Chapter seven:
The two men just stood there with their guns drawn and upon their faces were wicked grins. It would be decided within moments, who lives and who dies, the fate of Kasumi rested upon this decision. Kasumi stood there helpless in front of Shin, left hand held her there. Then Shin pushed her out of the way, he and Ryushi started to shoot their guns.
And within ten shots it was over. Ryushi fell to his knees grabbing his right arm in pain, blood dripping down his arm and streaming on his left hand. Shin fell to the ground with a thud, blood oozing from his chest and both arms, he laughed weakly as he held his chest.
'How could he be laughing?' Kasumi wondered not letting it hit her that Shin was dying.
"You shall die, Uncle, and justice shall be brought upon you," Shin said and went limp.
"Shin!" Kasumi yelled and ran to his limp body.
"He is dead, woman, there is no point in trying to save him now," Ryushi said, "but as for you."
Ryushi struggled to raise his dominate hand; he managed and pointed the gun at Kasumi. He laughed wickedly at her and he climbed to his feet and walked towards her. She let out a small yelp and moved away from Shin's body.
"I don't believe you! Ryushi, you bastard, you killed your own flesh and blood!" Kasumi shouted.
"We all do what we must, Kasumi, I am sure you would do the same," Ryushi replied.
"Never!" Kasumi retorted, "I could never sink to your level."
Kasumi felt herself gasping for air as her fear heightened. She kept scolding herself about trusting these humans and forced herself to run. Each step feeling like she was lifting lead and it kept getting heavier and heavier until she couldn't run anymore. Tears stung her eyes as she fell to her knees. Kasumi clutched her chest, a growing pain spread throughout her and she went black.
"Man, how much longer will this take?" Kuwabara asked.
"You didn't have to come, Kuwabara," Kurama replied.
Yusuke just shot Kuwabara a nasty look as if telling him to shut up. It was bad enough that Koenma has assigned them to save this girl, but even worse that Kuwabara had to come and complain. Yusuke was in no mood to be toyed with or even have a conversation tonight. He looked over to Kurama, who was sitting there with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Kurama seemed so calm, he always did, but how could one keep so calm when someone they knew was being held captive, even if it is hard to think if there is stress upon you…but, sometimes stress is good.
Yusuke tried to close him eyes and wished for sleep, now that he has to fight a stupid human who thinks he's so hot by kidnapping someone. It had seemed to him that this bus ride was taking forever; it felt like hours had already passed by and their stop was not for another hour or so. Yusuke grumbled and opened his eyes, sleep was not coming easy for him today, usually he could sleep anywhere at anytime.
"Hey, Urameshi, do you think this Kasumi-girl is hot?" Kuwabara whispered.
"She has to be if Kurama likes her," Yusuke replied.
"True," Kuwabara said and took out his Game Boy (a/n: you know "the brick"* since this is somewhere around 1992, the Game Boy color hasn't come out yet or Game Boy Pocket for that matter).
"Kuwabara, why'd you haul that big thing with you?" Yusuke asked.
"Shut up, it's better then doin' nothin'," Kuwabara replied with a low growl.
"Ok, ok," Yusuke said and went back to trying to sleep.
Kurama slowly opened his eyes and looked at his friends. Kuwabara was playing his Game Boy with his tongue sticking out off to the side as he pressed the buttons rapidly. It amazed Kurama that Kuwabara spent more time working on games then anything else. Suddenly, Kuwabara looked shocked and scowled at his Game Boy.
"Dammit…I died," Kuwabara muttered and then looked at Kurama. "Kurama, what is this Kasumi-girl like?"
"Different," Kurama said simply. "She is like no one I have ever met, she was always so cheerful in school, but she holds an amazing amount of rage when you get her mad."
"Is she hot?" Kuwabara asked with more interest.
"What? Well, she is beautiful, that is for sure. But, I thought you had a girlfriend," Kurama replied.
Kuwabara nodded, "I do, but…hey! Didn't you like Botan a while back?"
"Botan…I haven't heard her name in a while," Kurama said wistfully and shook his head. "She likes Koenma and so I let her go."
Kuwabara looked puzzled, "You've gotta be kiddin' me! Koenma? That's funny, Kurama, but she doesn't."
Kurama sighed and looked out the window. "Botan is not for me…Kasumi, it is a possibility, since we are alike."
Kuwabara looked even more puzzled and gave an annoyed snort, "How the hell are you two alike? I mean, besides being Kitsune?"
"Hey, would you mind shutting the hell up, Kuwabara? Some people would like to sleep!" Yusuke growled.
