Hi there everybody! Long time no chapter, ne? As
you have already guessed this is the next chapter
of 'The Forgotten Child". Because of the change
of mailing lists and such I am sending this
chapter by both the cc list I had from the
previous list and through the YuYuHakusho ML
(yyh@animanga.com one). So I will apologize in
advance for the multiple copies some of you will
undoubtedly receive.
Kat
The Forgotten Child
Chapter 16
written by Kat Aubuchon
edited by Windlily
Yuusuke crouched behind a granite statue of
Hikoboshi and his ox as he cradled Kuwabara's
bleeding head on his thigh. He looked between the
legs of the motionless myth that had his petrified
arms out stretched to his beloved and watched
Kitsuryuu slowly limp down the path of smooth
river stones that was meant to represent the river
that separated the heavenly lovers. Their hunter
slowly made her way around the statue of Tanabata
at her loom, searching for any signs of her
elusive prey.
Yuusuke lowered his ki with practiced ease to
make sure that Kitsuryuu could not sense where he
was as he scanned the rest of the park for her
powerful companion. He found the kitsune of youki
fire farther up the same path of white stones and
gave a silent sigh of relief. Yuusuke knew that
even though the girl in front of him was quick,
smart and resourceful, she was no match for him in
pure power. If he wished he could take her out
with one well placed blast, but he hadn't come to
kill the youkai, he had come to try and help her.
While Kitsuryuu continued the hunt, Yuusuke
carefully rolled Kuwabara onto his back and
inspected the sizable cut over the knot on the
left side of his head. Yuusuke was somewhat
relived that the taller man groaned in protest.
If Kuwabara was awake enough to complain, then his
friend had not been too grievously injured in
Kitsuryuu's attack.
Yuusuke heard the rhythmic crunch and drag of
stones stop and was alerted that Kitsuryuu had
left the path. A knot of panic formed in his
mind, had she found them already? He glanced up
and saw that she was headed their way, but without
purpose. She hadn't found them, she had just
changed the course of her search, so he forced
himself to stay calm. He had to think his way out
of this.
He knew that he was no match for Kitsuryuu's
speed, so running wasn't an option. He could
possibly trick the girl into following him away
from Kuwabara, but she had that damn fire fox at
her command, so leaving his friend wasn't an
option. Yuusuke's only hope for a semi-peaceful
ending at this standpoint was Kurama and Hiei.
"I'm too old for this, Yuusuke," Kuwabara
grumbled as he put his hand to his head.
Yuusuke placed his finger over his lips in a
silent suggestion that his friend be quite.
Kuwabara didn't acknowledge that he saw Yuusuke
and fingered the wound above his temple. With a
hiss of pain Kuwabara jerked his hand away and
carefully came to a sitting position. The red head
looked at his trembling fingers and then scowled
at the blood he saw on them.
"Yukina is gonna kill me when we get home."
"Not before Keiko kicks my ass," Yuusuke
whispered low as he pointed to the burn holes that
decorated his brand new shirt and the angry, red
and black burn marks across his chest.
Kuwabara nodded his head in agreement and
then grimaced at the pain the movement caused.
Yuusuke became worried when Kuwabara's eyes rolled
back and his lids drifted shut. He shook his
friend's shoulder but Kuwabara had already passed
out. Yuusuke gave a quite curse and looked again
to decern where Kitsuryuu was. From the way she
was still searching the ground for signs of where
they went, it was clear that she didn't hear the
noise they had made.
Yuusuke carefully assessed the youkai's
movement as Kitsuryuu methodically searched for
them. She was using her heightened youko senses
to hunt them down instead of her ki. Her ruby
eyes ran over every blade of grass, trying to find
ones that had been broken underfoot. Kitsuryuu
had her nose into the breeze but, luckily for both
Yuusuke and Kuwabara, they were down wind.
It wasn't just Kitsuryuu Yuusuke was worried
about, but the fire creature. Her kitsune friend
was now trotting at her right side, its blazing
ears twitching to and fro for any sounds that
might pass in the wind. There was something very
odd about that creature and Yuusuke just couldn't
put his finger on what it was. When the fire fox
had attacked him he had been shocked to realized
that, except for some minor differences, Kitsuryuu
and the fox had the same ki. Not that they were
the same person, but that they both drew their
power from the same source. Yuusuke only knew of
one other 'couple' that were this way, Puu and
himself.
When Puu had still been small enough to be in
a room and be unnoticed it had been relatively
easy to mistake his ki for Puu's and visa virsa.
For just a moment Yuusuke wondered if this fire
fox was some sort of spirit beast, linked to
Kitsuryuu the same way he and Puu were. He didn't
have much time to think about it when he realized
with a start that the fire fox's eyes were now
fixed in his direction. Yuusuke froze and waited
for the fox to alert Kitsuryuu of his location,
but the kitsune just stared, keeping a weary eye
on him. Yuusuke kept his gaze locked on this
unknown threat as he tried to remember when this
whole mess had gotten out of hand.
When he, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei had
arrived in the city earlier that evening they had
been split on where they should start looking.
Kurama and Hiei had wanted to start with the
hospital and find Shuuichi, hoping that the young
doctor had some useful information on what had
happened. Yuusuke had wanted to start looking for
Kitsuryuu immediately and on Kuwabara's 'hunch'
they had started with the park.
As it turned out Yuusuke and Kuwabara were
the first ones to find both Kitsuryuu and Maryoku.
The two friends had been surprised to find that
they had walked in on a rather strange exchange
between the two young people. They had hunkered
down in the shadows and waited in silent curiosity
to see what would happen.
They had watched Kitsuryuu circle around the
boy with a gleam in her bright eyes, the fire
kitsune at her feet following obediently. Both of
the adults had been almost as surprised as Maryoku
when Kitsuryuu caressed the boy's lower back with
the heels of her palms. Maryoku had become so
stiff a strong wind would have been able to knock
him over. Then Kitsuryuu had leaned against him,
her face pressed close to the back of Maryoku's
neck, her eyes closed.
