As my challenge with 100_women is steadily drawing closer to a conclusion, I wanted to share one of my favorite pieces. It's all based on the new territory I'm exploring in what exactly Yukina may have been through while in captivity. Plus, I wanted to challenge myself in writing something very different. Never tried anything quite like what you're about to read.

Never Alone

Four years since her rescue, Yukina had made what looked like a happy, content life with the humans. Granted, she did live in practical solitude with just Genkai and the occasional visitor, but she was in good company and much better living conditions. She was ever grateful to the ex Spirit Detective and his friends for saving her, thus giving her this chance at a second life.

She let her fingers touch the cold water of the beach; the sensation would have made an average human shiver. But to her it was comfortable, all thanks to her frigid nature. Heat was not her favorite element, however, so when the winter months came by, she was prepared to enjoy it for all she could.

The sky so grey and gloomy, she found it peaceful, gazing at her reflection as she recounted the day she was given freedom again. But at what cost? The trauma she underwent; unnecessary deaths, suffering and bloodshed occurred all because she had refused to submit to the dreadful human's selfishness. She was threatened with numerous other methods, both de-humanizing and non. Tarukane was willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted, even if that meant breaking open the body of this innocent apparition.

Yukina felt herself shake, clenching at her stomach at the memories. His torture was one thing she'd rather remember than the most abhorring ritual he forced upon her. A sickening feeling returned as it rose in her throat, but she forced it back, crumbling to her knees in the sand to regain a sense of stability. The memories overwhelmed her; the sick way he laughed, the rough way he held her by the wrists, the stench of his saliva as it dripped from his grotesque mouth… it was horrible and worthy of making one want to remove all of the bodily senses so that they could at least spare themselves further discomfort.

She splashed at the water quickly, a short fountain of the cold liquid shooting up at her face to bring her back to the present. Instant relief found her and she breathed in the air, refreshed to smell the wonderful scent of salt and ocean. The combination brought back better memories of friendship and love. She had found her place thanks to those that rescued her.

Still, these feelings and sensations were fleeting compared to the stronger, more fearful memories of her past. She dreaded the years to come when she would outlive the majority of her friends, and thus she would be left to deal with the suffering on her own. Would no one be at her side forever to help her cope?

Courage and a strong defense were her allies and shield during her captivity, but she worried they would not protect her forever. Without someone to share in the strife and receive optimism in its place, she didn't know if she could withstand time and the years ahead.

"I would think you would be sick of the cold weather being that you're an ice demon and all," she heard the ex Spirit Detective say from behind her. Yukina wouldn't turn to face him, though, not wanting him to see her tears that wanted to emerge. No more tears over the misery Tarukane put her through – no more!

"I like the cold," Yukina replied, her voice low – sad. "It's all I have left of home, you know."

Yusuke scratched the back of his head, somehow catching on that Yukina was in a melancholy sort of mindset. At least she wasn't as moody as a human woman. "True, but I've got memories of home, and those make me think of tv, video games and microwave dinners."

His sense of humor was infallible, what one depended upon when in their darkest of times. That's why she supposed Yusuke was a natural leader, and a damn good one, at that. She had a feeling he would one day be the king of Makai – an interesting reign he would have, too.

"Precious commodities of your world, Yusuke, and you should value them." Still, she wouldn't turn, sensing the tension and concern in Yusuke's heart rate. She would not make herself vulnerable to his questioning. So, she spoke again, "One day you'll miss it, much like you probably missed it while you were training with Raizen."

"Of course I missed here!" The way he shouted almost threw her off guard, making her eyes widen, just enough to spill the last tear she had nearly made retreat. She hoped he wouldn't see the jewel hit the water and thus become more alarmed.

Unfortunately, his reflexes and senses were too sharp for her to outwit, and he had already caught the gem before it hit the water at all. Without looking down at her, he opened his palm and gazed at the small stone. It was simple in texture and looked almost like a silver pearl beneath the dull clouds. Why did she shed it in the first place, though?

"I'm sorry if I upset you, Yukina. I'm sure you miss your home, too…" He gestured for her to take the stone, but she refused it, turning again to hide the rest of her tears. Yusuke suddenly wished he was Kuwabara so that he could feel comfortable hugging her or something – she was struggling on the inside, and he was too numb to a woman's emotions to know what to do. Should he touch her shoulder? Offer to let her cry on his? Throw her in the ocean?

"I… got a feeling that's not what's bothering you though..." Yusuke softened a bit, wanting to reach out to this girl somehow. "Do you feel like screaming? Beating something up?"

Yukina, through clenched teeth, gritted out the most painful of answers she never thought she'd hear herself say, "Why… why didn't I let Hiei kill him…? I know everyone deserves a second chance, but… but he didn't!"

Taken aback by the surprising outburst from this normally quiet and reserved apparition, Yusuke's mind instantly shot back to that day in Tarukane's stronghold, watching from below as Hiei was beating the living Hell out of his sister's tormentor. But if he remembered correctly, it was Yukina that had stopped Hiei from delivering the final blow. Why would she say something like this now?

So Yusuke said the only thing someone like him could say in response to a situation such as this, "Get it all out, girl! That's the way! Who knows, you might fire me up to go raise this entire ocean if it makes you feel better!"

Yukina went still for but a second, the silence around them peaceful enough to beckon small creatures to their sides. But a tempest was stirring in their midst and with a great, shrilling wind, Yukina screeched. A tornado of snow surrounded them, the wind howling and ice was beginning to form over the water – and all born of an apparition's painful memories. She wanted to break free of the agony that was now her burden, cross and shame. If displaying her element's fearful power would unleash that beast of anger, she would do it.

