It's been 24 hours since I posted up chapter three, but I still haven't seen
it in the FFML daily posting archive. My guess is that my posting was lost.
Here, I had decided to repost part 3. Very very sorry if you guys got two
copies. Please give C&C.
P/S Lord Talon, something's wrong with your mailbox...
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The Past, The Present and The Future
Memories - Part 3
A Yu Yu Hakusho fic by W. Siew Lee
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Disclaimer and warnings: Still the same. (What else?????)
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Misuko found herself standing in the mid air. She was staring at the bloody
scene below her. She was there, lying on the ground. The evil Crowned
Prince was also dead, by her feet. Wait a second, she was there, on the
ground, a pair of scissors protruding from her belly.
"Why am I here?" asked Misuko silently towards herself. She closed her eyes
momentarily, trying to recall what had actually happened. Recollections
began to stream back into her mind. The prince... lunged at her... a pair of
scissors... killed the prince... killed herself... The searing pain of the
stab burned away the last few seconds of her life. The pain was frightfully
real, even now.
Misuko sat down in the mid-air, wrapping her arms around her knees. *So I'm
dead now.*
"Yes, you are." said a voice behind her. Misuko quickly turned her head to
look at voice's owner. A girl with an oar was standing behind her. The girl
was dressed in a pair of traditional leaf green kimono with sparrows
embroidered all over. Her black eyes and equally black hair had a
serene-like effect.
"What am I suppose to do now?" asked Misuko, getting up.
"I'm a ferrygirl assigned to you and you would have to go to Reikai for
registration before going to the place where you are suppose to go. Come,
sit on my oar." said the ferrygirl gently.
"I'm really dead." said Misuko, as she sat on the flat part of the oar. The
ferrygirl got onto the oar too and started sailing through the air.
Misuko closed her eyes, feeling the cool breeze caress her face and whipping
her hair all around. The wind somehow calmed down her boiling and unhappy
feelings. The ferrygirl put a comforting arm on her shoulder, assuring her
that nothing will happen. At last, the pair reached the mist enshrouded
building.
"That is the Reikai Imperial Palace. This is also where all the souls of
Ningenkai were judged and assigned." explained the ferrygirl.
"What's your name?" asked Misuko.
"Hanna." answered the ferrygirl simply as she led Misuko into the vast
building. "Because your case is a special one, our Enma wants to meet you
personally."
"A special case?" repeated Misuko curiously.
"Yes. Let's go." said Hanna.
Misuko nodded and ran into the division office with Hanna. The extremely
busy office was filled with running onis and other unrecognizable creatures.
Hanna knocked on the door of a room located at one corner of the vast
office. A voice answered, requesting them to go in.
Hanna cautiously opened the door and walked in. A boy in his late teens,
about 17 years old was sitting there, sucking his pacifier; furiously
signing documents away. Another huge blue oni was standing beside him,
passing him papers to sign.
"Good morning, Koenma-sama." said Hanna, bowing slightly. She gave Misuko a
nudge, asking her to do the same.
"Good morning." said Misuko as politely as she could.
Koenma looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. "Good morning." he
greeted back, fixing his gaze at Misuko. In fact, he stared at Misuko for
quite a long time, without paying any attention of his blue oni and Hanna's
puzzled glances they threw. Koenma looked at her for such a long time that
Misuko began blushing and tugging at Hanna's sleeve.
"Um... Koenma-sama, this is the girl you wanted to see." began Hanna
cautiously.
"Oh! Your name is..." Koenma flipped through a few papers and glanced at
them. "... Misuko. You had committed suicide."
"Well, I guess that's the only way to get myself out of this mess." said
Misuko dejectedly.
"Your place should be in heaven since you didn't do anything bad, but you
committed suicide. Why? That is against the rules of living." said Koenma
looking at Misuko straight in the eye.
"I had to. I have no choice. Think what will happen sooner or later. The
death of the prince... King Shu won't let me off that easy. I'll rather
commit suicide than been executed in the public." explained Misuko, tears
starting to well up in her eyes.
