Prologue of Black Lilies
-Prologue-
My eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light of outside, due to the gray cloud cover. The rain wasn't starting, yet, but it would occur any moment now. I walked slowly down the streets, a speed I usually didn't fall into. I was always going somewhere, following someone, for some reason or another. It had paused in the rain, really, not stopped. I could still see my reflection in the concrete, nothing more than a shadow far too tall for me.
It had been months since this had all started. After the incident in the Reikai… and becoming a spirit detective… nothing had really changed.
A crash sounded overhead, filling my ears with sound as the clouds gushed forth tears like I could never shed. Even the clouds seemed to have it better than me. I looked at myself in the window of a shop I had almost passed. My eyes, usually cold and ruthless anyways, reflected gray in the glass, thus causing me to pause slightly. The color was the only life in them to begin with, and now… they looked dead. Eyes, many eyes, all sizes and shapes, entered my brain from the storm gate of memories that had obviously been opened. All… dead. Lifeless. That spark that had been there in life, when we had fought… gone. Just, gone. Nothing. They were carcasses now. Or… by now, degraded, dirt, soil. This didn't seem to bother Kurama, or Urameshi. They both took it head on, and… I suppose, I don't act like I care, either. But… the blood still flows over my hands the same, since I was a thief and outlaw, as now, a spirit detective. Only the why. But, always, I decided my morals before or after I picked up the sword. Ethics come when the blade is down.
But, still… I looked up at the rain, my usually stiff hair flopping down, getting in my eyes. But, for me, my soul is the real blade of the fight. My soul had been tainted since I was abandoned by a parent who only died later. Only my sister… I narrowed my eyes at the clouds. I usually didn't like rain, but, this just worsened my mood. I looked forward again, walking. Urameshi sat inside the next window I passed, across from Keiko, laughing at some joke of hers, or his, knowing him.
Was that it? Was that why I was always so… down? If I told Yukina, we could talk, that would cheer me up. But…I can't. What if she couldn't accept me? My hands permanently stained with blood, my body scarred forever… My hands still holding markers of the last battle… It would always be like that. I could never stop, and just stay there, with her. Be what she needed, when she needed it. I've given up everything I can, up until now, to make sure she's safe, happy, cared for. My humanity, what I started with, I buried for the search for her. Now, though…
The rain finally pierced my conscience, since I had obviously ignored the fact that I was soaked. Kurama walked by, suddenly, his focus completely on Botan, with whom he was sharing an umbrella. I watched them go, a tug at my heart reminding me that there was something under the black and white everyone had come to know.
Come to know. I let those words sink in. Anyone else on the street would have said 'come to know and love.' But not I. Just come to know. No one would care, really, if I left. There would always be offers… In fact, I already had one in mind… where I could be used. Not loved, though. They would just regret that my expertise would no longer be available. My techniques and sword at hand. They wouldn't care.
They wouldn't care. No one cares. You're alone. Nothing had changed. I was alone before, I could be alone now, except… You saw what it feels like to be in a group To be loved. I turned away, walking back the way I came. Anywhere! I could go anywhere! Anywhere but here! Anywhere else where others weren't kissing on the streets, holding each other, willing to risk their lives for each other. Even Yukina would only care because she cares about everyone. Another person in the crowd, just another… my eyes hardened, I ignored everyone, everything. I wanted to scream. I wanted to turn and hack the buildings to pieces. I wanted to… But I wouldn't. I didn't care about anyone else's opinion enough to waste energy like that. I stopped thinking so deeply as a spatter of red hit my nose.
Red? It's raining red?…It's raining blood? I looked up, just in time to see a figure, the owner of the blood, fall off the top of the building, his or her attacker vanishing. Not my problem… Then, I recognized the hair. That ponytail, that kimono… those eyes. Dead. Dead like everyone else I had come to love. Respect. Trust. Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
"YUKINA!" I ran forward, attempting to catch her in arms that seemed to shrink as I ran. I wasn't fast enough! I wasn't a healer! I wasn't…She fell, just barely within arms reach, just barely making it into my grasp. I came to one knee with her there, hirigeshi stones falling from her face. Those stones, an outcome of purity, that had gotten her hurt so many times… Her eyes opened again, looking into mine, our eyes reflecting off each others'.
