A tapping at the glass door pulls us from sleep. It is still dark outside. I don't want to wake up. I'm so comfortable with Hiei still on my chest and Yusuke holding me. I don't want to move. But, I'm not the only one to hear the noise. Hiei's head comes up and he glares at the door and Yusuke growls at it. The tapping gets louder. The plants…they tell me Keiko is at the front door. Who is tapping on our window-door, then? The plants don't know, but he came with Keiko. Hiei moves to get up and the shadowy figure moves away from the door. After a moment, we hear the doorbell ring. With a curse, Yusuke gets out of bed. "It's Keiko," I tell him.
"Oh," he murmurs, looking through his closet and pulling out clothing in the dark. "Then who was tapping?"
"Dunno, but he came with her." I shrug, getting out of the bed since Hiei has already gotten up. It's strange, but…my libido isn't awake. Maybe it's too early for even that monster to be awake. Or maybe, knowing what today will bring calms the monster? I don't know, but I don't feel the overwhelming urge to jump my lovers. Yusuke leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
Hiei touches my arm and I look at him. "Don't worry about it. It's normal." I look at him blankly, and he continues. "The only time you're not horny when you first wake up is when we have a mission. It's like your body knows we're going and preserves the energy."
"How…how did you know…?"
"After ten years, I ought to be able to read you. You can read me, after all." He smiles at me and, even in the dim light, I can see his love for me.
"You're right," I concede. Without another word, we turn and make the bed before heading to the door. Just before we open it, I pull him into a hug, which he returns freely. Without talking, we leave the room.
Keiko is cooking and Yusuke is sitting at the kitchen table, talking with a new person. It seems he is new to Yusuke as well, based on the questions he's asking.
"So, John-san, you're a…what was the word?"
"A houngan," he supplied. He has an odd accent…or more, the way he says the words was different from what I expect…almost musical…almost as if he is swallowing part of the words. He has a gentle smile, and his aura matches it. He has blondish hair that falls away from a tanned face almost to his shoulders. His eyes are light brown and sparkle with a mixture of wisdom and mischief. It looks as if he'd be about Yusuke's height when standing, though he is built more like me. He is wearing all white, too, which somehow strikes me as odd. He smiles at us as Hiei and I move to sit next to Yusuke. "Sorry to wake you, but to find the Baron, we need to start as early as possible."
"It's okay. We want to recover his memories as soon as we can," Hiei answers.
Yusuke reaches for my hand, "Yeah, it'd be nice to have our old Kurama back." He squeezes my fingers to let me know he's teasing.
"I'd like to have the old me back, too, as would the plants," I add.
"Yeah, I was wanting a reason to come visit you. I've been hearin' some from my little Keiko about you, but she is very protective of you. I was delighted with the chance to meet you, so, even though she could handle the Baron on her own, I insisted on coming."
"Your little Keiko?" Yusuke asks, turning to the girl in question.
Keiko pointedly ignores the taunt. "This is Kurama," she says pointing at me, "and Hiei," she points at him, finishing the introductions as she sets a steaming pot of soup on the table. "This is John," she says, sitting next to him. It's obvious they are in love…or am I just more aware of these things given my current state?
John serves the soup. The bowls were in front of him the entire time and I'm just now noticing? "So, how did you get tangled with the Baron and that other one…Seimigaku?"
Hiei answers, "He told me the story last time we dealt with Seimigaku." He looks at me, asking permission to continue. I nod. I think we can trust John. Hiei continues, "Seimigaku wanted Kurama to grow plants for him so he could make drugs." He hesitates, though I'm not sure if anyone else notices it or not, "He also wanted…Kurama's body." There is disgust and anger in his voice. His eyes seek out mine, that anger blazing in them, "He won't be forgiven this time."
"You forgave him last time?" Yusuke asked, surprised.
Hiei glanced at him, "He lived. That was a mistake. It won't be repeated." His rage is almost palpable. I hear a small noise and look up to see Keiko shifting uncomfortably in her chair. John looks thoughtful.
"So," John begins, picking up his spoon, "that is the way of things?"
Hiei meets his gaze, "Yes, that is the way of things."
John held his gaze a minute longer. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. After too long a time, John smiles, "Good enough. It'll do." His eyes go to Yusuke, "And you?"
