Maya is from the Two Shots manga special that covered Kurama and Hiei's
meeting in case anyone's forgotten/didn't know...  This is NOT yaoi. For
once. 

Rhionae
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3226/

Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro etc & not me... (but boy, do
I wish...)


Forget Me Not
By Rhionae

He was downright gorgeous.  His beautiful eyes alone with their curious
sparkle would have been enough to capture any girl's glance.  When you
added in the handsome face and the tall, slender body - let alone the
blazing red hair! - it was little wonder that just about all the girls
in the cafe were staring at him.  Not just staring - they were giggling
and sighing so that they were starting to drive me up the wall.  

I felt like grabbing them all by their collars and shaking them until
they realized that it took more than just good looks to make a good
boyfriend.  For all they knew he could be a serial killer looking for
his next victim, or an alien looking for a human subject to study and
conduct strange experiments upon...

Maybe that was carrying things a little too far.  The alien part could
have explained his good looks, though.

That _wasn't_ a good thought to have whist drinking, I discovered.  I
ended up with my hands over my face, desperately trying to hide the
sight of chocolate milk dripping from my nostrils while at the same time
trying not to choke.

"Are you alright?"

As if my predicament wasn't humiliating enough...  His regard started me
on another coughing fit when I tried to answer him.  He patted me on the
back until I waved him away, the spasms subsiding as I managed to get
myself under a modicum of control.  It was a pity that my dignity wasn't
so easy to recover.

"Here," he said, offering me some paper napkins from the table.  I
thanked him, unable to meet his eyes as I dabbed at my face, then wiped
up the mess I'd created.  I was sure my cheeks were as red as his hair
from the way they were burning.

"I'd advise against trying to laugh and drink at the same time," he
commented seriously.  The flush in my cheeks grew hotter as I caught the
twinkle in his eyes.  He smiled slightly at my discomfit before heading
out the door.  

I followed him with my eyes until I met the gaze of another girl, one
who had been amongst the gigglers earlier.  She was glaring at me now,
jealousy written all over her face.  Nor was she the only one.  I was
briefly surprised at the surge of satisfaction I felt at that sight;
then I remembered the _kind_ of attention he'd given me.

Amused.  Condescending.  _Not_ the type of attention I would normally
seek out.

I paid my bill rather hastily and swiftly left the cafe.  My feet were
following the path he had taken before I could stop to think about it. 
I wanted to see him again.  Well, that would have been nothing new -
what girl wouldn't want to see a gorgeous guy again? - but there was
something about him that bothered me.

'Bothered' wasn't quite the right word.  He intrigued me.  Not just his
looks - it was more that glint in his eyes that drew me to him.  More
than that - it felt like I _knew_ him, remembered him from somewhere...

That could have been possible.  I might well have met him when my family
lived in the area.  We'd moved away several years before, and people can
certainly change over time - but I had a good memory for faces.  I felt
certain that I would have remembered him.  If I'd ever known him.

I was walking fast; he was walking at a more leisurely pace.  I soon had
him in sight.  I followed him as blindly as I did my intuition.  I had a
certain instinct for things, and my hunches often turned out to be
correct.  He represented a puzzle to me, and I loved unraveling the
threads of mystery and fitting the pieces.  Especially when they
involved me.

I saw his head turn slightly, and became wary that he might have seen me
trailing him.  He didn't halt, though, so I simply hung back a little
further as he turned down a side street.  I felt a flicker of fear pass
through me inexplicably and I shuddered at the coldness of it.  

I was almost at the corner when I heard the noises - the soft thuds of
impacting bodies, and the muffled cries of pain.  I froze momentarily
before sprinting the remaining distance to the corner in unthinking
reaction.  What I saw was enough to halt my mad charge, enough to set my
mind ablaze with questions.  The only important one at that moment was
just whom I should be barracking for.

Intuition (and hormones) voted for the redhead, with my emotions backing
them up.  Appearances might be deceiving, but in general I considered it
safe to assume that creatures with horns, fangs, several extra ungainly
appendages and ugly complexions that were seriously in need of a bath or
three were _not_ the good guys.  Especially when one turned toward you,
dagger in hand, and _grinned_.

I was exceedingly grateful when he was strangled by a thorn-covered vine
that the redhead was wielding.  I showed my appreciation by swinging my
bag in the face of the creature approaching the boy from the side.  It
wasn't a particularly good attack, but it served its purpose -
distracting him long enough for the boy to finish with the first one.

It didn't prevent the third one from landing his strike, however.  I
couldn't completely suppress a scream as blood gushed from the boy's
side, and threw my bag at the demonic thing in a futile gesture.  It was
in pieces in no time - along with my favourite cardigan, damn it! - but
so was the second attacker.  The third decided to run for it - and given
that the redhead had taken down at least two more beside those I
witnessed, I couldn't really blame him.  It.  Whatever.

