Get Out Alive
Chapter Four
I was so caught up in Genkai's training that I hadn't realized a month passed. It wasn't until Yusuke showed up at the temple that I noticed in that month Koenma hadn't contacted us, not once.
"So grandma putting you through the ringer?" Yusuke asked while he lounged on the porch steps of the dojo.
"You have no idea." I replied. Yusuke gave me a 'are you fucking kidding me' face and I laughed. "Ok maybe you do." I relented.
"Well you feel stronger then when we first met so you must be doing something right." He laughed.
"Yea, but were no closer to finding that son of a bitch."
"Urameshi I told you to wait!" A voiced yelled from the temple steps. I looked at Yusuke with a raised brow.
"You can finally meet our resident oaf." He joked standing up when the young man reached the stop of the stairs. He had a bright orange curly mop that laid over a face with strong features. He was tall, like ridiculously tall for an Asian.
"Kuwabara what took you so long?" Yusuke called from the porch. I blocked out the rest of their conversation. Kuwabara? I stood next to Yusuke trying to get a better look at the boy, no, young man. He was broad shouldered and built like a scrapper. I was right that he was tall but instead of making him look scrawny and stretched his height enhanced his intimidation.
"Uh helllllllllloooooooooo!" Yusuke shouted into my ear making me wince.
"Holy shit what!" I screeched sticking a finger in my ear to try and soothe my ear drum.
"I said this is Kuwabara," he gestured to his friend who politely gave a small wave. Oh Kazuma look how adorable you've become.
"Kuwabara, this is Yuna. Were helping her on a mission." Kuwabara's face scrunched up. "What's wrong with you? You eat some bad fish?" Yusuke asked loudly causing Kuwabara to blush. He coughed loudly to cover his embarrassment.
"Hi, I'm Kuwabara, Kazuma. But you can call me Kuwabara." He muttered. I watched him unable to speak. He had grown so much, our little Kazuma was a man now.
"What is up with you two?" Yusuke's face broke out into a stupid smile, "are you guys in looooove?" He asked making a kissing face.
"You keep making faces Yusuke and yours will freeze like that." I told him breaking my eyes away from Kazuma.
"Yuna...is it really you?" Kuwabara asked still very uncertain. My eyes found his again.
"Kazuma, you've grown up so much." I felt tears gather in the corners of my eyes. He was only seven when I disappeared. His face darkened into a scowl.
"We thought you were dead! How could you do this to us?!" His yelled, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.
"I...I didn't..."
"Do you even know what you put Shizuru through? For this." He gestured with disgust to my body and I knew he could feel my aura.
"Please Kazuma it's not like that." I cried, the tears leaving tracks down my cheeks.
"Kuwabara dude, calm down." Yusuke urged seeing how upset his old time friend was.
"This doesn't concern you Urameshi!" He yelled his eyes burning with fury.
"Kazuma I was abducted, Kimiko," the lump in my throat made me choke on my words. "Please, I never wanted this." I begged for him to understand. I watched as his anger deflated, tears springing to his eyes. His enormous body engulfed my own in a bone crushing hug.
"I'm sorry." He whispered into my hair, "I thought, you left us for this." I gripped the back of his shirt holding him for dear life.
"I thought of you guys everyday." I whispered back.
"Okay! I'm seriously missing something. What the hell is going on?!" Yusuke shouted breaking up our reunion. I laughed and pulled up the hem of my shirt to wipe my face.
"Lets go inside," I suggested. "We have a lot to talk about."
"So let me get this straight," Yusuke began from his seat across from us. "You and Shizuru and this mystery lady were best friends?" I nodded my head.
"Our families had been close and we knew each other since diaper days." I answered stilled baffled that little Kazuma knew about the three worlds. "Shizuru and I were eight when Kazuma was born, he was like a little brother to all of us."
"And Kimiko?" Yusuke asked making me stiffen.
"She betrayed me. Shizuru knew something wasn't right with her and tried to warn me but I didn't listen." I answered in a soft voice. Her betrayal had cut me deeply, so much so that to this day I could still feel the wound. But that wouldn't stop me from ending her life.
"How is Shizuru?" I asked cautiously. I regretted it immediately when Kuwabara's face darkened.