Yusuke looks at him blankly for a moment before he smiles, "Name it, I'll do it for him."
"Would you leave him and never see him again?" John's eyes are hard even though his lips still smile.
Yusuke's hand clenches around mine as his face pales and he swallows visibly. "If…if that's what it takes, I would, but it would kill me. I would do it, though. He means more."
John's eyes soften, "You'll not be needing to die. Good enough." His eyes turn to me, "So, you are loved. They'd be willing to kill and die for you." His hand comes up under his chin and I feel like he is weighing me, "So, Kurama, what are you willing to do?"
Without hesitation, I answer, "Anything, anything at all, no matter what."
His head goes to the side, "Would you go with Seimigaku?"
My stomach rebels. "How will that…?"
He cuts me off, "I asked if you would go with Seimigaku? Answer!" It feels as if he's slapped me.
"If that's what I had to do to prove I love them, then yes, I would. If it's just to get my memory back, no."
John laughs. I feel totally confused now. "Good enough, good enough!" He turns to Keiko and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You were right, my girl. They are very much in love." I hazard a glance at Yusuke and Hiei. They both look as confused as I feel. He looks back at us, "The Baron is not so demanding. Though…don't let him hold your hand. He tends to keep what is in his hand when he leaves…and he doesn't let go if you be handin' him anything."
"You're sure it's Baron Samedi?" I ask.
"My Keiko got the demon…Seimigaku to name him. And she got other information that confirmed his identity and what we need to do to undo the spell. Seimigaku really did expect for you to be left behind, you know, so the spell isn't very complex, even with the protection woven into it." John beams at Keiko.
"If he expected me to left behind, why bother with the protection?" This doesn't make sense.
Keiko answers this time, "It seems he remembered you two being…I believe the exact quote was 'fucking each other senseless' and that Hiei might 'miss his little fox toy when his libido unfroze again.' It seems you jagan was rather uncomfortable for him last time."
"'Fucking each other…senseless'?" I ask aghast.
"'Little fox toy'?" Yusuke chokes out through his laughter, emphasizing the 'little.'
"My libido is quite unfrozen," Hiei says with stiff dignity, though his eyes are amused.
"He's never seen you without clothes, has he?" Yusuke splutters. He then yelps. I look over to see Hiei smirking as he removes his fingers from Yusuke's side.
"There are some things that need not be said, Yusuke," I glare at him. "And he is never going to have that opportunity!"
"I'm sorry, Kurama," he says, actually managing to look penitent.
I relent and wrap an arm over his shoulder, kissing the top of his head.
"How easily they forget us!" John's voice sounds amused. "You would think they were new to each other instead of many years along!"
I sigh, resting my head against Yusuke's head, "This is new to me, John-san."
"But it is not to them, and they act newly in love." He turns to Keiko, "This is normal for them, is it not?"
She smiles, "Pretty nearly. Though, normal would be Kurama making fun of the 'little' comment and Hiei declaring it would never happen." She smiles at us then turns to John, "And Yusuke would start grilling you about your intentions with me."
"Speaking of which," Yusuke pipes up, glaring at John, "what are your intentions with Keiko?
"To keep her happy," he answers simply.
Yusuke nods and then turns the glare on Keiko. "And why didn't you tell us about him?"
Keiko returns his glare with a smile, "Never came up." John is laughing next to her, a soft sound, more like his shoulders are just shaking with mirth.
"Never came up!" Yusuke is…funny. I had to fight my own grin as he continued. "Never came up! He could have gone to the beach with us! Or out to dinner! Or anything like that! Never came up!" I give up. I start laughing. "Glad to amuse you," he glares at me sourly, "but, my best friend gets a boyfriend and doesn't tell me when I told her!" he emphasizes every noun and pronoun. "And her excuse! It never came up!" He crosses his arms over his chest with a "hmph!" and even Hiei is struggling not to laugh. He relaxes a little and smiles at Keiko, "I'm glad you're happy, but seriously, you could have shared!"
"And miss that display?" she asks through her giggles.
The door bell rings again. "It's Botan," I say as the plants inform me. Hiei stands to answer it and the rest of us clear the table, still chuckling over Yusuke's explosive display.
