Title: Hidden Pasts
Rating: R (for this chapter, at least. )
Genre: General/drama
Summary: Basically, what the Yu Yu Hakusho cast won't tell you about their pasts. I got them to tell me what they wouldn't tell you!!
This is the fifth chapter of Hidden Pasts!! dodges random tomatoes Eeeeeew!!!! Stop that!!!!
Hi, I'm Lena; also known as the angel of death. Some people know me as Death, some as Shibō, some even as Botan's friend. At any rate, this is my story, or at least part of it.
Koenma-sama had appointed me to go help an old man out of his body. I got to the hospital, and saw the old man lying alone in the room, the only other person being the flaxen haired angel worriedly by his side.
"Hi." I said softly, not wanting to scare the angel. He jumped anyway.
"Hey," the angel said, turning to me. His light blue eyes were so honest. "I'm Ren." He said, standing.
"Lena."
"So...you're the angel of death, huh?" Ren asked, eyeing my headband that plainly said 'Death'.
"Yep, I work for Koenma."
"Oh, really? I work for Enma-daio himself." Ren boasted half-heartedly. "Well, I suppose you weren't exactly sent to chat. Hence, I leave you to your duty." He said sadly, heading for the door.
"Wait," I said quietly.
"Yes?" Ren asked.
"Why is he alone?" I asked.
"He has no one left. His sister was going to come see him today, but she was in a car accident." I cringed, remembering her guardian angel, the denial-struck, over-protective woman who had clutched her dead human to her bosom, shrieking at me to get nowhere near her or her human. The first thing the woman had said after she died and was separated from her body was 'my brother. I can't leave my brother.'
"How sad..." I said, caressing the old man's weathered face. The body glowed, but of course only Ren and I could see that. The soul of the man, incarnated into how he was at the happiest point of his life, rose out of the body. Decked in full army dress, the handsome young man looked nothing like the frail body now lying lifeless under the starched sheets. The young man swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting on the edge. Suddenly, a familiar dinging sound reached mine, Ren, and the man's ears. Ren and the man looked confused, but my face lit up like a lightbulb. Sure enough, it was Botan, my best friend in the whole of Spirit World!
"Lena!" Botan exclaimed happily.
"Hey, Botan!" I replied.
"Hey, Lena! We never see each other enough! Where have you been?"
"Oh, here and there. Ooh, you look positively adorable! Is that a new outfit?"
"Yeah, only my second time wearing it. My other one was practically threadbare!"
"Pink suits you a lot better than black did."
"Oh, you think?"
"Definitely. Oh, and look at the ribbon! It almost matches your hair!"
"I just thought, you know, I need a new look. So I got this!"
"Well, I must say; it's VERY cute."
"Speaking of cute, who are the two cuties over there?" Botan whispered cattishly, waving flirtishly to the boys.
"The blond one's name is Ren, and the brunette is your new assignment, ferry girl!" I laughed, playfully smacking Botan.
"Can you hook me up with Ren?" Botan asked hopefully.
"Nuh-uh, lovestruck. He's mine." I said. I saw Ren facefault out of the corner of my eye.
"Poo." Botan pouted. "Hello! I'm Botan, guide to the river Styx!" She winked at the man, who looked left, then right, then nervously grinned.
"I've come to take you to Heaven, silly!" Botan said, hoisting him onto the back of the oar. "Hold on tight, and in case of a water landing, do NOT use me as a floatation device!" Botan warned, leaning forward and zooming off.
"That wacko is the Grim Reaper?" Ren asked, mouth agape.
"Hey, watch it! That 'wacko' is my best friend!"
"So I guessed."
"Hey! What is that-!" I was interrupted by Ren's lips on mine.
"What did you mean by 'he's mine'?" Ren asked, breaking the kiss.
"Well, I saw you first." I said.
"You are unbelievable." Ren said kindly.
"Gee, I heard Enma-daio's angels were romantic, but this is..."
"Ridiculous?" Kiss.
"No."
"Absurd?" Kiss.
"No."
"Insane?" Kiss.
"No."
"Then what?"
"Incredible." I breathed, initiating the kiss. Now, the biggest angel rule is that if you're an angel, you can kiss, hug, fondle, and have sex, etcetera, as long as you don't get pregnant. The only way you can start a family is with Enma-daio's consent. Guardian angels, after their human inevitably dies, get a week to recover from the emotional shock. Hence, Ren spent his week following me around.
It was busy, busy, busy all that week. Finally, on Sunday there was a lull in the dying. Ren and I used it to the fullest, if you know what I mean. The next day, he was reassigned, and life returned to relative, Ren-free normal. The next time I saw Botan was that Wednesday at the water cooler.
