I'm in a huge hurry 'cuz my computer curfew is due in a few minutes!!! Send
your C&Cs to me!!!
Siew Lee
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~~~The Past, The Present And The Future~~~
The Present - Vengeance
Chapter 3 - A Walk Down Memory Lane
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Koenma leaned back in his comfortable arm chair in his office,
closing his eyes for a moment of peace and rest. *At least my office
is still presentable, not like some shack in the middle of Makai,*
thought Koenma, as he massaged his temples slowly. His migraines were
getting worse and worse as days passed by, his workloads getting
heavier and heavier; yet he couldn't at least relieve the pain in his
head.
*Why isn't Misuko back yet?* A random thought, a dreamy smile.
A knock on the wooden door and a gush of wind met his face. Koenma's
eyes flew open, expecting George to carry in a huge pile of office
documents for him to sign. Koenma sighed inwardly and picked up his
stamp from its wooden stand.
"Koenma-sama," A female voice called out as he heard the knob
of the door being turned.
Koenma switched his gaze from the stamp to the door with a
picture of Misuko already in his mind. This time, however, Misuko
was really there, bounding towards him with another girl about the
same age as she was.
"Koenma-sama! I've brought Arisa as you wanted. Now you can
start interviewing her," said Misuko to Koenma, finally glad that she
had done something useful.
Koenma nodded and mustered the best smile he could with his
pacifier. He still couldn't kick that bad habit of sucking it. After
all, he had been sucking it for centuries. Perhaps it was the time to
start another type of bring-along Reiki charm instead of that dumb
pacifier. Quickly, he took it down and stuffed it into his pocket. He
took a look at Arisa and lent her a critical eye.
"Good morning," greeted the girl politely, mustering her small
smile as she said that.
The girl was not very tall, about 5 feet 5 inches. She was
quite healthy looking, albeit not slim. In fact, she was quite round,
but at the right places. Her semi-wavy black hair was obviously grown
from a short crop. Her long bangs were uneven but they matched her
face perfectly, her untied hair flaring and her fringe reaching down
to her chin. Her hair wasn't exactly the type which you could call
'soft'... It was the fine but untidy type. At least it was combed to
the side. Her large black eyes were like... orbs of brilliant opals.
She carried herself with an air of pride, the way she walked
and spoke...
"What's your name?" asked Koenma, for a start.
"Arisa. Arisa Kino," she answered confidently. *First
impression counts,* she whispered in her heart silently.
"Tell me more about your background," said Koenma as he took a
look at Arisa's personal details which he had asked George to prepare
earlier.
Arisa smiled politely and pondered on that question for a
little while; then she answered. "I'm currently studying in Meiou
High School, which is one of the schools chosen in Japan to slowly
change into a co-ed school. Currently, there are mostly boys there so
I could get used to rough situations real quickly. I also hold a
black belt in Karate-do. Two dans, to be exact."
Koenma raised an eyebrow, how could this tall and lithe girl
have two dans in Karate-do? Arisa looked at his confused expression
and smiled. She walked over to a wooden chair in front of Koenma.
Slowly, she raised up her right palm. Swiftly, she chopped down and
the chair creaked. When her hand moved out of sight, a visible
hairline crack appeared on the wood, threatening to break apart.
Maybe the chair was also threatening to crumble down after so many
years of usage...
"What about your Reiki?" asked Koenma this time, obviously
pleased by her physical strength. Not many girls this built could
perform a chop like that without hurting themselves.
Arisa gave a shy smile and shook her head. "I don't know," she
answered softly as she really had no idea what the heck Reiki was.
*Reiki... Reiki... God help me...* muttered Arisa mentally.
"Alright, can you hold on for a moment?" Koenma said as he
pressed a button on his intercom. "George, can you please call
Yusuke Urameshi down here at once? Tell him I want to see him."
The voice on the another side acknowledged and Koenma released
his hold on that specific button. Minutes later, a teenage boy with
slick black hair and large brown eyes walked in.
"Yes Koenma, is there anything I can do for you?" asked the
teenager curiously. *Can't be, I only finished off a case for him
yesterday,* thought Yusuke silently. *Alright then, I'll make him do
me a favor after this...*
Koenma nodded and answered, "Yusuke, can you test her Reiki?"