As fascinating as the unmoving bodies were, the redhead was still
bleeding.  He swayed slightly, and I reached out to hold his shoulders,
steadying him.

"I'll phone for an ambulance!" I told him, but he grabbed hold of my
wrist with the hand that wasn't pressed to his side before I could
leave.

"No," he refused.  "I'll be fine."

I stared at him incredulously.  There seemed to be an awful lot of blood
soaking his shirt.

"Don't be ridiculous!"  He wouldn't let me go, though, and his eyes
flashed a plea combined with a warning.  I glanced down to see the
creatures' corpses slowly evaporating, leaving behind a slimy-looking
mess.  Right.

I sighed, acknowledging his will.  I left him leaning against a wall as
I knelt down, picking up a few pieces of my tattered cardigan and
bundling them into a wad.  Carefully, I pressed it against his side,
replacing his bloody hand.

"You _do_ need to get that seen to," I stated the obvious, hoping he
would let me take him somewhere where he wouldn't bleed to death. 

His eyes were closed as he muttered a few words: "Can't go home like
this...  'Kaasan..."

"My home is close by," I informed him.  He opened his eyes, his
expression worried.  "No-one else will be there," I assured him, and he
nodded regretful acceptance.

We must have made a peculiar sight, but by fate or by fortune we
encountered few people in the age it took to reach my home.

Home.  We hadn't lived there in years, but I had at last succeeded in
winning my ongoing battle for freedom with my parents, gaining their
permission to live in the home they had taken me from, years ago. 
They'd believed it was for the best, that removing me from the area
where they had almost lost me would somehow keep me from further harm...

They were wrong; but it seemed that trouble was easier to find here in
this place.  It was only my first day back and already I had encountered
a familiar stranger who was subsequently attacked by some kind of
demons...

Home, sweet home as they say.

I left him on the couch, thankful for the dustcloths that still covered
most of the furniture, protecting it from the trail of blood we were
leaving behind us.  My mother's paranoia actually came in handy, as she
had insisted I have a very complete first aid kit, as well as the
knowledge to use it.  I soon had him bandaged, the wound not being as
bad as I had first thought - but he _had_ lost a fair amount of blood. 
He fell asleep shortly after I finished patching him up, leaving me to
hope that he wouldn't go and die on me, not in my own home, on my first
day living alone.

My parents would have freaked out if they ever found out, although I
don't know which would have disturbed them more: the stranger I had just
helped into my home, or the fact that he was injured in such a way... 
There was no point in even mentioning demons or devils.  They always
hated my fascination with the fantastic.  They blamed it on my
disappearance.  They blamed everything on that, the few short hours of
my life that I couldn't adequately account for.  'Overprotective' did
not even nearly describe my parents.  They did have some cause.  My
uncle had once told me it started years before that, though.  He'd said
that a fortune-teller once told my mother that she would lose her only
child to a demon.

It almost came true, years ago.  I just hadn't remembered what had
actually happened until I crossed paths with my saviour.  At least, I
believed he was the one who rescued me that time.  It made sense.

I glanced down at his sleeping form, taking in the changes in appearance
from the hazy figure in my memory.  They were all to the better as far
as I could see - and I could certainly see a lot.  I had to smile as I
pulled my eyes away from his nicely muscled torso.  The giggling girls
would have probably become as ferocious as the demons if they could have
seen us at that point.  

I checked his pulse and breathing, but both were steady.  That left me
free to carry out several other tasks before he recovered.  Given my
previous record with obtaining explanations from him, I decided that I
would need all the advantages I could get.  I made those hours that
passed while he slept _count_.  By the time he awoke I was ready,
sitting in a chair near the couch, an old photograph in my lap.

Finding that photograph had been a catalyst, bringing back the memories
of him that I'd somehow lost - memories of admiration, mostly.  They
reminded me of the gigglers.  Rather pathetic, really; and just as
hopeless.

His green eyes opened slowly, wariness in them as he took in his
surroundings.

"I like the hair, Minamino-kun," I told him, causing his gaze to snap
towards my direction.  His eyes widened slightly before focusing on the
photo I held, one of the class we had shared until I moved away.

"Ah."

"It suits you."

"Thankyou."  One hand brushed over his bandages.  "My thanks for your
aid, also.  I'm sorry to have troubled you."

I snorted as he pushed himself up, wincing a little.  As if acting as
though nothing extraordinary had occurred would make me forget.

"What did they want this time?"  I asked, in as careless a tone as I
could achieve.  His expression was bland as he gazed back at me.

"I don't know."

"And last time?"  His face, if anything, looked blanker than before.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he denied, much as I'd
expected.  I stood up, crossing over to the window, peeking out between
the folds of the concealing curtains.

