It's been hours of sitting in the pentagram, my eyes focused on the ruby pools of blood at the basin of the glass pitchers. Bui has already placed the markers. The closing of the circle sent a shudder threw me. Like someone sitting a large door inside my body. Even if I wanted to leave this circle and join the fight I can't. The markers in the boys pockets hum with their emotions and energy. My concentration is being split so many ways, my breathing is the only thing I fully have control of right now. Suddenly a great ripping pain pulls me forward by my ribs, my hands catch me before crash into the bowl below my face. Panting my reflection in the metal brings me back to myself.
"Maryden what's happened?" Kaito stands outside of the circle in front of me. I close my eyes and try to focus on the stones the boys took. Yusuke is the only one I can find.
"Something has blocked the connection I have to Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Mitarai." The words taste of blood as I speak. "They should be still alive because Mitarai's pitcher is not full." Regaining my sitting positions Yusuke's pitcher begins to fill, the fight has started. With every injury he takes the blood rises and the power given to the spell rises. As he heals he takes back that power. Only until he dies will I have enough power to start the spell but I also really need Mitarai to die soon after. Already Yusuke's sacrifice is making it hard to breath surrounded by this power. The pulling of power back and forth is begging to wear on me then my connection to others is restored and Yusuke's pitcher reaches its brim. He is dead but his sole has not come. I try to focus on him but the connection to him but with his death the stone is now a still marker on the ground. Where is his sole? The other stones are getting further away with the exemption of Mitarai's. He has not become injured yet. As the other stones stray I have no choice but to drop the connection.
"DAMIT," I shout out.
"What's wrong? What do your need?" Bui has arrived standing out of the circle.
"His sole has not risen, unless one of them is a voodoo practitioner his sole should be here, the others I can only assume had jumped into the whole. Mitarai is not in the fight. Get him and bring him here. I need his soul."
"Just keep focus I will be back." Bui says running into the cave. As I wait Yusuke's blood begins to stir curdling and turning a dark green. The power in my circle becomes unstable as I choke on something climbing up my throat. Leaning forward a vomit a black mass. Yusuke's blood boils over flowing over my hand. It's tainted his blood is not human. The dark green tinted blood spreads up my arm soaking into my flesh posing my blood. The circle is broken and someone's arms come up under my arms and they drag me out of the circle.
"What happened?" Shizuru lays me down keeping her distance from me.
"His blood" I am panicking my words are coming out threw desperate gasps. "Not human...demon… it backfired the spell… curse. Give me the other blood I need clean blood. Water too."
She runs back in grabbing the other vessel now a quarter full of deep red human blood. From the side of the circle I grab selenite crystal. Pouring the blood over the crystal and rubbing it on up from my hand up and around my neck. Then continue the process with water. The curse is still with me but it will not kill me now I will have to be careful and focus on cleansing until the next full moon. From the case I grab my collapsed staff and a few larger knives. If the horde comes we will need to fight. Bui comes back out with Mitarai.
"Yusuke is a demon. He jumped into the tunnel after the others and the SDF is here." Bui says setting the boy down in the bed of the truck. "All we can do now is wait and hope they can make it back."
While we wait I focus on purifying myself through meditation. Several large demon energies emerge from the cave. I jump up at the sight of Kurama coming out into the light. He pulls me into a passionate kiss, holding me tigh as tears fall from my face.
"We made it, it's over." He holds me against his chest. Rubbing my back.
Behind us the SDF emerges from the cave, they want to kill Yusuke. Among the officers I will never forget, the hunter who killed us. Rage fills me to the point my body shakes with it, The SDF commander confronts Yusuke and Koenma. His team watches the exchange; the blue haired soldier doesn't even look at us. As if killing us was nothing to him.
"You" I shout while standing next to Yusuke. The members look at me "Don't you recognize us. You hunted us, killed us and our child." He just stares ahead frightened, his boss turns to him. The blue haired soldier steps back. Bui comes to my side a step in front of me.
"Mea est ulti infer-,"the spells fire burns in my mouth then Koenma covers my mouth. My arm burns as the blood cure gets worse with my attempted casting.
"No Maryden you cannot kill him." He warns me.
"Why not, sounds like he deserves it," Yusuke says angrily, building up for another fight. Kurama steps forward to my side placing a arm around me. He has done the calculation and chosen not to fight. This is not over. I will walk away now but I will kill him. The commander takes this break in hostility to further de-escalate the situation.
"For now we focus on the breach." The commander shouts and they all head back into the cave. Kurama takes me from Koenma and we start walking away.
"So you two had a kid" Kuwabara asks cluelessly.
"Dude, What the fuck is wrong with you?" Yusuke shouts at him, hitting him. "Maryden, sorry he is an idiot."
"You were pregnant when he" Kurama stops his body giving an involuntary shake the tears in his eyes clear as he looks down. I nod in response. He opens his mouth again but closes it.Yusuke puts a hand on his shoulder, Hiei also reaches to lay a comforting hand on Kurama's arm. Bui wraps me in his arms. I still have to work at holding my tears. I don't want to cry not here.
"Sorry, I cant take all your pain" Bui's deep voice breaks as tears fall on my head. Kurama tugs on my hand and Bui lets me go.
"Let's go home," he says, wrapping his arm around me.