Yuusuke could still see the look of shocked
terror on his son's face when he had whirled
around to face Kitsuryuu. Maryoku had looked like
he was on the edge of panic as he tried to speak
to the dreamy-eyed girl. Kitsuryuu had ignored
Maryoku's strange attempts at communication and
placed her head on his chest. Yuusuke had seen
the light blush that had crept up Maryoku's cheeks
and he realized why his son was so quick to take
up Kitsuryuu's cause. The boy had a crush on the
youkai.
Kuwabara had made some whispered jokes as he
also realized Maryoku's attachment to the girl.
The two of them had snickered in light hearted
amusement as Maryoku tried to push Kitsuryuu away
from him while frantically backing up. Yuusuke
had felt some sympathy for his son, because he
could still remember how panicked Keiko had made
him feel when they were younger. Maryoku had half
fallen, half sat on the low wall of the empty
fountain behind him with his mouth open in the
most comical way. Yuusuke had been a little
shocked when Kitsuryuu slinked her way onto
Maryoku's lap and made herself comfortable.
Yuusuke hadn't known whether to be concerned
for his son's physical welfare or his fragile hold
on his emotions. Maryoku was definitely in a
panic now and was trying very hard to keep
Kitsuryuu from wrapping her arms around his neck.
Yuusuke had easily recognized the scowl his son
tried to use on Kitsuryuu as the same one Keiko
used on him when she was upset, but it had no
effect on the young woman. Kitsuryuu had leaned
towards Maryoku and the boy had leaned back to get
away. Yuusuke had actually sat there anxiously
waiting to see what would happen, telling Kuwabara
to be quite so he could hear what was going on.
Instead of the kiss he had expected,
Kitsuryuu had buried her face in Maryoku's neck
and Yuusuke had seen a look of relief flash over
his son's features. It was short lived however,
because Kitsuryuu started to nuzzle the side of
Maryoku's neck and the boy's face went up in
bright, red flames. Yuusuke had decided it was
time to save his son from dying of embarrassment
and had motioned to Kuwabara that they were going
to make their presence known.
Just as Yuusuke had stepped out into the open
he had heard his son gasp in pain. All the humor
had fled from the situation and Yuusuke had wanted
to know exactly what Kitsuryuu had been doing to
Maryoku. He realized in retrospect that he
shouldn't have rushed in like an untrained novice.
He had done probably the worse thing he could have
done in that situation. He had reached out and
grabbed the girl's shoulder, intending to pull her
away from his son. Everything after that had
happened so fast that he still couldn't believe
that this young lady had turned the tables on him.
After Yuusuke had grabbed Kitsuryuu's
shoulder, the youkai had quickly turned on him,
her eyes flaming red. A menacing growl that would
have done Hiei proud could be heard deep in
Kitsuryuu's throat as she bared her sharp fangs.
Maryoku had tried to hold on to Kitsuryuu as she
leaped to her feet, but the girl had the better
leverage. The fire kitsune that Yuusuke had
forgotten in his rush to get to his son came at
him from the side and he had barely enough time to
put his arm up in defense.
While Yuusuke was fending off the kitsune he
had seen Maryoku try and talk to Kitsuryuu, but
she just turned to his son and landed a very
precise right cross to Maryoku's jaw. His son
went down easily and Kitsuryuu lifted him into her
arms and shakily leaped with one leg to the top of
the fountain while the kitsune ripped at Yuusuke's
shirt with its fiery paws, burning the material
and scorching his skin. He got a defensive
barrier up between them, but he could still feel
the intense heat of its body against his chest as
Kitsuryuu placed Maryoku into the safety of the
statues arms.
He watched her hover over his son for a few
seconds, pushing his rumpled hair back into place
against his scalp as if to apologize while he
tried to think of a way he could take Kitsuryuu
down quickly without seriously hurting her as he
forced his forearm deeper into the kitsune's mouth
and pushed it back off of him. He still hadn't
thought of a way as the young youkai jumped back
down to face him.
Kuwabara entered the scene at that point and
Kitsuryuu turned her attention from Yuusuke to
focus on the new threat. His friend had brought
his Reiken to life and was waiting patiently for
Kitsuryuu to make her move. The young woman
grinned crookedly and then flitted off to the
side. Both he and Kuwabara had been startled by
the amazing speed Kitsuryuu displayed. She was
probably just as fast as Hiei, and that was with a
bad leg to slow her down.
Suddenly Kitsuryuu had appeared in front of
Kuwabara and he raised his Reiken in defense.
This was what she had been waiting for, and with a
quick movement Kitsuryuu stepped forward and
wrapped her left arm around Kuwabara's right wrist
and forearm. The weapon was then behind her and
no longer the focus of her concern. Since her leg
was far too damaged to support her weight
properly, Kitsuryuu had used the leverage she
gained from holding onto Kuwabara's arm to lift
her right leg up and smash it into the side of his
face.
The first blow didn't take Kuwabara down but
the rapid succession of powerful kicks afterwards
did. Each time Kitsuryuu's shin impacted with
Kuwabara's face his head snapped to the side with
the force. There had been an audible crack when
Kuwabara's head twisted farther than it should
have and he went down to his knees. With a twist
on the arm in her grasp, Kitsuryuu threw him to
the ground, blood flowing from the cut on his
temple.
Yuusuke had started to rush forward to assist
his friend as he finally forced the kitsune away.
He had thought that the fire fox couldn't possibly
detain him, but he had been very wrong. The
kitsune's eyes glowed a deep blue and its body
swirled into flames until nothing was left of the
original fox form except its eyes, ears and
muzzle. It had come after him with the same speed
Kitsuryuu had shown earlier and Yuusuke had known
that he couldn't match it. He had waited for his
opportunity, and when the formless fire fox came
close enough Yuusuke punched it, his hand glowing
with contained power.
