DISCLAIMER: I don't own YYH. But my original characters and twists to the storyline are mine.
a/n: YES! KITKAT IS BACK EVERYONE! FEAR ME! MWAHAHAHAHA!
Yes I need to go to bed…
But I just couldn't help myself! Though, this chapter will be kinda short since I don't want to get too into the story quite yet (evil laughter). At least the next chapter should be decent—and for all you Kurama/Mai fangirls still out there—
Kurama/Mai fluff next chapter! Hehe…but not too much
And since the Chapter Black Saga was pretty darn short, I believe I will combine this and the Makai saga together—how 'bout that? (especially since they'll both probably be rated M…(shifty eyes))
Thoughts
—Now without further ado—
Forever Fornever III
:Forget:
Seven faces…
Seven unknown faces emerged from the shadows. One was crying…and another held a gun aloft in their hand. A face smiled sadly and another smirked with a foreboding malice. There was a flower petal that drifted to the ground from one of their hands and another folded their arms over their chest darkly…
A final suddenly stepped forward from the darkness and stretched out his hand and smiled slowly.
"…Arakawa-kun…"—
Mai gasped, shooting upright from her bed.
Her eyes were wide and she raised her shaking hand to her pounding chest. Cold sweat perspired off her brow and along the length of her arm to her trembling palms. An owl moaned outside her window, carried by the breeze gently moving at the curtains.
The guardian's chest rose frantically as her hand then went to her pounding head. Tears abruptly filled her eyes and she gasped again.
"…yume…" she whispered.
That dream…
Her head dropped to her knees and she wrapped her hands around her legs.
…Shi-san…
-:-
Her hakama swished around her legs softly as she maneuvered between the trees. The slope of the mountain dropped out below her. The guardian's body shivered in the pre-morning air, but she held her arms at her side. A gust of wind brushed past her and sent locks of her hair brushing against her ears as her sandal-clad feet stepped carefully onto the earth.
She hadn't had that dream since she was little…
But lately…it had been resurfacing more frequent than naught. They had started up again nearly two months before and had increased ever since. She could have sworn she saw them when she was awake now too. And every time, they became ever so much clearer.
Ahead of her grew the steady roar of a waterfall. Mai's hand reached out to a nearby tree to support herself.
It didn't make sense though…
Even when she was little she had never understood the dream. But it always ended with one of the strangers calling her name…
But only once person had ever called her Arakawa-kun…
The riverbed came into view now at the bottom of the slope. She continued onward, her hands slowly reaching towards her collar. Her feet slipped out of her sandals as the shirt of her hakama fell across her chest down around her feet. The chilling air lashed at her skin while she stepped precariously on the stones along the edge of the riverbank. The cascading water pounded mercilessly on her bare shoulders, but she continued beneath it. Her legs crossed on the moss-covered rocks and she stretched her arms outward beneath the roaring water.
Mai winced painfully beneath the waterfall as the freezing force gnawed her shoulders raw.
She would forget…
She just wanted to forget all of it…
—He held her gently to him as she slept; her tiny body dwarfed considerably against his. His hand stroked the top her head slowly, his eyes growing distant.
"Arakawa-kun…"—
Her eyes clenched shut furiously; the pain searing through her shoulders began to burn despite the freezing water pouring down around her. She felt her mind racing fervently; desperately trying to block out the unwanted memories streaming through her.
—"Shi-san! Shi-san!" she skipped merrily beside him, "Shi-san I'll be your guardian, alright?"
In her mind, his face remained a blank; shadowed and unseen, but he turned to her and a blurred smile appeared along his unseen face, "…right."—
The guardian felt herself slipping on the rocks.
I don't want to remember…
She didn't even cry out as her body suddenly slipped beneath the surface of the water. Her body fell suspended in the water's current; her hair drifting slowly around her face. Bubbles escaped between her lips as she watched the moonlight beyond faze through the water's surface.
—Blood splashed across the floor at her feet. Screams of terror filled her eyes and her large, shimmering eyes dilated in horror. She whimpered fearfully and took a step backwards.
"…Shi-san…"—
Mai gasped as her head emerged from beneath the water. Her arms grabbed hold of one of the rocks along the bank of the river and she hung there, breathing heavily…
And simply cried.
-:-
The guardian trudged back to the temple soaking wet. She hugged her abdomen tightly and kept her eyes downcast. Water dripped beneath the shirt of her hakama and she shivered when another gust of air blew past her.
Easily, she hopped over the back end of the wall surrounding the temple, and still managed to remain separated from the world. She hardly even noticed when she slid open the door, that there was someone besides Genkai in the room.
