Thank you for your encouraging reviews, people! Oh look, it's disclaimer time...
Kurama: Ryoken doesn't own the rights to Yu Yu Hakusho. She doesn't own us either.
Straight and to the point without inserted discouraging comments, thank you, Kurama!
Kurama: Can I go now?
Nope, you're in this story 'member?
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Broken
By Ryoken
It was 12:30. Keiko wished the damn clock would go faster, she was getting anxious. After what seemed an eternity, the last bell rang and she ran out to the sidewalk, hoping Kurama would already be there. Strangely enough, he was just rounding the corner, the gaggle of girls following right behind, as always.
"Hello, Keiko, Yusuke." Unbeknownst to her, Yusuke was about to sneak up on Keiko to give her a scare, thinking it might bring her around.
"Damn it, Kurama, you gave me away!!" He teased.
"You can tell me as we're walking if you don't mind the gawking girls following me, or perhaps we can go to Yusuke's place?"
"Sure," she said. Their conversation as they walked turned to normal everyday things, school, complaining about Yusuke's uniform, homework, etc., but suddenly, Yusuke got the feeling he was being watched by some unknown presence. He looked lazily around himself to try and figure out who was watching them and his eyes rested on a little girl that stood out from the other people walking around. She wore a fancy dress that just didn't look like the typical children's dress and it made her easy to spot. She also wore a sunhat that covered her face in shadows. She wasn't walking, but she seemed to be looking straight at them as they went. Yusuke stopped only for a moment when an idea, a silly and yet stupid idea, came to his head. He continued to walk in silence until they reached the safety of Yusuke's home where the swooning girls couldn't follow them anymore. As soon as Yusuke entered the doorway, the feeling of being watched was gone.
"Yusuke, is everything all right? You've been unusually quiet," Kurama asked as soon as Keiko finished her story.
"Uh, Keiko, what...what was that little girl wearing again?" He asked.
"Some sort of fancy little dress from the early 1800s, I think. Why?"
"Cause I think I just saw a ghost...or something..." He said, a little nervous.
"What do you mean, 'saw a ghost'?" Kurama asked with intrigue.
"When we were walking here...I think...I think I saw her...She was wearing a fancy dress that really looked outta place. I couldn't see her face because she was wearing a sunhat, couldn't see her hair either."
"You're not serious, are you, Yusuke?" Keiko asked, knowing that this could just have been another typical Yusuke-prank.
"No, he's serious. I can tell by just looking at his face," Kurama said. "Where did you see her, Yusuke?"
"Over by Third Street. She was just standing there, watching us..."
"I may be sounding a bit ridiculous, but maybe she's still there. We've got to try," Kurama said, standing up.
"Right. You don't have to come if you want to, Keiko," Yusuke said, seeing Keiko get up.
"No, I want to come. I want to know why I've been dreaming about her...her," she said. Yusuke nodded and the three hurried out the door only to run into Kuwabara as soon as the door was flung open.
"Hey guys! You really should try to take a different way to get here, Kurama, I had to really fight my way in. Speakin of which, you haven't been walking by the preschool or anything, have you cause there's this little weird girl out there with those girls, just standing-hey where you goin?!" He said as they brushed passed him without a word. "Grrrr, I hate it when you guys don't tell me anything!!" And he briskly followed them.
"Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't come along," Kurama said as they reached the ground floor exit doors of the apartment complex.
"Actually maybe you can distract them away from where Kuwabara said she was," Yusuke said. Kurama nodded and, easily diverting their attention with a mere wave of his hand, ran towards a different exit.
Just as Kuwabara had said, there was a little girl standing on the sidewalk, just facing the double glass doors. They still couldn't see her face since the sun was behind her and making a shadow over her face.
"That's her, that's the same girl I saw. What...do you think Keiko? Keiko?" Yusuke said, noticing that Keiko had left his side and began to walk towards the little girl. By this time, Kuwabara had joined Yusuke and started to whisper questions.
She knelt down to her and tried to smile as gently as possible. "Hey, little girl, what are you doing here?"
