A Month With Suichi Minamino
By Payne N. Uranus
.:AN:.
Ah, the love I feel is…so sweet. (sigh) I bathe myself in it…(starts singing the "bathtub song")
Conscience: (pops out of nowhere) -.- Um...Payne. What are you doing?
Singing the bathtub song, why do you ask?
Conscience: What's the bathtub song?
"What's the bathtub song"? You've gotta be kidding me! Everyone knows the bathtub song!
Conscience: That's ridiculous, have you actually met everyone?
Well…no…but they count as everyone…
Conscience: Ugh…three people do NOT count as everyone!
(points in accusation) HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? YOU DON'T TAKE MATH CLASS! (pants heavily)
Conscience: Um…best we get to the reviews then while our beloved writer continues with her…um…unique fits…
Death101- Fox Version: Mwahaha...it's infectious! Awesome! Thank you!
OrangeKisses: I'm glad you liked it (sticks finger down throat), don't understand why I don't. I mean, I wrote it (o.O) But yes, I am very happy that you went "Aww!" when they ALMOST kissed (bwahaha). And Hiei? I'm glad you noticed. Took some people a while to realize he wasn't in the fic at the mo, so I was slightly surprised...but you will find out where our Hiei has been these last few chapters in this chapter. Kinda. You'll find out MORE in the next chapter!
ShadeSpirit: I'm glad! So glad! And yes, seventeen is so majorly old, I am surprised you can even read this. Unless you have super large glasses, then I'm not so surprised. Probably afforded them with your "Old People" insurance thing. Haha, just kidding... But, didn't you know? Way back when, girls had to be married and have kids when they were barely over 14! Gah! Thank you for reviewing, I hope to see you next chapter!
Sonya-White-Angel: Yes, very long time no see. I was worried that you died or something. Either that, or you didn't like my story anymore. (watery eyes) I almost cried! Not really, but it's nice to hear from you again. And thanks for the compliments! I'm sorry about school work. I myself have stuff to do, and I'm sick! I say we have a riot! Strike! No more work! Okay, not really, but I do wish that homework would stop getting in the way...have fun with it, though! Teehee.
Elanor-Nae-of-Rivendell: Wow...you wrote so much, it took me a while to understand everything! =D That's okay, though, I love enthusiastic reviews. They make me smile so! Thank you for the compliments, I loved them, and yes I understood them, I can be crazy and hyper too! I guess we were just born with it in our systems...oh well. And thankies for the gifts. I will use them well (Kurama, watch out). Anyways, continue reading, hopefully this chapter isn't too boring. It was mostlya clear-up chapter (as I said at the bottom), but I hope it thrills you all the same. Oh, and about that Harry Potter fic? I'll check into it, thanx for the heads up!
KitariKitsune: Thank you for the review, and I updated! Yay! (throws confetti in the air) Hope to see you soon!
Meibou: Haha, yes. Sushi is yummy. Cannot live without it in my tummy. Haha, rhyme! I rhymed! Call the media, I rhymed! Okay, so it's not that big of a deal... thanks for reviewing, I hope I hear from you again soon! Oh, and thanks for not flaming, either, and see ya soon, ne?
The One and Only Rave: Very clever, I think I got the message, lol. Thanks for the review, I appreciate it.
bookworm0492: (laughs at bookworm0492's frustration) HAHAHA! Okay, yes, I did it on purpose. And it was Yusuke. And Kuwabara. And the band was mentioned, perhaps you missed it. It was by Avril Lavigne, the song being "How Does It Feel". And...(plucks can from Kurama) you cannot have this anymore. You are tormenting my reviewer. (Kurama: You cannot tell me what to do. I do not belong to you, I belong to another) Aw, I feel heartbroken. But you are in my story, therefore under my control. Now. Bow and apologize profusely to bookworm0492 for making her do insane things. And then you may beat up Yusuke and Kuwabara for their (or lack thereof) timing. Thanks for reviewing!
Kuramafan-06: Hahaha, I'm sure My Chemical Romance is fantastic, I understand your love, and I promise I'll look further into the band, I promise! And, in a way, yes that chapter was suppose to be bit more dramatic and depressing than the others. I'm glad you at least realized that fact. And another person wondering where Hiei is! The shock is evident in my eyes...though you cannot see it, because I cannot see you. You will find out more, as I think I have said somewhere up there...in this chapter. Thank you for taking the time to review, I hope to chat with you soon. I'm friggin BORED stuck in bed!
