--I'm very sorry for the extremely long wait, but I have had no inspiration for this story in a long time. Sorry. I have some ideas again, but not many. Let's see what I can type out for you today.--
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As the sunlight entered the room, the emerald eyed man blinked as he awoke to the new day. Stretching out his back, he rose off his futon and walked over to the kitchen. To his surprise, Kurama found Naomi already awake and at work on their breakfast. "May I assist you in any way?"

With a small gasp, she turned to him. "Kurama, good morning. I didn't realize you were awake yet."

"I'm sorry if I startled you. I had no intention of doing so."

With a wave of her hand, she smiled at him. "It's quite alright. I sometimes forget I have other people on the shrine grounds besides myself."

At that moment, there was a knock on Naomi's kitchen door. Both turned to look at it as she walked over and opened the door for whoever was there. "Hai?"

"Naomi-sama, I have word from Natas."

Nodding her head, she moved aside. "Come on in, Kaiyo. We were just about to have something to eat. Would you care to join us?"

The man with raven hair and blue-green eyes entered the kitchen, smiling at the young miko. "I don't have too long, since I have to hunt down the other teams, but I also brought these for you, Naomi-sama." From behind his back, Kaiyo pulled out three red roses, handing them to her with a slight blush on his face.

Naomi looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh, Kye, they're beautiful. Are they from your garden?"

"Hai, but they look nothing more than weeds compared to you." The man looked away from her, his blush increasing.

As the miko smiled at him, Kurama stood there less than pleased. 'It appears I am not the only one to notice Naomi. This will make things difficult if he has already altered her heart.' Clearing his throat, Kurama gained Naomi and the man's attention.

"Oh! Forgive me. Kaiyo, this is Kurama, one of the fighters staying here… and a friend of mine."

Kurama smiled at that, seeing the man looking a little upset. "I didn't realize you befriended one of them."

Naomi glared at him. "Don't say things like that. It makes you sound ignorant. Every fighter still has a spirit, soul and heart. That's all I need to know."

Shaking his head, Kaiyo sighed. "I don't know why you bother. Every time you befriend one of them, they end up dying anyway. It's better to keep yourself unattached than to be depressed when they die in front of your eyes."

A small smile graced her lips. "I don't expect you to understand my logic, but something's telling me I'm supposed to be looking for someone. It's as if I'm supposed to find my other half, that a part of myself is missing because this person is gone. I don't know why this is. I mean I don't remember anyone from home that I long for, but I know I've met them back there." Shaking her head, she turned to look at the both of them. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I just speak my thoughts a little too well, confusing others."

The red haired fox demon shook his head slightly, trying to hold back a wide smile. "Do not apologize for speaking your thoughts. You might one day find your answers that way."

Kye gave a quick glare at the other male before stepping forward a bit, seemingly to prove he was closer to the miko than Kurama. "Before I forget, Naomi-sama, Natas sent me to inform the fighters the first round will begin today at noon."

Naomi looked at him wide eyed. "That doesn't give us much time at all! It's nearly nine now. Did he give the location this time?"

Shaking his head, he continued, "The location shall be shown when all of them meet in the center of the village."

"That is a bit strange, but Natas always did have strange tastes. Alright, I'll have them all there at noon. You don't happen to know the order, do you?"

"As far as I know, he's letting the teams decide who goes when."

"Like the Dark Tournament?" Both Naomi and Kaiyo looked at Kurama in slight confusion.

"You know of the Dark Tournament?" the miko asked in an unsure voice.

"My team and I participated in it."

Blinking in surprise, Naomi looked confused. "How can that be?" Shaking her head, she turned back to her friend. "Sorry, Kye. I'm afraid I've kept you too long. I believe all the other fighters are staying at the Inn."

"Arigatou, Naomi-sama. I'll see you at noon." With a slight wave, he glared at our favorite fox demon before heading out into the village.

Closing the door, Naomi turned towards him. "We must wake everyone up and let them know what's going on." He only nodded his head as Kurama headed towards Yusuke and Kuwabara's room while she went to wake up Botan. When the miko came back into the living room, Hiei was sitting on the couch, arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed and one leg crossed over the other. She smiled. "I'm going to assume you heard everything and know what's going on."

The demon opened his eyes and glared at the floor before letting out a small "keh". The miko just smiled, which annoyed the hell out of him. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he questioned, "What are you smirking at?"

"Apparently nothing."

Finally turning towards her, Hiei narrowed his eyes. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Sitting beside him, which also aggravated the demon, Naomi sighed. "Well, since I was, as you say, smirking at you, obviously I'm saying you're nothing."

Openly glaring at this… female, Hiei responded coldly, "You are in no position to talk, miko."

"Back to the formalities? Sorry to disappoint you, Hiei, but I'm stronger than you give me credit for."

Raising one eyebrow, he snorted. "What, going to sick your pathetic boyfriend on me?"

