Email: swythangel@hotmail.com
Title: The Reddest Rose
Type: Series 13/?
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.
Ok so I lied, I didn't pose on Saturday. But you see, there's a really good explanation for this. ^-^ Not that you guys would be interested ne? So without further adieu and with a lot of apologies, here's the second to the last part…or at least I think it is.
The Reddest Rose
For the short hour that was allotted to them, Yusuke, Hiei and Koenma silently carried Hitori's body to her apartment. They would take care of it later once time gave them the luxury to mourn and bury the dead.
Kurama was unconscious and was brought into the infirmary under the good guidance of the doctor in attendance. After making sure that the kitsune would be fine, the others returned to the ring for the battles. The hour was up.
It was time to obtain revenge.
***
The fire of anger and revenge fueled the other three who defeated their opponents with absolute ease.
Hiei's Black Dragon effortlessly sliced through the Nine-Tail Shuki and killed him instantly. Yusuke had more difficulty defeating the former Youko-kitsune tribe leader Kawakami who was second in power after Youko. But what surprised all of them was the Prince of the Reikai who displayed astonishing agility and power against Seiya, who had underestimated the pacifier-sucking Koenma and therefore paid for it.
The Makai team was winning 5 to 4. 4 because the match between Hitori and Kurama had been ruled in favor of Youko who had killed Hitori.
It was unfair but there was nothing Yusuke and the others could do. Besides they were still winning.
***
"Hah! Even if you have won almost all the matches, the rules state that we have to finish this round. And you don't seem to have anyone else left on your team, have you, Koenma?" Kitsune sneered. "This means that the match will go to me in default. We go into sudden death!"
A quiet voice interrupted Kitsune's sneers.
"Not so fast, Kitsune. The Makai team still has one more member…"
Kitsune swiveled his head to look at the shadowed portal. The voice had sounded familiar.
"I will fight you." Kurama stepped into the light and walked towards the ring.
"Don't make me laugh, ningen. If you do not change to Youko, you won't even have one-tenth of my power. And we all know you won't." Kitsune mocked Kurama, then shrugged, an unholy light gleaming in his eyes. "But then again, why not? I'll make you pay for the hurt you caused me." He beckoned Kurama towards the ring.
As Kurama climbed into the ring, the Karuto became confused. "Judges, is this allowed? Former Kitsune Team member Youko has just switched sides. Is this valid?"
"Fuck the judges." Kitsune interrupted violently. "This is one match I will enjoy." The air trembled as he built up his power.
"Alright. The judges have a decision: The last match will be between Kitsune and Youko."
"Kurama."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My name is Kurama, not Youko."
"B…but…"
"Youko, Kurama, who the hell cares? Let's get on with this!" Kitsune was fast becoming impatient.
"A…alright! The last match…Kitsune and Kurama. Ready…"
"You are going to die, Youko!"
Kurama didn't reply. His eyes were jade chips that glinted coldly in the light.
"…FIGHT!"
Both forms launched themselves into the air…
"YAAA!"
***
"H…How?"
Foxfire's glazed eyes registered confused surprise as he turned glazed eyes to his conqueror, eyes that were fast losing their light as death slowly but inexorably claimed him.
Kurama caressed the plant that had burst out of the kitsune chest and twined around Kitsune/Foxfire. "Do you know that this plant is one of the deadliest in the Makai?" He said almost conversationally. "Its one of the rarest parasitical plants that eats away at the host body, virtually undetectable, slow to grow but violently effective once mature. In its dormant state, it's harmless… I believe this is the last one left in existence." Kurama stood up and smiled viciously down at the fading kitsune. "Aren't you glad you got the chance to know it better?"
As the light faded from the crimson eyes, the shadowy cast of Kitsune disappeared and was replaced by one whose light was far weaker.
"I am sorry, ningen…"
Foxfire….
