Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic][YYH] PPF - Vengeance (14/17)
From: "Siew Lee, Wong" <wsiewlee@tm.net.my>
Date: 12/30/1998, 4:17 PM
To: yyh-fic@list.graffit.net, yyhml@cohprog.com, ffml@fanfic.com

Hoho!!! I'm so darn happy!!! Yahoo!!! I scored straight A's in my major
government exam!!! Wahahahahahhhhh!!! Straight A's!!! ::SL runs berserk and
hugs everyone in sight:: 

Sorry, I just need to get that out before I explode... ^_^; Anyway, this is
chapter 14 (duh!!!) and I'm feeling exceptionally good today so I'll will
relase a new part. =) Highest credits go to Rhionae for pre-reading this
fic. =) 

P/S: Bulma-chan, phone me on Friday night to confirm, yah? =) Just
reminding you. Besides, Kuwa-chan sounds so disgusting screaming for
Yukina... ^_^; Yah? ::I LOVE HIEI!:: I have just managed to korek 50 bucks
from my dad and I'm going hunting for YYH vcds in Petaling Street. =) 

P/S 2: YYHMLers, for those who have missed the few earlier parts, you guys
can get it at http://members.xoom.com/hiei/ppf.htm =) 

P/S 3: FFMLers, please send your comments to wsiewlee@tm.net.my directly
'cuz I've set the flag to 'vacation' a few weeks ago. 

Siew Lee 
[wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

		~~~The Past, The Present And The Future~~~

			~~~The Present - Vengeance~~~ 

				Chapter 14 - Youko! 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"I am your father." 

	The four words hit him like a tsunami. An unimaginable force 
washed over him, forcing him to backtrack a few steps. Kurama blinked 
a few times and his lips pursed into a thin line. His head felt dizzy 
all of a sudden with the bare truth. He knew that Kabato wasn't 
lying. He was speaking the truth! 

	*No! No! My father is long dead!* screamed a voice endlessly in 
his head. His heart hurt, his heart ached... For once, the youko was 
speechless, unable to retrieve his senses, his rational thinking. 

	"Kurama..." voiced out Kabato softly, his eyes showing genuine 
concern. 

	Kurama was still in a daze. He backtracked another few steps 
before finally hitting the hard tree trunk. Leaves fluttered down 
gently as a cool breeze rocked the giant tree. 

	"Kurama..." called Kabato again, this time reaching out a hand. 

	Suddenly, something snapped in Kurama's head. "No! No! You are 
not my father! No!" shouted Kurama angrily, his eyes flashing with 
hatred. 

	Through his eyes, the figure who was standing in front of him 
was a total liar. A total liar for lying to him that he would be 
coming back after looking for food! Kurama shook his head slightly, 
not believing his own eyes and ears. How could he be so cruel and 
heartless to him?! 

	"I'm sorry..." apologized Kabato in a low tone, his eyes still 
fixed on Kurama. 

	"How can you say that you are sorry now!" yelled Kurama as a 
gust of fierce wind blew ferociously, lifting up the hem of his white 
robe a little. "Why? Why did you leave me in the wild last time?" 

	"I had more important things to straighten out," answered 
Kabato in an even tone. Deep inside his heart, he had endured this 
suffering for so long now... In fact, it was the pain that haunted 
him for so long now. 

	"What is more important than your son?" asked Kurama coldly, 
his eyes still showing hatred and sorrow. 

	Disappointment. 

	"Kurama, you must understand this... I had no choice. Totally 
no choice. I wouldn't have chosen this path if not for your safety," 
explained Kabato. 

	"Safety?" 

	"Yes, safety. First, I am a white youko, what about you?" 

	"You have eyes to see what color my hair is." 

	Kabato gave a short sigh before continuing. "You are a silver 
youko, the line between whites and blacks. As you might have been 
able to guess, your mother is a black fox." 

	"So? Does it make any difference? I'm your son too! How could 
you just leave me like that?" asked Kurama again, the hurt tone in 
his voice still very obvious. 