"I never found him…brother…"
- Part 1 -
My head throbbed. Not hurt, not slight itch, a full blown migraine. And I didn't know why. I had eaten, had something to drink, taken Aspirin, and, STILL! I sighed, and looked both ways. There had to be somewhere for me to go and sit still for a moment. I took a side street, pretty open, without many people. The only person I saw was a boy, kneeling down, in black. Shaking my head, I walked over, before I realized that he had a girl in his arms. And she was bleeding, or dying. I heard the scuttling of feet and whipped around in time to see a knife-bearing man run in the direction of the park. I immediately put two and two together. Besides, the boy didn't even have a weapon anywhere near him, no reason to suspect a kid. I dashed over and bent down next to them, only then realizing the boy's complete and utter silence. After a slight moment, I pulled the girl, young, with a ice-blue kimono and similar hair, into a sitting position. Her crimson eyes opened, surprising me. She smiled weakly at me, a sadness I had never seen filling her eyes with water, as if she wasn't already wet enough. Her wound was large, across the belly, and deep, since I could see the rib cage, and beyond. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And this was most certainly a desperate time. I pushed the boy away, pulling the girl into my own lap. Centering all my focus on her stomach, I decided to make sure the blood was flowing.
"Girl? Can you talk?"
"Hn." The boy, in disagreement with my choice of questions to the one in my arms, made his first audible sound. More people were coming. I had to finish quickly.
"Back off!" As I shouted, the girl helping me as I pressed the flesh on both sides of the wound back together. Man, this girl was tough. The other people were almost within eyesight. Had to move quickly. My hands deftly ripped some sting from the hemp of my dress, and a needle from my purse, and I deftly stitched her up. I hefted her up as I got to my feet, just as two girls got to me. This first one, flat-chested with red hair, helped me hold the wounded girl as the blue haired one leaned over her.
"You stitched it?"
"I'll explain later."
"Botan, please." The red head asked in an extremely masculine voice, making me question my assumption of his/her gender.
"Oh, right." Botan started emitting rays from her hand, sealing the wound.
"Thank you. If you hadn't been here, Yukina might not have…" The red head trailed off, and I smiled.
"Well, no matter. But, the least I can do to help is carry her."
"But-"
"Let her." I shot a look over my shoulder at the goth child who most certainly didn't sound like a child at all. He sounded older than most of the kids at my high school, actually. And far more mature.
"Fine. Just, come on. Mother can help." Botan, the red head (I really should learn his name!) who spoke, and the goth kid ran off, the latter keeping at my pace, watching Yukina's progress closely. My feet pounded the concrete as I wished I had thought of wearing running shoes. I was in a dress, a little shorter than my usual, and my kiribayashi clanked against my back. We came to a one-story, nicely sized house, when the taller boy/girl ran up and unlocked the door, motioning for me to lay the victim on the couch. He/she ran into the next room as Botan sat next to her wound, attempting to heal it. I sat on the loveseat across the room as the goth child entered and sat on the windowsill. Botan finished the job and, assured that Yukina would live, stood up and addressed the guy I had found with Yukina.
"Hiei! What did you think you were doing?!? What happened?" He looked away from the window, only to glare at her as she paused, then sighed. "Or, you can be rude about it and just glare at me."
"She was attacked, obviously."
"By whom?"
"Didn't see."
"And you didn't save her…?"
"I didn't notice until she was cut and falling."
"Oh…" She turned on me suddenly. "And what did you see?"
"Some guy running off from the rooftops, and Hiei holding Yukina as she was bleeding."
"That doesn't make much sense. Why would someone randomly hurt her?"
"You're asking me? Does one of her friends have enemies?" Botan burst into a fit of coughing at my question.
"Is there a problem?"
"Well… all of her friends have a large multitude of enemies."
"…Really helpful."
"Was he human?" Hiei abruptly asked, severing my trail of thoughts yet again. I yawned slightly, momentarily amused by his nonchalance that was failing as his frustration rang through him. I smirked and answered just as he opened his mouth again.
