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SakuraTheKitsuneGurl: Now with the second lockdown all classes are online, in between the two lockdowns I had 2 days of real life classes and 3 days of online classes.
Cezarina: Hehe, got ya seatbelt on? XD (bad joke but it's 2:30 AM here so I'm allowed to make stupid jokes.)
Randomcaz: I'm so glad you love it. Hope the moving went smooth considering the circumstances. Enjoy your new home!
Note (another, personal note at the bottom)
English isn't my native language but I'm trying my best. Do tell me about reoccurring error's so I can implement and improve wherever needed. Tell me what you think or theorize in the comments, they always inspire me.
Chapter 6: Workload
'What the..' Kurama thought, eying the spots of dark matter in the toilet. 'Blood?' He placed his fingers against his throat, swallowing thickly, feeling the burning sting of his throat lining. The sour taste lingered in the back of his throat and he felt another convulsion coming. Kurama grimaced as he swallowed it down.
'Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.' Kurama thought, thinking back to when he emptied the bath.
A soft voice pulled him back to reality, he replied, flushed the toilet and moved to the sink to drink some water to soothe his throat and brush his teeth.
...
Botan hurried towards the bathroom door as she heard him retch, staying outside rather than busting into the room. Her heart ached as she heard his pain filled moans but remained where she stood until the sounds stopped. "Are you okay?" She asked hesitantly. She held her breath waiting for a reply and sighed when he did.
The toilet flushed and she heard him opening the faucet to brush his teeth. She was about to enter when the door opened. Botan's eyes widened, her brows furrowed in concern as she cupped his cheek which was hot to the touch. His skin was still pale and he was slightly shivering.
"Let's get you to bed." Taking his hand in her's, she motioned towards the bedroom door.
She pulled the blankets back and sat Kurama down on the bed, examining him for a second. "I'll get you some ibuprofen." She said before standing up and rushing to the kitchen, returning a few seconds later with a capsule, water and a small piece of bread. Kurama eyed it with disgust.
"You need to eat something before taking it." Botan said, handing him the small piece of bread. "Please."
Kurama reluctantly ate the bread, then took the capsule and chugged it down with a few sips of water. Botan placed the empty cup on his nightstand and turned back to him, noticing for the first time how tired he actually was. He lowered himself onto the bed, resting his head on the pillow he closed his eyes.
The mattress sunk under a newly added weight as Botan sat on the side of the bed. He was out like a light as soon as his head touched the pillow. Botan softly stroked his fevered skin, brushing some hairs from his face. She sat there for a few minutes, looking over him, his expression looked troubled and his breath sometimes caught in his throat.
She tore herself away from him as she heard the collective staged laughter of a live audience. Stepping back into the living room, Botan snatched the remote from the couch and turned off the tv, silencing the apartment. She sighed as she made her way into the kitchen, dividing the leftover soup in Tupperware and stacked them into the freezer. A beep made her jump slightly and return to the living room once again. Kurama's cellphone lay on the couch's arm rest, taking it into her hands she noticed the battery notification asking to be charged, it's light blinking as a sign of low battery. She connected it to the charger next to Kurama's side of the bed, though they were both his sides of the bed, Botan had claimed the left side whenever she slept over.
A yawn escaped her mouth as she slipped underneath the blanket next to Kurama. A suppressed cough made her turn towards him as it was quickly followed by a second and last one. Botan scooted towards him and pressed her forehead against his upper arm as she tangled her fingers with his.
"Botan?" Kurama whispered softly, turning his head slightly.
"It's me." Botan replied, reaching out with her other hand, she ran her thumb across his jaw.
"I'm sorry." Kurama murmured under his breath.
"Don't worry about it." Botan whispered back. "Please sleep."
His hand squeezed her's for a brief moment before relaxing again, his breath steadying into a restful pace as he fell back asleep. Botan let her hand slide down his neck and onto his chest, where she kept it as they slept.
...
"What'd he want?" Hiei scoffed as he watched Genkai store her phone away. "Did he finally find out why I wanted to get out as soon as possible?"
"He did." Genkai crossed her arms. "He got to the conclusion that sending Kurama to recover the forest isn't such a good idea after all."
"Bout fucking time." Hiei took off his cloak, throwing it on the ground.
"He hasn't seen what you've seen, Hiei." Genkai leaned back against one of the statues decorating the courtyard. "And I never told you to stop, did I?"
