Chapter 4: Yasu's Past

"May I ask why you guys decided to drag Rei here?"

"Yasu! I'm glad to see you!" Toshimo stood up, rushing to Gihiratou.

"How did you get here? You were heading in the opposite direction."

"Hiei decided to throw me over his shoulder and carry me all the way over here."

Gihiratou looked at everyone in the room, "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing, just the name of him and what kind of demons we were. Nothing else. You don't have to slit everyone's throats."

"You could at least tell why you are after this, Himimaru, guy." Urameshi asked.

Toshimo looked at Gihiratou, "You might as well. They'll never let this down until you tell them."

Gihiratou sighed in resignation. "Fine. It's a pretty long story. So I suggest you all sit down."

"Oh, Yasu, before you start, that guy over there is Shuichi Minamono, or Kurama."

"I'm ecstatic."

Everyone took their respective seats. Gihiratou sat next to Toshimo. She took a deep breath as she started her story.

"When I was little, I had a happy family. I had a mother, a father, and a brother whose name was Renji. Renji was several years older than I was. At the time this story takes place, Renji was a talented fighter. One day, Renji and I went farther away from the house to play fight. After a while Renji looked up at the sky and saw smoke. Tons of it. He took my hand and ran with me home. When we got there… We saw the house was on fire and our parents were lying dead in front of it. Well in front of them, was a demon that was a mass of muscles. He was gigantic. He was laughing at the flames and at our dead parents."

Her voice was loud with anger, she now looked at the floor instead of them.

"Renji took my hand and together we ran away before the demon saw us. From then on, life was never the same for us. We had to find a new home in hiding. Renji taught me how to fight and defend myself, in case some thing happened to him. And unfortunately, something did."

She took another breath before continuing.

"Renji came home one day with fear written all over his face. I asked him what was wrong. He didn't tell me. Instead he told me to hide. Just as I did, that very same demon burst in. My brother did his best to fight him. Renji ran circles around him. That just made the demon mad and start calling Renji a coward. Renji finally stopped and drew his sword. It was horrible to watch. Renji fought his best. The demon had all sorts of gashes on him. It didn't slow the thing down one bit."

She voice went flat, as if nothing in this mattered to her.

"Finally, the demon had Renji's head in his fist, slowly crushing his head. Renji was trying not to cry out in pain so that I wouldn't reveal myself. The demon laughed and said, 'If you tell me where your kid sister is, I promise to make your death quick and painless.' Renji nearly cried out in pain when it added a squeeze for emphasis. Renji smirked through his pain, 'To think I would tell you is stupid. Only a coward would choose do tell you.' The demon got angry. 'I'll let you know two things before I die. One, as soon as I kill you, I'll find your little sister. Two, I'll give you my name before you die. It's Himimaru.' And with that he crushed Renji's head to a pulp."

Her voiced choked, revealing her emotions. She clenched her fists into tight balls.

"After that demon left, I swore to myself that I would hunt him down as soon as I was ready. I've been training ever since then." Gihiratou stood up; no one could see her face. "Now if you'll excuse me. You've had your little story time. I've got to go do something now." And she walked out.

Everyone was silent. Toshimo broke the heavy silence with a sigh.

Kurama looked concerned, "Is she okay?"

"She will be. She just needs to be alone for awhile. She can be the moodiest person. But I can understand why. I would be too if I had a past like that."

"How'd she meet you?"

"She was wandering when she collapsed from hunger. I found and nursed her back to health. I've been helping her ever since then."

Hiei was quiet, he was looking out the window. It had grown dark outside.

Toshimo stood up and went to stand next to Hiei, "What are you looking at?"

Hiei was startled out of his reverie, "Huh? Nothing. Just outside."

"Oh. You're awfully quiet for a teenage guy."

"Well I'm different. Idiot girl."

"Unlike those idiots over there." She said pointing to Urameshi and Kuwabara who had fallen fast asleep, "I've got an idea. Anyone want to join me?"

Hiei looked at her curiously, and Kurama looked up, "What kind of idea?"

"A simple one. We get two cups of water and dump each cup over each sleeping boys. Feel like helping out?" She told them grinning.

Hiei smirked. Kurama looked at her, "That's not nice."

"I know. But that's what they get for falling asleep through Yasu's story. That would be nothing compared to she would if she had realized it. She's not going to repeat the story again. Well let's carry this plan out!"

They quickly moved to the kitchen. Kurama pulled out two cups for Hiei and Toshimo to fill. "Here you go, Toshimo."

Toshimo cocked her head and frowned, "You guys can call me Rai. Toshimo is too long."

Kurama smiled, "Alright, Rai."

"Hn." was all Hiei said.

Hiei and Rai took their cups and filled them each to the brim. They quickly but carefully walked to the two sleeping boys. Hiei stood Kuwabara and Rai stood over Urameshi.

"On the count of three. One, two, three!" They emptied the cups over the two boys, threw their cups away, and ran over to the window.

Both boys jumped up, painting the air with very colorful language.

"Who did that!" Urameshi demanded as soon as they were done. Rai was trying hard not to laugh, Hiei merely had a wide smirk, and Kurama was chuckling. "Well? Someone answer!"

"It wasn't us." Rai said, holding her laughter back, "It was Yasu. She saw you fell asleep during her story and she got mad. She dumped water all over you guys and bolted. She didn't want anyone to help her." It was too much. Rai left all the laughter out. Kuwabara and Urameshi looked mad. Rai just couldn't help it. Hiei still smirked. Kurama was lightly laughing.