Yusuke took a glance at Arisa and grinned. Yusuke then said.
"I'm Yusuke Urameshi. How may I address you? Miss..."
"Hi! I'm Arisa Kino. You can me just call me Arisa," answered
Arisa. She had a feeling that this guy was going to be real
friendly... Hopefully he wouldn't ask her to do bizarre things...
Yusuke thought for a moment. "Okay, Arisa. Can you pose your
right hand and fingers like this?" Yusuke asked as he poised his
fingers into his famous Rei-gun attack. Arisa studied his example
and followed suite.
"Good. Now, this is like a game of imagination. Think. Think
that all your energy is focused and centered on your index finger
tip. Slowly but steadily... " instructed Yusuke slowly and in detail.
Arisa closed her eyes and concentrated.
"Okay, do you feel a warm current flowing through your arm
now?" asked Yusuke curiously, raising a black eyebrow.
Arisa nodded but kept her eyes shut.
"Alright, make that warm current stop at your fingertip...
Imagine a barrier stopping the current and concentrate the power
there," instructed Yusuke slowly. Arisa's eyebrows were fixed in a
frown as she tried to muster more strength...
Yusuke and Koenma's eyes widened when they saw Arisa's index
fingertip begin to glow brightly with a golden light. The glow got
brighter and brighter until it was nearly impossible to look at it
directly.
*Crash!!!*
A beam of golden energy shot out from Arisa's fingertip to
punch a fist-sized hole just centimeters above Koenma's head. Arisa's
eyes flew open and stared at the still smoldering hole in the wall.
"Ah, that is dangerous," commented Koenma as he looked at the
smoking hole above his head. "Anyway, you are approved. If there are
no qualms, I hope that you might be able to start work today also."
continued Koenma with a smile. Then, he turned to Yusuke and
introduced her.
"This is Arisa and she will help you in Reikai cases in future.
Yusuke, can you do me and Botan a favor?" asked Koenma.
"Yeah, sure," answered Yusuke enthusiastically.
"For the meantime, can you give her some insight into the
criteria and demands for being a Reikai investigator. One more thing,
train her to control her Reiki attacks. You're dismissed now," said
Koenma.
Yusuke smiled at her and said, "Welcome to the legendary
Urameshi team and thank goodness you are here on time because Genkai
won't be fighting for Reikai anymore. I'll tell you about the
training later." Arisa nodded happily and thanked him. Misuko gave
Koenma an excuse and took Arisa by hand to walk out of the room.
"Um... Koenma, I also had a favor to ask you." said Yusuke, a
decision already forming in his heart.
"Yeah?" answered Koenma as he began signing a fresh pile of
documents.
"Can I have the day off?" asked Yusuke, hoping Koenma would say
yes.
"Why?"
"Because I want to go back to Ningenkai," answered Yusuke
simply.
"Ningenkai?"
"I think I ought to have a look at Keiko because I went off
without telling her anything. I kind of left her alone at the ramen
shop without saying hi that day," said Yusuke.
"I understand. Alright, you may have your mini holiday but make
sure that you come back by tomorrow because you have to train Arisa
also," said Koenma, giving his approval. "Remember we still have two
major criminals at large."
Yusuke thanked Koenma and rushed out of the office. Koenma's
eyes trailed him. *Well, I still have five minutes for a nap before
continuing my work.* decided Koenma as he leaned back on his armchair
once again, in the secluded office.
*Arisa will make a good Reikai-tantei with Yusuke and the
rest...*
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*What a beautiful Sunday it is,* thought Yusuke as he hummed a
tune, dangling a package from his right hand. Seeing Keiko's
ramen shop was just on the opposite side of the road, Yusuke plucked
out a comb and began combing his hair neatly. He checked his clothes.
*I hope Keiko will be in this time.*
Yusuke looked around for joy riders and reckless drivers before
crossing the busy road. *Getting hit by someone was how I got stuck
with all this Reikai Tantei shit and Keiko doesn't know about it yet.
How would she react?* thought Yusuke and he shuddered at the very
imagination of Keiko yelling at him and bashing him in the head.
Keiko could really scold people at times.
"Keiko! Keiko! Are you in?" called Yusuke from outside the shop
cum house. Minutes later, Mrs Yukimura looked out.
