Kokoro No Kaitou : Once Lost, Now Found
Chapter 2
~*~
They were all gathered in Chuu's house - Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, Suzuka, Jin, Touya, and Chuu himself. Shishiwakamaru had not yet arrived, and Naomi hadn't returned.
They were all sitting around the table, with the exception of Chuu, who sat on the couch at the side of the room, his feet propped up on the armrest.
"So, what's really up with these bugs?" Jin asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Well, they've already taken down several A-Class demons, which means that they must be either very strong, or they cannot be gotten rid of once they enter the body." Kurama said with a sigh.
The door suddenly opened, and three heavily bundled figures came in. One started pulling off the layers, to reveal Naomi. She shook out her wavy silver hair, and it reached down to her waist. She then started taking off her boots while the other two started with their headgear.
The second turned out to be Shishiwakamaru. The third started to unbundle, and Kurama's eyes widened.
The third was a girl with silver hair, which fell in sheets to her slim waist. She also had a silver crescent moon on her forehead, and bluish-green eyes, much like Naomi's. She didn't seem too pleased, and she glared at Midori.
Kurama stood, still speechless.
The girl's eyes fell on him, then widened as well.
"A…Amaya?" He breathed.
Her face suddenly went from surprised to enraged. She whirled to face the phoenix, and growled. "Midori, what kind of sick joke are you trying to play?"
Kurama was confused. What was she talking about?
"No joke! He just showed up!" Midori protested.
The girl turned back towards Kurama. "Then…it really is you…?"
He nodded. "Yes."
The sound echoed through the room as she slapped him with all of her might, causing all of its occupants to stare.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed.
He gingerly touched his cheek, eyes widened even further now. He looked back at her, still quite surprised.
"You didn't listen to me, and you got yourself killed, you bastard!" She continued. "And for the last seventeen years, I believed that you were dead! How come you didn't contact me, Kurama?! Or did you not care enough to even try?!"
"Amaya, if there had been a way, I would've!" He growled back. He was upset at the fact that she was so angry with him, despite the fact that it wasn't his fault. "Besides, I did die! My soul fled to the human world after I did!"
She seemed to want to retort, but instead sighed. She rubbed her temples.
"I'm going to go make some tea. I can't deal with this right now." She said. She turned and walked back into Chuu's kitchen, and everyone was silent.
"Uh…" Naomi started. "That was…interesting. Though I'm a little confused as to what just happened."
Shishiwakamaru followed Amaya into the kitchen, and Kurama sighed. He sat back down at the table, and Yusuke gave him a questioning look.
"You know her, Kurama?" He asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." He said quietly.
Naomi shrugged and walked over to the couch where Chuu was sitting. She smiled at him.
"Chuu-kun, can I sit on the couch too?"
He nodded, and quickly made space for her. She flopped down next to him, and sighed.
"So, what did you guys come here for?" She asked.
Yusuke glanced at Kurama, and saw that he probably wasn't in the mood to explain it.
"There's been an outbreak of a certain kind of bug here in Makai, and we need your help to round them up and take them down." He said.
"Oh." She replied.
An awkward silence befell the entire room, before Jin spoke up.
"So…how about that snow, eh?"
Touya glared at him to let him know that this was not the best time to talk about the weather. The wind master looked slightly dejected, but said no more.
Amaya and Shishiwakamaru came back out from the kitchen, and the former was carrying a tray with several small cups. She placed one in front of everyone, and wouldn't even meet Kurama's hurt gaze as she gave him his tea. She then moved to the opposite end of the table, and sat down. Shishiwakamaru sat down beside her.
Yusuke decided to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.
"So…how do you to know each other anyways?"
Amaya sipped at her tea, and didn't reply, so they all looked towards Kurama.
He sighed. "I…well, I knew her as Youko." He looked towards her. "We were…close."
She sipped her tea again, and didn't reply.
Naomi got off the couch and crawled over to the silver-haired girl's side. She poked her in the cheek, and Amaya looked over at her.