"Quite human, if I do say so myself." I thought back slightly, remembering the way the man had run, with a slight preference to his left, making him practically worthless in battle. No need for Hiei to know more information than required, however.
"Did you see his face?" Botan scrambled for more detail, her eyes hungering for it.
"No, of course, not, he was running away from me, not towards." Hiei shot a look towards Yukina again before taking his leave. I looked to the girl again, before following him out into the street. Botan's question caught me from behind.
"Who are you? I haven't seen you around here before."
"Oh, right. I'm Azumi Kirabayashi, currently attending Daimon High, also known as Real Bout High School."
-Part 2-
My eyes narrowed.
"No! Please, I beg of you, spare me!" I walked forward, my weapon ready in my hand. My footsteps echoed in the small park, devoid of any other sentinel life. The rain washed over my hair, eyes, and body, soaking me to the bone. This mattered not, however, in the large scheme of things. All that was on my mind was the target.
"I can explain, I assure you!" He began to grasp at straws. Anything, anything that could keep him alive.
"Who?" He paused at my question, a flicker of hope crossing his face.
"I-it was… w-was… u-um…" my weapon lashed out, severing his head in one fatal swoop, and I retracted, wiping it off. A small amount of blood splattered my hand. The others would surely notice this, but it didn't matter. They all knew me as a heartless killer anyways, away from family. Yukina… no one had the right to do it, to hurt her like that. She was so pure and… she meant so much to him as well… a small amount of blood on my part was nothing compared to what had happened, whether she lived or not…
Whether I should feel something when I kill, or not… was it all the same? Why was it I could kill a human with as little a problem as killing a fly, or an insect? Was I really that inhuman? That demonic, even here? Was there nothing I could do?…
…
"Whoa! Hold it, kid! That was prime bounty you just ruined, wanted for three straight murders!" I turned to a slightly taller man, rubbing the back of his head, smiling down at me. I stood up firmly, glaring coldly. He smirked. "Pretty good, however. Ever considered being a bounty hunter? If you could capture instead of kill, you'd be wonderful… Wait a sec." He put his hand under his chin. "I'm asking you to become my competition! Sorry, ignore what I just said. Anyways, You're not really supposed to do that, you know…" He shot a look at the body, then back at me. "Oh, well. You are?"
"Kurama." I raced forward, hoping to get a small amount of poison in, so that I could erase his memory. Maybe, just maybe… He sidestepped me, and next thing I knew-
"Good view of the sky, Kurama? Oh, and I'm Spike." I sat up angrily, after landing flat on my back, looking around, only to find him gone.
"We will meet again…Spike. You will not remember my name, however…" The was now an indention, instead of a memory-erasure needle, in the seed I had been using.
"Wait. Who is Kurama?"
-Part 3-
"So, you're saying, Kurama just upped and left?" I asked, coldly. Yukina was fast asleep, and Hiei had left about a half-minute before Kurama. Azumi sighed, flopping down again across from Yukina after returning from following Hiei out for around an hour.
"Still no sight of him, Yusuke, sorry." There came a knock at the door. Botan's head shot up, then she followed, rushing the door open. Kurama stumbled in, holding a small wound in his arm. Botan's eyes widened as I mentally scoffed.
She's worried when he gets a scratch? What was she doing during the Dark Tournament, covering her eyes? Kurama looked down at her in surprise as his scratch closed up, then up at me as I stood and dusted off my green shirt.
"Alright, Kurama, let's get through the easy part. How many fingers?" I held up three and I could hear Azumi laugh slightly behind me. Kurama paused, then, with a completely straight face -
"Who's Kurama?"
Okay, so, we have one unconscious Yukina, one lost Hiei, and… this.
"Kurama, do you remember what a demon is?"
This is pitiful. He always know what a demon is. He was one, after all.
"No. Refresh my memory."
I. Am. Going. To. Gag. Kurama needs to be reminded what a demon is?!? This is insane! Why?!? Because… he tripped. And caught himself, with his OWN PLANT! What kind of a dope has he turned into?!?