Kuwabara replied with a muttered sorry and started to play his Game Boy again. A small smile played upon Kurama's face, how he envied Kuwabara sometimes. Nothing seemed to bother him and what did bother him mattered the most to him…even if it was a silly game. Kurama on the other hand, always had his calm façade on while inside he was a nervous wreck. Somehow, Botan's name seemed to calm the nerves. It was possibly her cheerful smile or her optimism that made everything seem alright.
Kasumi opened her eyes slowly and sat up off the floor. She looked around and realized that she was back in the small room. Her head hurt and so did her stomach and her chest for that matter.
"What the hell was that before?" she asked herself.
She blinked a couple of times before letting everything that just happened sink in. Shin, the man who had tried to save her, was dead and now Ryushi holds an even tighter grip on her life. It didn't matter to her, not any more. Kasumi was loosing hope and nothing she did seem to matter. She felt weak and lost.
"A lost Kitsune," she muttered with a short sad laugh, "what are the chances of that?"
She lifted herself off the floor, misery upon her face as she walked to the small window. The snow had stopped and it stuck to the ground. The fingerprints she had left on the window earlier in the day had frosted up again. There was sadness in the dark sky as it was lit up dully by the moonlight on the clouds. The clouds moved slowly and lazily across the night sky. Kasumi yearned to be there with the bitter cold snow and the clouded sky.
Out of almost instinct Kasumi's lips moved and her voice flowed through her lips in a soft tune. It was something she had heard from Keisuke when he brought his girlfriend, Kira, over once. The song was from America and not very popular in Japan, but it was played on a few radio stations. It seemed to comfort her in an ironic way. The song just coursed through her and came out of her lips. Her angelic voice fit the song well, though traditionally men sing the song, but there was no reason that she couldn't sing it.
As each note came out, Kasumi's hope grew. She could feel her brother's love through the song and it gave her courage. Something had clearly forced her to sing or more like that she had to sing. It was something that had always made her feel better. A tear fell from her eyes as she felt lost like a child in the woods, her brother and mother clouded her brain. Their embrace and warmth filled her heart and the urge to see them grew. Kasumi missed them so much that it was painful.
She never knew that two days could feel like eternity. She felt homesick and very tired. Kasumi never thought she could feel this way especially about humans. She had shed enough tears for one day, but she couldn't help it, they kept flowing in an endless stream.
"Where are they coming from?" she asked herself at the conclusion of her song.
Kasumi stared at the sky a bit longer before moving away from the window and sitting on the floor. She let her tears consume her, making herself feel a bit better and refreshed. She mentally told herself that they were making her stronger and emotions are a key to feeling relief and an asset to her strength. Before long Kasumi fell asleep weary from her tears and the events that had happened during the day.
Kurama sat on the bus. He felt drowsy and often closed his eyes for several minutes before opening them again. Yusuke and Kuwabara were in a heated debate about who helps the team or not. Kurama found it hard to sleep over their bickering and listened in; they did not seem to notice that Kurama was awake.
"I'm definitely the most helpful!" Kuwabara said proudly.
"Helpful my ass, Kuwabara! You rather fun around and impress Yukina all day!" Yusuke snapped.
"The Shrimp is the least helpful!" Kuwabara growled.
"No way! Hiei's more help then you some times," Yusuke replied. "And don't even bother saying that I am no help, because I am the freaking Spirit Detective!"
"Botan's hardly help…she comes and delivers info and that it," Kuwabara pouted.
"Botan helps more then you know, Kuwabara," Kurama said. "She sticks herself in more danger then she is needed to be in"
Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped arguing and looked at Kurama with blank stares.
"Right, there you go again, Kurama," Yusuke said.
"What are you talking about?" Kurama asked.
"You're stickin' up for Botan again...that settles it. Urameshi, don' you agree?" Kuwabara replied.
"Totally! Man, you're a sucker for Botan's 'seductive' powers!!" Yusuke laughed.
Kurama felt a bit flustered and asked what Yusuke had meant and Yusuke gave Kurama am easy way out answer. Kuwabara laughed at Kurama's confusion and went on about Botan being "cute".
"Hey, don't gimme that crap! You fell in love with Botan too when you first met her," Yusuke complained.
"Well…that was…uh…" Kuwabara stuttered and looked at his friends with a reddened face.
~*~*~
a/n: So…it turns out that there will be a love triangle. Seriously, everything is written as I come up with it.
Notes:
* "The Brick" is what my best friend and I call the very, very old Game Boy…meaning the very first Game Boy that came out (The gray bulky one.)
As for Kasumi's song that she was singing in this chapter, well it was "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Savage Garden, it so happened that I used the song that I was listening to at the moment as part of my story…but I didn't include the lyrics. Before writing what I had, I was going to have her sing a Japanese song, perhaps "Karayami ni Akai Bara ~ Romantic Soldier", but I found it redundant so I left the lyrics out and thought of an American song I love.
