Genkai sat with Yusuke and the others in her temple. Yukina and Botan were trying their best to make Sazume and Kairi comfortable in another room, but so far, their efforts didn't seem to have any effect.
For the moment, there was silence among the group. Genkai silently sipped her tea while Yusuke kept throwing uneasy glances at Akira, who he didn't seem to trust at all. Akira was meditating, or something like it, sitting perfectly still with her eyes closed while Hiei watched her from his spot leaning against the wall in the corner. Kuwabara was fidgety and nervous, constantly looking back at the door as he wished he could leave and be by Yukina's side. Kurama was silently staring at the floor. He hadn't said anything since they had brought Kairi to the temple and was lost deep in thought at the moment. That is why everyone was mildly surprised when he spoke first.
"Akira," he said, looking up at her, "you seemed worried about something when you looked at Kairi's data on the computer in Nightmare's lab. What were you concerned about?"
Akira sighed. "It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand all aspects of the fusion. In fact, I'm not even sure if it really is a problem. But, in any case, I'm sure Koenma will be able to explain everything when he gets here."
"Pacifier breath is coming?" Yusuke asked, looking up.
"Yes," Genkai informed them as she set her cup down. "I contacted him shortly after you got here."
"But that was a half hour ago! What the hell's taking him so long?!" Yusuke cried.
"Hey! You think it's easy putting everything on hold so I can come chit-chat with you?!" a teenage Koenma barked from behind Yusuke, making the Spirit Detective jump five feet in the air.
"Don't do that!" Yusuke yelled, once he had regained his footing. Koenma only smiled.
"Sit down Dimwit!" Genkai ordered. Yusuke turned to her, looking like he was about to say something.
"We don't have time for you to stand there arguing," Akira said before he had a chance to say whatever he had been planning to. "If I'm right, we have very little time at all. So sit down and shut up!" Yusuke glanced at her, but caught the dangerous look in her steely eyes and thought better of saying anything. Instead, he sat down.
"What do you mean 'very little time at all?' What's wrong?" Kuwabara asked.
"It's complicated," Koenma said with a sigh. The others were quite, so he continued. "You see, when Nightmare captures a demon they are going to use for the Demonic Fusion, they knock the demon out so it doesn't remember it's death."
"Why does that matter?" Yusuke asked.
"Well...it's like dreaming. You can't die in a dream because if you did, your body would think that you had really died and shut down. The same is true for a human fused with a demon who remembers its death. Once fused, the human has all of the demon's memories. If the human were to remember their demon counterpart's death, it would be like dying in a dream. Their bodies would believe they had died and they would die," Koenma explained.
"But I remember my death," Yusuke said.
"Idiot," Hiei grunted. "Your body died, so the memory isn't a problem. But a fused human's body has most likely never died, and the memory of death would kill them."
"What does that have to do with Kairi?" Kuwabara asked, afraid that he already knew the answer.
"We did some research on the demon Kairi was fused with. Her name was Sanga, and she wasn't sedated when she died. She remembers her death," Koenma said solemnly. There was silence in the room for a moment.
"I know," Yusuke said, breaking the silence. "Why don't you let her die and then bring her back. Then her body will have died and it wont be a problem."
"Stupid, you can't do that!" Akira cried, standing up.
"Why not?" Yusuke asked.
"Listen," Akira said, "Kairi's body is the only thing keeping those spirits fused. If her body dies and the spirits are released, their become two separate entities again and go their separate ways. You'd have to find them both before you could bring her back, because her body has now adapted to house both spirits and wont function properly with one and not the other. And besides all that, even if you could find both spirits, they'd have to be fused again, and there isn't a being in any of the worlds that can take two fusions. Most likely, the souls would simply rip each other apart."
"I assume you already have something in mind," Genkai said calmly, eyeing Koenma.
"Yes, in fact, I do. Where is Kairi now?" Koenma answered.
"Follow me!" Kuwabara declared as he jumped up, overjoyed at an excuse to see Yukina. Kuwabara lead them to the door of the room Kairi was sleeping in and slid the door opened. Inside, Kairi was lying on a futon while Yukina bent over her, laying a cold cloth on her head. Kairi did not look in good shape. She was pale and covered in sweat and her breathing was ragged and almost painful to listen to.
"Yukina! How are you doing, my love?" Kuwabara cried.
"She's not the one we're worried about!" Akira cried irritably, giving Kuwabara a good punch to the back of the head that caused him to stumble half-conscious to the ground.