Basic Imperfection: (sigh) Thank you for telling me. (holds hand over heart) I am finally relieved of my worries. Lol, no, I'm serious, thank you. I was definately concerned that it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, what with the comments from a close friend of mine, but thank you again for telling me it turned out right. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Kajihenge Yoko: Lol, thank you. Mitsuyo, indoor voice, please! My word! And the kiss...? When I was writing it (which seems like such a long time ago...since I wrote it even before the first chapter was typed...) it just didn't feel like the right time for them to...kiss, you know? Your fingers just write whatever pops into your mind, so I continued with the feeling... read along now, little one--I know you're not little, just go along with it (wink)--and have fun!
XNabaki-ChanX: I loved reading your review. Truely, it made me feel like I got what I was trying to get across...well, across. And I'm glad it was to your liking. Hopefully this one will be as well. Lol, you may be my faithful reviewer, but I am your friendly writer. Please, continue to read, I just love your reviews!
Lucifer001: Do you ever listen to songs and scenes of whatever is on your mind just flash before your eyes? That's how it was with me. I was sitting in front of my computer, a COMPLETELY blank document on the screen, the little line thing blinking at me while I was thinking of something to COME to me...I had my CD player on, the headphones hanging around my neck, and suddenly I started tuning into the song. And I just had to play it over and over, and suddenly, the blank document wasn't blank anymore. (sigh) I love it when that happens. Thank you (it's so repetitive, but it's all that comes to mind) for reviewing to this story, and sticking around for it so long. I promise you'll be rewarded greatly.
YamiKitsuneKami: Oh, darn, I was hoping I wouldn't disappoint, and yet I did. I'm sorry! I promise those fireworks will be blasting soon, just wait for it. I'm thinking next chapter...(wink wink) Just be patient, little one (why do I call everyone 'little one'? Oh well, don't take it personally). Perhaps you could tell me what you expect, and I may or may not incorperate it into the story somehow if it works well enough. I'd love to hear what you are thinking. Review once more, please, I look forward to your comments!
Blehh: And I now dub the chapter yours. Birthday present from me! As soon as I'm not as lazy as I am today (can't blame the sick person just because we're easy targets...) I will post it for all to see. "CHAPTER DEDICATED TO 'BLEHH' FOR HER KIND REVIEWS, DEDICATION TOWARDS READING THIS STORY, AND A SINCERE THANK YOU. WISHING YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" How's that? And yes, I meant to be mean. I guess I'm just a mean person (wink).
OneOutOfControlChick: Yeah, I don't get it either. How can someone have pnuemonia in their right lung? Isn't it one of those full body things? Or full lung things. Whatever. Perhaps I exaggerated on the coughing... Aw, so lucky. No school? Maybe it is you who has it better than me. Or we both have it good? Am too lazy to do anything other than lay in bed, watch TV, write, read, and sleep. End of list. But enough of that. Hope you get better, and that this chapter entertains you long enough for me to post the next.
EvilGenius Koji: Lol, I'm glad you liked. Stay tuned, yo!
sandry stardiamond: Heh, I'm flattered really. May I say something? If I cannot, just skip over it and completely ignore it: I don't much care for those types of stories (no offense). They just don't seem to be those types of people. Okay, I'm done. Just incase you did skip over it. But thank you for the compliments, they make me feel so good! Please, continue reading, and don't hesitate to leave a review behind telling me of your thoughts!
You know what I noticed?
Conscience: No, but I'm sure it's just absolutely fascinating...
(stops and thinks about what Payne will say)
(shakes head) Well, when you put it that way, it's not worth saying at all.
Conscience: (does slow air-punch) Yessss...
Chapter 14: Camping Trip
Darkness engulfed his vision, with the occasional shadowed outline of passing trees that soon flitted out of his sight. He was moving quickly, not wanting to be caught by the beasts that followed his path too easily. Silently he cursed Koenma and the girl that this errand was for. He was no delivery boy. He was not one of Koenma's minions. So why it was he that was doing this particular activity troubled him.
Was he starting to lose his touch?
Angrily, he swiped at a departing branch of an oak with his katana, and immediately regreted it as pain shot up his arm from the impact.
Damn it!
Okay, maybe he would let those demons catch up to him. He was tired of running from them, and was suddenly agitated to the point of restlessness. Best to take it out on dirt than another human being.
