To mourningxair, I swear I know foxes are dogs.It was kind of late when I wrote the story. I'm glad people have reviewed, so thank you to you people! Thanks for sticking with the story of Kurama and Sei! I'm working on not making this story total fluff.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, nor Yu Yu Hakusho with the exception of Sei. I totally wish I owned Kurama though.
"…" Thoughts or Flashbacks
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"Sei, where did you go," Kurama asked, tears welling up in his eyes. Yusuke, Botan, Kuwabara, and Hiei looked at Sei as if she had grown a third head. In turn, Sei looked at Kurama strangely.
"What? I'm your mate? I don't remember…" Sei said, her jet black hair falling over her face, shielding her face, where her forest green eyes were looking watery as well. Kurama looked crushed. He had wanted to know where she had been, if she still loved him, not that she didn't remember any of their past together.
Botan cleared her throat, smoothing her clothing. She took a deep breath and said, "Well, regardless of anything like that, let's welcome our new teammate!" She got up and disappeared into the kitchen calling, "I'll make some tea!"
"Wait, how do know where we keep the tea!?" Yusuke called after her, getting up himself to follow her in order to berate the reaper. In the kitchen, as Botan got all of the materials together, she was lost in thought. How did I miss the info on Yoko Kurama being mated? They probably kept it a secret from everyone. If I had known about Sei…
She shook her head. She had fallen for the fox demon after the Dark Tournament and had hoped to confess to him soon. Now it seemed that that was an impossibility. She heard Yusuke calling out to her before he unceremoniously stormed in.
"How do you know where we keep the tea stuff?!" he asked.
"How long have I been around you? You think I wouldn't know where you keep your shit?!" Botan said angrily. She was rather devastated and was not in the mood to deal with a delinquent. Yusuke looked taken aback.
"What's your problem? Does it bug you that we have to work with someone new?"
"No, it's not that," Botan remarked quietly. Yusuke blinked.
"Oh, I get it," he said as he grinned mischievously.
Blissfully unaware of the chaos brewing in the kitchen, the rest of the group sat quietly around the table. Kuwabara fidgeted uncomfortably due to the tension gathered around Kurama and Sei. Kurama stayed silent while Hiei looked thoughtful. Sei was looking at her feet while Koenma was looking at the red-haired fox demon guiltily. Kuwabara broke the silence first.
"So, what are your powers and your weapon? I'll bet its kick-ass," he said. Sei smiled at him.
"I have claws, and I control lightning to a certain degree."
"She's got to be pretty strong to be able to protect you and Urameshi from the demons," Hiei told Kuwabara.
"Wanna fight?" Kuwabara asked Hiei angrily.
"What's the point? You'd be down in five minutes," Hiei instigated.
"That's enough. This is coming from the demon who won't even tell his sister about himself. And you Kuwabara, this is from the person that Yusuke could knock out before any type of rei training," Koenma told the quarreling pair. Amazingly, both men shut up.
At this point, Botan and Yusuke returned from making tea. Botan carried a large tray with multicolored mugs resting on it, filled with tea. She set the tray in the center of the table and sat down, Yusuke following her with a sulky look on his face. The others would never know what transpired in the kitchen, and they probably didn't want to find out.
"Okay, now that we're all here and situated, I'll tell you about the mission," Koenma said. Grumbling followed from the group. The leader ignored it. "Okay, as I said before, there's a demon lurking around Tokyo who poses a threat to the city. It's powerful so you need to capture it and bring it for questioning and should try to find out its objective as well. It won't be easy, so you all should go."
Upon finishing this mini-speech, Koenma was assaulted with questions concerning the nature of this demon from the intelligent members of the group. Kurama had apparently regained his composure and calmly asked, "So what exactly does the spirit world think about this?"
"We basically just want to know if it's a major threat or not. Supposedly, it demolished several groups in the demon world."
"Ok, so when should we deal with this demon?" Hiei asked.
"You'll leave in a week, which should give you enough time to tie up loose ends such as homework, family, etc."
"Homework?" Yusuke and Kuwabara asked incredulously.
"Well, you two might not give a shit about homework, but Kurama and Sei might want to deal with school first. Kurama has to deal with his mother, and Kuwabara, you should deal with Shizuru before she kills you." Kuwabara gave a small squeak. The only thing the infamous gangster was frightened of, his big sister. Yusuke laughed and jeered at his rival.
"Yusuke, this applies to Keiko as well," Koenma remarked. "You're in as much danger as Kuwabara in that respect."
"My mom won't care, but Keiko, she'll filet me if I leave without telling her." Yusuke deadpanned.
"There you go. Have fun guys," Koenma said as he dismissed them all, disappearing with a "pop".
As the group dispersed to their respective homes, Kurama approached Sei. He looked determined to talk to her.
