Subject: [FFML] [YYH][Fanfic] Entwined Destinies (Part 2/2)
From: Siew Lee
Date: 7/4/1998, 1:13 AM
To: yyh@cohprog.com, ffml@fanfic.com

Alright, this is the second part of the whole thing, Entwined Destinies. I
would really appreciate comments... =) Ah! This isn't the end yet, as this
is only the prequel to 'Regret'. You can access this fanfic through
http://members.xoom.com/hiei/yyhshort/regret.htm . There's a sequel coming
within a few days. 

For FFML members: please e-mail your C&Cs directly to me at
'wsiewlee@tm.net.my' as I'm not subscribed to this ML anymore. 

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Entwined Destinies (Part 2/2) 

A Yu Yu Hakusho fanfic by W. Siew Lee 

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*Homelands were never meant to be left, 
 Friendship were never meant to last forever...* 

It was very dark and silent, that Kurama himself could nearly hear the 
regular thumping of his heartbeat. His head ached from a dull pain, his 
limbs felt weak and powerless. For the first time in his life, Kurama 
actually tasted the very agonizing sensation of being defenseless. Maybe 
that was actually what Youko Kurama's enemies felt when they were 
defeated by this unscrupulous thief. 

*Where am I now?* Kurama began to recall what had actually happened to him 
before he came to this strange place... A big and fast moving object... 
Voices shouting behind him... 

"So am I involved in a road accident?* asked Kurama aloud, looking at his 
opened palms in disbelieve. 

"Yes, you are," answered a smooth female voice. Kurama raised up his head 
and looked around, startled; but he saw no one... Who was that? The voice 
that answered him sounded familiar. In fact, very familiar. Was it... 
*No! It couldn't be!* Kurama pushed away that possibility as soon as it 
popped up in his head. That was way too out for her to come. 

Once again, Kurama looked around, but calmly this time. Slowly, a figure 
in white materialized in front of him. At first, it was just a soft white 
shadow, Kurama strained his eyes to see the figure in detail. A act of 
recognization overcame him... Quickly, Kurama stood up straight. 

"Hello, Kurama. Long time no see..." greeted the figure, dressed in pure 
white robe. This time, the figure had fullly appeared and obviously, it 
was a youko, a vixen. A long furry tail trailed the ground and soft ears 
protruded from its head. 

"Greetings to you, Inari-sama," greeted Kurama back with a slight bow. 
It was very strange, since Inari had never visited him eversince he came 
to Ningenkai as Shuichi Minamino. What did she want this time? 

The female youko acknowlegded him with a nod and began speaking. "Kurama, 
how's life for you all these years? You've changed a lot, don't you." 

Kurama just kept quiet. What could he say? He just simply disappeared from 
Makai to live as Shuichi Minamino in Ningenkai. Not many knew that he was 
injured at that time... 

"You look pretty well for a Ningen, don't you?" spoke Inari again. 

Kurama just smiled. 

"Well, this time, I want you back into Makai. Perhaps time has come for 
you to leave Ningenkai anyway. Remember, I'll be waiting..." spoke the 
vixen again. 

"Inari-sama..." called out Kurama, but he was met with no reply, as 
Inari was now where to be seen. Her words repeated eeriely in his head, 
*Perhaps time has come for you leave Ningenkai anyway...* 

Darkness reigned his thoughts once again. Slowly, Kurama realized that he 
must leave Ningenkai very soon, eventhough he didn't willed it. One doubt 
still lasted in his mind, as once he left Ningenkai, Hiei won't be able 
to find him... Maybe he won't be able to see him ever again. *Hiei... 
where are you?* 

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*Intuitions are always correct, 
 In the fact of everlasting love...* 

*No!!!* A scream pierced through the silent and still night in the 
depths of Makai. A figure sat up straight and beads of perspiration 
dripped down from its face. Ragged breathing filled the inaudible silence 
and panting followed with little difficulty. 

Hiei reached up with the back of his hand to wipe away sweat and sighed. 
It was a very bad dream. A nightmare, in fact. Hiei slowly closed his 
eyes.

*Kurama was dead... Kurama was dead! How could that happen!* Hiei opened 
his eyes again, forcing himself to calm down. It was only a nightmare. 
Hiei seldom experienced nightmares, only when... Hiei shook his head. 
Must be that youko doing something. 

Hiei slowly lied down on the bed. Mukuro's place was always that silent 
at night, providing him a perfect place to rest whenever he had problems 
he wanted to escape from... 

Perhaps... he had been a little too hard on Kurama that night. Maybe he 
didn't mean it. Maybe he was just attached to his human mother... Hiei 
sighed moodily, unable to resolve the turmoils that occured within him. 
Why not he, himself, go back to Ningenkai to see Kurama? Besides, he 
could have just stay hidden, without Kurama knowing where he was... He 
could camoflage his know youki with living things around him. 

Without much thought, Hiei got up from his bed and dressed in his black 
clothes. With a swing of his hand, he flicked his cloak behind him. Just 
then, a black wind slithered into the pitch black night of Makai, heading 
towards Ningenkai with truly amazing speed. 