The little girl lifted her face to Keiko's, who was still above her eye level, and a look of genuine surprise covered her face. The girl had the same blonde hair as Keiko had seen and she had eyes that looked almost gray. She didn't say a word to Keiko, only stared surprised at her.
"Is something wrong? Are you lost?" She tried again. This time the little girl looked away from her and pulled the sunhat over her face. "Oh, hey, it's ok. I want to help you." Keiko tried to pull the sunhat off of her face, but the little girl kept a strong hold on it. By this time Kurama rejoined them and the little girl started to shiver.
"Awww, are you scared? It's ok, I just want to help you," Keiko said, trying to sound cheerful. The girl pulled the hat back from her face and onto the back of her head, keeping her hands on the brim. The surprised look was still there.
"Come with me, we'll help you." Keiko held out a hand. The little girl shook her head violently.
"You don't trust us, do you?" She didn't answer. "Then at least trust me." Keiko smiled and continued to hold out her hand to her. The little girl looked beyond Keiko at the three boys. Hesitantly, she took hold of her hand. Keiko stood up.
"Don't worry, they won't hurt you," she said as she noticed that when they walked past the boys, she took hold of Keiko's hand with both of her own and more firmly as she watched them closely.
"That is one weird kid. Why are we paying attention to her again?" Kuwabara asked as once Keiko and the child were going up in the elevator they too began to go back to Yusuke's apartment.
"Keiko says that the girl is the little girl she's been dreaming about lately," Kurama explained. "It also seems that this dream could be a lead in our current case."
"Ohh...If I'd known that-"
"You probably wouldn't have recognized her and have gone about your business," came a voice from behind them. It was Hiei.
"Shut up, Shorty!"
"Really, that line is getting old. Anyway, I was scouting the area for anymore of those cultists, but they seem to have gone off somewhere or are in hiding."
"What I wanna know is why that kid is here, I mean, she died in Keiko's dream right? So shouldn't she be in Spirit World? Or haunting some house in Europe, if that's where she's from?" Yusuke said out loud.
"She died?" Hiei asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.
"According to Keiko."
"You're relying on a human's dream? I know you're a lucky fighter who takes chances, but really Yusuke..."
"Well then you explain how a kid with 18th century clothing got here!!" Yusuke yelled as they entered the apartment. The little girl and Keiko were sitting at the table and as soon as the door had opened, the girl had gasped and ran into a different room, hiding herself.
"Good going, Yusuke! Now look what you've done, you scared her!!" Keiko scolded, keeping her voice down. Keiko jogged off towards the direction of where she went.
"'Good going, Yusuke,'" he imitated under his breath. The four went into Yusuke's room.
"Hey, it's ok, little girl! He didn't mean to scare you," she said, as she searched for her. "He's not going to hurt you, really! It's all right..." Keiko opened a closet door and finally found her in the corner of it. "It's ok. Come on," she said holding out her hand again. She hesitated even longer this time, but finally took it and Keiko lead her out back to the table.
"My name is Keiko. What's your name? Or should I just keep calling you little girl?" The boys in the room grew silent as they listened in.
The girl looked towards her left then looked back at Keiko and meekly said "I don't have a name." She had a European accent. Then she looked down at the table with interest.
"You don't have a name? Your mother never gave you one?"
She shook her head.
"Would you like me to give you one?"
The little girl kept her down, but stole a look at Keiko. She didn't say anything.
"How about Kireiko? Do you like that name?"
The little girl blushed and her raised her head and nodded, trying to hide a smile.
"Kireiko it is then!" Keiko said with a smile, glad that progress was being made. "Kireiko, where do you live?"
She looked to her left again. "Italy."
"Wow, you live in Italy? That's a long way from Japan."
Kireiko didn't say anything. Keiko decided to get to the point.
"Kireiko, did you know I've been dreaming about you lately?"
She nodded.
"You...you do?"
She nodded again.
"Do you...Do you know why I've been about you?"
The little girl didn't answer. She looked from side to side.
"Kireiko, do you know why I've been dreaming about you?" Keiko repeated.
Still, she didn't answer. Just then, the door opened, and instead of running away again, Kireiko looked intently at the door swinging open. It's was Atsuko.