"Mom, if that's the truth, then why the grumpy face?" She asked.
Amaya smiled. "You don't have to poke me!"
Naomi grinned. "That's better!"
Kurama looked as though his eyes couldn't possibly bug out more. "Mom?!"
Amaya smirked at him. "Yes. Mom."
"But - how - what - I mean, you - " Kurama started to jibber slightly, which caused everyone to give him an odd look.
The calm and collected Kurama was at a loss for words.
"Whoa…" Yusuke said. Kuwabara seconded the notion.
Hiei started to chuckle, then started laughing. Midori started to laugh as well, and she clutched her sides, tears of mirth running down her cheeks.
Naomi blinked, then said, "Okay…we have two psychos in the room."
"Kami-sama, this is priceless!" Midori managed before laughing again. She actually laughed so hard that she fell out of her chair.
Hiei just kept laughing.
"What's so funny?" Amaya asked. A faint silver aura started to surround her.
"Mom, calm down!" Naomi exclaimed. "You'll blow the house up!"
"Amaya-san, please!" Shishiwakamaru said. "Remember what happened last time!"
"Yeah!" Chuu said. "Don't blow up me 'ouse! I like me 'ouse!"
Amaya took a deep breath, and her aura settled. Kurama looked slightly pale and was still trying to form a logical sentence.
Shishiwakamaru sighed. "Look, obviously all of us are too emotional right now to talk. Let's just go to bed. We can talk about this in the morning."
~*~
Hiei stayed with Touya at his house, and Yusuke went with Jin. Kuwabara stayed at Chuu's, and Kurama went to Shishiwakamaru's. As it would turn out, Amaya and Naomi also lived with the blue-haired samurai.
But despite the fact that they were all in the same house, Amaya managed to ignore Kurama all the way there. And when they arrived, she went straight to her room.
Kurama just watched her go, still feeling rather hurt that she wouldn't even talk to him.
Naomi sighed. "Sorry about her. She gets that way sometimes. You shouldn't talk to her for a while. When mom gets emotional, her powers can go haywire. She once blew up an entire building because some guy tried to make a pass on her."
"She's that powerful now?" Kurama asked quietly.
Naomi nodded. "Yeah. She has to meditate daily just to keep them under minimal control."
She walked into the cottage, and looked back at him. "You coming, or are you going to stand outside all night?"
He quickly followed her. "So, why do you two live with Shishiwakamaru?"
"We've always lived with him, since before I was born. Mom says that he took her in after the fire."
"Fire?" Kurama repeated.
"She doesn't like to talk about it, so I don't know."
"Is…he your father?" Kurama asked. He was hoping that she wouldn't say that he was. He wouldn't be able to handle that.
Naomi shrugged. "Maybe. Mom never talks about who my father was. Or is. So I wouldn't know. But I've never seen them hug or kiss or anything, so it's probably not him."
"Oh."
Naomi walked into a room that appeared to be the kitchen. There was a low table set up in the middle of the room, and it had four cushions around it. There was an old wood stove, and a sink to wash dishes at. It was sparingly decorated. There was also an ice chest in the corner.
Naomi started rummaging through said ice chest, and Kurama sat down at the table.
"So, how do you know my mom? Were you two friends?" She asked, pulling out two sodas. She smiled and held one out to him, and he accepted.
"Well, we were…romantically involved." He said. This was a bit awkward for him, telling Amaya's daughter this.
She just grinned though. "Give me all the dirty details so I can blackmail her into getting me a new snowboard."
Kurama stared at her, surprised that she would want to blackmail her own mother.
"Uh…"
"Oh, come on!" She pleaded. "Please?"
"I'm sorry, but I really shouldn't."
She sighed. "Fine, fine. I can't make you tell me. Mom's got the dominance, not me."
Kurama looked down at his soda. "I didn't think that Makai had soda."
"We don't have soda here." Naomi said, taking a sip of hers. When he gave her an odd look, she elaborated. "When we all came back from the Ankoku Bujutsukai, we brought some home for mom because she couldn't come. She loves it."
