Email: swythangel@hotmail.com
Title: The Reddest Rose
Type: Series 10/?
Rating: PG (just to be safe)
Disclaimer: All characters of YuYu Hakusho are owned by their writer and company. They aren't mine (sigh!) and even if I wished on a hundred falling stars, Kurama will never be mine. This fiction was made to entertain and hopefully does not infringe on their copyright.
Aspromised…Saturday see? ^-^ just in time.
The Reddest Rose
"Hmmnnn…no sounds of shouting or broken things. That's a good sign." Yusuke said positively, his ear straining against the door marked 420.
"Hn. Not necessarily a good sign." Hiei whispered back. "The impulsive kitsune could be dead by now. Have you ever thought about that?"
"Urusai, Hiei. Impossible. We'd have heard some noise." Yusuke told Hiei, glaring at him for even suggesting that Hitori could have died.
The little runt glared back, unintimidated.
"Oh would you two stop that already." Exasperated, Kuwabara came between the two. "Remember! Hitori! She's what we came here for?"
For a minute, Kuwabara thought they didn't hear him because neither one broke the silence. And then Yusuke broke into a smile. "You're right, Kuwabara. Let's finish this." He turned towards the door and turned back to them again, scratching his head. "Uh, anyone know how to jimmy the lock?"
Kuwabara shouldered past him and looked at the door. "Don't need to. Its open." He twisted the knob to open the door.
"Hold on…"Yusuke said frantically. "They might be inside." Too late. The door was open. And the room was empty. Lucky Kuwabara, if Hitori and Youko had been inside, Yusuke would have clobbered Kuwabara for the carelessness.
"Baka." He heard Hiei say under his breath.
"Well, there's no one here. Where can they be?" Kuwabara wondered out loud.
Yusuke and Hiei's gazes met. They nodded in unison. "The rooftop." Sometimes, Hiei and Yusuke thought so much alike, it was almost scary.
***
"Kurama…" Hitori shattered the silence between them.
They had been like that since he had startled her from her wall-climbing. She almost fell over from surprise. She hadn't felt his presence at all.
After the first startled instant, she had pushed herself against the wall and jumped up into the rooftop to face him. Her pulse had started to beat faster as her eyes roamed over his face. He is so different.
She couldn't feel Kurama-s presence. All she felt was the alien presence of someone ages old and powerful. Could you really be Kurama? But of course, he was. She knew that Kurama's alter ego was Youko. After all, she had been sent to kill him months before. But she didn't really expect Youko to not even carry a trace of Kurama's personality.
Youko frowned at her. "I am not this Kurama you are talking about, ningen. I am Youko, the Silver Fox, one of the Nine Tails of Kitsune."
"But you are also Kurama. Don't you remember?" She told him.
"It is clear to me, ningen that you have mistaken me for someone else."
"Its Hitori…"
"Hn?"
"Hitori. My name. Don't you remember me?"
"Aa. I know you."
Hitori smiled, hope blossoming in her heart. A hope that quickly died at Youko's next words. "You are the one I will face in the battle arena. The one I have to kill."
"What about Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, Yukina, Botan, Hiei, and Koenma?" Hitori asked, searching Youko's face for any sign of recognition. I will not give up.
"Aa. Koenma, I remember."
A ray of hope flared in Hitori. "You remember Koenma?"
"Yes." Youko told her, a cruel smile forming on his lips. "That is the Reikai princeling that Kitsune wants dead, preferably mutilated."
"How can you say that? Koenma is your friend."
The smile was wiped from Youko's eyes, replaced by an irritated glare. "You seem to delight in making up stories, ningen. I do not know any of you ningens nor claim any of you as my friends. You are fast irritating me, and I have never liked ningens. If you don't leave my presence now, you might be the first casualty of this travesty."
Never liked ningens? The Kurama I remembered loved the ningen world enough to give up his life in the Makai. Damn! What has Kitsune done to Kurama? What can I do to get Kurama back?
"Ningen…" Youko's voice was full of warning.
I got it. "Kurama, because you are Kurama, Youko. I am not a ningen." She gathered her power about her and transformed to her kitsune form. Eight tails now adorned her back, a memento of the last fight in the ningenkai with her brother and the other kitsune.
Her newly acquired 8 tails lashed about wildly. Please remember now, Kurama.
"Nani?" Youko was startled but only for a second and comprehension finally dawned. He snarled at Hitori. "You! You are the half-breed ningen Kitsune was talking about." Power began to build around his form as his nine tails also lashed about. "I will kill you NOW!" He launched himself into the air, towards Hitori.
And was promptly blocked by a fist-swinging Yusuke.
***
"Kisama! Are you nuts, Kurama?" Yusuke screamed at the kitsune. "This is Hitori, don't you remember?" To Hitori he asked. "Are you hurt?"
Hitori shook his head, dazed that Kurama could actually attack her. Yusuke turned back angrily at the kitsune.
"Kurama no baka!"
"I am not this Kurama that you ningens seem so fond of calling me. I am Youko." The kitsune retorted in a dangerously low voice.
"You're also Kurama, baka!" Kuwabara joined in. He was angry at Kurama for forgetting. Remember, Kurama has been brainwashed. Those had been Koenma's words. To hell with not remembering. He almost struck down Hitori.
"This is becoming awfully repetitive." Kurama drawled. "Now if you ningens would please get out of the way. I have a score to settle with the half-breed." Again, he gathered up his power around him. Yusuke and Kuwabara stood between Hitori and Youko unmoving. A move whichYouko noticed. "If you don't want to move, then you die along with her." He snarled and attacked…
Ja-Ou-En-Satsu-Kokuryuha!
