Chapter 3: Trust
by ARaZhi
Kim made a not so graceful landing in an empty lot. "Ouch!"
She dusted herself off and gazed towards the sun. My first sunset. She smiled, a bittersweet smile. No time to enjoy it. I have two days to stop Koenma-sama's assassination.
She walked out of the empty lot and found herself in the city several minutes later. "Wow!" she whispered softly as she gazed at the towering buildings, laughing people, and children playing.
She frowned, noting that some of the people are shooting her odd looks. Damn! I probably look totally weird! She sniffed her sleeve. Ick! I've got the stink of war on me!
She looked around. I gotta find clothes and I need a shower. Hn. I have to steal clothes and break into a house to get a shower. Unless... Her eyes settled on a school across the street. Didn't touchan told me that schools have gyms where kids have showers and change clothes? Perfect!
Minutes later, she strolled out of the school wearing jeans and a shirt that she "borrowed" from the boys' locker room. The skirts she found in the girl's locker room are too short for her.
She passed by a group of young men. One of them lets out a...is that a whistle? She stopped and turned, it won't hurt to ask for directions. "Can you please point me out to the Yukimura Ramen Shop?"
"I'll even treat you to dinner if you like!" the guy exclaimed.
"Err--no, thanks," she stammered.
"Oh, c'mon. A dinner date. That's all that I ask. I promise, I don't bite."
"Date?" she echoed. Oh! Date! Otooji told me about that! She giggled as she remembered the stories otooji told her. Especially the ones where touchan have to avoid the girls after him because they we're just too many. Dating is part of courtship. She can't let anyone court her! She's married!
"What's so funny?" he sounds a bit hurt.
"I'm sorry. I just remembered something." Pause. "I can't go on a date with you."
"Why not?"
She held out her hand, "I'm married."
They guy's jaw dropped.
"Where's the Yukimura Ramen Shop?"
The guy mumbled the directions. Thankfully, her sensitive youkai ears picked it up. "Arigatougozaimasu!"
In moments, she is outside the shop. She gazed through the window. "All of them are here!" she whispered, feeling excitement bubble up inside her.
Kurama, Yusuke, Keiko, Botan, Shizuru, Yukina, and Koenma are seated on one table. Botan is trying to cheer up Koenma.
Tousama didn't age a bit! Same goes for Kaachan. Her gaze followed the dark haired girl who seem to be lecturing Yusuke. That must be Keiko-san.
She continued to observe the group. Just how am I going to introduce myself?
Someone's watching us. Kurama looked up and found a young woman gazing at them. "Excuse me," he muttered and quickly left through the back door.
"Hey! Kurama? Where are you going?" Kuwabara asked loudly.
In front of the store, Kurama is about to tap the girl on the shoulder. But before he could, she turned and he sweatdropped. Does Botan have a twin that she didn't tell us about? The girl looked exactly like Botan, except for the dark hair and dark eyes that look so much like Yusuke's.
"Hi!" she said brightly.
She's almost as perky as Botan. he sweatdropped, again.
She held out her hand. "I'm Kim. You must be t--err--Kurama-kun! I was wondering if you could help me out."
How does this girl know my name as a youko?
"Onegai? It's really important!"
"I think you have me mistaken for someone, Kim-san..."
"No!" she leaned closer and whispered, "I have to talk to Koenma-sama. Someone's about to kill him."
He took half a step away from her and gazed at her eyes. She nodded solemnly. "Let's go inside."
"You are from where, again?" Yusuke asked for about the fifth time.
I never thought tousama is this slow. ^.^
"I'm from the future and..." she cut herself off. It's about dinner time now and the shop is starting to fill up with people. "Can we please talk somewhere more private?"
"Fine. We'll go to my place."
Several minutes later at Yusuke's apartment...
"Here we are. Tell us again and start from the beginning," Yusuke said.
Kim nodded and a ball of energy suddenly formed in front of her. They all tense up, the energy ball look suspiciously like the ones Sensui uses to attack. But the energy ball didn't attack them. Instead, it swirled and formed images of a dark world.