His fist had passed easily into the flames,
burning off the fine hairs on his arm but had no
effect on the creature itself. Yuusuke had tried
to pull back but the serpent-like fox had used his
failed attack to get close enough to wrap its long
body around him. Yuusuke's arms had been pinned
to his sides and the flames had scorched his skin
were it touched him. He had struggled, but he had
known that to brake the kitsune's hold he would
have to expend a massive about of energy that
might destroy everything around them and he was
unwilling to do that.
Yuusuke had looked over at Kuwabara and
Kitsuryuu and was surprised to see that they had
not changed positions. Kuwabara had been slumped
on the ground with Kitsuryuu leaning over his
body, poking at it curiously. The young youkai
reached out to touch the side of Kuwabara's face
and gathered some of the blood there onto her
fingertips. Her eyes had been glassy... vacant,
and she had looked as though she was in a trance.
Kitsuryuu brought her fingers to her mouth and the
tip of her red tongue darted quickly out to taste
the wetness on her hand.
Suddenly her entire demeanor had changed and
her face turned cold and emotionless. The color
had left her eyes making them white and devoid of
iris or pupil. She had made an angry sounding
hiss between her clinched teeth as she lifted her
hands to her ears. She had cupped them at first
and then she suddenly started scratching at them
furiously. She had clawed so hard at her own skin
that it started to bled and had left bloody trails
across her neck and cheek.
She had stopped suddenly, her hands still on
her ears, and watched Kuwabara from behind the
curtain of her tangled red-black hair. As
Kuwabara tried to get up, Kitsuryuu had backed up
as if frightened he would attack her, then she
pounced on the unsuspecting man. Kitsuryuu had
slammed Kuwabara back down using a swift strike to
his sternum with the heel of her hand. While
Kuwabara had been gasping to bring air back into
his lungs, Kitsuryuu raised her hand above her
head, gathering a strange combination of youki
Yuusuke couldn't recognize.
Soon she had a massive about of power
gathered between her spread finger, more than
enough to incinerate Kuwabara in his current
unprotected position. The youki changed as she
gathered her power, taking the form of a small but
extremely intense crimson fire than had cast light
on her face.
Yuusuke had seen her intent to bring her arm
down with a killing blow and had forced his arms
from his side to the front. He had gathered his
reiki to the tip of his finger and the fire fox
had tried to wrap itself tighter to stop him, but
it had been too late. Kitsuryuu barely had enough
time to sense what Yuusuke was up to before he let
the blast fly.
Kitsuryuu had come to her feet quickly, but
Yuusuke had purposefully directed the attack so
that Kitsuryuu was forced to use her bad leg. She
stumbled to the side and was not fast enough to
avoid the energy orb completely. It had connected
with her side and had ripped a nice size chunk of
flesh from her. Both Kitsuryuu and the fire fox
screamed out in surprise and pain and the fox
unwrapped itself to go to her.
He had watched as the serpentine kitsune
encircled Kitsuryuu's waist and started to heal
the damage he had inflicted. Yuusuke had taken
that opportunity to grab Kuwabara and run before
she completely recovered. Now he had his best
friend unconscious in his lap while hiding from a
youkai that he could easily take out with one or
two well place hits.
Yuusuke was trying very hard to think of a
way to stop Kitsuryuu without hurting her, but she
was making it very difficult. The kitsune was
still staring at him and Kitsuryuu was still
coming in his direction. Yuusuke knew that there
was no way that he could out run her even if he
didn't have to drag Kuwabara with him. He was
about ready to try and stand his ground with her
and hope that she would give up or tire out when
he heard his son calling.
"Father! Kuwabara-san! Can you hear me?!"
Yuusuke started to curse under his breath.
How was he suppose to answer with Kitsuryuu
practically standing right next to him? Yuusuke
was wondering if his son was as bright as he
thought he was when he noticed that Kitsuryuu had
not turned toward Maryoku voice.
"Just answer me! Kitsuryuu can't hear you,
she's deaf!"
"Exactly how much have you been keeping a
secret, Maryoku?!" Yuusuke yelled in response,
watching Kitsuryuu for a reaction.
She didn't acknowledge his words, but the
kitsune looked over his shoulder at where
Maryoku's voice had come from and then back at
him. Yuusuke waited for the fire fox to make a
move, but it just stood there.
"What do you mean?" Maryoku asked.
"You never told us she was deaf, or that she
had a friend."
"I guess I don't think of her as being deaf
anymore. It just slipped my mind," Maryoku
answered hesitantly, "And as for that fox, I have
no idea where it came from. Let me talk to her.
Maybe I can get her to calm down."
Yuusuke was ready to yell back that Maryoku
wasn't going to do anything that stupid when he
saw his son walk out of the bushes and into the
open. Kitsuryuu immediately spotted him and the
kitsune jogged over to Maryoku. His son took a
step back and the fire fox stopped a few feet away
from him. Kitsuryuu gave Maryoku a cool look, her
eyes had changed back to their natural red, as she
placed her hand on the fox's head. Again the fox
dissolved into a swirl of flames, but this time it
raced up her arm and into her hair. Kitsuryuu
closed her eyes for a moment and Yuusuke could
feel her struggle to control the massive increase
of power to her system.
It didn't look like she was going to be able
to control it until she changed forms and in a
flash of dim blue light she was a youko. Yuusuke
could barely recognize her as being of the same
race as Kurama because of her lack of ears and
tail. It was the shape of her powerful, slender
body and the proportions of her face that made him
think of a youko. In fact, she looked so much
like Youko Kurama that she could have been his
twin sister except for the silver blue hair and
wine colored eyes.
Yuusuke again wondered how much his son had
forgotten when he had told them about Kitsuryuu.
