I don't think I'm ever going to find a real title for this- part 1: The Third Kingdom- chapter ten
General: this is the same chapter as the last one so nothing more.
Not so general: what did I just say?
Without you I cannot be
Without you
With you I am alone too
Without you
Without you I count the hours without you
With you the seconds stand still
They aren't worth it
-Rammstein, One Dich (Without You)
+Facing our own mortality is often difficult. Facing the mortality of those we love is as well. What is not considered is facing immortality in combination with the latter.+
10. Detour (part two)
"Yukina." Kurama called as he entered the garden in the courtyard of the temple. He looked at the beautiful assortment of flowers, vegetables, and herbs that the Koorime had taken the hobby of caring for. She certainly had a green thumb; or perhaps it was the fact that she had a knack for caring for all things.
As she turned, Kuronue saw clearly the small demoness'shining, mahogany eyes. The thief had seen a lot amazing things in his day; many of them incredibly beautiful. None of them seemed to compare. Her mint-green hair was ruffled lightly by a pleasant breeze. Her skin seemed to fair to be in the sun like this, but she seemed to be enjoying it well enough. Her figure was small and delicate; her face, wrought with smiling, chilk-like innocence. Her eyes, in addition to their beauty, held yet another secret. They held a past, ajoy, a pain, and a wisdom that was not that of a child.
"Kurama!" she cried and ran over to them. Her voice… it was so tender, so sweet, so…
/Wait, is this a girl or a squirrel dinner/ Kuronue scolded himself. Suddenly, he realized what he'd been thinking. /you've got to be kidding me./ He shook his head. Her eyes became a dull redish-brown. Her patite figure became diminutive and weak. That voice was annoyingly high-pitched and, he reminded himself, fair skin was a sign of either weakness or poor health. Besides, she was obviously (he sniffed the air to confirm his suspicion) Koorime. Not many wanted less to do with those bitches than him. And yet…
"Oh, Kurama! I'm so glad to see you're here!" she said clinging to Kurama's waist in a full hug, "I haven't been able to talk to anyone. How is everyone?"
"Umm…" Kurama shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I wouldn't really know. I've been kind of out of it myself." If she didn't know about Hiei's capture, there was no reason she should.
"Have you heard from my brother?"
Kurama shifted his gaze to Kuronue as if seeking help, though he knew the bat wouldn't be of any use in this situation.
"Not as of late." he finally answered, still not looking at Yukina. It was true, but every time such topics came up, they were treading on dangerous ground. "I figured you might be running low on good company, so I stopped by. I was on my way to talk to Yuusuke. I kind of dropped of the radar for a while. He's probably worried."
Kuronue stared at his partner in amazement. The Fox wasn't always the model for honesty, but he didn't lie to innocent bystanders. Sure, she was Koorime, but if she was his friend, she couldn't be that bad. And she said she had a brother. If she was the love-child of a Koorime, certainly the blood was good, despite the race. In short, she probably wasn't the fascist bitch the rest of the race was.
That would qualify her as both innocent and a friend. There was no reason to lie to her. It's not like she's going to tell anyone. He brought it up, anyway. Why throw her off on purpose?
Kurama picked up on his musings and shook his head, indicating an explanation later. Kuronue said nothing. His friend had his reasons.
"Kurama, please let me go with you."
"Yukina, no." Kurama sounded exasperated, as though he'd been through this countless times before.
"Why?"
"It's too dangerous. I promised to keep you safe."
"I'd be safe with Yuusuke. Besides, I'm not as helpless as you think."
"I know you're not. It's getting there I'm worried about. And besides," he mimicked her stress of the word, "Yuusuke's likely to be attacked. You're safer in the human world. The Reikai can't attack the temple and youkai won't go near anywhere under Yuusuke's protection. This is a no-zone for both sides."
"Kurama," she begeg like a child that didn't want to be sent to bed (as Kurama sounded rather much like the over-protective parent), "I'm alone here…"
"No you're not."
"Yes, I am. Kane-sama's busy."
"Doing what, sweeping?" Kurama smirked.
"He's too young. He can't understand. I can't talk to him. And no one comes. Botan can't because of the Reikai. Yuusuke can't; he's busy. You have to stay underground. Even Hiei's stopped coming."
Kurama flinched at the mention of Hiei. He knew exactly why the Jaganshi was never around. "He's too easily tracked. He's only protecting you." It was half-true, at least.
"And," Yukina continued, ignoring Kurama, "everyone else is…" She trailed off, tears welling in her eyes at the thought of her human friends' passings. She knew it was just a fact. She was a demon. They were humans. There was nothing to be done about it, but she just couldn't push it aside like the boys.
Kuronue felt a twinge of something close to pity at the girl's expression. He'd been there. Every higher class youkai had been there. Your life span depended solely on your ability to stay alive. There was no deterioration with age if you didn't let it. One could easily outlive many friends. /Is this what Kurama felt/
"I miss them, too."