"Yusuke?"
"Yes!?! WHAT?!?"
"…Take a deep breath,
and… leave the room." I paused, slightly, as Azumi gave me a dark glare. I
walked away from the living room, towards the kitchen, and she followed me.
"How could that be…"
"Kurama?"
"He never forgets
anything!"
"He does,
obviously."
"This is a mistake!"
"Looks like Kurama to me. Oh, wait, I'm sorry, Suuichi."
"Shut it!" My mind raced with frustration as Azumi found her seat on the counter.
"Calm. Down. I was kidding." She shot a slightly worried look over her shoulder. "He does seem to be quite a bit different. He lost…"
"His old self!"
"His need to fight." That calmed me down.
"What?"
"He'll be talking
himself out of fights more than actually going through with them, now. Doesn't
that make sense?"
"…Darn… Yes…" I hate it when girls make more sense than I do. It just doesn't fit!
"Hi!… YUYKINA-CHAN!!!" I held my head. If this could get any more complicated right now, this would be the way. Of Course!
-Part 4-
"Alright, everyone, calm down. It's all under control. Yukina's in one piece, Kurama's lost his memory, Hiei is God-knows-where, and you're in hysterics! Kuwabara! Just quit blubbering! Yukina's alright!" Yusuke's voice rang through Suuichi's house. I could hear the tears and sobs slowly trickle to a stop. So, that's why I hadn't seen Hiei. I closed my eyes in thought.
"Hey, mister?" I jumped about a mile in the air. I had had my ear pressed to the door crack listening, but there was nothing I could do now. I turned around to find a trio of humans, the one who spoke being the second tallest with shades of midnight green-brown hair that spiked to one side at an angle, all in a single clump. The balding one behind him was quite a bit larger, but not overly-bulky, just large. He had a grotesque and obvious mechanical arm, but was looking around behind them carefully, scratching his slightly-balding head. The third was a high-class, scantily clad lady with purple hair and bright, yellow top and short shorts, who was busy giving the block a critical eye.
"Is there a reason you wish to visit the Minamino's residence?" I asked, curtly. The one in front paused, considering, before nodding.
"Yeah, well, you see, I got into a fight with the son of the family, I think he knows a lead for a head we need to find. Mind helpin' us out?" I considered. This was Suuichi's problem, not mine. I knocked on the door.
"YUSUKE~!"
"Whoa, Koenma, wha…" He trailed off at the small crowd behind me.
"They need to speak with Suuichi, soon." I cough after my statement, before letting them walk through first. Yusuke came up next to me.
"Okay-"
"I know what happened, Yusuke. And, no, there's nothing I can do about it."
"… You know, you're pretty worthless!"
STAB
"…But, you can still come in. Hiei might be here shortly. We'll see."
Wonderful, I'm just luggage, now. I hope Hiei has better luck getting inside than I did.
-Part 5-
"…So, that's about all the story that's new." Urameshi finished as I attempted to wipe my eyes again. I had left the room when the newcomers came, but I gave up eventually and decided against fighting it. The three bounty hunters, if that's what they were, seemed really out of place. Hiei had entered not long ago, and was standing in the shadows, since his usual windowsill was currently occupied by the pretty girl with purple hair… Anyways, I'm pretty sure he's sulking. He usually would say something before this, otherwise. Spike, the ring-leader of the group, sat up.
"Alright, Suuichi?" Kurama looked up and nodded. Azumi yawned at this point and laid back into the couch cushions, excusing herself.
"Your mother's friend, Chris, I think, used to work as an assistant to the Vice Foreign Minister, correct?" Kurama paused, considering, then nodded.
"Right."
"Can we contact her here?"
"Yeah, sure. I have her number in the address book. One moment." He stood up and quickly walked out of the room, into the kitchen. I looked at the grain in the table as Azumi sat up suddenly.
"While the phone line's on topic, can we order something? This seems like it might take awhile." I nodded and reached for the nearby phone.
"We have to agree on something first, kid!" This girl on the windowsill snapped irritably.
"Fey…" Spike grumbled, but dropped it anyways. "Pizza?"