"Kazuma!" Yukina cried as she turned her attention to the hurt, love-sick boy who was now couching on the floor.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she began to heal the bump on his head.
"Don't answer that!" Akira warned as Kuwabara opened his mouth. He promptly shut it.
"What exactly are you planning to do?" Kurama asked Koenma as the toddler in teenage form knelt by Kairi's side.
"Seal her memories," Koenma explained as he placed his hands, palms down, over Kairi's head.
"But, doesn't she need to know who she is and stuff?" Yusuke asked.
"I'm not sealing all of them," Koenma said, as golden light began to flow from his hands, "just Sanga's memories. Oh, and as a bonus, I think she could do without a certain childhood trauma for a while as well."
"You mean when her mom died?" Kuwabara asked, Yukina having finished healing his head. Koenma only nodded. As they watched, the golden light thinned and became a thread. The thread circled Kairi's head, brushing against skin or hair now and again. Then, the threads began to come together near her left ear. They twisted together, forming a gold chain and attached itself to the black fur of her new cat ear. The light faded and Kairi was left with a gold chain earring that ran the length of her ear, attached by two gold studs on each end, one near the base of her ear and the other at the top.
"That must never be removed or broken," Koenma said, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some very important business to get back to. I only have fifteen minutes to get back before 'Friends' starts." And with that, Koenma disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
-()-()-()
It wasn't until several days later that Kairi became aware of herself again. She was silent, staring at the inside of her eyelids and wondering if she had the strength to open them. Slowly, she cracked one opened. Dark. She opened the other eye and blinked them both several times as she took in her surroundings. She was alone in a plain room, lying on a futon.
She tried to sit up and was forced to bite back a cry as pain exploded from virtually every part of her body. After a few more minutes of pain, gritted teeth, and suppressed cries, she was finally able to reach a sitting position. As she looked around her, she noticed something long and black curling by one of her legs. She reached out a bandaged hand and picked it up. It felt bony and alive, like it was part of something else. Wondering where it had come from, she gave it a tug, and yelped in pain.
She was quiet for a moment, not wanting to believe what she suspected was true about this black thing. Slowly, she turned around and glanced down, gasping as her suspicions were conformed. This thing was coming from her! It was a...a...tail! She forced herself to take deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. How was this possible? Was it a dream? But then, why was it so painful when she pulled on it? No, it wasn't a dream. But it couldn't be real, could it?
It was extremely painful, but somehow she managed to stand. She could feel her legs threatening to give out and they ached with each step, but she had to know for sure. She had to find a mirror or something, see what had happened to her and, if possible, find a way to convince herself it was a dream.
She stumbled to the door, forced to lean heavily against it once she reached it. She pushed it opened. All was dark outside and stars shined brightly above her. She seemed to be at a temple. Slowly, she started to walk alone the building's side, leaning against the wall for support. As she neared the corner, someone came around it and almost ran into her.
"Kairi!" the person cried, and Kairi was relieved to see that it was Sazume.
"Sazume..." Kairi gasped as her sister took her arm to steady her.
"What are you doing out here? You should be in bed!" Sazume cried.
Kairi shook her head. "No, I have...to know. What happened...to me?" Sazume stared at her for a moment.
"Are you sure you're up to it? It may come as a bit of a shock," she said.
"I'm sure," Kairi assured her.
"Stay here, I'll be right back," Sazume said, helping her sister to sit down with her back against the wall. Sazume then dashed around the corner and returned some minutes later with a mirror.
"You're sure now?" Sazume asked again, hesitating to give Kairi the mirror.
"I already know I have a tail, how much worse could it be?" Kairi answered, taking the mirror. Apparently, it could be a lot worse. Kairi nearly dropped the mirror as she stared at what she prayed wasn't her reflection. Her bright blue eyes had been replaced with a turquoise, greenish-blue color that held thin, cat-like slits for pupils. Two black cat ears were perched atop her head, the left one with a strange, golden chain earring on it. Her hair had changed as well. Yukina had washed the blood from her flaxen hair to reveal a strange, lopsided 'W' shape. The pattern was made of three, white diamonds that came together at a tip in the center of her bangs. The two outer sides were smaller and ran to the base of each ear while the middle diamond was longer and ran the length of the top of her head.
"What...what happened?" Kairi asked in a shaky voice. Sazume sighed.
"Come on, it's a long story. I'll explain inside," she said as she took her sister's arm once more and helped her back to her room.
