File 56: Respective decisions
"Checkmate." The scout claimed before the last leaf touched the ground. He released his grip and returned to normal. The blade of his toy knife reappeared too. It had retracted into the hilt as it was being pressed against the body. "If I had my S-class powers, I would have squeezed you to death, but right now, this is my absolute best." He did a few magic tricks with the fake knife, like pulling a string of flags. "This was more or less a psychological trick. Purposely setting a short time limit, then showing off only your ability, and making the opponent feel like he lost. Although when Akari-san came to train with us, she had been able to defeat me as a B-class human without any tricks. That's because she knows how to quickly locate and strike her opponent's weak points, she knows how to use what she has, and she's highly versatile."
"Heh? So you know Akari?"
"Yes, she's spent over two years in our kingdom to train and grow strong enough to have her revenge against someone. And she came back for about a month right before a certain tournament. Are you convinced?"
"Like hell!" Yusuke shot back. Hokushin suggested confirming things with Akari and returning to the Makai together so he could remove the implant and they'd be able to fight at full power to their heart's content... and he would utterly defeat him. "More taunts? I'm not falling for your scamming head games again!" The teen retorted. However, even for sour grapes, the recruiter could not excuse that remark. "I don't mean the fight or Akari! That story from earlier is the scam! Something seemed off with it and now I know why. You said that my pop, your king, is the type of youkai that eat humans to live, and that for about 1000 years, he's stopped eating humans and is now on the verge of starving to death. And you also said that you're obeying his will." He summarized. His interlocutor confirmed everything and didn't see just what part was phony. "Okay, then answer me this: why have you been eating humans?" Yusuke smirked challengingly and aimed at him. The three envoys gasped. And from their reaction, Urameshi gathered he had been spot on. Hokushin smirked too and complimented him for having figured that out. That was because the boy had once fought a demon who consumed human souls. Since the same stench was coming from his mouth, he had tricked him into admitting it. "I dunno what you're scheming but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's sneaky, lying bastards like you. Get ready!" The mazoku menacingly stepped forth.
"P-please wait! I understand, I'll explain everything-" However, before the anthropophaginian could react or even see what was happening, Urameshi's fist connected with his cheek. The blow made him skid several meters backwards, twisted his neck like the strands of a rope, and deformed his face.
"I held back as much as I could. I'll decide whether to kill you or not after I hear you out. Come clean and tell me everything!" The mazoku warned. Hokushin's face and neck returned to normal and he praised his battle prowess that seemed to vary greatly depending on his emotions. He admitted having left some things out because he feared that he wouldn't understand their feeling of comraderie. "Get over yourself. To you guys, it's just a matter of food supply, right? Do the citizens eat or not? Does the King starve or not? Those are just personal matters. What binds you together lies somewhere else, doesn't it? I never thought that everything you said was a lie! The other two strong youkais that oppose your king are still humans as food just like you, right? Even so, there's some reason why you're going against them and siding with your king who has given up on eating humans. If you'd told me that from the start, it would have made a lot more sense!"
"Heh, I see we've underestimated you. Akari-san had warned us. You take after Raizen-sama quite closely. You are doubtlessly his descendant. You two are the same kind of man. Whether someone is fun to fight with or not, that is everything. And I am the same. Fighting along side him makes me happy. It is everything to me. Eventually, I'll quit consuming humans too, but for now I need all the strength I can get to repel the enemies." Hokushin explained. Yusuke asked why he'd go so far to fight those two opposing demons. "Because the king hates them. For whatever reason, any youkai the king hates, I hate too." He answered simply. Now that was easy to understand. "By all means, we wish for you to meet Raizen-sama. We will come to see you again in one week. Give us your answer then. Perhaps you have already made up your mind, but you must have things to take care of first." And on these words, the envoys disappeared into the night.
That's when Kuroko-san came over with a severe look on her face that Urameshi noted. She told him to go to the Demon World, and that it would be the best thing for everyone. If he could stand before a man-eating youkai like that, and allow that humans were just food, then he was no longer a resident of the Human World. The boy conceded she might be right. Also, she had intended to keep it quiet but a messenger from the Reikai had come to her as well with orders to kill him. Of course she had refused, and called Genkai-shihan who told her "if you meet him in person, you will understand". And after meeting him, she was reassured... until a moment ago. Now she was afraid of him. She couldn't trust him like Master Genkai did. The thought of him remaining here and her children being forced to fight him terrified her. She knew he wanted her assistance but those three men from before, just like himself, were far more powerful than she was. She couldn't offer him any help. Although her words had shocked him at first, Yusuke recovered. He smiled understandingly and apologized for the trouble. He was about to leave when Shougo called out to him to finish the fortune reading. Since it didn't appear clearly, he had failed to mention it but he had seen a great separation in his future. He and his blood brothers in arms were going to part ways. However, one should return to him.