Hiei grumbled under his breath and raised his left hand in front of him, he concentrated, trying to manifest anything that wasn't already his. Blocking out the dragon, he tapped into his demon energy, searching for what he had absorbed a day prior. He eyed his left arm in anticipation, still searching for the unfamiliar energy. Minutes turned into hours and he was still pulling blanks, his jagan pulsating behind the bandage.
Genkai tapped her foot impatiently, Hiei was getting frustrated, then mad, then furious. She wasn't surprised when Hiei pulled his sword out of its sheath, threatening to cut off his own arm if it didn't show. Genkai interrupted as Hiei was about to make his threat into a reality, pulling his sword away.
"This isn't working." She said.
"No shit you old hag, I knew from the start this wasn't going to work." Hiei spat.
"Then why didn't you stop and try something else?" Genkai asked.
Hiei silenced for a few seconds. "Because I thought I could get it to work." He said softly, dropping his arm to his side.
"Let's wrap it up for today." Genkai proposed. "We can think of new ways to coax it to the surface inside."
Hiei retrieved his coat and followed the old psychic into the temple, sitting down near the window as she browsed through a selection of books. "Here." Genkai handed him one of the books. "It contains its history, or, as much as there is known about it."
Hiei took the book, it's size resembling more like a small journal. "Considering the size of your 'book', I guess not much is known."
"Sadly we have to find most of it out by ourselves." Genkai sat down at the table, flipping through another, bigger book.
"Where did you get these?" Hiei turned the small book around, examining it's bindings and materials.
"The spirit world library." She replied. "Koenma entrusted these books to me when I agreed to help out. They are the only ones mentioning it, even if it only contains its name but nothing else about it."
"Then what's the point of getting them when they don't give up information?" Hiei grimaced.
"If its name is mentioned within its papers, there must be something we can link or use written near them." Genkai ran her finger across a paragraph. "Even if only Yami's name is mentioned."
Hiei flipped through the journal. "Hand me one of those." He closed the book and pointed at the one he wanted. Genkai obliged and handed him the book in question. "Now this is one I haven't seen yet."
They sat in silence for a couple of hours, scanning paragraph after paragraph, trying to fabricate some plan. Hiei stopped as he recognized a name written on the paper. "Muma." He murmured. Genkai turned towards him, expecting he found something useful.
"Who's Muma?" She asked.
"I don't know." Hiei sighed. "It says she's the last of Yami's bloodline, considering this book must be a few decades old, she might not be the last anymore."
"But what if she is?" Genkai arched her brow. "What does it say?"
"Not much." Hiei rubbed his eyes. "His descendants have never stopped looking for the artifacts, but no one ever found one. Bummer." With that, he closed the book and motioned to Genkai to give him the next one on the pile.
...
Yusuke chugged a glass of water as he sat on one of the food crates in the walk-in fridge. The kitchen was steaming hot and he occasionally escaped the steaming cramped space for a cool cramped space. He had told Keiko about Kuwabara's condition when he returned home yesterday night and Keiko insisted he kept in touch and call him during his break. Luckily for him, his break had just started.
He stepped out of the fridge, snatched a cigarette out the carton and headed outside. Taking his phone out of his pocket he dialed Kuwabara's number, lighting this cigarette while it rang. It rang a couple of times before Kuwabara picked up.
"Urameshi." His voice as hoarse as it has always been.
"Kuwabara." Yusuke snickered. "I see you're conscious."
"Don't even start." Kuwabara clicked his tongue.
"Anyway." Yusuke took a hit from his cigarette. "How are you doing? Feeling any better?"
"Yeah I'm improving. This'll take another day or two and I'll be as good as new." Kuwabara laughed.
"I'm glad." Yusuke leaned back against the brick wall.
"How's Keiko?" Kuwabara said after a few seconds of silence.
Yusuke snorted. "No need getting all familiar, Kuwabara. She's good."
"Nice, haven't kicked any other customer out yet?" Kuwabara mocked.
"Luckily not." Yusuke said as he exhaled the smoke from his cig.
"Heard from Kurama yet?" Kuwabara asked finally.
"Nah, nothing so far, fox boy is busy with work or something." Yusuke sighed softly.
"Hmn." Kuwabara stayed silent. "Will that be all? Guess you have to get back to work soon anyway."