"Just because of this point, the Reikai division office had decided to let
you choose your own destination. You will have your fair chance of
reincarnation, but which do you prefer? The first is to reincarnate in three
years time after a year of suffering in the first floor of punishment or you
can work here as a ferrygirl for one hundred years." offered Koenma, giving
her a choice.
Misuko was dumbfounded at the offers Koenma had made. To reincarnate or
work as a ferrygirl here? Misuko reconsidered. The world is in such a state
and I'm just sitting in otousama's palace without doing anything. Fifteen
years of my life was wasted just like that. Misuko took a deep breath and
voiced out her decision.
"I think I would be a ferrygirl here. I'm tired of seeing all these wars and
fighting in the world. I suppose that would be better, since I could help
and comfort souls in despair rather than seeing them suffer in silence."
said Misuko, making her choice.
"Fine, than that it will be." said Koenma, smiling at her. "Hanna, show her
around and get her an official uniform of a ferrygirl."
"Thank you." said Misuko as she smiled back. *Koenma seem to be a very
friendly person. * thought Misuko as Hanna led her out.
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"Hanna, is being a ferrygirl very hard?" asked Misuko as Hanna showed her
the ferrygirls' sleeping quarters.
"Well, depends how you divide your time. Sometimes, you can suffer from an
overload of work if you were to linger from jobs to jobs." answered Hanna as
she opened a closet full of uniforms of my sizes and cloth patterns.
"Choose a pair you like."
Misuko went through the clothes and looked at them, hoping to find something
she would really like. Pairs after pairs of uniform, but she still couldn't
find one that caught her attention.
"Why all these kimonos has some type of flowers or birds embroidered on
them?" asked Misuko curiously as she fingered one of the beautiful roses
sewed on one of the kimonos.
"Well, Reikai has a certain rule that the ferrygirls should have an identity
of themselves by putting on a certain type of insignia on their kimonos.
Most of them were flowers or birds anyway. Mine is sparrows." said Hanna,
crossing her arms over her chest.
"I think I would like a crane as my insignia." said Misuko as she picked up
a pair of dark blue kimono with a pair of white cranes embroidered at the
front. He touched the head of ones of the cranes lovingly. The crane is
always that graceful and slender. *It will look good on me.* said Misuko to
herself.
"I think you might be able to start work tomorrow. " said Hanna. "I'll leave
you settle down in your room." Hanna pointed towards to room in the far end
of the corridor.
"Thanks anyway." said Misuko as she clutched the kimono tightly.
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Misuko got up early next morning. *I'm now a ferrygirl in Reikai.* said
Misuko as she hummed her favorite tune to the rhythmic splashes of water
around her in the bathtub.
Slowly, she washed herself thoroughly and got into the her new kimono. *I
look good and refreshed.* Misuko admired herself in the full length mirror
as she tied the peach colored sash around her trim waist.
She combed her hair and tied it up in a braid. Her waist length hair was
neatly tied up and the kimono was straight. Misuko took one last look at
her outfit and walked out of the room. As expected, Hanna was waiting for
her outside.
"Come on, let's hurry or we will be late for work." said Hanna as she took
Misuko by the arm and ran in the direction of the division office.
"Wow, are we suppose to ferry all these spirits before noon?" asked Misuko
as she was handed a sheet of paper about her assignment today. "There are
about twenty names on that list." said Misuko in awe.
"I guess so" said Hanna, looking at her own list.
"Where am I suppose to get my oar?" asked Misuko.
"Just reach out an open palm and say 'oar'." instructed Hanna.
Misuko did as what Hanna directed and an oar slowly materialized in her
palm.
"That oar is yours now and you can control it with your thoughts. Just
think. When you want it to fly, just think of it flying the way you want. By
the way, here's a map of routes to Reikai." Hanna handed Misuko a piece of
paper. "One more thing, if you were ever lost, you can command the oar to
get you back here."
"Okay thanks." said Misuko as she set off with her oar, looking at the first
name on her list.
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"What a day!" said Misuko as she touched down to join Hanna in the Imperial
Reikai Palace.
"What took you so long?" asked Hanna, crumpling her list into a ball and
throwing it into a wastepaper basket nearby.
