DISCLAIMER: I do not own YYh but all my original characters are mine.
a/n: WAAAAAAAA! It's the last chapter! T.T
But that's why we have sequels isn't it? Hehe, and since I practically took up all my weekend doing homework I'm going to take it easy now and catch up on this chapter before Anime-Hour starts! (LoL, which is basically the time where I sit on my butt half the night and watch adult swim)
I do have to warn you all though, the rating for 'Forever Fornever III' is going to be M for certain aspects that I plan to put in—
I however, in no way support the reasons for the rating, but for the psychological crap that's going to be going on, well…
It's my muse's fault. XD
Cookies to my reviewers! (Man, but there were so little of you this time! LoL)
Fangimation: Haha, well that's what I was aiming for! And I just had to have Hiei help! (but he's just so stubborn, he won't admit it to Mai later on, hehe)
Little Sakura 87: Was I that persuasive that you didn't think so? (wow, I must be getting better…) Haha, and I'm glad you didn't mind the length (I was almost bothered by it XD)—Ahah! And I finally watched that one commentary! I was laughing so hard…but it made me cry a little too (jeeze I'm so lame…) And I realized something too…Chuck Huber lives in Chicago, that's like twenty minutes away from me…XD haha, I should go visit him (even though I think he moved to Texas—but that's okay!)
Shadowkitsune7: Ah, I know! But don't worry! I have full plans for a sequel right up the road!
PS: we can all assume Sakyo died when the stadium collapsed, right? 'Cause I don't feel too much like explaining that whole lot, hehe…
Thoughts
Forever Fornever II
:Tournament's End:
Thank you, Yusuke…
Light slowly appeared behind the cracks of his eyes and he felt a breeze pass over his hand. The detective groaned miserably and rolled over onto his stomach, only to find that his entire body was aching. Far off, he heard a seagull caw and the ocean roll onto the shore. He growled under his breath and buried his face further into his pillow—
He paused; blinking into the fabric beneath him.
A…pillow…?
Yusuke shot up off the bed (and cried out when a sharp pain raced through his body). His eyes darted around the hotel room and then towards his side where bandages wrapped around his abdomen and his arms, while there was one simply plastered along his cheek. This wasn't right…the last place he remembered was the stadium. Show how had he gotten here…?
He let his legs hang over the side of the bed and he rubbed the bridge of his nose irritably. He wondered what time it was, but found that he didn't have the strength to find out from the clock at his bedside. The detective's body ached and was stiff (he could only tell that it would probably get worse from here on out…) and he rolled back over onto the bed. Yusuke's gaze drifted wearily up to the ceiling above him and sighed; his eyes threatening to close once more.
Tears fell silently onto her shoulder and through her crimson hair. His hands trembled as he pressed her to him further.
"…gomen nasai…" he whispered pleadingly; his voice suddenly shaking, "…I'm so sorry…"
Urameshi blinked slowly and turned his head towards the window. He watched as the sun penetrated the poor excuses for drapery, and how it swayed along the floor of the room. It took him a moment, but he remembered why it was that his body ached so much.
The detective gritted his teeth weakly. They had been so close…
They had been so close to actually losing her—
"URAMESHI!"
Yusuke blinked again when he heard Kazuma racing down the hall, and especially when he saw the redhead barrel through his door. He was panting and his eyes were frantic. Urameshi watched him, confused (especially since it seemed as though he hadn't bothered to change out of his fighting clothes—gross, those must've reeked like hell—)
"Forgot how to dress yourself, Kuwabara?" he wondered, despite the redhead's turmoil.
"—Not now, Urameshi!" Kazuma panted, "Mai—MAI'S NOT IN HER ROOM!"
He stared at him, "…so?"
The detective froze suddenly; wait a minute…
"WHY WERE YOU IN HER ROOM, YOU DAMN PERVERT?" he shouted, and promptly shoved his foot down Kuwabara's face (but where he suddenly found the strength to do this though…). The redhead squawked in pain as the detective continued to pound on him relentlessly, "Son of a bitch! Didn't you learn from last time?"
"I was checking to make sure she didn't die again!"
"I'm sure you were!"
