Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.
K.H.: Well, aren't we moving right along? Already at Chapter 7! Wahoo! I think this fic is taking a nosedive unfortunately, I think that Kurama is out of character. Not much more to say, so I guess I'll just get on with it. But I do have this killer idea for a future chapter. grins like the idiot she is Mucho mushiness in the beginning of this chapter.
His eyes widen slightly at seeing her cry rather hard after her statement, so hard in fact, she almost collapses to her knees. He is hurt by once being thought of as a monster, but is even more disturbed at seeing his mother like this.
He frowns, "Hey, don't feel so bad. I would've probably thought the same exact thing if I were in your shoes." He walks up to her & gently hugs her, being careful not to hurt her.
She cries heavily into his chest, "You have no clue how guilty I felt, I had made the biggest mistake by pushing you away like that. I had caused my own fear, the fear that began when you were born as a human."
Kurama looks down at her, "What fear?"
She looks up at him with a tearstained face, "I feared that after a certain time, you would reject me. I was always afraid that I would do something wrong & cause you to hate me. It's my fault, I caused you to go away. And poor little Shuichi..."
He blinks, She had the same fear. I was fearing that she would reject me because I'm a demon... She was fearing that she would do something wrong & I would reject her.
He pauses when his sensitive ears pick up soft footsteps & he looks up from her. He stares at the kitchen doorway, his fox ears twitching occasionally.
A young boy appears around the corner & Shiori looks at him, "Shuichi! Why are you still up?"
He doesn't respond as he stares up at Kurama, wide-eyed.
Kurama stares down at his younger human brother, "Shuichi...?"
Shuichi shies away from him, "Who are you & how do you know my name?"
Shiori walks over to Shuichi & smiles, her face still wet from tears, "Believe it or not, he's your older brother. He's just a bit different now."
Shuichi slowly edges towards Kurama & at this time, Kurama noticed just how horrible Shuichi looked.
Shuichi looks up at him, "Are you really my brother...?"
Kurama gives a small nod, "Yes, I am. Hard to believe, isn't it?"
Shuichi narrows his eyes slightly, "Prove it."
Kurama smiles & kneels in front of him so he'll be more level with his human sibling, "Last Monday, I promised that I would get you a game that you had wanted for a very long time when your birthday came around. Your birthday party was going to be held in about 2 weeks on the 20th."
Shuichi gasps, "You really are..."
He suddenly lunges forward & hugs Kurama with all of what little strength he had. Kurama hugs him back & senses how weak Shuichi has gotten. He pulls back & messes Shuichi's hair up playfully, "Nice to see you too Shuichi. I came back when I heard that you & mom weren't doing too well. Are you ok?"
Shuichi's eyes brighten & he smiles, "Now I am."
He had said this despite there being cuts, bruises, and bandages all over him.
Shuichi does a quick double-take of Kurama, "Why do you look so different? And why do you have those ears & that tail? You look so cool..."
Kurama almost laughs at the clueless expression that Shuichi's giving him, but instead, chuckles in amusement, "For one, thank you for the compliment. I'll re-tell the story when we're all together."
Shiori smiles while watching them, "How about you two go wait in the living room? I'm almost done, fixing snacks took a lot longer than I had predicted."
She smiles at Kurama at this & he smiles back.
Shuichi turns to run towards the living room, stumbles, and falls down, "Ouch!"
Kurama looks down at him, "Are you alright? Maybe you shouldn't try running until you heal a bit."
Shuichi slowly stands up & looks up at Kurama, smiling, "I'll be fine, bruises & cuts aren't going to stop me!"
Kurama smiles, "Yes, but even a demon like myself has to take it easy after a rough battle. I've had my fair share of injuries in my life, some of them were serious enough to put me out of commission for a day or two. Just don't overdo it."
Shuichi nods & they both walk towards the couch, side by side. Kurama takes a seat at one end of the couch & Shuichi sits down next to him.
He begins nodding off into sleep & Kurama silently watches him. He smiles gently & wraps one of his arms around Shuichi's shoulders. He pulls Shuichi up close to him & Shuichi automatically begins leaning against his side. Kurama keeps one arm around Shuichi & Shiori enters with a tray in her hands. She sets it down on the coffee table (one of those smaller tables you usually have in living rooms) and looks at Kurama & Shuichi.
She smiles, "Is he asleep?"
Kurama twitches his ears as he listens to Shuichi's breathing pattern for a few moments.
"He's out," he whispers.
She continues to smile, "Do you think that you could bring him up to bed?"
He nods & stands up, picking Shuichi up afterwards. Shuichi stirs slightly as Kurama carries him upstairs, but amazingly doesn't wake up.