/Yes./
Kurama put an arm over her shoulders. "I'm sorry. When this is all over…"
"Will it be? When? What then? Will I outlive all of you, too!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, hardening as they fell and cracking on the ground. "Who will I have then? My Brother!"
Kurama flinched at the spite and anger in her voice, glad, once again, that it was Kuronue behind him and not Hiei as usual.
"Yukina…"
"Forget it. I'm done." she Shot at him icily, wiping her eyes. Maybe she was Koorime.
Kurama sighed.
"Yukina, this is Kuronue." He gestured toward said person.
"Oh!" She started as if she had only just seen him. "Pardon me."
Kuronue bowed silently at the waist. Yukina expected nothing more than the traditional demonic greeting. It was quite informal, though. Either he didn't like her or this was one of Kurama's infamous band. From his stony expression, she suspected both. Once again, not surprising. Not many demons were fond of Koorime.
"Nice to meet you." She held out her hand. She was not like most Koorime.
Kuronue's wings fluttered nervously but he took her hand. When they'd finished the gesture, he stepped smoothly but quickly back bowing his head hoping the faint blush wasn't enough to be seen against his pale skin. +good luck+ Kurama cocked an eyebrow at the coloring he had only see twice on his friend's face, but said nothing.
"Are you sure it's safe to bring him here?" she asked, poking fun at the Fox's protective nature.
"I'd trust him with my mother's life. Obviously I trust him with yours." he answered calmly.
Kuronue pulled his hat down over his eyes and leaned back against the wall of the dojo as the two engaged in idle chit-chat.
"So do you demons have nothing better to do these days than follow around humans?"
Kuronue turned to face a rather tall, lanky human. About 45, his pitch-black hair curled tightly to his head began to be flecked with white. Square jaw, small eyes, and long, well muscled arms gave the man a slightly apish appearance.
/Ape, hmm/
"You wouldn't happen to be a Kuwabara, would you?"
"Master Kuwabara Kane of…"
"A simple yes would have been sufficient. What do you have against demons? You know she's one, right?"
"Yes, I do. And I don't have anything against demons. I just know they're dangerous. I didn't know you were a friend of Shuichi's, and I didn't know it was him. I was just being cautious. However, I am suspicious of demons that take orders from humans."
"Psh. Some master you are. You mean that you can't sense malice on aura?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Actually, it is."
"Pray tell, why?"
"I was needlessly attacked because of your incompetence. It is now my business."
"You still haven't answered my question."
"What would that be?"
"Do demons have any…"
"Oh, that. I thought it was rhetorical."
"It was what?"
"It was… Never mind. For the record, I am not following around random humans, I don't take orders from him, and, for your information, though I don't see why you need to know: no, I don't have anything better to do."
stupid border thing. i have nothing clever to say.+
"So he's your friend?"
"Kuronue?"
"Hm."
"Yeah, we go way back."
"Before Hiei?"
"Much before. What do you think of him?"
"Honestly?"
A nod.
"He's stiff."
"Is that all?"
"I think he's a bit rough around the edges, but he seems alright."
"Interesting."
"What?"
"I found the exact opposite when I first met him. But, then, he did act a lot different. Maybe it's 'cause I was a kid. We both were in a way."
"In a way?"
"Yeah. We've changed. I mean together. First he was kind of a father figure. Then an older brother. Now we just call it friends; If he'll talk about it. He's probably one of the most human demons I've met, but he's still a demon, if you know what I mean. He's always been weird."
"You want to know what else I think of him?"
"What?"
"You can't tell him."
"Oh? OK."
"Or… Hiei. I think he'll take it wrong."
"Alright."
"I think he's kind of cute too."
((((crappy other border/quote written by me. it sucks, but it kind of sets the mood. sry.))))
NOOOOO! DON'T LEAVE. Just listen. I hate romance. Anyone who's read my rant of a bio knows that. This will not turn romantic. Nor will it turn into cheesy "I like him but I don't want him to know." That's just stupid. It takes space and leads into something that I'm not even sure if I'm going to do. Just hang in there. A few more chapters and I'll get rid of this sleazy trash. No goo-goo eyes, I promise. At some point, I might open it up for someone to keep going on this track, but I won't take it any further. It maybe comes up once after this. That's it.
THIS IS A NO ROMANCE ZONE.
OK. Now that that's been cleared up… I don't really have anything else to say.
I may as well clear some other things up while I'm here.
This is how it goes. I know how it is in various series but this is how it is here.
Kurama is about 500 (here). I saw somewhere that he was about 400 in the sieries and it works better than 1000. that's what i'm sticking with.
Kurounue is about 700.
Hiei is about 400.
Yuusuke is a Toushin. I don't know exactly what that is but I've heard it a few places. I'm assuming that it's the kind of Youkai that Raizen was. I've also heard "Mazuka" but in the Japanese version that just gets translated to "Demon kin" so I'm not going to use that.
