If Only Tears Could Bring You Back

by Momo no Hana

"Man, how did Koenma get us to do this?" Yusuke grumbled, scrambling over an enormous tree root that had grown over the path. Kurama carefully stepped over the same root. They had been hiking through the forest for nearly an hour, and the temple was nowhere in sight.

How indeed, Kurama wondered, tucking some bright red hair behind his ear.

-A few hours ago…-

"Well?" Yusuke asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

Koenma "hmm"ed as he leaned over Keiko, who had not moved from her place on the couch in Kurama's house. He grasped her chin between his small, pudgy hands, tipping her face up so he could study the closed eye on her forehead. He opened the Jagan, peered into it, and shook his head.

"There's nothing more that can be done, Yusuke," the toddler said. "Kurama managed to restore her mind, but you'll have to reclaim the Shadow Sword if you want to change her back into a human."

"You think I don't know that already?" The Spirit Detective clenched his hands, aggravated. "Look, I tried, okay? There's no way for me to beat him!"

"Hiei's strength is overwhelming," Kurama murmured. He stood beside the window, his arms folded and his eyes distant. "I don't think it's possible for Yusuke to beat him without proper training."

"I don't think so, either," Koenma agreed. "That's why, for the moment, I am suspending the case."

"What?!" Yusuke yelped, unfolding his arms. "What do you mean, you're suspending the case?"

"There's no point in chasing after Hiei if you have no chance of catching him. That would be a waste of the Spirit World's time and resources." The toddler cleared his throat. "I have contacted one of my former Detectives and arranged some training for you. Once you've gotten stronger, you can take another shot at Hiei."

"I'm strong enough already! I don't need to train!"

"If you were as strong as you say, you would have beaten Hiei," Koenma said sharply. Yusuke deflated, and the toddler frowned. "But you aren't strong enough, and you haven't beaten him, and that's why I asked Genkai to teach you. You will accept her training." Yusuke scowled at him, and Koenma narrowed his eyes. "If you don't want to earn your place on Earth anymore, I can always have Botan take you back to the Spirit World."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Fine," Yusuke mumbled, defeated.

-Present-

"What did Koenma mean by that, anyway?" Kurama murmured, sending a curious look at Yusuke. "That he would return you to the Spirit World."

"Oh. Well, ya see, I got myself hit by a car about a month ago and died. Koenma's the one who had me resurrected, and I have to work as a Spirit Detective so that I can repay him." Yusuke glanced over his shoulder at Kurama. "I don't have a choice here. If I turned him down I would be a ghost again, and all the crap I went through to come back to life would be for nothing."

"Mm. But I suppose—"

Kurama froze when a flare of energy turned the forest around them pink. There was a loud boom, followed by a small earthquake. The birds that had been perching in the trees around them took flight, startled by the explosion, and Yusuke and Kurama shared a glance before breaking into a run.

As they leaped over rocks and tree roots, the two boys could see a stone staircase carved into the mountainside. They took the steps three at a time, stopping at the enormous gates that stood at the top of the stairs.

"I think we found the temple," Yusuke commented needlessly. He grabbed the handle of one door and pulled, managing to open the gates a crack. They popped their heads through just in time to see a second flash of energy.

"AHHHH! ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT ALREADY, I GIVE UP!" Kuwabara let out a loud screech, jumping behind a stone bench as the pink energy crashed toward him. The bench crumbled, and the tall, orange-haired boy was left to cower behind the pile of rubble. "YOU WIN!"

The pink glow in the center of the courtyard dimmed, revealing the source of the powerful energy. Yusuke and Kurama blinked. The young woman was even shorter than Hiei and had crinkled pink hair. She wore a long blue coat over a white linen shirt. She must be a keeper of the temple, Kurama thought.

"I don't know why you even bothered challenging me, Kuwabara. Creating a sword is simple if you have enough energy, but learning how to use that sword is another matter," the woman said, frowning and clasping her hands behind her back.

"I'm trying, okay? This spirit energy thing is kind of tough!" Kuwabara complained, moving so that he sat on the ground. Some rubble had gotten stuck on his blue uniform and in his gelled hair. "I have to concentrate on keeping the energy out of my body, and make it the right shape, and I don't have time to think about how I use it!"

"Hmph!" The woman did not look impressed. "If you had truly mastered your energy, you shouldn't have to concentrate! It should come as naturally as breathing!" The small woman glanced at the open gates, her frown deepening as she saw the two boys peering through the crack. "What now? More kiddies come to get themselves spanked? This temple isn't a playground, you know!"

Kuwabara jerked his head to see what she was looking at.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelped, eyes wide. "What's going on? I mean, what are you doing here?"

"I've got good reasons, unlike some people," Yusuke retorted as he stepped out from behind the gates. He looked at the woman. "Yo, lady! You know an old hag by the name of Genkai? She's supposed to be running around this dump somewhere."

"Yusuke, please. You don't know who you could be offending," Kurama murmured as he stepped up beside the Spirit Detective. He bowed his head to the woman respectfully. "Good afternoon, ma'am. We were sent here to see Master Genkai."

The woman glanced between the two boys, as if she were measuring them.

"Kuwabara, show our guests inside."

A/N: Finally got a new chapter out. Kuwabara has been introduced, as promised, and Genkai… Well, she appeared in her younger form for this chapter. She'll be back to normal next chapter, though, and Kuwabara gets curious about Kurama (specifically, why Yusuke has so many 'girlfriends').