Here she was deaf, obviously brutalized,
possessing a sentient fire beast and more powerful
than she should be for her age, and it all just
'slipped his mind'! Yuusuke rubbed the headache
that was forming at the back of his eyes, he
really wasn't looking forward to the talk he was
going to have with his son later.
"Kitsuryuu! Listen too me! Kuwa... the tall
human... isn't here to hurt you!" his son yelled,
becoming impatient.
Kitsuryuu made many quick sharp gestures in
the air and accented each 'word' with a facial
expression. From the movements she was making it
was reasonably clear that she was retelling the
fight earlier. Maryoku tried to interject at this
point but Kitsuryuu made a few more hand motions
and his son's face froze. It was several seconds
before Maryoku could recover his wits enough to
answer her.
"I didn't mean what I said before. I was
angry at him at the time," Maryoku fumbled, trying
to find the right words to explain. "Remember when
I told you about mothers and fathers?"
Kitsuryuu crossed her arms over her chest and
gave Maryoku a searching look. Her eyebrows came
together in deep concentration, as if it was very
hard for her to focus on what Maryoku was saying.
If Yuusuke didn't know better he'd swear that she
looked drugged, or drunk. He had seen his mother
with that same kind of look when she *really* got
wasted. He started to watch Kitsuryuu closely for
anymore signs. Kitsuryuu finally nodded that she
remembered and Maryoku continued.
"Well, when I told you I wished my father was
dead I was angry because he had left for the Makai
again. I don't really want my father dead,
Kitsuryuu. OK?"
Yuusuke couldn't believe what he was hearing.
His own son had wanted him dead. Yuusuke focused
on what Maryoku had said and started to analyze
the last 14 years and was startled by the truth.
He had spent more time in the Makai away from his
wife and children than he had with them. All
those years in the war and then all the little
trips he took to make sure everything was running
smoothly added up to a huge chunk of time.
Yuusuke tried to remember how many birthdays,
holidays and anniversaries he had missed over the
years and was saddened to realize it was easier to
count up the few that he had attended.
The rest of the conversation was lost on the
wind as Yuusuke was struck low and hard with the
answer he'd been looking for. He had tried many
times to think of why his son hated him and now he
knew, and it was all his fault.
What had made him think that he could have a
family in the Ningenkai *and* run his affairs in
the Makai at the same time? He had successfully
repelled all attempts of take over by outside
forces on his kingdom, but he had single handily
ruined his own family. How many times had he
cursed his own father for abandoning him and his
mother like he did? How many times had he
promised himself that he would *never* be like
him?
Yuusuke looked down at his hands and stared
at his battle scared fingers. He flexed his right
hand and the skin that he had just burned had
heeled enough so that there was no more pain.
Yuusuke couldn't remember how many youkai he had
killed to protect his land. He had killed to
preserve a kingdom he did not establish. He
killed to keep his loyal subjects in relative
safety, but none of it was truly his.
He had not been the one to fight to secure
the land in the first place. He had not been the
one that spent centuries stalemated against two of
the most powerful youkai in the Makai. He did not
create, he destroyed, and he was good at it.
Kuwabara had built his own home from the
ground up. Everything about it he had planned and
he had created. It was his, for good or for bad,
but Kuwabara had made it with his own two hands.
Kurama created the most wonderful and beautiful
plants that anyone could imagine. His whole
nature was to create, even when he was killing.
Even Hiei had done the most prestigious thing that
Yuusuke could possibly think of. The sullen,
glaring, and aloof fire demon had made a child and
this is what struck Yuusuke deeply.
Hiei's son wasn't like any other child,
because it was his will alone that had made
Kyuukai. Hiei had formed a soul because that was
what he had wanted. Yuusuke knew that Hiei was a
father in every sense of the word while he was the
lowest form of life on the plant.
Yuusuke clenched his fists tightly and wished
that there was someone there that could beat the
shit out of him, because that was what he really
wanted right now. He wanted to inflect pain as
deep as Maryoku felt on himself. He wanted to
make up for all the missing years. He wanted
Maryoku, Mechiko and Keiko to forgive him, but how
could they when he couldn't forgive himself? How
could he give back all the time that was gone?
The simple answer was that he couldn't, and he
didn't know if he could live with that answer.
Yuusuke looked back at Maryoku and Kitsuryuu
and the 'fight' they were having. Apparently his
son wasn't making any headway with the youko.
Maryoku must have said something that Kitsuryuu
didn't like very much because the young woman had
a murderous look in her eyes and her hands were
clasped into tight fists at her side. She glared
down at his son from her six foot height and then
turned on her heel to leave. Maryoku reached out,
grabbing Kitsuryuu's arm, but the girl jerked away
shaking her head.
Suddenly Kitsuryuu looked like she was on the
edge of tears as she frantically shook her head
and signed the same thing over and over again.
She started rubbing her arms and then pushing her
long hair over her ear stubs. When Kitsuryuu
tried to turn away again, Maryoku stepped in front
of her, not letting her escape. She refused to
look at him and stoutly looked to the side.
It was almost laughable when his son had to
reach up to turn her head with his hand so that
she would look at him. Kitsuryuu was almost a
half a foot taller than his son right now, but she
gave the impression of being a frighten child
instead of the powerful youko she was. Kitsuryuu
reluctantly turned her head and listened to what
Maryoku had to say. His son smiled at her
comfortingly and slowly signed something. The
only thing that he could understand was the
universal OK at the end. Maryoku held his hand
out for Kitsuryuu to take it.
Reluctantly she took it and Yuusuke noticed
that her breathing became labored and Maryoku look
alarmed. The collar around her neck started to
glow slightly and Kitsuryuu sucked in a deep
breath as Maryoku called out her name. Yuusuke
wondered what was wrong with her when Kurama and
Hiei made their untimely entrance.