"Sure. Pep?" I answered coolly.
"Sure. This work?" Unanimous yes's. "Alright, settled. Call, kid."
Kid? Why was everyone calling me kid?!? I'm fifteen! That should be good enough! I picked up the portable phone anyways, and made the call quickly.
"Found it!" Kurama called triumphantly from the kitchen just as the doorbell rang. We all looked up in surprise.
"That was quick…" Fey noted dryly. The others nodded. Kurama smirked, his old joyful twinkle back in his eyes.
"We live only a block away from the place, which is a reason my parent picked the house." He answered the door and blinked in surprise.
"CHRIS?!?"
"Oh, hello, Suuichi. Is there a problem?" She blinked slightly, tilting her head to one side. Kurama composed himself quickly.
"We were just about to call you!"
"How come?"
"You know the Vice Foreign Minister, correct?" Spike asked curtly, while Kurama thought of a way to explain this. Chris shot a look inside, her hair bouncing slightly. My eyes widened as she entered the room. She was gorgeous! I paused suddenly, noticing that I had missed her answer.
"…I was her assistant for a short amount of time, yes."
"I suppose you heard of an extra Gundam, then?" She stiffened, surprised, when I jumped up.
"Here, miss you can have my spot. I'll take the pizza." She looked at me for a moment, unregistering, before smiling suddenly.
"Oh, yes! Of course. Here, and thank you." She flopped into my seat, shoving the food into my stomach. I leaned against the wall, setting the food down on the table. I picked up a piece for myself, pausing as Yukina stirred in her sleep, then woke up, looking at the food.
"Kuwabara! Good morning! Ah, Suuichi! You have so many guests today! Did I miss a party?"
-Part 6-
I smiled slightly in my shadow, watching as Yukina sat up, and Kuwabara rushed to give her food. The others in the room laughed, but it was the first time I had cracked a smile in a long time… Azumi shot me a worried look, but I ignored it. The doorbell rang again. Kurama got up, again, to answer it. At least, while at a loss for memory, he won't be out of shape.
"Miss?"
"Ah, yes. Suuichi. I'm a friend of you mother's, Mrs. Minamino. I came, however, to speak to a friend which happened to come here. Oh, and I'm Rachel…" Suuichi was pummeled out of the way by a rampaging Spike.
"Rachel! What are you doing here?!? It's not…"
"Spike! I can take care of myself! Now, calm down!"
"But-"
"No BUTS!" She snapped, dragging him back inside by his ear, and calmly looked around. "…If this is mixed reunion, Spike, you should have invited me!"
"That's…That's-not-what-it-is-at-all!"
"Spike?"
"Yes?"
"Breath."
"… So, that's about everything," Yusuke finished lamely, looking around. Everyone's eyes, mine included were focused on him. Kurama turned to Spike.
"A lead?"
"Wha? Oh, right. I forgot. Lead…" Rachel seethed silently behind him as he turned towards Chris. "I don't suppose you remember any particularly strange conversations involving Gundams between Miss Relena Peacecraft and the Minister of China?" She paused, considering.
"Yes, actually, they noted that they could store one in Tokyo, Japan, if need be, at…" She paused, pulling out a palm pilot, and pulling up a small address on it. "Yes, this warehouse. Here, you can have this address, if you want." She handed over the small mechanism. He looked at it a moment, then got Rachel to write it down for him. Handing back the device, he stood up, motioning Fey, Jet, and Rachel out with him.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Jet said simply, walking towards the door just as it burst inward.
"Fey-Fey! Jet~! Spikey! Rachel! Ed found Gundam! Ed found Gundam!" Everyone else sweatdropped as the young thing ran around a moment, waving a laptop. I started to wonder, if not human or demon, what this strange thing (seemingly made of rubber) would be…
"See?!?! They plan to let Gundam loose today!" Jet leaned over her shoulder. He let loose an oath.
"Ed's right. At four tonight, their loosing the Gundam on the city." There was a long pause. Yukina's head tilted to one side.
"Is that bad?" I smirked. She was so good at breaking tense moments.
