Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha
Author's Note: This is an interlude between Yus/Kag stuff, the main reason it sin't posted at my yahoo group yet, I'll only post it when I finish Chapter four. Anyone from the yahoo group reading this, please go and answer the questions if you could. Those who don't like this pairing and reviewed before, just skip to the end to see what I say to you, I responded to all of you.
Strings of Destiny by Natala
Early August
Chapter 3
Thread Two
"Who is she? Yusuke must have told you something about the people that live there. He talks to you three, right? So who is she?" Keiko had stopped by the red roses, her vision swimming. Sure, to any normal person, it would have seemed like she was overreacting. But she knew Yusuke, and she had recognized the look in the girl's eyes. She knew what was starting between them, and she couldn't help but reach towards the red roses, caressing the petals while inwardly wanting to crush them as the love they represented had been crushed.
"He didn't talk about her much. In fact, he almost avoided talking about her. But... there is a strange aura about her. It's much more pure than a normal human's." Kurama sighed softly at the gentle way Keiko was touching the petals, her brown hair hiding the salty tears he could smell gather in her mahogany colored eyes. Her fingers flexed lightly, and he began to fear for his roses a bit, and more for Keiko's emotional stability.
"Pure? How... What does that mean?" Keiko moved on from the red roses to some nice pink ones. For the romance that was so obviously developing between the two people they had left behind. She wondered if Kurama would mind her lighting them on fire. He could grow more easily, right?
"It means... I think she may be a miko. They have purification powers. Their powers differ depending on training, but mostly they purify demons. Kill them, at least the lesser, almost mindless one. More powerful ones... It depends on the power of the miko." Kurama winced as the roses themselves wanted to flinch from her touch, apparently feeling what she was. The pink roses were screeching to his senses and the kitsune part of him reached out and soothed them, promising they would be fine.
"But... Yusuke's a demon. Will she hurt him?" Keiko pulled her head up sharply. It was wrong of her to think it, but she almost hoped she would. It would make things easier and simpler in the end. And it would make more sense to her. Someone was always after Yusuke.
"I doubt that. Even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to do much. Yusuke is an upper S class demon. Depending on how strong she is and what training she has had, she may be able to hurt him a bit, but I doubt it." Kurama was faintly amused by the thought of the blue-eyed girl even attempting to hurt Yusuke.
"Oh," Keiko said softly. Finally she sat down next to him, curling her knees up and looking at him from the corner of her eyes. He had turned his head, looking at her politely. Bitterly, she wondered if he was just here to make sure she didn't hurt herself. After all, she was still Yusuke's friend, right? And he was their leader. So of course they'd look out for her.
"Could I have been wrong?" She heard herself saying. It was a question she wanted an answer to. Could she have been wrong? It had been only a glimpse. Maybe they were just friends. That was always possible.
"I wouldn't know. I've never been in love before. As Youko, we had females, and we liked some of them, but as a thief it is hard to have a lasting relationship." Keiko stared at the slightly smiling red head as he made that admission. She tilted her head; surprised he would say such a thing to her.
"You could have been wrong, I suppose. But out of all of us, I think you would be able to read Yusuke the best. You've been friends since you were children." Keiko nodded at the questioning look. They had, they'd always been friends. And more at some point. But then, somewhere it had gone wrong, spun out of control. Yusuke was a demon now, old enough to be on his own... and not with her.
"I suppose I could have been. Thanks Kurama." When she began to get up, Kurama frowned, getting up with her. He cast a worried gaze over her and shook his head. So far, he hadn't helped at all.
"Keiko-chan..." He trailed off, not sure how to comfort her when she was so sure. Perhaps he should go ask Yusuke if what she thought was true. Did he like the girl who was apparenly a miko? Or was this just Keiko's imagination?
A strange look passed over Keiko's face before she shook her head, attempting a glare at Kurama. It wasn't fair. None of them were really her friends. The girls maybe, and Kuwabara was nice to everyone, but Kurama was Yusuke's friend, not hers. "Don't Kurama. If it is true, then at least none of you will have to worry about me anymore, right?"
Kurama frowned, attempting to puzzle out her statement. "I would worry. Why would I not?"
"Because I wouldn't be Yusuke's girl anymore." It was a whimper, a whisper, barely there, and Kurama felt unaccountable anger. At himself, at Yusuke, and at Keiko's assumption that she only mattered to any of them because of Yusuke.