	"Then do you know that both clans are searching for you to be 
put to death?" shouted Kabato harshly! His son was acting up, he 
still didn't understand the main point here! Slowly, Kabato calmed 
down, his temper slowly subsiding. *Besides, it is fair for him to be 
angry at me...* Kabato shot a look at Kurama's face. He saw a lot of 
mixed feelings there. Shock, confusion, misunderstanding and many 
others that he could not make out. 

	"Why?" croaked out Kurama in a sober tone. Why hadn't he 
thought of that? Kurama chided himself for being so careless... No, 
he was not being careless. It was that he didn't want to think about 
it. He just wanted to hide the pain away, lock it up in the deepest 
corner of his memories. 

	"It was because of Inari-sama who stopped with rivalry between 
the two clans or else you wouldn't be standing here right now. You 
might have just been killed centuries ago!" yelled back Kabato. 

	"Why? Why did you save me if you had decided to abandon me when 
I was five?" asked Kurama coldly. 

	Kabato's face suddenly darkened and he closed his eyes, 
reminiscing those times he had with the vixen, those flings. In a low 
tone, he began telling his story. 

	A story of the past. 

	"A long, long time ago, before you were born, the youkos of 
Makai were divided into two main clans, the whites and the blacks. 
Maybe you could express them as arch rivals. I was a member of a 
respected family. I was even admitted into Inari-sama's protection 
as one of his main guards..." 

	"You were under Inari's service?" 

	"Yes, I 'was' before I came here to Reikai. Your mother was 
also working there as one of the palace maidens and I loved her 
deeply. At that time, both clans were engaged in a fierce battle, 
thus making our relationship a taboo... but still I chose her as my 
mate. It wasn't very long after your mother delivered you and your 
siblings when we were caught and hauled back to meet our last 
judgment... My whole family was sentenced to death together, but I 
managed to escape with you only... Your mother died, so did your 
brothers and sisters... Inari-sama was too tolerant that time. Too 
tolerant to just let his subjects squabble over minor incidents." At 
this point, an unconscious tear rolled down Kabato's cheek and he 
quickly brushed it away. Those memories still haunted him, even in 
his dreams, he could still hear her agonized screams when he scaled 
up the fortress wall with his son bonded to his back... 

	The hatred in Kurama's eyes softened. "That doesn't explain why 
did you leave me right in the middle of that field..." 

	"I had no choice," repeated Kabato. "I could not raise you... 
so I thought it might be better it you would be able to live by 
yourself when the time was suitable. I was with you until you were 
five... At last, I realized that I had to go back to Inari..." 

	 "So you left without even seeing what I have became. I was so 
starved that time that I was forced to become a thief!" said Kurama 
dryly. "All these years I was left to survive by myself without you 
even coming back to look at me one eyeful!" 

	"No, I have reasons. I lied to my clan that you had died of 
fever and I had successfully *changed* my mind about you and your 
mother... Of course I was accepted back into my clan and I had 
totally no chance to sneak to have a look at you. There was always 
somebody watching over me then as they suspected your existence..." 
explained Kabato softly. 

	"So you left me for the sake of returning to your clan, eh? 
What a selfish reason!" laughed out Kurama bitterly and instantly 
changed back into Shuichi Minamino. "I have a Ningen mother now and 
she's Shiori Hatanaka." 

	After saying that, Kurama ran, ran further and further into the 
dark. Running back into the palace... 

	Sadly, Kabato gazed at the diminishing form until it 
disappeared in the darkness. "Sorry... It was a mistake and I intend 
to repay all my debts to you this time, for once and for all..." 
murmured Kabato. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Kurama, what's wrong? You looked distressed," asked Arisa as 
she saw the boy burst into the room, his hair disheveled. There was 
a miserable look in his eyes. 

	Quickly, Arisa set her lute down on the side table and walked 
towards Kurama. Holding his hand, she sat down, ready to listen to 
him. 

	"No, nothing happened," replied Kurama evenly, calming down the 
anger and pain in his heart. There were still traces of them in his 
voice, making Arisa very worried. 

	"C'mon Kurama, I have known you long enough to know when you 
have problems or not! You look worse than after a long lecture from 
Miss Saichiko!" said Arisa, cracking a lame joke... Deep inside, she 
was bothered by Kurama's attitude. 

