Paper Voice
A YYH Fanfic
Chapter Nineteen
Botan did as Kurama said and jumped on her oar to fly over the forest surrounding Genkai's temple calling for Hiei and Catherine. After ten minutes of circling around where Cat and Hiei were usually found in the forest Catherine finally shouted up to her. "Botan, what are you doing here? What's all the shouting about?" Botan flew down to Cat, face red and nose stuffy from crying, "I was looking for you and Hiei obviously. We need to get back to Genkai's now."
"Why?" Hiei asked appearing on a tree branch above the girls.
"Gah! Hiei don't do that! We need to get back to Genkai's because… she's… dead."
Catherine sprang into immediate action; she scooped up Bruno and slipped through a shadow portal coming up on Genkai's veranda. A couple minutes later she was joined by Hiei and Botan; Bruno was tied up under the veranda and Catherine ran inside. 'She can't be dead,' she thought, 'she's too- too stubborn to die just from being a little sick!' Bursting into Genkai's room Catherine begged for the sound of Genkai's scratchy voice berating her for being a rude child.
The only thing she heard was the sound of the door slaming into the frame behind her. Genkai was lying on her futon with the blankets pulled up to her chin. She was so pale and fragile looking but she couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be! Catherine dropped to her knees beside Genkai, 'she's just resting; that's all! That's why she didn't yell at me, she's deep asleep and didn't hear me!' Reaching over to feel Genkai's forehead to see if she had a fever Catherine watched carefully but didn't see her chest rising and falling with breath. Slowly, tears starting to form, Catherine placed her hand on Genkai's forehead; it was so… so cold. Why would Yukina let her get this cold? Didn't she know that Genkai wasn't feeling well and needed to be kept warm and properly taken care of?
Someone sat down next to Catherine and hugged her, looking over she saw that it was Katrina. "Katrina—" Catherine's voice broke and she began to cry, "Katrina, you shouldn't be out of bed." Katrina hugged Catherine tighter and silently sobbed into her shoulder. Catherine sensed others gathering around Genkai's body but she just stared down as her tears were captured by gravity and fell to the floor.
After everyone had composed themselves and called Yusuke and the others, they began discussing what they should do about Genkai's body. Cremation was the obvious choice but they wanted to wait until everyone was present and they could read her Will before making arrangements; in case Genkai had already had something planned out. Everyone was sitting sedately in the living room while waiting for the others. Kurama had his arm around Katrina, Ritsu fidgeting in her lap; Botan and Yukina were hugging and crying again; Hiei sat on a windowsill and Catherine lay on the floor staring at the ceiling, a blank look on her face.
Ritsu had had enough of this depressing atmosphere, jumping down he ran off to try and find something fun to do. Katrina just sighed and let him be; looking down at Catherine she wondered what was going through her best friend's mind. She didn't know how she would handle the death of a loved one- heck- she didn't even know how close Cat was to Genkai. "Catherine," she whispered; the first sound to break the silence that had been growing for the past hour. Catherine turned her blank stare on Katrina, "Hmm?"
"Could we go outside and talk?" Catherine just nodded and slowly got up following her limping best friend out of the living room.
Once outside on the veranda Katrina smiled a little despite herself, it was a gorgeous sunny day with a gentle breeze, a perfect day to leave the world of the living behind. Catherine hopped up onto the railing and looked off into the distance. Carefully Katrina pulled herself up next to her friend; grimacing a little as her ribs and leg protested. "Are you okay?"
". . ."
"Cat, please answer me, I want to know how you're doing; I've never seen you like this… not even-"
"Kat, don't bring that up. I'm- I'll be okay. It's just… hard. I mean, out of everyone we know, Genkai was the one I thought would out live us all. Heh; and I never imagined saving your life would bring the end of hers." Katrina's head shot around to give Catherine a surprised look, "What do you mean?"
"Oh- s*&%- I didn't mean to- I- Forget I said anything okay?"
"No, tell me what you're talking about?" Catherine sighed and looked down, swinging her feet a little before reluctantly answering Katrina. "When I brought you back… you were in really bad shape and Genkai healed you; Yukina started out helping but Genkai kicked her out pretty early on. She was in your room working for a long time. When she finally left she looked really worn out; Yukina asked if she was okay and Genkai said she just needed some time to rest. The next day I woke up late and freaked, thinking Genkai was going to kill me. Just cause I saved you doesn't excuse me from getting up early and training. But she didn't get on my case about it. In fact, she hadn't even left her room since the day before after taking care of you.
Yukina went in to check on her and later said that Genkai really wasn't looking too well. We were a little concerned but I didn't really think much of it. She was old and had used up a lot of energy making sure you didn't… didn't die. Today, when she still wasn't looking any better I decided I need to get out for a while and clear my head. All this stress and sadness was really getting to me; then you woke up and I was happy and I wanted to talk about something more light-hearted like stupid movies or something but I knew Kurama had been waiting long enough and was really worried about you. So I called him and let you two have quality time. I decided I could spend time with you later and went out for a walk with Bruno, wondering if I might run into Hiei and be able to talk to him… more of a one sided conversation but it would've been something.