Confusion over took her features, but was replaced with a small smile. "So you heard more than I thought. For your information, though it is none of your business, Kye is just a friend of mine in the village. He was one of the first people I met here."

On that note, Kurama entered the room right as she told Hiei her answer, causing a small smile to appear on his face. 'So he isn't with her. That still gives me a chance to make her remember.'

"Kurama? You alright? You look a little dazed."

Shaking his head, the said demon walked over to where the miko sat. "I'm fine. Just thinking…"

A look of understanding entered her eyes as she let the matter go. "I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me into the forest. Since the first battles are today, I figured I better stock up on my herbs. I have a feeling there will be a lot of injuries to tend to."

"I would be honored to accompany you."

After a few seconds of Kurama just looking into her eyes, Hiei had had enough. "Hmph. I would gag at this touching moment, but it would be a waste of precise energy."

"I'm surprised you even know what a touching moment is, Hiei, since you have the emotional capacity of a rock." Before he could give a response, she turned to the fox demon with a smile on her face. "Let's be off then. We only have so much time and I can't just waste it standing here exchanging insults with this pathetic excuse for a demon." Grabbing his hand, Naomi pulled a wide eyed Kurama towards the door. As she was walking, she called over her shoulder to the fuming black haired man, "Hiei, be a dear and let the others know there's some breakfast in the kitchen. That's a good boy. Buh bye."

With that, the two left the home, leaving Hiei to plot just how many ways he would love to kill the miko.

-Flashback -

(A/N: If you have not seen the 2nd Yu Yu Hakusho movie, none of this will make any sense. CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! For those that have seen it, pay attention to the small changes towards the end. This is about two weeks after Kurama left the shrine.)

Stepping out of the elevator shaft, Kurama looked around, determined to finish this unsettled business. 'I thought Kuronue died all those years ago. I don't remember betraying him, but trying to save him instead. I can't just stand by and watch him try to destroy the human world like this. All the people… Naomi…'

Looking out into the fog, Kurama stood guard as a boat whistle sound blew in the air. 'He's close. I can feel it.' He started to walk a bit when a familiar voice broke through the mist.

"You are truly despicable." Kurama stopped and looked behind him as his partner twirled his pendant around his hand. "In the past, you fled and left me to die. Now, you are trying to destroy our dream, my old friend." Kuronue threw his scythe at the fox demon, which he drop out of the way of.

Standing with a comfortable distance between them, the fox demon tried to talk to his old partner. "Kuronue, it is true I could not rescue you that day, but please believe this. I- I tried, I really tried."

"Silence!" Through the mist which had engulfed the other demon, four other scythes came whirling at him. Jumping and flipping out of the way caused Kurama's previous wound to reopen once again, blood spreading through his clothing. Wincing in pain, another scythe came for him. "Don't do this." Reaching behind his neck, he pulled out a rose. "Rose whip." He deflected the attack, but his wound was still severe.

An amused laugh came through the fog. "What's wrong? You're not fighting back."

Kurama fell to his knees as the pain coursed through him. "Kuronue, what you are trying to do now is wrong."

This angered the other demon. "You say it's wrong? How dare you say that?" Pulling back his weapon, he hid in the mist once again."

Kurama looked around. "Listen to me, Kuronue".

The demon came from above, directly over our fox demon. "Shut your mouth!" Using his scythe, he slashed into Kurama's right side as he tried to defend himself, drawing a fair amount of blood and sending the red haired demon back.

"You still haven't remembered, have you?" Kuronue step before the fallen male. He began to swing his pendant back and forth for Kurama to see. "You left me." He continued swinging the pendant as our fox demon clutched his side in pain. "You trader. Trader. Trader. Trader… TRADER!!"

Another scythe hit him right above his left leg, cutting him deeply. "Ahh." Kurama fell back at the attack. As he was trying to rise to his feet, his old partner stood not far away. "Now, you can make up for your ugly past."

"I-I didn't…"

Still twirling the pendant, he laughed a bit. "What's wrong? Are you going to try and kill me so as to save yourself again?" The demon laughed once again at the fallen ex-thief.

Struggling to stand, Kurama glared at him. 'No, you're wrong. That time, your pendant…"

Catching the pendant in his hand, the demon continued. "With this scythe, I will now cleanse your pathetic soul." With that, he threw the pendant at the fox demon.

Startled, Kurama's eyes went wide. "What's this?"

That's when it hit him. 'This is all wrong. It's an illusion, a fake. The pendant…I gave it to…'A vision of Naomi's face appeared in his mind at that moment. 'That's right…How had I forgotten in all of this?'

The demon held two scythes in his hands, preparing himself to attack. "Now, I finish you." With that, the mist overtook him again, giving him the element of surprise.

Kurama stayed in his crouched position, supporting himself with one knee on the ground. Reaching behind his hair, he pulled out a twig with leaves on it. "Kuronue, please give me strength." He waited until he could tell where the demon would attack.