***
Hiei perched lightly on the windowstill of Kurama's bedroom. Almost 
cautiously, he took a peep into the room. Books were arranged neatly on 
the desktop, the bed was well-kept and the whole room was very clean, but 
no Kurama. Hiei sighed and leaped on to the rooftop. He sat down on the 
tiles, maybe Kurama went out with his friends. *Might even be his new 
girlfriend...* thought Hiei bitterly. 

Just then, Hiei could hear sobs coming from the ground floor... It was a 
female voice whom Hiei recognized as Shiori's and another male voice 
trying to console her. The weeping was very sorrowful, almost it was 
bursting with the emotion of a heartbroken human. Hiei jumped from the 
place he was sitting on, landing on the grass below nearly noiselessly. 
Hiei craned his neck to look, as he had done it many times before. Spying 
on Kurama... Hiei shoved the thought away at once and concentrated on the 
scene in the living room. 

The living room was dimly lit. A female figure, Shiori, sat hunched on the 
sofa, grasping the phone receiver. Over her, was her husband, Mr Hatanaka, 
trying his best to console her. Shiori wept uncontrolably, almost breaking 
down into a teary mess. The room was almost chokingly quiet, except for 
the sound of Shiori's weeping. Hiei had a bad intuition, something really 
bad had happened... 

"Don't cry anymore... It is his destiny that he would have to be involved 
in that accident... Leave it to god..." consoled Shiori's husband. 
Kurama's ningen brother, little Shuichi, sat by himself in a corner of the 
room, his eyes red and puffy from crying. 

"But Shuichi... He is my son and he is now lying in the hospital... The 
people there said that he is in critical condition and he might die 
anytime soon..." wept Shiori tearfully, her voice cracking with the sense 
that her dearest son, her little boy, was going before her. 

"Alright, why not we go over to the hospital to visit Shuichi? After all, 
he needs our support," suggested Mr Hatanaka. Shiori nodded limply and 
her husband helped her stand up. Not long after, there was the sound of a 
car being pulled out of the garage. The sound of the car's motor dying 
away only brought silence to the night... The night where Kurama was 
dying... 

***

Hiei suddenly understood it all. It wasn't just a nightmare after all, it 
was a signal that Kurama was going! Hiei knew he mustn't waste time, as 
Kurama might go any moment, as his Ningen body can't withstand such force. 
In a way, it was fragile. Hiei seriously doubt that he would be able to 
see Kurama after this, as souls won't have a definite shape after it 
leaves the body. In a way, Kurama would be an eternal lost to him... Just 
as Hiei was about to fly off, he hestitated... 

What hestitation? Was there anything left to hestitate anymore? What would 
Kurama think of him? Most probably some poor koorime child that starved 
sympathy... starved love... Kurama was just only being kind to him, not 
that type of feeling that Hiei felt towards his friend! Hiei stopped on 
the wet grass. 

He sucked in the cool night air, debating what to do next. Reminiscening 
those happy and wonderful times they had together. In fact, it was the 
most ecstatical times he ever had in his life... With a flick of his 
cloak, he was gone into the deep and unfathomidable night. 

*Kurama... Wait for me...*

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*Waiting was never an eternal cycle, 
 Hesitating was only the key to hopeless waiting...*

"Mrs Hatanaka, your son is in a very critical state now. You must have 
preparation in you..." A person in white gown saying almost monotonously 
to a sobbing woman. The woman cried even harder... Kurama slowly blinked 
open his eyes. White washed ceilings greeted him together with a 
continuous beeping sound. 

*What happened?* thought Kurama. As he looked again, he found that many 
wires were attached to his body, and he felt a painful stab down his spine 
whenever he moved a finger... 

"Shuichi! Shuichi! You are awake!!!" exclaimed a woman who Kurama 
recognized as his human mother, Shiori. Teak streaks ran through her face 
and her eyes were red and puffy though crying. Kurama tried to reach out 
a hand to wipe away her tears, but that agonizing pain shot thoughout his 
whole body. Kurama just had to bit his lower lip to restrain the groan. 

"Mother, what happened?" asked Kurama weakly. 

"You just have been knocked down by a lorry..." said the woman tearfully, 
breaking down into more anguished sobs. 

*I've been in a road accident?* was Kurama's first reaction. Almost 
immediately, he remembered the part where he met Inari-sama... It wasn't 
a dream after all! It was just simply that Inari-sama was calling him back 
to her... 

"Okasan? Please don't cry..." pleaded Kurama. He had always hate the sight 
of his mother crying like that... It had shattered his heart just to hear 
her sob sorrowfully. 

"The doctor said... you are dying..." As Shiori said that out, she wept 
ever harder... She simply can't accept the fact that her son was dying at 
such a young age. 

Kurama closed his eyes slowly, "Okasan, don't be sad. It is my luck that I 
would have to be knocked down in a road accident. Perhaps, it is in my 
destiny. Don't grieve anymore..." Kurama halted for a moment, as he could 
feel tears brimming over at the corner of his eyes. He never expected that 
he will leave this world so fast and quick. Life was just so short and 
quick in Ningenkai. Inari-sama was right, he will be going soon. 