"I never meant to hurt…Hitori. I…I loved her…"
/That love did not do anything but kill her./
Kurama thought to himself. He couldn't bring himself to accept the kitsune's apology, not when Hitori was no more because of this kitsune's folly.
"The winner of the battle: Kurama of the Makai Team!"
Thundering cheers greeted this announcement.
It's finished.
Kurama turned his back on the corpse and walked away, towards friends and comrades who cheered in joy. The crowd was in an uproar, they too didn't want to be controlled by Kitsune.
I've avenged you.
It seemed like such a long way to Yusuke and the others.
Why do I feel nothing? I should be happy or crying. Why is it that I feel nothing?
Why?
Why…
Hitori.
***
In the shadows of the arena, the cowled figure of Kitsune's adviser clenched his hands.
/My plans have been foiled yet again./
The skin around the blind eyes of Yomi, once the great Ruler, tightened imperceptibly. All his planning had gone for naught again.
He had thought that the legendary kitsune leader would be able to regain that which he had lost so long ago but they had failed. Once again, Raizen's get had meddled and Yomi lost.
But he was patient. One day all his plans would prove true and he would be able to regain what he had lost. One day.
He turned to leave. There was no point in staying.
LAST CHAPTER: WHEN ANGELS FALL
"Let me go back. PLEASE!"
"I am sorry but that isn't possible."
"Please…even for just a moment."
"No."
"But he is suffering. Can't you hear him crying?" A faraway look entered her face. "He is calling me again. I…I want, no, I need to go to him!"
"We have been through this many times since last week. However much you cry or plead, it just isn't possible. You're dead, he's not. Life goes on. Why don't you just resign yourself to the fact? Honestly, I don't know why you are so persistent. This part of the Reikai is comfortable as it is. Peaceful too, unlike the ningenkai." The watcher told her. "And from what I heard of what you went through, the Reikai should be a bed of roses for you."
Roses…Her eyes filled with tears as memories surfaced. "I just want to go back. I can't bear to see him suffering like this."
The watcher shrugged, irritated at her persistency. "Suit yourself." He said, walking away. "You'll resign yourself eventually when you learn to forget your past. Everyone does, one way or the other." His voice drifted in the darkness as he disappeared.
I won't forget…I won't. She looked down again at the pool which reflected the ningenkai. "I won't forget." She whispered brokenly. "He is everything to me…" Tears were falling down her face as she resumed watching the silently crying figure cradling a dried up rose, aching to put her arms around him. "Ai shitteru,. Itsu made mo. Wasurenaide kudasai, Kurama…"
***
One month later…
//You should have let me DIE! What right did you have to save me? That was my decision to make.//
//How do you do that? …Make roses out of thin air…//
//Kurama-san!//
The memories played over and over Kurama's mind as he sat in the rose garden. It had been a month since Hitori had died and he still couldn't believe, couldn't accept that it had happened. Every day he sat here to remember everything about Hitori. He had refused to leave the dojo even when classes started two weeks ago, didn't want to leave the place where there were memories of Hitori. He knew that the others were worried about him. Even Shiori 'kaasan had come here to talk to him. He remembered…
***
"Shuuichi-kun, I know it hurts but you have to move on." (Keiko had told his mother that his love had dumped him and left. A very loose estimation of what happened but sufficient enough excuse for his mother.)
He hadn't answered her at all. You cannot understand, 'kaasan…
"I know its hard to believe, Shuuichi-kun, but in time, there will be others…"
NO! There can never be anyone else again. Kurama had wildly cried out inside his head. He had wanted to strike the offending words from the mouth that issued them but came to his senses.
'Kaasan doesn't know the whole situation, she doesn't know…Instead, he quietly raised his head, bloodshot green eyes full of pain. "Iie, 'kaasan. Hitotsu dake arimase. There is only one. No one can replace her."
Shiori had silently nodded her head and hugged her grieving child, accepting her child's words as the truth. The pain and certainty in his words were those of a man whose world had crumbled before him, she didn't doubt that it was true.