"Oikawa-san, can I talk with a bit?" he requested. She didn't remember him, so he didn't dare to address her by her first name. Sei nodded.
"Sure," she answered. Kurama took a deep breath. This was the plunge, where she could tolerate him, slap him, or regain a part of her memories.
"Oikawa, how much do you remember of your past? You gasped when you heard I was a thief in the demon world, and you said that something similar happened to you when I told those girls that my love had disappeared." Sei looked horrified.
"Why is there that look of terror?" Kurama asked gently.
"I remember a little. I know that I was part of a thievery group, no specifics, I remember having a lover, and apparently that was you." Kurama was kind of disappointed upon hearing this.
She knew nothing of their time together, him courting her, and that fateful night were their lives changed forever. He carefully stroked her cheek, not wanting her to be mad at him for the gesture.
"Would you like me to tell you?" he inquired.
"That would be great if you could tell me a little, just to try to jar my memory," Sei answered him, flinching a little at the physical contact. Kurama thought about what to tell her. He wanted her to remember their downfall herself; it would bring back too many painful memories for him to retell it. He decided he would tell her of their first meeting.
"Oikawa, would you mind coming to my house so I could tell you? I hate trespassing at Yusuke's house for too long."
"Sure…" All this while, Yusuke had been watching (some would call it spying) on them from behind the door. The couple turned to leave, but not before Yusuke made kissing sounds from behind their backs.
"No making out with her in your bedroom Kurama!" he called after the pair, wanting to have the last word. Kurama and Sei blushed bright red. They left without a word to Yusuke.
Once inside the Minamino household they had the misfortune to run into Kurama's mother.
"Shuichi, you brought a girl home! Would you like some snack?" she asked enthusiastically. Kurama shook his head.
"Don't worry about it mother. We just need to talk some," he remarked. Sei looked skeptical. Kurama departed from the kitchen to his bedroom, where they could go without interruption. His mother was wonderful, but she definitely didn't need to hear of his demonic past. He shut the door and flicked the light switch. Light spilled all over the small room.
"I'd like to tell you about how we met, is that acceptable to you?" Kurama asked cautiously. Sei nodded.
"Yeah, but one thing, should I address you as Shuichi or Minamino-san all of the time, or as Kurama when we're with the team?
"Either is fine. I'd prefer to be called Kurama when near the detective group, that's the only name they've ever addressed by with."
"Okay," Sei said timidly. Kurma smiled, and started the story.
-105 years before Present Day-
"Yomi! Cover the rear! I need three people to go with him as backup. I don't care who. Just go!" I screamed at the company. They were under attack after a heist and they were not having very much fun with it. Yomi, my second-in-command, however, was not taking it seriously at all. He obeyed my orders, but took his time picking the enemies off.
We had to reach a village that would shelter us; otherwise the weaklings in the company would die. Finally, after a long chase, the troupe found a village. The enemy didn't follow the thieves in, and for that we were grateful. Tired and relatively pissed off, I prepared to meet the headman of the village to ask for shelter until the danger subsided and injuries were taken care of. I came to the main hall of the headman's residence before meeting him. The headman was a short man, he had a human disguise on, but he was clearly a powerful demon.
"So what can I do for you? Are you an enemy?" the headman asked.
"I'm no enemy, lest you turn against me," I replied. "My men require a place to rest and tend to injuries before heading to our base. We also were chased here and can guard you from that enemy."
"Are you strong?"
"Relatively. My generals and I are stronger than average demons, if that's what you are implying. We pose no threat to you if you let us stay."
"Alright, you may stay. Take the injured to the healer's place; it is next door to this building."
"Thank you." I walked out of the headman's office to go to the healers with my men.
My men and I arrived at the healer's shack within ten minutes. Only the weaker demons in the company were hurt, demons such as me and Yomi were unscathed. As we entered, they came across an old woman who appeared to be the healer. She dressed their wounds and sent us off to recuperate. It was a quick procedure, taking less than an hour. As the leader, I stayed behind to thank the healer. As I bowed as a gesture of thanks, a young woman came in, bearing tea for the old woman.
"Obaasan, here is some tea. You've been working hard for these people," she said. I stared. Who was this woman?
"Hello Sei. Thank you for the tea." The healer turned to me, still dumbstruck.
"This is my daughter, Sei-san. She helps me out occasionally," she told me.
"Sei this is Kurama-kun, the leader of these men. He was just thanking me." Finally, I stepped out of the trance.
"Hello Sei-san." I said dumbly. It was so obvious I was entranced by the healer's daughter, that is to say, you. The old woman's eyes twinkled. You blinked in confusion.
"Leader-san, thank you for showing such gratitude to my mother," you said.
"Sei, would you go to the lake and get some herbs for me? And Kurama-kun, would you follow her and protect her?" The healer was clearly up to something.
"Obaasan! I can take care of myself!" you protested.
