Hello lovelies.
I figured for this chapter I needed a small message before the start of the chapter. This one is a premiere as it has both Kurama and Hana's point of view. Initially I ended up having the same chapter written twice one for her and one for him however both had a role to play up until a point. So thank you Roseeyes for advising to use both of them in one chapter.
From here on out it will be rather hard to follow a writing schedule as I have more of my free time booked with wedding planning but I will still try my best so bare with me and please excuse any typos you might find. I am trying to go over everything and correct them, but with time being so limited, I find myself wishing to publish and eventually going back to correct.
Hope you are enjoying the story thus far.
Hana's POV:
My legs felt like they were on fire, breaths irregular as I ran through the forest with just the moon light above me as guidance. It wasn't that I felt the energy increase, it ran through me, hair standing on end, heart beating wildly. I snuck out in all the commotion, telling Kuwabara I had to go to the bathroom. I couldn't sit still. If whatever threat was out there decided to finally show its face I was the only one who could see it, touch it, detach and destroy it.
I am the only one who can do anything.
I've never run for so long, using my territory to not fall apart but when I reached the safe house I was out of breath, smoke and fire threatening to engulf me if I dared call back my powers. I could feel the flames biting my skin, melting it like plastic, powers regenerating everything back to normal in just a few moments. The pain didn't matter, I needed to help. I didn't think, I couldn't as my body was on autopilot.
There were only Ito and Jin at the safe house, all alone, but when I arrived countless demons bodies stretched on the ground, blood painting the earth crimson. Not far from me the crack of a whip drew my attention, an undeniable sound, meaning Kurama was fighting close by.
My eyes managed to focus Jin and I gasped running to his side. We has still breathing but all the blood around him wasn't a good sign. This was on me, he was here, was hurt because of me. Because he met me "Come on, open your eyes please." Even if his wounds were healing, he still wasn't waking up "I'm so sorry Jin, you should have never been caught in the middle of this." Running a hand through his hair I was happy that at least his pain riddled face manage to relax.
The whip cracked again sending cold shivers down my spine as a conversation reached my ears "It's either my eyes are deceiving me or you are actually alive." Kurama's voice broke out in pain and I felt all reason leave my brain. Jin was healed, he just needed to wake up, there was no need for me to stand by his side "I hit you in Demon World. So how, I am soooo curious." A manic laughter echoed into the night, fear gripping my chest.
Running to the source of the sound I hid behind a tree, managing to catch a glimpse of Kurama "Perhaps underestimating your opponent is not the wise thing to do." He was as calm and collected as ever, despite being down on one knee, hand gripping his stomach.
"No, no, no bad Kurama." I clearly saw Kurama dodging, felt the energy increase as a new attack was barely diverted "Not going to come out are you? I will kill him if you don't." I barely heard the voice urging me to show myself, heartbeat pounding in my ears. Fuck, Hiei was right, I couldn't be stealthy to save my life.
Slowly I came out in the open with my hands up attracting the stare of just one opponent. He looked at me, never blinked, never moved his eyes, an unnerving wide stare taking me in "And who is this lovely lady?" his head tilted to the side in such an unnatural angle that if it were me doing it, my neck would have snapped. His uniform I recognized, he was a former SDF member, but he resembled little of what I remembered. The man before me wasn't Otake anymore.
With a loud snap he tilted his neck to the other side, eyes growing wider even if I thought such a thing wasn't possible. I quickly noticed one of his arms was missing, instead a sort of cannon being attached to it, ugly dark live tentacles keeping it glued to his body.
"I'm a healer." A manic laugh resonated from his mouth startling me. There wasn't anything normal about him "Who did this to you?" I was walking slowly, stopping when even a twitch or muscle spasm indicated he didn't approve.
"A healer she said, child there is nothing here for you to fix." His eyes travelled back to Kurama and I stopped trying to advance "Is she the light Kurama?" that glare was something I wasn't used to. Kurama on the battle field was so much different than the man I shared my bed with. Otake pointed his canon like hand at me and laughed "Either way there is nothing you can do."
Kurama's POV:
The situation in itself was not the best, yet when above the smoke, beyond all the blood surrounding me I smelled Hana's scent I knew I needed to act fast. Unfortunately Otake pointed that atrocity towards her quicker than I had hoped, reacted without a second thought, no regard for her life.
I sprung in front of her, taking the hit, pain threatening to shred my chest to pieces. Warm hands wrapped around me as Otake's laugh overpowered everything around me. That spiteful sound was maddening "Run Hana."