***
//Wasu…wasurenaide ku….da….sai. Please….don't….for…get me…Ai…shitteru, even in death…Kurama………beloved.//
"I won't forget, Hitori. I will never forget you." He whispered to the dried-up rose he cradled in his hands. The self-same rose that had given him back his sanity one month ago, the rose that Hitori had given up her life for. "Come back to me, Hitori. I need you, I want you to be my side."
But she wouldn't come back. She was dead.
Always, the silence greeted his pleading request. Hitori was dead. I killed her…
A familiar feeling throbbed once again. Pain, deep all encompassing pain. It was almost welcome to Kurama, much better than the numbness and ache that always stayed.
//Kurama no baka. You didn't kill me. I chose to die. I could have chosen to fight you instead but I didn't. And I didn't do it for you alone, you know. It was for the Makai too. So stop this nonsense.//
He almost smiled as he imagined Hitori saying those words. He missed her so very much. So very, very, much.
It hurts, Hitori. It hurts to lose you….
Tears started to flow anew…
***
Snik!
"What do we do now?" Keiko sighed and asked the others, closing the door after watching the grieving Kurama for a moment. "It's been a month and he is still like this."
Yusuke shrugged. "What can we do? We've done everything to try and cheer him up. Not that he appreciated it." He grumbled. He still felt the sting of Kurama 's words when he had tried to tell him once that everything would be alright.
"Leave me alone! You can't know how I feel. You still have Keiko, Yusuke. Keiko didn't die, Hitori did!" It wasn't fair of Kurama to say that, Yusuke thought, since everyone grieved for Hitori's passing. She was my imoto, Kurama. I feel pain too. But he had let it pass because he understood the pain Kurama was going through. Because if it had been Keiko…
"That's not fair, Yusuke. You know how Kurama is feeling. He doesn't know what he's talking about, right now." Keiko admonished Yusuke who nodded in contrition.
"I can't bear to see Kurama-san so sad." Yukina said sorrowfully. She had been the one witness to Kurama's grief as she was left alone in the dojo with Kurama. Yusuke needed to oversee his restaurant, Keiko and Kuwabara went back to school, and Hiei was busy with the Makai.
Kuwabara hugged Yukina. "I know how you feel but Yusuke is right. What can we do? We've done everything…even Koenma has pleaded with his father…"
"Time." A small figure appeared in the darkness, materializing into Hiei. "Just give him time. And take care of him. There is nothing else we can do. It is now all up to the Fox."
Everyone saw the wisdom in Hiei's words, surprised that caring words could ever come from someone who pretended to be indifferent and callous.
***
Days later, in the halls of the Reikai…
"Enma-sama!"
Koenma looked up from the ton of paperwork he had been perusing as he heard someone shouting his father's name. The walls were so conducive to echoes that the shout resounded all over. He shouldn't shout so much, whoever he is…
"Enma-sama!"
There he is again…Koenma thought. He was starting to get irritated. Didn't the guards tell him this isn't a marketplace…still, there seems to be something familiar about that voice.
"Koenma-sama!" An underling burst in through the door shouting his head off. "Koenma-sama!"
"Oh, what is it?" Koenma said irritably. "I have a ton of work to do here."
"Koenma-sama! K..Kurama is headed towards Enma-sama's throne room…" The underling was panting.
"Nani?" Koenma screamed. He stood up from his desk. What the hell does Kurama think he is doing? Koenma knew how devastated Kurama had been when Hitori had died. He had even tried to ask his father to bring her back but Enma Daio had been adamant. Now here was Kurama. In his state of mind, I wouldn't be surprised if he demanded Hitori back. And my 'Tosan is easily angered. This could be catastrophic!
"I am going to my father's throne room." He said, starting to run out the door. "Find Botan and tell her to follow me." I may need her help to pick up pieces of Kurama when this is through. Koenma thought grimly and sighed as he ran as fast as he could to Enma Daio's throne room.