"Okasan, what else did the doctor say? Tell me the truth," demanded Kurama 
slowly. 

"The doctor told me that... you won't be able to live through tonight... 
All your internal organs are failing... I don't know! I don't know!" 
screamed Shiori, her heart breaking over her beloved son. Just then, a 
doctor rushed in and two nurses tore Shiori away from the bedside. 

The doctor quickly did a pupil check on Kurama and sighed in relief. "Mrs 
Hatanaka, may I have a word with you?" Shiori nodded and turned towards 
the door. 

"Mrs Hatanaka, your son had just woke up from a coma and I'm surprised, 
but... he is still in critical condition. I'm sorry to say that, but it 
seems that his condition had worsened. It intrigued me that although his 
health is slowly detoriating, he could still talk to you like that. Mrs 
Hatanaka, I suggest you should have some mental preparation," explained 
the doctor. 

"Thank you, doctor. I know what to do..." sobbed Shiori, eventually 
calming down. 

On the other hand, Kurama was lying on the hospital bed, thinking. What 
should he do next? It was a regret... He didn't get to pay back Shiori 
after all these years, didn't get to enjoy life to the fullest... In fact, 
he was even wondering... wondering what will Hiei react if he would see 
him in this condition. 

It was already sometime midnight. There was no one in his room anymore. 
Just the continueos beep of the electrical heart beat machine. Shiori had 
already went home with her husband. That heart-brokened expression on her 
face was so sad, almost driving Kurama to the very extent. No, he couldn't 
be that selfish; but Fate still controled his life, Destiny still ruled 
his soul, Death still dominated his life. 

There was still one wish in Kurama's heart. The wish to see Hiei for one
last time... There was a cresent moon in the dark sky, but that was the 
last time that Kurama had ever saw Ningenkai's moon through the eyes of 
Shuichi Minamino. 

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*Regret is never to be revived, 
 Once belated would in peril...*

Hiei stood on the windowstill of the hospital bedroom. The room was quite 
dark, over shadowed by his shadow. Placid moonlight still poured through 
the windowstill, although it was present in sparse amounts. The sliver 
rays rested on a body lying on the bed. Wires and tubes were attached to 
the human while two electronic screens showed a few jagged lines. The 
figure's eyes were closed, almost sleeping. 

Hiei jumped down from the windowstill into the room. Slowly, he walked 
towards the figure. "Kurama?" 

The figure blinked over his eyes. "Hiei? Why are you here?" 

"To see you," answered Hiei curtly and turned his head away. 

"Thank god you came earlier... I was afraid that I won't be able to see 
you for the last time." 

Hiei just kept quiet. Tears began brimming on the corner of his eyelids. 
Kurama... his only friend... was dying there. 

"Hiei, I'm dying soon. Promise me something. When I'm gone, please take 
good care of yourself. There is no more time..." said Kurama weakly in 
the dark. 

Hiei nodded, hot tears already flowed down from his eyes, making a steady 
river down his face. Hiei brushed them away with the back of his hand. 
"Kurama, I promise you...", his voice cracking with emotion. His best 
friend was there, his life draining away bit by bit, yet he was unable to 
do anything. Never in his life, he had felt so powerless, so useless. 

Kurama tried managed a smile, but only succeeded in coughing. Blood 
splurted out of his mouth and oozed down the side of his mouth. "Forgive 
me for all what I had done last time, now we won't have the chance to 
meet in parks anymore." Kurama sighed softly and looked at Hiei with his 
brilliant green eyes. 

"No... No! Kurama, you won't die! Remember all those happy times we had 
together? Please... Please don't go..." pleaded Hiei, his slender finger 
reaching out to grasp Kurama's hand. Kurama squeezed Hiei's hand a little. 

"My time to go is here. Goodbye, Hiei..."  As Kurama said that, his 
eyelids slid close. Slowly, a tear rolled from down the corner of his eye, 
making its way down to Kurama's soft red hair. Kurama's hand released 
Hiei's grasp and dropped limply on the bedside. 

"No... No... Kurama... No..." mumbled Hiei, tears came as the Hiei buried 
his head into Kurama's chest. *No... Kurama can't be dead!* screamed Hiei 
mentally. The whole wide world had fell on him... His only friend, the 
only person that truly understood him, was gone... Gone forever. 

Hiei lifted his head to look at Kurama's face. "He is so serene looking, 
as if he is just sleeping." Almost stiffly, he bent down and kissed Kurama 
softly on the cheek. 

"Kurama... I... I shall love you forever..." In a almost sweeping motion, 
Hiei gathered up Kurama's body and held him in his arms. The next second, 
there was nobody else in the room, only flying curtains and cold wind 
blew in the silent room. Kurama's deathbed. 

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All standard Yu Yu Hakusho disclaimers apply to this fanfic. 

Copyright reserved 1998 Siew Lee 

E-mail: Siew Lee <wsiewlee@tm.net.my>
URL: http://members.xoom.com/hiei/yyh.htm 
UIN: #14025577

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URL: http://members.xoom.com/hiei/yyh.htm 
UIN Number: 14025577