"No, I can't go." Grinding my teeth I felt the last of my power leave me and I had to act, claws gripping her arms. Despite the pain, I kept my eyes opened, watching the worry fade from her lovely face. Punished myself as the horror grew in her eyes, heartbeat quickening. When silver strands encompassed her vision, golden eyes taking her in she recoiled from my touch like I was burning her alive.
"How…you…" glossy eyes blinked in confusion, tears threatening to drown them "Liar." She whispered but I did not have time for the situation at hand, Otake was my main concern. He was following Hana with that unnerving stare as she yelled "You FUCKING liar!" her territory erupting, taking us all inside it as she turned me around.
"Not now." Taking a step away from her I saw her eyes lingering on my chest, however despite my muscles tensing until they hurt, I had to keep an eye on Otake. She could see everything and my mind drifted for a second. Would the shame and hurt I was experiencing now show on the surface of my soul?
"Not now? When then? You can't use your power, he will kill us." Once more he charged for another attack, Hana turning to him "Would you fucking quit if for a second you nut job? I need to know why. Why he lied and manipulated me, why he hid so do you fucking mind?"
Oddly enough he took a bow, mouth shaping in a sinister grin "By all means little lady, the stage is all yours." Twirling his canon like hand he continued to watch the madness display as Hana tried to wrap her head around everything.
"This was not how I wanted you to find out, but this is still me. I am still the man you know." Hana's laughter could have rivaled Otake's right then and there.
"No, I don't know you." grabbing her wrist, I stopped her mid strike. This was bad, if she did not stop she would make the situation worse. Yanking her hand away, the look she gave me hurt more than the tentacle creature threatening to destroy my soul "I don't recognize your voice, I don't see the same eyes."
"Hana!" It was a warning, she was trying to rattle me up when the situation was dangerous. As I extended my hand out to at least try and get her behind me I noticed I could move without the pain crippling me. Even if Yoko's demon body was stronger, pain was still pain. I did not dare touch my stomach as to not give her away.
She raked her hands through her hair as Otake laughed at her, yet she looked determined, heart beat steady "Too bad he doesn't want to talk."
"Fuck you Otake!" he was not sane, that much was clear, yet Hana's predicament amused him. Her outburst, the fact that he had the upper hand enticed his foul soul. With a sharp exhale, Hana raised her head, pushing back raven locks. Tear full eyes knocked the air out of my body, as she approached me. So much resentment, so much disappointment.
Pulling me in, her lips crashed on top of mine and I felt it, how she did not want to do it, then why? "Can you stop him?" she whispered against my lips as she tilted her head to the left. My eyes were opened and so were hers as she searched for answers "Hmmm." At least she understood there was not much I could do apart from strangling him with my bare hands. What I found more out of place was the fact that he did not appear bothered by the fact that he was inside her territory. He must have accepted the fact that she was just a healer and nothing more.
Otake took advantage of our situation as I anticipated. For a second time I found myself taking a hit instead of Hana, this one dealing more damage without the ability to use my energy. Hana watched in horror as I hit the ground, pain becoming the only thing I could feel.
"You're next." I could hear her heart beat wildly as fear took over her. My limbs were not helping me as I tried to get up and could only lift my head. Hana's territory was acting out, irregular breaths becoming the only pattern I knew. She was still trying to heal me, I could feel it, yet something else called her attention more.
"Run damn it." But she wasn't listening to me.
Stepping before me a scream left her mouth, a sound so horrific as she fell to her knees covering her ears. She continued to scream until her voice broke and I could hear something manifesting, sounds inside her territory I couldn't quite place. Like glass was cracking under a tremendous weight and when it shattered Otake hit the ground, lifeless, the only sounds remaining being Hana's sobs.
Grinding my teeth I forced myself to get up, walking slowly to her "Hana, it's alright." The moment I touched her she recoiled, turning to glare daggers at me.
"Don't you fucking touch me." her eyes diverted behind me where Yusuke sat there just looking at us "Did you know about this?" her finger pointed at me, one single nod from Yusuke making her march right up in his face. A punch interacted with his cheek, little damage being inflicted, yet the emotion it carried said it all.
Using the back of her hand to dry her tears she finally called back her territory staring around "Hana, we have wounded." She just nodded in response to Yusuke's statement "We also need to see if we have any tentacle freaks affecting them."
Sniffing her nose she pointed once more at me "And Ito, he's a few feet away from us. See you at the temple." He did not touch her, although I could see he wanted to. Lifting my eyes I saw Hiei up in a tree looking at me then at her, a short chinwag telling me he would keep an eye on her.
"I will take Ito, you can take Jin." Yusuke just did what he was told, not really looking at me. The walk to the temple was drowned in silence and I knew all too well if I said a word he would snap. He had every reason to do so.