***
"Kurama, what are you doing?" Koenma whispered to Kurama. He had caught up with the ex-kitsune just outside the throne room and was taken aback by the change. Koenma hadn't seen Kurama since the last of the tournament but the Kurama he could see know was so different from the one then that he almost gave way.
The once shining flame hair was dull and lackluster, he was also significantly thinner, the green eyes bloodshot and full of suffering with dark shadows underneath them. In his left hand, he gripped the dried up rose that Hitori had given up her life for, Kurama was holding it like it was his lifeline.
He does love her so much. Koenma sympathized with Kurama because he could well imagine what he would look like himself if Botan ever died. Thank goodness it hadn't been Botan. A grateful wave passed over him then and he was a little bit ashamed.
Botan chose to appear at that moment, flying on her broom. "Koenma-sama is right, Kurama. You can't just stomp in here demanding to see Enma-sama. Believe me, he isn't as jovial as Koenma-sama. Not as patient either. Please rethink your plan, Kurama. Before its too late."
"Don't try to stop me, Koenma, Botan. Because if you do then you'll have to kill me." Kurama's voice was a bit raspy from too much crying but there was no disguising the coldness in his voice.
Marvelous, not only has he lost his manners and mind, even his voice has changed. Koenma thought dryly. To Kurama, he hissed. "This is insane, Kurama. Do you know what my 'tosan could do to you?"
"I don't care." Kurama said stonily. "Now let me through."
"I can't do that." Koenma said, standing his ground. "You are my friend and as such I have to preserve your life whether…" He was interrupted by a great booming voice that issued from inside the throne room.
"LET THE NINGEN IN."
The throne room doors started to open.
Shit. Now we're in deep doodoo. "Whatever you do, please, please don't make him angry." Koenma whispered to Kurama who acted like he didn't hear Koenma as he tucked the rose carefully inside his shirt and shrugged past Koenma and into Enma Daio's throne room, into the Lord of the Netherworld's presence.
"WHAT IS IT YOU WANT, NINGEN, THAT YOU HAVE TO SHOUT ALL OVER MY PALACE?"
Kurama was taken aback for a while. Enma Daio looked nothing like his son. He was an enormous hulk of a man (giant would be a better word for it) whose face seemed to be covered with hair. He wore horn-rimmed glasses and a cap that had two horns sprouting out from it. Other than that, you would have thought that he was a clerk or something, wearing trousers and a shirt with suspenders. If Kurama had been in a humorous mood, he would have wondered if Koenma really was this hulking giant's son.
"WELL…"
The booming voice shook Kurama out of his reverie and he started to speak up, gathering his courage in.
"Enma-sama, Lord of the Netherworld, King of Death. You hold sway over all mortal life on the ningenkai as well as the Makai…"
"I come before you now to ask a favor of you. To ask for the life of one who had no chance to fully live at all."
"YOU SPEAK, OF COURSE, OF THE KITSUNE, HITORI."
Kurama nodded and continued. "I love her, Enma-sama. I would like to ask for a second chance."
"BUT SHE HAS DIED. ONCE DEAD SHE CAN'T RETURN TO LIFE. THAT IS THE WAY OF THE WORLD. YOU MUST TRY TO LIVE WITHOUT HER. AND HOPE FOR THE DAY WHEN YOU TWO SHALL MEET AGAIN."
"I have tried to stem my sadness, to bear my loss, o King. But I cannot, I cannot live without her by my side. Please."
"NO. I CANNOT CHANGE THE RULES JUST TO SATISFY ONE FOOLISH MORTAL."
"It isn't the wish of one foolish mortal alone, King of the Netherworld. Orpheus was given the chance to bring back his Eurydice once so very long ago and even Pluto gave Proserpine back her life. What is so different about my request?"
I didn't know Kurama was up on Greek Mythology…Koenma said wonderingly.