Soon the laughter died down. Rai stood up straight, wiping a laughter-induced tear from her eye. "It's getting pretty late. I should look for Yasu and head home. See you all later." She said as she walked out the door.

"Wait. Shouldn't you take someone with you? It is pretty late, like you said, and you never know who's out there." Kuwabara asked.

"I'm a big girl, Kuwabara. I can take can of myself. If someone tries to kidnap me, I have my ways of stopping them." She said winking as she walked out the door.

She thought about where Yasu might be as she walked alone. "I might as well check home first, then look around." She said to herself. She looked from side to side in case she caught sight of Yasu as she walked along. She was nearly to the end and there was still no sign of her. "I wonder where she is."

The sound of rustling bushes came from behind her. She groaned. Not this again. She kept walking, pretending she never heard the noise. Again, more noise from behind her. She still ignored it. She heard the noises in front of her. She started getting worried. There might be a bunch of… Whoever was there.

Something jumped out of the bushes. "Ack!" Rai jumped halfway out of her skin. It was just Hiei and Kurama. "Don't do that." She said panting and beating her chest, "You could have given me a heart attack!"

"It's not our fault you're jumpy." Hiei told her.

"What are you guys doing out here?"

"Sorry for scaring you. We were just making sure you don't get into trouble." Kurama said apologizing.

"No problem. I guess. I thought I told you guys I didn't need an escort."

"I guess we're not very good listeners. Besides, it was all Hiei's idea." Hiei didn't respond to this.

They continued walking out on the sidewalk. "Hey! We're in the area where I was when I first heard Hiei stalking me!"

No could see Hiei's face when Rai said this, "You don't have to put it like that."

"Eh, but you were." They continued like this for much of the way there. For a while, Hiei refused to continue talking, so Rai talked with Kurama.

"How much further is your house, Rai?" Hiei asked.

"Oh, just around the corner here." They turned the corner, "Well guys, here it is." She announced as she lead them inside.

It was a pretty nice house for two teenagers. There were only two bedrooms, but that was all they needed. It wasn't run down, but very nicely kept.

"I'm thirsty. Anyone else thirsty?"

"No thanks. Where's the restroom?" Kurama asked.

"In the hall, First door on the right."

Kurama nodded and turned to the hall. The door that Rai had described to him was closed. He knocked on the door, "Is anyone in there?" There was no answer. He tested the doorknob. It opened easily to his touch. He walked in.

Yasu had come straight home after she finished her little story. She was too stressed to meditate and practicing wouldn't help. "A bath might help," she said to herself.

She grabbed a towel, stepped into the bathroom, and closed the door. She filled the bath with nice hot water. She took off her clothes, untied her red bandana, and let her hair down. Her brown hair swayed past her waist as she let it lose. She slide in the water and relaxed. She let her mind go, not holding a single thought.

A gentle knock on the door or a voice didn't wake her from her reverie. But the door opening did. Her eyes snapped open. She looked up to see a startled Kurama.

Kurama's face was bright red and he was staring.

Yasu let loose a scream that would let everyone in the vicinity hear it.

Rai looked up when she heard the scream. "That was Yasu!" She dropped her cup and ran for the source. She heard a door slam and saw Kurama with a blush so red that would put tomatoes to shame.

"What happened? I heard Yasu!" Rai asked Kurama in worried voice.

"I found Yasu."

"What? Where?"

"In the bath."

Rai stared Kurama for a second, digesting this information. Suddenly she burst out laughing. Despite her laughing, she was able grab his arm, drag Kurama with her, and push him out the door.

"I'm sorry to kick you out like this, Kurama." She said, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably.

"But," Kurama started to object.

"Believe me, Kurama. This is for your good. See ya later!" She said closing door.

"WHERE IS HE?" Yasu thundered down the hall.

Rai sighed, "Here we go."

She was back in the clothes she had been wearing earlier. Her hair was already dry.

"Wow, you must be pretty mad. Your hair's dry."

"Mad is an understatement."

"Now, now, Yasu. He didn't do it on purpose."

"What did you do with him?"

"He's not here anymore."

"Fine. I'll find him myself."

Yasu tried to get past Rai to the door. "You need to calm down Yasu. It was an accident!"

"I don't care."

Rai sighed, "Sorry Yasu. But two things. One, I can't let you out like this. Two, you need some sleep."

"Wha-?"

Yasu never finished her sentence. Rai sent a little spark through Yasu's body. Rai caught her in her arms.Rai sighed again, "Now I've got to drag her back to bed."

Rai dragged Yasu to her bed, "She is heavier than she looks… Must be from so much working out and her muscles." She paused, thinking. "Oh yeah! Hiei's still here!"

She quickly ran to the kitchen, "I'm sorry that took so long, Hiei."

She saw that Hiei was no longer there. "What a strange guy. I guess that will just make things a little more exciting." She said, leaning on the door.

Kurama put his hands in his jacket pockets; he was still red from the incident. "What's wrong, Shuichi?" Shiori, his mother, asked.

"Nothing. I've just be thinking about things." He explained as he went up to his room.

He saw Hiei sitting at the window smirking. "I never knew you were that kind of guy, Kurama."

"Oh, hello Hiei. I'm guessing you didn't tell Rai you left."

"She doesn't need to know everything I do."