"Oh, Yusuke, it's you. Are you looking for Keiko or do you want
to have a taste of my cooking?" asked Mrs Yukimura teasingly as she
recognized Yusuke.
"I'm looking for Keiko, is she in?" answered Yusuke as he tried
to crane his neck to look at the interior of the shop.
"She isn't in. I think she is over at the lake, doing her
sketch for some art lesson," said Mrs Yukimura.
"Thank you, basan," thanked Yusuke as he raced off towards the
direction of the popular recreational lake in this town.
"By the way, you look older than the last time I saw you,"
yelled Mrs Yukimura after him. Yusuke just turned back and gave a
wave.
*****
"Where the heck is Keiko?" thought Yusuke as he looked at the
empty benches and tables in the near deserted lake garden. Yusuke
began pacing anxiously. *What if Keiko got kidnapped again by some
thug?*
Yusuke began scanning quickly for traces of Keiko. At last, he
saw a brown head moving slightly by the bushes nearby. Yusuke ran
over to the girl.
"Keiko," said Yusuke, barely managing a whisper. Keiko looked
up. "Yusuke. Why are you here?" she asked coldly.
"I took a holiday especially to see you," answered Yusuke.
"What are you actually doing out there? I have never even seen
you during the whole holidays since that day in my ramen shop,"
demanded Keiko.
"It's... it's very difficult to explain." answered Yusuke
slowly.
"How difficult? It is so difficult until you can't even spare
some time to visit your fiancee?" screamed Keiko angrily. Then, she
grabbed the collar of Yusuke's T-shirt. "Yusuke Urameshi! I, Keiko
Yukimura, am your future wife. How could you do this to me!" Keiko
pulled the collar and raised up her left fist for a punch, aiming at
Yusuke's cheek.
"I'm sorry," whispered Yusuke as he put on his most innocent
stare at Keiko.
"How could a word of apology make up for everything? I got
unspoken taunts from my classmates and friends that my boyfriend
didn't even care for me!" answered Keiko even more coldly, and that
was more than enough to make Yusuke shiver mentally.
*C'mon, Urameshi. You had already made up your mind to tell
Keiko about your job in Reikai,* chided Yusuke to himself mentally.
He took a deep breath and looked at Keiko's stony face. *Haha, she
sure does look like some kind of woman warrior with this
expression...*
"Keiko, when I tell you this, don't freak out," said Yusuke
calmly.
"Yeah, what? I'm not afraid of anything. I even witnessed you
dead on the tatami. Tell me what I don't know," said Keiko, looking
at Yusuke straight in the eye.
"Um... Keiko, I'm a youkai, er... a S-class youkai," confessed
Yusuke.
"What? Did you say youkai?" exclaimed Keiko. "Is it the type
where they lived in Makai and have long hair? C'mon, Urameshi. Don't
expect me to believe you..." answered Keiko with a laugh.
"It's true. Honest," emphasized Yusuke.
"If you are a youkai, how come you don't have long hair and
anything to do with youkais? They have this weird body shapes, facial
features... Yusuke, do you know something? Your lie sounds like one
that was taken straight out of some television program," reasoned Keiko.
"Believe me, Keiko. I am a youkai. I don't know what to say now
but will you still accept me?" asked Yusuke cautiously.
"Yusuke, okay I believe you. If you really love me, can you
tell me why are you so out of sight? What are you doing out there?"
asked Keiko this time.
"Keiko, I work for Reikai. Reikai is the place where spirits of
the dead are supposed to go. I work as an investigator there. I have
reasons every time I go out without telling you. Because I can't,"
said Yusuke at once.
"Why? Why do you tell me now, not earlier? Don't you think it's a little too
late?" demanded Keiko.
"Because I love you and trust you. I don't know whether you
will freak out after telling you or not, but I have finished my
responsibility now. I had to tell you this since it has been buried
in my heart for a long time ago," said Yusuke, grabbing Keiko's
hands.
Slowly, the cold look on Keiko's face softened... *He seems to
be telling the truth...*
"Yusuke, I'm proud of you because you have the courage to tell
me. I know it is very hard. You even hid that fact from your mom,
didn't you? Am I really that important to you?" asked Keiko more
gently this time.
Yusuke didn't like expressing his feelings openly like that,
but this time he had an intuition that he must. "Yes," he admitted.