~`*`~
Mitsuyo's POV:
We made our way down the narrow staircase in silence, though Kurama's arm around me was soothing to my shaken emotions. I did my best to wipe the tear streaks from my cheeks, hoping that the guys that had called wouldn't notice I had been crying. I had yet to meet them—I wanted to make a strong first impression. I didn't want to be judged as a weak little girl right off the bat with the people who were considering teaching me how to fight alongside them when the time came.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt Kurama's hand slide off my shoulders, leaving its path on my back tingling with an unknown feeling. Looking up to see what he was thinking, I met only the seriously stone cold face of what I then recognized as the "Spirit Detective" and the "King of Thieves" Kurama, not the kind and gentle Kurama that I grown to…sort of admire ever since I had laid eyes on him.
As we neared the bottom of the stairs, he quickened his pace so that he emerged from the hallway before me, swiftly striding over to the dining room where two boys were casually examining everything in the room….Or, more specifically, one was examining the whole room while one was examining one of the kitchen cabinets.
"Yusuke," Kurama greeted the boy standing on the counter calmly, though I could sense a hint of confusion during the small hesitancy in his voice. "What in the world are you doing up there?"
"Oh," the boy quickly responded, snapping his arms down back to his sides, and looking a bit too guilty to make me feel comfortable. "I, uh, was just fixing the door."
"The door's fine," I replied, cocking an eyebrow before giving Kurama a look.
"Yeah, well," Yusuke quickly started defensively, "it just looked a little crooked is all—"
"Rule number one, Yusuke," Kurama started. "When in the household of someone you do not know, don't try to fix something that isn't broken."
"Heh, right…"
This wasn't exactly how I expected to meet the Spirit Detectives that had saved Kurama and I from that ugly demon curd, but Kurama did warn me that these two were intolerable sometimes, and that it was something one had to grow accustom to. Observing the mess Yusuke could have made of the cupboard, I really was slightly apprehensive having these guys helping me out…
"Miss Kajima, this is Yusuke Urameshi," he told me pointing to the black-haired boy that was now sitting on the dinning room table. With a slight cough, he waved somewhat uncomfortably in our direction before pretending to be interested in the chandelier he had just hit his head on. He was dressed in the Sarayashki Junior High school uniform…or at least I assumed it was, since it was green instead of the customary blue.
The first impression Yusuke gave me, despite his slightly idiotic actions when I had first seen him, was that he was a very stubborn person and could be considered a rouge and a punk. However, looking closer, I could tell that underneath the rough exterior he was quite a fool and a softie.
I knew I'd like him once things started kicking.
"The more polite one who's actually sitting in the chair instead of using it as a footstool, Miss Kajima, is Kazuma Kuwabara," Kurama informed me with a minuscule wink. "He prefers to be addressed by his surname, if you please." Kuwabara wasn't exactly my definition of a cute guy. He struck me more of the gorilla type, what with his orange hair gelled in a strange style, his gruff physique, and his less than bright facial expression. But other than that, he didn't seem like a bad guy. He was smiling friendly at me; he was sitting properly at the table—and hey! He was wearing the proper uniform!
"So," Kurama prompted, leaning against the kitchen counter facing the table and crossing his arms comfortably, "What's the word from Koenma?"
Without a word, I took a seat across from Kuwabara, folding my own arms in front of me. Exchanging a nod of acknowledgement with the young boy, we both returned our attention to the discussion.
"Well, Koenma thinks that it will be best to take Mitsuyo to Genkai's," Yusuke informed us, "just like we planned. But only for a week, for the next we can let her back here to rest with her family while we start planning our attack against Akio. Shouldn't be too hard."
"Very well," Kurama consented. "What do you think, Miss Kajima?"
Deciding to skip the whole "forget-the-miss" ordeal—as it never seemed to work anyways—I simply replied, "Sure, but what do I tell my family? I mean, they're gonna notice my absence for the first week of "training" or so to speak, right?"
"We thought about using a good camping story," Kuwabara suggested brightly. "We'll just say you're planning on having a little camping trip with some friends! That'll work, right?"
Muttering, I agreed that it could work. While I'd never gone camping in my life, I did remember expressing an interest in it to my parents every once in a while. It was certainly a believable story.
"So fill us in, Kurama," Yusuke prodded smoothly. "Who was that demon, and what happened between you and him before Kuwabara and I showed up and sent him to his grave?"
Kurama sighed sadly before saying, "He was an old friend of sorts. Ryota was one of my many...servants...during my time as Yoko. He was a very trustful and eager companion compared to the others I worked with."