He stopped suddenly with his foot still compressed on Kuwabara's face and blinked. Yusuke leaned down towards Kazuma's bloodied face suspiciously.
"Hold up…what do you mean: 'Mai's not in her room'?"
-:-
The guardian watched as the waves lolled onto the beach and washed gently over her feet. She tucked her knees up to her chin and rested her head against them. Another wave came and brushed over her feet. She sighed heavily; her eyes drifting over the damp sand molding beneath her. Hywein lay curled up next to her just far enough away that she wouldn't get wet.
What was it like…?
Mai's thoughts wandered.
She had been dead…but she didn't remember anything…
Was that what death was? Was it just some suspension in a blackened void, with all thoughts stolen away forever; simply drifting. Was that what death was? She stared off vacantly at the glistening ocean. Or…or only when you refused to leave the world and you're left behind in an eternal purgatory…?
Her eyes closed slowly.
But they had saved her from that prison…they had all saved her.
She smiled softly and buried her face further into her knees. Hywein yawned and flicked her tail lazily across the sand. Now that she though about it…she did hear something during that time…
It was Yusuke's voice—it was all their voices, but his rose up above them all…and it was what finally brought her back. Her smile softened and she peeked open her eyes to watch the rolling ocean before her. The guardian's eyes shimmered as another set of waves washed over her feet. She wrapped her arms tightly around her legs and rubbed her eyes on her knees irritably.
"You did a good job raising a coupla stubborn-ass students…Genkai…"
The guardian's head turned to her side and smiled sadly at the stone-faced shrine a few feet away from her. Genkai's famous cap lay beside it and rustled with the ocean breeze. It had taken her almost all morning, but she had finally been able to carve out the kanji for 'Ba-san'
She laughed softly to herself.
"But thank you…"
"Hey, it looks like somebody beat us to it, Botan…"
Mai turned just as another wave washed over her legs. From around the bend in the trees, several familiar faces come into view. As the guardian watched, she realized the quartet of girls had already been planning on creating a gravesite.
She saw Yukina wave, "Mai-chan!"
"You're up and about already?" Botan wondered miraculously, "Jeeze, Yusuke must be having a cow! Let's hope he cools down by the time we're ready to leave," she noted (and the guardian laughed nervously…)
The ice-apparition smiled as they approached, "Are you sure you feel well enough to be walking?" she wondered in concern, "I'm sure we'd be able to take you back to the hotel if you're not…"
"Yeah, usually after someone's died, you'd think they would be at least somewhat cautious about walking around an island full of killer demons," Shizuru put casually somehow.
The guardian smiled nervously and sweatdropped, "Nope, I feel fine…"
"Are you sure?" Keiko asked this time.
She stood and brushed the sand off of her pants and turned to them, grinning, "Yup—I'm sure," she insisted as Hywein leapt onto her shoulder. Mai smiled, but it faded abruptly when she realized that the ferry-girl across from her was grinning nervously in a rather suspicious manner…
"What?"
Botan gestured down the beach, still grinning, "You're probably not going to be for long, though…"
Mai blinked, "Mm—?"
"YO! BITCH!"
The guardian turned just in time to find Yusuke barreling towards her. He was furiously attempting to tug on a pair of jeans as he ran across the beach, as if he had just gotten out of bed, but seemed to be having difficulty as he nearly fell face-forward into the sand. He swore under his breath, and Kuwabara appeared running up behind him.
Shizuru snorted and lifted a cigarette to her mouth, "Well looks like Yusuke's glad to see you're alive…"
Mai sweatdropped again; it seemed slightly ironic that the detective was swearing angrily after practically dying to bring her back…
Well, so much for being grateful…
"You could at least act like you value your life!" he shouted towards her, "Walking around a demon-filled island is not a way to—!"
He was cut off suddenly when Kuwabara trampled him from behind. The detective landed face-down into the beach as the redhead continued to race forward.
"Mai! Mai you're alright, right? You haven't died again? Are you sure? You can't just go walking around here! Hah, I Kazuma Kuwabara will protect you—and my precious Yukina of course!"