…to be driven back as Hiei joined the fray, calling upon the Black Dragon Spirit to help push the kitsune back.
"Fox." Hiei addressed Youko, coming out of the shadows of the doorway, his fist still burning, his jaganashi open. "You are outflanked. It is senseless to fight. You of all people should know that."
More than ever he looked like the cruel koorime that had struck fear in the hearts of his foes, the koorime that Kurama had first met so many years ago. And it was a deliberate move by Hiei. An effort to try to push forgotten memory into the light.
And it seemed to work for a moment as a glint of something remembered flitted through Youko's features. Something that vanished almost before anyone noticed. But anyone didn't include Hitori.
"He remembers something, Hiei!" She screamed at the koorime.
"And what do you want me to do next, kitsune." Hiei lobbed back at her. "Baka." He muttered. "That's the only trick I have."
"I do not remember anything, you damn half-breed. SHIMANEKI SOU!" Youko was visibly upset, as he called upon his death grass to silence the enemy.
"Watch it." Yusuke warned everyone as he jumped out of the way. When the smoke cleared, he was relieved to see that everyone had jumped to safety. "Damn, Kurama. That almost fried us."
"Rei ken!" Kuwabara called upon his spirit sword and tried to slash at Kurama. "Its no use, Yusuke. I don't think we can do anything to reach him." Its hopeless…
But Kuwabara wasn't looking at Youko as intently as Hitori was. He hadn't seen the look of recognition that flitted through his features once again…so quickly did it do so that Hitori wondered if it was real or not.
Youko blocked Kuwabara and easily sidestepped the heavier boy. "You can never defeat me like that, ningen." He sneered and backhanded Kuwabara who fell to the floor.
"Why you…" Yusuke's control on his temper finally broke. Youko had hurt his friend. That was a no-no. "Hiei, take his left flank." He waited only long enough to see the koorime nod as he charged Youko…
"No!" Hitori screamed as she saw Yusuke and Hiei enter the fight. "Yusuke, niisan, don't, please…"
"You don't understand Hitori," Yusuke told her, trying to punch Youko while Hiei came in from the left side, "This is not Kurama anymore, this is a different person."
"No, you don't understand, Yusuke…Kurama, he…"
Hitori's words were drowned out by Youko's scream. "SHUT UP! Damn fools. You cannot defeat me." Youko was holding his own in the fight. Albeit, he had to pit all his concentration on defending himself against the two but his determination not to lose never wavered.
But he had forgotten about the weaker Kuwabara who was even now positioning himself behind him. Damn Youko! Damn the kitsune! I hate to do this to Kurama but this is the only way. Kuwabara took out his spirit sword again and charged Youko from behind. "Yah!" This'll end now.
"No!"
Kuwabara blinked, not quite believing what he saw. Instead of Youko falling down on his feet, Hitori was crumpling before him. "Hitori? Wha…Why?"
Dazed at what Hitori did, Kuwabara never got the chance to block Youko's next attack as the kitsune became aware of what was happening behind him.
"Shoukuyuu-Shokobutsu!"
THUD!
"Ugh!" Kuwabara slid to a stop at the edge of the rooftop, bleeding, while he cradled Hitori protectively.
"Kuwabara! Hitori!"
Yusuke and Hiei rushed to where the injured had been thrown.
"G…gomen, Kuwabara. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. B…but…Youko, I mean Kurama is still inside Youko. I couldn't let you do it." She was bleeding profusely on her left side now.
"No, not your fault, Hitori…" Kuwabara managed to get out before fainting dead away.
"Kuwabara!" Yusuke's voice mirrored the concern in his eyes.
"Stupid idiots." The amused kitsune was stalking them. "What do you know? I got two birds with one stone. I am sure Kitsune would be happy. In fact, they're on their way over right now. The other Nine Tails must have heard the noise we caused. They'll want to join in, they never could resist a party like this." He laughed.
"Damnit!" Yusuke was really angry now and was ready to kick Youko's ass whether he was Kurama or not. He was about to charge Youko again when Hiei stopped him.
"No, Yusuke." Hiei shook his head. "This is not the time and place. The other kitsunes are coming. We need to retreat."
"Listen to your koorime friend, ningen. You can't hope to defeat me." A nasty smile that followed made Yusuke really want to bash Youko's face in. "But then again, the question is: will I allow you to escape?"
"Gomen Hiei! He has this coming…"
Before he could stand, Hitori placed a hand on his arm. "no, Yusuke, niisan, please. "
"Damn!" Yusuke couldn't resist the pleading look in Hitori's eyes nor could he ignore the voice of reason. They had to retreat. For the sake of the Makai. "Alright," He whispered to Hiei. "Can you carry Hitori?"
The koorime nodded, he understood what Yusuke planned to do. Surreptitiously, he gathered Hitori up in his arms, careful not to let Youko see.
"When I count to 3, be ready to jump the building." Yusuke whispered hurriedly.
"1, 2, 3! Rei Gun!"
Yusuke twisted about to fire a spirit ball into the kitsune, taking a second to affirm that it had hit the target before flinging Kuwabara's unconscious figure over his shoulder and jumping the building.
Seconds before they jumped, Hitori shouted out to the dazed kitsune who hadn't expected the rei gun Yusuke threw at him.
"Ai shitteru...I…I don't know why or even how, all I know is that I love you…Kurama, Youko, whoever you are, no matter what happens!"
TBC ^_~ just a little more to go I would think ^-^ Domo to everyone who commented. Nice people ^-^