Hiei is not, I repeat NOT, Koorime. It's says this in the manga (I have an entire essay on this), Shonen Jump- Vol. 24 (Dec 2004 issue in the US) chap. 50 or 51 (I can't tell which but it's page 305) entitled "I Must Get Stronger." To quote Hiei himself: "Yukina doesn't know, and there's no reason she should. We have different mothers, and she's an ice maiden… They're supposed to keep to their wintry realm." What does this mean? That 1) Hiei and Yukina are not twins and not necessarily the same age, 2) that they are half siblings, and 3) Hiei is probably not Koorime because he refers to Yukina's mother being an ice maiden (Koorime) and makes it sound like his mother is not. Therefore, Hiei is also not a "Forbidden Child." I have no idea where that came from, but it certainly isn't the manga.
Kuronue is (a) Ryoushin (see previous chapters). I made Ryoushin up so I can do whatever the hell I want with them.
Kurama has four basic forms: Human, full youkai, half and half as mentioned earlier, and fox (as in the animal but big, silver, and many-tailed).
Yukina never hooked up with Kuwabara. I don't have to explain myself. They just didn't work out.
five people know of Yukina and Hiei's sibling-hood: Hiei, Kurama, Yuusuke, Koenma, and Botan. That's it unless I say so.
I think that's it. I'll probably think of more. These are the things that I hope I've made clear, but in case I didn't, that's them.
Review responses:
Oklina: I'm not coordinated enough to be a dancer. I admire you. I tried it and died. As it happens you're freakishly close to being correct in your predictions. So close, I might have to use it in a sense. Is that OK? I have a few of those big points. That's what outlines are for. I just don't know how to make them happen. And, yes: bad you. But we all have our moments, ne? and if you like mind games you'll love the next chapter.
Purplehairedwonder: Usually when someone says "Interesting… very interesting" it means that something is borderline wrong. Is that the case? I love Kurama as a smart ass, too. You should see how feisty he gets later. It's freaky at times. I'm glad to know they'll be there too. This whole splitting chapter thing is not to my liking. So you probably won't see much more of it.
Pan Jaganshi: I like marching band. I'm a flag. I don't play an actual instrument though. Maybe that's the difference between me and the rest of the class (they all hate it). K.I.S.S.ing hard for me too. That was short and sweet? Whatever. You're the reader. Comp crashes are why I have hard copies. Not nearly as good, but I had something similar that wiped out and entire chapter of a story. It was the first and only one I didn't have a hard copy for. I couldn't get over it. I don't even remember half of what it said anymore. It makes me sad b/c it was one off my favorites but I haven't written on it since. I feel really bad, but I don't trust computers anymore. I love them dearly, but I don't rely on them. I've had too much (though slightly less devestating) experience to trust them any more. In short, I understand. I'll keep updating as long as people are reading.
All: by the time you read this, the Joseph thing should be nearly (if not completely) over (i'm posting this on opening night). You should see the size of that board. Holy crap! It's at least 6 times the size of anything I've ever run (that doesn't say a whole hell of a lot, but it's freaking huge!). 24 channels and they're thinking of hooking another up. At least 20 individual body mikes (as many as 6 at a time) that I have to keep track of. And now i'm sick and dying and hacking up a lung. I'm going to DIE. my director's going to kill me!Don't worry. They'll resurrect me for strike and send me on my merry way so I can still update.
In any case, I'll be back.
That was long. Guess what I found out. Yesterday (4/20) was Hitler's b-day. No I am not a neo-nazi. I just realized that all of the German, the comment about "nazi ninjas" (that was in Spanish), and the sympathy to Germany in the second chap might have led somepeople to think that. I'm Polish, relatively Catholic, and just raised a whole hell of a lot differently. I like to think of myself as practically impartial (I have a few qualms with events and attitudes of western-European and American history, but we're not getting into that) on subjects such as race, religion, politics and such (read bio- "Live and let live (LALL)" policy). Sorry for any confusion that might have caused and anyone I might have offended in my endless rants. Oh, yeah Hitler's birthday: Hitler fascinates me—all of WWII does. WWI is interesting too. Just, when you think about it, what goes through people's heads when they start stuff like that? And how the hell did they manage to convince so many other people of it? No, I'm not trying to take over the world. I've considered it, but it would be too much work, and what would I do once I've taken it over? It just isn't practical (much less moral). Whatever. I'm done yacking and digging myself in deeper. I'm sure not even half of you noticed any of that. I just thought some people would like and amusing bit of trivia as much as I did.
I also just realized how horrible my second chapter came out (you are your worst critic). Yeah, I went back and read it to remember what it said (hey, it's been along time, 'kay?). It's a piece of crap compared to what I had written. I have to look at the rest of them now. I don't want to. That's always so painful. Maybe I'll fix them and then they won't sick as much for future readers (future readers, yeah right). Not now though. Who made projects due on tech week? Oh, yeah, evil Dickerson did! Stupid Spanish class.
That was really long.
Bye.
Liebe (which, if you haven't figured out by now, means 'Love') sie von (from) Doomschneider
4-21-05