The redhead continued rambling and Mai just blinked, the spirit beast at her shoulder had nearly the same expression. From behind him, Yusuke was steadily beginning to recover. He grimaced as he raised himself out of the hole in the sand, he was watched Kazuma warily with a cocked eyebrow as he made his way towards the group.
"Since when has Kuwabara been more worried about Mai than me?" he wondered to the blue-haired ferry-girl next to him.
She grinned and lifted a finger matter-of-factly, "I believe that would have been when he started sleeping outside her room at night!" the detective glared suddenly as she continued with a cheerful smile, "Must've had something to do with her little death-sequence the other day…"
He frowned but she didn't seem to notice.
Botan tapped her chin thoughtfully, "I would think that it was because he feels guilty—or something to that extent. I think I even caught a little guilt off of Hiei…" she added off-handedly.
"That doesn't make sense," he muttered, "Why the hell should Kuwabara be feeling guilty?"
The detective scowled suddenly when she hit him over the head, "Idiot. Besides to you, he was the next person who even had a chance to stop Toguro from killing Mai. I suppose that really got to him that he wasn't able to do anything," she narrowed her eyes suddenly towards him, "Now why you don't feel the same is beyond me…"
"Oi! Don't tell me about that!" he argued irritably, "—And you!" he turned swiftly towards Kuwabara, who was still going on and on about who knows what, "You need to go badger the hell out of someone else!"
Kazuma froze in mid-sentence from his rambling, "Hey, at least I'm showing some concern!" he told him.
Yusuke's eye ticked, "Nani? What's that supposed to mean?" the detective demanded furiously.
But before he could answer, Urameshi had kicked him in the face. And in another instant, the two of them were suddenly tackling each other into the sand. The group of girls around them sweatdropped nervously while they punched one another in the face—if anyone had happened to be keeping track for some reason, Yusuke appeared to be winning…
The guardian watching sighed and ran her hand through her hair, "Idiots…"
"HEY!"Shizuru's voice suddenly barked. She appeared between the two boys; her hands gripping angrily at their collars, "Who the hell told you that you could dance around on someone's grave, eh?"
They stopped right in the middle of a punch (although Yusuke's had managed to make contact) and stared at one another in confusion. That is, until they noticed the block of stone sitting a little ways away from them…and they grew quiet. Mai noticed an immediate reaction from the detective as his expression dropped.
Shizuru let both of them go and brushed off her hands in satisfaction.
Urameshi sat with his legs crossed and his fists in his lap. He was quiet for a long time.
"Heh…" he forced a wry smile, "I almost forgot about you, Grandma…"
-:-
"Uh, um…sir?" Jorge poked his head through the large wooden doors into the demigod's office. He seemed oddly nervous as he glanced around the giant room. Koenma lifted his head as the ogre appeared in the doorway, "He's…he's here…"
His eyes narrowed slightly, "Send him in…" he replied and the ogre nodded diligently as he disappeared behind the doors. There was a moment where it was silent before those doors opened a second time…only now there was someone different standing in the entryway.
Koenma raised his eyes towards the doors where his visitor stood with his hands tucked calmly into his pockets. The demigod watched as Jorge closed the doors and the man made his way forward.
He sighed, "Let's just get this sorted out, shall we Toguro?"
The apparition said nothing as he rustled through a stack of papers carefully. Koenma paused on a few of them for a while before he finally set the stack down and sighed again.
"A place for you Toguro…" he rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily, "I think…if we examine the facts, there really—"
"That won't be necessary."
The demigod blinked and turned towards Toguro slowly. His expression was unreadable from behind his sunglasses, but something told Koenma that it was the same stone-faced expression that was so familiar. He frowned as he folded his hands together out in front of him.
"I beg to differ," the toddler told him, "You're case is so complex; it'll difficult deciding where to place you…"
Toguro's eyes flashed behind his glasses but his expression remained the same, "I've already made my choice…" he told him:
"I want you to sentence me to Limbo."
Koenma frowned darkly as he studied the apparition before him, "You do realize what that is…don't you?" the man in front of him said nothing, "Every part of you will be sliced away for thousands of years…except your ability to experience pain. Toguro, when weighing your demonic crimes and your human achievements—you only deserve a slight punishment. Limbo isn't necessary!"