=======
end chapter 16
you have already guessed this is the next chapter
of 'The Forgotten Child". Because of the change
of mailing lists and such I am sending this
chapter by both the cc list I had from the
previous list and through the YuYuHakusho ML
(yyh@animanga.com one). So I will apologize in
advance for the multiple copies some of you will
undoubtedly receive.
Kat
The Forgotten Child
Chapter 16
written by Kat Aubuchon
edited by Windlily
Yuusuke crouched behind a granite statue of
Hikoboshi and his ox as he cradled Kuwabara's
bleeding head on his thigh. He looked between the
legs of the motionless myth that had his petrified
arms out stretched to his beloved and watched
Kitsuryuu slowly limp down the path of smooth
river stones that was meant to represent the river
that separated the heavenly lovers. Their hunter
slowly made her way around the statue of Tanabata
at her loom, searching for any signs of her
elusive prey.
Yuusuke lowered his ki with practiced ease to
make sure that Kitsuryuu could not sense where he
was as he scanned the rest of the park for her
powerful companion. He found the kitsune of youki
fire farther up the same path of white stones and
gave a silent sigh of relief. Yuusuke knew that
even though the girl in front of him was quick,
smart and resourceful, she was no match for him in
pure power. If he wished he could take her out
with one well placed blast, but he hadn't come to
kill the youkai, he had come to try and help her.
While Kitsuryuu continued the hunt, Yuusuke
carefully rolled Kuwabara onto his back and
inspected the sizable cut over the knot on the
left side of his head. Yuusuke was somewhat
relived that the taller man groaned in protest.
If Kuwabara was awake enough to complain, then his
friend had not been too grievously injured in
Kitsuryuu's attack.
Yuusuke heard the rhythmic crunch and drag of
stones stop and was alerted that Kitsuryuu had
left the path. A knot of panic formed in his
mind, had she found them already? He glanced up
and saw that she was headed their way, but without
purpose. She hadn't found them, she had just
changed the course of her search, so he forced
himself to stay calm. He had to think his way out
of this.
He knew that he was no match for Kitsuryuu's
speed, so running wasn't an option. He could
possibly trick the girl into following him away
from Kuwabara, but she had that damn fire fox at
her command, so leaving his friend wasn't an
option. Yuusuke's only hope for a semi-peaceful
ending at this standpoint was Kurama and Hiei.
"I'm too old for this, Yuusuke," Kuwabara
grumbled as he put his hand to his head.
Yuusuke placed his finger over his lips in a
silent suggestion that his friend be quite.
Kuwabara didn't acknowledge that he saw Yuusuke
and fingered the wound above his temple. With a
hiss of pain Kuwabara jerked his hand away and
carefully came to a sitting position. The red head
looked at his trembling fingers and then scowled
at the blood he saw on them.
"Yukina is gonna kill me when we get home."
"Not before Keiko kicks my ass," Yuusuke
whispered low as he pointed to the burn holes that
decorated his brand new shirt and the angry, red
and black burn marks across his chest.
Kuwabara nodded his head in agreement and
then grimaced at the pain the movement caused.
Yuusuke became worried when Kuwabara's eyes rolled
back and his lids drifted shut. He shook his
friend's shoulder but Kuwabara had already passed
out. Yuusuke gave a quite curse and looked again
to decern where Kitsuryuu was. From the way she
was still searching the ground for signs of where
they went, it was clear that she didn't hear the
noise they had made.
Yuusuke carefully assessed the youkai's
movement as Kitsuryuu methodically searched for
them. She was using her heightened youko senses
to hunt them down instead of her ki. Her ruby
eyes ran over every blade of grass, trying to find
ones that had been broken underfoot. Kitsuryuu
had her nose into the breeze but, luckily for both
Yuusuke and Kuwabara, they were down wind.
It wasn't just Kitsuryuu Yuusuke was worried
about, but the fire creature. Her kitsune friend
was now trotting at her right side, its blazing
ears twitching to and fro for any sounds that
might pass in the wind. There was something very
odd about that creature and Yuusuke just couldn't
put his finger on what it was. When the fire fox
had attacked him he had been shocked to realized
that, except for some minor differences, Kitsuryuu
and the fox had the same ki. Not that they were
the same person, but that they both drew their
power from the same source. Yuusuke only knew of
one other 'couple' that were this way, Puu and
himself.
When Puu had still been small enough to be in
a room and be unnoticed it had been relatively
easy to mistake his ki for Puu's and visa virsa.
For just a moment Yuusuke wondered if this fire
fox was some sort of spirit beast, linked to
Kitsuryuu the same way he and Puu were. He didn't
have much time to think about it when he realized
with a start that the fire fox's eyes were now
fixed in his direction. Yuusuke froze and waited
for the fox to alert Kitsuryuu of his location,
but the kitsune just stared, keeping a weary eye
on him. Yuusuke kept his gaze locked on this
unknown threat as he tried to remember when this
whole mess had gotten out of hand.
When he, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei had
arrived in the city earlier that evening they had
been split on where they should start looking.
Kurama and Hiei had wanted to start with the
hospital and find Shuuichi, hoping that the young
doctor had some useful information on what had
happened. Yuusuke had wanted to start looking for
Kitsuryuu immediately and on Kuwabara's 'hunch'
they had started with the park.
As it turned out Yuusuke and Kuwabara were
the first ones to find both Kitsuryuu and Maryoku.
The two friends had been surprised to find that
they had walked in on a rather strange exchange
between the two young people. They had hunkered
down in the shadows and waited in silent curiosity
to see what would happen.
They had watched Kitsuryuu circle around the
boy with a gleam in her bright eyes, the fire
kitsune at her feet following obediently. Both of
the adults had been almost as surprised as Maryoku
when Kitsuryuu caressed the boy's lower back with
the heels of her palms. Maryoku had become so
stiff a strong wind would have been able to knock
him over. Then Kitsuryuu had leaned against him,
her face pressed close to the back of Maryoku's
neck, her eyes closed.