"Did you even notice that I never came back to school after that day?" 
I asked him.  I doubted that he had.  I was just one more giggling girl
back then.  No real loss.  

"The school said you'd moved away because your father suddenly changed
jobs."

I hid a bitter smile at the note of uncertainty that had crept into his
voice by the end of the sentence.

"He changed jobs alright; but only so that we could have an excuse to
move without any hint of trouble."

"Trouble?"

I shrugged.  "I had a nightmare that night," I informed him, dropping
the curtain and turning back to face him.  "A nightmare that I couldn't
remember - except that there were demons who wanted to consume me.  It
wasn't a pleasant thought.  Want to tell me why I had such a nightmare,
Minamino-kun?"

He wouldn't look at me.

"You shouldn't have remembered at all."

I scowled at him.  "I didn't remember.  All I knew was that the demons
were after me, waking and sleeping, and I could never get away!"  I took
a deep breath to calm myself once more.  "Tell me why, Minamino-kun. 
Tell me what I can't fully remember.  Tell me what you did to me!"

This last was enough to shock him into meeting my glare - and it _was_
shock, I realized, and not the pretense I feared.  My heart eased a
touch as I saw that he hadn't meant to hurt me.  Not deliberately.  But
he still hadn't explained himself - and I wasn't about to let him leave
without extracting that explanation from him.

"I only gave you a drug to forget," he confessed at last.  "So that you
wouldn't remember Yatsude or his minions, or anything else that would
endanger you."

That was Minamino Minamino-kun for you: perfect to a fault.

"And this Yatsude -"

"Was the one who wanted to consume you.  I'm sorry you remembered him."

"So am I."

Lots of arms grabbing for me, reaching for my body with hands whose
touch made my skin crawl...  That was what I remembered of 'Yatsude',
and it was more than enough for my comfort - and at the same time not
enough.  It was what had fueled my investigation into the paranormal,
desperate as I was to find a way to escape from that filthy touch.  I
was just as desperate to get away from all the psychiatrists I was
forced to see.  I managed to get myself under control to a better degree
than they had - but that wasn't saying a lot.

"He's dead now."

"Good."  I directed an accusatory glare at him.  "You could have told me
a lot sooner."

"Sorry," he muttered, hanging his head.  He looked rather pale and
tired.

"Did you kill him?"

He nodded.  "With a little help," he smiled at me.  I didn't return the
gesture, and it slipped from his lips.  "I have something that will help
with the nightmares," he informed me.  I tilted my head to the side,
considering.

"Not if it's going to make me forget," I replied.  He winced.

"It won't," he promised.  "But it's back at my house.  I should be
getting back, anyway.  'Kaasan will start to worry."

"You sure you can walk?"  I looked him over doubtfully.  He laughed.

"I heal fast," he assured me.

I nodded, taking him at his word.  I left the room long enough to pick
out the biggest of my jackets.  I tossed it at him as I reentered the
room.  He'd been examining his abused shirt, so he got the point almost
immediately.   It was a tight fit on him, but better than the torn and
bloodied alternative.

We took our time walking back to his house.  It reminded me of our
childhood walks home from school.  He wasn't quite as steady on his feet
as he'd professed to be, occasionally requiring a shoulder to lean on. 
We eventually made it, however, with Minamino-kun ushering me past his
mother after a very brief reintroduction.  She seemed a little taken
aback at his haste to get me into his room.  A little hopeful, too.  I
was just as glad as Minamino-kun to escape her well-meaning
interrogation.

In the dubious sanctuary of his scrupulously tidy room, he sank onto the
bed, smiling ruefully.  "Sorry about that, but if 'Kaasan found out..."

I shrugged easily.  Minamino-san wasn't anywhere near as bad as my own
mother.  

"So..."  I glanced around his room, aware I was fidgeting but unable to
stop myself.

 "So."  He heaved himself off the bed and sorted through the drawers of
his desk until he came up with three paper sachets containing some type
of herbs.  He gave me brief but detailed instructions for the use of
each before returning to his seat on his bed.

"This had better not be another attempt to wipe my memory," I informed
him sternly.

He seemed rather affronted by the suggestion.

"You wouldn't be able to make me forget, anyway."

"How so?"  His eyes were narrowed, but the rest of his face was
studiously blank.  I laughed.

"While you were napping I made myself a number of reminders about you. 
You wouldn't be able to find them all."

"Wouldn't I?"  That glint was in his eyes again, brightening them with a
mischievous light.

"Will I be needing them?"

"No."

"Then I dare you to try.  If you can't then you tell me all you know."

His lips twitched suspiciously.  "That could take some time."

I turned to leave.

"Maya!"

I looked back over my shoulder at him, his sparkling eyes illuminating
his pale face.

"What do I get if I win?"

I simply laughed.  He wouldn't.