But the apparition didn't even flinch…and his appearance remained stone-cold. A tension-filled silence rose up around them, and still Toguro said nothing.
With a heavy sigh, Koenma slowly reached for the stamp sitting at his side.
"Then if there is no persuading you…"
The apparition narrowed his eyes, but he didn't say a word. Koenma raised the stamp regrettably.
"I sentence you to ten-thousand years in Limbo."
Toguro watched as the stamp fell. And as the red ink stained the page before the demigod, a small, sad smile crept over the apparition's face. When Koenma ordered the ogre to escort him out, the words echoed with emptiness throughout his mind. He turned back towards the giant doors and strode through them and into the darkened hallway.
The demigod sighed heavily and rubbed his temple.
"Koenma, sir…"
He lifted his head and turned just in time to see Ayame walk through beside him. She was holding yet another stack of papers and read through them briefly before turning towards the demigod.
"Sir, I found the information you requested…" she told him quietly, but also made a small frown, "But it's odd, sir; from what I found, Toguro had every reason to despise apparitions or at least to fight them. And yet when his team won the tournament the last time…he wished that he could become one himself…"
The demigod was staring off at the doors in front of him. He was silent for a long time before he hopped down from his chair and made his way across the room. Ayame followed obediently.
"Sir?"
They stopped at a balcony overlooking the Reikai realm. The ferry-girl glanced over the edge to find a lone figure making their way towards the large gates surrounding them. Beside her, Koenma was quiet as he too watched the apparition.
Ayame blinked suddenly when she heard the demigod let out a snort of laughter.
"That son of a bitch had us all fooled…" he said dryly, "Someway or another, he had this all planned out…even before the tournament."
He grew silent again as the giant gate opened to let the apparition pass through.
Koenma folded his hands behind his back and sighed now, "I think the only thing he hadn't planned on, was probably Mai," he told her with a grim smile, "…Personally, I don't think he had any actual intention of killing her—at first that is. But when she said that she would make Yusuke stronger, he couldn't resist…"
The ferry-girl watched him, "Why's that, sir?" she wondered.
She saw him staring as the gates closed behind Toguro, "Because…he legitimately wanted to be beaten by someone stronger than himself; the more powerful Yusuke became, all the better for him," his voice held an air of bitterness, "I guess it was his own way of repenting somehow: to finally be killed by someone stronger…"
With a muffled slam the gates closed shut and Toguro was standing alone on the outside of Reikai. All around him, roads stretched into the infinite expanse of space and twisted through the air and down in the depths below him. There were arches that draped over the sky above and plummeted into the unknown. Orbs of light drifted past the apparition and floated up higher into the air into several cloud-like formations.
As he stood alone, a deathly silence filled the air. There was no wind to moan across the paths…or any beings to whisper to him in disgust. He glanced a final time over the world around him before he calmly placed his hand in his pocket and steadily made his way across the strip of earth at his feet. It was almost as if he was apathetic towards his destiny in the pits of hell…
He treaded calmly down the road for a while longer; the only noise to greet him in the unearthly silence being the scuffing of his feet along the dirt.
Toguro's sunglasses flashed and he stopped suddenly. He lifted his eyes towards the burning, temple-like structure before him and the eerie smoke that enveloped its gates.
But that wasn't why he stopped.
A faint smile picked at the corner of his lips as a single figure emerged from the haze. They stopped when they had been cleared of the smoke and watched the apparition forlornly.
"Hm…" his eyes flickered, "Did you come to say your goodbyes…
"…Genkai?"
-:-
Yusuke kicked his feet up on the table and ran his fingers through his hair, "Well that's all the quiet staring I can handle," he said suddenly breaking the silence amongst them.
They sat together in the lobby, but none of them had said a word for the longest time—that is, until the detective had broken the tension filling out between them. Onlookers from the tournament busied past them with their bags as they made their way towards the docks so they could board the final ferries back home. The Urameshi team sat around a single table in silence. The boys sat with there coats over their shoulders while Mai sufficed with a trench coat that Kurama had let her borrow.
The detective rocked on the heel of his chair, "After all this time it's gonna feel weird not fearing for my life…" he mused off-handedly as he watched another group of spectators walk past.
