Yu Yu Hakusho: New Dreams, Old Nightmares

Time for a new chapter. Sorry for the long wait, but thank you for the reviews! I've been so busy with everything and haven't been able to write. Sorry for the Matrix reference, I just couldn't help myself. :evil grin:

New Dreams, Old Nightmares

Chapter Fourteen: Red Pill or Blue Pill?

"Hana, are you feeling alright?" Shizuru called up the stairs, after ending the call with her brother. The girl had not come down from Kuwabara's room yet, but then again, herself and Hana had stayed up talking for a while, and Shizuru had given her some very powerful medications to stave off any pain in her arm.

"I'm fine! Just making the bed…" Hana yelled back.

Shizuru laughed. "Wow, finally, someone besides me makes the bed, God knows Kazuma doesn't do it…" she grumbled as she started upstairs. Reaching the landing, she turned the corner and appeared in the doorway.

Hana was there, tucking in the last corner of the blanket, moving swiftly and efficiently with her hand. Shizuru raised her eyebrow, watching in disbelief.

"Wow," the older woman said. "I can't believe you were able to do that all by yourself, with your arm in a sling…" Hana jumped, turning around to face the door. Her arm was still useless in front of her, underneath the light cotton top Shizuru had let her borrow.

"Oh," she said, blushing slightly. "I've had my arm in a sling before, and I learned to be really good with only one hand…"

"May I ask why?" Shizuru inquired, leaning against the door frame.

"It was a car accident, a long time ago. I couldn't use my arm for a few months…" she said, her voice trailing off as her eyes scanned the room. The typical computer, the bookcase, all of the other amenities. Here eyes fell upon a picture resting in a frame, of a group of people together. She walked over to it, Shizuru following her gaze.

"Hey, its Shuuich-, er, Kurama," she said, picking up the frame and scrutinizing the picture inside. She saw six people in it, Kurama in the back. There was a smiling boy to his left, with orange hair grinning at the camera, a bandage on his left temple. Two girls were in front of him, a brown hair girl with a semi blank look on her face, and a girl with longer blue hair grabbing onto her shoulders with a big smile. To the right of them, in front of Kurama, a boy with black hair was giving a triumphant smirk to the camera, giving a thumbs-up, and to his right was a shorter one, with wild black hair streaked with white above his headband, looking away from the camera, as if something were on the ground in front of him off to the side.

"Is one of these people your brother?" Hana asked, noticing Shizuru had walked up behind her. "I recognize Kurama, but he looks a little younger in this picture…"

"That old thing? I took that picture a few years ago." Shizuru said, bending over to get a closer look. It was a picture she had taken of them all, after the old tournament against Toguro. "That's my brother, right there," she said, pointing at Kuwabara. "These are some of our wonderful, mutual friends," she finished with a slight bit of embellishment.

"What's up with the goth kid?"

Shizuru stifled a laugh. "Never let him hear you say that. I threw your fuku and other clothes into the washing machine, they should be ready to go in an hour or so. Unless you're fine with wearing pajamas when Kurama gets back here."

"No no no, that's alright. But thank you…for this, I mean…this is all so kind of you. I mean, you don't even know me, and you just took me in…" Hana said.

"Well, we've dealt with this kind of thing before," Shizuru said, placing a hand on Hana's good shoulder. "I don't think they'll come after you again, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Right, like that's supposed to make me feel better about walking on the streets at night."

"It wasn't supposed to because it never could, actually. You sleep well?" Shizuru asked, turning back towards the doorway. "If you're hungry, I guess we could cook something. Should be some food in this house somewhere…"

Hana started to follow Shizuru as she made her way down the stairs. "I'm okay, except for the occasional nightmare last night."

"That's normal. Come on, let's eat. Can't take narcotics on an empty stomach.

"Kuwabara, what the hell is going on?" Keiko demanded.

"Is Kurama all right?" Yukina asked, her voice full of concern.

Kuwabara stepped back from their combined onslaught. "I think he has things under control…there's been trouble in Makai that might spill over."

Yukina's hands flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh no!"

"Where is he?"

Kuwabara put his cellphone away, on guard and anxiously looking around for any signs of trouble. "You two stay close. I don't sense anything, but we might have a problem if anything gets to this world…"

"What did Kurama say?"

"He should be calling us back as soon as he checks it out. He can handle himself, don't worry."

Shizuru's phone rang.

"Give me just a minute, okay?" She asked Hana, picking up the few dishes on the table as she made her way to the sink. Depositing them neatly, she took a minute to wipe her hands on a towel before she picked up the phone.