"She took your disappearance really hard Yuna. Two years later our dad died and then it was just the two of us. She took care of me but I don't think she ever got over the feeling of being alone." He finished solemnly.
"Do you think that maybe I could see her?" I questioned him. "Do you think she could ever forgive me?"
"I think," Kuwabara started, "she'll be happy to know you're alive."
Kuwabara was on his phone that night to invite Shizuru to Genkai's temple but Yusuke didn't want to stop there, he called his girlfriend and Kurama to join in the reunion. Kuwabara didn't mention I was there just incase Shizuru didn't believe him, she had to see me for herself.
"They won't be out here til tomorrow afternoon but we can make it a really big celebration." Kuwabara smile was infectious making me grin from ear to ear. I talked with Kazuma until the early hours of the morning. He renegaded me with tales of his and the groups adventures and about him finding the love of his life. I listened with rapt attention soaking in everything I had missed since my absence. How I wished I would have been alongside them growing up.
I didn't wake up until close to one in the afternoon. Kuwabara woke up around the same time I did and was giddy with excitement. The guests would be arriving in only a few short hours. Even though Kazuma had assured me she wouldn't hate me I couldn't stop the nervous feeling that bubbled in my stomach. What if she didn't want to be friends anymore? What if I wasn't good enough now that I wasn't completely human. The couple hours flew by as I panicked, sitting in my room I took deep breathes when I heard the new voices enter the temple. Its now or never Yuna, only a couple moments of courage and you'll have your answers. I walked down the stairs slowly, the butterflies making me feel nauseous.
I pushed down my apprehension and stepped into the room. The silence that ensued was more nerve wracking then the trip down the stairs. Shizuru's back faced me but when she realized what everyone was looking at she turned around. She had gotten taller, her face thinning a bit as she matured. Her stance was laid back, her face impassive. I watched her bored expression morph into uncertainty, then a look of betrayal, followed by righteous anger. Had I predicted what would happen next I could have dodged it but that being said Shizuru was anything but predictable. Her fist made contact with my cheek and made me stumble to the side. I heard gasps from the other occupants, however I couldn't help but laugh.
"You know," I rubbed my reddened cheek. "I remember that hurting a lot more when we were younger." She stared at me in disbelief.
"You're supposed to be dead." She whispered.
"Apparently it takes a lot to kill me." I smiled hoping for one in return, instead she turned on her heel and walked out. I tried to keep the hurt look off of my face and settled for indifference. Yusuke's low whistle broke the silence.
"Well that could have gone better." The brunette at his side smacked him hard over the head. I grabbed a random bottle off the table and followed her out.
She was sitting in the porch steps, her back facing the door. Not waiting for an invitation that would never come I sat down next to her. I glanced at her from the side of my eye.
"You were right." It was quiet, barely above a whisper.
"What?" She asked while lighting two cigarettes and handing one to me. The gesture made me smile, just like old times.
"About Kimiko, you were right." I took a drag of the cigarette, relishing the burn in my throat. "It was the night she came back from whatever the hell trip she took. She told me she came to you first and you told her to get lost." Shizuru nodded.
"I could feel something malevolent around her." She hung her head and I could hear the tears hitting her jacket.
"I'm happy you didn't come." I told her honestly. She jerked her head up and stared into my eyes.
"We could have fought her off if we were together."
"No we couldn't have. If we were both there she would have gotten us both and most likely one of us would be dead." Taking another slow drag of the cigarette I watched the ember burn. Blowing out the smoke I opened the bottle I brought outside and took a long drink. The sake burned going down and pooled in my belly, warming me from the inside. I passed the bottle to Shizuru who took just as long a drink. With liquid courage I let the words tumble from my mouth. I told her everything, every unedited gory detail of my past nine years in hell. I could never hide from Shizuru. By the end of my story we were both in tears and three sheets to the wind.
"I'm going to kill her." I confessed. She looked me in the eye, her vision slightly foggy from the alcohol.
"I know." There was no remorse, no pity, only acceptance.
"You know," I took another swig from our second bottle and violently shuddered at the taste. "Sake is just how I remember it." She laughed, her voice echoing over the empty yard.
"Yea? Just don't vomit all over the welcome mat...again." She snatched the bottle and brought it to her lips.
"Shut your trap shrimp!" Kuwabara's loud yell stemmed from the kitchen catching our attention. I raised my brow to Shizuru who seemed unfazed.