Once we reached the temple grounds I saw Hana and Yukina working on helping the wounded from the establishment, Kazuma and Keiko carrying for them all that was requested. It was then when I actually took a good look at her, notice the burned up clothes and stained skin. Some parts she did not even bother healing, all her power going out to the wounded in front of her.
Even if she more than likely did not want to have anything to do with me I had to approach her "Are there any more who were hit?"
"Thankfully no, they must have used only one former SDF member to summon a portal. The rest were normal demons." she spoke without looking up at me "I need to isolate you and Ito because I need more time to work on both of you. Place him in a room and you go to yours. I will arrive when I am done here."
Kazuma passed me, his face asking so many questions seeing me as Yoko. Looking up at me, Yukina smiled then placed a hand on Hana's shoulder "Go, I have help here and I can heal them myself." Hana did not like the idea, however she thanked Yukina, getting up and finally looking at me.
"I will take Ito first. Is he unconscious?" she was struggling to meet my gaze, keep up a mask in front of everyone.
"He is awake, but could use your help." Having that bit of information she dipped her head and left.
It was only a few minutes in after she closed the door to the room that Koenma stormed inside the temple. He was asking a million questions, talking fast and loud. Myself, Yusuke and Hiei were sitting there not able to get a word out as Koenma flapped his hands around until Hana opened the door, taking him directly by the shirt, lowering him to her height.
"Otake must have opened the portal in order to get in, he referred to me as the light, there was nothing left of the man you knew, his soul was spread in pieces inside his chest cavity, held together by those foul tentacles, I shattered his fucking soul killing him or else Kurama and me would have died." Pushing him she took the time to look at all of us "Another word out of any of you and you will cease to exist. I am not in the mood."
Truth be told I did not wish to speak with anyone either. We all helped how we could with the wounded, Hiei being the only one still outside the door, patiently waiting. Once we heard the explosion a few hours later we knew it was done, Hana coming out with one hand almost torn to shreds, healing slowly in front of us. She was shaking, the bags under her eyes evident "You're next."
"It can wait." Her eyes locked me in place, teeth grinding as pain went up her arm.
"No, it can't. Your room in five minutes and get me some water."
In the end I did as I was told and presented myself in five minutes as she requested. When I entered she wasn't even sitting down, instead just staring out the window. She turned to look at me, accepting the water, which she drank entirely "Can I smoke before starting?" of course I allowed it.
I wanted to tell her so many things, blur it all out and at the same time say nothing. She needed time alone, needed to be away from me, however I did not wish to allow for that to happen "Telling you I made a mistake would be redundant." She did not turn to look at me but I knew she was paying attention "I was curios how you acted without us around, jealous that you trusted others more."
"I didn't. I don't. I just never wanted to rely too much on you and become a burden. You more than likely hate weak people." She was not entirely incorrect, yet I could not fathom how she reached that conclusion "But that's not relevant. Were you worried I couldn't accept Yoko?" she finally looked at me, analyzing even the breaths leaving me.
"In essence yes although the situation is a lot more complex." Her brows lifted, a hint of curiosity lighting her eyes. Putting the cigarette out, she closed the space between us, hands resting on my chest.
"Too bad you had to be stupid about it." Her territory encompassed just us and by that action alone I knew her energy was at its limit, better yet she was "Like I would have judged you for doing what you needed to do to survive in Demon World."
Lifting her chin up she allowed me to touch her "I have done a lot more beyond just surviving and I enjoyed them. It was the only way I knew, but I am not looking for an excuse. I alone learned the error of my ways, how corrupt and narrow minded I was." Her stare was blank, like I was not getting through to her yet I continued "I told you I was scared of you seeing me." looking down at my chest, I knew she was taking her time now to actually look at my soul "I still am afraid Hana."
"I know." My body tensed involuntarily and for a moment I wanted to truly be just Yoko, hide within my own self "You are so torn apart between who you were, are and who you think you should be that you can't even see how much you are hurting yourself."
"Believe me I know." Taking a breath in, I took advantage of the fact that she could not tear herself away from me. My hands pulled her into a hug, chin resting on top of her head "It's still me Hana." There was no response, apart from the rigidness in her body "How much of what happened out there was an act?"
I let her push herself away, creating some space "How about how much was true? I was afraid he'd kill you." this time she willingly got closer, rested her forehead against me "How could I possibly handle that?" her voice dimmed as she allowed herself to let go and cry "No amount of healing could" she shivered against me, a lump forming in my throat as I could relate. I was afraid he would hurt her, kill her. I would have ripped him apart with my teeth, no matter the physical pain he managed to inflict. We would have both went down.
I let her get it out of her system, not even caring if she was still working on the creature threatening to latch on to my soul or not. I needed the girl in my arms to not fully fall apart, burdened by the actions she needed to perform. She did not utter another word about killing him, more than likely could not wrap her head around the event.