"Kuwabara residence."

"Shizuru!" Kurama's voice sounded on the other end. "Is everything alright?"

Shizuru turned to Hana at the table, and quietly excused herself into the next room so her conversation wouldn't be overheard.

"Yeah, I was curious as to what's going on, and how the meeting went."

"Everything went well, as far as the meeting goes. However, not much else did. There was trouble in Makai and we were scared some yokai would have made it through."

"They didn't, did they?" Shizuru asked, with concern.

"I didn't sense anything. Did you?"

"No, I didn't. Kazuma's with the girls at the mall, where are you at?"

"The park. This is where the portal they were attacking leads. Hiei went to handle them on the Makai side and I suppose that he accomplished his goal."

"So three-eyes isn't with you then, is he?"

"No. I didn't even get around to asking him to come back with me. Speaking of which, how is Hana?"

"She's doing better this morning, but she's still in a lot of pain."

"That's better. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get around to bringing back any medicinal aids."

"What are the plans for later? I know Keiko, Kazuma and Yukina were going down to the beach later. Should we meet them? If we do, Yukina can just heal Hana." Shizuru pondered aloud.

"That's one possibility, but are you certain it would be a good idea to drag her in any deeper into this whole situation?"

"I thought we agreed it wasn't an issue."

"My recollection is that we discussed it."

"And she seems to be holding up very well, Kurama."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, followed by a sigh. "You're right."

"Can you call my brother back? I know he's going to be really worried if he can sense what's going on."

"Everything seems clear here, so I'll call him as soon as I get off the phone with you."

"Did you want to try to meet with everyone at the beach later?"

"I can meet with you and Hana on my way home, but I have obligations tonight."

"Busy man. You going to let Hana buy you a coffee?"

Kurama laughed. "Eventually, yes, I will."

"Good, now that that's settled, what should I tell her?"

"Tell her I'm on my way back. Is there any way that you can get Yukina and the others back to the house without making it seem like an emergency?"

"I'll think of something. Did Yusuke show up to the meeting at all?"

"Eventually. I think he's having a rematch with someone right now to blow off some steam."

"I have to take off now, I left Hana in the next room alone. Call me if anything else comes up, okay?"

"Of course."

Shizuru hit the button on the phone to end the call. Turning around, she saw a nervous Hana in the doorway, biting her lip. Shizuru sighed.

"Don't you know better than to eavesdrop?"

Hana turned her face downward. "Well, I heard you were talking about me, so I was just worried if anything else were to happen to me."

Shizuru sighed again. Well, might as well be honest, she told herself.

"I have two questions for you, Hana. Kurama won't like this, but damn, even he needs a kick in the ass sometimes." Shizuru moved over to the couch and motioned for Hana to do the same. She followed suit, and straightened out her skirt over her knees with her good hand.

Shizuru pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer in the end table and lit one, taking a deep drag from it.

"If I told you that there was someone who would be able to heal you, so your arm would be back to normal, would you want that?"

Hana looked down at the sling. After last night, and this morning, anything seemed possible. Healers were nothing new in the realm of fiction, and she was familiar with the concept.

"Why wouldn't I? It's not like I enjoy having my arm pinned to my chest, you know."

"Fair enough," Shizuru noted. "The second question is harder, but not the one I'm going to ask right now. How do you feel about the situation last night? The nightmares, and everything. You're still scared, aren't you," Shizuru stated. It was not an inquiry, it was a statement.

Hana shuddered at the memory, feeling the terror all over again of being ambushed in the graveyard. The breath of the yokai tickling her skin, feeling as if she was going to die. Being jerked up into the air, stabbing the beast with her knife as she defended herself.

And Shuuichi, no, Kurama saving her.

She whispered in a soft voice, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."

"If you could forget all about last night, would you?"

Hana's eyes locked on to Shizuru's. "What, like erase my mind? You, you can do that?"

"If you want us to, we can. You can forget all about last night. It would just be a blank spot in your memory, like you went out and partied and blacked out."

Hana laughed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, then started laughing harder as something in the back of her mind clicked. Shizuru instantly became puzzled, and could only wait until she quieted down. Maybe I was wrong when I said we shouldn't erase her memories…

"I'm sorry," Hana said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "I just realized how funny this situation is." When Shizuru didn't smile back, Hana continued, giggling. "So, should I take the red or blue pill?"