"YOU ARE SPEAKING OF TIMES LONG GONE, OF DIFFERENT GODS, I AM NOT HADES OR PLUTO, I AM ENMA DAIO."
Koenma couldn't believe it but he could have sworn there was amusement in his father's voice.
"Still, if Hades could grant Orpheus that request. Cannot Enma-sama grant me the same?"
"NO."
"But you granted Yusuke the chance to live again." Kurama persisted, undaunted by Enma Daio's forbidding face. I have too much riding on this to give up now. "Hitori had even saved the makai by sacrificing her own life. At the very least, you should offer her the same courtesy you gave Yusuke."
"YUSUKE DIED AHEAD OF HIS PRESCRIBED TIME…"
"And so did Hitori." Kurama interjected. "I know you are going to tell me that she has lived 800 years but I am asking in behalf of her ningen side. She has barely even lived." Never had the chance to fully live her life the way she wanted to. A tear rolled down Kurama's cheek. "All I ask is that you give her a chance. A test if you really want to, just like what you gave Yusuke. I would give anything for this one chance…I will even offer my life in exchange…"
"No!" Botan and Koenma said at the same time, running forward to stand beside Kurama.
"'Tosan, I entreat you. Please grant Kurama his request."
"Enma-sama. Kurama really loves Hitori very much. Please understand."
"IT SEEMS, NINGEN, THAT YOU HAVE ENLISTED THE AID OF MY SON AND ONE OF THE DIETIES OF DEATH. I WILL THINK ON WHAT YOU HAVE LAID BEFORE ME." Amusement tinged his tone. Enma Daio lapsed into silence, seemingly searching for a decision.
After what seemed like an eternity, Enma Daio spoke out. "VERY WELL, NINGEN. I WILL GIVE YOU THE CHANCE YOU REQUESTED."
"Alright!" Botan gave a whoop of joy and hugged both Koenma-sama and Kurama.
"AHEM." Enma Daio called their attention, his eyes reproaching Botan. "YOU SEEM TO LOVE THIS HITORI VERY MUCH. I WONDER, IF THIS HITORI LOVES YOU BACK THE SAME."
Before Kurama could protest, Enma Daio held up his hand, motioning for silence. Kurama, would still have spoken out if not for Koenma's restraining hand. Koenma, more familiar with his father, knew that Enma Daio wasn't finished with what he was saying and Koenma became worried. His father was tricky too. He looked at Botan. She was wearing an expression mirroring his own.
"THE TEST I LAY BEFORE YOU IS THIS…IF YOU CAN GET HITORI TO REMEMBER YOU THEN I WILL GRANT HITORI HER LIFE BACK AND SHE CAN COME BACK TO THE NINGENKAI WITH YOU."
Is that all? Kurama thought joyfully. This will be so easy.
"Arigato gozaimasu." Kurama bowed in appreciation.
Enma Daio waved the appreciation away. "BOTAN, ESCORT THE NINGEN TO THE KITSUNE'S SPIRIT."
"H…Hai, Enma-sama."
With that, Enma Daio turned his back on them. As they left the throne room, the doors closed with a resounding bang.
"It is not as easy as you think it is, Kurama!" Botan exploded just as the doors closed.
"Botan is right." Koenma said. "It isn't as easy as 'Tosan led you to believe. Do you know what happens to dead spirits, Kurama?"
"Aside from the fact that you get to decide where they go?" Kurama said dryly, raising an eyebrow. His mood was fast improving at the thought of seeing Hitori again.
"That's besides the point." Koenma muttered, blushing. He didn't like to be reminded that he was responsible for deciding if a spirit should be sent to the tortures of hell, to the pleasures of heaven or to anywhere else in between the two.
"Stop teasing him, Kurama. This is deadly serious." Botan told Kurama. She hated to burst Kurama's bubble of happiness but she knew it had to be said. "Do you know what happens to spirits of the dead?"