The roses in my garden were the first to go.  That almost made me regret
my words, but I had half-expected it.  He'd always loved roses for some
reason.  I could remember one class excursion to the botanical gardens. 
The teacher had been frantically searching for him for over an hour,
only to find him daydreaming amongst the roses.  I'd asked him why they
meant so much to him, and been struck by his odd reply.

'Beautiful things can be dangerous.'

The flowers that grew in place of the roses had no thorns, nor other
means of hurting the unwary.  Pretty and harmless.  Unlike him.

The photograph of our class disappeared from my room, where I'd hidden
it in one of my drawers.  Other reminders of those schooldays also
vanished, from an old math quiz in which I'd beaten him for once to a
'science' notebook that actually held more doodles than class notes.

There was a certain pattern common amongst the scribbles - apart from
the theme of aliens (well, it _had_ started off as a science book) -
often scrubbed over, involving a heart with two names...  That one was
actually embarrassing.  I hoped he didn't look at it too closely.

He probably had, though, given the thoroughness with which he'd gone
through my home.  He'd always been meticulous when we were young, and it
looked like _that_ aspect of his personality hadn't changed much.  What
did surprise me was his effectiveness as a thief.  Not once in the month
or so following our reunion did I ever catch him at it.

I saw him a couple more times that first week.  The first time he was in
a rush, accompanied by two rough-looking boys whom I later discovered
were two of the local toughs.  He had a third 'friend' with him,
although I was even more dubious about him than the other two: I'd seen
him before, on that fateful day, swinging a sword at Minamino-kun.  He
certainly had an odd choice of companions.

He assured me that Hiei was indeed his friend when I ran into them both
at the park later that week.  Hiei was quite standoffish, though, and I
was relieved when he departed soon after my arrival.  For some reason he
reminded me of the demons who had attacked Minamino-kun.  He _had_ done
so himself.  Minamino-kun simply laughed at my unthinking comments.

It was strange that I would make such a slip around him.  I _should_
have been more wary around one whom I knew to be keeping secrets from
me, but instead I found myself relaxing in his presence, and letting my
fears take care of themselves.  I wished that he could have felt the
same way.  That was how I had viewed our friendship back then.  I had
been disappointed to find out how wrong I was, but it was with resigned
acceptance that I tried to start over, building our relationship anew.

I wanted the friend I'd once had.  I had precious few these days, and
most of those lived some distance away.  

I should have known better than to try to turn back the tide of time.

At least I didn't giggle.  I was beginning to sigh, though, just not in
happiness.

Work, study, chase Minamino-kun and his friends...  It all devolved into
a regular routine, even having my house regularly burgled by my
oh-so-familiar burglar.  No demons, no slime monsters, not even a
mugger.  My mother was probably disappointed that I hadn't run home
screaming in panic: everyone loves a chance to say 'I told you so'. 
That was most likely the only reason I stuck it out.  Just to prove that
I could.  There wasn't any other point to it.

Or so I thought.

For one month he searched for my little reminders.  One month before he
tired of my little game.  Then he ended it, returning all that he had
taken.  Even the roses.  They were growing back in their allocated space
as though they had never been touched.  He left no trace of his work
behind.

Except himself.

I started, not expecting to see him waiting for me in my room as he
was.  There were several photographs spread across my bed, most of which
I recognized as those he had appropriated.  There were some new ones,
too, of us just as the old ones were.

"When were these taken?" I asked in surprise, picking them up and
examining them one by one.

"Kuwabara took them for me," he said, and I recalled the tall boy
snapping merrily away at one of the times I'd met Minamino-kun when he
was out with his friends.

"I'd thought he was just taking Yukina-chan from the way he was carrying
on."

"He managed to tear the camera away from her for a shot or two," he
chuckled.

"Hm."  I looked around, seeing various 'missing' articles had been
returned to their proper places.  There was nothing at all out of
place.  "You didn't have to clean my room for me."

He shrugged.

"So, you're giving up already?"

"Not quite."  His emerald eyes were at the same time amused and
serious.  "You were wrong.  I know exactly what it is that reminds you
of me so constantly."

I laughed, forcing my facial muscles to form a jovial expression.  "Do
you, now?"

"But I won't take it away from you."

He wouldn't?  My heart started to beat faster, even as I braced myself
for his dismissal.  

"So, what will you do?"

He ran his hand through his hair, pulling a small twig out of its
strands.  Before my eyes, the twig transformed into a stem, sprouting
several dainty flowers from its buds.  I stared at them in amazement. 
Slowly, he reached out with it, brushing the cool softness of the blue
petals against my lips.

"Shuuichi?" I whispered, accepting the forget-me-nots without losing eye
contact with him.

"My friends call me Kurama."  

He smiled, and this time I felt myself responding in kind.

Friends.  And perhaps a little more.

************

Rhionae
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3226/