The two men just stood there with their guns drawn and upon their faces were wicked grins. It would be decided within moments, who lives and who dies, the fate of Kasumi rested upon this decision. Kasumi stood there helpless in front of Shin, left hand held her there. Then Shin pushed her out of the way, he and Ryushi started to shoot their guns.
And within ten shots it was over. Ryushi fell to his knees grabbing his right arm in pain, blood dripping down his arm and streaming on his left hand. Shin fell to the ground with a thud, blood oozing from his chest and both arms, he laughed weakly as he held his chest.
'How could he be laughing?' Kasumi wondered not letting it hit her that Shin was dying.
"You shall die, Uncle, and justice shall be brought upon you," Shin said and went limp.
"Shin!" Kasumi yelled and ran to his limp body.
"He is dead, woman, there is no point in trying to save him now," Ryushi said, "but as for you."
Ryushi struggled to raise his dominate hand; he managed and pointed the gun at Kasumi. He laughed wickedly at her and he climbed to his feet and walked towards her. She let out a small yelp and moved away from Shin's body.
"I don't believe you! Ryushi, you bastard, you killed your own flesh and blood!" Kasumi shouted.
"We all do what we must, Kasumi, I am sure you would do the same," Ryushi replied.
"Never!" Kasumi retorted, "I could never sink to your level."
Kasumi felt herself gasping for air as her fear heightened. She kept scolding herself about trusting these humans and forced herself to run. Each step feeling like she was lifting lead and it kept getting heavier and heavier until she couldn't run anymore. Tears stung her eyes as she fell to her knees. Kasumi clutched her chest, a growing pain spread throughout her and she went black.
"Man, how much longer will this take?" Kuwabara asked.
"You didn't have to come, Kuwabara," Kurama replied.
Yusuke just shot Kuwabara a nasty look as if telling him to shut up. It was bad enough that Koenma has assigned them to save this girl, but even worse that Kuwabara had to come and complain. Yusuke was in no mood to be toyed with or even have a conversation tonight. He looked over to Kurama, who was sitting there with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Kurama seemed so calm, he always did, but how could one keep so calm when someone they knew was being held captive, even if it is hard to think if there is stress upon you…but, sometimes stress is good.
Yusuke tried to close him eyes and wished for sleep, now that he has to fight a stupid human who thinks he's so hot by kidnapping someone. It had seemed to him that this bus ride was taking forever; it felt like hours had already passed by and their stop was not for another hour or so. Yusuke grumbled and opened his eyes, sleep was not coming easy for him today, usually he could sleep anywhere at anytime.
"Hey, Urameshi, do you think this Kasumi-girl is hot?" Kuwabara whispered.
"She has to be if Kurama likes her," Yusuke replied.
"True," Kuwabara said and took out his Game Boy (a/n: you know "the brick"* since this is somewhere around 1992, the Game Boy color hasn't come out yet or Game Boy Pocket for that matter).
"Kuwabara, why'd you haul that big thing with you?" Yusuke asked.
"Shut up, it's better then doin' nothin'," Kuwabara replied with a low growl.
"Ok, ok," Yusuke said and went back to trying to sleep.
Kurama slowly opened his eyes and looked at his friends. Kuwabara was playing his Game Boy with his tongue sticking out off to the side as he pressed the buttons rapidly. It amazed Kurama that Kuwabara spent more time working on games then anything else. Suddenly, Kuwabara looked shocked and scowled at his Game Boy.
"Dammit…I died," Kuwabara muttered and then looked at Kurama. "Kurama, what is this Kasumi-girl like?"
"Different," Kurama said simply. "She is like no one I have ever met, she was always so cheerful in school, but she holds an amazing amount of rage when you get her mad."
"Is she hot?" Kuwabara asked with more interest.
"What? Well, she is beautiful, that is for sure. But, I thought you had a girlfriend," Kurama replied.
Kuwabara nodded, "I do, but…hey! Didn't you like Botan a while back?"
"Botan…I haven't heard her name in a while," Kurama said wistfully and shook his head. "She likes Koenma and so I let her go."
Kuwabara looked puzzled, "You've gotta be kiddin' me! Koenma? That's funny, Kurama, but she doesn't."
Kurama sighed and looked out the window. "Botan is not for me…Kasumi, it is a possibility, since we are alike."
Kuwabara looked even more puzzled and gave an annoyed snort, "How the hell are you two alike? I mean, besides being Kitsune?"
"Hey, would you mind shutting the hell up, Kuwabara? Some people would like to sleep!" Yusuke growled.