Beside him, Kuwabara let out a short laugh, "Don't sweat it Urameshi. I can beat you up at school every day if it makes you feel better."
"Yusuke's right," Kurama cut in quietly as the detective let out a snort of amusement, "Normal life for all of us will seem pale for awhile…"
They all grew silent again and didn't make eye contact with one another.
It was awhile before any of them spoke, "I wonder what's taking those girls so long," Kazuma said under his breath as if he was trying to change the subject, "If they make us wait any longer, we're gonna get left!"
"Not everyone packed just one set of clothes," the other redhead assured him.
Kuwabara scowled slightly, "It's just like family vacations. My dumb sister's always making us late…probably plucking her mustache—"
"—should I tell them about your Fluffy Doll, Kazuma?"
The redhead rocketed out of his chair as Shizuru's face appeared beside his own. Kurama calmly stood and moved out of his chair to let Kuwabara land safely into it. He paled in horror when he realized his sister had heard what he said.
"Ah, uh no—no! I was just saying how pretty you are, sis!" he insisted nervously while the rest of the girls appeared behind Shizuru. At once they all apologized for being late and grinned.
"PUU!"
Yusuke glanced up as the spirit beast flapped eagerly towards him. He grabbed it out of the air before it could hurt itself, "Hey. There you are, you're all right, Puu," he assured as it struggled impatiently in his grasp, but he held tight, "I didn't think you'd ever come back after Genkai started talking through you…"
At this Mai gave him an odd look, but he conveniently didn't notice.
"Hey, you're kind of like a telephone to the other side aren't you?" he asked the spirit beast casually while his teammates watched him carefully, "Well what are you waiting for, operator? Patch me into Grandma! Come on! Which side's your receiver?" Puu squealed unhappily, "What? You'll do it for her but not for me—?"
"Stop it, Yusuke…" Kurama said quietly, "It's not possible anymore."
The detective stopped and turned towards the akage as Puu pecked angrily at his finger, "What do you mean?"
He sighed heavily, "Genkai made contact in Reikai…the land between the living world and the land of the dead."
Kuwabara blinked, "But I thought people went to Spirit World when they died?"
"They do," Kurama answered, "But for a time. Reikai is just a starting point where there are many roads to take into the world of the dead. Master Genkai's was a priority case…she has probably already departed to the land of the dead—from which there is no contact."
The group grew silent. Yusuke stared at the spirit beast in his hand and absently set it free as he folded his arms over his chest. Mai was watching him nervously from behind the detective's hooded eyes and noticed how his knuckles tightened over the fabric of his coat.
Yusuke—
"Fine!" Urameshi suddenly shot out of his seat; startling everyone at the table, "You heard fox boy! There's nothing we can do for the old hag if she's already limp. Just gotta keep truckin', yes sir!" he stormed around them towards the front doors of the hotel, "I'm gonna go outside and make myself a nice, big, shiny first place medal, sit in the sun and have a stupendous freaking day, dammit!"
The lobby jumped as he slammed open the door with a kick of his foot and trampled outside.
"Well alright, Urameshi would you go make me a medal too?" Kazuma called after him.
Hiei snorted and folded his arms over his chest, "He's so deep in his repression that even I feel sorry for him…" he admitted with a hint of dry amusement.
Mai blinked in surprise and then suspiciously turned towards Kurama.
"…'Fox-boy'?" she wondered.
-:-
The detective angrily shoved his hands into his pockets as he plodded down the stretch of beach. The waves rolled over his shoes, but he ignored it even as the water soaked his feet. His eyes were downcast and didn't move from the sand beneath him.
He sighed suddenly and plopped down onto the beach. Yusuke crossed his legs and noticed out of the corner of his eye, a crab scurry back underneath the sand hurriedly. He shoved his jacket closer around him and frowned out over the ocean. The detective's gaze darkened as another wave rolled over his feet, and he slowly recoiled from the water.
Stupid old hag…
A seagull cawed above him.
And a little ways off, he heard someone else walking along the sand.
