Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. *sigh*
K.H.: Hehe, whee! Youko Kurama was cool on TV. I was waiting for the longest time to see episodes with Youko in it & I went totally ballistic! There was also some Yusuke-Puu cuteness. *turns blue in the face* Gotta... breathe... gotta... *falls down onto the floor & twitches* O.O* *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As Kurama nears the front door, his stomach begins doing flips & his heartbeat quickens. He stops in front of the door & swallows a lump in his throat, "This is it..."
He hesitantly knocks on the door & hears shuffling inside with his sensitive fox ears. Kurama takes a deep breath just as the door opens, revealing a very sickly Shiori.
She stares at him in disbelief, unable to catch a breath, "I can't believe it... you came back..."
Hatanaka appears in the stairway, "Who's at the do-..."
His eyes widen when he sees Kurama & Shiori looks back at him, "It's alright, it's only Shuichi, or at least he was."
She looks back at her 'son', her eyes showing warmth, "Come in."
He smiles slightly, the nervousness slowly disappearing, "Thank you."
He walks in & Shiori closes the door after him.
They walk into the living room & Shiori looks over at Kurama, "You can go ahead & take a seat while I fix us all a little snack."
Hatanaka takes a step forward, "Maybe I should, you need to rest... you should take it easy...."
She smiles, which surprises Hatanaka, "Don't worry, my strength seems to be returning little by little."
Hatanaka acknowledges her with a nod, "Then I'll go check on little Shuichi."
Kurama watches as his human stepfather disappears upstairs before taking a seat on the couch. He watches his human mother as she walks into the kitchen.
The kitsune youkai looks down at the floor with a stern expression, ~I hope that she'll be alright. I don't want to have come back only to see my mother or little Shuichi die because of something I did. I remember how devastated I was when Kuronue died... but it would pale in comparison to the pain I would feel to lose the only family I've ever had... and came to love....~
He closes his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again & looks at his clawed hands, ~I can't believe what happened, a demon & a human became one & will forever be one, or so it seems. My mind, forever in Youko's body, but yet I still have the power of Youko. Quite a fusion, but will it be for the better...?~
A crash breaks him out of his daze & his eyes dart to the kitchen.
She pokes her head out, as if sensing his concern, and smiles, "I'm fine, I just dropped a glass."
She pulls her head back in & Kurama stands back up, ~Maybe I should go see if she needs help.~
He walks towards the kitchen & quietly peeks in. He sees her knelt down, scooping up shards of the broken glass.
She winces suddenly when a shard pierces one of her fingers & she reaches over, dumping the shards into the trashcan. She puts her injured finger into her mouth & winces slightly, tasting blood.
After pulling her finger back out, she looks down at the hazardous mess that still awaits her, "I really need to get another broom & dustpan... oh well, as they say, no pain, no gain...."
She reaches down to scoop up more when two strong hands rest on top of hers, stopping her.
She looks to her side to see Kurama kneeling next to her with a warm smile on his face, "Kurama...?"
He continues to smile, "I'll finish cleaning up, I don't want to see you get hurt anymore..."
His golden eyes rest on her scarred arm, "You already have scars from glass piercing your arm, all because of something I did when I was little. It's my turn to help you..."
She stares at him for a moment before smiling, "Thank you... Kurama. You do want to be called Kurama right?"
He nods, "That is my real name, but you can call me by my human name if it would make you happy. Whatever suits you, suits me."
She stays silent as she stands up & begins fixing the snacks again.
Kurama begins scooping up the glass, not once getting cut by the shards.
"I guess I'll use Kurama, since that's your real name & no one has the right to change a person's identity. Besides, it would probably be easier for you & little Shuichi if you both have different names, you know, as to avoid confusion when Hatanaka or I call for one of you," she suddenly responds, her back to him.
He freezes at her first statement for a few seconds, before dumping the shards into the trashcan, "Kurama it is then... but it sounds so weird to hear you call me by the name I was originally born with over 500 years ago."
Her eyes widen out of surprise, but then her features return back to how they were before except for a slight smile, "Kurama's a beautiful name & I've already grown quite fond of it. Your real mother gave you a better name than I could ever give you. Just by looking at you... I can tell that she must've been beautiful. Can you tell me about her?"
