Note- Finally got around to updating! This chapter won't have much action and its more of a filler or something to fill you in on what's going on. I know it might be boring, but I will try to get the next chapter up really soon! Please REVIEW! Now, go ahead and read!
Chapter Ten: Finding the Cure
A couple minutes after hanging up on Koenma, Avari appeared out of thin air in his office.
To her surprise, Koenma was not the only one in the room. There were three other boys, two of which she had never seen before, in the room. Kuwabara and a boy with long, red hair were seated on the couch and the other boy, who was on the short side, was leaning against the wall. All of their attention was solely placed on the huge television in front of them. It seemed they were watching a fight. They had yet realized that she was there.
"Whoa! You beat him to a pulp!" Kuwabara commented, in his usual unduly, scruffy tone.
"Ahem." Avari cleared her throat rather loudly. Koenma looked away from the screen and saw her.
"Oh, Avari! I was wondering when you would be coming," Koenma said.
"Who are they?" Avari questioned, pointing at the boys, who had just turned to look at her.
"Oh, yes! You still haven't met the other Spirit Detectives," Koenma said. "This is Kurama." He pointed to the long, red-haired boy seated on the couch, who gave her a kind smile. "...Kuwabara, who you already know..." He pointed to Kuwabara, who winked at her. This made her twitch. "...and Hiei." At saying this, he pointed to the midget with gravity-defying hair who just looked at her carelessly.
"I'm Avari," Avari said back with a friendly smile.
"So, what seems to be the problem? Where's Yusuke?" Koenma continued.
"Did Urameshi do something stupid?" Kuwabara asked.
"He sure did! He got himself turned into this!" Avari said, holding up the ferret.
At that exact moment, Koenma and Kuwabara burst out into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Kurama let out a light chuckle, while Hiei tried to keep a straight face, but utterly failed and cracked a smirk. Avari scowled and looked a little angry.
"This... -laughs-...is no time...-laughs again- for jokes...-more laughter- Avari..."Koenma said and erupted into more laughter.
"I'M SERIOUS!" Avari shouted, causing the room to fall silent. "He touched the necklace, which had an enchantment, and turned into this...thing!" She referred to the ferret, who was sniffing the air with its little black nose.
"I'll look for someone to turn him back into a human," Koenma said, when he had finally regained his composure. "In the meantime, I'll need you to take care of him."
"Or you could just leave him that way!" Kuwabara exclaimed, snickering a little.
"It does suit him well," Kurama agreed, lightly chuckling.
"Hn, I agree." Hiei said, still smirking slightly.
"You're all impossible!" Avari yelled angrily. "Here's your damn necklace!" She slammed the box containing the necklace on Koenma's desk. "Call me when you find a solution." Using one of her spy gadgets, she conjured up a portal and walked through.
Once she was gone, the boys erupted into laughter once again.
-Back at Genkai's-
The portal took Avari back to the courtyard in front of Genkai's temple. It was pitch black out and the only source of light came from the crescent moon and the scattered stars hanging in the sky above. With the ferret (Yusuke) still in her arms, she climbed up the steps leading up to the porch and went into the temple. She quietly tiptoed down the hall, to make sure she didn't wake up Genkai.
Once she was in her room, she put the ferret down and looked at her alarm clock. It was now 12:30 A.M. She sighed and went into the bathroom to change into her pajamas.
When she came back out, she found that the ferret (Yusuke) was curled up on the end of her bed, fast asleep. He looks so adorable... She thought to herself, as she crawled under the covers, being careful not to disturb him. After turning out the light, she laid her head down and fell asleep, exhausted from a long, confusing day.
"Yusuke" opened his eyes and saw that Avari was asleep. Quietly and discreetly, the ferret got up and made its way up to Avari's pillow. He sniffed her ear, causing her to smile in her sleep, and curled up in a ball on her pillow. Moments later, he fell asleep as well. The room was now silent and still; the only noise was the light breathing of Avari and "Yusuke".
-In the Morning. 7 AM.-
BEEP! BEEP!went the alarm clock. Avari stirred and blinked open her eyes. The start of another day...
She looked over at "Yusuke", who was still sound asleep. He looked so peaceful and cuddly, that she almost wished she didn't have to wake him up. Gently, she shook "Yusuke" and his huge, brown eyes opened. So cute... Avari thought. Soon, she got up and proceeded in getting ready for school.
-In the Kitchen. 7:30 AM.-
Avari entered the kitchen to see Genkai sitting down, sipping coffee like she did on a daily basis. Upon her entrance, Genkai looked up from her coffee to acknowledge Avari's presence.
"Morning, Avi-chan. What's behind your back?" Genkai inquired. Sure enough, Avari did have her hands behind her back.
"Yeah... Well, last night during the mission, Yusuke had to be his usual dimwitted self and got turned into this..." Avari answered and pulled her hands out from behind her back to reveal the ferret, Yusuke.
For a couple seconds, Genkai just sat there, staring at Avari with a blank expression. She then burst out into peals of laughter. Tears came into Genkai's eyes, she was laughing so hard. During this, Avari just stood there, getting frustrated and angry. Why didn't anyone see how serious this was!
Finally, after a good 10 minutes, the laughter subsided and Genkai managed to speak. "You should keep him like that," she said and burst out laughing once again.
Avari had about had it with everyone not seeing the significance of the dilemma. Yes, Yusuke was cute and huggable, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he was in a form that might not be reversible. He might never be human again.