"I wasn't sure how to get to places and my oar is a little disobedient."
answered Misuko, also throwing her list into the wastepaper basket.
"Gods, I'm exhausted." said Hanna, stretching a little. "I think I'm going
to bed early today."
"I'm going to relax a little tonight." said Misuko, walking off in an
another direction.
"Goodnight." said Hanna, her hand stifling a yawn.
"You too." said Misuko from a quite far distance away. *I'm going to sit in
the Imperial garden . I had seen from my window that the garden is actually
quite nice.* decided Misuko.
Misuko strolled down the path winding through the beautiful landscaping.
Flowers were blooming at their fullest and their sweet scent filled the air.
At last, she reached a secluded place in the garden. She sat down on the
soft green grass and drank in the sweet scent of flowers around her. Misuko
closed her eyes and listened to the constant singing of a lone nightingale.
Enjoying the soft sweet music.
After a while, Misuko could feel someone sat down beside her. "Is that you,
Hanna?" asked Misuko with her eyes closed.
"No. It's me." A male voice answered. Misuko opened her eyes look at Koenma,
this time without his pacifier.
"I'm sorry... Koenma-sama." stammered Misuko as she got up hastily.
"Never mind, sit down again." answered Koenma, closing his eyes.
Misuko also sat down again, setting her mind into a peaceful state.
"Why are you here? I thought I'm the only one in Reikai who actually enjoys
sitting in the garden during evenings." began Koenma, his voice was in quite
a low tone.
"I love gardens, especially such a beautiful one. It reminds me of home."
said Misuko dreamily.
"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" asked Koenma, plucking a
stalk of grass and began to twirl it around his index finger.
"No." answered Misuko simply.
"How is Ningenkai? I have never been to Ningenkai before, because I had just
got this post from my otousama a few years ago." asked Koenma.
"Ningenkai is fun, full of interesting things and beautiful scenes like a
typical sunset. Unluckily, the country my otousama is ruling was
jeopardized. I don't know whether the state of Shu will attack after I
stabbed their Crowned Prince." said Misuko with a plaintive sigh.
"Why did you stab him?" asked Koenma, opening his eyes to look at Misuko.
"The state of Shu tricked my father into giving me as a 'so-called' prize of
harmony, but it was a conspiracy in order to get me. I was so angry when I
heard that from the Crowned Prince's mouth. He even tried to rape me. I
somehow got hold of a pair of scissors and accidentally killed him. I didn't
mean to end my life like that, but I had no choice." said Misuko, two drops
tears rolling down from her eyes.
"Never mind. Humans make mistakes." consoled Koenma, patting her on the
shoulder.
"Koenma-sama, do you think that I really did the wrong thing?" asked Misuko.
"No. You did the right thing to protect yourself." said Koenma.
"But what will my otousama think? I'm his only child." Misuko said as she
broke down into sobs.
"Don't worry, I think he would understand." said Koenma.
"I'm really unfillial..." cried out Misuko, burying her face into Koenma's
shoulder and sobbed out her heart.
Koenma cautiously put a hand to comfort her, hoping that she would
eventually calm down. Slowly, a few stars shone down at them. At last,
Misuko's sobs died down.
"I'm sorry to break down like that." apologized Misuko as she wiped her
tears away with her kimono sleeve.
"I hope that you have finally calmed a little." said Koenma, smiling gently
at her.
Misuko got up. "Thanks for listening to me."
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[Koenma was leaning over her, whispering the magical three words into her
ears. Misuko smiled up at him, Koenma bent down and kissed her lightly on
the cheek...]
*Oh no... This is the third time I'm dreaming about him in a night...*
thought Misuko in shock as she sat up on her bed, sweating profusely. She
shook her head, trying to clear the image before her.
She took a glance outside the window. The sun was already halfway up the
horizon. She got up quickly and dressed.
"Hanna must be thinking what had happened to me." thought Misuko as she
brushed her hair hurriedly. She took her oar and ran outside. Hanna was
there pacing impatiently to and forth.
"What are you doing inside?" asked Hanna, wondering why Misuko was late.
"Oh... I just had a dream." said Misuko quickly. She didn't want Hanna or
anyone else know that she had a crush on their boss.