He frowns & closes his eyes, "She left me when I was too young to remember what she even looked like. A slightly older demon than myself named Kuronue watched over me in secret until he thought I was old enough to be of use. It was him who taught be the cut-throat fighting techniques I know, and we later became partners in crime as I grew older."
His eyes become unfocused as he remembers some of the adventures they had went on, "We would steal things that were nearly impossible to steal, mainly to test our skills & for the thrill of the hunt. Between heists, I would often sit alone & struggle to remember my mother, to no avail. All that I could remember was my name... nothing else...."
She remembers what that demon that had kidnapped her had told her about Kurama, "So... how much of what that demon said is actually true?"
He stands up & looks at her, "Well, he was partially right about me staying with you long enough to gain my strength back. Back in the world I came from, I was being chased by a hunter while in my fox form. He shot me & I would've died if I hadn't relinquished all of my energy in a manner which allowed my soul to travel into this world. After arriving, I sort of 'fused' with your unborn child."
He pauses for a moment, "During the early stages of my human life, I didn't care about you in the least bit. I just thought of the one day that I would finally be at full power again & leave. But, all that changed with an accident that could've taken my life since I was so small then. It was that incident where I had broken a plate & was going to fall, right onto the pieces. You had dove down & caught me, but in turn, you received those scars..."
He looks down, remembering that day, "No one had ever done anything for me like that before. I was used to being independent & lived by the saying: 'Only the strongest survive.' In the Makai World where I grew up, I had to fend for myself in a forest full of dangerous demons. I had no one to care for me, not even Kuronue would help me unless I was injured while attempting to steal an artifact. My heart had grown cold with a thick layer of ice, but you melted that coldness away when you saved me."
She smiles, brighter than she has for days, "That's what a mother's supposed to do for their child."
Her smile falters a bit, "I don't know why your mother abandoned you at such a young age, but that was wrong. Maybe I don't understand because I'm just a human, but in my own opinion, 'as a human mother', I think she should've raised you until you were at least old enough to take good care of yourself & fight. If she had, then maybe you would've led a better life as a demon & wouldn't have been forced to grow up so quickly & even worse, devote your life to being a talented thief. Maybe I'm being irrational, but it's just my opinion from experience & also an opinion based on what you told me."
He smiles, "No, you're right. If my demon mother raised me even half as well as you did, then I would not have stooped so low as to have become a thief."
Tears threaten to fall from her eyes, but she doesn't turn to face him, "I apologize for the way I reacted to you when I first saw you like this & after you killed that demon. I was just so scared & amazed after learning this secret that you kept hidden from me. I'm especially sorry for my behavior when you came up to me after defeating that other demon, I hadn't expected that you would ever actually kill someone. I guess that I was so shocked, and I can't believe the thought crossed my mind..."
He blinks, "What thought?"
She stops what she's doing & turns to face Kurama, the tears she had been holding back now streaking down her face, "Towards the end of that duel, when you seemed to transform into something else, you didn't seem to have a shred of humanity left in you. Your voice was as cold as ice & your eyes would've striked fear into most people, demon or human. The way you looked... scared me. At that moment, I was convinced that you were not my son... but instead...."
She chokes out the words, "I thought that you were a monster..."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* K.H.: Sorry if this conversation going on between Kurama & Shiori is getting boring, but he did have to explain everything to her in a way that she wouldn't reject him again, which usually involves details. I finished this chapter pretty fast! It only took 2 days to think up, write in my notebook, and transfer onto my computer! This chapter stinks pretty badly, but I did like the part where Shiori was scooping up the shards of glass & Kurama wanted to do it instead so she wouldn't get hurt again (referring to the little accident mentioned where she saved him). I think I made quite a few mistakes in this chapter, mainly with him falling on the shards of a broken plate. I just know that he was going to fall on shards of something, but I wasn't exactly sure what. ^_^* I'm sorry, I tried. Please don't flame me TOO badly, I'm a sensitive person. See ya later... in the next chapter (when I write it that is)!