"That's the way, Yukina! Let it all go!" Yusuke was cheering, though he felt like he could use about four extra layers of clothes, on top of the two layers he already had on. Seeing her like this was rather frightening, honestly, but he knew she wouldn't hurt him or any other creature. She just needed to vent, and apparently, this was her way of doing just that.

Her eyes a ghostly white and her scream ear piercing enough to shatter the glass of nearby windows, Yukina continued to let this power feed on every last thought of anger she had remaining. It pumped in her veins quickly, adrenaline surging and making her look like the untamed ice demons of ancient times. She probably appeared savage and most certainly not beautiful like Kuwabara claimed she was, and yet she felt empowered and free. All of this suffering had been pent up for too long and was finally bursting out in cold rage.

"You may not be able to forgive him, Yukina…" she heard Yusuke say within the tunnels of wind she had created. "But you can try to forget him! This is your chance!"

"Forget him?" Yukina's voice, once again, was foreign sounding – angry, deep and splintering. Were she a witch, just the tone she used could have cast a devastating spell on someone. But she contemplated the thought for a moment, finding Yusuke to be wiser than he let on. To purge the memories of her assaults and torment was the answer she was seeking this day – four years later.

Her screams of the past penetrated her mind, coupled with the boisterous laughter of her captor. Though she hated to recall it on purpose, the memory of her assault on that cold, stone floor came back to her mind's eye. The sensation of his hands cutting off circulation to her wrists could be felt simultaneously with the present, joined also by the pain of her body writhing beneath him. Inside, she cried out with shame and pain, but in the present, she screamed out boldly – powerful and determined to wipe the moment from her mind.

"You will cry for me…" she repeated his words while Yusuke watched in dumbfounded amazement. "Cry for me, you heartless bitch!"

Yukina's eyes closed, her expression serene, though a storm of terror reigned above her. Her answer would be simple, concise and certain.

"No."

Then the storm vanished, ice melting away just as quickly as it had formed and Yukina's demeanor of gentility returned. She let out a relieved and relaxed sigh, as if she had been holding her breath the entire time. The emotions, primarily the anger were so exhausting to unleash in such a manner, but at least now they were gone. She had faced her most terrifying of fears, wrestled it and defeated it in the end. All thanks to Yusuke's advice.

She finally remembered he was still standing beside her and then looked over her shoulder at him, worried that he would be cringing in fear after witnessing such a display. But Yusuke, in all his honesty and glory, was applauding her performance.

"That was incredible! You go, girl!"

Normally she would have laughed, but she was truthfully nervous after unleashing the icy beast within her – what made her a demon, even menacing. So she watched and waited for him to speak again, all the while contemplating ways to both thank him and apologize for her behavior at the same time.

Once he was satisfied with the praise he'd given her, Yusuke granted the ice apparition a well deserving smile meant to assure her that he didn't consider her a monster. "I'm not going to ask what exactly got you so worked up, because it's none of my business and I honestly don't want to know," he said, gaze then returning to the tiny, silvery stone in his hand. "But I can tell you that from now on, whenever you're angry, just get it out. When you lock things inside, they tend to explode like what happened just now."

"Like… when your spiritual energy was released during your last match with Toguro?" Yukina recalled that day of the Dark Tournament and seeing the energy form of Yusuke's spirit animal emerge – it was an inspiring moment, but at the same time scary to remind herself of.

The stone rolled between two of his fingers and he replied, "Yeah, something like that. But the other point I want to make is… well, I know I'm not the best of candidates…" His gaze was bouncing everywhere, unable to lock on anything in particular. Why was talking to a girl so hard? But this was Yukina – someone who was at least something like him on the inside. She had a great beast within her, too, she just used it for a different purpose as opposed to his methods.

He smiled and found the rest of his words, assured now in the common ground he shared with her, "We're all here for you, okay? No one deserves to have gone through what you did, and if you need to ever talk to someone, we're here. Me too. You don't have to hide all of your feelings anymore."

Yukina's heart suddenly felt the emotional shield fall as Yusuke's words hit her like rain. The dilemma she had been conflicting with lately had a resolution so soon – friendship, counsel and openness had been granted to her. And by the only one who could possibly outlive her. She wasn't alone!

Not wanting to see more tears that he could sense were returning, Yusuke acted on impulse and wrapped his arms around her in a gentle, loose hug. But Yukina gripped him tight, as if he were a life preserver and she was drowning, so he held her a little tighter – to be a comfort somehow.

"You can let it all go, Yukina. You're not alone because you've got all of us. We saved you for lots of reasons, so don't ever think you have to keep it all to yourself. That's what the phone's for, girl."

Finally, Yukina laughed a little – music to his ears.

"I've been wondering how I was going to cope with all of this down the road of my life..." Yukina said quietly into his shoulder, so comforted by his warm embrace of love and shelter. "I've never wanted to be alone and now I know that I won't be. I'll always have all of you in my memories."

Yusuke chucked a bit to himself and instinctively pulled her a little closer, looking down one more time at the gem he had captured – the last tear she had shed for a memory she needed to let go. It was the last reminder of that horrible time in her life and if no one else would, he would be the bearer of that grief. So he held onto the gem, its platinum glow now steady like the lithium of the earth.

"You're never going to be alone, I promise."

And it ends on a sweet, most tender note. I like to think that maybe sometime after the end of the series Yusuke and Yukina become best friends. Being demons and all, they could easily become confidants, and like the story implies, they may be the last ones to survive of their troupe. So! If you liked it, leave a review. If you didn't, well, just don't flame. lol Love you guys and thank you for your time! You're seriously awesome!

47th Light