"What dream? A nightmare?" asked Hanna.
"Um... no." said Misuko. "Let's get going."
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Misuko sat in the garden again, for two consecutive weeks. The night air
seemed to calm her, but her mind was still confused. She had even went
avoiding Koenma whenever she sees him. The dreams were painful, especially
when she woke up. *It isn't reality.* said Misuko sadly to herself every
time it happened.
She breathed in sharply and leaned back on the tree. She closed her eyes
began fantasizing about a night together with Koenma.
"Why are you here?" a voice asked suddenly.
Misuko's eyes flew open and look straight into a pair of brown eyes. "Hi,
Koenma-sama." Misuko's face was already blushing furiously when she said
that.
"You are always here." said Koenma, sitting down beside her. "How come I
didn't see you the last few days?"
"Yeah. I have something to tell you." said Misuko suddenly. Her mind had
sub-consciously made a decision.
"Me too." said Koenma eagerly, getting up on his knees to get by her side.
"Why not you say it first." offered Misuko, also eager to hear what Koenma
has to say. *Besides admitting first wasn't normal.* Misuko added to her
herself.
"Well, um... this is a problem between us. Are you ready to hear it?" asked
Koenma.
"Yes." answered Misuko as she took a deep breath.
"I had been dreaming about you this few days. At first, I couldn't make any
sense out of it since I was always er... kissing you." said Koenma, pausing
a while. Misuko looked at him.
"Finally, I had come to a conclusion." Koenma breathed in before blurting
out the rest of the sentence. "I had fallen in love with you secretly."
Misuko kept quiet, looking into Koenma's eyes. "It really hurts to dream of
you every night, but just to wake up and find that isn't real." continued
Koenma, watching closely for Misusko's facial expression.
Misuko suddenly got up and hugged Koenma. Tears of joy already streamed down
from her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for saying this to me."
Misuko let go of Koenma. "I had been thinking to tell you this too, but
since you said it out, I might as well tell you my own personal experience."
said Misuko, her pent-up emotions gushing out.
Misuko finished saying what she wanted to say. Koenma looked at her, his
face filled with new found delight. Koenma got up suddenly and pinned her
down on the grass.
"Since we are having fantasies of each other so frequently, why not we try
this once for real?" suggested Koenma.
"Hold on. What if some other people find out?" asked Misuko worriedly.
"Don't worry." said Koenma as he kissed her gently on the neck.
"Great." said Misuko as she slowly kissed back...
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"Misuko!" yelled Hanna outside Misuko's assigned room. Five minutes passed
but still no sound.
*Has something happened to her?* thought Hanna anxiously.
After a little while, she heard sounds of footsteps walking up the corridor.
It was Misuko. Her face and hands were smudged and bits of grass were
sticking to her hair and kimono. Her hair was disheveled and her kimono was
crumpled.
"What happened to you?" asked Hanna as she took Misuko's hand and took a
close look at her.
"Nothing. I just fell asleep in the Imperial garden." answered Misuko
happily.
Hanna rolled her eyes. "Get cleaned up and dress neatly."
Misuko smiled and walked into her room. "Ah... I'm taking a day off day. You
don't need to wait for me."
"Okay." said Hanna, walking off with her oar.
*My, my. She sure is acting strange today.* thought Hanna.
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"Koenma-sama, how good it would be if we can live together like this
forever." whispered Misuko on the second night.
"Yeah, but we could only do this in the garden." joked Koenma, putting an
arm to caress her.
"What will your otousama react if he knew about this?" asked Misuko, feeling
his neck with her little finger.
"I really don't know." answered Koenma. "Don't care about that now. Let's
continue."
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On the third night...
"I have something for you." said Koenma as he reached inside his robe to
produce something.
"What's that?" asked Misuko as she saw Koenma was grasping something in his
palm.
Koenma showed Misuko a pendant handing from a gold chain. "This pendant is
made from the best bloodstone I could find."
Misuko looked at it closely. The pendant was cut into an oval shape. The
texture of the stone itself was smooth, cut to perfection. The color of the
stone is in a very deep brownish color. A line of blood red was sprinkled
across the main surface. It's tranquillity was pleasing to look at and the
glossy surface reflected the full moon very well.
