I forgot this last chappie….eh, same upload, so here goes…Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Disclaimers are the bane of my existence…
Chapter 10: Rescue
…Kurama…
Even with my old friend Kuronue to talk to, with Bri safe in my arms, and with Yusuke there to pass the time, the week dragged by slowly. Kuronue and I taught Bri to bring out her Demon energy out. It was very similar to her Dream energy, of course, but since she had never actually attempted it, it was difficult for her to transition. Luckily, unlike Dream energy, she had a bit more in supply due to her physical condition.
"Honestly, she's no stronger than any normal two-week old kitten demon, let alone a full grown cat," Kuronue said to me the day our plan would fall into action. "But you've got yourself a good mate, Kurama."
I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I agree. Bri…is an interesting person, through and through."
"You know how weird it is to be talking to a you from thirty years in the future?" he shook his head. "No telling what you've been through. What about that partling that you're with?"
"Yusuke?" I glanced at the eighteen-year-old human boy I'd been with for four years now. "We won the Dark Tournament together, him, me, Hiei, and a human named Kuwabara and the legendary Genkai."
"Whoa. Talk about cool. I guess since I'm supposedly going to die that it doesn't matter that you told me that."
"Kuronue…I…"
"Don't even try to correct the past, Youko. It's not a good idea."
I nodded and returned to my human form as a sleepy-looking Bri emerged from the room I had "assigned" her to. Ayame appeared soon afterwards, completely awake. We would be taking the coyote girl with us, since she was, after all, supposed to be dead. Yusuke pushed off the wall and followed the girls up the leafy stairs of the hideout.
"Be very quiet," I said. "The rose bush will not take kindly to noise and it will spray a deadly poison if disturbed."
"Only you would have a deadly poisonous rose bush at the entrance to your hideout, Kurama," Bri rolled her eyes. "Kuronue, be glad you don't live in our time. He's got this thing for Earth plants, especially this one called the Ojigi from South America…"
"Please, that plant is nothing compared to the Death plant," Yusuke said. "I remember Karasu running from that Ojigi. It looked like an overgrown fly trap."
"Would you like me to unleash the Ojigi on you, Yusuke?" I asked, amused.
"No, no, shutting up."
Bri laughed quietly. I hushed them all quickly as I spread some of my own energy into the rose bush, allowing it to move quickly from the hole. We ascended into the light and I relinquished my human form for my Youko.
"Do you have to look like him?" Bri asked.
"He is me, however much you dislike him," I said. It troubled me that she disliked the Youko of my past so much. Perhaps she didn't know me as well as she thought.
"I know, I know, but I still like your human form better. It suits that personality of yours way better than the white. Though, I could definitely get used to those cute little ears."
She reached up to touch my ears, but I stilled her hand.
"If you wish to stay unmated until our wedding and make this wait worthwhile, I'd suggest not doing that," I said. A tiny smirk played on my old face. She looked shocked for a minute, then nodded.
"That sensitive, huh?" she asked.
"Yes. To touch a youko's ears means immediate marking of mates."
"And I thought my neck was my sweet spot…" Bri murmured, just low enough that I could hear. Kuronue could, too, but he kept quiet about it. Good. At least I wasn't in danger of losing my mate to my late best friend any more.
Even with all the things I've experienced, that is one of the strangest statements I've ever thought. Bri was giggling beside me. I fired a thought through my head just as quickly.
You like that, huh?She only laughed harder, earning us both stares from our surrounding friends.
"Okay, I need you four hidden in this passage," Kuronue said. "Youko is supposed to meet me in the clearing ahead. Can I count on you to mask your scent, Youko?" A funny look came over his face at this, sending Bri into giggles again. Ayame joined her soon after, though hesitantly.
Why was Bri giggling? She rarely did so, especially since the Matsu and Une incidents. It dawned on me as I nodded to Kuronue's question. Bri was in heat, too! Just like the other cat demons!
Oh, help me.
Kuronue left us and I used my youko skills to effectively conceal the four of us as mere brush. Not even my past self would be able to see through this disguise. I felt the breath catch in my throat as my past self passed almost a foot from us. He was gone in a flurry of tail and robe, but it was still strange to see myself.
"Wait a sec…" Yusuke said, straightening as I let the illusion fall. "Didn't Koko say that it should take a day at least to get your memories switched?"
"Yes," I said, staring after "myself" and Kuronue.
"Some of those 'memories' you've been getting only took an hour."
"Maybe it is the close proximity of myself to my past self."
"Uh…Kurama? Did it maybe not occur to you that maybe we really were here at this time?"
I stopped short and turned to stare at Yusuke. It is a rare occurrence when Yusuke Urameshi catches something before I do. Rarer still that I do not see something so vital and so blaringly obvious.
