Chapter eight is finally here!

This is the final chapter of this story, I'm afraid. I felt that this was a good place for me to end it, but don't worry. If you liked this story, you can read the sequel that I'm planning on starting this weekend. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the title of it, because it doesn't even have one yet, so you'll just have to be on the lookout for it.

As usual, Yu Yu Hakusho rightfully belongs to the wonderful Yoshihiro Togashi, who, sadly, I am not. All I own are the ideas in my head and my OCs.

'Run and don't let them catch you. If they do, it'll all be over.' Kilala's words echoed in Ashton's head as she ran up staircase after staircase, through hallway after hallway. Behind her, she could just barely hear the light footfalls of the redhead who'd followed after her. She didn't look back at him, though. She was afraid that if she did, she'd find that he was much closer to catching up with her than she felt comfortable with.

Having only been living in the castle for a little over a week, she wasn't exactly sure where she was going. She knew that the castle had several different floors and many staircases, but she wasn't familiar with anything above the second floor. Reaching the top of one of the staircases, though, she found herself faced with a dead end and a tough choice. There was a door she could try her luck with, or she could let herself fall into the hands of the enemy.

Deciding to go with the first option, she pushed the oaken door open and hurried inside of the room. She slammed the door shut and slid the bolts into place. Turning so that her back was pressed to the door, her eyes slipped shut, and she released a breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. From the other side of the door, she heard Kurama's footsteps come to a stop. The door knob rattled as the redhead attempted to enter the room.

"Ashton," he said when the door wouldn't open, "please open up and let me in. I don't know what they've done to you, but you're… You're not right, Ash. They're messing with your head or something. You wouldn't be letting this happen if you knew who you were last week." The fox sounded desperate, but Ashton didn't give him an answer of any kind. She opened her eyes and looked around the room as she moved into the center of it. The room was round, so she assumed that she was in one of the castle's towers. It was decorated in deep shades of red, cream, and gold. The walls were cream in color, with leaves of gold adorning them. A set of double doors opened out onto a small balcony that overlooked the castle's grounds.

"Too bad I couldn't have found my way here under different circumstances," Ashton muttered under her breath. The door knob rattled again, and she whirled around to look at it, eyes wide with fear. After a moment, the door opened, the lock having been picked by Kurama.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Ashton asked, eyes tearing up. She bit her lip and took several steps away from Kurama.

"You don't belong here, Ashton," Kurama gently told her. He watched her carefully, afraid to step any closer for fear that she would do something she wouldn't under normal circumstances. The silver-haired girl shook her head several times.

"Don't presume to tell me where I do and do not belong!" she stubbornly replied. "You don't know me! Why are you even here? What do you want with me?"

"I want you back as my friend, Ashton," Kurama quietly told her. He held her gaze as he took a small step towards her. "We all want you back at the temple. We want to know that you're safe and happy." He started to say something else, but was cut off by Ashton.

"I am happy!" the kitsune informed him. "I'd be even happier if I didn't feel cornered right now!" Turning on her heel, she threw open the balcony doors and stepped out. Almost before Kurama had a chance to react, she'd jumped over the railing. He ran out and did the first thing that came to his mind. He jumped.

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An absolution. That was what Ashton had been searching so long for. She was ready to be free of the guilt she'd felt since she was a child. She was ready for the sweet serenity that would accompany death.

She was sitting in a chair in an unlit room. She was by herself, and the only sound was that of her breathing.

"What I am doing in here?" she thought aloud. She jumped to her feet when a voice came from what seemed to be nowhere.

"You're here to make a decision." On the wall in front of her, a slideshow of pictures began to play. She could remember some of them, but others were unfamiliar to her.

"You're here to make a decision," the voice repeated. "You can either return to the life you once led, or you can end it all right here and now."

Ashton gave the choices little thought before she uttered the words that would seal her upcoming fate.

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In retrospect, Kurama hadn't made the best choices in the past week. Reflecting back on everything, he realized how stupid it had been for him to jump over the railings like Ashton had down. He didn't regret what he'd done, though; he knew he'd do it all the same if he had the second chance to.

He remembered little about the fall. After jumping over the railing, the next thing he was able to remember was waking up in Spirit World's infirmary three days later. The injuries he'd sustained in the fall had healed already, so he focused his time and attention on making sure that Ashton was okay. It had taken two days for him to convince the infirmary's doctors to allow him to sit in Ashton's room each day to make sure she was fine. Two more days had passed, yet she still had not woken up. He'd been told that there was a good chance that she wouldn't wake up at all. Her injuries had been much worse than what he'd received, and for some reason unknown to the doctors, her body was not healing as it should. Their attempts at healing her had not ended as they'd planned.

He'd been told by Yusuke that Kilala had been defeated rather quickly. The neko had been locked up in Spirit World, sentenced to life in jail. Merihk had disappeared upon realizing that the detective group had shown up. He had not been seen again, but the group was sure that he would return soon.

Madarao had located Tefy in the castle after the fight with Kilala. The reunion of mother and daughter had been a tearful one, and the two had not spent any waking moment apart since then. With her daughter back by her side, Madarao had vowed to Koenma that she would continue to live in the light as she had been since going to Genkai's temple. She'd promised to give up the life of petty crime for her daughter.

Kurama had nearly dozed off when a slight squeak from Ashton's bed made him open his eyes. The girl had shifted her position slightly; it was her first movement since she'd been admitted to the room. He watched her with bated breath as her eyelids fluttered several times before the movement stopped. He'd nearly given up hope of her waking up when her eye lids opened. The kitsune slowly turned her head to look at her friend, and a tiny smile lit up her face.

"Hey, Kurama," she spoke in a raspy whisper. The redhead's eyes filled with tears as he hugged Ashton.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Ash," he quietly told her. "Never again."

And that's the end of this story! Thank you to anyone and everyone who has bothered to read and/or review! Let me assure you, it has meant a ton to me. You guys are amazing, and this story wouldn't have been possible without you!

As always, please review. :) And be on the lookout for the first chapter of the sequel! I'll try to have it written and uploaded some time this weekend.

Much love,

Pandah