"… So, if this is some great big mechanical doo-hicky, why are we worried?" Yusuke asked, slouched in his seat, after the extremely complex explanation of the Gundams in general. I, of course, had kept track, but it was doubtful anyone other than Kurama, Chris and I understood Jet. Kurama sighed slightly, leaning back in his chair.
"In order to cause general panic, they are hoping to cause mass destruction, and the Minister of China hopes to take control of Japan with it; in other words, if they hand over Japan, the citizens are spared." Kurama, or, in better terms, Shuichi, explained in dry tones. Yusuke nodded, but Kuwabara tilted his head to one side, strangely reminisce of my sister.
"So, we're going to fight it?"
"Yes."
Yusuke and Kuwabara had taken the northern face of the building, Chris, Rachel, Jet and Spike had split up for the west and east sides, while Fey, Shuichi, Azumi and I were at the southern side. Which, of course, was the opening. Fey still hadn't arrived and Shuichi was nervously shifting his feet.
There goes all kitsune nonchalance… Azumi was leaning up against the light pole I was standing on, when a big, mecha bubble with guns to the side came to a grinding halt not too far away. The hatch opened and Fey threw something at Azumi before closing the hatch and flying off again. Azumi caught the note, tied around a small rock with a rubber band, and read the note quickly, while I read over her shoulder, not sure if she knew or not.
Keep track of time.
I'll be here when I'm needed.
Go ahead without me.
Toodles!
After a long moment, in disbelief, I suppose, she threw the note to Shuichi, who read it as well before sweatdropping. I looked upwards as the sun slowly dropped lower.
If this is a waste of my time, I'm taking it out of that woman's hide. Quite happily.
It was four. Technically, it was four after four, but we can't count on everyone's watches being perfect. But, seriously, five minutes is the max. Five after four. I could tell Kuwabara and Yusuke had gone for food already, and Spike was gone too, and, curiously, so was Rachel… five and a half after four…
Five. Not five after four. Five. Now, one after five. This was a bust, and I should never have trusted those lousy…
The front wall of the warehouse burst forward, showering our street with debris. A tall, ancient-samurai style mecha took a step out of the shadows. Now things got interesting. Azumi rushed forward, jumping nimbly from street sign to light post until she reached the roof of a nearby building. Kurama took a step forward, considered, then ran straight at it, taking a left two blocks ahead. I slowly undid the bindings on my right arm just as what appeared to be eyes on the thing lit up red, and it pulled a small cylinder from what the waist would be. Just as a dangerous-looking light exploded from the end of it, Yusuke and Kuwabara arrived, Yusuke already shooting, while the latter was slicing at the knee joint. Instead of bothering with the sword, it just swiped the two of them into the building. Another flying craft appeared from the east, blazing forward at a decent speed, while shooting at the monstrosity. The Gundam, as I suppose it is if what Chris said was correct, swatted the plane out of the sky.
There goes Jet and Spike… It crash-landed nearby. The Kokuryuuha was almost ready just as Azumi charged a possible weak point near the helm. I watched her go for a moment.
That's insane! Idiot human! You can't take it down! However, using her kiribayashi, she flipped from the end of the hand as it tried to hit her towards the head of the Gundam, and lodged her weapon deep in the metal. This, while causing only minor damage, sent sparks everywhere, which she just missed by backflipping and landing on a nearby building.
The dragon can take care of this… but it could kill anyone in range. That… I shook my head, tying my bindings up again. … won't do at all. I instead concentrated on my Jagan as I took off the head band that I usually kept it hidden with. Just as the green tinged my skin, a low whir of sound resounded to the west. The bubble mecha had finally arrived. I opened my mouth to yell at it just as Azumi flashed by through the air. I turned and saw her crash into a parking garage. I turned back to Fey just as I completed my transformation.
"Listen! We need to take out the main core! You can handle keeping it busy!"
"That's your only bright idea, froggy?"
"Yes!"
"Better than mine. Come on!" She raced forward first, and, after giving her a few seconds head start, raced along behind her. She went upwards as another prone form flew by, Followed by another. Yusuke and Kuwabara.
"I can't allow this to go on any longer!"