"So that means…we were here." I tried to think. This was the day, if I recalled, that I had that argument about humans with Kuronue, just as we were approaching a routine burglary. If I remembered correctly, I had been after a mirror, which allowed one to see one's own inner beauty.
But something had changed my inner beauty the second time I looked into the mirror. It was because my inner beauty had at first been my pure love of the hunt, of our normal, day-to-day riches. The second time I'd looked, it had been my love for my deceased best friend.
"Today's the day that Kuronue dies!" I shouted. "We've got to save him!"
"Get a hold of yourself, you idiot!" Yusuke shouted right back. "If he's supposed to die, we can't do anything."
I took a shaky, calming breath. Yes. If I hadn't lost Kuronue, I would never have discovered my second inner beauty. Without losing him, I'd have no way of connecting at first with Bri. I'd have no sympathy for my mother and for other humans. I would turn into the same monster that I'd always been.
"But…" Bri looked between me and the forest path and back again. "If we allow the past Youko to believe that Kuronue was dead…"
"And saved him shortly after he ran by…" I picked up on her thinking. Nothing would be affected if we simply brought Kuronue back with us. Ayame was doing it. She was supposed to be dead, as well.
"Then let's do it." Yusuke punched one fist into another. "Nothing like a good rescue to make the past a piece of bona fide cake, eh, Kurama?"
I smiled. "Yes." I glanced down at my soon-to-be mate. "But Bri and Ayame must remain here if we are to protect them."
Bri began to protest. "But Kurama—"
"But nothing. Cat demons are infamous for stealing women, even partlings. You and Ayame must remain safe here, under my illusion."
Bri swallowed hard. "Fine. But don't let me catch you dead, Fox." She pressed a finger in the same pose that Yusuke took while firing his Spirit Gun. "Or I swear I'll kill you dead. Bang." She giggled softly. "I got that from Keiko."
I smiled. "No need to worry. We must make haste. The robbery is nearing completion."
I placed the illusion over Bri and Ayame. Yusuke and I raced toward the clearing, I keeping my human form. As we approached the clearing, I pulled Yusuke back and placed another illusion over us both.
The old Youko and Kuronue were already running by. I squeezed my eyes shut tight as Kuronue cried out and raced back for his pendant. My past self turned back as bamboo spears pierced the bat demon's flesh.
"No! Kuronue!" I bit back my own tongue. Go, you idiot! Go! I didn't even hear Kuronue yell it to him. My old self raced away and I uncloaked Yusuke and I. The cat demons were startled, but kept on coming toward us. Yusuke grinned and fired a large shot gun at them. They incinerated instantly. I pulled the bamboo from Kuronue's flesh, glad to see that they hadn't hit any major organs or arteries.
"My pendant…" he gasped.
"I'll find it," Yusuke said. "Get him to Ayame quick, Kurama. Before he dies from lack of blood. Fox and his brainy girlfriend and their crazy schemes…" He muttered the last part as he searched among the grasses for the red pendant. Kuronue grasped the jewel to his chest as Yusuke and I dragged him toward the opening.
Ayame healed the majority of his large wounds, but hadn't the strength for much more than that. Kuronue handed over the scrolls with a cocky smirk, the same one that he'd always worn after close calls.
"Guess I can't got back with Youko ever again, right?" he asked.
"No. But you're welcome to come back with us to the future," Bri said, grinning. "Maybe we can get Kaasan to let you stay with us. I'm sure Kurama could use a roomie."
"We are like brothers," I chuckled softly.
"Brothers? We're partners. And if anyone understands the meaning of the word, it's you, Youko."
I wasn't about to explain the full meaning of the demon word partner to Bri. However, since you're kindly listening, I'll let you know what it is. A partner can be anyone from a friend to a lover. Kuronue was only my friend and Hiei had attempted to be a lover once to me. He understood that this was not what I sought after I turned him down the first time.
Speaking of the forbidden child, where was he?
…
…
…
;; I had to do it. I just had to save Kuronue. And the whole "partners" deal, well, it's like he said. Now where oh where can our little Hiei have gone off to? I wonder…And we aren't entirely sure if Hiei really did follow them…
Princess Kandra: Really? Care to share your Kurama horde?
Sillylittlenothing: Bad things happen when you meddle with the past, cakes. Fact of time traveling.
SilverDragon: Awww…c'mon. I'm sure you'll get it eventually. We have a ways to go before I reveal it. Throw in another guess. Please?
Sonya: Well, I hope these other two chappies have cleared even more fog away and left you with sunny days again!
Saori: Mate is safely back in Kurama's arms…though Koko is another problem…and where is Hiei? We still aren't entirely sure if Hiei followed her or not…
Kuramafan: A lot of stuff I do is based on movies…Butterfly Effect didn't spawn this one, actually, but I guess it can remind you of it. I actually got this idea from a story called "Falling into Makai" and I currently cannot remember that fic's author…I will certainly read your fic. I love reading.