Of course not. How could I?" Kurama told her, serious now that Botan hadn't even cracked a joke to support him.
"Then listen to Koenma-sama." Botan said firmly.
"Spirits, when they are first taken up here to the Reikai, retain their memory. But once they are sent off to their destination, their memory fades in time until at the last, nothing is left. I don't really know how the mechanics work but like in mythology, the river Lethe washes away memories. This is done to ease the pain of dying and to lift the burden of the living from the spirit." Koenma turned his head to look at Kurama. "And just in case you ask…Yusuke didn't lose his memory because he never went into the Reikai. He roamed the earth to complete his test. You do understand what this means, Kurama?"
All trace of happiness was erased from Kurama's face as he digested what Koenma had said. His next words rang out like bullets from a pistol. "How long has Hitori been inside the Reikai?"
Botan looked towards Koenma uncertainly and saw him nod. "A month. I was the one who escorted her there." Her tone was sad as she said it. She knew what that meant. "I'm sorry, Kurama."
Her sympathy was met by a hard green gaze. "What for, Botan? That doesn't change things…I will still bring back Hitori from whatever infernal dimension she is in…So come on and lead me to her." Kurama walked purposefully down the hall, dragging Botan with him. "Now where is it?"
"I…it's not far from here…" Botan told him. She didn't warn Kurama anymore because she could see that it wouldn't change Kurama's mind. She started to lead him to the door not far from the throne room.
"Baka. Didn't you hear a word I said?" Koenma said incredulously, finally catching up to Kurama's brisk walk. "By now, Hitori has already forgotten who Yusuke, Keiko, Yukina, Kuwabara, Botan and I are. And even you. She will have forgotten…"
"You're wrong" Kurama's voice was hard as he interrupted Koenma. "She will not have forgotten me." He said in a faraway voice that seemed to be directed at himself rather than at Koenma.
"Itsu made mo." He whispered. "She told me she would love me forever. She will not forget."
Tears gathered in Botan's eyes as she heard Kurama's whispered pronouncement. He is trying to reassure himself…oh, Kurama. She laid a hand on Koenma's arm and gave him a look. Don't say anything else. Let him try to save Hitori. If anyone can do it, he can.
Koenma shrugged. He and Botan had been together for hundreds of years, he understood what she had wanted to say. "Then guide him and help him, my deity of death. Because he will need all the help he can get."
And then he turned to Kurama. "Good luck then Kurama. When next we meet, I hope to see you with Hitori by your side." He smiled, lifted up his left hand in salute and walked off.
Kurama nodded and turned to Botan. "Let's go."
Botan opened the door into a world of dark swirling colors and warned Kurama. "This leads to the part of the Reikai where Hitori is. Don't stray from my side or you may become lost. Once you are lost, there is a possibility that you may never come out again. Inside, you will glow a little…this is because you are still alive. The dead will see you easily. On the other hand, I will remain invisible. Only you will be able to see me. Understand?" Botan had shed the ditziness Kurama and the others had associated with her. She was every inch the deity of death now as she prepared herself to go into the deepest parts of the Reikai.
"Yes."
"One other thing, Kurama." Botan said, turning back to him. "Once we are in the Reikai, you must comply with what I say. Once I tell you that we have to go, we must go, whether or not we have Hitori with us.""
A terse "Why?" came out of Kurama's lips.
"The river Lethe erodes memory. Even if you are alive, it will slowly take effect. If you stay long enough, you won't remember who you are or what you set out to do. Once that happens, even I cannot bring you back."
"I see...How much time do I have?"
"Three hours. No more, no less."
Kurama shrugged. "Let's go then."
They jumped into the void.
"Wait for me, Hitori. I will be there." Kurama murmured, sending the hope from his heart to the void, hoping Hitori would hear.
TBC ^_~ Comments, comments…make me happy because this is ending already. Just one or two more parts to go. If you make me happy I'll post on Saturday, really. And after that Sunday. ^^ I promise.