Kurama blinked. "You were there?"
She nodded. "Uh-huh. Didn't get to watch any fights though. I went shopping."
"Shopping…?" He repeated.
"There was a really cool shop there. Sold lots of ningen clothes." She said.
"Naomi, are you going to bed?"
The two of them turned around, and saw Shishiwakamaru standing by the door.
She nodded. "As soon as I'm finished with my soda, Shishi."
"You'll need your rest."
"Right, right."
She stood, and smiled at Kurama. "Night, Kurama."
He couldn't help but smile back. "Goodnight, Naomi."
She walked past them, and gave Shishiwakamaru a quick hug before retiring to her room.
Shishiwakamaru then walked in, and took her place across from Kurama.
"Kurama, I know what you were to Amaya. But she's done her share of crying for you." He said in a dangerously calm voice.
"I never meant to hurt her." Kurama said. "No, I would never hurt her on purpose. Ever."
"I'm going to make sure that you don't." The blue-haired samurai said. "I want you to stay away from her while you're here."
"What?!" Kurama exclaimed. How dare he tell him to stay away from her!
"You've hurt her enough. Don't make it worse. She's over you now, Kurama."
Shishiwakamaru stood up. "Come on. I'll take you to your room."
Kurama growled and stood as well. It was entirely uncharacteristic of him to act this way, but he could feel Youko's conscience emerging and trying to gain dominance.
"You can't tell me what to do."
The blue-haired boy narrowed his eyes. "While she's under my care, I can prohibit you from interacting with her if I want to."
He turned and started walking down the hall. "Your room is the second door to the left. I'll kill you if you try to go anywhere near Amaya tonight."
Kurama growled again, and stormed to the room that the samurai had indicated.
How dare he tell him not to go near his own mate!
She's my mate…why is he acting like she's his?! She's mine…
Mine…
Or is she…?
He sighed and flopped face first onto the bed. He had no right to claim her as his anymore. It had been seventeen years since he had even seen her…
But it hurt.
He wanted her to be his, and he knew quite well that she was the cause of his darker half starting to awaken.
Damn…
He sighed and pulled the covers over himself. He could think things over in the morning. He was too tired now…
He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
~*~
Author's Notes : There we go! Amaya's back, and she's pretty pissed. Then again, wouldn't you be if you were in her place? Her practically-husband supposedly dies, and she walks into a room and BOOM! He's right there. I'd be just a little angry.
Thanks to those who reviewed!
Youko : T__T I like Kuronue too, but how could you like him better than Youko? Youko rocks! YOU'RE Youko, LOL!
FieryKitsune : I've seen as many episodes as have been released on DVD in the U.S. But I've read a lot about what's going to happen - like Youko flying around in the sky with pink butterfly wings. I can't wait to see THAT episode, LOL. Oh yeah, and Hiei's going to - oops! Almost gave it away. Sorry!
Sun Priestess : Remember? It hints that they did that, but it doesn't exactly say it outright. It basically says that they're getting dressed, and Kuronue asks him if they did, and Youko says yes. And I'm looking forward to the next chapter!
Dave : No…it's not. Why did you say that? How does it sound like a Naruto X-over? I like Naruto, but I haven't read enough to know how the characters would interact.
Story Weaver1 : Yes, she's immortal.
Shessha's Crazy : You'll find out who the father is in the next chapter.
Suzaku no miko : ^__^ Now you know! Amaya is Naomi's mother. The question is, who's the father? That's probably sounds like a stupid question, but it actually could be Shishiwakamaru. Ooohhhhhhhh…LOL.
miyako14 : I love Jin and Touya, and I needed a way to have them in the story.
jrairhead : I don't think that I've ever gotten a review from you before…hmmm, still, I'm happy! Thanks for reviewing!!
Kaze Tsukai : Hey!! You reviewed!! Oh, and please don't mention anything that's going to happen later on in the story - you'll give things away for everyone else.
