Authoress here.
This is the conclusion of the Yujo Chronicles, and considering this you may be thinking to not waste your time on reading it for you'll have no idea what is going on. Stay with me, friends, for here are the summaries of the first five installments of Yujo Chronicles:
First, in Emiko's Story, Kurama starts reminiscing about his mate, lost to him when he became human. Awhile later, a girl at his school starts acting strangely, saying and remembering things that give him reason to believe she is Emiko, his fox-demon mate from his days as Yoko. Upon Kurama's request, Hiei reads her once hidden memories, awakening her to her fox-demon history and Kurama to her true identity.
Next, in Katsuko's Story, Yusuke gets a brutal emotional blow when long-time girlfriend Kaiko dumps him. Partly to gain vengeance against her and partly out of grudging curiosity, Yusuke agrees to model his bad-boy look for pretty shutterbug Katsuko, alias Katsu. Just when the two begin to fall for one another, a demon organization kidnaps Yusuke. After a dramatic rescue, Yusuke and Katsu decide to "just be friends" so Yusuke's heart can mend from Kaiko.
This brings us to Kiamo's Story, where we take a step out of strange demonic events and explore matters of the heart and shrewd business minds. Kiamo, friend and co-worker of Emiko's and Katsu's, thinks she has it made when big-bucks Seto Kaiba comes to town and begins to romance her. What she later finds out is Seto is using her in order to buy a company that would assuredly make him millions. This information devastates emotionally vulnerable Kiamo, and Seto is ridden with both guilt and the realization he has developed feelings for Kiamo. The story ends with a romantic apology and happiness all around.
The Chronicles continue in Narrin's Story. Koenma, Prince of Spirit World, has stumbled onto a catastrophe too big for just the Spirit Detective and co to handle. He calls on the aid of Weiss Kreuz leader Aya to help the Fearsome Foursome (plus Emiko) rid France of an ex-goddess. Narrin, once the goddess Narrinlorinia of the Honeyed Tongues, still has retained her power for persuasive speaking. Using this, she befuddles the entire French nation into thinking she is their rightful Queen. When the good guys come in, guns blazing, she captures them. With a little quick thinking and a heartfelt kiss, Aya manages to convince the Queen to relinquish her hold on the throne.
And finally, in Ankara's Story, Hiei finally opens up about his painful past to his friend Kurama. He tells of when he was a member of a robber band that makes a visit to a town beneath Ice World for a festival. The festival is actually a sacrificial ceremony, and through chance, Hiei meets the girl, Ankara, who was chosen to dance as the village's Sacrifice. The ceremony entails a gruesome dance, and a painful end. Hiei rescues her from her dire fate, and escapes the tyranny and humility his robber band offers. He brings her to her homeland, Ice World, and never sees her again, although Kurama suspects that Hiei had fallen in love with her.
And that brings us to the beginning of the end in Yujo Chronicles: The Final Chapter, which is set three months after Ankara's Story.
Yujo Chronicles: The Final Chapter
Chapter 1: Conflict of Interests
The evening was deep, no moon to pierce the blanket of black that settled over the city. A few streetlamps glowed, but all the windows of the apartments were dark.
A soft pattern of footsteps echoed out of the ally way, the sound almost startlingly loud in the silence of the night. They continued for awhile, then halted as a figure stepped out of the ally.
It was a woman. Silver-blue hair caught the light from a streetlamp down the street, and iris-less eyes stared out blankly. The woman was almost unworldly tall, with a willowy frame and long limbs.
A young delivery boy was jogging home, running late and very tired. It was after midnight, and the only thing on his mind was his bed. He hurried down the sidewalk, and nearly bumped right into the graceful woman.
"Oh, sorry, lady." The boy apologized sleepily.
"Do you know Yusuke Urameshi?"
"No. Why?"
The woman ignored his question, face blank, eyes devoid of any emotion. "Do you know Kazuma Kuwabara?"
"No. Sorry lady, but I gotta get home."
The boy turned to leave, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. The fingers were like a vise, the skin icy cold.
"I have not yet finished with you, fool. Do you know Shuichi Minamino, Kurama or Hiei of the Jagan Eye?"
The boy's eyes were wide with fright, and his voice shook when he spoke. "N-No. Please let m-me go."
"Do you Katsuko Majoh?"
"Yes! I deliver packages to the place where she works! She's the girl at S & R Sugatoes! She takes pictures for them downtown- ah-…" The boy's eyes glazed over as the woman leaned foreword and brought her other hand up to his chin. She grasped it firmly and twisted, the boy's neck snapping instantaneously.
"Thank you."
The cold fingers released their grip, and the delivery boy slumped to the ground, sightless eyes staring. The woman turned to the east, and began to walk.
West side of the city
The librarian sighed, switching off the desk lamp. She had volunteered to stay after and reshelf the rest of the returned books, but had ended up doing other small chores as well. She was the type who loved to help, but that usually resulted in late nights. This night was no exception; it was well after midnight.
Gathering her coat and purse, the librarian started for the door of the library, yawning. She stopped when she saw someone silhouetted against the glass door of the building.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to come back tomorrow." She called. "We're closed now."