Shizuru was puzzled for a few seconds, until she got the reference. "Oh god," she said, exasperated, as she slapped her hand to her forehead and couldn't help chuckling herself. This is going to be insane, she thought. "Don't call me that. I don't look good black, bald, or in leather," she said, laughing again. Eventually, both girls quieted down, and Shizuru asked Hana again.

"So kiddo, red or blue pill?"

"Which one is the one that wipes your memory?"

"Hell if I know. I only saw that movie once."

"Well, that's the one I don't want to take." Hana said. "I don't want to forget it."

"You sure?" Shizuru asked.

Hana nodded with conviction, then winced. "Yes on the other part, though," she said as her hand went to her shoulder.

"Sure thing, we can have that fixed up by this afternoon. Oh! I forgot your knife," Shizuru remembered, as she got up. "I think I left it on the kitchen counter," she said, leaving the room.

Hana had forgotten about it for the moment as well. She was skilled with one hand, but not that skilled.

"Here it is. I hope you'll be able to put it on yourself later," Shizuru said, holding the sheath by the small braided belt that ran around it. "May I?"

Hana nodded, and Shizuru took the knife out of its sheath. The short blade gleamed in the light from the window.

"Interesting design," she said as she slipped it into her hand, her index finger through the loop of steel on the hilt. "Light as a feather. Where's you get it?"

"My father gave it to me, a while ago. He used to collect knives, and other types of weaponry as a hobby."

Shizuru raised an eyebrow. This was a practice that was frowned upon in Japan. "He had a collection of these?"

"Yes. It's an older blade too. It's been in the family for a very long time. It was actually made back in the Meiji era."

"That old, huh?" Shizuru said as she inspected it closer. The blade was immaculate, with the exception of a small notch near the tip.

"Yeah. It's funny, we thought it was lost. We were lucky to get it back," she remarked, holding out her good hand.

"Oh yeah? How'd that happen?" Shizuru said, giving the blade to Hana.

"My grandfather was a Zero pilot in World War Two. It was always tradition for members of the Emperor's pilots to have a sword with them every time they flew into a fight. My grandfather didn't have one, so he carried the knife instead.

"Well, one mission he flew against the Americans, and he had to ditch the plane in the water. He was rescued by an American trawler, and was taken as a prisoner of war. The knife was taken from him. He told me he was really scared, because they were told what the Americans would do to people that been captured. That they would be tortured, forced to live like animals, and all that. But he was really surprised when they treated him like a human. He even made friends with one of them, in the camp, from one pilot to another."

Hana turned the knife over a few times, lost in the memory of her grandfather relating the story to her. After a few seconds, she continued.

"So when the war was over, my grandfather was permitted to come back to Japan. It wasn't until about ten years ago when something really neat happened. We received a package in the mail from America. It was from the son of my grandfather's friend. He had kept up communication with him for years after the war, and the way I was told, the son came across the knife one day. My grandfather's friend forgot all about it! So he had the knife shipped back to Japan. It had been fifty years, but to open it and see it again, my grandpa cried…"

"Wow," Shizuru said. "How'd you end up with it?"

"Grandfather died not long after, and my father…left it to me in his will."

Shizuru winced as Hana's voice fell. "I'm sorry."

Hana shook her head quickly before putting the knife down on the table on top of the sheath. "It's okay. I live with my aunt now. It's sad…she probably wouldn't even know I was gone last night," she said with a dark chuckle.

"Ouch."

Hana shrugged with her one good shoulder. "I should still call and let her know what's up. I'll just tell her I met some friends last night, went to a party and didn't feel safe walking home."

"You want to do that now?"

"In a little bit, yeah."

"Well, Kurama should be back soon, and I need to call my bro and have him come by, so we can get that arm taken care of."

"Can you do me one last favor, Ms. Kuwabara?"

"Call me Shizuru, and sure."

"I can't put the knife back in the sheath with one hand."

I am so sorry it has taken me a long time to update this. I have tried to rewrite this a few times, and finally am happy with the way it turned out.

I'm trying very hard not to have Hana's character fall into that of a Mary Sue. I want to introduce her to the group slowly, and there's no way she'll jump in and go "Hey everybody! Nice to meet you! I'm Hana!" and have everyone be like "Oh my god! We all love you!" etc. I HATE those types of fanfics. So I'm introducing her in the same way that characters were introduced in Yu Yu Hakusho. You never stop learning about them, their past is never revealed at once, and when they first come in, they are never the focal point – but merely a stimulus for more established characters to react to and further their own stories.

Been going through a lot lately. Thank you for your continued support of this. It means a lot.

Till next time!

Kusanagi