	Kurama shook his head and refused to look up. Arisa gave him a 
tiny squeeze on his shoulder and stood up. "I'll get you a cup of hot 
tea from the cafeteria..." 

	Kurama acknowledged her by nodding a little and buried his face 
in his palms when the door clicked close. He would never let Arisa 
see him shed tears... Never ever... She was too fragile to see him in 
this state. 

	Kicking off his cloth shoes and taking off his jacket, he slid 
under the covers. Reaching out a finger, he flipped the lamp switch 
shut and closed his eyes, attempting to sleep. 

	So many incidents rushed on him in such a short period of time 
- three months. It had not even given him enough time to slowly think 
things over. Three months ago, Hiei were Shiori was the first 
priority in his life; but now? He raised up his hands to look at his 
slender fingers in the dark, but seeing nothing but the pitch black 
darkness in the room. He sighed, there were Arisa, his child, Kabato 
and so many others now. 

	But there was still an empty space in his heart for whom? For 
*him*, of course. 

	Kurama turned sideways, refusing to think more as it would only 
lead to unhappy thoughts and dark moods. Squeezing his eyes shut once 
again, he fell into a restless sleep. 

*** 

	The door opened and a female figure walked in, holding a cup of 
steaming hot tea on a saucer. "Kurama?" asked Arisa softly, seeing 
the room plunged into darkness. 

	Arisa shook her head slightly and went to the lamp. Flicking 
the switch on, she placed her cup of tea gently on the table. Looking 
at Kurama's sleeping form, she took the blanket and covered him up to 
the shoulders. 

	Seeing Kurama asleep, she sipped the tea a little and the rest 
went down the sink. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Today, I am going to teach all of you the final way of 
defeating Yamaro and Murashi," began Kabato. They were just one week 
away from the final tournament between the good and the evil. 

	Everybody heaved a huge sigh of relief, thankful that all that 
physical exertion was finally over. Two weeks of physical training 
was *more* than enough! 

	"But first, we need a room," continued Kabato, his golden eyes 
looking at Kurama intently. Kurama just turned away, ignoring his 
gaze. *What must I do to make him forgive me?* asked Kabato silently. 

	"Room? Never mind. We can use my room," suggested Yusuke. 

	"Fine with me. Let's go," said Kabato, walking towards the 
Reikai palace building. Yusuke and the rest followed behind with 
Kurama and Arisa right at the back. 

	Arisa clutched Kurama's arm. She was worried half to death 
last night... Even now, he did not seem to be quite well today, with 
signs of fatigue showing up on his face. 

	"Kurama, are you sure you are okay?" asked Arisa into Kurama's 
ear. 

	"I'm alright, really," answered Kurama back, giving Arisa a 
soft pat on his hand. "Don't worry too much, it is not good for our 
baby..." 

	They walked up to Yusuke's room via the stairs with Arisa 
showing signs of shortness of breath. At least she had Kurama to 
help her... 

	Kabato swung open the wooden door and walked into the spacious 
room. Stopping to glance at the surroundings, he nodded pleasingly. 
Reaching into his robe, he produced the five scrolls he had shown 
them the previous week. 

	"Kurama and Kuwabara, hang these scrolls on the walls 
separately with at least three feet from each other," commanded 
Kabato, handing the duo all of the yellowish paper scrolls. 

	"Why me?" grumbled Kuwabara. 

	"Because both of you are taller!" answered Kabato simply and 
grinned at Hiei. The fire youkai rolled his eyes and looked away. 

	Kurama drew open the bundle with the string provided and 
watched a long drawing unfolded before him. Kurama knitted his 
eyebrows together and studied the illustration. On top of the drawing 
there was the word 'fire' in kanji. "Ka..." mumbled Kurama softly, 
reading the word aloud. 

	"Stop peeking, Kurama," scolded Kabato and grabbed the wall 
scroll. Reaching up, he hung the illustration full length up on wall 
in accordance. "You might risk having your youki channels all messed 
up!" 

	Kurama sighed and sat down at a corner of the room. He hadn't 
been able to accept that confession by Kabato last evening. He had 
always thought that his parents were long dead... But all of a 
sudden, a youko barged right into his life just like that and claimed 
to be his father. Kurama knew Kabato wasn't lying because he saw the 
truth in his eyes. The light in eyes never lied to anybody. 

