Warnings: Knowledge of Yu Yu Hakusho necessary. My fics are based on the original comics, not on the animated series.
Author's Notes: Sequel to Yuugou Hakusho, Yuujyou Hakusho, and Prelude to a Quartet. Please read my bio page for details. Takes place shortly after the incident with Sensui and the Makai tunnel.
Death Becomes Him - Part 1
The problems caused by his first death almost seemed insignificant compared to those caused by his second death. Actually, they weren't so much problems, as they were a feeling of having completely lost focus.
Yuusuke hadn't cared too much about the life he'd left behind when the car accident had killed him less than a year ago. At that time, he'd felt that everything in his life pretty much sucked. If he hadn't witnessed Keiko's and his mother's grief over his death, and that of the mother of the boy he had saved, he wouldn't have even accepted the challenge to be brought back to life. So he earned the right to return to his body, only to learn that he had been unwittingly recruited as a Reikai detective... But that hadn't been much of a problem. It cut into his life somewhat, but it let him fight challenging demons, and since fighting was practically a hobby, and missing school was a blessing, he had accepted the position without much fuss. And it gave him the opportunity to acquire strength and skills he might not otherwise have gained.
But his second death... with it came tremendous power and an incredible heritage. And those came at a cost. The Reikai now considered him the most dangerous being in the Ningenkai and treated him like a time bomb. They had wanted to trap him in the Makai when he had gone there to battle Sensui. But Koenma gave him a choice. And once again, thoughts of Keiko helped him to make his decision. Demon or not, the one he wanted belonged to the Ningenkai, so that was where he would be as well.
Yet, he'd now had time to regret his decision.
The Ningenkai was of course his home. He was born here, grew up here, met his few friends here... Just because some ancestor had slept with a demon a long, long, long time ago, that didn't erase the fact that he had been human for the first fifteen years of his life. And just because that demon still happened to be alive, that didn't mean his human parents suddenly stopped mattering. Well, his father had skipped out long ago, and Yuusuke had no desire to ever see that abusive man again... and his mother spent too much time drunk... but they were still unmistakably his parents, and unmistakably human.
But the fact remained that he was now a demon, whether he wanted to be or not. And while still weak by S-class standards, he could take on a whole schoolyard of thugs with his hands tied behind his back. Literally. Yuusuke sighed and surveyed the unconscious bodies around him. It had been no challenge at all. A whole group of bloodthirsty bullies, all larger and taller than he was, and most of them armed with sticks. He had beaten them all while constrained by ropes.
The Ningenkai simply was not enough.
So what does one do to get the blood going again? Especially when one's heart is no longer beating...
"Well, Yuusuke, you came back because there are people here you care about," said Kurama, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the branches swaying above them. It was May, and the branches were full of lush green leaves. Yuusuke smiled to himself as he glanced at the tall young man. Kurama always seemed the most relaxed around plant life.
"I know," responded Yuusuke, "but it's been just over a week, and I'm already wondering if I shouldn't have stayed in the Makai."
"You've had a taste of the Makai, and now it's calling to you," Kurama said quietly, still watching the branches. They were sitting on the low wall beside the steps leading up to the train station. The crowd mostly ignored the two young men chatting quietly.
Yuusuke turned to face him, amazed. "Yeah, that's exactly it, Kurama." He shook his head. "I mean, I'm also dissatisfied with the weak humans around me... but, it's like a pull... I feel drawn to the Makai."
Kurama shifted his gaze to the young man seated next to him, a crooked smile on his lips. "I know exactly how you feel, Yuusuke."
Of course you do... Yuusuke realized with a shock. Kurama had been in the same sort of situation for much longer. For sixteen years, the displaced fox demon had been living among fragile humans, unable to return to the demon realm.
"How have you dealt with this feeling for so long?" Yuusuke asked.
"I didn't have a choice in the beginning, remember? I still had to recover from my physical death and regain my strength in a new body. I had no choice but to be patient."
"Man, I don't know if I could've done that," said Yuusuke, staring at Kurama with a newfound respect. Patience had never been one of his strengths. He acted as soon as a thought occurred to him.
"Maybe not, but you also haven't lived long enough to be able to call a decade a short span of time," Kurama smiled.
"I guess not." Yuusuke looked the young man over. "But you were there with me. That place is full of energy. I could just smell the challenge... How can you sit here so calmly knowing we gave up our only chance to be there?" Kurama was displaying nothing but calmness and tranquility. Even when he was facing death, Yuusuke had never seen him ruffled. It was somewhat irritating.
"First, the most important thing in my life right now is here. I made a promise to myself to stay for as long as Kaasan needs me and loves me." He paused. Then he gave Yuusuke a sly smile. "And, unlike you, in this form, I can still pass through to the Makai. I don't know how long that will last, but for now, it's not a problem."
"Shit, you're right. Totally not fair, man..."
"Also, I've never been one to go looking for a fight," Kurama said seriously, gazing into Yuusuke's eyes.
"What are you talking about? I'm not looking for a fight," Yuusuke denied.
The beautiful young man tilted his head. "Really? Then why do you want to go to the Makai?"