Urameshi turned his head slightly, but his eyes still remained glued onto the ocean before him. Even so, he didn't even have to turn to see who it was. There was a flash of red hair beside him and Mai was squatting in the sand. She rocked on the balls of her feet and wrapped her arms around her knees. The guardian said nothing, but followed Yusuke's gaze out over the sea.
They sat in nothing but silence for the longest time. The detective was rigid from the tension, but Mai didn't seem to notice and tucked her head into her knees.
He noticed that she turned her head towards him for a moment. After a pause, she frowned.
Out of the blue, she suddenly tugged down on his collar and the detective nearly fell over in surprise, "Hey! Hey!" he shouted as a fierce blush burned at his cheeks, "What the hell do you think your doing?"
She didn't say anything as she let his collar fall back into place. The guardian once more wrapped her hands around her knees and stared at the waves rolling onto the beach. One of the waves made it up to her and soaked the edges of Kurama's coat.
"Baka…" she said under her breath, "….you lost it."
Yusuke blinked at her in confusion, "Nani?" he wondered, "What are you talking about?"
The guardian didn't answer him and he puffed out his cheeks irritably. He should have expected…she was going to make him figure it out on his own. Urameshi swore inwardly; he was never good at guessing—that was the reason he failed science in sixth grade.
He thought hard for a long time; frowning over the ocean when he couldn't figure it out.
Urameshi blinked again. He turned back towards the guardian and saw her frowning unhappily at the sand.
"You don't mean that glass-tubey-thing, do you?" he asked her in disbelief, "Hell, what did you expect? We've been fighting this entire time, it was bound to—"
"I expected you to take the stupid thing off when you fought!" she said, suddenly turning towards him, "What kind of idiot leaves that kind of thing on when he's fighting in a demon tournament?"
He blinked; stricken abruptly into silence.
She had a good point…
The detective turned again when he heard her sigh. He noticed that her frown had turned into something of a sad one.
"…and that was the only copy of that picture I had," she said unhappily.
He watched her as Mai stared off into the sea. There was another gull that cried above them and dipped down towards the water, before it suddenly pulled back up again. The guardian rocked back and forth slowly as she flicked a pebble into the waves.
After a long moment of silence, Yusuke snorted and folded his arms across his chest. The guardian blinked and turned her attention back towards him.
"Keh…" he said quietly with a small grin, "Only you would be angry about a stupid picture after you had almost died…" he laughed softly and smirked towards her, "You need to learn how to set your priorities straight, Mai."
Her face suddenly contorted as she struggled not to punch him in the face.
…But of course it was bound to happen sooner or later.
The detective collided with the sand as Mai's fist made contact with his face, "IDIOT! You owe me another photo-op!" she roared furiously.
Click!
Both of them blinked in unison and turned.
Botan stood grinning and was waving a camera in front of her, "Wish granted!" she chimed while the other members of their team appeared behind her. Yusuke and Mai stood in a stunned confusion for a moment before they blinked and finally returned to their senses.
"That's not exactly what I meant, Botan…" the guardian told her.
The ferry-girl smiled brightly, "Well I'm sure if you don't want it, I'll be more than happy to give it to Koenma-sama as a little gift!"
"Give me that!" Yusuke muttered as he stood and snatched the camera from her hands. She blinked, but before she could protest, the detective turned and suddenly chucked it into the ocean. With a small plop it disappeared beneath the surface.
Mai kicked him in the back, "URAMESHI! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? You just owed me another photo, you idiot!"
"NANI?" he recovered almost immediately, "You said you didn't want it! MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND!"
"You should have kept that one, Botan," Shizuru said calmly and she took her cigarette from her mouth while the other two teens bickered back and forth, "Who knows what'll happen when we they stop beating on one another—hell, that might as well be a sign of the apocalypse," she added as she let a puff of smoke drift into the air.
A little ways off, Hiei snorted, "Along with Kuwabara being smart," he muttered under his breath, but the redhead heard him and whirled.
"You got somethin' to say shorty?" he demanded angrily but the apparition sent him a glare that made him close his mouth.
A blow horn suddenly sounded from off shore. The group stopped (Mai with her foot in Yusuke's back; pinning him into the sand) and they all turned towards the sea. The steamer blared again as it appeared off shore a little ways off.