	"Ka (fire), Sui (water), Kin (metal), Do (earth) and Fu (wind) 
are in order. Alright, since all of you are here, I want to divide 
those wall scrolls according to your element," began Kabato and 
pointed to Ka. 

	Hiei didn't wait for Kabato's orders. Instead, he walked up in 
front of the first scroll and sat down rudely. 

	"Good, so all of you know your own elements. Now go and sit in 
front of your respective scrolls," smiled Kabato. Arisa and Kuwabara 
shrugged and sat behind Yusuke under the scroll Kin. 

	"Hm, not enough people. Sui and Fu are empty...," said Kabato 
and rubbed his smooth chin and a frown was formed there at his face 
before he caught sight of Arisa and Kuwabara behind Yusuke. 

	"Arisa, you - go and sit under the Fu scroll. Go now!" 
commanded Kabato, pointing at the girl. Arisa instantly nodded and 
sat in front of it. 

	"What about me?" asked Kuwabara curiously, seeing that Arisa 
already had a scroll while he, himself was still sitting behind 
Yusuke. 

	Kabato didn't answer him, instead, he gazed at the five scrolls 
with a thoughtful expression. "Huh?" asked Kuwabara again, seeing no 
reaction from Kabato. 

	Suddenly, the old youko muttered something. *Sui is still 
empty... Kuwabara is not compatible with Sui.. Without a suitable 
user, the whole plan will fail!* Kabato sighed and looked at the Sui 
scroll intently. He had been overly enthusiastic over this whole 
strategy that he overlooked the five elements itself. 

	"Is there anybody you all know of that possessed the element 
'water'? We need one more fighter now," asked Kabato, his face still 
thoughtful. 

	"Kabato, you haven't answered my question yet... Why does Arisa 
have a scroll of her own while I'm here sharing with Urameshi?" 
demanded Kuwabara. 

	"Arisa's... different. Now, anybody?" asked Kabato again. Arisa 
raised a quizzical eyebrow when Kabato finished the sentence. *What 
is difference between me and Kuwabara?* thought Arisa in wonder 
before snapping back into reality. *Alright, maybe I'm a girl, he's a 
guy. I pity Kuwabara... Why must I receive special treatment?* 

	"What about Yukina?" suggested Kurama. "She's a koorime, 
right? The Koorime clan usually possesses the element 'water'." 

	"Yukina?! She can't fight!" protested Kuwabara loudly, drawing 
everybody's attention. 

	"Stupid moron, of course we know she can't fight!" snapped 
Hiei, purely irritated by Kuwabara's action of *protecting* his 
sister. Hiei, the Forbidden Child of Makai, *should* do the work, 
not a carrot hair, disgusting Ningen! It was enough that he had to 
bear with him through discussing perfect sword fighting strategies 
with that stupid moron sneering at him every single moment! And now 
what? He was trying to make him feel useless in front of everybody! 

	"Keep or mouth shut, shrimp or I'll..." threatened Kuwabara 
dangerously. 

	"Or you will...?" challenged Hiei back. 

	"I haven't forgotten what I have seen with Urameshi that day!" 
yelled Kuwabara. Yusuke's fist struck forward and punched him 
slightly on the arm, indicating that he shouldn't say any further. 

	"Jerk!" spat out Hiei and looked away as he felt his face 
growing hot. Yeah, he shouldn't have been that stupid to lie there 
with Botan! 

	"No! No! Yukina mustn't taint her beautiful face with battle!" 
hollered Kuwabara continuously. 

	"Yes, she can't fight but she has the basics! Remember when she 
went together with us on that mission? She demonstrated perfect 
skills of killing with ice!" argued Kurama back. 

	"Yes! That's right!" interrupted Yusuke as he snapped his 
fingers. "I'll go and call Yukina here now!" 

	Kabato nodded and watched the lithe figure make his way out of 
the door to the ferrying division of Reikai. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Yukina! We need you right now!" shouted Yusuke at the roomful 
of ferry girls. 

	"Nani?" asked Botan who caught sight of Yusuke. She walked up 
to him and kept her oar away. 