"Keiko, I'm not doing this because I'm Yusuke's friend. I'm doing it because you need it, and because I would like to believe I'm yours. Even if you are not Yusuke's girl, I see no reason why I can not still try and comfort you." Kurama waited patiently for his words to sink in, then slowly began walking. Almost immediately she fell into place beside him.
"Where are we going?" Keiko meekly asked finally, a little flushed in embarrassment. He had seemed so sincere. She couldn't believe she had said that to Kurama when all he was trying to do was help. Though how he was helping now she was unsure.
"We are walking you home. At home, you will get a good night's rest, even if I have to grow a few plants to make sure of that. Then, in the morning, we will talk this over more calmly. Wherever you wish. I will be by at eleven o'clock, so if you wish to have lunch while we speak, I would not be adverse to that decision." Kurama watched her out of the corner of his eye and was faintly surprised to see that she didn't look offended. Just... drained.
"There's a little diner near my house. It's nice place to have lunch. I've only been in there a couple of times. Never with..." Keiko trailed off, but Kurama got the message. Never with Yusuke.
"I shall meet you there tomorrow at eleven. I know where it is. If you like, I can tell you more about the roses tomorrow. Or other plants. There are many kinds of herbs you know." Kurama carefully steered her away from the dangerous topic and on to one he was more comfortable with, and would be glad to talk about.
"Plants, huh? I've always like plants a bit. They're pretty, the flowering ones. Herbs are useful, aren't they? Poisons and medicines?" Keiko was glad to have a topic to turn away too. Kurama smiled delicately and pointed randomly at a plant they were passing.
They stopped for a while and Kurama began talking about the plants as they walked. Keiko was a bit keenly interested, and Kurama was glad to talk about his favorite subject. When they did get to her front door, Kurama stopped for a moment and smiled softly at the girl who still looked a bit unhappy. "Remember Keiko. Don't think about it too much. Get a good night's sleep. Tossing and turning all night does no one good."
Keiko smiled wanly and Kurama's quiet smile disappeared the moment she stepped in the door. He walked back to the end of the street, turned the corner, and looked up into the tree. He waited a moment before crimson eyes appeared, closely followed by the rest of the fire apparition.
"Hello Hiei," Kurama greeted him cordially. The fire apparition gave him an odd look, then sat back to wait patiently. Kurama looked up at his friend and waited himself. He would not say a thing until Hiei spoke first.
"What is going on?" Hiei finally asked. If there was one thing to be said about being in Ningenkai besides being away from Mukuro for a few moments, it was the interesting things that seemed to happen in a moment's notice.
"Keiko believes Yusuke is falling for the Higurashi girl." Kurama stated. Hiei's eyes actually widened and the fire apparition seemed to lean forward. Kurama smirked, wondering if Hiei knew that this was called gossip, and it was usually females who were said to gossip too much, not two male demons talking to each other.
"Is he?" Hiei asked, attempting to keep the curiosity out of his voice.
"I don't know. But Keiko thinks he is. The poor girl is practically heartbroken. I think I may have cheered her up a bit, but I'm not sure how long that will last." As Kurama's troubled expression grew, Hiei's eyes narrowed, observing his kitsune friend.
"Aren't you worrying a bit much over the detective's girl?" It was a deliberate taunt. Not because he'd heard that part of their conversation, but because he thought he already knew how Kurama would react. He would simply turn coolly away and wave it away as nothing. The reaction he expected was not what he got.
"No." The answer was hissed and there was a flash of gold in Kurama's friendly and calm green eyes. Hiei's eyes widened imperceptibly before narrowing.
"I think I hit a nerve, fox." He said calmly, his moment of shock over.
"She needs a friend of her own right now, Hiei. Not simply one of Yusuke's friends looking out for her for him. I am helping her because I want to, not because I believe Yusuke wouldn't want her upset. If that were the case, I simply would have waited until the Higurashi girl was away and told him instead of trying to deal with it on my own. At the moment, that would probably be the worst thing I can do. Because I believe she may be right." Kurama talked quietly, never raising his voice even slightly, but it didn't stop Hiei from feeling the emotions behind it. He could hide them from others all he wanted, but when his emotions were showing like this for any demons to see, it meant his friend was very serious.