"I vaguely remember you saying something about his mutated appearance," I murmured thoughtfully.
"Was that the work of Akio?" questioned Kuwabara.
"I can only imagine," Kurama answered empathetically. "Akio's unique spiritual powers—like yours, Miss Kajima—enable him to do many things that are difficult to predict. He's had many years to master his control and can manipulate his energy in so many ways that the limit is his own creativity. It is possible he attempted to enhance Ryota's demon abilities by implanting those claws that managed to win over my Rose Whip, and increasing the size of his muscles, but it could have just as easily been any other demon fiend. That's what bothers me."
"What do you mean, his claws won over your Rose Whip?" Yusuke asked, slightly worried. "I thought that it could cut through every known substance!"
"Supposedly, it can," Kurama explained slowly. "However, my fight with Ryota was clean proof that it's not so. That's why it bothers me."
"Why?" Kuwabara asked, not completely understanding.
Pushing off from the counter, Kurama paced a bit in front of the table, saying, "If Akio can develop a demon's attributes and weapons, then what's to stop him from creating a whole army of "super demons"? Every single demon under his leadership is, or mostly will be, altered to fit his needs."
"Is that what he plans to do to me?" I asked nervously, though anger was starting to bubble in my stomach.
"Most likely," Kuwabara answered lowly. "By the sounds of it, this Akio guy will warp your spirit energy dampener things into letting loose your spirit energy and using it to destroy people."
"I won't let him," I said stubbornly, not leaving any room for argument.
"We appreciate that, really," Yusuke told me roughly before turning back to the others. "But what can we do with her? We can't go up to Grandma and say, "We need you to teach her how to protect herself so that when Akio, this bad guy, comes to kidnap her, she'll be able to defend herself long enough for the rest of us to get rid of his minions without us having to worry whether or not she's dead or not." She's not that lenient."
"I'm surprised you even know that word," Kuwabara commented.
"Agreed," Kurama said lightly.
"Shut up, it was one of our vocab words, okay?"
"Finally doing your homework yourself, Yusuke?"
"Kurama, don't even start."
"But I already have."
"Then stop!"
"Who's Grandma?" I interrupted before Yusuke jumped Kurama and hurt him. Or the other way around.
"It's Yusuke's nickname for Genkai," Kurama explained evenly. "And in turn Genkai calls Yusuke "Dimwit". Both nicknames fit quite well, though don't tell Genkai I said that."
"Shut up, Fox Boy!"
"Really, Yusuke, you must try to control that temper of yours," he chided good-naturedly. "Knowing Genkai, she'll probably force you to join Miss Kajima's training to punish you for running your mouth while in her presence."
"She can run herself off a cliff for all I care!" Yusuke growled, scowling—at the thought of her "previous" punishments, is my guess.
"Wouldn't those demons of Akio's manage to find us at this Genkai's place?" Kuwabara asked reluctantly. "I mean, it has happened before…"(1)
"We were dealing with someone completely different back then," Kurama assured. "Those talismans that Genkai has hung up around the place should ward off any demons Akio may decide to send after us this time. If not, we will be able to fare quite well, I am sure."
"Well, I think this meeting is slowly starting to come to a close," I interrupted. "Want me to start packing now or wait til tomorrow?"
"I think tonight will be suitable," concluded Kurama. "It'll be harder to get away when your parents are home. Better to beg for foriveness than to ask for permission, as they say. If we happen to catch Genkai while she'll asleep, we'll just have to apologize and hope she doesn't forbid our entry to her home."
"Right," I responded, running upstairs and entering my room.
All throughout my bagging, I could still hear what was being said below me, even though it was slightly muffled. I listened with interest, wondering if I'd hear something fascinating.
"Hey, Kurama, what are you writing?" came Kuwabara's voice.
"A note," Kurama responded, "for Miss Kajima's family explaining where we both will be and how they can contact us if they need to."
"Ah. Right."
Silence.
Yes, that was very fascinating… So, I've got my toothbrush, hairbrush,couple pairs ofPJ's, clothes (don't need to go into detail), blankets, hair ties...
"Hey, Yusuke?" said Kurama's voice, though it was kind of hesitant.
Oooh, more talking. Better eavesdrop.
"Yeah?"
"Where is Hiei?"
Who's Hiei? I mused wonderingly. A dog? A person?
"Oh, uh—he's just…out."
"Out?"
"…Yes. Out."
"Out where?"