K.H.: Hehe, whee! Youko Kurama was cool on TV. I was waiting for the longest time to see episodes with Youko in it & I went totally ballistic! There was also some Yusuke-Puu cuteness. *turns blue in the face* Gotta... breathe... gotta... *falls down onto the floor & twitches* O.O* *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As Kurama nears the front door, his stomach begins doing flips & his heartbeat quickens. He stops in front of the door & swallows a lump in his throat, "This is it..."
He hesitantly knocks on the door & hears shuffling inside with his sensitive fox ears. Kurama takes a deep breath just as the door opens, revealing a very sickly Shiori.
She stares at him in disbelief, unable to catch a breath, "I can't believe it... you came back..."
Hatanaka appears in the stairway, "Who's at the do-..."
His eyes widen when he sees Kurama & Shiori looks back at him, "It's alright, it's only Shuichi, or at least he was."
She looks back at her 'son', her eyes showing warmth, "Come in."
He smiles slightly, the nervousness slowly disappearing, "Thank you."
He walks in & Shiori closes the door after him.
They walk into the living room & Shiori looks over at Kurama, "You can go ahead & take a seat while I fix us all a little snack."
Hatanaka takes a step forward, "Maybe I should, you need to rest... you should take it easy...."
She smiles, which surprises Hatanaka, "Don't worry, my strength seems to be returning little by little."
Hatanaka acknowledges her with a nod, "Then I'll go check on little Shuichi."
Kurama watches as his human stepfather disappears upstairs before taking a seat on the couch. He watches his human mother as she walks into the kitchen.
The kitsune youkai looks down at the floor with a stern expression, ~I hope that she'll be alright. I don't want to have come back only to see my mother or little Shuichi die because of something I did. I remember how devastated I was when Kuronue died... but it would pale in comparison to the pain I would feel to lose the only family I've ever had... and came to love....~
He closes his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again & looks at his clawed hands, ~I can't believe what happened, a demon & a human became one & will forever be one, or so it seems. My mind, forever in Youko's body, but yet I still have the power of Youko. Quite a fusion, but will it be for the better...?~
A crash breaks him out of his daze & his eyes dart to the kitchen.
She pokes her head out, as if sensing his concern, and smiles, "I'm fine, I just dropped a glass."
She pulls her head back in & Kurama stands back up, ~Maybe I should go see if she needs help.~
He walks towards the kitchen & quietly peeks in. He sees her knelt down, scooping up shards of the broken glass.
She winces suddenly when a shard pierces one of her fingers & she reaches over, dumping the shards into the trashcan. She puts her injured finger into her mouth & winces slightly, tasting blood.
After pulling her finger back out, she looks down at the hazardous mess that still awaits her, "I really need to get another broom & dustpan... oh well, as they say, no pain, no gain...."
She reaches down to scoop up more when two strong hands rest on top of hers, stopping her.
She looks to her side to see Kurama kneeling next to her with a warm smile on his face, "Kurama...?"
He continues to smile, "I'll finish cleaning up, I don't want to see you get hurt anymore..."
His golden eyes rest on her scarred arm, "You already have scars from glass piercing your arm, all because of something I did when I was little. It's my turn to help you..."
She stares at him for a moment before smiling, "Thank you... Kurama. You do want to be called Kurama right?"
He nods, "That is my real name, but you can call me by my human name if it would make you happy. Whatever suits you, suits me."
She stays silent as she stands up & begins fixing the snacks again.
Kurama begins scooping up the glass, not once getting cut by the shards.
"I guess I'll use Kurama, since that's your real name & no one has the right to change a person's identity. Besides, it would probably be easier for you & little Shuichi if you both have different names, you know, as to avoid confusion when Hatanaka or I call for one of you," she suddenly responds, her back to him.
He freezes at her first statement for a few seconds, before dumping the shards into the trashcan, "Kurama it is then... but it sounds so weird to hear you call me by the name I was originally born with over 500 years ago."
Her eyes widen out of surprise, but then her features return back to how they were before except for a slight smile, "Kurama's a beautiful name & I've already grown quite fond of it. Your real mother gave you a better name than I could ever give you. Just by looking at you... I can tell that she must've been beautiful. Can you tell me about her?"