I let her take her time, work as slow or as fast as she needed and could. I did not want to face the moment when I would return to the face she knew. But how could I avoid it?
We both lost track of time, by the time I felt the pull, I had no recollection of the actual hour that dawned on us. This time Hana reacted faster, calling back her territory as that thing exploded. It did hit her, however it was more of a burn than flesh being ripped out of her. I watched in fascination as she healed before my eyes, heading to the bathroom to finally clean the blood off her hands, the ash from her face.
When she returned to the room, my heart was beating a million miles an hour as she finally looked at the Kurama she had known for so long, pain so raw being there for me to see "Bye Kurama." Every part of me screamed as she left the room and I just turned my gaze to the ground ashamed.
If I let her leave now, it's over.
Running, I caught her in the yard, Yusuke and Koenma hot on her heals "Stop for a damn second bitch ass."
"No, I just want to alone right now." Yusuke caught her arm, spinning her in place.
"Look I know you're mad, I would be too, but you need to not be stupid right now. They are looking for you, it's not safe." Hana just scoffed yanking her arm from his grasp.
"No, they are looking for the light, the only one who even got the idea is dead." She bit her lip, shutting her eyes tight. Yusuke looked over his shoulder, eyes begging me to say something, to make her stop.
"Hana this is not the time to act rash." Thankfully Koenma intervened as I had no power over her actions "You need to rest first of all, heal properly as you still haven't cleared all your wounds."
"I don't fucking care. You think these hurt? I can be done with them in mere seconds." Her eyes caught mine yet I could not think of any words to say.
"Then I'm coming with you. Come on I need to get my things." Koenma looked shocked by Yusuke's statement and I knew he wanted a full update from Hana, however he would not get it soon. Grabbing Hana by the hand, trying to drag her in the temple by force only made it worse.
"No Yusuke." She struggled, she yelled "I said no!" eventually slapping him across the head earning a glare "I'm not part of this team." Silence dropped like a bomb, so heavy and hurtful "I am just a pawn for Spirit World, a funny stupid girl for you. Did you fucking had a good laugh knowing I though Yoko and Kurama were two different people?" He let her go, hand dangling close to his body.
"No. I never laughed at your expense. You know I care about you." she did know that, but he was having a hard time getting through to her "I know he made a mistake, I know I should have told you the moment I found out, but I didn't. You can be mad that I didn't tell you yes" he was now up in her face, mad, yelling at her "but you don't get to say I laughed at your expense because I never fucking did." Turning away from her he threw his hands up in the air "I told you fox, now fix it."
Yusuke hadn't manage to take a step before Kazuma stormed out of the temple "Come on Hana, I will walk you to the car." We were all left dumbfounded "And none of you will stop me." equally confused looks were shared as I finally took a step "I mean it man, you're one of my best friends, but this is not cool. Come on Hana."
"Wait, please." She did stop in her tracks, looking over her shoulder.
"I'm tired Kurama. All these years I've been running marathons around you hoping you would notice me, trust me, but you don't even trust yourself so why should I? Believe me, you won't notice that I'm gone." I did this. I am to blame.
"Tell me what you want me to do right now." She took a few seconds to think about her answer, eyes travelling to all of us.
"I need you to let me go."
With that she turned not being able to look at me anymore and left, followed by Kazuma. Just like that Hana left and all the words died on my tongue. Yusuke's hand landed on my shoulder patting it twice before he himself headed inside the temple. I did not realize when Koenma also left or how much I stood there just staring into empty space running in my mind over and over again the events.
Kazuma found me sitting on the porch all alone and if I had any hope until then that he would manage to convince Hana to come back and see reason all that shattered as before me stood just him. Cradling my head in my hands I let out a deep sigh trying to think clearly.
"Don't worry man, I told Hiei to follow her just in case." I did not lift my head, a mumbled thank you escaping my lips. It startled me when he pulled me in a hug "She doesn't hate you, just so you know. She's just hurt."
"She should hate me." I found myself gripping his shirt, feeling so irrelevant in all of this.
"Neah, don't say that." He patted my back as if I were a child "She's mad, but she understands more than you think buddy. Just like me." I detached myself from his hug, looking at his face "Mhm you underestimated me too, hid things, all of you did. Don't you think I figured out Hiei is Yukina's sister? Well I did." I was so perplex I could not utter a word "Don't worry, he doesn't know and she doesn't. Or at least she didn't tell me anything." With a proud smile he looked up at the sky, the sun barely rising "That's how I know Hana will understand eventually why you were scared of showing yourself to her."
"I do hope you are right my friend."