"Thank you. It's beautiful." said Misuko happily, leaning against Koenma.
"Misuko, this is for you and this pendant shall represent my eternal love
for you. The speckles of red will forever remind you of me." said Koenma as
he handed out the pendant. "Do you want me to put it on for you?" asked
Koenma.
"Yes." Misuko smile as Koenma slipped the chain around her neck. The
pleasantly cool stone excited her.
"Koenma-sama, I shall wear it everyday of my life and never leave you."
answered Misuko gratefully. She had never expected Koenma would do
something that nice towards her.
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"Why is Koenma that careless over his work nowadays? He had wrongly judged
spirits and sent them to wrong places..." grumbled Enma-Daiou to himself as
he went through the monthly reports from the Reikai information database.
"What could possibly made him that distracted from his work? That day I saw
him, he was even a little pale, like he was suffering from lack of sleep."
wondered Enma-Daiou.
"Lack of sleep... what is he doing? I'll find out." said Enma-Daiou loudly,
making his decision.
"Will, can you please call George over?" said Enma as he flipped on the
intercom.
The voice acknowledged and minutes later, a blue oni stumbled into the
office room.
"Yes, Enma-Daiou. May I be of your service?" said George politely.
"Do you know why Koenma is acting so strange this few days?" asked
Enma-Daiou.
"He seems very distracted and kept looking at the time. He seemed impatient
waiting for night time." answered George truthfully.
"Night time." repeated Enma-Daiou slowly.
"Yes, night time." said George.
"Thank you, George. You may go now." said Enma-Daiou.
George gave a little bow and walked out of the room. Enma-Daiou stopped
writing to ponder on for a moment. Then, he summoned a detective he had just
appointed a few days ago into his office.
"I want you to spy on my son. I suspect he has something behind him." said
Enma-Daiou to a figure clad in a trench coat. He mysterious figure gave a
sound of acknowledgment and went out.
"That will teach that fellow not to slacken in his work." smirked
Enma-Daiou, continuing his paperwork.
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"Koenma-sama! Lord Enma wants to see you now!" yelled George as he slammed
the door with his fist.
"Yeah! I'm coming!" said Koenma opening the door. "Do you know why otousama
wants to see me?" he asked George. George shrugged and Koenma ran off
towards the direction of the throne room.
"Otousama, is there anything?" asked Koenma innocently as he walked into the
throne room.
"Ask yourself." said Enma-Daiou coldly as he threw an envelope at Koenma.
Koenma caught it deftly and tore open the cover. His eyes widened in shock
as he looked at the pile of photos.
"Explain these photos." said Enma-Daiou. Koenma rubbed his eyes and looked
at the photos again. Sure enough, there photos of him and Misuko during
their late night meetings. One photo showed him and Misuko engaged in a
really passionate kiss. Beads of cold sweat began to form in his palms and
forehead.
"Who is that girl?" asked Enma angrily.
"Enma-Daiou, she is Misuko, a ferry girl." answered Koenma weakly.
"Tell me now! What had you done wrong?" roared Enma-Daiou.
"I... I had fell in love with her. Please, otousama, I really loved her with
all my heart and soul. We are bonded physically and mentally. I can't live
without her. Let us be together..." pleaded Koenma.
"You know the rules of Reikai." answered Enma. "You must never ignore them.
You are Prince of Reikai and you are my successor." continued Enma.
"I know..." said Koenma.
"Since you know, why did you break the rules?" demanded Enma.
"Please... otousama. Please change the rules for once." pleaded Koenma
again. He knew the consequences of this act.
"No. You are suspended from work today onwards and your sweetheart will be
thrown into prison until further orders." said Enma. Two guards turned up
and took Koenma by his arms and dragged him away.
"No! Please!" shouted Koenma. Enma-Daiou just looked away, refusing a grant.
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Enma-Daiou had locked up Koenma in a room and had Misuko thrown into prison
for having secret affairs. Koenma was depressed. Everyday, he will try to
think out a way to get out this room and see Misuko. Finally, he found a
hairpin (goodness knows where he found it) and he pried open the lock with
it.