"Kurama-kun tells me that there are enemies outside the village, so you need a male escort," your mother said calmly. I looked thoughtful.
"Since I owe you a debt, I'll go," I remarked. I just wanted to get closer to you. Brushing silver hair out of my face, I looked at you. You just sighed.
"Fine. C'mon I'll lead you there and you can follow."
"Fine."
On the path to the lake, we were both very quiet. I didn't dare open my mouth, for fear of you ignoring or yelling at me. You were silent as well, if not for the same reasons. When we arrived at the clearing, you sat down on your knees to gather the selected herbs. When you finished gathering one batch of herbs, you turned around to face me.
"What's a pretty-boy like you doing leading a troupe of bloodthirsty demons?" you asked. I twitched. I always hated being called a pretty-boy.
"I am not a pretty boy. And most of my men began to follow me after seeing my strength." That seemed conceited, but I didn't care.
"So you're very strong I assume. You have to be to make that many demons follow you." I shrugged.
"I suppose. Your village is relatively peaceful, correct?"
"Yes, it really is. My mother is hardly needed for real battle wounds." You turned around to pick more plants, as if ignoring me.
I looked at the herbs you had already picked and then at what you were picking at the moment. I pointed at a patch of small flowering plants a few feet away.
"If you need healing plants in general, there are some over there," I told you.
"Thank you, I'll get those in a minute," you said. "So you know much about healing plants?"
"Just enough to get by. Those, however, are very rare." You turned around to face me, laid the plants in your hands in a basket, and stood up to look at me in the eye. I was stunned by the show of assertion.
"If you like, I could teach you a bit about healing. I know some from my mother," you said softly.
"That would be pleasing to me," I told you very formally.
Upon hearing this, your eyes lit up and you tossed your black, braided hair over you shoulder and plopped down on the ground.
"Sit," you commanded, and gestured to the ground beside you. I complied. Reaching into the basket, you pulled out several different types of healing plants and showed them to me. You began rattling of their names to me, and I listened to every word. I hated dependency on others, so I really wanted to learn how to take of myself, healing being a part of that.
"This is agrimony, this one is linden, and this one is heartsease," you told me. This teaching went on for hours, until the beginning on sunrise. Without realizing it, we had stayed up all night and I still hadn't learned everything. I was hooked; spending time with you was an added bonus.
I took a deep breath and said, "Sei-san, would you like to accompany my troupe for a while and continue teaching us about healing? When you were done or wanted to leave, we could drop you at this village during our travels." You smiled.
"Sure. But only for a bit, I would hate to just leave my mother with no assistant." My heart soared. Not only would you continue teaching me, you would also travel with us. We raced back to the village, you to your mother's and me toward my men. You felt it necessary to tell your mother goodbye. When you came to meet us on the outskirts of town, you were prepared for anything we might face. I turned toward my men.
"This is Sei-san and she will be accompanying us in order to teach us some degree of healing. No one is allowed to hurt her, nor rape her or anything of the like. She is a guest and should be treated as such." You nodded and bowed to the group, asking for acceptance. It was given, but not without the male humor. Yomi and some other brave demons began to jeer about last night, how I had never come back and when I returned, there was a woman with me.
Your ears perked up, listening to the conversation. You decided to ignore it and proceeded with introductions to the few still-listening demons. At the end of the day, we left the village and continued our trek throughout demon world. Even after learning that we were thieves, you still accepted us and continued teaching. Your personality changed; you opened up and became almost annoyingly talkative, always making bets with me. I trained you to fight when you refused to become a liability. Attraction between us came later, over the course of three years.
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Kurama finished his story with a sigh. He was sitting on the floor and Sei was perched on a nearby chair, staying attentive. When she realized he was done, she protested.
"Would you tell me more?" she asked. Kurama shook his head.
"No, at least not tonight. I want you to remember things on your own, not have me tell you everything."
Roses are Red, Violets are blue. He resolved to think about this innocent rhyme that had spontaneously popped into his mind. There had to be reason, right?
"Oh," she said, feeling guilty. "I'm afraid I should leave now, its getting late." The leopard waved and exited the room and the house stealthily, alerting no one of her presence except Kurama. As she walked outside toward her home, Sei thought hard. She knew snippets and pieces of things, and now that Kurama had told her, she could remember most of that event.
The look on his face, it was almost longing. I don't want to see that face, the face of the one who loved me, when I'm not even sure who he is. Please, Kami, let me remember him.
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If you read this far down without getting too bored, I commend you. I know that memory loss is really cliché, but it was the only way out of a plot web I had trapped myself in. Otherwise, the story wouldn't have enough info to be a story! I'm hoping to make this story last at least 4 chapters, maybe more depending on plotbunnies. Again, excuse any grammar and typos, I'm suffering from sleep deprivation.