Review!!!!
Chapter 2
~*~
They were all gathered in Chuu's house - Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, Suzuka, Jin, Touya, and Chuu himself. Shishiwakamaru had not yet arrived, and Naomi hadn't returned.
They were all sitting around the table, with the exception of Chuu, who sat on the couch at the side of the room, his feet propped up on the armrest.
"So, what's really up with these bugs?" Jin asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Well, they've already taken down several A-Class demons, which means that they must be either very strong, or they cannot be gotten rid of once they enter the body." Kurama said with a sigh.
The door suddenly opened, and three heavily bundled figures came in. One started pulling off the layers, to reveal Naomi. She shook out her wavy silver hair, and it reached down to her waist. She then started taking off her boots while the other two started with their headgear.
The second turned out to be Shishiwakamaru. The third started to unbundle, and Kurama's eyes widened.
The third was a girl with silver hair, which fell in sheets to her slim waist. She also had a silver crescent moon on her forehead, and bluish-green eyes, much like Naomi's. She didn't seem too pleased, and she glared at Midori.
Kurama stood, still speechless.
The girl's eyes fell on him, then widened as well.
"A…Amaya?" He breathed.
Her face suddenly went from surprised to enraged. She whirled to face the phoenix, and growled. "Midori, what kind of sick joke are you trying to play?"
Kurama was confused. What was she talking about?
"No joke! He just showed up!" Midori protested.
The girl turned back towards Kurama. "Then…it really is you…?"
He nodded. "Yes."
The sound echoed through the room as she slapped him with all of her might, causing all of its occupants to stare.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed.
He gingerly touched his cheek, eyes widened even further now. He looked back at her, still quite surprised.
"You didn't listen to me, and you got yourself killed, you bastard!" She continued. "And for the last seventeen years, I believed that you were dead! How come you didn't contact me, Kurama?! Or did you not care enough to even try?!"
"Amaya, if there had been a way, I would've!" He growled back. He was upset at the fact that she was so angry with him, despite the fact that it wasn't his fault. "Besides, I did die! My soul fled to the human world after I did!"
She seemed to want to retort, but instead sighed. She rubbed her temples.
"I'm going to go make some tea. I can't deal with this right now." She said. She turned and walked back into Chuu's kitchen, and everyone was silent.
"Uh…" Naomi started. "That was…interesting. Though I'm a little confused as to what just happened."
Shishiwakamaru followed Amaya into the kitchen, and Kurama sighed. He sat back down at the table, and Yusuke gave him a questioning look.
"You know her, Kurama?" He asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." He said quietly.
Naomi shrugged and walked over to the couch where Chuu was sitting. She smiled at him.
"Chuu-kun, can I sit on the couch too?"
He nodded, and quickly made space for her. She flopped down next to him, and sighed.
"So, what did you guys come here for?" She asked.
Yusuke glanced at Kurama, and saw that he probably wasn't in the mood to explain it.
"There's been an outbreak of a certain kind of bug here in Makai, and we need your help to round them up and take them down." He said.
"Oh." She replied.
An awkward silence befell the entire room, before Jin spoke up.
"So…how about that snow, eh?"
Touya glared at him to let him know that this was not the best time to talk about the weather. The wind master looked slightly dejected, but said no more.
Amaya and Shishiwakamaru came back out from the kitchen, and the former was carrying a tray with several small cups. She placed one in front of everyone, and wouldn't even meet Kurama's hurt gaze as she gave him his tea. She then moved to the opposite end of the table, and sat down. Shishiwakamaru sat down beside her.
Yusuke decided to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.
"So…how do you to know each other anyways?"
Amaya sipped at her tea, and didn't reply, so they all looked towards Kurama.
He sighed. "I…well, I knew her as Youko." He looked towards her. "We were…close."
She sipped her tea again, and didn't reply.
Naomi got off the couch and crawled over to the silver-haired girl's side. She poked her in the cheek, and Amaya looked over at her.