"That's all." Yusuke confirmed. "Just wanted to check up on you." He dropped the finished cigarette and crushed it with his foot, extinguishing it. "I'll keep you posted, just focus on getting better, okay?"
He heard Kuwabara scoff. "Yeah yeah, I got it." came his reply. "Talk to you later." With that, the call ended. Yusuke slipped his phone back into his pocket and headed back inside where the steaming kitchen and hungry guests were eagerly awaiting his return.
...
Botan opened her eyes slowly as she heard the sheets ruffle next to her, Kurama was getting back into bed after he'd left for reasons unknown to her. His body felt cool as she pulled him closer to her, her head resting on his bicep as his other arm wrapped itself around her waist. She had missed him in the days where she wasn't able to visit due to the workload, being too busy to even eat. She felt a sense of security when his arms were around her, she felt safe. Not bothering to question him or look at the time, she closed her eyes again, drifting back to a peaceful slumber.
She woke when his phone buzzed upon his nightstand. Cracking her eyes open slowly so she could adjust to the small amount of inpouring sunlight which had found its way around the edges of the curtains. Botan blindly reached out next to her, patting an empty pillow. She propped herself up on her elbows and scanned the room, nothing. She ran her hand across the inside of the duvet, finding it to be cold which meant he had left a while ago.
Sitting upright on the bed, Botan rubbed the drowsiness out of her eyes before throwing the covers off of her and making her way to the door. A familiar energy signature made her stop. 'Seems he's been awake for a while.' She yawned as she entered the living room.
"You're up early." She said as she eyed the clock on the wall, its hands slowly ticking towards 6:35 am. Kurama laid upon the couch, his back towards her and the fleece blanket covering his lithe form.
"Have you eaten yet?" She asked, making her way towards the kitchen. "Kurama?" She raised her eyebrow at the lack or response. "I know you're awake, I can feel your energy." She scoffed as the silence continued, turning on the kettle to heat some water.
"Are you ignoring me?" She leaned against the corner of the kitchen's entrance, digging her eyes into his back. "You are.." She stated after a few seconds, pouting as she walked over to the couch. Laying her hand upon his shoulder she frowned as saw his half lidded eyes.
"Kurama." She said in a firm tone, his breath was steady but he would occasionally shiver slightly. "You're asleep." She sat down near his waist, his back still towards her, running her hand through his bangs, beads of sweat covering his forehead. Botan hurried back to the kitchen as the kettle whistled, taking it off of the stove and filling two mugs with warm water after which she added some dried leafs.
She fished the leafs out of the water when the water had absorbed all flavor, dying it maroon red. Taking a tray with both mugs and some fruit back to the couch.
'He's leaking energy like crazy.' Botan sat back down, noting his eyes were fully closed this time. She shook his shoulder slightly in an attempt to stir him, calling his name as she did so.
Tired emeralds slowly emerged from under closed lids, he turned his head slightly and looked directly into her amnesty ones.
"Morning." She said softly.
"Hi." Kurama croaked, his voice rattling in his throat.
"Why didn't you come back to bed?" Botan tilted her head slightly, her hand still on his shoulder.
"I didn't want to wake you." He replied. "I already woke you once, I didn't want to disturb you again."
Botan didn't have a reply ready for that. She wondered why he had to go out that often but shoved the question to the back of her head with the intention to ask him about it later. "Are you feeling well enough for some fruit? Tea?... Anything?"
"I'll try." Kurama propped himself up on his elbows while Botan kept a watchful eye.
"You've actually gotten worse." Botan handed him the tea when he was seated. "I can heal wounds but I can't do anything about viruses, I'm sorry." Botan sighed softly. "I'm afraid we'll have to wait this one out."
"It's okay." Kurama wrapped his fingers around the warmed porcelain, taking a sip when the liquid cooled enough to not burn his lips.
Botan saw him grimace when he swallowed. "What's wrong? Wrong blend?" She was about to take the cup from him when shook his head.
"No, don't worry, the blend is good." He smiled. "I might have destroyed my throat lining last night."
"Oh." Botan eyed the fruit on the tray. "Guess you don't feel like eating anything?"
Kurama shook his head again. "I'm afraid I won't be able to keep it in and frankly, I don't want to repeat last night." He gave her a sheepish smile before taking another sip of tea.
"Then I'll get you back to bed as soon as you finish that."
...