"Outside?"
"Outside is pretty big, you know."
"Really? I, uh…heh, didn't notice."
"Yusuke," Kurama warned.
"Yes?"
"Where is Hiei?"
"Ah, Shorty's probably out stealing ice cream from babies or something," Kuwabara supplied nervously. "You know how Hiei is."
Okay, so not a dog. Person. Short person, I'm guessing. Not friendly, either. Sounds like a fun lad to pick on.
"Indeed. So where is he?"
"OUTSIDE!"
"EATING ICE CREAM!"
"You guys aren't going to tell me, are you?"
"Tell you what?"
Kurama sighed. "…Never mind, you two."
More silence. Socks, shoes, books (you never know), CD's, CD player...
"Yusuke?"
Done.
"Yeah?"
"How did infiltrating Akio's compound turn out?"
"Oh, that? Why don't you ask the Hungry Hippo over there? I'm sure he'll provide a lot of mouth-watering action when he tells you how we starved the mission of any mishaps. I guess you could say we were bursting with success."
"Excuse me?"
"Are you ever going to drop it, Urameshi? When are you going to accept my apology and move on? I told you I was hungry, there was nothing I could do!"
"…He snacked while you two were stalking the complex?"
"That's pretty much the gist of it, yeah."
"Really, Kuwabara, I would have expected better from you."
"Great, Urameshi, you turned Kurama against me now! All this over a simple snack!"
"It wasn't a simple snack, Kuwabara! You got us chased into a river! A river! By a demon bear! I didn't even know there were such things as demon bears, but—thanks to you—I finally had that mystery solved, thank god. My goal in life has now been achieved."
"We could've just killed it..."
"Oh yeah, by the time we got over it's HUMUNGOUS size, it would be snapping our bodys like toothpicks. We've dealt with big before, but not that kind of big. Besides, it was too late to recover the element of surprise anyway, THANKS TO YOU!"
"I WAS HUNGRY, DAMN IT!"
"Honestly, I don't see how you two have succeeded as Spirit Detectives for so long without getting killed," Kurama commented contemplatively.
"Shut up, Kurama."
~`*`~
Normal POV:
Okay, maybe it would've been best if he had kept going instead of meeting those demons head-on. Not that he was saying he was wrong with his choice of action. He just acknowledged the fact that it would've been better to not bother with them, and just kept going.
There were more of them than he had sensed. Not that he had made a mistake or anything. Just a slight miscalculation. Because there were certainly more of them then he was led to believe.
But it was in the past. He had won. These wounds? Nothing serious. He won.
Everything was starting to turn a little blurry. Maybe he should get back to the old woman's house a little quicker than he was going now. Just to be safe. Not that he was in any trouble or anything like that. Better to be safe than sorry. He wouldn't want his sister to worry.
Yes, he definitely should hurry back to the temple.
Who knew how long his arm would stay attached to his body otherwise.
~`*`~
"So this is Genkai's Temple?" Mitsuyo asked incredulously.
"Yes."
The group was finally at Genkai's place, standing on the path that would take them up to the temple. Trees lined the brick walkway, and Yusuke and Kuwabara were already grunting as they pushed themselves up the stairway. Kurama, however, stayed behind to watch over his protégé.
She eyed the towering stairs with doubt. "And this Genkai? She's an old lady?"
"Well, her appearance suits that term, but she is quite fit for her age," Kurama informed her lightly.
"I envy her…" Sighing, she shouldered her pack and started her way up the steps leading to her future.
.:AN:.
This was mostly a clear-up chapter. Now you fully understand the danger Akio is, and a hint of what's going on with Hiei. Everyone got that those little snippits were of Hiei, right?I know he was a bit out of character, but it's been a while since I've written about him, and I've been unable to watch my anime to see how he acts. It shouldn't be hard to remember, but I'm writing a couple fics right now and I've gotten the characters a bit confused. People like Hiei can be so hard to write about, since they're so spontaneous and difficult. (sigh) But that is why we love our short little elf. Not that he's an elf. But he can be one.
(1) For those that hadn't seen the second Yu Yu Hakusho movie, there was a powerful demon that went to Genkai's temple and broke in by burning the talismans off the poles they were attached to. That allowed him passage and could steal the thing/being they were hiding in Genkai's Temple. Just FYI, I think those that haven't seen the movie, really should. It's not bad, once you get over the fact that the voices are completely different, and that there are some parts where it's just plain idiotic, and...other not-so-nice things..