Roses and Regrets
Roses and Regrets
Chapter 53
A loud crack reverberated through the temple grounds. Yusuke's head snapped up. "What the fuck was that?" Koenma paled. "That was a gunshot." Kuwabara was on his feet. "Guns are outlawed here. How the hell did somebody get one?" Genkai was on her feet too. "Don't ask questions dimwit. Get moving."
Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Koenma were out the door at a run. Genkai turned to the others. "Stay here girls. We don't know what is happening." She sat down again. She had a bad feeling about this. "Yukina, get everything ready. I believe you and I will have work to do."
Kurama held Beth's limp form in his arms. His eyes flashed gold as his vines snaked out to imprison the bastard who had done this. The vines wrapped around the gunman and dragged him out of the tree. He hit the ground hard. The vines slowly squeezed causing the man to cry out in pain.
Kurama sent out a mental call to Hiei. "I need Yukina, Hiei. Now." Hiei had been dozing in his favorite tree. He awoke to the fox's call. He appeared beside Yukina. "The fox needs you," he told her, before scooping her up and disappearing with her.
As soon as Hiei deposited Yukina beside the fox, Kurama relinquished a still unconscious Beth to them. By the time he stood, red hair had bled to silver and Youko was stalking angrily toward his prey. He waved a hand and the vines released their prisoner.
The man was on all fours coughing, trying to suck in enough air to speak. He tried to crawl forward. "Beth," he choked out. "You weren't supposed to get in the way." He saw the foot coming. It was too fast for him to dodge. It connected with his face and he flew backward. He rolled to his side spitting blood.
He tried to get up and was kicked again. He felt a rib crack. He fell onto his back with a groan of pain. Long clawed fingers grabbed a handful of blonde hair and jerked his head up in a painful grip. Blue eyes grew wide with horror as he stared at the silver fox.
"What the fuck are you?" he sputtered. Youko Kurama smiled. Carl would remember that smile for the rest of his life. "What am I?" The clawed fingers shifted from Carl's hair to wrap around his throat. "I am a demon from the foulest pits of hell, and I have come for you." He lifted the man off his feet. Fingers clutched at the hand, trying in vain to loosen the grip that was choking the life out of him.
Yusuke and the others took in the scene at a glance. Yusuke tried to reason with Kurama. "I know you're pissed man, but you can't kill him. He's human." After determining that Beth's wound wasn't life threatening, Hiei joined the argument. "What of your woman, fox? Is it worth leaving her alone if you are punished for killing this worthless human?"
As much as he was enjoying the choking sounds and the bulging eyes accompanying oxygen depravation, they had gotten through to him. Kurama lowered the human to his feet, then tossed him at the tree. The man hit hard and cried out as vines wrapped around him pinning him to the tree. He walked back to Beth. Yukina and Koenma were bending over her.
When he knelt down next to her, he was in his human form again. Kuwabara was seated on the ground holding Beth to him. Yukina was examining the wound in her shoulder. "How did she get shot in the back?" Kuwabara asked. Kurama stroked her hair. Her cheeks were pale. "She saw the gun and got in front of me."
"We have to get her back to the temple. The bullet has to come out before I can do her any good." Yukina said. Koenma stood. "Hiei, you will need to use the jagan to erase his memory of Youko." "Hn. Why? He deserves the nightmares he will have." Koenma shook his head. "This is the man the police are looking for. The one Russ hired to kill Beth's father. He needs to be arrested by the police so that there is no longer any suspicion of Beth."
"So why erase his memories? The humans will just think it insane babbling." Hiei argued. "Precisely. He will be sent back to America, since the murder charge against him is more serious than his crime here. If that happens, his memories of Youko will ensure he gets an asylum rather than prison. I don't know about the rest of you, but I prefer to see him in prison."
Kurama nodded. "Beth would want to see him in prison for killing her father. Do it Hiei." "Hn" Hiei walked to the man unwrapping his jagan. When the third eye opened, Carl screamed. "You're monsters all of you! Stay away from me!" Yusuke scoffed. "Yeah. Right. You kill innocent people out of greed and we're the monsters." He punched the man and he fell unconscious.
"Yusuke!" Koenma admonished. "What? It's not like he has to be conscious for Hiei to do his thing." Hiei smirked. Koenma shook his head. "Hiei, erase everything after the shooting. When the police get here, this is the story. The recoil knocked him out of the tree and he's been unconscious ever since. Yukina will heal whatever wounds aren't consistent with the fall."
Koenma walked over to pick up the man's gun. He was familiar with the rifle's mechanism. He looked up to the tree to make sure his angle was right. He brought it to his shoulder and took aim. He fired at a tree slightly to the left of where Beth had been shot.
"What was that for?" Kurama asked. "Unless you want Beth to suffer through days in a human hospital and inferior healing methods, then the story is: he missed. There is the slug from the attempt for the police to recover. I have no fingerprints, so the gun holds only his." He bent down to retrieve the ejected cartridge so only one would be found.
"Let's get Beth back to the temple. When Hiei's done, you can bring him too." Koenma headed back. Kuwabara held Beth until Kurama got a good grip and lifted her up. She moaned in pain at the sudden movement. Her eyes fluttered open. She gave a weak smile and reached up to stroke Kurama's cheek.
"Are you ok?" He placed a kiss in her hair. "I'm fine. You on the other hand are not. When you are better, we will discuss your foolish action and you will promise never to do it again." She sighed and muttered before passing out again, "Yes dear." Yusuke howled. Kuwabara snickered.
Kurama glared at both of them. "What's so funny?" Kuwabara snorted. "That's what Keiko always tells Urameshi. Translation: Did you say something? I wasn't listening." He went off into gales of laughter. Kurama looked down and gave a soft smile as he carried her to the temple. No one had ever taken an injury meant for him but his mother. How had a notorious fox thief been blessed with the love of two such incredible women?
To be continued….