Kurama enters Shuichi's bedroom & gently sets him down on his bed. Shuichi turns over in his sleep & Kurama pulls the covers up over him. He sits on the edge of the bed & smiles down at his human brother.
After a few seconds, he sighs, "It feels great to be back home. Everything is close to how it used to be, well, except for me that is."
He stares Shuichi for a moment before pulling a seed out of his hair, "Maybe a healing plant is needed here."
He inserts the seed into one of Shuichi's cuts, causing it to open again. After a few minutes, the healing plant begins to take effect and Shuichi's cuts & bruises begin to slowly disappear.
Kurama smiles & rises to his feet, "He should be almost as good as new in the morning."
He glances back at Shuichi one more time before leaving the room & heads back downstairs. He finds his mother sitting on the couch & the snacks she prepared, untouched.
She hears his footsteps & turns to face him while seated, "Did he wake up again?"
Kurama shakes his head, "No, he stayed asleep & I think he'll be out for the rest of the night."
She smiles, "That's good, but maybe you should go to sleep. You've had a rough day..."
He nods & yawns, "Maybe so."
At that moment, he remembers Botan & quickly makes his way to the front door. He thrusts open the door & runs outside, only to find Botan already gone. He just stands there on the pavement & stares blankly at the spot where she once stood.
A chilled wind picks up, causing his hair & fox tail to blow in the breeze.
Shiori appears in the doorway, "What's wrong?"
He looks down, "A friend of mine had been out here, but it seems that she left..."
She walks up behind him, "Is it that girl that helped me before? The girl with the blue hair & pink kimono?"
He nods, "Yes, that's her. Her name's Botan & she's a very close friend of mine. She was the one who told me of your condition & also the one to bring me back. She's the guide to the world of the spirits, or rather the 'grim reaper'."
Shiori smiles, "Well, she sure didn't look like the grim reaper."
He smiles, "No, not at all."
He takes a step forward & looks up at the star-filled sky, "In fact..." He seems to contemplate something for a few short moments before smiling again, "... she's more like a perky angel."
She takes a few steps forward & stops at his side, "I'm sure you'll see her again, but you should get some rest in the meantime."
He nods & follows her inside, glancing back once.
After cleaning up, Shiori gives Kurama a quick hug before sending him off to bed, "Goodnight Kurama."
He glances back at her, "Goodnight mother."
He disappears into his own room, which had been kept tidy since his leave. He lies down on his bed & is asleep in a few minutes.
K.H.: Well, aren't we moving right along? Already at Chapter 7! Wahoo! I think this fic is taking a nosedive unfortunately, I think that Kurama is out of character. Not much more to say, so I guess I'll just get on with it. But I do have this killer idea for a future chapter. grins like the idiot she is Mucho mushiness in the beginning of this chapter.
His eyes widen slightly at seeing her cry rather hard after her statement, so hard in fact, she almost collapses to her knees. He is hurt by once being thought of as a monster, but is even more disturbed at seeing his mother like this.
He frowns, "Hey, don't feel so bad. I would've probably thought the same exact thing if I were in your shoes." He walks up to her & gently hugs her, being careful not to hurt her.
She cries heavily into his chest, "You have no clue how guilty I felt, I had made the biggest mistake by pushing you away like that. I had caused my own fear, the fear that began when you were born as a human."
Kurama looks down at her, "What fear?"
She looks up at him with a tearstained face, "I feared that after a certain time, you would reject me. I was always afraid that I would do something wrong & cause you to hate me. It's my fault, I caused you to go away. And poor little Shuichi..."
He blinks, She had the same fear. I was fearing that she would reject me because I'm a demon... She was fearing that she would do something wrong & I would reject her.
He pauses when his sensitive ears pick up soft footsteps & he looks up from her. He stares at the kitchen doorway, his fox ears twitching occasionally.
A young boy appears around the corner & Shiori looks at him, "Shuichi! Why are you still up?"
He doesn't respond as he stares up at Kurama, wide-eyed.
Kurama stares down at his younger human brother, "Shuichi...?"
Shuichi shies away from him, "Who are you & how do you know my name?"
Shiori walks over to Shuichi & smiles, her face still wet from tears, "Believe it or not, he's your older brother. He's just a bit different now."
Shuichi slowly edges towards Kurama & at this time, Kurama noticed just how horrible Shuichi looked.
Shuichi looks up at him, "Are you really my brother...?"
Kurama gives a small nod, "Yes, I am. Hard to believe, isn't it?"
Shuichi narrows his eyes slightly, "Prove it."
Kurama smiles & kneels in front of him so he'll be more level with his human sibling, "Last Monday, I promised that I would get you a game that you had wanted for a very long time when your birthday came around. Your birthday party was going to be held in about 2 weeks on the 20th."
Shuichi gasps, "You really are..."