"I'm not here for a book," the person, a man, assured her. "I just thought you'd know someone I'm looking for. It won't take much of your time. "
"Alright." The librarian was a little confused, but she complied. She never minded helping someone.
"Shuichi Minamino…ring any bells?"
"Yes." The librarian smiled. "That nice boy comes by often. He's always here for school projects."
"What school does he go to now?"
The librarian knew the name, and gave it to the man. "He's a sweet boy," she said. "How do you know him, young man?"
"He's…an old friend." The man moved forewords a little. "Thank you for your help."
"Think nothing of it," the librarian said kindly. "I never mind helping people."
"You're a good person." The man said, sounding as if he was smiling. "So I know I'll have a tinge of regret for doing this."
Out of the darkness, a cruel-looking hook shot out, finding purchase within flesh. The librarian gasped once before falling to the floor, blood slowly staining the carpet.
The man came forewords, removing the hook from her stomach and placing it back on his belt. "I'll tell Kurama you said hello."
South side of the city
The bar tender had made everyone leave, and now a couple of drunks stumbled their separate ways home. A young woman left as well, stuffing a few dollar bills down her shirt for safe keeping. Business had been good that night.
She turned another corner and came face to face with a young man, maybe fourteen at most.
"Hey, pretty face." The boy's voice was cocky.
"Shove off, kid." The woman replied. "Shouldn't you be at home? Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"Naw."
"Well, don't expect anything from me. Everything I do is for legal-aged men only." The woman tried to side-step the boy, but he blocked her way again.
"Well, I can do that." The boy grinned. The woman gave a little gasp; the boy was stretching. His face elongated first, followed by the rest of his body. His features shifted into those of maybe a forty-year old man, hair graying at the temples and frown lines around his eyes. "How's this?"
The woman opened her mouth to scream, but the man clamped a hand over her mouth before she could force the noise out.
The man grinned, the expression elongated and skewed. "That's quite impressive, isn't it? Now, there's not much you can do for me, except one liddle thing. I know you know who Kazuma Kuwabara is, right?"
He removed his hand from her mouth, his other fist keeping a tight hold on her hair.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Yeah, I know him. I'm f-friends with his older sister."
"Good. Where does he live?" The man pressed his cheek to hers, voice rough in her ear. She was shaking in terror.
"J-J-Just two blocks away from Hirushan office compound. C-Can't miss it." She gasped out.
"Thanks, sweetie." The man grinned, and then roughly pressed his lips to hers. He sucked in harshly before releasing her. She fell to the ground with a heavy thud, not breathing.
As the man turned, his features and shape morphed again. The child-shape he originally had returned, and skipped off into the darkness.
Next morning
The meadow was quiet. Dust motes danced on the air, and the shafts of mid-afternoon sunlight lanced through the openings in the trees. A bird whistled every now and then, and a slight breeze made the leaves of the trees whisper in an unknown tongue.
"HAAI!" A battle cry split the air, sending a few birds into the air in alarm. The yell punctuated the straight-legged kick delivered by Kurama, a red-headed fox demon reincarnate.
His opponent was a red-headed girl of perhaps sixteen years. She appeared human, but was in actuality she was the reincarnated form of fox-demoness Emiko the vixen. She was Kurama's human bishojou of almost seven months, and his demon mate of over one hundred years. The pair had first met in Demon World, when Kurama in his demon form had stolen Emiko away from her family. She had gladly joined him in both his robber band and in an everlasting bond that connected them in the deepest and most intimate way possible.
They had been separated when Emiko's father had come to reclaim her, both Kurama and Emiko getting lost in Human World and resorting to inhabiting the soulless fetuses of pregnant women to survive. Now they were schoolmates, and reunited at long last.
Emiko spun in almost a 360 degree circle, narrowly missing his foot as it slammed past her in a deadly arc. She leapt backwards, letting potent Demon energy gather at her palms. A light seemed to shine from her hands, and in a blink of an eye two large tulip blossoms appeared.
Kurama saw the tulips form and started calculating quickly. When Emiko's hands started to rise, he leapt up into the air, summoning his Rose Whip all in one movement. Emiko threw the tulips, aiming high.
The tulips, grown by Demon energy, were explosives of the worst kind. They would eat away at whatever they touched, inducing pain and usually fatal injuries. But as Emiko and Kurama were only mock fighting, these ones were grown to only explode without dangerous effect.
As the tulips headed for their target, the Rose Whip sang through the air and sliced the two neatly in half, causing them to explode harmlessly.
As soon as the action had started, it stopped. Kurama touched down lightly, Rose Whip coiling up invisibly. The meadow returned to its serene state of silence.
But only for a moment. The fox demoness let out a whoop, a happy smile covering her face. "That was awesome!"
"It was." The fox-demon agreed, sweeping her up into his embrace. He swung her around, and her feet were lifted off of the ground.
Emiko wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning like a fool. She was constantly trying to create new and creative attacks in case of demon conflict, and the tulips were one of her creations. The fact that she had been able to summon them and that they had exploded on contact with something was a major victory for her. The fact that the item they had hit first was a disarming Rose Whip was of no importance.