Yuusuke could still see the look of shocked
terror on his son's face when he had whirled
around to face Kitsuryuu. Maryoku had looked like
he was on the edge of panic as he tried to speak
to the dreamy-eyed girl. Kitsuryuu had ignored
Maryoku's strange attempts at communication and
placed her head on his chest. Yuusuke had seen
the light blush that had crept up Maryoku's cheeks
and he realized why his son was so quick to take
up Kitsuryuu's cause. The boy had a crush on the
youkai.
Kuwabara had made some whispered jokes as he
also realized Maryoku's attachment to the girl.
The two of them had snickered in light hearted
amusement as Maryoku tried to push Kitsuryuu away
from him while frantically backing up. Yuusuke
had felt some sympathy for his son, because he
could still remember how panicked Keiko had made
him feel when they were younger. Maryoku had half
fallen, half sat on the low wall of the empty
fountain behind him with his mouth open in the
most comical way. Yuusuke had been a little
shocked when Kitsuryuu slinked her way onto
Maryoku's lap and made herself comfortable.
Yuusuke hadn't known whether to be concerned
for his son's physical welfare or his fragile hold
on his emotions. Maryoku was definitely in a
panic now and was trying very hard to keep
Kitsuryuu from wrapping her arms around his neck.
Yuusuke had easily recognized the scowl his son
tried to use on Kitsuryuu as the same one Keiko
used on him when she was upset, but it had no
effect on the young woman. Kitsuryuu had leaned
towards Maryoku and the boy had leaned back to get
away. Yuusuke had actually sat there anxiously
waiting to see what would happen, telling Kuwabara
to be quite so he could hear what was going on.
Instead of the kiss he had expected,
Kitsuryuu had buried her face in Maryoku's neck
and Yuusuke had seen a look of relief flash over
his son's features. It was short lived however,
because Kitsuryuu started to nuzzle the side of
Maryoku's neck and the boy's face went up in
bright, red flames. Yuusuke had decided it was
time to save his son from dying of embarrassment
and had motioned to Kuwabara that they were going
to make their presence known.
Just as Yuusuke had stepped out into the open
he had heard his son gasp in pain. All the humor
had fled from the situation and Yuusuke had wanted
to know exactly what Kitsuryuu had been doing to
Maryoku. He realized in retrospect that he
shouldn't have rushed in like an untrained novice.
He had done probably the worse thing he could have
done in that situation. He had reached out and
grabbed the girl's shoulder, intending to pull her
away from his son. Everything after that had
happened so fast that he still couldn't believe
that this young lady had turned the tables on him.
After Yuusuke had grabbed Kitsuryuu's
shoulder, the youkai had quickly turned on him,
her eyes flaming red. A menacing growl that would
have done Hiei proud could be heard deep in
Kitsuryuu's throat as she bared her sharp fangs.
Maryoku had tried to hold on to Kitsuryuu as she
leaped to her feet, but the girl had the better
leverage. The fire kitsune that Yuusuke had
forgotten in his rush to get to his son came at
him from the side and he had barely enough time to
put his arm up in defense.
While Yuusuke was fending off the kitsune he
had seen Maryoku try and talk to Kitsuryuu, but
she just turned to his son and landed a very
precise right cross to Maryoku's jaw. His son
went down easily and Kitsuryuu lifted him into her
arms and shakily leaped with one leg to the top of
the fountain while the kitsune ripped at Yuusuke's
shirt with its fiery paws, burning the material
and scorching his skin. He got a defensive
barrier up between them, but he could still feel
the intense heat of its body against his chest as
Kitsuryuu placed Maryoku into the safety of the
statues arms.
He watched her hover over his son for a few
seconds, pushing his rumpled hair back into place
against his scalp as if to apologize while he
tried to think of a way he could take Kitsuryuu
down quickly without seriously hurting her as he
forced his forearm deeper into the kitsune's mouth
and pushed it back off of him. He still hadn't
thought of a way as the young youkai jumped back
down to face him.
Kuwabara entered the scene at that point and
Kitsuryuu turned her attention from Yuusuke to
focus on the new threat. His friend had brought
his Reiken to life and was waiting patiently for
Kitsuryuu to make her move. The young woman
grinned crookedly and then flitted off to the
side. Both he and Kuwabara had been startled by
the amazing speed Kitsuryuu displayed. She was
probably just as fast as Hiei, and that was with a
bad leg to slow her down.
Suddenly Kitsuryuu had appeared in front of
Kuwabara and he raised his Reiken in defense.
This was what she had been waiting for, and with a
quick movement Kitsuryuu stepped forward and
wrapped her left arm around Kuwabara's right wrist
and forearm. The weapon was then behind her and
no longer the focus of her concern. Since her leg
was far too damaged to support her weight
properly, Kitsuryuu had used the leverage she
gained from holding onto Kuwabara's arm to lift
her right leg up and smash it into the side of his
face.
The first blow didn't take Kuwabara down but
the rapid succession of powerful kicks afterwards
did. Each time Kitsuryuu's shin impacted with
Kuwabara's face his head snapped to the side with
the force. There had been an audible crack when
Kuwabara's head twisted farther than it should
have and he went down to his knees. With a twist
on the arm in her grasp, Kitsuryuu threw him to
the ground, blood flowing from the cut on his
temple.
Yuusuke had started to rush forward to assist
his friend as he finally forced the kitsune away.
He had thought that the fire fox couldn't possibly
detain him, but he had been very wrong. The
kitsune's eyes glowed a deep blue and its body
swirled into flames until nothing was left of the
original fox form except its eyes, ears and
muzzle. It had come after him with the same speed
Kitsuryuu had shown earlier and Yuusuke had known
that he couldn't match it. He had waited for his
opportunity, and when the formless fire fox came
close enough Yuusuke punched it, his hand glowing
with contained power.