From above and behind, it came down, ready to attack the so called oblivious victim. "Now die."

In a gasp of pain, he dropped his scythe to the ground, a sword going through him from the smaller demon below. "You… you…"

"The one with the ugly, rotten soul is you! You are not my old friend Kuronue!" Kurama turned to face this fraud as he took out his sword. "Show me your true form!"

Gasping in pain, the creature transformed from the familiar face of a fallen partner to a hideous monster. "How did you discover my trick?"

Picking himself up, Kurama faced this creature. "I could tell. First off, Kuronue always carried this pendant with him. He would never just throw it away. Once more, no matter what the circumstances, he would never attack an enemy from the rear." Anger swelled up all around him as he appeared to be engulfed in a yellow flame. The enemy threw his scythe at him one more time, just missing as Kurama advanced. "Kuronue risked his own life telling me to run away. You twisted my memories of our friendship!"

With full out anger coursing through him, Kurama let out a cry as he released his power, killing the demon as bamboo shoots shot up from the ground. With a final cry, the demon died in a blazing light from above a now somewhat forest.

Kurama stood there, letting the leaves fall all around him. 'Besides, about two weeks ago, I gave that pendant to someone special. There's no way he could have had it if I kept it all these years.'

"So even someone as calm as you occasionally gets angry. Hmm…that's good to know." Hiei walked over to his friend through the mist and trees.

The red haired demon looked at him before turning his eyes to the ground. "Not being able to rescue Kuronue that day…"

"Kurama," the said demon looked over at his friend. "There is no one who does not carry scars on his heart. If there were someone in the world like that, he would be a shallow soul." With that said, Hiei walked away, back towards his teammates.

Yusuke stood there with Kuwabara and Hinageshi as Hiei just kept walking. The black haired human nodded at him. "Let's go."

"Yes," Kurama said with determination. 'The sooner we end this, the sooner I can go back to her, the one that takes over my thoughts. It is for her that I fight, to protect her. Naomi…'

-End Flashback-

"Kurama? Are you alright?"

The said demon shook his head to clear his mind. "Sorry."

The miko's eyes softened as she looked at him. "Remembering things again?" When he nodded, she sighed. "I'm so sorry Natas has done such a horrible thing to you. From what I know thus far, you do not deserve any of this. I hope you get what you have lost back."

Looking into her sympathetic violet eyes, Kurama nodded. "As do I."

"I'll do all I can to help, but there's only so much I can do."

"I know and I thank you for that. Just being with you is helpful."

Naomi blushed slightly at that comment, moving deeper into the forest to cover up this fact. He followed her as they continued their search for necessary herbs. A certain plant caught his eye. "Over here. There's one you over looked." Waiting until she came to stand beside him, Kurama pulled it up and handed it to her to examine.

"I do not recognize this one. What does it do?"

With a soft smile, he placed his hand on top of the herb, thus on top of hers. "I have used this plant twice in order to create a paste or coating medicine. It is used for severe wounds you would not expect to become infected, but come from a certain type of demon's slashes. Their claws hold some kind of poison and once in the blood, can become very dangerous."

As their hands touched, a bit of pink graced her cheeks. Naomi kept her head to the side so he could not see, but it was in vain. Suddenly, she reached up with her other hand and placed it on her forehead, groaning a bit. Panicked, Kurama took hold of both her shoulders. "Naomi, are you alright?"

Moving her hand away after a moment, the miko nodded. "I'm fine. Just a small headache, I think. It's gone now."

Shaking his head, Kurama stood, bringing her to rise to her feet as well. "Regardless, I think we should head back to the shrine now. There's no telling what those guys will do when left alone for a long period of time."

"Hai. Thank you again for coming with me. I don't think I would have found as many herbs without you."

Raising one eyebrow, he looked at her as they walked back toward the shrine. "How did you know I was good with healing plants and herbs?"

She paused a moment before answering. "I actually don't know. Instinct I guess."

"Right." Without anymore questions, the two headed back, a large collection of herbs in hand. Both were deep in thoughts and dared not to disrupt each other. 'If what I think is true, every familiar thing we do together from the past will spark something from her memory. If this is the case, it may not be as hopeless as I thought.'

However, the young miko's thoughts were different. 'What was that I felt in the forest? My heart seemed to skip a beat when he covered my hand with his own. It was as if… But if this is so, who is this silver haired demon who's face I cannot see? And why does my heart long to see him?'

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And thus, the problems continue to arise. It seems Naomi's memory might be coming back, but which one? Kurama can't catch a break, can he? Sorry to those who have not seen the 2nd movie, thus not understanding the flashback. Remember, Kurama went back home for a reason. This was the new mission he had to go on. Leave a review if you are confused, or just to tell me your honest opinion on this one. Sorry it's been so long! Hopefully I'm back for awhile, though things aren't going well. I'll try! And sorry about the stupid -- things. FF.net won't let me save my usual symbols. Ja ne!!!