"Mom, if that's the truth, then why the grumpy face?" She asked.
Amaya smiled. "You don't have to poke me!"
Naomi grinned. "That's better!"
Kurama looked as though his eyes couldn't possibly bug out more. "Mom?!"
Amaya smirked at him. "Yes. Mom."
"But - how - what - I mean, you - " Kurama started to jibber slightly, which caused everyone to give him an odd look.
The calm and collected Kurama was at a loss for words.
"Whoa…" Yusuke said. Kuwabara seconded the notion.
Hiei started to chuckle, then started laughing. Midori started to laugh as well, and she clutched her sides, tears of mirth running down her cheeks.
Naomi blinked, then said, "Okay…we have two psychos in the room."
"Kami-sama, this is priceless!" Midori managed before laughing again. She actually laughed so hard that she fell out of her chair.
Hiei just kept laughing.
"What's so funny?" Amaya asked. A faint silver aura started to surround her.
"Mom, calm down!" Naomi exclaimed. "You'll blow the house up!"
"Amaya-san, please!" Shishiwakamaru said. "Remember what happened last time!"
"Yeah!" Chuu said. "Don't blow up me 'ouse! I like me 'ouse!"
Amaya took a deep breath, and her aura settled. Kurama looked slightly pale and was still trying to form a logical sentence.
Shishiwakamaru sighed. "Look, obviously all of us are too emotional right now to talk. Let's just go to bed. We can talk about this in the morning."
~*~
Hiei stayed with Touya at his house, and Yusuke went with Jin. Kuwabara stayed at Chuu's, and Kurama went to Shishiwakamaru's. As it would turn out, Amaya and Naomi also lived with the blue-haired samurai.
But despite the fact that they were all in the same house, Amaya managed to ignore Kurama all the way there. And when they arrived, she went straight to her room.
Kurama just watched her go, still feeling rather hurt that she wouldn't even talk to him.
Naomi sighed. "Sorry about her. She gets that way sometimes. You shouldn't talk to her for a while. When mom gets emotional, her powers can go haywire. She once blew up an entire building because some guy tried to make a pass on her."
"She's that powerful now?" Kurama asked quietly.
Naomi nodded. "Yeah. She has to meditate daily just to keep them under minimal control."
She walked into the cottage, and looked back at him. "You coming, or are you going to stand outside all night?"
He quickly followed her. "So, why do you two live with Shishiwakamaru?"
"We've always lived with him, since before I was born. Mom says that he took her in after the fire."
"Fire?" Kurama repeated.
"She doesn't like to talk about it, so I don't know."
"Is…he your father?" Kurama asked. He was hoping that she wouldn't say that he was. He wouldn't be able to handle that.
Naomi shrugged. "Maybe. Mom never talks about who my father was. Or is. So I wouldn't know. But I've never seen them hug or kiss or anything, so it's probably not him."
"Oh."
Naomi walked into a room that appeared to be the kitchen. There was a low table set up in the middle of the room, and it had four cushions around it. There was an old wood stove, and a sink to wash dishes at. It was sparingly decorated. There was also an ice chest in the corner.
Naomi started rummaging through said ice chest, and Kurama sat down at the table.
"So, how do you know my mom? Were you two friends?" She asked, pulling out two sodas. She smiled and held one out to him, and he accepted.
"Well, we were…romantically involved." He said. This was a bit awkward for him, telling Amaya's daughter this.
She just grinned though. "Give me all the dirty details so I can blackmail her into getting me a new snowboard."
Kurama stared at her, surprised that she would want to blackmail her own mother.
"Uh…"
"Oh, come on!" She pleaded. "Please?"
"I'm sorry, but I really shouldn't."
She sighed. "Fine, fine. I can't make you tell me. Mom's got the dominance, not me."
Kurama looked down at his soda. "I didn't think that Makai had soda."
"We don't have soda here." Naomi said, taking a sip of hers. When he gave her an odd look, she elaborated. "When we all came back from the Ankoku Bujutsukai, we brought some home for mom because she couldn't come. She loves it."