	"We need Yukina for completing an attack!" answered Yusuke 
hurriedly and gazed at Botan, searching for answers. 

	"Well, she isn't back yet... You should go and check with 
Misuko for the exact time..." replied Botan and shoved Yusuke in the 
direction of Koenma's office. 

	"Is Misuko in Koenma's office?" 

	"Yes! Yes!" 

	Yusuke rolled his eyes and painstakingly made his way through 
the packed hall. 

***** 

	"Koenma-sama, since you know who he is, why don't you tell that 
to Kurama? Besides, he has the right to know," asked Misuko, 
suddenly, drawing Koenma's attention instantly. They had been sitting 
in the office for two weeks now and doing work. Just work, work and 
work. Even Misuko did not have a lot of time to rest. 

	"Sometimes, the truth is better as a secret," answered Koenma 
simply, his stamp still hitting the documents without stopping. 

	"I guess so... Poor Kurama..." sighed Misuko unhappily and 
resumed reading out loud the report for Koenma. In this way, the work 
for the day should be finished earlier instead of having Koenma to 
read word by word with his own eyes. 

	All of a sudden, someone crashed in. 

	"Misuko! Where the heck is Yukina! We need her *right* now!" 
shouted Yusuke as he burst into the room only to see Misuko sitting 
next to Koenma, reading out some type of document. 

	"Yukina? Whatever for?" asked Koenma as he pried his eyes away 
from the papers he was working at for a short moment. 

	"Well, do you want Reikai to win this time? If yes, call her 
back this very minute," yelled an agitated Yusuke, obviously very 
anxious. 

	"Alright, I'll call her right now..." answered Misuko. "Just 
wait outside the division office and she will be here in ten 
minutes," continued Misuko as she flipped though some papers. 

	Koenma glared at him but Yusuke paid no attention to him. 
Instead, he hurried out of the office... 

***** 

	"Yukina! We need you up at my room!" shouted Yusuke quickly as 
he saw the blue hair girl arriving at the Reikai main division office 
with her oar. 

	"Nani?" asked Yukina, her ruby red eyes staring at Yusuke with 
astonishment. "What?" 

	"Yukina, we are practicing a new attack technique and we are 
short by one person!" explained Yusuke more slowly this time. 

	"Me? Why? I am a weak fighter!" exclaimed Yukina, putting her 
oar away. 

	"No problem there. You have the basics, right?" shrugged 
Yusuke. 

	"Alright..." agreed Yukina and nodded her head vigorously. "But 
where?"  

	"At my room..." came the answer before double running footsteps 
echoed down the entire passageway. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Yukina-san!!!" shrieked Kuwabara like a madman as the door 
opened a small crack. "Stupid jerk," muttered Hiei under his breath 
and folded his arms across his chest. He always hated it when 
Kuwabara went nuts over his dearest sister. 

	"Hello Kazuma-san!" greeted Yukina as Yusuke stood behind her. 
Kuwabara quickly grabbed her hand and began stroking it gently. 
"You are like sunshine to me..." praised Kuwabara adoringly. 

	"Alright, Kabato, we already have Yukina here so what are we 
going to do?" asked Yusuke inquisitively, shoving a hand down the 
pocket of his jeans. 

	"Yukina, right? Okay, go and sit in front of the Sui scroll 
there," ordered Kabato and pointed to the scroll in between the ones 
occupied by Hiei and Yusuke. "Er... I'm not a good figher," began 
Yukina slowly... "Besides, I think I will be a burden to Yusuke-san, 
Kazuma-san and the rest if I am to attend that tournament..." 
continued the girl with Kuwabara still clinging onto her hand. 

	"Eh? I am not going to let you fight the main part. You are 
just supposed to complete the ring of power!" laughed Kabato, amused 
by Yukina's fearful expression. "Didn't you tell her, Yusuke?" 

	The boy just shrugged and looked at Kuwabara aimlessly. *That 
carrot top is still that crazy over Yukina... How great is the power 
of love...* sighed Yusuke as Keiko's smiling face materialized in his 
mind. *Stop it before you turn into another Kazuma Kuwabara! Surely 
you won't want to kneel down in front of Keiko and scream her name 
around, right?* chided a voice in his head. Upon hearing the voice, 
Yusuke stood up straight and began concentrating on Kabato's actions. 