"If you're going to do something do it fast!" I buzzed by her just as the Gundam took a swing. I raced up its arm, leading to a slightly large circular gem, which also posed as a window. I sat on the shoulder as I could see someone inside pulling gears, pulleys, and the like. Drawing my blade, I cut a human-sized triangle out of it, waiting patiently as this section fell away. I blinked in surprise at the operator.
"YUKINA?!?" She looked up at me, confused, her blue-green-ice hair falling over her shoulder, before a wide grin crossed her face, her eyes twinkling.
"Hiei-san! It's so good to see you! Treize-san and Une-san let me come her to play a game of sorts. I really don't think I have a hold of the controls yet…"
"You did WHAT?!?" Kuwabara and Yusuke's shriek echoed through the warehouse. I sat, fuming, in a chair deep in the shadows as the battle fire slowly drained from my blood. Yukina sat on a bench in the sunlight, with Shizuru, Chris, Fey and Rachel. Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara stood, facing the two perpetrators, Lady Une and Treize. Or, as the former put it, His Excellency Treize. Stop me before I gag.
"You are not allowed to speak to his Excellency in such away!"
"But he put Yukina at risk!"
"He tried to kill us!"
"You are not allowed…" And so on and so forth, et cettera, et cettera, et cettera… Treize finally lifted his hand in a proposition of silence. In the ensuing lack of sound, I glanced out the window at the rose covered Gundam. It seems Kurama hadn't run off for nothing, just took the time to get the rose bushes to grow through concrete. Figures. They only started working after I had cut Yukina out…
"We were merely letting her have fun."
"You could have killed someone!" The argument continued. One of Lady Une's particularly high shrieks broke the bindings of a large light fixture above. Kuwabara and Yusuke shoved Treize and Une out of the way, letting it fall on the only one not fast enough, Kurama. Botan's yell reverberated among the concrete columns as the light flicked out and the glass shards settled. I stiffened, then smiled as the main portion moved slightly, allowing a tall silver haired youko to step out, who gave us a heart-braking smirk. Botan jumped up and down for a moment before diving at him.
"YOUKO~ KURAMA~!" I winced as she burst into tears on his shoulder, which she could barely reach. Shizuru sighed and Yukina smiled. Kuwabara was yet again shooting funny looks at my sister, while Treize and Une were looking at each other happily. Keiko, who had been found at the house with Yukina by Treize, hooked her arm through Yusuke's. Koenma tilted his head to one side, just as Fey got up to go find Jet and Spike, who had disappeared on the account needing to "rest". Right. I almost jumped as Azumi's hand came down on my shoulder. I had been so deep in thought I hadn't even noticed her approach. When I shot a look upward to give her an evil glare, she was already smiling down at me. I paused for a second, before looking down again. No need to worry about that now…
"So, that's the end of this whole Suuichi business?" Koenma asked, looking hopefully at the tall Youko. Youko Kurama paused momentarily, before narrowing his slim, golden eyes.
"Suuichi who?"
-Epilogue-
"Goodnight, Azumi. Good night, Hiei," Kurama's voice called form inside his house. Everyone else had returned home, and we were the last two left. I shot a look up at her, considering, before turning to leave.
"Now, that's not very kind at all! You're supposed to walk a lady home, aren't you?" I stiffened. Was this woman trying to give me a heart attack?!?
"Stupid human. Go home by yourself."
-And Then Some-
I sighed as he walked away. I had hoped he wasn't that dense, but… oh, well. Christmas was in two weeks, and that's what parties were for, correct? I turned and walked home, arriving on the doorstep half-past nine. It had been a long day, and I almost stepped on a small gift left for me in the center of my welcome mat. I shot look upwards at the door window, expecting my parent to pop up with an explanation like always, before reaching down and picking it up. It was wrapped in all white tissue paper, the kind you put in the top of bags to hide what's inside. I carefully undid these and gasped with a small squeak. I shot a look around again to make sure my parents hadn't waken up or that no one was around, before looking back at the beautiful flower. Who knew that my favorite flowers were tiger lilies, of any colour? But this black one was just...
Gorgeous.