Of course I had to tell her about the hot, steamy Sunday that I had shared with Ren. She was practically giddy, she was so happy for me. The months went by, and every Wednesday I met Botan at the water cooler. On the three-month anniversary of my "excursion" with Ren, I felt something stir inside me. Literally, STIR. Nausea in the mornings is REALLY no fun.
By the five-month anniversary, my waist had expanded a tiny bit. I was frightened. I knew what would happen to Ren if anyone found out. Hence, I neglected my duties as the angel of death, and didn't leave my quarters, not even on Wednesdays. When I didn't show up for a while, Botan came to my room to check on me.
She knocked on the door, and I, being stupid and wanting company, opened it.
"Oh my God, Lena." Botan gasped.
"Botan. Please don't tell." I begged. Botan looked away, stifled a sob, and ran away. Later that day, there was another knock on my door. It was Botan.
"Koenma-sama wants to see you." She said gravely. I nodded and walked out of the room, never once looking back. A few minutes later, I stood dejectedly in front of Koenma-sama, who was pacing back and forth on his desk.
"Lena, this is bad. This is really bad. Oh man, is this bad! When Father finds out that you're pregnant, I don't know what he'll do! If you're complacent, he might not send you to Hell, but the father is definitely Hell-bound."
"Ren!" I gasped.
"So that's who it was." Koenma-sama mused, chewing thoughtfully on his pacifier. "He might get a partial sentence, then, because Ren is one of Father's favorite angels."
"You really think so?" I asked, hopeful.
"Right now, you should be worried about the little chunk of DNA inside you. If it's been five months, as I've been informed it has, you should be a bit bigger." Koenma-sama said.
"I am a bit worried about little Rena. I think she should be active by now." I said, resting my hand on my small-ish stomach.
"Creative name...Lena." Koenma-sama said, scrambling down from his desk. "Tomorrow, you and Ren will appear before my Father. Lena, you're dismissed." Koenma-sama said, turning around in his chair. Bowing, I left the room. The next day, Ren picked me up at my quarters, greeting me with a comforting smile, and a bear hug. We walked together to Enma-daio's chambers. As we waited for Enma-daio to tell us to come in, Ren turned to me.
"So, do you know why Enma-daio wanted to see us?" Ren asked.
"Ren, do you remember when we met?"
"Yes, my human had just died."
"And do you remember what we did?" I asked. Ren paled.
"Oh no...you're not...are you?" I nodded. We were called into Enma-daio's chambers, bowed, and remained in that position, a strain for my back.
"Ah, Ren. I never thought I'd see you under these dire consequences. And with the angel of death, no less." Enma-daio boomed. "You do realize that you two have committed the most heinous of crimes, and that normal punishment for something of this caliber would be that both of you would go to Hell. However, in this case there are multiple details to be taken into consideration. Like, for instance, it occurred during Ren's week of grieving, when minor infractions are dropped entirely, and that neither of you have any previous record of misdemeanor. And another thing to be taken into consideration is how short on guardian angels I am, and the fact that it takes six years to fully train an angel of death. Hence you, Ren, will serve three years at the male penitentiary, and 12 years in Hell. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Enma-daio." Ren said complacently.
"And you, Lena, will spend the rest of your pregnancy in the solitary confinement cell at the women's penitentiary, but are allowed to keep the child. Is this clear?"
"Yes, Enma-daio." I said somewhat defiantly.
"But...?"
"But, with all due respect, the child is going to need both parents!"
"SILENCE!" Enma-daio roared. "You will both serve out your sentences as I said. Guards, take them away." Enma-daio boomed. A half a dozen oni came in. I grabbed onto Ren.
"Go, Lena." Ren's voice was full of ice.
"What?" I breathed.
"Go! I hate you!" Ren screamed, pushing me down. Three oni grabbed him, and the other three grabbed me. We were dragged in separate directions, and that was the last time I saw Ren. They put me in the solitary confinement cell, and put two guards outside the door. The weeks went by, and little Rena didn't grow hardly at all.
As the six-month mark came and went, I became increasingly worried. Then, two weeks into the sixth month, a buckling contraction hit, and didn't go away.
"No...no! It's too soon!" I screamed.
"Ey, shaddup in there!" One of the guards yelled, banging his fist on the door.
"Somebody help me!" I screamed frantically. A tingling feeling started in my feet, and traveled up my body until it felt like my entire body was asleep. I screamed out loud, breaking down into sobs. Then, I felt liquid trickling down my legs. I noticed the bottom of my dress becoming reddish in color.
"No...NO!" I screamed, sobbing. Not wanting to give up, I propped myself up on my elbows, and pushed. At the 10-count, I called for help again, panting. I pushed again, and beads of sweat ran down my face. Knowing that my child was still somewhat alive, I inhaled sharply, and pushed again.