Botan had helped him back to bed, he gratefully sank back into the soft mattress as his body ached. He felt himself slip away when his phone started buzzing.
"I'll take that. You rest up, okay?" Botan took the phone and retreated back into the living room. Kurama had given her his code when they started dating officially so she unlocked the phone and looked at the caller history. Shiori's name popped up on the top and she tapped it to call her back.
"Oh god I was about to come over, I've been trying to reach you all morning, why didn't you answer? You had me worried like crazy!" Shiori's voice blasted through the speaker as soon as she answered the call. Botan smiled and interrupted as soon as she had the chance.
"Hi Shiori, Botan's speaking." She said, Shiori had told her to call her by her first name. Though flattered, it took Botan a while to get accustomed to it. "I'm sorry neither one of us was able to pick up."
"Ah Okay, don't worry about it dear. How are you doing darling? It's been a while." Shiori sounded like she had calmed down. "I'm just calling to check up on my son, my husband told me he's not feeling so well and I was wondering if there is anything I can do for him."
"I'm good, thank you. Don't worry, I got it all covered here." Botan replied.
"Alright, is he doing a bit better..?" She asked.
"Actually." Botan began, turning around to watch the closed bedroom door. "He hasn't been able to keep anything down, his fever has gone down a little bit but I'm afraid it'll take a while till he's back on his feet."
"Shall I give you dr. Nakamoto's number? He's been our family doctor since Su was little, he does visit check ups too. He isn't improving enough considering it's been three days." Shiori said worriedly.
"Yes please." Botan nodded even though Shiori could only hear her.
"I'll send it right away. Call me whenever things get complicated, okay?" Shiori gave an audible chuckle.
"Thank you, I will." Botan smiled, receiving the phone number as soon as she hung up the phone. She grimaced as she saw the time and date on his home screen. Pulling her own phone out of her pocket, she made a, to her, necessary call to spirit world.
...
"Right this way Nakamoto-san." Botan motioned towards the bedroom as she allowed the doctor to enter.
"Please, call me Toshi." He replied as he took his shoes off and joined her further into the apartment. "Tell me, what's bothering him?"
"He's unable to keep food down, he's tired and his throat hurts." Botan fumbled with the collar of her shirt. "I know he's been experiencing work stress as of late but I never thought it would wear him down like this."
"Work induced stress is a real catalyst for illnesses and a lowered immune system which makes him more vulnerable for viruses." Toshi smiled. "It is very likely he fell ill due to stress. I'll go and check him out."
Botan opened the door to the bedroom and allowed Toshi to enter first, closing the door behind her she stayed in front of the door to not get into the way. Toshi went to his bedside and sat down, stirring Kurama.
"Sir." He said softly as he noticed Toshi was the one sitting besides him.
"Hi Su, it's been a while." He replied. Botan froze for a second, she almost forgot about the fact that these people knew him as Shuichi, not as Kurama. She relaxed again knowing she hadn't accidentally said Kurama during their short interaction. Toshi spoke with Kurama for a while but she noticed his eyelids were starting to drop.
"Let's get this over with as soon as possible, you must be exhausted." Toshi opened his suitcase and took out what he needed. Botan was glad he noticed the fatigue.
Kurama was about to attempt to sit up when Toshi stopped him. "No need, please stay down." He said softly as he took out his thermometer and pressed it against his neck. "101.7, as expected." He muttered under his breath. Placing the meter back into his suitcase, he retrieved a small flashlight. "Can you look at me?" He coaxed, holding the flashlight in his hand.
"You know how this one works, just keep looking at me." He flicked it on outside of Kurama's field of vision and slowly brought it into view. Kurama closed his eyes tightly as the light hit his eyes.
"Do you suffer from migraines?" Toshi, turned off the small light.
"Sometimes." Kurama replied honestly.
"Understood." Toshi got rid of the light. "Could you turn to your side please? I'd like to listen to your lung capacity."
Kurama did as he was told to and turned on his side, facing Toshi as he pressed the stethoscope against multiple spots on his back. Reaching back into his suitcase to retrieve a syringe and a small bottle. Pressing the needle through the seal, Toshi loaded the syringe with the liquid. "I'm giving you this to boost your immune system, it'll help you recover faster."
Kurama's eyelids were heavy and he fought back against sleep as he was examined. He felt a hand upon his arm, tapping the inside of his elbow. He directed his eyes towards his arm and froze when he saw the needle threatening to make contact with his skin.