"So? How are you going to help her?" Hiei questioned, falling from his tree branch to land lightly in front of his friend, almost immediately leaning back against the tree, one leg bent and his hands finding the pockets of his pants.
"First, I must make sure she actually sleeps. She will be worse in the morning if I do not. I am simply unsure of how to make sure she's asleep."
"She is not. She is in bed, but she is not sleeping," Hiei answered almost immediately, his Jagan eye glowing behind his bandana briefly. Kurama gave him a faintly surprised and reproachful look.
"Bored enough to help me, Hiei? If we've caught up on me, how are you and Mukuro doing?" Hiei eyed his friend narrowly and refused to answer, instead walking purposefully back towards Keiko's house.
Kurama chuckled and fell into step beside his shorter friend. "I will take that as a 'Not very well at all, Kurama' and leave it at that, shall I?"
"You should, otherwise you'll never talk again." Hiei deadpanned, glaring ahead of them. Kurama shook his head in mock reproach before stopping and beginning to pick up leaves and stems from plants growing in gardens nearby.
"So many plants that no one ever knows how to use properly. In just a few moments of proper preparation, I can have a sleeping powder. Or I would, if I had a way to get it into powder form." Kurama shook his head. Humans were knowledgeable of plants, to be sure, but as many of them as there were who knew, there were twice as many who, like Keiko, simply thought they were pretty.
"Will ashes work?" When Kurama began to nod hesitantly, Hiei took the plants from him. In moments, he was handed a smoking pile of ashes that had once been the flowers.
"I meant the smoke, Hiei. Blow the smoke into her room from them and it should help her get to sleep." In moments the fire apparition was off. Kurama watched him in bemusement. He was much more observant than he sometimes appeared, picking the exact right plants in the right order. In a few moments he was back again.
"She is asleep now." Hiei stated impatiently.
"Considering the mood your in, are we finding Yusuke or Kuwabara and going out to fight a few more bands of rogue demons, or are we getting drunk? And I will not have you drinking human alcohol. I have plenty of safer kinds. Humans put strange things in their alcohol now a days, and some demons respond strangely to it. So, killing or drinking?" Hiei snorted, but it was all the answer Kurama needed. It was not a killing day. Probably Hiei had tried that already. That meant it was a day where Kurama got Hiei drunk, pretended to become drunk himself, and coax whatever problem Hiei was having out into the open.
With a sigh, Kurama looked back towards Keiko's house, then towards the distant Higurashi shrine, or the general direction anyway. Perhaps this time he shouldn't pretend.
-End-
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A interlude between the Kag and Yusuke stuff. Approximately every two chapter that are at least mostly focused on them I'll put in another pairings as the primary focus. So now on to the reviewers, who all probably want to grumble about the lack of Yus/Kag.
Reality: I don't, I was just clarifying that's what she meant. Thanks for reviewing!
Ouatic: Not really, there might be a few things but it's still the same basic universes. Nothings happened to Souta, I just haven't had time to focus on him at all. He was briefly mentioned in the first chapter. Mostly this story focuses on the character interaction than the battles and training at the moment. I probably will eventually go over more of her training.
rickW22: Considering I just posted it yesterday and put up two chapters immediately, that was a bit presumptuous to ask. Still, I'm glad you liked it and here is the third, and for awhile, final chapter. I probably won't have the next chapter for a long time.
Fallen-666-Angel: Heh, you probably didn't like this chapter much. Too much Kei/Kur. But, the original idea for this is because of Under the Mistletoe, which was a present for Rose, basically the original Kei/Kur shipper, so part of this story is dedicated to her anyway. I'm glad you're hooked on Yus/Kag however! It's great to know I'm the person to blame!
FoxylilRaven: You'll only see Inuyasha's reactions through what Kagome remembers since this story takes place almost totally in the modern era except for a few little scenes like the end of the last chapter. As for Shippo, you'll see. If you really want to know about Shippo, if you dig up Under the Mistletoe (which is posted in a couple of places, you just have to find them) you'll get your answer about him, and the future of this fic until they hit Christmas.
inu.-sess.fan: Sorry, this story is pretty much planned out from start to finish, I'd have no idea what to do with you if I did insert you anyway!
Yenai: Hiei and Kuwabara come in next chapter. Inuyasha does get jealous, but we only see this through what Kagome remembers and her mentally grumbling about it as she comes back to the modern era. I'm very glad you like it! Review again!