"Hey! Our boat's here!" Kazuma shouted as Mai started to let Urameshi up out of the beach.
Yusuke brushed the sand of his hair and sat cross-legged on the ground, "Heh…back to ditching school…" he said grinning—even as Mai and Keiko sent him several dangerous glares that he appeared to be ignoring at all costs.
"And video games," Kuwabara added as he placed his hands behind his head.
The apparition next to him snorted, "Back to various crimes," he mused darkly.
They all watched as the boat drew steadily closer. Yusuke stood and brushed off his pants; placing his hands calmly into his pockets as he stared out over the vast expanse of sea. He stretched and glanced around the group a final time.
"Well what the hell are we all standing around for?" he asked, "I wanna get my ass back home already!"
Everybody looked at him before they all smiled in unison.
"RIGHT!"
"…Well excuse me if I'm a little insulted."
Both Urameshi and Mai blinked. Simultaneously, they looked at one another curiously while the same look of confusion passed over everyone else's face as well. One by one, they managed to glance at one another as if someone had a clue.
The detective slowly began to turn.
"That voice…"
The rest of their team followed his lead and turned back to face the island behind him. Sunlight darted through the trees and cast a hazy glow across the floor of the woods. They all squinted through the glow as a single silhouette appeared against the sun. A single wave of silence swept over them when the wind shifted and that shadow became clear.
A wizened grin appeared along their face, "You just gonna leave the old fossil behind?"
It was both a rush of relief and a wave of shock that raced through them all, as despite themselves, they all grinned in turn.
And for Botan, tears abruptly filled in her eyes, "Master Genkai!"
Tripping over each other, they all raced towards the old woman standing—almost smugly—beneath the veil of trees. All of them that is, except for Yusuke—who stood dumbfounded on the spot; his mouth hung gaping wide while the rest of his team surrounded the old woman cheerfully.
Smiles rose up all around the group, but the detective only continued to stare in disbelief…
…It couldn't be…
"Hn," Genkai snorted as her eyes flickered towards him in amusement, "Must've rubbed off on me, dimwit. I died just like you:" she smirked calmly, "…half-assed."
He stood there watching her for a long time…
Before a grin grew along his face as well. He instantly dropped his bag onto the beach and raced forward towards her and the rest of his team.
"Ba-san! Come here you beautiful hag!"
-:-
The waves crashed rhythmically against the side of the boat; rocking the vessel with a steady push every now and then. Hanging Neck Island was now long gone and had finally dipped behind the horizon as they pushed onward back to the mainland. All across the ship, their teammates stood strewn about: Yusuke and Kuwabara busied themselves by pecking unsuspecting tourists on the head with peanut shells they had stolen from the galley, while Hiei watched them suspiciously out of the corner of his eye. On the other side of the ship, Botan and the other girls stood leaning over the edge of the boat and Genkai sat with her eyes closed and her arms crossed over her chest.
Another blast came from the depths of the liner and the boat lurched forward with a push from the engines. A seagull cawed from above them; signaling the nearing port. It was shortly followed by an angry cry from one of the tournament's onlookers when Yusuke hit him square in the eye.
Kurama leaned on the railing surrounding the deck and watched the waves crash into the side of the ship. The ocean churned beneath him.
He held a single slip of paper between his fingers. It flapped restlessly in the wind whipping around the boat, but he held on to it tight. His emerald eyes were distant as he stared at it; as if he was hopelessly lost in his thoughts.
"/You know…/" came that all too familiar voice. There was a hint of a smirk in his tone as he sat calmly in the back of the akage's mind, "/She would have never done that…if it wasn't for him…/"
His hand clenched around the railing furiously; his knuckles turning white, "Ursai…"
Youko smirked, "/It's true though…you know it…/
"/It's all his fault—/"
"Kurama-kun?"
The akage stiffened and suddenly shoved the slip of paper into his pocket as Youko's voice vanished from his mind. He turned as calmly as he could away from the churning ocean towards the guardian standing behind him. A look of worry passed over her face when he turned to face her, and she took a small step forward.