He frowns & closes his eyes, "She left me when I was too young to remember what she even looked like. A slightly older demon than myself named Kuronue watched over me in secret until he thought I was old enough to be of use. It was him who taught be the cut-throat fighting techniques I know, and we later became partners in crime as I grew older."
His eyes become unfocused as he remembers some of the adventures they had went on, "We would steal things that were nearly impossible to steal, mainly to test our skills & for the thrill of the hunt. Between heists, I would often sit alone & struggle to remember my mother, to no avail. All that I could remember was my name... nothing else...."
She remembers what that demon that had kidnapped her had told her about Kurama, "So... how much of what that demon said is actually true?"
He stands up & looks at her, "Well, he was partially right about me staying with you long enough to gain my strength back. Back in the world I came from, I was being chased by a hunter while in my fox form. He shot me & I would've died if I hadn't relinquished all of my energy in a manner which allowed my soul to travel into this world. After arriving, I sort of 'fused' with your unborn child."
He pauses for a moment, "During the early stages of my human life, I didn't care about you in the least bit. I just thought of the one day that I would finally be at full power again & leave. But, all that changed with an accident that could've taken my life since I was so small then. It was that incident where I had broken a plate & was going to fall, right onto the pieces. You had dove down & caught me, but in turn, you received those scars..."
He looks down, remembering that day, "No one had ever done anything for me like that before. I was used to being independent & lived by the saying: 'Only the strongest survive.' In the Makai World where I grew up, I had to fend for myself in a forest full of dangerous demons. I had no one to care for me, not even Kuronue would help me unless I was injured while attempting to steal an artifact. My heart had grown cold with a thick layer of ice, but you melted that coldness away when you saved me."
She smiles, brighter than she has for days, "That's what a mother's supposed to do for their child."
Her smile falters a bit, "I don't know why your mother abandoned you at such a young age, but that was wrong. Maybe I don't understand because I'm just a human, but in my own opinion, 'as a human mother', I think she should've raised you until you were at least old enough to take good care of yourself & fight. If she had, then maybe you would've led a better life as a demon & wouldn't have been forced to grow up so quickly & even worse, devote your life to being a talented thief. Maybe I'm being irrational, but it's just my opinion from experience & also an opinion based on what you told me."
He smiles, "No, you're right. If my demon mother raised me even half as well as you did, then I would not have stooped so low as to have become a thief."
Tears threaten to fall from her eyes, but she doesn't turn to face him, "I apologize for the way I reacted to you when I first saw you like this & after you killed that demon. I was just so scared & amazed after learning this secret that you kept hidden from me. I'm especially sorry for my behavior when you came up to me after defeating that other demon, I hadn't expected that you would ever actually kill someone. I guess that I was so shocked, and I can't believe the thought crossed my mind..."
He blinks, "What thought?"
She stops what she's doing & turns to face Kurama, the tears she had been holding back now streaking down her face, "Towards the end of that duel, when you seemed to transform into something else, you didn't seem to have a shred of humanity left in you. Your voice was as cold as ice & your eyes would've striked fear into most people, demon or human. The way you looked... scared me. At that moment, I was convinced that you were not my son... but instead...."
She chokes out the words, "I thought that you were a monster..."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* K.H.: Sorry if this conversation going on between Kurama & Shiori is getting boring, but he did have to explain everything to her in a way that she wouldn't reject him again, which usually involves details. I finished this chapter pretty fast! It only took 2 days to think up, write in my notebook, and transfer onto my computer! This chapter stinks pretty badly, but I did like the part where Shiori was scooping up the shards of glass & Kurama wanted to do it instead so she wouldn't get hurt again (referring to the little accident mentioned where she saved him). I think I made quite a few mistakes in this chapter, mainly with him falling on the shards of a broken plate. I just know that he was going to fall on shards of something, but I wasn't exactly sure what. ^_^* I'm sorry, I tried. Please don't flame me TOO badly, I'm a sensitive person. See ya later... in the next chapter (when I write it that is)!