	"Alright never mind. Yukina, just go there and sit there as we 
need a Sui holder to finalize the ring of power," said Kabato and 
paused for a moment before proceeding. "The ring of power is a very 
strong attack as a result from the union of five elements. The first 
is Ka (fire), followed by Sui (water), Kin (metal), Do (earth) and 
Fu (wind). Remember this order first and make sure that you know who 
and who is beside you." 

	Hiei gave a slight 'hn' while Yukina looked to and fro. Arisa 
brushed her neck with a finger softly and her mind was still focused 
on Kabato's strange decision to let her have one whole element by 
herself. Even Kuwabara was stronger than her yet he was there without 
a scroll, his eyes staring at Yukina endlessly. 

	"Now look at your respective scrolls. Every single element has 
an illustration of its own but I'm sure that the similarity lies 
between the drawing of the person sitting there with his legs 
crossed. Sit with your legs crossed, Arisa," reprimanded Kabato as he 
shot a cursory glance at the five tantei and a koorime sitting on the 
floor. 

	Arisa nodded quickly and folded her legs. 

	"As you might have noticed, there are little red arrows going 
in a certain direction. Those arrows symbolize your youki directions. 
Yusuke, I think it might be better if you could transform into 
toushin form now," advised Kabato. 

	"Whatever..." mumbled Yusuke before a cloud of mist surrounded 
him. When the mist cleared, Yusuke was sitting there with long black 
hair and black markings over his chest. *Thanks to Raizen and I'm 
stuck with this mess... Now I have to ask Kurama to cut my hair 
again,* grumbled Yusuke inwardly as he threw a lock of his hair back. 

	"Good. Kurama, you too." 

	Kurama nodded slightly and did the same. In a short time, a 
fire youkai, a koorime, a toushin and a silver youko were sitting in 
a straight line. "Em..." said Arisa uncomfortably as she was the only 
*human* sitting there... 

	"Arisa, just sit there quietly," said Kabato quickly. "Now, 
look at those arrows and try to get your youki channeled according to 
the flow," instructed Kabato. 

	All of them nodded and began concentrating on their own scrolls 
with Kabato guiding them behind. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	Kuwabara lay back languidly on the sofa seat. He sighed 
depressingly, not knowing what to do next. Of all Reikai tantei, he 
was the only one doing *nothing* right now. His eyes flickered 
momentarily to Hiei. *Ha! Even that shrimp looked so darn serious 
about all this commotion!* smirked Kuwabara. 

	*But... Kurama looks deadly serious,* thought Kuwabara as he 
adverted his glance to the silver youko. 

	*Yukina-san...* hollered Kuwabara mentally. So near yet so 
far... 

	*Hm, it won't hurt just to sit behind Yukina-san and protect 
her, right?* thought Kuwabara in glee, finally thinking out a way to 
get *closer* to Yukina. 

	Heaving himself up from the sofa, Kuwabara stood up and sat 
behind Yukina before looking earnestly at her blue hair and the 
scroll before her. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	Kurama peered at the scroll set before him. The person in the 
drawing was beautifully drawn, the body in perfect proportions. The 
red arrows... The silver youko studied the directions of the arrows 
in detail this time. 

	*Wow... This is sure complicated...* thought Kurama wryly. 
Secretly, he stole a look at Arisa who was sitting just next to him. 
She was very engrossed at her scroll, though. She kept lifting her 
head up and inhaling air in a very funny way. *Does this method help 
to raise youki? Will a week away from the tournament be sufficient 
to increase our power?* asked Kurama aimlessly as he stared at Arisa 
continuously. *Why isn't her belly bulging yet? It has been already 
three months... But why did Kabato asked her to control 'wind'? He 
knew pretty well that Arisa is a Ningen, not a youkai!*

	Kurama shoved all those thoughts away and turned his attention 
back to the scroll in front of him. There was a figure sitting on the 
'floor' cross legged. The figure's eyes were closed, his face serene. 
He was concentrating... Kurama looked again, this time the midriff. 
It seemed that all his ki was centered in his midriff. 