She decided to ignore the laughing and went about her day. "I'm going to school now! Watch Yusuke for me!" she yelled over Genkai's laughter, as she shut the door behind her, leaving the ferret behind.
Once outside, she took in a breath of fresh air and began the walk to school, alone. Hopefully, the day wouldn't be too different without Yusuke.
-At Sarayashiki Junior High School. 8:00 AM-
Avari was at her locker, attempting to open it. The noise of the other students walking past, going about there ways to class was in the background. 34...15...No wait, it was 16... Then, 23... She thought as she spun the dial to put in the numbers. Finally, she got it right and succeeded in opening the locker. Bending down, she got a book out of the bottom of her locker. Someone walking by came to a stop beside her locker. She looked up and saw Keiko.
"Hey, Keiko," Avari said carelessly and continued rummaging through her locker.
"Hi! I haven't Yusuke yet. Did he decide to skip school?" Keiko asked, looking through the crowd of passing students, half expecting Yusuke to show up out of nowhere.
"Actually, I have seen him, but I don't think he'll be coming to school for awhile," Avari replied.
"Oh. Did he get hurt or something?" Keiko asked, sounding concerned.
"Well, I guess you could say that..." Avari said. "I know this may sound stupid and its not a joke either, but Yusuke had to be dimwitted and got himself turned into a ferret..."
"Wow... I can believe that. He's done lots of stupid things... He even died once. I'll just have to add this one to my list," Keiko said, not sounding too surprised. "Well, I hope he's back to normal soon. See you in class!" She then turned around and walked down the hall, as if nothing had happened.
Avari just stood there are a minute and blinked. "She took that well..." she said to herself and shrugged. She closed her locker and walked down the hall with an armful of books to her homeroom.
The rest of the day was pretty boring. All of her morning classes were dreary and dull. Most of the time, she would just stare out of the window and daydream. After the bell would ring to signal that class was over, she would lag behind and be last to leave. Without Yusuke there to talk with and make her laugh, she felt lonely.
At lunch, she sat alone under a tree and ate in silence. Yes, silence was golden, but it could get really lonely without someone to talk to. Everyone else just ignored her and socialized with their little band of friends. Keiko would have eaten with her, but she had gone to a student council meeting. Even eating with Kuwabara would have been better than nothing, but he hadn't shown up to school. She felt like an outsider, a foreigner, or just plain invisible.
Her afternoon classes weren't any better than her morning ones. They just seemed to drag on and on... While the teacher continuously spit out useless information, Avari spaced out and doodled on her paper. A few times, she was called on for answers and miraculously, she knew them. When the last bell rang, she remained seated and it took her a couple minutes to realize that school was over for the day. She quickly stopped at her locker and then raced out of the school back to Genkai's. She could finally go home and get rid of the loneliness that had been building up all day.
As soon as she had arrived home, Avari had changed and trained for several hours, while "Yusuke" watched and Genkai yelled. Then she ate dinner and directly afterward, she had
retreated to her room to do homework and sleep.
This soon became her usual routine. She would attend school, come home, train hard, eat dinner and go to her room. On weekends, she would spend all her time training and studying; not much difference between the week and weekend rituals. All during this time, Koenma hadn't called her once to go on a mission or with any updates on finding a cure or not. It was driving her crazy.
Over the passing weeks, "Yusuke" was there, but then he wasn't. He was a ferret, after all. He couldn't speak or do anything to really participate in her life, except play the role similar to that of a pet.
-Three Weeks Later. Sunday Night. 7 PM.-
Avari was seated on her window seat, with "Yusuke" in her lap. She was staring out at the sky, that was just starting to turn black, as she stroked "Yusuke's" furry head. His fur was very soft and warm, giving her a sense of relaxation and comfort.
Many different thoughts were running through her head. It feels like a part of me is missing. I've barely known Yusuke for a month, actually its more like a week since he's not really here, but already he's very important to me... And I really care about him. It's just really hard to imagine that he might not be around anymore. He will be here, but technically he won't... Avari thought and let out a sigh.
"I know that I hardly know you, but I really miss you, Yusuke," Avari whispered to the ferret, who replied with the most adorable stare with his big, brown eyes. She remained on the window seat and eventually drifted off to sleep, with "Yusuke" still curled up in her lap.
-Monday Morning. 5 AM.-
Ring! Ring! The noise caused Avari to stir and lift her head. She looked around at where she was and got up. Ring! Ring! It sounded again. She followed the ringing to the source.
It was coming from her compact on her bedside table. Hastily, she picked it up and opened it. Koenma's face was visible on the screen.
"Good morning, Avari!" Koenma said, sounding extra cheery.
"What are you so cheery about!" Avari said, sounding agitated. "It's 5 AM and I'm still half-asleep! This better be good!"
"You will be relieved to know that I think we may have found a cure for Yusuke," Koenma said happily, as he folded his hands on top of the desk.
After he said these words, Avari's eyes widened. Suddenly, she felt more awake.
"I'll be right there!" she said and shut the compact.
She grabbed her spy belt and fumbled around with the gadgets on it for a few minutes until she found what she needed; her portal ring. Using it, she made a portal to Koenma's and after grabbing "Yusuke" she walked through.
Note-And that's it! What could possibly be the cure to turn Yusuke back into a human? Will the cure even work? Will Yusuke remember anything that happened over the last three weeks? Find out in the next chapter of The Power Locked Within! And please remember to REVIEW! I would like to know if people like my writing at all.