"You are improving." Kurama grinned. "If I didn't know what to expect I believe you would have hit me."
His nature was uncharacteristically light and playful; normally he was quite reserved and aloof. But even his closest friends would agree on the cause of his overall cheerful mood swing; being reunited with Emiko had done wonders for both of their lives.
"I have a brilliant teacher," Emiko said, gazing fondly at her mate. A frown took over her face as a thought crossed her mind. "You don't think we're getting too normal, do you?"
Kurama frowned as well, confusion in his eyes. "What do you mean, too normal?"
"Well," Emiko explained. "It's been almost five months since the business with Narrin. We've only fought a few scuffles every now and then, but nothing too exciting. Now it's like a wasteland- not a misbehaving demon in sense or sight! We have time to pursue human past-times now, and that feels strange."
"Learning to fight and perfect the use of Demon energy is hardly a normal human past time. I wish I knew what you were so worked up about," Kurama laughed. "I agree that the going has been unusually calm of late, but why so fidgety for a fight?"
Emiko sighed softly as Kurama took her in another hug. "It's like the calm before the storm, Yoko, and it scares me more than conflict."
Her voice was little less than a murmur, and Kurama touched a forefinger to her chin, looking into her eyes. "Don't be frightened of what you can't see. If we lived our lives in fear, our paths may never have crossed."
"I know I'm being paranoid." Emiko chanced a smile. "And you know I don't live in fear of the unknown, but this…this bothers me."
"There's nothing that can harm you while I'm here to keep you safe." Kurama said, seriousness reflected in his gaze. "I might not be able to see the future, but whatever happens, stay true to those marks on your shoulder."
Emiko blushed a little, a hand unconsciously flying up to her left shoulder. Beneath the light tee shirt she wore were four white scars, the marks of a fox demon's teeth. When two foxes mated, a bite given by the male was the sign to all other males that the female was already claimed as his mate. Those four scars were Kurama's promise, forever etched into the skin of the woman he'd mated.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, although the question was a pointless one. The pair always saw one another at school, and nine times out of ten spent time together everyday. But she meant more than just the question.
"Of course." Kurama answered gently, feeling that his mate needed to hear the answer. He kissed her softly on the cheek, and then departed from the meadow.
Emiko sighed, a shiver running down her spine. Though Kurama's touch usually inspired the pleasant tingles, today was different. This thrill was a warning, and it came from the doubt planted deep in her heart.
Over at the Tick-Tock diner
"They're doin' what?" Kazuma Kuwabara roared, causing half of the occupants of the teen diner to look over at him. The red haired teen seemed oblivious as he stared at a pretty young brunette with a camera hanging around her neck.
The brunette was Katsuko Majoh, more commonly referred to as Katsu, or even simply Katty. She was Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi's girlfriend, and the youngest photographer for the company S & R Sugatoes, a major supplier of martial art gear, as well as a daughter company of a large clothing brand chain. She was also good friends with Emiko.
"They're asking me to ask Yusuke if he'd like to model for me for a shoot," Katsu repeated. Yusuke, seated next to her, seemed to be holding back large guffaws.
"That's what I thought I heard." Kuwabara grumbled, playing absentmindedly with his straw. "And I was almost hoping I'da gone deaf."
"Mute would actually be nicer," Yusuke quipped. Kuwabara sent him a death glare. "But it is funny that they actually want me t'do such a stupid thing."
"It's not stupid!" Katsu protested. "It's a huge compliment!"
Kuwabara continued laughing, and Yusuke shook his head. "If I did do this, I'd never hear the end of it."
"I think y'should do it, Urameshi. Then we'll see ya on magazine covers like some female superstar or somethin'." Kuwabara slurped noisily from his straw. Katsu shot him a dirty look.
"If he did show up on any magazine covers, he'd be in the newest and most advanced fighting gear on the market, not to mention in some kick-ass pose." Katsu countered.
"Well, ya, that's kinda cool." Kuwabara admitted. "What are ya gonna do, Urameshi?"
"I dunno," Yusuke said. "I don't really wanna tie up my options if a demon needs takin' care of."
"I doubt any demon will attack over the next two weeks. With the quiet times you guys have been having, I have a feeling they've backed off tremendously!" Katsu said airily.
"Whatever it is, it's unnatural and I don't like it." Kuwabara sat back in the plastic booth, a frown covering his face.
"I don't like it either." Yusuke said reluctantly. "I know we should all be grateful about the break from the job, but I kinda felt more secure when we were doin' something. Like if it were happening, I could at least know I was doin' somethin' about it."
Katsu slipped her hand in his under the table, giving his fingers a reassuring squeeze. "Just try to relax, you guys. There's more to life than killing demons and going on life-threatening missions."
Yusuke looked out the window, darkly. Yeah, there's being killed when you least expect it by enemies who won't give a damn if they give you a chance or not. And then there's the possibility that they'll kill all your friends and family in the process. He didn't say that aloud. He liked Katsu's happy smile too much to voice such thoughts.
Authoress here.
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