Then Botan showed up calling for us sounding all distressed and I knew something had to be wrong for Botan to be here and fretting so much to boot. Now… you're all caught up. But don't you DARE blame yourself for what happened to Genkai, she admitted herself, all the time that she was old. It was just her- her time to go and—" Catherine started to choke up again but fought it, "and she's probably annoyed at us for crying like a bunch of sissy-babies with no control over our emotions."
Katrina was about to respond when Yusuke shouted at them from the gate entrance to Genkai's temple. Trying to turn and see everyone walking up Katrina lost her balance and fell off the veranda railing; hitting the ground a few feet bellow she choked in pain. Catherine jumped down next to her, a panicked look on her face. "Kat, are you okay?"
"Ju- ust a little winded… and sore," Katrina replied holding back tears; she really needed a pain-killer right then. Keiko came running over to them and helped Catherine help Katrina to sit up yelling at Yusuke as she did, "Yusuke, you idiot!"
"What did I do? She's the one who wasn't paying attention and lost her balance," he yelled back indignantly. The two broke off into a screaming match as Kuwabara, Shizuru and Daiku walked towards the veranda.
"Even when a close friend dies those two can find something to fight over," Shizuru sighed; taking Keiko's place in help Katrina.
After some more shouting from Yusuke and Keiko, Catherine and Botan had had enough and warned them to shut up and be respectful. It worked, they both went silent and waited for whatever was to happen next; Shizuru retrieved Genkai's Will and began reading it to everyone.
*"'To whom it matters…'"
"That doesn't sound very promising," Yusuke interrupted.
"'By the time this document is read…'"
"Hmph," Yusuke grumbled and received at swift slap to the back of the head from Keiko.
"'However I'll assume everyone concerned is alive and well. Cutting to the chase, I bequeath to you all the land around my temple. The requisite paperwork is in a safety deposit box in ABC Bank, XYZ Branch. The property is a two hour drive from the nearest town. Not exactly convenient but not my problem. The point is it's a perfect refuge for demons. Leave it in its natural state if you can.'"*
-/-/-/-/-
Two weeks after the reading of Genkai's Will and her funeral Catherine and Katrina were busy packing and preparing to move into their new house in the country just outside Yusuke's town. "It feels so weird to be moving out again so soon, doesn't it?" Katrina asked as she helped load the small moving truck.
"Yeah, it does, I mean, it's just over a year since we came here. In fact, thinking about it, yesterday was the anniversary of our arrival here."
"Wow, our nineteenth birthdays both spent in another dimension… weird. Hey, have you seen Ritsu?"
"Yeah, I think he and Bruno were playing under the veranda over there," Catherine pointed vaguely to her left.
"It's great that those two are getting along so well, especially since they're going to be living together for the foreseeable future."
Kurama and Daiku walked up and asked if the girls had everything and were ready to go; they called Bruno and Ritsu over and then split up. Catherine was teaching Daiku how to drive and the cab of the moving truck was too small for four people and two animals. Opening the back door to her car, Ms. Widow*, Catherine let Bruno jump in then she proceeded toward the driver's side only to find her boyfriend already occupying that seat. "Well, uh… y'know I'm pretty sure you're not legally allowed to drive yet; so out, still passenger seat for you. Bye Kat, see ya at the new place," Catherine called as Daiku got out and headed for the passenger seat.
"Cya der," Katrina called back as she hopped into the cab and Ritsu hopped onto her lap.
Catherine started reviewing random things about driving with Daiku as they left Genkai's temple. She didn't know what else to call it now that Genkai was gone… the surrounding land now belonged to Yusuke and the gang but the temple still felt like Genkai's. Genkai had told Botan before she left that the girls were allowed to continue living in the temple if they chose to as long as they left everything the way it was as much as they were able to. Pu still lives there and now it's kind of open to any demons needing a place to crash. For Catherine and Katrina it just felt too awkward to live there now that Genkai was gone and they had the money to move into their own place; so that's what they decided to do. Catherine had teased Katrina about the two of them living together in their own place instead of Katrina moving in with Kurama. Katrina 'Gibbs-ed'* her and laughed, saying, "You know very well that I'm not moving in with any guy! I will live with a guy after I'm married to him and that's it. What about you and Daiku, you never seemed to have an aversion to moving in with your boyfriend if it ever came to that?"
"I have no problem living with my boyfriend, no; but Daiku's only fif- well sixteen now. Besides, I don't want to move in with someone unless I'm absolutely sure we're going to be living together for a long time. Daiku and I… I think we might break-up soon. I'm sure we'll still be friends but… he just feels more like a little brother than a boyfriend. And he's still a sophomore in high school while you and I are freshmen in college… grade/age-wise. I think he agrees with me on that too, I can tell he wants to discuss something important but is waiting for the right moment to bring it up."