She doesn't come in, however, choosing to wait on the porch. "We're going to stop at the Reikai," she says. "Koenma-sama has some more information for you and a map." She actually seems to be avoiding looking at us, and less bubbly than before.
"Something wrong, Botan?" Yusuke asks.
She avoids his gaze, avoids looking at him, at any of us, "No, not really."
"Lies don't suit you, Baron," John says softly.
Her eyes fly to him, "What!" We are all looking at him, Yusuke, Hiei and I. Keiko seems to have been expecting this.
"There are three Barons, Samedi, la Crouix, and la Cemetiere. She is one of la Cemetiere. But, lies do not suit you."
"What are the Barons?" I ask.
He waves his hand, "Later. What do you lie about, Baron?"
Her cheeks flush, "I…I…last night, I came by…to tell you to be ready early…I…I…went to the back porch…the light was on…the curtains open…" her voice, soft to begin with trails off.
I blush. I can feel it to the roots of my hair. Yusuke is stammering. Hiei is silent. Finally, Hiei speaks up, "And?"
Her gaze settles on him, "Why didn't you say anything? It's not like we didn't suspect, but…"
"We thought it'd be easier on Koenma if he didn't know and Enma decided to use our relationship as a reason to harass him," he answers. He seems totally unfazed that the girl knew and had just admitted to watching us.
With a growl, she replied, "That's no excuse!" Hiei flicks an eyebrow at her. "Koenma-sama doesn't care if you're together or not and has already told Enma-daioh that."
Yusuke buries his face in my shoulder, his body shaking. A bit confused, I put my arms around him, still processing that Botan knew. Sounds rising from Yusuke gradually resolved into laughter and I looked at him puzzled, a grin pulling on my lips. Gasping for air, he pulls back from my shoulder, "This is just a day for insanity, isn't it?"
"That's the way of things when dealing with the Barons," John says, his voice filled with laughter.
"They're crazy?" Yusuke asked…or accused.
"Not so much. The Barons be those that stand between this world and the next, the Ghede. They stand at the crossroads and to get to the Loa, we pass them. The three aspects are considered by some to be the Loa of death, cemeteries, fertility, and the realm of the dead, which is why she is one of the Barons."
"Loa is like a god?" I ask, trying to understand the strange words.
"Yes, and Ghede are spirits of the dead."
"Fertility and death?" It seems an odd juxtaposition.
He smiles, "You've never seen a proper funeral." He then turns to Botan, "We should be going, we have enough time to catch up on.
"Yes," she agrees, "We only know his location as of a week ago. We can't track him, either, so we're going to have to start where Seimigaku saw him."
"A week? And we can't track him?"
She turns and walks away from us, toward where she forms her portal. "Yes, a week. No, we can't. But, he seems to stay in one area."
"We can find him," Keiko says confidently. The rest of us look at her. She glances at John, who nods. "All we have to do is enter his territory and make him an offering. He'll come."
I swallow, "An offering?" Between John's questions over breakfast and him mentioning that the Baron wouldn't let things go, I'm feeling worried.
John walks over and pats my shoulder, "Not to worry. He likes rum." It is just then I notice he and Keiko are carrying bags. But, I have the odd sensation that I knew that already, but it's just now registering. I wonder…
I must have made more of an expression than I thought because Keiko asks, "What is it, Kurama?"
We are all following Botan now, and I answer, "I keep…not seeing things today, only, when I do see them, I realize I've been seeing them…they don't surprise me…"
"That's normal, Kurama. Your eyes, all your senses, take in more information than your mind can actively process, so a lot of it gets filtered out of your conscious awareness, but that doesn't mean your mind isn't aware of it. I've seen you, all three of you react to things that you were surprised by, consciously, but that you knew, unconsciously, were there."
"I was just…I don't want…If I'm not aware enough, then…"
"Stop that," Hiei orders me. I look over to him. "You're worrying you might be a burden. You're not. Stop it." He grabs my hand and laces his fingers through mine. "We told you yesterday, we know you're able to take care of yourself, even now. We just would rather you didn't have to."
Yusuke takes my other hand in his and his fingers thread through mine, "We love you very much, and, while you could kick any one's ass that came after you now, we also know that you don't remember right now all the little tricks you have up your sleeve and in your hair. We don't even know all your tricks. And we don't want you hurt because you don't know one of your own attacks."