He suddenly lunges forward & hugs Kurama with all of what little strength he had. Kurama hugs him back & senses how weak Shuichi has gotten. He pulls back & messes Shuichi's hair up playfully, "Nice to see you too Shuichi. I came back when I heard that you & mom weren't doing too well. Are you ok?"
Shuichi's eyes brighten & he smiles, "Now I am."
He had said this despite there being cuts, bruises, and bandages all over him.
Shuichi does a quick double-take of Kurama, "Why do you look so different? And why do you have those ears & that tail? You look so cool..."
Kurama almost laughs at the clueless expression that Shuichi's giving him, but instead, chuckles in amusement, "For one, thank you for the compliment. I'll re-tell the story when we're all together."
Shiori smiles while watching them, "How about you two go wait in the living room? I'm almost done, fixing snacks took a lot longer than I had predicted."
She smiles at Kurama at this & he smiles back.
Shuichi turns to run towards the living room, stumbles, and falls down, "Ouch!"
Kurama looks down at him, "Are you alright? Maybe you shouldn't try running until you heal a bit."
Shuichi slowly stands up & looks up at Kurama, smiling, "I'll be fine, bruises & cuts aren't going to stop me!"
Kurama smiles, "Yes, but even a demon like myself has to take it easy after a rough battle. I've had my fair share of injuries in my life, some of them were serious enough to put me out of commission for a day or two. Just don't overdo it."
Shuichi nods & they both walk towards the couch, side by side. Kurama takes a seat at one end of the couch & Shuichi sits down next to him.
He begins nodding off into sleep & Kurama silently watches him. He smiles gently & wraps one of his arms around Shuichi's shoulders. He pulls Shuichi up close to him & Shuichi automatically begins leaning against his side. Kurama keeps one arm around Shuichi & Shiori enters with a tray in her hands. She sets it down on the coffee table (one of those smaller tables you usually have in living rooms) and looks at Kurama & Shuichi.
She smiles, "Is he asleep?"
Kurama twitches his ears as he listens to Shuichi's breathing pattern for a few moments.
"He's out," he whispers.
She continues to smile, "Do you think that you could bring him up to bed?"
He nods & stands up, picking Shuichi up afterwards. Shuichi stirs slightly as Kurama carries him upstairs, but amazingly doesn't wake up.
Kurama enters Shuichi's bedroom & gently sets him down on his bed. Shuichi turns over in his sleep & Kurama pulls the covers up over him. He sits on the edge of the bed & smiles down at his human brother.
After a few seconds, he sighs, "It feels great to be back home. Everything is close to how it used to be, well, except for me that is."
He stares Shuichi for a moment before pulling a seed out of his hair, "Maybe a healing plant is needed here."
He inserts the seed into one of Shuichi's cuts, causing it to open again. After a few minutes, the healing plant begins to take effect and Shuichi's cuts & bruises begin to slowly disappear.
Kurama smiles & rises to his feet, "He should be almost as good as new in the morning."
He glances back at Shuichi one more time before leaving the room & heads back downstairs. He finds his mother sitting on the couch & the snacks she prepared, untouched.
She hears his footsteps & turns to face him while seated, "Did he wake up again?"
Kurama shakes his head, "No, he stayed asleep & I think he'll be out for the rest of the night."
She smiles, "That's good, but maybe you should go to sleep. You've had a rough day..."
He nods & yawns, "Maybe so."
At that moment, he remembers Botan & quickly makes his way to the front door. He thrusts open the door & runs outside, only to find Botan already gone. He just stands there on the pavement & stares blankly at the spot where she once stood.
A chilled wind picks up, causing his hair & fox tail to blow in the breeze.
Shiori appears in the doorway, "What's wrong?"
He looks down, "A friend of mine had been out here, but it seems that she left..."
She walks up behind him, "Is it that girl that helped me before? The girl with the blue hair & pink kimono?"
He nods, "Yes, that's her. Her name's Botan & she's a very close friend of mine. She was the one who told me of your condition & also the one to bring me back. She's the guide to the world of the spirits, or rather the 'grim reaper'."
Shiori smiles, "Well, she sure didn't look like the grim reaper."
He smiles, "No, not at all."
He takes a step forward & looks up at the star-filled sky, "In fact..." He seems to contemplate something for a few short moments before smiling again, "... she's more like a perky angel."
She takes a few steps forward & stops at his side, "I'm sure you'll see her again, but you should get some rest in the meantime."
He nods & follows her inside, glancing back once.
After cleaning up, Shiori gives Kurama a quick hug before sending him off to bed, "Goodnight Kurama."
He glances back at her, "Goodnight mother."
He disappears into his own room, which had been kept tidy since his leave. He lies down on his bed & is asleep in a few minutes.