"Koenma you can stay with me until you figure something out" I don't look back as I speak. Kurama looks at me puzzled for a moment, thinking I would not want guests other than him right now. The whole way back he just holds me as he thinks of what to say. In our past we have both just ran from our pain, giving each other space after tragedy and getting back together when fate brings us back together. Now Kurama stays by my side holding me instead of leaving me alone even though he could go home easily he comes back to my place. It's not until Koenma is settled into the spare room and we have the privacy of the bathroom that he speaks to me.
"It's nice of you to take in Koenma," Kurama says as he slips into the oversized soaking tub behind me. He wraps his arms around me. His warm hard body supporting me. "Surly it has nothing to do with how the SDF may be keeping an eye on him."
"Let's not talk about that," I say, running my hands over his legs. He sighs, then rests his forehead on the top of my shoulder.
"We cannot kill him, they would never stop hunting us. We would lose everything." He sounds tired.
"I said let's not talk about it" my voice expressing the anger bubbling up in me.
"Right now we have the opportunity to live good lives. Reform our past." His tone starts off strained almost pleading; then saddens as he continues "have children that won't be hunted. Children who could have great lives in this light". He places one hand over my flat stomach, his arms holding me tighter as he pleads "Don't please, just don't do it. I cannot lose you again."
I turn my head and nudge his face with my shoulder so he looks up at me. We kiss his mouth in the taste of tears. As our kiss becomes more passionate I turn around and wrap my legs around him. He moves toward me, moving his hands to my hips.
"I love you Maryden Ravenwood." His voice soft his eyes still a bit puffy.
"I love you too, first as Yoko Kurama and now as Suichi Minomino; I love you."
"Then please don't go after him."
"How can you ask me that? Don't you want revenge?" I'm angry now it feels like he just has been manipulating my emotions for what he wants.
"I was reckless after Kuronue's death; getting you pregnant then going on risky highest, dragging you all over the demon world in your fragile state. Looking back I was selfish, never considering your needs. I'm sorry. He was just doing his job."
"Job, I was alive when he came on me, I was unable to move. When asked if I was alive he said no and shot me in the face. He will never understand the feeling of losing a child or seeing his lover dead beside him unable to fight back. However I can grant him the feeling of choking on his own blood."
"Look at where we are," Kurama snaps at me desperately pleading. "I could have never provided you this life. Do you think about the life our children would have had if they lived?"
"Of course I think about them. I wonder what they would look like, who they would be now if" my anger now sadness I now lay my head on his shoulder.
"Maryden, we have lost so much let's not waste this opportunity we have now." For a while hold I him as we cry for all the loss and pain we suffered. After we go to bed he holds me all night.
The next morning I wake up before him; I roll over and brush the hair from his face. Over 400 years we have spent in each other's arms. There was a time when things like last night would end up breaking up. We were never good at being open with each other about the more painful topics. Instead we ran from each other. I would leave back to my treehouse or to my friend Mukruo. Eventually we would find each other again and fall back into a relationship not talking about the past just moving forward. Now I guess we're starting to work through things. He has a point: had we lived a ruff nomadic lifestyle had any of our children been born alive it would have been a hard life for them. Unless I am sure I can get away with it's best to not try anything rash. At least right now I'm going to lay here with him. A knock on the door wakes Kurama.
"Yes," my annoyance clear.
"A woman is on the line asking for Suichi. She is very insistent to speak with him." Bui replies.
"I'll be right out," Kurama responds, trying to jump out of bed but his legs give out. He slowly gets up using the wall to steady himself as he walks to the living room.
"Good luck, I say before heading into the bathroom to get ready. Kurama is still on the phone as I cross into the living room in a green silk robe untied over my bra and panties. He stops mid sentence as he watches me collect my uniform from the cleaners bags.
"Yes mother I'm still here. I'm on my way to grab my uniform" He pleads apologetically. "We fell asleep watching TV and it won't happen again".
I giggle watching him plead with her trying to explain his absence to her. Especially now that she has found him at a girls house. At school Kurama arrived with only 10 minutes left in our second class. He was awkward coming in trying to be discrete. He took his seat beside me at the window. He tries his best to not be a further distraction in class.
"What took you so long? I was only 10 minutes late?" I ask at the end of class. "Well my mom stayed at the house to continue our conversation".
"I take it she is not happy about you staying with me?"
"She wants to meet you."
"Are you ready for that?"
"It was made clear to me that dinner was Friday at six and you and your parents are invited."
"I will bring dessert, wine, and Bui will have to take the place of a parent as I don't have one readily available." Does she know I own the company she works for? Surely I would have remembered meeting her if she was at any of the meetings. If she doesn't know do I tell her? How do I introduce Bui, he is labeled as my personal assistant is that okay. Can I really say 'This is Bui my personal assistant'? No that's odd and it will further questions. Questions that people normally feel bad for asking when they learn the answers.
"Maryden, are you listening."
"Sorry, I was lost in thought. What does she know about me?"
"That you are a girl from school; anyway tonight Mother wants me home right after school. Will you be alright?"
"You mean will I hunt down the SDF officer in Demons Door Cave. Don't worry I have other things to take care of tonight. In fact, expect me to be unavailable more often for a while."
"That's probably a good thing. What's going on?" He seems relieved thinking I will have a distraction to occupy me.
"I have a meeting with a potential new employee, some research to do, layoffs to start."
"Lay-offs, who is affected?"
"Your Mom is safe, don't worry about that."
"Thank you." Kurama looks down at his food.
"Having a few nights back home will be good for you. Spending the night with me is dangerous for you." He was so weak this morning, it's surprising Hiei has not paid me a visit.