Botan gasped as Kurama jerked his arm away and hurriedly scrambled away from Toshi, hitting the floor hard as he fell off of the bed in his frantic attempt to escape. She hurried to his side.
"It's okay, It's me." She said as his skin jumped under her touch.
Toshi capped the syringe, placed it on the nightstand and hurried towards them. He helped Botan lift him off of the ground and sat him back on the bed. "In all my years of being your family's doctor, I've never seen you afraid of a needle." He said as he searched his head for injuries caused by his fall. "I still need to give you that injection."
"No." Kurama replied quickly. "I don't need it."
"You do." Toshi replied. "You can't hold any food down and I'm not allowing you to get worse because you're too stubborn for crying out loud."
"Just take it Ku-uhm Shuichi." Botan was just in time to correct herself. She saw the look in his eyes, he was scared, scared for another unknown liquid potentially causing more harm than good.
Kurama sighed, his breath shaky. "Okay." He said hesitantly.
Toshi retrieved the syringe from the nightstand and took Kurama's arm. He protested for a bit but eventually allowed Toshi to reach the thin skin on the inside of his elbow. Botan sat besides Kurama and pulled his head into her neck for comfort. He grimaced when the needle punctured his skin and released the liquid into his bloodstream.
"That's all for now." Toshi stood and packed his suitcase. "If he doesn't improve in the next few days, contact me again. I'll see myself out." He thanked Botan and left, leaving her alone with Kurama who was squeezing his arm tightly.
"What came over you?" She asked quietly.
"I don't know." Kurama replied softly. "Even though I trust him, seeing that needle... I don't know."
"You'll be okay, rest up a bit. I'll heat up some of that soup so you can try and eat something when you wake up." Botan stood from the bed. "I asked Koenma if I can stay for one more day, so you're stuck with me for a little longer." She smiled.
He smiled back to her and watched her leave the room, crawling back underneath the blankets as a cold shiver climbed up his spine.
...
Kuwabara splashed some water onto his face, dried off with a towel and looked in the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes had disappeared and he was feeling well enough to get back to school. He checked underneath his chin for patches he had forgotten, taking the razor when he spotted some rogue hairs. He was so focused on not cutting his throat he didn't notice Shizuru standing in the door opening.
"Going out?" She said suddenly.
Kuwabara flinched, glad his reflexes jerked the razor away from his throat rather than towards it. "Meeting up with Yusuke." He murmured as he tilted his head up, returning to the unshaven patch on the bottom of his chin.
"We eat at 6." With that Shizuru took the laundry basket from the bathroom and took it with her to the washer.
Kuwabara grumbled underneath his breath, rinsing the razor when he finished. He took his leather jacket and hurried outside towards the meetup spot.
"Hey dude!" Yusuke waved as he saw Kuwabara approach.
"Urameshi, what'd ya do this time?" Kuwabara walked up to his table.
"Nothing, I swear!" Yusuke laughed. "Haven't thrown out any customers this week."
"Well well, I'm proud of you." Kuwabara said slightly sarcastic as he took a seat at the table of the small bistro.
"Hehe thanks." Yusuke chuckled awkwardly. "How are you feeling?"
"Back to normal, mostly." Kuwabara leaned back into the chair. "My nose is still running a bit."
"Run after and tackle it." Yusuke interrupted.
Kuwabara just stared at him for a minute before blinking and shaking his head. "What?"
"Never-mind." Yusuke waved him off as he saw the waitress coming their way.
She took out her notebook. "Can I poor you fine gentlemen something to drink?"
"Whatever you have on draft." Yusuke smiled.
"It's four in the afternoon..." Kuwabara furrowed his brow to which Yusuke shrugged his shoulders in response. Kuwabara sighed as he ordered a coke. The waitress wrote their order down, smiled at Kuwabara and retreated back behind her bar.
"Isn't she something for ya?" Yusuke gave Kuwabara a mischievous smile.
Kuwabara hummed disapprovingly underneath his breath as he shook his head. "Can you quit that?" He whispered harshly before falling silent as the waitress returned with their drinks. Meanwhile, Yusuke kept frantically winking and hinting at him to make a move, he refused.