"Oh hey Keiko! Good to see you. Who's the little girl?" She asked, carrying in some groceries.
"Uh, this is Kireiko. Kireiko, this is Atsuko Urameshi, erm, the scary boy's mom," Keiko tried to explain. Surprisingly, Kireiko got off the chair and ran up to Atsuko.
"Aww, she's adorable!" Atsuko said, picking her up as she set the groceries down and sat her on the counter. "And just look at that cute dress! You look like a move star!" Kireiko smiled. "Thank you, Madame Urameshi."
"My gosh, she's certainly has manners, doesn't she? You don't sound like you're from around here. Hey, Yusuke, why can't you have manners like her, huh?!" The two could hear laughing coming from Yusuke's room as he whined "MOTHER!!!!"
"She says she's from Italy," Keiko said, answering her question.
"Italy?! Wow, I've never met someone from another country before. Well, it's very nice to meet you, Kireiko!" She said. Keiko noticed that for some reason Kireiko seemed to be more comfortable around Atsuko. "Keiko, how did you come across such a darling little girl?"
"Um, well, I think she's lost."
"Oh, that's awful, Kireiko! Do you know where your parents are?"
Kireiko pointed at the ceiling.
"You're an orphan?" Keiko asked.
The girl looked to her left again and then nodded at them with a smile.
"That's pretty rough," Atsuko said. "Where do you live? You must live somewhere, considering those adorable clothes you're wearing."
Kireiko didn't answer, but looked at the ground instead.
"Well then you'll just have to stay here!" She announced. Immediately, Yusuke jumped out into the room.
"Are-are you sure that's such a good idea, Mother?!!" He asked, his voice shaking.
"Sure, why not? I doubt this little cutie could cause much harm, she seems so well-mannered. Besides, I've always wanted to know what it'd be like to have a little daughter. What do you say, Kireiko?"
Kireiko looked shyly over at Yusuke, who was still dumbfounded. "I...I'd like that very much, Madame Urameshi."
"It's settled then! And please, call me by my first name without the 'Madame'. There's no need to be so formal," she said. Atsuko picked her up and put her back on the floor.
"Okay," Kireiko answered.
"Looks like Yusuke's got a baby sister!" Kuwabara teased. Yusuke promptly punched his face.
"She is NOT my sister!" He said.
"Of course I'm not," the girl said. She was standing in the doorway of Yusuke's room and looked like she had gathered up all her courage to get that close.
"Now Yusuke, don't be fighting around her or you're gonna make a bad influence on her," Atsuko scolded.
"MOTHER!!! You're acting like she's my little sister!!" Kurama and Kuwabara, although his face go punched, couldn't hold in their laughter. Even Hiei couldn't help but snicker.
"Well from here on in, maybe you should act like she is!" She said. "I've got to go run a few more errands, I'll be back in an hour," she said, more to Kireiko than to anyone else. She nodded at her in understanding.
As soon as Atsuko closed the door, Yusuke regained his usual attitude and got face to face with Kireiko. "I want to get things straight, ok kid??! I'm not your brother and I'm NOT going to act like one! As far as I'm concerned, you're just renting out a room!! No calling me any other names besides Yusuke, you got that, kid?!" He said. "And no mushy stuff either!" He added.
"Yusuke, what's the matter with you, she's just a little child!" Keiko said. Kireiko held her ground defiantly and yet seemed to be on the verge of running away.
"I won't do anything of the sort, Yusuke," she answered firmly. Yusuke was surprised, but only for a second.
"Good!" And he slammed the door in her face.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Urameshi?!?! Even I wouldn't do that to a little kid!!" Kuwabara said, standing up to give Yusuke a punch of his own.
"For all we know she ISN'T a little kid, she might be, what, 200 years old or somethin!!" Yusuke yelled.
Suddenly the door burst open and there stood an incredibly pissed off Keiko. Kireiko was no where to be seen. "YUSUKE, YOU JERK!!!!"