That 'right moment' seemed to have arrived as Catherine spotted a nice little park to take Bruno out and let him run around and relieve himself. So, telling Daiku her plan, Catherine parked and let Bruno out following him to a nice sunny spot on a small hill. "Cat, can we… um… I have something really important I wanted to talk to you about and I think now's the best time."
"Shoot, I'm listeni- Bruno! Get back here you giant goof!" Daiku sat down in front of Catherine and when he was sure he had her full attention, finally said what he'd been dying to for a couple of weeks. "Cat, I think we should break-up. I mean, I like you and all but… you just feel like well, a big sister to me. Like Katrina, you two feel more like family so… it feels kinda weird. And I'm only sixteen and you're nineteen, not much of an age difference but—"
"Daiku, don't panic, I was thinking the same thing, you've become more like a little brother to me than anything else. After everything you went through, five years in captivity and then suddenly meeting a hot, awesome chick like me," Catherine laughed at herself. "I'm cool with being friends, if you want to be friends that is."
"Of course, I'm so glad you understand! It just felt so weird and I really want to enjoy my life and take a shot at being single for a bit. Plus I'm sure you'd prefer to go out and meet someone more your own age. You're an adult now and I still have years left and I want to enjoy that, not feel like I have to grow up so fast after being trapped for so long. So, we're cool, just brother and sister kinda thing? Nothing weird, we can still be friends?"
"Sounds great to me," Catherine smiled, "glad to hear we're on the same page and got that cleared up. So, ready to go?"
"Yep, I'm sure Katrina will kill us if we leave the furniture moving to her and Kurama."
"Alright, let's go; Bruno, time to go bud!"
Ritsu bounced around a little in Katrina's lap as the moving truck slowly pulled away from Genkai's temple following Ms. Widow. Katrina smiled down at the hyper kit and laughed, "Ritsu, we've just left, could you settle down for a little while?"
"But, Mommy, it's so exciting! I've never ridden in one of these things before; what's it called again?"
"Ritsu, please call me Katrina or Kat. I'm not your Mom. And it's called a moving van," Katrina replied a little frustrated with Ritsu's insistence on calling her 'Mommy'.
"You're my Mommy and he's my Daddy," Ritsu motioned with his muzzle towards Kurama. "And that's what I'm gonna call ya. Besides, Daddy told me no one else can understand me so why does it matter what I call you," Ritsu said defiantly as he glared at Katrina. Katrina sighed, he was right, no one else could understand him, so what did it matter what he called her?
Why did he calling her 'Mommy' bother her so much? Was it because she'd practically raised her own siblings and she was tired of feeling like a mother?* That for at least a few years she wanted a break from 'raising' someone; was that too much to ask?* She had decided when she was younger she absolutely did not want children, whether adopted or not, she was tired of taking care of others.* But looking down at Ritsu's defiant black face, she couldn't hold back a small chuckle, he was just too cute; *and try as she might to get a break from taking care of others it was in her nature. So, sighing to cover up the chuckle, she replied, "oh, alright, I'll quit trying to get you to change how you address me. You can call me 'Mommy', but only because I love you."
Ritsu's face lit up and he propped himself up to lick Katrina's face, then he climbed up behind her neck and curled around her, yawning. "You can use me as a pillow, if you want to, Mommy," he said sleepily. All of his excited energy quickly drained. Kurama looked over and smiled as Katrina gently took Ritsu up on his offer. She was pretty tired from moving furniture and knew she'd only have more work to do once they'd arrived at her new home. Taking one hand off of the steering-wheel he gently petted Ritsu's head then trailed his hand down Katrina's arm to hold her hand as she drifted off into contented sleep.
A/N: The asterisks around the reading of the Will are almost word for word from volume nineteen of Yu Yu Hakusho, I edited only where it said 'Yusuke interrupted.' And 'Yusuke grumbled and received at swift slap to the back of the head from Keiko.' In order to let you know who was speaking since you don't have the visual from the book. And I did leave out some more interruptions because in the book you don't see who they're coming from. More likely than no they were from Yusuke but because I couldn't be sure I didn't want to add them.
The second asterisk *Ms. Widow is the real name my friend (whom Catherine is based on) gave her car and I thought it would be a fun(ny) little fact to toss into the story. (=^.^=)
Third asterisk: For those who don't get the 'Katrina 'Gibbs-ed'* her' allusion it's alluding to Gibbs from NCIS a really awesome TV show my Dad watches and I sometimes watch too. Gibbs comes up behind DiNozzo (I don't know how to spell his name, sorry. v-v') and slap him on the back of the head when he would do or say something stupid… which was often. XD
The asterisks in the second to last paragraph are there because this is how my life has been and I really feel. No matter how hard I try to avoid taking care of others in any way, it seems my resistance fails me. I just love helping others however I can and usually find myself led to a position taking care of children… God sure does have a sense of humor. Cause every time I say 'that's it, I'm done working with children!' he just laughs and gives me something related to children to do. Whether it be volunteer work at church, my current job… Anything where a childcare person is needed badly enough I find myself caving and helping out.