	*Alright, I guess that means that I should center all my youki 
there...* Kurama closed his eyes and tried to gather all of youki to 
his stomach. 

	Nothing happened. 

	Kurama tried again, but his ki was like floating around him, 
unable to solidify into one body. 

	Kurama's eyes flew open in disbelief. *Why an easy task like 
that would be so difficult perform? Well, I could always jump to the 
following steps, right?* Kurama managed to gather some youki and 
began moving them in the directions provided by the scroll. 

	Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit him but Kurama waved it 
aside, dismissing it as his lack of concentration. Again, he opened 
his eyes and stared at the picture. Slowly, he began to build up his 
youki and directed them according to the instructions of the little 
red arrows. 

	*What the heck is this?!* thought Kurama in shock as the youki 
suddenly stopped *moving*. The was like an invisible barrier blocking 
all his youki channels. Kurama braced himself and began forcing his 
youki to break the barrier apart and suddenly there a sweet taste in 
his mouth which he quickly swallowed. Sweet taste?! The sickly sweet 
sensation at the back of his mouth returned and worsened. At this 
point, something alien lodged itself into his windpipe. 

	Kurama spluttered and choked. A stream of blood sprinkled 
across the bottom part of the scroll. 

	His head felt dizzy and his eyesight was slowly going... He 
could hear Arisa screaming his name and feel Yusuke's hand grabbing 
him by the shoulders, shaking his violently. 

	It was not very long before blackness overtook his 
consciousness. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Move aside please... Move aside!" shouted Kabato as the Reikai 
tantei team gathered around Kurama's still figure. 

	Kuwabara and Yukina moved aside to make way for Kabato. Hiei, 
Yusuke and Arisa were still reluctant to leave Kurama's unconscious 
form. "Yusuke, go and get a glass of water here!" ordered Kabato as 
he pulled Kurama up to his original sitting position. 

	"Arisa, support him on the back!" 

	"Hiei! Put his legs in a straightened position!" Hiei nodded 
and placed Kurama's legs in a straight line. The youko looked so 
fragile and pale to him now... Hiei sighed inwardly, Kurama was his 
best friend and he was the only one who knew him deep inside. 

	"What happened to him?" asked Yusuke, returning with a glass 
of lukewarm water. 

	"Has his internal youki been attacked before?" asked Kabato 
quickly and began tapping his son on various points like the back of 
his neck and chest. 

	"You mean like blood spluttering out like just now?" asked 
Kuwabara from the side. 

	"Yes! Especially pressure point attacks! If the points are not 
properly reopened, his youki channels might get mess up the next time 
he tries to exert his youki forcefully! " half yelled Kabato 
anxiously. 

	"Kuso! Murashi attacked him once and Kurama didn't complain of 
any problems after that..." cursed Yusuke, slamming his fist onto the 
wall and creating an instant mini crater there. 

	"Damned youkai..." Kabato gritted his teeth furiously. 

	"How is Kurama now?" asked Arisa, close to tears after seeing 
the unmoving figure on the floor. 

	Kabato slowly shook his head. "His youki channels are all 
running wild and there is no way to rectify this problem..." sighed 
Kabato. "Wait!" 

	Arisa looked up instantly and Yusuke kneeled down next to 
Kurama, listening to Kabato. 

	"Actually, I have a way..." Kabato closed his eyes and sighed. 
"Arisa, can you please sit next to Kurama and let me have your 
place?" 

	"What are you doing?" asked Yusuke quickly, taking Kabato's 
arm. 

	"Listen here. I'm going to undo all of Kurama's channels and 
unlock all of Kurama's youki barriers... It is time for me to go 
anyway and I have to pay all my debts to Kurama..." spoke Kabato 
and took his place behind Kurama. 

	"No..." protested Yusuke weakly but stopped when he heard 
Kabato talking about paying debts. What debts? Yusuke wanted to 
know but these were Kurama's personal problems and he shouldn't poke 
his nose into it. 

	Kabato took a deep breath and slowly placed his palms onto 
Kurama's back, feeling his smooth skin through the white robe he 
wore. *My son... I am doing all this for you to pay you all I have 
owed you...* murmured Kabato silently in his heart. With a slight 
push of his own youki, he began streaming it into Kurama's body. 