"Come on... You can do it!" mumbled Koenma to himself as he dug around the
keyhole. Suddenly, the locked responded with a soft click. "Eureka!" shouted
Koenma but quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.
Koenma peeped out from his room. "Good, coast's clear." He tiptoed out
silently and looked around. *Blow! I forgot which direction is the
dungeons!* cursed Koenma mentally.
Koenma was at a lost for a way to get to the dungeon. At last, he found a
maid walking nearby and he forced her to tell him where is the prison
located. Quickly, he rushed to the prisons and began looking for Misuko.
Cell by cell, he went through all of them but he still couldn't find where
is Misuko.
"Where is she?" thought Koenma frantically. At last, he reached the last
cell and he looked into it and saw a weak Misuko lying there.
Koenma hugged her and heard her groaned. When he reached down to carry her
out of the cell, he felt a warm and sticky liquid. He looked down and saw it
was blood. He looked at Misuko and he was devastated when he saw a dagger
sticking out of her belly.
"Koenma-sama. Thank you for all the love and care you had given me all the
time. I couldn't repay it all. Here, I want to give you back the bloodstone
that you had given me on that memorable day." said a dying Misuko in his
arms.
"No!!! You are not going to die!!! I will find the best doctor in Reikai to
heal you." screamed Koenma, Misuko's hand already pressing the chain into
his palm.
"No, Koenma-sama, I'm going to die anytime, so let me finish my last words.
You know that our love could never be together again. Why not I end my life
as to end your love? And to end our suffering? When I die, forget about me
and continue your life normally..." As Misuko said that, blood spluttered
out of her mouth and her eyelids shut close.
"Why! Why must this happen to me? I'm the one who dragged you into this
mess..." Then, Koenma's voice lowered to a soft tone. "I'll never leave you.
You will be the only girl that I had ever loved and I'll wait for you
forever..." After saying these, Koenma broke into heart wrenching sobs. The
bloodstone chain slipped from his hands and fell onto the stone floor with a
clink.
The next day, Enma-Daiou had asked for Koenma again and there, they had
their negotiations again.
"Koenma, my son, I express condolence on the death of Misuko; now, I felt
that maybe I had been too harsh on both of you. Let me give both of you a
chance..."
"What chances or possibilities are there? Misuko is already dead, no one
could change that!" said Koenma bitterly.
"No, you're wrong, my son. Misuko still have a chance to reincarnate. If you
could find her ever again, I'll give you my words."
"Otousama, Misuko's chances of reincarnation are very slim, people that died
once mustn't die again, or they will simply cease to exist. Even though she
could have escaped that fate, but chances are very slim. I doubt I'll ever
find her again..."
"A chance is still a chance, but you must promise me one thing, that is to
keep this incident a secret for the sake of me, you, Misuko and Reikai."
"Alright, anything..." As Koenma said that, he burst into tears and ran out
of the throne room.
Ever since that incident, Koenma had buried himself in work and refused to
give himself anytime to relax. He had even began turning back into his
toddler form to avoid any more girls being attracted by him. Deep down
inside his heart, Misuko will be an eternal flame burning inside him. He
would never be the same again. Never ever.
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The pain inside him was still fresh; even until now. Koenma had never told
these things towards anybody else, not even Botan. Until now, he had nothing
that belonged to Misuko except the pendant and her prized kimono. The dreams
of Misuko haunted him.
When he heard that familiar voice, he was dumbfound. Koenma turned around
towards that voice's direction. There, he saw a teenage girl with big
beautiful brown eyes and perfect complexion. She was dressed in a typical
schoolgirl uniform. She was there, chatting and laughing away with her
friends.
A raw recognition overcame him. Sentimental feelings overwhelmed him at
once. Koenma stood there as if he was struck by lightning. A hoarse word
escaped his throat and he cried out: "Misuko..."
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Siew Lee
E-mail: wsiewlee@tm.net.my
URL (YYH fanfic): http://members.xoom.com/hiei/yyh.htm
"Life's like a box of chocolates."
Forest Gump.