I could feel Rena moving. I pushed again, and a slight bit of tension was released, signaling to me that Rena's head was out. I pushed again, and again, and finally Rena's shoulders eased out. Pushing once, Rena fully entered the world. Feeling, and movement, returned to my legs, and I sat up, staring at Rena. She was perfectly formed, though she couldn't have been more than seven inches long, and even through the blood caked on her body, I could tell that her little tuft of hair was flaxen colored, like Ren's.
Tears streamed silently down my face, and I crawled over to mine and Ren's daughter. Gently touching her delicate face, I separated Rena's soul from her body. The infant child spirit, my baby, Rena, stirred and wailed. Lifting the weightless child spirit into my arms, I walked over to the door of the cell, and pounded on the door.
"Whaddya want, Death?" One of the guards asked.
"Let me out of here! My sentence was for the remainder of my pregnancy, and I delivered my child!" I yelled.
"Sorry, unless I can see the squirt, you aren't going anywhere." The more linguistically inclined of the guards said. I walked back, scooped up Rena's body, and held it up to the barred window.
"This is the body of my daughter, Rena. Her spirit has been separated from her body, and I need to take it to Koenma-sama." I said. A jingle, and then clatter.
"Oops, dropped the keys." A guard mocked. His buddy laughed. Then, a slightly accented voice, harsh with anger and impatience, came storming down the hall.
"By order of Koenma-sama, son of Enma-daio, I order you to stop jacking off and let my friend out of that bloody cell!" The voice yelled.
"Botan?" I asked.
"Bingo." She said.
"How did you know?"
"Koenma-sama bugged the cell. I was sent to help, but I guess I'm too late."
"Get me out of here, Botan." I choked, tears stinging the backs of my eyes.
"Will do!" Botan promised.
"Oh no, you don't!" The more intelligent guard boomed.
"Why, you-!" Botan yelled. Two painful sounding smacks later, the keys jingled as they were picked up off the floor. The key turned in the lock, clicked, and the door swung open.
"Oh, Lena..." Botan said quietly. She walked to me, and embraced me warmly. She let go, and summoned her oar.
"Come on, let's go." She said. I nodded, and mounted the back of her oar, still holding both Rena's body, and her spirit.
"Why is she so small?" Botan asked, looking at Rena's spirit.
"She was born three months too early, and I didn't get much bigger than when you last saw me."
"Lena, I'm so sorry. If it was because of those guards, I'll personally escort them to Hell!" Botan swore, pounding her fist into her hand.
"No, Botan. It wasn't anyone's fault." I said, caressing the child spirit's face. Botan took off, and in a matter of minutes we had arrived at the Garden of Mourning Angels; a beautiful garden with elaborate angel statues, each mourning a different kind of Spirit World being. One for guardian angels; that one, the body is placed on the shoulders of the statue. One for every other angel; that one, the body is placed on the altar where the statue is kneeling in eternal prayer. One is for oni; that one, the body is placed in a lidless, concrete box.
And the last angel is mourning every other Spirit World being; that one, the body is placed in the waiting arms of the statue. Walking over to the one for every other angel, I placed Rena's body on the altar. I walked back to Botan, staring sadly at the sleeping child spirit in my arms. I mounted Botan's oar again, and we took off. Looking up, I saw the River Styx, frozen in the dead of February.
A few minutes later, Botan and I stood in front of the door to Koenma-sama's office.
"I have to do this, Botan."
"I know."
"Alone."
"Ok. But I'll wait here for you."
"That'd be great." I said. I opened the doors, and everyone froze and looked at me. I walked inside with a determined gait. I must have looked pretty pathetic: the oni kept giving me pitying looks. I reached Koenma-sama's desk, and saw him sitting there, overwhelmed with paperwork, as usual.
"Koenma-sama?" I asked tentatively. He looked up.
"Oh, Lena! I didn't expect you back so soon!"
"My sentence was until I delivered my child." I said.
"Ah, yes. I see." Koenma-sama said, surveying me with his eyes. "You're here...why?" He asked.
"My daughter died. I came to deliver her soul up for judgment."
"Oh, I'm sorry. This must be so hard." He said sympathetically.
"Thank you for your sympathy." I said, placing the child spirit on Koenma-sama's desk.
"If you want, you can have a few weeks off."
"Thank you, Koenma-sama." I choked, voice filled with tears. I turned and walked out of the office, never once looking back.
T.T Poor Mom...er, I mean Lena. sigh I guess the secret's out. Hi y'all, I'm Rena, this is my little sister Xena,
Xena: waves
And our little brothers Ken, Len, and Ben.
Ken: waves
Len: waves
Ben: waves
And we're the kids of Lena and Ren. (I was actually reborn as a human because Enma-daio had pity on my infant soul.)
Rena, Xena, Ken, Len, and Ben
(Note: Lena's story takes place between August 1988 and February 1989.)