I nod, squeezing my fingers around theirs. Very softly, even the others have moved on ahead, I say "I know you love me. You showed me. You also showed me you love each other. I hope…I hope I remember what has happened during this when my memory comes back."
We have reached the clearing where Kuwabara is standing, his arms crossed, "'Bout time you…" his voice trails off as he notices we are holding hands. He looks between us and Botan and back to us, a comic look of confusion on his face.
"The cat's out of the bag," Yusuke said, his voice full of mirth.
"Cat?" he looks around, before his eyes return to Yusuke and he postures, "You better not be putting cats in bags, Urameshi!"
"Quite trying to think, Kuwabara, it doesn't suit you!" Yusuke lets go of my hand and returns the posturing, waving his fist at Kuwabara.
"We don't have time for this," Hiei growls out, cutting them both off.
"He is right," John speaks up, his eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Who are you?" Kuwabara asks, dropping the posturing.
"He's John, my boyfriend," Keiko answers.
"Really?" Kuwabara's voice cracks.
Was this day ever going to make sense? Weren't we supposed to be…well preparing to go…
"Let's go," Botan says from her perch on the oar. She has already formed the blue portal and is hovering by it, waiting for us.
When we enter Koenma's office, there is a lingering smell of…something that makes me glad I only had soup for breakfast. It's a mixture of cloying sweet, acrid, smoky and other things I can't think of ways to describe. Whether I can label it or not, it's making me feel nauseous. I look over at Yusuke and Hiei. They look a bit ill, too. Keiko looks at us, her expression torn between sympathy and amusement. "It was a lot worse yesterday," she says.
"What did you use?" I ask.
"Ah…well…other than sage and sweet grass, it's a trade secret," she evades answering.
"Psychology has tricks like what you did to that freak yesterday?" Kuwabara asked. He looked unfazed by the smell.
"No. And I didn't do that much to him," she demurs.
"You had him crying for his mommy!" he insists.
"'Crying for his mommy?'" Hiei asks, amused.
Kuwabara looks over at him, an odd expression crossing his face, "Yeah, he actually said, 'Mama!' when she did something to him."
Hiei's eyebrow quirks, "Mama?"
Keiko murmurs, "Well, he actually said 'imagaimamade' when I asked if he believed in mercy."
Hiei snorts, "He said 'until just now,' baka."
Kuwabara looks torn between wanting to say something to Hiei or Keiko. He isn't given a chance to speak, though. Koenma enters the room. "I'm glad you are here," he greets us as if we had a choice.
"What do we need to know?" I ask. I want to get started. I want to be finished!
He flicks an eyebrow at me. I'm too anxious to care right now, though. "Baron Samedi can be found in the Doyoubi Maisouchi region of the Maikai. We can form a portal to the entrance of that region, but from there you need to find your way. Seimigaku did tell us where he met the Baron and how he requested the curse, along with what payment he offered. You are prepared?" he turned to Keiko.
"Yes, we are prepared. No problem, once we find him," she answers confidently.
Koenma nods, "We don't know how the curse will be lifted or what side effects there will be." He hands a piece of paper to Hiei who looks at it and puts it in a pocket, nodding. "One last thing," he says as we turn to leave. We turn back to face him, waiting, though I know I would rather leave. "You three," he points at us, some how managing to look menacing despite his looking like a child.
"What, diaper breath?" Yusuke asks, hands on his hips.
"I'm happy for you, take care of each other," he beams at us. This day! Hiei snorts and pushes us out the door. I can hear Keiko and John laughing as well as Botan.
As the door closes behind us, Yusuke laughs a little. "Never a dull moment, that's for sure," he murmurs as we follow Botan to the room where the portals are made. With us leaving the room, I feel better.
We go through the portal. The plants here are a lot louder and more intelligent…and hungry. I gasp and can feel Hiei's hand slip into mine. Yusuke wraps an arm around my waist. "The plants here are louder and hungry," I tell them, explaining my reaction.
"Don't be afraid of them. You are their master, remember that," Hiei tells me.
"I don't remember how to master them," I whisper back.