His fist had passed easily into the flames,
burning off the fine hairs on his arm but had no
effect on the creature itself. Yuusuke had tried
to pull back but the serpent-like fox had used his
failed attack to get close enough to wrap its long
body around him. Yuusuke's arms had been pinned
to his sides and the flames had scorched his skin
were it touched him. He had struggled, but he had
known that to brake the kitsune's hold he would
have to expend a massive about of energy that
might destroy everything around them and he was
unwilling to do that.
Yuusuke had looked over at Kuwabara and
Kitsuryuu and was surprised to see that they had
not changed positions. Kuwabara had been slumped
on the ground with Kitsuryuu leaning over his
body, poking at it curiously. The young youkai
reached out to touch the side of Kuwabara's face
and gathered some of the blood there onto her
fingertips. Her eyes had been glassy... vacant,
and she had looked as though she was in a trance.
Kitsuryuu brought her fingers to her mouth and the
tip of her red tongue darted quickly out to taste
the wetness on her hand.
Suddenly her entire demeanor had changed and
her face turned cold and emotionless. The color
had left her eyes making them white and devoid of
iris or pupil. She had made an angry sounding
hiss between her clinched teeth as she lifted her
hands to her ears. She had cupped them at first
and then she suddenly started scratching at them
furiously. She had clawed so hard at her own skin
that it started to bled and had left bloody trails
across her neck and cheek.
She had stopped suddenly, her hands still on
her ears, and watched Kuwabara from behind the
curtain of her tangled red-black hair. As
Kuwabara tried to get up, Kitsuryuu had backed up
as if frightened he would attack her, then she
pounced on the unsuspecting man. Kitsuryuu had
slammed Kuwabara back down using a swift strike to
his sternum with the heel of her hand. While
Kuwabara had been gasping to bring air back into
his lungs, Kitsuryuu raised her hand above her
head, gathering a strange combination of youki
Yuusuke couldn't recognize.
Soon she had a massive about of power
gathered between her spread finger, more than
enough to incinerate Kuwabara in his current
unprotected position. The youki changed as she
gathered her power, taking the form of a small but
extremely intense crimson fire than had cast light
on her face.
Yuusuke had seen her intent to bring her arm
down with a killing blow and had forced his arms
from his side to the front. He had gathered his
reiki to the tip of his finger and the fire fox
had tried to wrap itself tighter to stop him, but
it had been too late. Kitsuryuu barely had enough
time to sense what Yuusuke was up to before he let
the blast fly.
Kitsuryuu had come to her feet quickly, but
Yuusuke had purposefully directed the attack so
that Kitsuryuu was forced to use her bad leg. She
stumbled to the side and was not fast enough to
avoid the energy orb completely. It had connected
with her side and had ripped a nice size chunk of
flesh from her. Both Kitsuryuu and the fire fox
screamed out in surprise and pain and the fox
unwrapped itself to go to her.
He had watched as the serpentine kitsune
encircled Kitsuryuu's waist and started to heal
the damage he had inflicted. Yuusuke had taken
that opportunity to grab Kuwabara and run before
she completely recovered. Now he had his best
friend unconscious in his lap while hiding from a
youkai that he could easily take out with one or
two well place hits.
Yuusuke was trying very hard to think of a
way to stop Kitsuryuu without hurting her, but she
was making it very difficult. The kitsune was
still staring at him and Kitsuryuu was still
coming in his direction. Yuusuke knew that there
was no way that he could out run her even if he
didn't have to drag Kuwabara with him. He was
about ready to try and stand his ground with her
and hope that she would give up or tire out when
he heard his son calling.
"Father! Kuwabara-san! Can you hear me?!"
Yuusuke started to curse under his breath.
How was he suppose to answer with Kitsuryuu
practically standing right next to him? Yuusuke
was wondering if his son was as bright as he
thought he was when he noticed that Kitsuryuu had
not turned toward Maryoku voice.
"Just answer me! Kitsuryuu can't hear you,
she's deaf!"
"Exactly how much have you been keeping a
secret, Maryoku?!" Yuusuke yelled in response,
watching Kitsuryuu for a reaction.
She didn't acknowledge his words, but the
kitsune looked over his shoulder at where
Maryoku's voice had come from and then back at
him. Yuusuke waited for the fire fox to make a
move, but it just stood there.
"What do you mean?" Maryoku asked.
"You never told us she was deaf, or that she
had a friend."
"I guess I don't think of her as being deaf
anymore. It just slipped my mind," Maryoku
answered hesitantly, "And as for that fox, I have
no idea where it came from. Let me talk to her.
Maybe I can get her to calm down."
Yuusuke was ready to yell back that Maryoku
wasn't going to do anything that stupid when he
saw his son walk out of the bushes and into the
open. Kitsuryuu immediately spotted him and the
kitsune jogged over to Maryoku. His son took a
step back and the fire fox stopped a few feet away
from him. Kitsuryuu gave Maryoku a cool look, her
eyes had changed back to their natural red, as she
placed her hand on the fox's head. Again the fox
dissolved into a swirl of flames, but this time it
raced up her arm and into her hair. Kitsuryuu
closed her eyes for a moment and Yuusuke could
feel her struggle to control the massive increase
of power to her system.
It didn't look like she was going to be able
to control it until she changed forms and in a
flash of dim blue light she was a youko. Yuusuke
could barely recognize her as being of the same
race as Kurama because of her lack of ears and
tail. It was the shape of her powerful, slender
body and the proportions of her face that made him
think of a youko. In fact, she looked so much
like Youko Kurama that she could have been his
twin sister except for the silver blue hair and
wine colored eyes.
Yuusuke again wondered how much his son had
forgotten when he had told them about Kitsuryuu.