"Twenty three years from now, this is what Ningenkai will be like. War torn. The cities are levelled. The streets are littered with dead bodies of ningens and youkais."
The images swirled to show metal plates with names etched on it.
"What are those?" Kuwabara asked.
"Gravestones in the future," her jaw tightened. "Everyone except for Hiei-ch... um.. except for Hiei and tou--Kurama are dead."
Botan wretched her fascinated eyes away from her look-alike as her expression changed to terror. "We're all dead?"
Kim dropped her gaze, her expression perfectly controlled. The image showed their names and that of their friends and family etched on the metallic plates.
Keiko tightened her grip on Yusuke's arm.
"If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny!" Yusuke snapped.
"This isn't a joke. I wouldn't risk everything I've fought so hard for just to come back in time and play a joke on you people! All these started because he was murdered!" she waved her hand in Koenma's direction. "You have to help me stop whoever it is that plans to kill him. Or else all will be lost..."
"I know you really don't believe any of this but don't you think it's worth checking out?" Kurama asked.
The girls have left, leaving the guys in the room so that they can talk in private.
"There's something strange about her. Did you notice the way she's looking at me?" Yusuke asked.
Kuwabara laughed, "It's nothing compared to how she looks! She's like half you and half-Botan!"
Yusuke blushed, "Tone down, baka! If Keiko hears you I'll get in trouble!!"
Kurama felt his lip twitched and tried to bit back his laughter. "Let's get back on the topic..."
Silence.
"Do you know anyone who wants to kill you? Any oni who holds a grudge?" Kurama asked.
"I know that a lot of demons would gladly finish me off. But an oni? Um... I don't think so..." Koenma said. "I know I could get bossy sometimes but I don't think it's enough for them to want to kill me..."
"Sometimes?" Yusuke echoed a bit credulous.
Kurama elbowed Yusuke sharply on the ribs.
"Ow!"
"Will we be allowed in Reikai tomorrow during the hearing?" Kurama asked.
Koenma looked at them, his eyes showing his exhaustion. "I'll try. The security's been tighter lately."
"See? They've got tight security! How could a murderer slip inside?"
"Hey," Kurama called out softly. Kim is standing near the open window gazing at the city lights.
Kim smiled, "I never knew that the city once looked like this."
"Not much of these are left in the future, huh?"
She nodded. Suddenly, she grabbed onto the window for support as she wavered.
Kurama grabbed her shoulders to steady her. He felt an amazing surge of ki coming from her as she lost some of her control on her ki. The lights flickered. She's really powerful he thought, a bit awed.
Kim steadied herself. "Gomen," she said softly, her face pale.
"Maybe you should lie down..."
"No. I'll be fine. Just a bit dizzy," she smiled at him weakly. Her eyes are haunted.
"Tell me about your world."
"I think you know all that you need to know."
"No, I don't. I want to know why you kept on calling me 'touchan'."
Kim flinched. "Nothing goes by you much, hm?"
He smiled, "C'mon, tell me. You're not my daughter are you?"
"In a sense I am."
He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"You won't drop this till I tell you what you want to hear, won't you?"
"Hn."
Kim sighed. "You've figured out who my parents are?"
"Yusuke and Botan."
She nodded. "Keiko-san died when the war broke out along with her family, baasan, and tousama's unborn child. Shiori-baasan died along with her husband and Shuuichi."
"You got wounded in battle in that first wave of death. Tousama and Kazuma-otooji insisted that you lead the group in strategy so that there won't be a need for you to fight. Due to the extent of your injury, you had to revert back to your youko form."
"Some years later, Yukina-obasan and Shizuru-obasan died. Otooji died several months later protecting me and kaachan..." her voice shook.
Flashback to that fateful day...
Yusuke rush back home in his youkai form, long hair and tattooed body. The several hundred meters that surround their home is levelled to the ground. The spot that once served as their home is now replaced by a large hole several meters deep. At the middle of the hole sat his daughter. Kim is sobbing as she hold close to her the dead bodies of her kaachan and otooji. All the attackers are reduced to ashes, except for one.