"You got the plants at the house to listen to you," Yusuke answers me.
I take a deep breath, remembering that. I listen to them, the plants, for a moment. They are thinking about coming after us. 'Don't!' I tell them. I can see them shudder as they want to rebel against my command. 'No!' I tell them. They shudder once more and remain still. I smile, feeling a bit more confident. Hiei and Yusuke both squeeze me and let me go so we can walk, Hiei leading since he saw the map. Botan returns through the portal. I walk next to Yusuke behind Hiei and Keiko and John are behind us, Kuwabara following them.
I look around, taking in more of my surroundings now that the plants have chosen to obey me. The sky is…magenta?...odd…with darker purple clouds and yellow forks of lightning frequenting the sky. It's very different. Ahead of us, there are two large upright pillars, bright red in color, with two bars going across the top, the uppermost one extending past the pillars, the lower one connected with a couple of short columns between the two. Hiei leads us under it and as I pass under it, I feel like I'm being inspected…weighed…judged. It's an odd feeling. I hear John hum behind me as he walks under the arch and Kuwabara seems to growl. Yusuke and Hiei, however, seemed unaffected, so I just keep walking.
There almost seems to be a path ahead of us, or at least, the plants seem to be leading us a specific way. Hiei doesn't protest this leading, but follows it. We are all silent, alert. My eyes are tracing the landscape around me, my mind paying attention to the plants, and I'm sure Yusuke and Hiei are doing the same, scanning the landscape. We enter a small clearing, and there is a feeling of waiting here…anticipation.
John speaks up, "This is where we ask the Baron to come to us."
"Da be no need fer dat," A voice comes from behind me. I turn and see…a walking skeleton in a tall black hat and purple jacket that reaches to his knees in the back. In one…hand, he carries a black stick topped with a silver skull. I step back, preparing for…what? "You be de one dat oder one want?" he asks me.
"He be de one, Baron," John answers, his accent getting stronger. "We be here to supplicate fer 'im."
"Eh? What ya be wantin'?"
"We be wantin' his memories back…and he wants to keep de ones he made since dey be gone."
"Dat be all? Ya came here fer dat?" he seems amused…as amused as a skeleton can be.
"Seemed de bes' ta come an' see ya, Baron."
"An' you be wantin' to meet me anyway," the Baron counters.
"Der be dat, yeah," John answers amicably. "Gotcha yer favorite rum here, Baron." He proffers a bottle of amber liquid with…red things in it. The baron takes it, pulls out the cork closure and swallows half the bottle in one gulp.
"Ah, dat be good," he sighs, wiping his mouth with the back of his bone hand. "I tell ye, fer dat, I be undoin' it." He holds out his hand and John extends something…a…animal leg?...to the Baron.
"Thank ye, Baron," John says as the Baron takes the thing in his hand. Without another word, the Baron vanishes, still holding whatever it was that John held out to him.
Again, I find myself in the dark, complete total dark, but I remember how I got there this time. I can feel myself shaking. I am anticipating…and am not disappointed as that sound reverberates again in my head. I fall again to my knees, trying to block out that sound, that gods damned sound that fills my head, reverberating, blinding me with bright lights behind my eyes. I'm screaming. I must be. I feel the sound coming out of my throat. Thankfully, the blackness takes over my mind and everything fades to blissful oblivion.
A/N Well...when I sat down to write this morning, I didn't expect to finish a chapter today...really, I didn't...but here it is...amazing. A few things in this chapter...voudun is the "more correct" spelling of voodoo...if you're googling and want to find more authentic and informative sites, "voudun" will get you better results. Baron Samedi is Baron Saturday and "native" to the New World, not African...it gets confusing and I understand...almost none of it...what I know is in the story. Doyoubi Mousouchi means Saturday Cemetery...silly name, isn't it? I didn't want to write out that damn accent and did anyways...sigh And I hope you got a couple of giggles out of this chapter :D Oh, and I didn't go into what Keiko did because, off the top of my head, I only know a couple of herbal uses and I kinda thought you'd prefer I updated rather than research that much more. Sage is supposed to banish spirits, and sweet grass summons good ones (the only other ones I know off the top of my head are sandalwood, which promotes spirituality and psychic ability and...I just drew a blank)