Seeing as there was no way they wanted to make Keiko turn her anger on them, Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara snuck out of the room as the slapping fest began. Kurama noticed Kireiko sitting with her back to them behind one of the chairs. She didn't seem to be crying and so Kurama thought to try his luck. He started to walk over to where she sat, but she turned around at hearing his footsteps and got up, trying to hide her face with the chair but still looking out at him. He tried to give her his best smile.
"It's all right, I just want to talk to you," he said. She didn't move as the two watched on with semi-interest. "It's all right, I won't hurt you," he tried again, advancing, but she moved to the right to keep distance between them. Unsure of what to do, he backed away.
"Not exactly good with kids?" Hiei asked.
"Actually, I usually am," he said, trying to figure out what he was doing that was making her so afraid of him.
"I'll bet I could better," Kuwabara said with an idiotic smile.
"Right," Hiei said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
"I could do better than you, I know that much!" He argued.
"Oh please, you'd probably scare her away with your idiocy."
"And I bet you'd scare her with that dumb third eye, Three-Eyes!"
"Oh yeah?!"
"Yeah!!!"
"Fine. We'll just see who can do better!" Hiei said. He started to venture over to Kireiko only he began to realize he had no idea what he was doing or was going to do. As soon as he got to the table, she began to get on her guard. Thinking that perhaps it would be easier to just read her mind, he tried using his Jagan eye to probe her thoughts. However, he was mystified when he found that he couldn't read it.
"What's the matter, Hiei, the best you can do is stand there??" Kuwabara taunted.
"Grrrr, shut up!" He turned back to the little girl and he sat cross-legged on the floor, his hand on his chin, trying to think. When he noticed movement from the corner of his eye, he saw that the girl was edging just a little bit away from the chair as though in curiosity. Thinking that perhaps this was how it was done, he pretended to still be thinking and looked away.
Kurama noticed that Kireiko was edging closer to them, though slowly, and began to watch with great interest. Kuwabara didn't say a word.
As Kireiko inched towards Hiei, she held onto the legs of the chairs, as though they were going to protect her. She finally reached him, but Hiei continued to pretend he was deep in thought. She finally let go of the chair leg nearest Hiei and seemed to examine his face with her eyes. Kireiko walked behind Hiei, out of his line of sight. He stayed exactly as he was.
Suddenly, he could feel a tugging at the back of his head and knew that for some reason she was taking off his bandana! It slipped off his face and she came back around where he could see her. He moved from his position to look straight at her, and she cowered a little as she held the bandana in her hand. She examined his face again and then held out the bandana to him. He took it from her and tied it back around his head. Then he stood up and walked back to the other two boys.
"Ok...That was kinda weird," Kuwabara said quietly as Kireiko continued to stand where she was. Hiei smirked.
"Looks like I win."
"How did you do that, Hiei?" Kurama asked, perplexed.
He shrugged. Hiei looked down and saw Kireiko looking up at him with a curious look in her eye. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Heh heh, hey Yusuke, I think your little sister has a crush on Hiei!!" Kuwabara yelled at the door.
"SHE ISN'T MY SISTER!!!!!!!" Came the answer, along with the sound of a smack.
"Hn," Hiei said and looked away from her. Kurama bent down to try to talk to her again, but as he did so, she tried to hid behind Hiei, who tried to look behind him without moving his legs, seeing as she was holding onto one of them.
"Please, don't be alarmed," he said, trying to reassure her. She came out a little from behind Hiei. Suddenly, she seemed to realize something and ran as quickly as she could towards the front door. "Wait, stop, where are you going?!" Kurama shouted as she ran after her, considering the door was unlocked. Kuwabara followed, and Hiei, who looked curiously puzzled by this sudden change of action, followed as well as soon as the door to Yusuke's room flew open and Keiko came out, Yusuke limping a little behind.
"Hiei, wait, what's going?!" She asked, but he was gone before he could answer. "Come on, Yusuke!" She said, running to catch up with everyone else who had run out the door. But Yusuke remained in the apartment. That is until he felt like he was being watched again and could have sworn that someone had laughed evilly in the other room.
Thought you all deserved a nice long chapter, considering I haven't written in a while. Been trying to get some money with another story I'm writing *grins* Need...money...