Yusuke grabbed the nearly dead youkai ready to pound him into pieces. The youkai gazed at him without a trace of fear. "I'll die Yusuke. But I'm not the last one who'll come after you. You'll never stop all of us. We'll take away everyone that you love...everyone..."
"After that incident, tousama left me to you. He thought I didn't know his reasons, but I did," her eyes showed her pain. "He left to protect me. He refused to show me that he loves me because everyone he loved was taken away from him. Tousama stayed in Makai defending the portal to Ningenkai. He allowed his youkai heritage to take over."
"You raised me," she gave him a small smile. "You thought me everything I know. George-otooji and Ayame-obasan also took care of me during the times that I'm in Reikai. Whatever was left of Reikai."
"And Hiei?"
Kim placed a hand on her belly.
Kurama reached out with his ki. His heart let out a soft thud. A child is growing within her. A child of fire.
"He's my husband."
On her ring finger glittered a ring similar to the one Keiko's wearing.
She lightly caressed her belly, "this is our child."
"Does he know?"
"No. I just found out when I got here," she sighed softly. "It's better this way, if he knows he'd lock me up behind a million locks to make sure I don't go back to the past and change it."
"He didn't agree to this..."
She nodded.
"What will happen if you're successful?" He has a feeling that he knows the answer but he hopes that his guess is wrong.
"Hopefully, the world that I knew will never exist..."
"And you?"
She gave a small, tight smile, "I think both of us know the answer to that."
Judgement day...
Somehow, they managed to get inside the High Court. Kurama, and Yusuke have to put a tighter lid on their youki. These spirits around them get jittery at the slightest hint of youki in the vicinity.
They each take a spot inside the courtroom. The three of them made sure that Koenma is within their sight and Botan insisted on sitting beside him.
They've got all entrance covered. They'd have to get through him first before they get to Koenma. Yusuke smirked.
"Urameshi, where's Kim?" Kuwabara asked.
"I left her back home with Keiko."
"And she's okay with that?"
"No," he said.
Kuwabara looked at him questioningly.
"I chained her. Did you seriously think I'd leave Keiko alone with her without some kind of precaution?"
"And she let you?"
"She was asleep. I didn't wake her to ask for her permission to chain her up."
The tension in the High Court is thick. The supreme judges are about to give the verdict to his father, Enma Daioh.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Koenma shut his eyes, willing his nerves to calm down. Beside him, Botan gave him a nervous smile.
A sharp *Bang!* silenced the room. The judges enter. The chief justice gave their assistant the verdict.
Sweat poured out of Koenma's forehead with every passing second. This is not good. I *knew* from the start that this isn't going to turn well for tousama...
"...the accused, Enma Daioh, is found guilty!"
Another sharp *bang!* but it barely registered on Koenma's head. The words guilty rang on his head over and over again...
Cut to Makai...
"Go to Reikai," Mukuro ordered.
"Why?"
"Don't you want to see your ningen friends?"
Hiei looked at her suspiciously.
"Today's the trial of Enma. Go there, I want details."
"Hn."
Koenma had never felt so tired and exhausted in his whole life. Hours ago his father was hauled off to prison. He had looked at him and said, "Gomen nasai, Koenma. I did what I can to protect you..." His father was dragged away before he could even ask what he meant.
He jumped into his bed with a little difficulty. He pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes to a dreamless sleep.
Botan looked at the nearly empty hallway. It was still early and but she hardly got any sleep last night.
After the hearing, she tried to get Koenma to talk to her but he won't. He quickly left the court room after Enma-sama was dragged away.
She went to his office and quietly opened the door. The room is empty. She frowned, Koenma is usually up early. He probably overslept. With that thought in mind, she walked back towards Koenma's room. He's probably in a *really* bad mood. She stopped in her tracks. Maybe checking on him isn't such a good idea.
"Hmm," she mumbled out loud as she considers. She took a deep breath and marched towards his room. I'll just do what I can to cheer him up! ^_^
She pushed open the door to Koenma's room, not bothering to knock since the door is partly open.
All color drained from Botan's face at the sight of the bed covered with blood. She let out a blood-curling scream. Then, everything went black.