Kurama blinked. "You were there?"
She nodded. "Uh-huh. Didn't get to watch any fights though. I went shopping."
"Shopping…?" He repeated.
"There was a really cool shop there. Sold lots of ningen clothes." She said.
"Naomi, are you going to bed?"
The two of them turned around, and saw Shishiwakamaru standing by the door.
She nodded. "As soon as I'm finished with my soda, Shishi."
"You'll need your rest."
"Right, right."
She stood, and smiled at Kurama. "Night, Kurama."
He couldn't help but smile back. "Goodnight, Naomi."
She walked past them, and gave Shishiwakamaru a quick hug before retiring to her room.
Shishiwakamaru then walked in, and took her place across from Kurama.
"Kurama, I know what you were to Amaya. But she's done her share of crying for you." He said in a dangerously calm voice.
"I never meant to hurt her." Kurama said. "No, I would never hurt her on purpose. Ever."
"I'm going to make sure that you don't." The blue-haired samurai said. "I want you to stay away from her while you're here."
"What?!" Kurama exclaimed. How dare he tell him to stay away from her!
"You've hurt her enough. Don't make it worse. She's over you now, Kurama."
Shishiwakamaru stood up. "Come on. I'll take you to your room."
Kurama growled and stood as well. It was entirely uncharacteristic of him to act this way, but he could feel Youko's conscience emerging and trying to gain dominance.
"You can't tell me what to do."
The blue-haired boy narrowed his eyes. "While she's under my care, I can prohibit you from interacting with her if I want to."
He turned and started walking down the hall. "Your room is the second door to the left. I'll kill you if you try to go anywhere near Amaya tonight."
Kurama growled again, and stormed to the room that the samurai had indicated.
How dare he tell him not to go near his own mate!
She's my mate…why is he acting like she's his?! She's mine…
Mine…
Or is she…?
He sighed and flopped face first onto the bed. He had no right to claim her as his anymore. It had been seventeen years since he had even seen her…
But it hurt.
He wanted her to be his, and he knew quite well that she was the cause of his darker half starting to awaken.
Damn…
He sighed and pulled the covers over himself. He could think things over in the morning. He was too tired now…
He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
~*~
Author's Notes : There we go! Amaya's back, and she's pretty pissed. Then again, wouldn't you be if you were in her place? Her practically-husband supposedly dies, and she walks into a room and BOOM! He's right there. I'd be just a little angry.
Thanks to those who reviewed!
Youko : T__T I like Kuronue too, but how could you like him better than Youko? Youko rocks! YOU'RE Youko, LOL!
FieryKitsune : I've seen as many episodes as have been released on DVD in the U.S. But I've read a lot about what's going to happen - like Youko flying around in the sky with pink butterfly wings. I can't wait to see THAT episode, LOL. Oh yeah, and Hiei's going to - oops! Almost gave it away. Sorry!
Sun Priestess : Remember? It hints that they did that, but it doesn't exactly say it outright. It basically says that they're getting dressed, and Kuronue asks him if they did, and Youko says yes. And I'm looking forward to the next chapter!
Dave : No…it's not. Why did you say that? How does it sound like a Naruto X-over? I like Naruto, but I haven't read enough to know how the characters would interact.
Story Weaver1 : Yes, she's immortal.
Shessha's Crazy : You'll find out who the father is in the next chapter.
Suzaku no miko : ^__^ Now you know! Amaya is Naomi's mother. The question is, who's the father? That's probably sounds like a stupid question, but it actually could be Shishiwakamaru. Ooohhhhhhhh…LOL.
miyako14 : I love Jin and Touya, and I needed a way to have them in the story.
jrairhead : I don't think that I've ever gotten a review from you before…hmmm, still, I'm happy! Thanks for reviewing!!
Kaze Tsukai : Hey!! You reviewed!! Oh, and please don't mention anything that's going to happen later on in the story - you'll give things away for everyone else.
Review!!!!