Kurama was walking down a dark alley when he faced three demons whose faces were hidden.
"My girlfriend aside, I'm not fond of late-night visitors. Their 'discussions' tend to escalate into violence. Besides, I have a date with her. There will be blood if you make me late." The fox warned.
"Here." The middle man took out a glowing glass ball that levitate and drifted over to Kurama. "It is a messageball from Yomi-sama." He added. Yomi... the mention of that name had the same effect as a bombshell. "Your girlfriend has already received one too. Now if you'll excuse us." They vanished into the darkness before he could question them any further. And Akari had received a messageball too? He didn't like that. Kurama shattered the ball against the wall and the spilt 'liquid' rose up in lines and drew the figure of a tall demon with a handsome face, closed eyes, three pairs of pointed ears, long hair, and seven horns (two on his forehead, two on each side of his head and one on the back of his head). The kitsune sat down on a crate.
"It's been a long time, huh Kurama? I'm glad you're alive. Then again, with this message-ball, I can only speak one-way. I'd like to see you right away. Thinking back on it now, back when we were together, we were both underdeveloped youkais. You returned to our world, didn't you? I sensed your youki. You've become much more powerful. But I've become even stronger. I've become this close to unifying the Makai." The news startled the fox and almost made him fall off his seat. "Raizen and Mukuro, you must still remember these names. Those youkais were already attempting to rule the Makai when we were born. But a few hundred years ago, I rose to power and came to stand on equal footing with them. I wish to surpass these two and unify the Demon Realm. Lend me your abilities Kurama. This time, you help me. I have faith that you will come. I've also heard that you became involved with a human girl. As expected of you though, it seems that you've chosen her well. Of course, she's welcome too. I wouldn't want you to be separated. I've extended an invitation to her as well. Oh, I forgot to mention that about 100 years ago, I was able to track down the youkai who stole the light from my world..." Yomi added, causing Kurama's frown to deepen. "I've wanted you to see him so I've been keeping him alive. Come see, we'll have a good laugh." And on these words, the image vanished.
"An old friend?" A voice questioned. It was Hiei. Kurama's surprise was obvious. "You were so caught up that you became unaware of your surroundings... that isn't like you." The fire youkai smirked. His friend was a little miffed.
"That just shows how much of a history there is between them." Akari intervened. "You were late so I came to get you. And since I also managed to catch you off guard, I'm forgiving you." She grinned. And again, the fox made a cutely peeved expression. To spoil the mood, Hiei returned to the subject. He too was being recruited... by Mukuro. He smashed his message ball against the wall and Mukuro appeared.
"Pleased to meet you, Hiei. I am Mukuro." That... person... of somewhat short stature, gender unknown... but talked like a guy, though the voice sounded very slightly feminine (not like it was conclusive evidence as girls could talk like guys and guys could have a feminine voice), was dressed as a martial artist, had their hands bound, and their head and neck covered with bandages studded with tags. Only his (?) right eye was visible through a gap in the bandages. "I don't often show my self to others; not because it's dangerous, but because it's hard to move around when you're well-known. Getting to the point, you've caught my attention. Won't you become my servant? You could even become my right-hand man. This it top secret information that I will only tell you. As it happens, Raizen is on the verge on death. Once Raizen dies I will immediately launch an all-out offensive on Yomi. He talks of uniting the Demon Realm and would force his own idea of order upon us. He's an even more unsufferable bastard than Raizen. The Demon Realm will soon return to normal. When that happens, be by my side."
"Idiot. That bastard sure talks a lot. He's what you call a poacher." Hiei gave his opinion. As Kurama noted, Mukuro also seemed to know of their run-in with Sensui. They were looking all throughout the Makai for large clashes of youki and checking every last thing. "Things are becoming interesting. I'm going to Mukuro. Don't worry, I don't intend to side with him." He voiced his decision. And of course, he didn't need to explain why, his friends already knew... fighting year-round was the quickest way to raise his fighting abilities, and at Mukuro's side, he would have no shortage of fighting. "I'm going to make good use of him." He smirked.
"In any case, looks like I win the popularity contest." Akari showed her two message balls. They neglected to correct her that there was no such contest in the first place. If she had to be humored every single time she spoke nonsense or tried to stir up things or people, there would be no end to it (since she could not speak any other way). She broke the first ball. It was Yomi's. As an old friend of Kurama's he wanted to meet her. He knew of their involvement and as he had invited Kurama over to help him in the war, he hoped that she too would come to him. Given her abilities and potential, she'd be more than welcome. Of course he knew of her relation to Raizen and understood her difficult position. But there was no reason for her to cling to someone who would be gone soon. If she came to him, Yomi was ready to provide her with everything she wanted, agree to her demands. If she so wished, he could even train her personally... And more than anything, she could stay with Kurama. And then, there was Mukuro. He said she must be well aware of Raizen's state, and what will happen to his faction, his territory, and beliefs after his death. Now was the time for her to start securing position and power to save what could be saved. Wasn't it another form of loyalty? And given Yomi's stance regarding humans, and how he wanted to mold the world to his will, to Akari, a human so involved in the Demon World, who became so involved because she must like it the way it was, the best pick should be obvious to her. They should help each other out. Akari sighed. "Some people just love beating the air."