Kuwabara replied with a muttered sorry and started to play his Game Boy again. A small smile played upon Kurama's face, how he envied Kuwabara sometimes. Nothing seemed to bother him and what did bother him mattered the most to him…even if it was a silly game. Kurama on the other hand, always had his calm façade on while inside he was a nervous wreck. Somehow, Botan's name seemed to calm the nerves. It was possibly her cheerful smile or her optimism that made everything seem alright.
Kasumi opened her eyes slowly and sat up off the floor. She looked around and realized that she was back in the small room. Her head hurt and so did her stomach and her chest for that matter.
"What the hell was that before?" she asked herself.
She blinked a couple of times before letting everything that just happened sink in. Shin, the man who had tried to save her, was dead and now Ryushi holds an even tighter grip on her life. It didn't matter to her, not any more. Kasumi was loosing hope and nothing she did seem to matter. She felt weak and lost.
"A lost Kitsune," she muttered with a short sad laugh, "what are the chances of that?"
She lifted herself off the floor, misery upon her face as she walked to the small window. The snow had stopped and it stuck to the ground. The fingerprints she had left on the window earlier in the day had frosted up again. There was sadness in the dark sky as it was lit up dully by the moonlight on the clouds. The clouds moved slowly and lazily across the night sky. Kasumi yearned to be there with the bitter cold snow and the clouded sky.
Out of almost instinct Kasumi's lips moved and her voice flowed through her lips in a soft tune. It was something she had heard from Keisuke when he brought his girlfriend, Kira, over once. The song was from America and not very popular in Japan, but it was played on a few radio stations. It seemed to comfort her in an ironic way. The song just coursed through her and came out of her lips. Her angelic voice fit the song well, though traditionally men sing the song, but there was no reason that she couldn't sing it.
As each note came out, Kasumi's hope grew. She could feel her brother's love through the song and it gave her courage. Something had clearly forced her to sing or more like that she had to sing. It was something that had always made her feel better. A tear fell from her eyes as she felt lost like a child in the woods, her brother and mother clouded her brain. Their embrace and warmth filled her heart and the urge to see them grew. Kasumi missed them so much that it was painful.
She never knew that two days could feel like eternity. She felt homesick and very tired. Kasumi never thought she could feel this way especially about humans. She had shed enough tears for one day, but she couldn't help it, they kept flowing in an endless stream.
"Where are they coming from?" she asked herself at the conclusion of her song.
Kasumi stared at the sky a bit longer before moving away from the window and sitting on the floor. She let her tears consume her, making herself feel a bit better and refreshed. She mentally told herself that they were making her stronger and emotions are a key to feeling relief and an asset to her strength. Before long Kasumi fell asleep weary from her tears and the events that had happened during the day.
Kurama sat on the bus. He felt drowsy and often closed his eyes for several minutes before opening them again. Yusuke and Kuwabara were in a heated debate about who helps the team or not. Kurama found it hard to sleep over their bickering and listened in; they did not seem to notice that Kurama was awake.
"I'm definitely the most helpful!" Kuwabara said proudly.
"Helpful my ass, Kuwabara! You rather fun around and impress Yukina all day!" Yusuke snapped.
"The Shrimp is the least helpful!" Kuwabara growled.
"No way! Hiei's more help then you some times," Yusuke replied. "And don't even bother saying that I am no help, because I am the freaking Spirit Detective!"
"Botan's hardly help…she comes and delivers info and that it," Kuwabara pouted.
"Botan helps more then you know, Kuwabara," Kurama said. "She sticks herself in more danger then she is needed to be in"
Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped arguing and looked at Kurama with blank stares.
"Right, there you go again, Kurama," Yusuke said.
"What are you talking about?" Kurama asked.
"You're stickin' up for Botan again...that settles it. Urameshi, don' you agree?" Kuwabara replied.
"Totally! Man, you're a sucker for Botan's 'seductive' powers!!" Yusuke laughed.
Kurama felt a bit flustered and asked what Yusuke had meant and Yusuke gave Kurama am easy way out answer. Kuwabara laughed at Kurama's confusion and went on about Botan being "cute".
"Hey, don't gimme that crap! You fell in love with Botan too when you first met her," Yusuke complained.
"Well…that was…uh…" Kuwabara stuttered and looked at his friends with a reddened face.
~*~*~
a/n: So…it turns out that there will be a love triangle. Seriously, everything is written as I come up with it.
Notes:
* "The Brick" is what my best friend and I call the very, very old Game Boy…meaning the very first Game Boy that came out (The gray bulky one.)
As for Kasumi's song that she was singing in this chapter, well it was "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Savage Garden, it so happened that I used the song that I was listening to at the moment as part of my story…but I didn't include the lyrics. Before writing what I had, I was going to have her sing a Japanese song, perhaps "Karayami ni Akai Bara ~ Romantic Soldier", but I found it redundant so I left the lyrics out and thought of an American song I love.