"I will never stop." Yusuke teased as the waitress left. "Make work of Yukina or go out and look for someone. Hell, even Kurama got himself a girl, I mean, we all thought he'd be the one left alone." Yusuke took a sip of his beer. "Oh how the tables have turned on you."
Kuwabara watched the ice cubes in his coke melt. "Yukina came over when I was ill."
"Progress!" Yusuke yelled which made Kuwabara flinch."
"Can you keep it down?" He asked as he looked around for uninvited stares.
"I will not until you tell me the ins and outs of it." Yusuke grinned.
"Sure man." Kuwabara whispered harshly. "She agreed to go for a stroll after my exams."
"Ah shit, those are coming up soon, aren't they?" The corners of Yusuke's lips were pulled into an unsatisfied scowl. He hated exams, learning and school. He wanted Kuwabara to succeed and go to a great university though he would never be able to do it himself.
"Next month." Kuwabara sighed. "They are just pre-assessments so it's nothing like the real deal, but it's close enough. It gives me equal to the stress of actual end-of-year exams."
"So I guess you'll be sticking your nose in your books for a good amount of time?" Yusuke took another sip of beer.
"Yeah. I have to pass this term of else.." Kuwabara left his sentence open as he drank some of his coke, nervously chewing on a small piece of ice.
"Ah, I well, good luck with that." Yusuke saw his nervousness. "I'm sure you'll do fine and hey, nice that you got Yukina to join you on a stroll after. It's something you can look forward to while studying, motivation. Meanwhile I'm enjoying myself in my cramped noodle bar with Keiko, Kurama is working for god knows how many hours a day and Hiei is still a little punk while Genkai is trying to put two and two together."
"Is there any news about that?" Kuwabara asked.
"Don't know, called Genkai on Monday and she sounded pretty busy so I guess they're doing fine. If there was a problem she would've called us." Yusuke shrugged. "We can go over tomorrow or the day after and see what kind of progress they've made. Let's finish our business here, you've got a date with your books and I hate to be a third wheel."
Kuwabara nodded and chugged the last few drops of coke and melted ice, gesturing to the waitress they were ready for the bill. Yusuke did the same, leaving the empty glasses on the table with a few coins as tips before leaving the bistro.
...
"I'm sorry Botan." Koenma folded his hands together as he faced the deity.
"But sir.." Botan tugged at her obi in a nervous habit.
Koenma hovered his eyes over the huge amount of paperwork which cluttered his desk. "I really can't miss you for another day Botan. Kurama is well enough to care for himself." He saw no reassurance in the deity's eyes. "I get you're worried but there is a huge increase in casualties in the Makai and I need you here before all hell breaks loose."
"I understand." Botan lowered her head. "But please allow me to bring the key to his house to Yusuke. I'll ask him to pass by and check on him instead."
Koenma nodded. "Make it quick, the souls aren't going to ferry themselves."
Botan bowed respectfully and left the room to make a phone-call.
"Urameshi." Was the first thing she heard when he picked up, the sizzling of food in a hot pan distantly in the background.
"Yusuke, it's me." Botan said cheerfully.
"Botan!" Yusuke's voice seems to lit up after hearing her. "Didn't expect your call, how's my favorite deity of death?"
Botan chuckled for a second as he realized it was her. "I'm good, I'm good." She smiled. "I called because I have a favor to ask."
"Anything." Yusuke said shortly as the sizzling in the background intensified before disappearing all together. "What can I do for ya?"
Botan swallowed thickly. "Kurama hasn't been feeling so good the last couple of days and I'm not able to get another day off of work. If I drop his keys at your place, would you go over and check on him for me?"
"He's not feeling so good?" Yusuke copied. "Kuwabara had a bad case of the flu too, yet he is already up and running again."
"Really?" Botan hummed under her breath. "The doctor said it is due to stress, because he's been working so much lately. Though I wonder, how did they both just become unwell?"
"Kuwabara was slipping in mud like he was in a mud wrestling match, Kurama stayed behind to help him out and the idiot probably sneezed in his face or something." Yusuke laughed. "How was Kurama doing when you left? I remember him being indifferent and quite flammable last weekend."
"Well, I left on Thursday, yesterday in the early morning, he was finally able to eat something Wednesday night and his fever finally broke. He's doing better but I still want to be sure." Botan answered.
"Got it." Yusuke replied. "Drop by anytime you like, I got the day off anyway."
"Thank you, it means a lot to me." Botan gave a small sigh of relief.