A teardrop fell from Keiko's left eye on to her skirt.
"Thank you, Yusuke, for telling me the truth this time." said
Keiko as she hugged him. "I don't care what you are, a youkai or a
human, I love you all the same."
"Keiko... um... I... I love you too." confessed Yusuke softly.
Keiko's face lit up at once. Yusuke had never vocally expressed his
love like that before. She hugged him even tighter and she could feel
Yusuke slightly touching her back.
"Do you mind taking me to Reikai?" asked Keiko into Yusuke's
ear.
"Reikai? Are you really sure you want to go?" asked Yusuke.
"Yes, I would like to see your working place," said Keiko as
she released him.
"Okay, but I hope Koenma won't freak out," mumbled Yusuke.
"Koenma? I thought he was one of your strange friends like
Kurama and Hiei," asked Keiko out of curiosity.
"Koenma is the crowned prince of Reikai," explained Yusuke.
"You mean that guy with a blue pacifier who always sat in my
ramen shop waiting for you guys... Hee... Enma Junior..." said Keiko
as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to recall.
"Yeah. Unbelievable, right? Nobody believes that he is the
crowned prince of Reikai. For one thing, he looks stunningly handsome
without that dumb pacifier. He even has a girlfriend now," agreed
Yusuke.
"You mean that pretty girl with jet black hair whom I saw
Koenma staring at that day," said Keiko. *And she gave him a stinging
slap also...* added Keiko silently.
"Yeah, good memory. That is the girl which Koenma fell head
over heels on, we even set up a rescue mission to Makai after she was
kidnapped," explained Yusuke this time.
"Who is that guy with red hair then? I heard you call him
Kurama," asked Keiko.
"Oh, he's Kurama and his actual name is Shuiichi Minamino. Like
me, he is not human actually; in fact he's a silver youko," explained
Yusuke, ready to answer any of Keiko's questions. Keiko had the right
to know.
"Youko? I would like to see one, one day. I suppose Botan is
also one of you working in Reikai. I kinda like her, very friendly,"
said Keiko.
"Yes. She is a ferrygirl. Those people who help spirits to
their final destination. Speaking of the rest of the team, that
Kazuma Kuwabara is also in. There is another teammate that you might
not have seen, he is Hiei, a fire youkai," explained Yusuke.
"Huh?"
"Yup, he is a fiery tempered, rude and obstinate youkai, but
overall he can still be trusted," said Yusuke with a wry smile.
"Well, I think I only want to know that much," said Keiko
already thinking what would happen to her dearest Yusuke if he was
to mix around with people like that...
"Keiko, there's one more thing I haven't told you yet," said
Yusuke as Keiko looked at him in the eye.
"I have a kingdom in Makai to rule. Actually I'm a powerful
Makai warlord's son. I'm son of Raizen," said Yusuke, clutching
Keiko's hands even more tightly than before.
"So that means I have the chance to be queen one day." said
Keiko jokingly.
"If I was to be crowned, I would make you my queen," said
Yusuke.
"Thank you, your majesty," answered Keiko as she bowed her head
a little.
Yusuke laughed and Keiko followed him, laughing out loud. "When
are we going to Reikai?" asked Keiko suddenly.
"Tomorrow. My leave ends tomorrow morning. To make your stay
more interesting, Botan, Yukina, Misuko and Arisa are also there,"
said Yusuke, attempting to get Keiko impatient to go to Reikai.
"Misuko? Arisa? Who are they?" asked Keiko again.
"Misuko is Koenma's old flame, the girl you saw slapping Koenma
that day; while Arisa is a new investigator recruited only this
morning," said Yusuke.
"Oh, I see," said Keiko.
Yusuke stopped short and looked at Keiko. Keiko actually looked
beautiful to him now. Slowly, he leaned forward and kissed her on the
forehead.
"Yusuke, is that the best you can do?" asked Keiko,
shocked that he only aimed for her forehead.
"I'm scared that you will kick me over to Africa if I do
anything more than that," confessed Yusuke, a blush slowly creeping
to his cheeks. *And I know it's pathetic...* added Yusuke silently.
"I won't," assured Keiko as she closed her eyes.
This time, Yusuke gathered all his courage and inched forward.