"So you're going to Raizen after all?" Kurama inferred.
"Yup. I have some good pals over there, and some of them are currently crashing at my granny's place. Everyone is fun to be around, the open spaces are nice, no annoying cutthroat environment, and the rules are okay even for me. And Yusuke... well, he's Raizen's descendant. And Raizen's also the one who took over Yusuke during the fight with Sensui, so it's obvious where that guy will go. So when you guys relay your answers, please tell this to your kings: 'Nothing's more diverting than rising against overwhelming odds, aside maybe, a great fight with a great friend. Guarantees are boring to death. You never know what will happen in the future, that's why it's fun.'" The girl smirked. A great fight with a great friend... meaning she wouldn't mind at all fighting against Hiei or Kurama... heck, she'd even love that. Kurama sighed and Hiei smirked too. There was no helping that belligerence of hers. The little demon started leaving. The kitsune watched him, slightly worried, because unlike him, Hiei didn't know how terrible Mukuro could be. Akari was also watching for a different reason. They were all heading into differents directions... who knew how long it could be until they saw each other again or those circumstances? That was why, before they left, she would have to face an issue she had been avoiding all this time. Between her and Hiei, something had changed. She had noticed it because of his actions that day, when they had been training just the two of them. Because it confused her, her thoughts had turned to him more and more. But she couldn't run away from it and act as if nothing had happened anymore. Those doubts, that fear, she had to dispel them. She had to properly face those feelings... and properly face Hiei.
When he was gone, Kurama suddenly pulled Akari to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. She instinctively placed her hands on his shoulders.
"I guess that means we'll be separated. Are you really alright with that?" He questioned half teasingly. But the faint smile on his lips was not enough to hide the conflicted emotions swirling in his green eyes as he looked straight up at her. His love and expressions always sowed doubt and confusion in her, they swayed and stirred her.
"... It's true I don't feel too well about leaving you... not at all actually..." The girl answered after a moment of hesitation. For her to be so earnest about her feelings, to admit she needed someone and didn't want to leave them was so embarrassing... but he could so easily disarm her. However, if she looked even deeper into her heart... "But after all... I want to go to Raizen... I want to become stronger... I want to fight... Even against Yusuke, Hiei, or you!" Her golden eyes were burning so fiercely, so resolutely. Her hands clamped his shoulders. She needed to do that, fighting, growing stronger, and deciding who was the strongest between them... It was instinct, it was a physical need like eating or breathing... And when he saw that, Kurama smiled good-heartedly.
"Well, being apart doesn't mean being separated." Of course, since he would never allow that. "That means I can look forward to seeing you again and making up for the lost time." The fox grinned innocently, but that only made him appear more wolfish to her.
"Hey, you! What the hell are you thinking about?!" Akari slightly pushed him away, her cheeks now burning too. Kurama stood up.
"Don't you know?" He gazed at his loved one whose breath was caught in her throat. He brought her closer again and kissed her amorously.
"Kurama... are you afraid, of going to Yomi?" The girl questioned after they had pulled away.
"...If I said I was, would you come with me?"
"If you truly needed me... maybe...? But... I doubt he intends to harm you now... and I believe that if it's you, you can handle pretty much every sort of trouble. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to date me, right?"
"I guess so. In any case, gotta make the most of our time until then..." His smile and gaze were so seductive Akari blushed again and got all flustered.
"Y-you...!"
"Is that a no?" The young man grinned so sweetly... and irresistibly. Katsuyama poutily turned away. It was always like this! She didn't know though that this expression of hers made her look so cute and innocent, and so endearing. That was a face she showed only to him. He turned her face to him and kissed her again, tenderly at first, before his fondness heated and intensified into ardent, devoring passion.
Kuwabara was peacefully sleeping in his bed, his calico cat, Eikichi, at his side. Suddenly, the cat felt danger and escaped... and the master took the older sister's foot in the face. Kazu naturally got angry at her. She wanted him to study seriously since he intended to go to high school. He was about to tell her off when he noticed how sincerely worried she was about him and his future. She was scared that at this rate, he was going to ruin his life. When he replied she was the last person he wanted to hear that from, his sister snapped back at him and hit him repeatedly. If he didn't shape up as the son of the Kuwabara family, then she wouldn't be able to do what she wants! And she left, complaining about her brother being such a slacker, unlike her. However, Kazuma, too, was properly thinking about his future. This was an important time for him, maybe he should get serious for once. Doing nothing but fight might really ruin his life.