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Don't you all hate my cliffies? Oh well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Review, review, REVIEW...please.
For the moment, there was silence among the group. Genkai silently sipped her tea while Yusuke kept throwing uneasy glances at Akira, who he didn't seem to trust at all. Akira was meditating, or something like it, sitting perfectly still with her eyes closed while Hiei watched her from his spot leaning against the wall in the corner. Kuwabara was fidgety and nervous, constantly looking back at the door as he wished he could leave and be by Yukina's side. Kurama was silently staring at the floor. He hadn't said anything since they had brought Kairi to the temple and was lost deep in thought at the moment. That is why everyone was mildly surprised when he spoke first.
"Akira," he said, looking up at her, "you seemed worried about something when you looked at Kairi's data on the computer in Nightmare's lab. What were you concerned about?"
Akira sighed. "It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand all aspects of the fusion. In fact, I'm not even sure if it really is a problem. But, in any case, I'm sure Koenma will be able to explain everything when he gets here."
"Pacifier breath is coming?" Yusuke asked, looking up.
"Yes," Genkai informed them as she set her cup down. "I contacted him shortly after you got here."
"But that was a half hour ago! What the hell's taking him so long?!" Yusuke cried.
"Hey! You think it's easy putting everything on hold so I can come chit-chat with you?!" a teenage Koenma barked from behind Yusuke, making the Spirit Detective jump five feet in the air.
"Don't do that!" Yusuke yelled, once he had regained his footing. Koenma only smiled.
"Sit down Dimwit!" Genkai ordered. Yusuke turned to her, looking like he was about to say something.
"We don't have time for you to stand there arguing," Akira said before he had a chance to say whatever he had been planning to. "If I'm right, we have very little time at all. So sit down and shut up!" Yusuke glanced at her, but caught the dangerous look in her steely eyes and thought better of saying anything. Instead, he sat down.
"What do you mean 'very little time at all?' What's wrong?" Kuwabara asked.
"It's complicated," Koenma said with a sigh. The others were quite, so he continued. "You see, when Nightmare captures a demon they are going to use for the Demonic Fusion, they knock the demon out so it doesn't remember it's death."
"Why does that matter?" Yusuke asked.
"Well...it's like dreaming. You can't die in a dream because if you did, your body would think that you had really died and shut down. The same is true for a human fused with a demon who remembers its death. Once fused, the human has all of the demon's memories. If the human were to remember their demon counterpart's death, it would be like dying in a dream. Their bodies would believe they had died and they would die," Koenma explained.
"But I remember my death," Yusuke said.
"Idiot," Hiei grunted. "Your body died, so the memory isn't a problem. But a fused human's body has most likely never died, and the memory of death would kill them."
"What does that have to do with Kairi?" Kuwabara asked, afraid that he already knew the answer.
"We did some research on the demon Kairi was fused with. Her name was Sanga, and she wasn't sedated when she died. She remembers her death," Koenma said solemnly. There was silence in the room for a moment.
"I know," Yusuke said, breaking the silence. "Why don't you let her die and then bring her back. Then her body will have died and it wont be a problem."
"Stupid, you can't do that!" Akira cried, standing up.
"Why not?" Yusuke asked.
"Listen," Akira said, "Kairi's body is the only thing keeping those spirits fused. If her body dies and the spirits are released, their become two separate entities again and go their separate ways. You'd have to find them both before you could bring her back, because her body has now adapted to house both spirits and wont function properly with one and not the other. And besides all that, even if you could find both spirits, they'd have to be fused again, and there isn't a being in any of the worlds that can take two fusions. Most likely, the souls would simply rip each other apart."
"I assume you already have something in mind," Genkai said calmly, eyeing Koenma.
"Yes, in fact, I do. Where is Kairi now?" Koenma answered.
"Follow me!" Kuwabara declared as he jumped up, overjoyed at an excuse to see Yukina. Kuwabara lead them to the door of the room Kairi was sleeping in and slid the door opened. Inside, Kairi was lying on a futon while Yukina bent over her, laying a cold cloth on her head. Kairi did not look in good shape. She was pale and covered in sweat and her breathing was ragged and almost painful to listen to.
"Yukina! How are you doing, my love?" Kuwabara cried.
"She's not the one we're worried about!" Akira cried irritably, giving Kuwabara a good punch to the back of the head that caused him to stumble half-conscious to the ground.