Closing his other eyes too, he touched Keiko's lips with his own.
Slowly, he pulled off.
"That was my first after all these years," said Keiko dreamily.
"Me too," said Yusuke softly as he looked into Keiko's brown
eyes.
Then, somebody cleared their throat. Yusuke and Keiko looked
around in shock. Standing next to the bush was one of the park's
cleaning workers.
"Young people, this is a public place," said the worker
sternly.
"Sorry." Yusuke and Keiko managed to utter an apology before
getting up quickly. They dusted themselves free of dead leaves and
ran off.
"That was embarrassing," exclaimed Keiko as she could feel her
face going hot.
"Stay at my place tonight," invited Yusuke as they came to a
halt.
"So fast?" asked Keiko.
"At least at my place there's nobody disturbing us like just
now and I could get you to Reikai straight away next morning," said
Yusuke.
"We'll see..." laughed Keiko out loud.
At last, they stopped in front of Keiko's ramen shop cum home.
"Hold on," said Keiko as she stepped in her home. Keiko ran upstairs
and packed her bag with clothes and a few books. She dragged her bag
downstairs and found her mother.
"Okaasan..." began Keiko, addressing Mrs Yukimura. "...may I go
for a holiday with Yusuke and his friends starting today?"
"Sure, dear. Yusuke could be considered as your husband now.
Besides, when are both of you getting married legally?" asked Mrs
Yukimura, smiling at her daughter.
"C'mon, okaasan," blushed Keiko as she got out of the door to
meet Yusuke. "See you after the holidays," called out Keiko to her
mother as she walked down the street with Yusuke.
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"Wake up Keiko, you lazy pig," called out Yusuke, taking
Keiko's shoulder.
"Who do you think you are calling lazy pig," grumbled Keiko as
she rolled off the bed, her brown hair all tousled.
"Because of your stupid jokes and teasing, I got all so worked
up last night and now I am even too tired even to get up," scolded
Keiko as she rubbed her eyes. Well, yeah, they played video games and
Yusuke talked about his adventures in Makai. It was mystical, almost
too difficult to believe that every human being or youkai had special
energy called ki. People firing or using this type of power to injure
others, kill others... Last minute battle tactics... Strange people
living somewhere in the other unexplored dimensions...
"Well, we have to get to Reikai before 10 o'clock," said
Yusuke. Keiko slowly tore herself from the cozy bed to the bathroom.
She took a quick shower and got all dressed up in her favorite pair
of jeans and T-shirt.
"Let's go," said Keiko as she and Yusuke grabbed a cookie each
from the kitchen. A mist formed around them and suddenly Keiko found
herself in a lavishly furnished building.
"Well, let's go to my room here to unpack. We have quite a long
time ahead here," suggested Yusuke. Keiko nodded.
Through the long hallways and corridors, Keiko and Yusuke at
last found themselves in a room. "This is my five-star hotel room.
I'll sleep on the couch today, you can have the bed," introduced
Yusuke.
"Nice room," commented Keiko as she sat on the soft, fluffy
bed. Yusuke was rarely that sweet to her.
"I have some work to finish now and I'll call George up
to help you around," said Yusuke as he picked up the phone and paged
for George. Minutes later, a blue oni peeped into the room.
"Hi, George!" greeted Yusuke.
"Yusuke-san. Pleased to meet you again," greeted George back.
"George, could you do me a favor?" asked Yusuke.
"If I can help," answered George as sincerely as he could.
Yusuke was the only one he could depend on next to Koenma-sama.
"Can you please help to show Keiko around Reikai Imperial
Palace?" asked Yusuke in such a sweet tone that it would be
impossible to say no.
Even George's heart softened and he agreed. "One question,
Yusuke-san. Is Keiko-san your new-wed?" asked George curiously.
Yusuke exchanged glances with Keiko and answered. "Sort of."
George gave a knowing smile as Yusuke walked towards Koenma's
office for duty report. Keiko also smiled secretly in her heart as
she looked at Yusuke's disappearing form.
*I trust you...*
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Copyright reserved 1998 W. Siew Lee
All standard Yu Yu Hakusho disclaimers apply to this fanfic.
E-mail: Siew Lee <wsiewlee@tm.net.my>
URL: http://members.xoom.com/hiei
UIN: #14025577
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