The next day, Yusuke invited Keiko to a date, which surprised her since he'd been skipping school lately, and suddenly that. They were at a café. He told her out of the blue he had become a demonkin. She looked at him weirdly. He reminded her of his strange appearance when he had come out of the cave. He explained everything to her. He finished when the sky turned orange and purple and they were walking by the riverside. As there were no fundamental difference between the current him and the previous him, Keiko didn't care either way.
"The thing is, I'm thinking of going to the Demon World... tomorrow." Urameshi finally got to the point. He had already told his mother, and she had asked which was farther, America or the Makai.
"Can you come back?" The girl inquired. The boy thought of Hokushin's words... of the possible ways to enter the Human World... which were forbidden to them. He stopped and turned back when he noticed she had stopped walking. "Can you come back?" She insisted.
"P-probably."
"When?"
"I don't know."
"I see." They sat down on the grassy slope. Yukimura informed him that Kuwabara was aiming for Gai's Technical College's High School Annex. Now that was surprising since this school was difficult to get into and Kuwabara was not the brightest bulb. Keiko was planning to go to Daiichi High School for girls. Yusuke sounded reassured that she was going to a girls' school. She pointed out that there was a boys' school right next to it. "Well then. When you get home, let me know. I'll introduce you to my new boyfriend. Have a safe trip." She sounded cold, distant. She started leaving. He was always the one leaving her... but not this time. Even she could not wait indefinitely for someone who might not come back. She would move on with her life, even without him.
"Keiko! Please don't dump me!" Yusuke crawled over to her and reached out only to tumble back down.
"Dummy! It's too late!" She laughed. Then she turned serious again. "Bye bye." The girl said icily and left. Staring at the setting sun, Yusuke sighed.
At night, Urameshi passed by Kuwabara's house. He saw him doing his maths homework from the street and decided not to bother him. He headed to Yukimura Diner. It was already closed but since it was him, Keiko's dad happily let him in. He ordered the usual. The owner called his daughter over. Yu-chan had come. Yu-chan told him not to since he had only come to eat.
"That won't do! Hey, Keiko! Come give me a hand!" Mr. Yukimura insisted. Keiko came down and retorted that she was busy studying. "Who cares about studying?! If you got to study so hard to get into school that you can't help your parents out, there ain't no need for you to go to that school!" He snapped back. She grudgingly came to make Yusuke's yakiniku platter. He complained about the way she was holding the cooking chopsticks, that she still hadn't gotten good at it after all this time, and that she was never gonna be a good wife like that. She told him to leave her alone.
"Thank you for waiting." Keiko roughly put the tray down before the customer. "Take your time." Her phrasing might be polite and formal but her tone and attitude rather unfriendly and standoffish. Yusuke stopped her from leaving again and made her sit down next to him at the counter. She sat down next to him, yes, but facing slightly the opposite way, her eyes closed and her chin resting on the palm of her left hand. He started eating and praised her cooking skills. She curtly thanked him. He offered her some meat and she turned him down the same way.
"You know, tomorrow is my birthday." Urameshi started. Keiko knew that already. "And well, I'll be back in exactly three years. I promise. And when I do..."
"When you do...?" The girl finally looked at him and raised herself. Her childhood friend turned her fully towards him and grasped both her hands in his.
"Let's get married." Yusuke declared with a straight face. She stared at him for a time and sighed in disbelief.
"Proposing after you've been dumped? Don't you have any integrity?" She couldn't help but wonder. Her father laughed all of a sudden. He hadn't heard that line of Yu-chan's in a long time. Way back then, he used to say that every time they fought. And indeed, Yusuke grinned like a kid. Keiko withdrew her hands, turned back to the counter and crossed her arms. She appeared to be thinking. "Three years, huh?" She looked back at her 'fiancé' who confirmed. "There's no telling what will happen, you know, such a long time ahead." She stood up and walked away.
"Keiko! I love you!"
"Yes, yes, me too!" Yukimura dismissed him as she climbed the stairs to her room. The two men looked at each other and grinned. Just the fact that she had latched onto the 'three years' was enough. She sat at her desk and sighed again. Then she heard Yusuke leaving, went to the window and slightly opened the curtain to watch him.
Yusuke, it's three years... But as she thought that, she saw him wave at her without looking back... and leaving, his hands in his pockets.
Author's note: I finished writing the series' episodes, so I'm posting this update. But, as the frame's done, from now on, I gotta fill and alter things with Akari's part. What more... I think I'll add a chapter... (or maybe two?) with more Akari... and I'll probably write the Golden Seal as an epilogue... so for those reasons, I have no idea about the frequency of the releases so please be understanding for a little more time. This is the last spurt (for this story), lol!