"Kazuma!" Yukina cried as she turned her attention to the hurt, love-sick boy who was now couching on the floor.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she began to heal the bump on his head.
"Don't answer that!" Akira warned as Kuwabara opened his mouth. He promptly shut it.
"What exactly are you planning to do?" Kurama asked Koenma as the toddler in teenage form knelt by Kairi's side.
"Seal her memories," Koenma explained as he placed his hands, palms down, over Kairi's head.
"But, doesn't she need to know who she is and stuff?" Yusuke asked.
"I'm not sealing all of them," Koenma said, as golden light began to flow from his hands, "just Sanga's memories. Oh, and as a bonus, I think she could do without a certain childhood trauma for a while as well."
"You mean when her mom died?" Kuwabara asked, Yukina having finished healing his head. Koenma only nodded. As they watched, the golden light thinned and became a thread. The thread circled Kairi's head, brushing against skin or hair now and again. Then, the threads began to come together near her left ear. They twisted together, forming a gold chain and attached itself to the black fur of her new cat ear. The light faded and Kairi was left with a gold chain earring that ran the length of her ear, attached by two gold studs on each end, one near the base of her ear and the other at the top.
"That must never be removed or broken," Koenma said, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some very important business to get back to. I only have fifteen minutes to get back before 'Friends' starts." And with that, Koenma disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
-()-()-()
It wasn't until several days later that Kairi became aware of herself again. She was silent, staring at the inside of her eyelids and wondering if she had the strength to open them. Slowly, she cracked one opened. Dark. She opened the other eye and blinked them both several times as she took in her surroundings. She was alone in a plain room, lying on a futon.
She tried to sit up and was forced to bite back a cry as pain exploded from virtually every part of her body. After a few more minutes of pain, gritted teeth, and suppressed cries, she was finally able to reach a sitting position. As she looked around her, she noticed something long and black curling by one of her legs. She reached out a bandaged hand and picked it up. It felt bony and alive, like it was part of something else. Wondering where it had come from, she gave it a tug, and yelped in pain.
She was quiet for a moment, not wanting to believe what she suspected was true about this black thing. Slowly, she turned around and glanced down, gasping as her suspicions were conformed. This thing was coming from her! It was a...a...tail! She forced herself to take deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. How was this possible? Was it a dream? But then, why was it so painful when she pulled on it? No, it wasn't a dream. But it couldn't be real, could it?
It was extremely painful, but somehow she managed to stand. She could feel her legs threatening to give out and they ached with each step, but she had to know for sure. She had to find a mirror or something, see what had happened to her and, if possible, find a way to convince herself it was a dream.
She stumbled to the door, forced to lean heavily against it once she reached it. She pushed it opened. All was dark outside and stars shined brightly above her. She seemed to be at a temple. Slowly, she started to walk alone the building's side, leaning against the wall for support. As she neared the corner, someone came around it and almost ran into her.
"Kairi!" the person cried, and Kairi was relieved to see that it was Sazume.
"Sazume..." Kairi gasped as her sister took her arm to steady her.
"What are you doing out here? You should be in bed!" Sazume cried.
Kairi shook her head. "No, I have...to know. What happened...to me?" Sazume stared at her for a moment.
"Are you sure you're up to it? It may come as a bit of a shock," she said.
"I'm sure," Kairi assured her.
"Stay here, I'll be right back," Sazume said, helping her sister to sit down with her back against the wall. Sazume then dashed around the corner and returned some minutes later with a mirror.
"You're sure now?" Sazume asked again, hesitating to give Kairi the mirror.
"I already know I have a tail, how much worse could it be?" Kairi answered, taking the mirror. Apparently, it could be a lot worse. Kairi nearly dropped the mirror as she stared at what she prayed wasn't her reflection. Her bright blue eyes had been replaced with a turquoise, greenish-blue color that held thin, cat-like slits for pupils. Two black cat ears were perched atop her head, the left one with a strange, golden chain earring on it. Her hair had changed as well. Yukina had washed the blood from her flaxen hair to reveal a strange, lopsided 'W' shape. The pattern was made of three, white diamonds that came together at a tip in the center of her bangs. The two outer sides were smaller and ran to the base of each ear while the middle diamond was longer and ran the length of the top of her head.
"What...what happened?" Kairi asked in a shaky voice. Sazume sighed.
"Come on, it's a long story. I'll explain inside," she said as she took her sister's arm once more and helped her back to her room.
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Don't you all hate my cliffies? Oh well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Review, review, REVIEW...please.