	Yusuke, Arisa, Hiei, Kuwabara and Yukina watched fearfully on, 
afraid of what would happen next. Kabato seemed very serious about 
healing Kurama and all those strange words that he said just now 
added to their anxiousness. 

	Beads of sweat were beginning to form on Kabato's head and 
Kurama was giving a little gasp every now and then. Arisa clutched 
Yusuke's arm as Kurama seemed to be fighting a battle in him too. 

	Two hours passed, still nothing except that Kabato was panting 
more and more heavily as seconds ticked by. 

	Another hour passed. 

	*Thud* The sound of someone collapsing onto the floor drew
everybody's attention. Arisa quickly rushed forward and held on to 
Kabato. "Kabato! Kabato!" yelled Arisa. 

	"Owwww..." A soft groan echoed through the room. "Kurama? Are 
you alright?" asked Hiei in a low growl. 

	"Huh?" asked Kurama and he felt a dull ache in his chest. He 
vaguely remembered the blood splattered across the bottom of the 
scroll, his youki flaring up wildly and himself slipping into a pitch 
black darkness... Then there was someone who pulled him up! 

	Kurama turned around to see who was it and he saw the slumped 
form of Kabato. He might have died just now if it wasn't for Kabato! 
Kurama shuddered in fear as he thought of that but his focus quickly 
flickered at Kabato. 

	"Why did you do that? You will die of exhaustion!" asked 
Kurama, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown and his hand 
holding Kabato by the youko's hand. 

	"I didn't get to take care of you all these centuries... My 
heart is always plagued by guilt and I have to take up this 
responsibility for once... I am already old and I see the need to 
save you first..." mumbled Kabato before spluttering out a whole 
mouthful of fresh blood. 

	Kurama swallowed painfully as he saw the blood staining 
Kabato's chin. "What has been done is done... I won't hate you 
anymore," said Kurama, tears were already stinging his golden eyes. 

	"Take care, Kurama and practice on... Yusuke, Hiei and 
Yukina..." called out Kabato weakly. "Remember, never use the ring 
of power until you absolutely need to!" warned the ailing youko. The 
trio nodded and Kabato gave a half smile. 

	"Arisa... It is Kurama's luck that he has chosen you as his 
mate... I am guaranteeing that Inari-sama won't punish Kurama for 
choosing you but be careful. Whatever you do might change your 
destiny. The red mark on your left arm symbolizes you..." spoke 
Kabato softly. He reached into his black robe and retrieved a small 
red cloth pouch. Arisa gasped slightly, *How did he know about my 
mark?! Only Kurama has seen it before!* 

	Seeing Arisa's surprised face, Kabato laughed softly and lifted 
up his hand to give her the small bag. "I can't say anymore now... 
Take this. I have been waiting to give you this for a long time, but 
I never had the chance. Wait, don't open it... Open it only when you 
have no choice during the tournament! Never open it until the brink 
of defeat..." trailed off Kabato softly. 

	Arisa clutched at the red pouch and nodded. "Take care of 
Kurama and burn me a photo of my grandchild in the future. Make sure 
the team wins in the forthcoming tournament..." laughed Kabato feebly 
and another mouthful of blood flowed down his chin. "I still want to 
see my grandchild even though my body ceased to exist. At least make 
sure that I can rest in peace... Although it is very modern nowadays 
but just stick to tradition... Promise me the photo..." 

	"We will... We will..." promised Arisa as she gripped the pouch 
with her fist. 

	"Kurama... Forgive me..." 

	Those three words were Kabato's last words before the light in 
his eyes dimmed... It grew dimmer and dimmer, and it finally vanished 
when his eyes shut closed. 

	Kurama held Kabato's body close to him, hugging his father for 
the very first time in his life. 

	"Tousan... I forgive... I forgive you... I don't hate you 
now..." cried out Kurama and wrapped his arms around the still body, 
knowing that Kabato would not be able to hear him. "Tousan..." 

	Kurama hugged his father for the first and the last time. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

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 

---------------------------------------------------------------------