"I..." Yuusuke began, than stopped, uncertain how to continue. What did he want of the Makai? Stimulation. That's what life here was lacking. And having to always beware of how he handled humans was grating on his nerves. He wanted a challenge, and the freedom to be himself without feeling like he was walking on eggshells... And he wanted to have a word with that demon who had interfered with his fight against Sensui... Damnit... He looked at Kurama, annoyed. "Damnit, why are you always right?"
"Because I'm an old geezer who knows better than you," the long haired young man responded with a wink. Yuusuke snorted. Kurama laughed lightly, then stopped, sighing. "But Yuusuke, I want you to think seriously before you go running off to the Makai. There could be serious repercussions."
"That's the problem, though, Kurama," said Yuusuke, exasperated. "I can't go running off to the Makai."
"Oh, you never know," Kurama said. "I don't think the Reikai will sit quietly for much longer while an S-class demon just hangs out in the Ningenkai, becoming more frustrated with each passing day. There's nothing worse than a frustrated, bored, S-class demon, after all."
Frustrated and bored. Yes, he was definitely both. "Kurama, is there something wrong with me? I mean, for wanting to go off and pick fights with demons?"
Kurama looked at the young man for a long moment. Then he shook his head. "No, Yuusuke, there's nothing wrong with you. Fighting is in your blood. Yours is a particularly bellicose demon race. It's natural for you to want to fight."
Yuusuke raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Then how about before I became a demon? I've always liked a good fight."
"Just because they were dormant, it doesn't mean that your demon genes couldn't have had some effect on you while you were still human," suggested Kurama.
Leave it to Kurama to have an answer for everything! Yuusuke smiled, feeling better than he had for days. It was good to be understood, to know that someone thought his feelings were natural.
"Kurama," Yuusuke said, slapping him on the shoulder, "I'm glad I came to talk with you."
Kurama smiled. "Well, I can't say I approve of you cutting school just so you could catch me before I went home, but I'm glad you came, too."
Yuusuke snorted. "Yeah, right, like you're one to get on my case about cutting school..."
"I have always had a good reason," protested Kurama.
Yuusuke laughed. "I guess we'll have to call saving mankind twice a good reason..." Kurama laughed as well.
"Besides, my grades have never suffered," he added mischievously.
Yuusuke rolled his eyes. "Geek," he muttered under his breath. Kurama raised an eyebrow. Then he started laughing again. Yuusuke joined him, feeling quite good just then.
Yuusuke was seriously beginning to feel like an unwanted guest. First, Koenma sent him to talk with Genkai, after hinting that Enma Daiou was probably making plans to deal with Yuusuke. Then, Genkai told him to go see Kuroko Sanada, former Reikai detective. But as with his talk with Kurama, visiting Genkai had left Yuusuke with a few things to ponder. He thought it was ridiculous of the old lady to offer her life if he ever felt like destroying the world. He could never kill his mentor! Yet, the point she had made was a valid one.
Every person has something they could destroy on a whim. It could be a toy, a pet, a lover, a family, a country... Your something just happens to be much bigger than every one else's...
What if he was suddenly struck with the urge to destroy everything around him? It wouldn't be difficult, if the mood struck him. Or what if his demon genes took over again, and he went on some destructive rampage here in the Ningenkai?
What if he unknowingly killed the few humans who actually meant something to him?
What was that quote Kurama had once mentioned...? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Well, Yuusuke had no intention of being a corrupt demon.
And yet, from the human point of view, was there any other type of demon? For here stood Kuroko, a serious and almost frightened look on her face.
"You should go to the Makai. It would be for the best," she said. She didn't take her eyes off of him as she continued. "I don't feel that someone who can just stand here and refer to humans as food can be considered a member of humanity."
Yuusuke listened to her words without anger. It was true. He hadn't thought twice about those demons' dining preferences... "...You're probably right," he responded.
"I wasn't going to tell you," said Kuroko, "but a Reikai messenger came to me earlier with orders to kill you."
Koenma had been right. Enma Daiou was out to get him.
"I refused the order," Kuroko went on, "but I called Genkai Shihan afterwards and asked her about you. She told me that I would understand you once I met you. And she was right. Having met you, I was relieved."
She paused. Yuusuke remained silent.
"But now," continued Kuroko, "I fear you."
Yuusuke stared at the tall woman, uneasiness rising in his stomach. She wasn't talking about the kind of fear he'd caused for years as a juvenile delinquent. This was serious fear bordering on terror. The kind of fear that created lynch mobs and mass hysteria...
"I can't trust you like Genkai Shihan does," said Kuroko. "I fear that if you remain here, my children will have to fight against you some day." She sighed. "I can't help you."
Her statement reminded Yuusuke of the fear he himself had been carrying, that he might unwittingly harm his mother or Keiko some day. He was already sounding like a demon, casually discussing humans as a food source... What next?
"I understand," Yuusuke said. "Thanks anyway." He turned to go, head full of thoughts he needed to sort through.
"Yuusuke-kun, wait," said a man's voice. Yuusuke turned to see Shougo Satoh approaching him from the house.
The mild-mannered man's look was serious. "I refrained from mentioning it earlier because it had come through so clearly," he said, hesitating slightly, "but the reading I did for you showed that you will have a major separation in your life."
Yuusuke's eyes widened.
"A separation from friends, comrades of war, actually," the man continued, "involving bloodshed..."