"Anytime." Yusuke said before breaking the connection. Botan wasted no time and summoned the oar, making her way to Ningenkai with the key in question. The sun shone bright and compensated for the cool winds blowing past her as she glided through the air towards Yusuke's residence. She descended as the familiar noodle shop came into view.
"Oh hey Botan!" Keiko greeted as she saw the deity approach.
"Hi Keiko." Botan greeted with a warm smile. "Yusuke's upstairs? I have a key to deliver. I won't be able to stay though.."
"Something about ferrying souls?" Keiko finished her sentence. "He's upstairs."
"Indeed." Botan shrugged her shoulders and climbed the stairs, knocking on the door as she reached the entrance.
Yusuke opened the door with a loud squeak and lit up when he saw Botan. "Didn't expect you this soon."
"I was able to find a small window to make a quick delivery." Botan handed him the key. "I put soup in his freezer and stocked his kitchen with food. The medication is in the left drawer besides the dishwasher if he needs any."
"Okay." Yusuke tried absorbing the information.
"Thank you so much for doing this." Botan repeated. "I hate not being able to stay with him when he needs all the help he can get."
"It's okay, that's what friends are for." He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Well, I better hurry back, I don't want any more trouble for being away for too long." Botan summoned her oar once more, waving goodbye as Yusuke and Keiko followed her outside to make sure she'd leave without any trouble from curious onlookers. She looked back down upon Ningenkai before crossing the portal to spirit world.
...
Yusuke counted the number of doors before stopping at his destination. Botan had delivered the key to him at noon and he had decided to stop by after supper. He knocked on the door who, as expected, no-one opened so he knocked again in decency. After receiving no reply again he took the key out of his pocket and fitted it into the door, turning it open. He was met with an unexpected surprise as a chain prevented the door from opening, the slit wasn't wide enough to fit his hand through it.
"He locked it." Yusuke grumbled under his breath before calling out. "Kurama, you there? Can you open up please?"
Yusuke stood there for a few minutes, listening for any signs of life. The place was quiet but the familiar energy signature of his plant manipulating, or as Kuwabara liked to call it, tree talking friend was within its walls. Yusuke called out again but again, no reply came. He sighed and watched the small chain through the small crack.
The room that lay behind it seemed out of order. Yusuke frowned as he pressed his head against the doorpost, trying to see as much of the room as the chain allowed. "Hey bud, I'll just compensate you for the chain, okay?" Yusuke said, again, no reply was heard from the other side and Yusuke decided he had waited long enough. Forcing his fingers through the crack, he hooked the chain around his index finger, breaking it as he pulled.
He almost fell into his house as the door gave way. He dusted himself off, closed the door and took off his coat and shoes before heading into the living room. He called out once more and froze momentarily as he heard a door closing, a clicking sound following soon after.
Walking into the living room, he was astonished by what he saw. Kurama's plants seemed to have dried out completely, many of their paper like leafs hanging on for dear life as the others were littering the floor.
Yusuke sniffled. 'Smoke?' Now he was getting impatient.
"Kurama!" Yusuke almost yelled as he busted into the bedroom, finding it empty. He reached out with his energy and followed the trail to the bathroom but when he laid his hand upon the handle, he seemed unable to open it. "I know you're in here." Yusuke said, impatiently tapping his foot on the floorboards.
"Don't come in." Kurama's voice was soft and sounded weirdly controlled.
"Open the door." Yusuke insisted. "I heard you going in and locking it when I entered."
"No, go away." The same weirdly calm voice grew a shaky edge. It made Yusuke more eager to just bust in, not caring the state he'd be in.
"Open the damn door." Yusuke repeated. The other side had fallen quiet and Yusuke slammed his hand on the door. "Open the door Kurama. I'm not saying it again."
The other side was quiet but Yusuke felt the panicking energy from within the room. He slammed his hand on the door again, giving a final warning before backing up slightly and pulling the door out of its hinges.
2020 has been such a wild year. I finished AOWF, started this one and had some great accomplishments even though this year mostly sucked major ass.
I actually wanted to upload this chapter on Kurama's birthday (December 29th) but I just had to get it out on Christmas so I can focus on other stuff until 2021 comes around. Thank you all for this wonderful year, let's make the next one better (though that won't be so hard... I hope.).
Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year.
Lots of kisses,
Farure.