Here she was deaf, obviously brutalized,
possessing a sentient fire beast and more powerful
than she should be for her age, and it all just
'slipped his mind'! Yuusuke rubbed the headache
that was forming at the back of his eyes, he
really wasn't looking forward to the talk he was
going to have with his son later.
"Kitsuryuu! Listen too me! Kuwa... the tall
human... isn't here to hurt you!" his son yelled,
becoming impatient.
Kitsuryuu made many quick sharp gestures in
the air and accented each 'word' with a facial
expression. From the movements she was making it
was reasonably clear that she was retelling the
fight earlier. Maryoku tried to interject at this
point but Kitsuryuu made a few more hand motions
and his son's face froze. It was several seconds
before Maryoku could recover his wits enough to
answer her.
"I didn't mean what I said before. I was
angry at him at the time," Maryoku fumbled, trying
to find the right words to explain. "Remember when
I told you about mothers and fathers?"
Kitsuryuu crossed her arms over her chest and
gave Maryoku a searching look. Her eyebrows came
together in deep concentration, as if it was very
hard for her to focus on what Maryoku was saying.
If Yuusuke didn't know better he'd swear that she
looked drugged, or drunk. He had seen his mother
with that same kind of look when she *really* got
wasted. He started to watch Kitsuryuu closely for
anymore signs. Kitsuryuu finally nodded that she
remembered and Maryoku continued.
"Well, when I told you I wished my father was
dead I was angry because he had left for the Makai
again. I don't really want my father dead,
Kitsuryuu. OK?"
Yuusuke couldn't believe what he was hearing.
His own son had wanted him dead. Yuusuke focused
on what Maryoku had said and started to analyze
the last 14 years and was startled by the truth.
He had spent more time in the Makai away from his
wife and children than he had with them. All
those years in the war and then all the little
trips he took to make sure everything was running
smoothly added up to a huge chunk of time.
Yuusuke tried to remember how many birthdays,
holidays and anniversaries he had missed over the
years and was saddened to realize it was easier to
count up the few that he had attended.
The rest of the conversation was lost on the
wind as Yuusuke was struck low and hard with the
answer he'd been looking for. He had tried many
times to think of why his son hated him and now he
knew, and it was all his fault.
What had made him think that he could have a
family in the Ningenkai *and* run his affairs in
the Makai at the same time? He had successfully
repelled all attempts of take over by outside
forces on his kingdom, but he had single handily
ruined his own family. How many times had he
cursed his own father for abandoning him and his
mother like he did? How many times had he
promised himself that he would *never* be like
him?
Yuusuke looked down at his hands and stared
at his battle scared fingers. He flexed his right
hand and the skin that he had just burned had
heeled enough so that there was no more pain.
Yuusuke couldn't remember how many youkai he had
killed to protect his land. He had killed to
preserve a kingdom he did not establish. He
killed to keep his loyal subjects in relative
safety, but none of it was truly his.
He had not been the one to fight to secure
the land in the first place. He had not been the
one that spent centuries stalemated against two of
the most powerful youkai in the Makai. He did not
create, he destroyed, and he was good at it.
Kuwabara had built his own home from the
ground up. Everything about it he had planned and
he had created. It was his, for good or for bad,
but Kuwabara had made it with his own two hands.
Kurama created the most wonderful and beautiful
plants that anyone could imagine. His whole
nature was to create, even when he was killing.
Even Hiei had done the most prestigious thing that
Yuusuke could possibly think of. The sullen,
glaring, and aloof fire demon had made a child and
this is what struck Yuusuke deeply.
Hiei's son wasn't like any other child,
because it was his will alone that had made
Kyuukai. Hiei had formed a soul because that was
what he had wanted. Yuusuke knew that Hiei was a
father in every sense of the word while he was the
lowest form of life on the plant.
Yuusuke clenched his fists tightly and wished
that there was someone there that could beat the
shit out of him, because that was what he really
wanted right now. He wanted to inflect pain as
deep as Maryoku felt on himself. He wanted to
make up for all the missing years. He wanted
Maryoku, Mechiko and Keiko to forgive him, but how
could they when he couldn't forgive himself? How
could he give back all the time that was gone?
The simple answer was that he couldn't, and he
didn't know if he could live with that answer.
Yuusuke looked back at Maryoku and Kitsuryuu
and the 'fight' they were having. Apparently his
son wasn't making any headway with the youko.
Maryoku must have said something that Kitsuryuu
didn't like very much because the young woman had
a murderous look in her eyes and her hands were
clasped into tight fists at her side. She glared
down at his son from her six foot height and then
turned on her heel to leave. Maryoku reached out,
grabbing Kitsuryuu's arm, but the girl jerked away
shaking her head.
Suddenly Kitsuryuu looked like she was on the
edge of tears as she frantically shook her head
and signed the same thing over and over again.
She started rubbing her arms and then pushing her
long hair over her ear stubs. When Kitsuryuu
tried to turn away again, Maryoku stepped in front
of her, not letting her escape. She refused to
look at him and stoutly looked to the side.
It was almost laughable when his son had to
reach up to turn her head with his hand so that
she would look at him. Kitsuryuu was almost a
half a foot taller than his son right now, but she
gave the impression of being a frighten child
instead of the powerful youko she was. Kitsuryuu
reluctantly turned her head and listened to what
Maryoku had to say. His son smiled at her
comfortingly and slowly signed something. The
only thing that he could understand was the
universal OK at the end. Maryoku held his hand
out for Kitsuryuu to take it.
Reluctantly she took it and Yuusuke noticed
that her breathing became labored and Maryoku look
alarmed. The collar around her neck started to
glow slightly and Kitsuryuu sucked in a deep
breath as Maryoku called out her name. Yuusuke
wondered what was wrong with her when Kurama and
Hiei made their untimely entrance.
=======
end chapter 16