She blinked and glanced uncertainly around the room at the other three strangers inside the foyer. The guardian blushed furiously when she realized her shirt had soaked straight to the skin…and the strangers were all men.
She mumbled a hurried hello and bowed (still clutching at her wet shirt).
They nodded briefly but didn't say anything. Genkai stood calmly and moved between them; seemingly oblivious—or at least uninterested—at her doused clothes or drenched hair.
"Students of mine," she told her simply gesturing at the three males. The guardian blinked again (other students? Since when had she had 'other students'?) but the elder woman continued casually as she held out a slip of paper to her, "Yusuke says he'll meet you at the station early…something about beating Kuwabara to the punch or some crap like that."
Mai took the paper, but glanced up, "Um, do they…?"
"They'll find their own way home," she answered shortly and gave her a look that told her she should leave. Without another word, she obliged by exiting the room and hurried across the courtyard towards her side of the temple to change.
As her wet hakama slopped to the floor she glanced over the paper in her hand curiously. There was a time scribbled at the bottom that caused her to sigh irritably. She crumpled the paper in her fist and carelessly tossed it across the room as she slipped on her school uniform over her freezing skin.
The guardian slung her bag over her shoulder and turned. She clicked her tongue at Hywein who lay curled beneath her lamp on her desk. The spirit beast cocked her head and nimbly crawled up her outstretched arm onto her shoulder. Mai turned back to open the door and made her way along the patio running along the temple. For a moment, her curiosity nearly compelled her to eavesdrop on Genkai and her three new pupils—but decided the punishment wasn't worth it.
She made her way down the stairs in front of the shrine slowly as Hywein hopped the stairs in front of her. The guardian sighed and placed her hands behind her head as she stared up at the sky through the tree limbs about her.
Just like always, she made her way down the unpaved road towards the station. She passed the very few tiny houses dotted along the side of the road and waved slightly to the few people who were working outside at the ungodly hours. And like always, she received her pass and stood along the platform to wait for the train.
When it finally pulled up to the platform, Hywein had gone through the usually routine of scrambling into her bag before the conductor could antagonize her for bringing pets onboard. She found her normal seat against the window and sighed as the train lurched forward.
Seven faces…
"Seven faces," she heard herself whisper quietly. Her eyes became distant as she watched the scenery flash by her window. Her head rested against the glass pane and her eyes became glazed.
Seven nameless faces…
…except for one…but even then the face was never clear. It had been a feeling, a certain notion that it was him…one of those dreams where the beings were unrecognizable, but you knew exactly who the face belonged to, no matter what.
Mai shivered and huddled into her seat, her arms hugging her abdomen.
She heard Hywein growing restless by the time the train pulled into Yusuke's station. The guardian tapped the bag lazily to calm her down as she slipped out of her seat. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she made her way through the cart.
Yawning, she ran her fingers through her hair and stepped off the train.
"Mind telling me why you made me come here at this ungodly hour?" she asked the detective waiting for her.
He snorted but didn't move from his position against a nearby pillar. He shoved his hands into his pockets and puffed out his cheeks, "Look, when Kuwabara starts waiting for you outside of the girl's bathroom, that's when I get a little freaked out…"
Mai blinked and tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Oh right…"
Urameshi cocked and eyebrow, but she just shrugged and offered a small grin.
"I dunno, it's kind of grown on me," she admitted nervously as the detective's eye ticked, "I guess I've just stopped worrying about it."
"Uso daro, konna…" he muttered, "…You've got to be kidding me…"
The truth of it was, ever since the Dark Tournament had finally ended, Kuwabara had taken the liberty of making sure Mai came to absolutely no harm….Which apparently meant making sure her every waking moment was guarded by him—whether or not Yusuke was present. After awhile, Mai had grown used to it, but to Yusuke it had just gotten more and more freaky.
"Keh," he shrugged his own bag over his shoulder and turned his back towards her, "Whatever, let's just get outta here before Kuwabara's alarm goes off…"
Yusuke stopped suddenly when he heard her laughing. He turned back towards her.
"Sorry," she said smiling, "I just don't think I've ever seen you so enthusiastic about going to school."
The detective frowned as he growled under his breath. He turned once more towards the street and stalked off. Mai was still grinning as she followed after him.
She would just forget…
-:-
a/n: yes…it was short…
But the next one will be longer I promise. Heh, this is the best I could do after being swamped with, what, two or three essays over the last week? I dunno, my brain's so fried I don't even remember X3
Anywhos!
Until next time, minna-san!
PEACE AND LOVE