She smiled weakly all of a sudden and rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry, Kurama-kun," she said to him, "You just seemed worried; I wanted to make sure you were feeling alright."
He watched her for a moment without saying anything…
…she died to save him…
Mai blinked, "Kurama-kun?"
"No," he shook his head slowly and forced a small smile, "No, I'm fine…Just a little tired I suppose…" he admitted and placed his hands into the pockets of his coat.
The guardian studied him as if she wasn't entirely convinced. But after a paused she nodded and smiled, "Alrighty! If you say so! I was just checking on you, Kurama-kun."
She smiled again and turned as if she were going back to stand with Keiko and the others. Kurama stared after her before he suddenly lowered his gaze and his eyes became hooded beneath a veil of his crimson hair. From within his pockets, his fists clenched slowly.
"…why…why do you call me that?"
Mai turned back curiously towards him. She noticed that he tried to avoid her gaze as he stared off darkly at the sea next to him. The guardian stood there for a long time, so that a deep tension filled out between them. A gust of wind blew at their feet as she contemplated his query.
He turned his head further from her, "Why do you call me that?" he asked again, louder this time.
She stared at him, "….b-because it's your name…" she answered quietly, as if she didn't understand why he was asking her, "I never really thought about it though; it just seemed to fit, I suppose…"
"/She forgot about you…so she could die for him…/"
Kurama was quiet for a long time; his eyes growing even more distant than before, "…have I done something wrong, Mai…?" he asked softly, "…is that why you refer to me like that?"
This suddenly caught her off guard. There was a brief flash of hurt that crossed over her eyes as if it pained her to think that he thought about it in that way…She had never thought about it; it just seemed to have worked out somehow…
The guardian noticed his fists tighten in his pockets, "…what did I do—?"
"…Kurama…"
His eyes suddenly flickered towards her. Something in her voice forced him to look up and see the tears filling in her eyes. Her own fists clenched at her side as she tried to force the tears back and she lowered her head to face the ground beneath her.
"Kurama…" she said again; her voice shaking dangerously as she forced a poor excuse of a smile, "I…I'll just call you Kurama now, alright? Then it'll be okay…it'll be okay if I just call you Kurama, right?"
The akage's gaze softened suddenly when he saw a tear trickle down the side of her face.
But before it could reach her chin, his hand reached out and caught it on the tip of his finger. Mai clenched her eyes shut furiously as she tried with all her might to stop the rest of the tears from falling. She hadn't meant to make him feel like that…she hadn't meant for him to feel as though he had done something wrong—
"Don't cry…"
Kurama had his head lowered now too. But before she could let another tear fall down her face, the akage suddenly gripped her by the shoulders and pressed her to him.
"Please…" he whispered quietly, "…please don't cry, Mai…"
I love you…
He pressed his cheek against her hair, "…I won't make you cry again…"
I won't give up on you…
"/You'll never win, Kurama…/"
"…please don't cry…"
PART II: FÍN
-:-
a/n: WAAAAAAAA! It's all done T.T
But yay sequels! (And please remember to note that it will be rated M—so if you're at all offended by that, I'm sorry to lose you as my devoted reader!)
If any of you were wondering what the hell was going on with that last part (or at least what Kurama meant by all that "why do you call me that?" stuff) he was referring to the fact that she uses honorifics for only his name (for the most part out of everyone else) Haha, but my friend and I decided that it would be kind of funny for that last scene if Kurama had been in Furuba and changed into Youko when he hugged Mai XD
Man, those are really interesting lunch conversations—like the one we had on YuYu Hakusho phobias!
Yusuke: phobia of cars
Kurama: phobia of hair salons
Hiei: phobia of the eye doctor
Kuwabara: phobia of Hiei
And then of course we came up with the revelation that all of the characters (including Mai, and except Kuwabara) have MPD—or Multiple Personality Disorder…which is kind of scary…
Well!
I guess it's only fair to say that I'll see you all soon in: Forever Fornever III! And please feel free to IM me anytime you feel like it! Especially during this little lapse in between stories XD (if it's not on my profile, my sn is JesusFrk3041)
Until then—
PEACE AND LOVE (and hugs, kisses, and moonlit nights :3)