than facing an opponent twice my size?'

"Gene...?" A gentle voice broke her concentration.

Opening her eyes, Gene pushed herself off the wall, catching the gaze of none other than Kurama himself. She froze while standing there, feeling as if she were paralyzed. Slightly opening her mouth, her voice was lost before it could reach her lips.

"Uhh... Hello, Youko." She then forced herself to speak, not having the faintest clue as to what was coming over her. "Um... How's it going?"

"...Fine. I figured you'd have gone home by now." Moving past her, he left just enough room to where she could follow beside him, feeling a much different aura from her. Instead of a tough outer shell, it almost seemed as if she were letting that wall down..? Confused at the vulnerability, he remained silent about it, waiting to see if she'd explain herself instead of having him dig.

"Well, I was going to go home, but I couldn't bring myself to leave." Her lead feet finally gave way as she followed beside him, never once making eye contact. "I felt empty. Like I needed some kind of closure."

"And the Human World is where you seek this closure?"

"Yes. Because the one in particular I need 'closure' with resides in the Human World." Never before had Gene felt so nervous. Biting her lower lip, she struggled to slow her breathing as she rang her hands together.

"I see." Kurama's eyes continued to study her. "Was it a coincidence that we ran into each other, or is there another you seek?"

Frozen by his words, Gene came to a halt. It shouldn't have surprised her that he hit the nail right on the head. Standing there, Kurama stopped a couple steps ahead of her and turned to face her.

"It wasn't..." She finally mustered up the courage. "I don't want to go back to Makai." As those words past through her lips, it was as if the dam's walls had began to crack, the water spilling through. "You spoke of a peaceful life here. I'm tired of the constant wars and the fight for survival. I want to stay here..." And then it happened... The cat was out of the bag... "I want to stay here...with you..." Just then, Gene locked eyes with Kurama's, waiting for the reaction she wanted, but fell short. His expression changed, but only in ways that forced Gene to look away from him.

Placing her hands on her cheeks, she could feel the burning sensation as her eyes began threatening tears. The look on his face just now began burning its image into her mind. That frown, those narrowed eyes. Taking a deep breath, she forced her feet to move once more, only to be pulled back as a hand lay against her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder, she gasped at the closeness Kurama had taken.

"I'd be honored..." He murmured as she turned around.

With a soft smile, she nodded to him in placement for the words she couldn't find. Gently gripping her shoulders, he pulled her close to him, but only for a brief moment. Pulling away from her, he then leaned down, giving her the one faithful kiss she so long desired.

Written By: Gene