"Kazuma and Hiei." She answered.
"Is that a common occurance?" I asked as the shuffling in the kitchen increased. We both jumped to our feet when Kuwabara and Yusuke came crashing out of the door and through Genkai's porch railing.
"Oh c'mon you assholes!" I yelled. "You know I'm going to have to fix this shit!" The pair ignored me and continued wrestling across the front yard. After the boys fiasco the party died fairly quickly. We picked the scrapped railing out of the yard and set it against the temple, the boys better fix it tomorrow or I was going to kick both their asses. When the temples occupants were sleeping I snuck into the shadow drenched yard.
"What are you doing out here?" I could see his garnet eyes illuminated in the dark.
"Thinking." I replied.
"Why out here?" He ground out. I contemplated telling him the truth and decided it really didn't matter.
"I don't have to hide when I'm in the dark." He stared me down like one would look at a bug under a microscope. Coming to an internal conclusion he grunted and sat down a couple feet away. I hadn't really wanted company but since he didn't strike up a conversation I figured we could sit in silence. I fell back and stared at the diamond sky. My energy hummed under my skin, rolling just beneath the surface.
"What are you doing woman?" My eyes snapped open and met Hiei's. Looking down I could see the lavender coils glowing under my skin.
"Feeling." I replied lamely. His inquisitive eyes watched me in silence, waiting for further explanation. "My energy isn't natural. But it still feels right, like it was always meant to be a part of me." I didn't know how to explain it, as horrifying as the process was, as much as I hated Itachi for corrupting me my energy never felt like it wasn't supposed to be mine. "It feels like coming home." He sat in silence with me for a few fleeting moments then nodded and disappeared. The purple light slowly faded, eclipsing me back into the protection of darkness.
Genkai returned early that next morning and to say she was pissed was an understatement. Shizuru, Keiko and Kurama waved quick goodbyes when Genkai was busy growling insults at the three of us while we worked on fixing the broken rail. When we finally completed our task she made us run fifty laps around her compound as punishment for our idiocy. I glared darkly at my two companions.
"We already said sorry, what else do you want?" Yusuke snapped, the mid day heat and lingering hangovers bringing out the worst in all three of us.
"I dunno maybe next time don't ruin a party over your stupid male ego." I snarled in retaliation.
"That's it! Lets duke this out right now!" Yusuke said getting into a fighting stance.
I jumped at the chance to fight, my energy was going crazy be docile for so long.
"Last one standing wins!" He nodded his head in agreement. Kuwabara didn't even comment, his patience for us running too thin.
I sprang over Yusuke using my speed to my advantage and landed a solid blow to his mid back sending him flying forward. He recovered quickly, bounding after me. We played cat and mouse before his fist hit my solar plexus knocking the wind out of me. He paused in his advancement and I used his hesitation to send a stinging bolt of energy at his chest. He winced but laughed off my hit and prepared his assult.
"Spirit gun!" He yelled. The power behind it was magnificent, I dove to the side avoiding most of the blast but was still caught in its sheer size. The surge sent me flying, my body plummeted through the trees like a rag doll before finally rolling to a stop. I was mesmerized by the raw force of his attack, one solid hit and I'd be out for the count. I rolled out of the way avoiding a punch he aimed for my temple. My energy tendrils looped around my body creating my strongest attack.
"Flying Guillotine!" I screamed throwing the torrent at my sparring partner but widening its range so it was nearly impossible to avoid. His eyes widened when the lavender rings made contact sending his body speeding off into the distance. I waited for his rebuttal but as the minutes ticked by there was still no sign of him. I narrowed my eyes, there was no way my attack could defeat him so what was he playing at?
"Give up." I felt his loaded pointer finger at the base of my skull.
"I yield." I raised my hands in surrender. He laughed and backed off before flopping down onto the grass.
"That last attack of yours was a doozy." He complained holding his ribs.
"You're one to talk, I'm pretty sure you bruised some of my bones!" I replied exasperated. We both turned to the tree line to see Hiei standing there.
"Hey Hiei what's up?" Yusuke asked not budging from his spot on the ground.
"If you're done fooling around, Koenma has information for us."
Hello! I'm really excited for how this story is developing! Until next time! Don't forget to review, I'd love to hear your thoughts!