Slight yaoi references (no sex, no kissing, no touching even!) and
angst.  Lots and lots of angst.  And a few deaths.

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

Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro.  I'm just killing off his
characters for fun. :p


Winter Pearls - Part 6

"So," Kalei murmured without turning around as she brushed Kurama's
sparse white hair away from his face with tender fingers.  "It's time at
last."

Botan's only reply was to wrap her arms around the youkai's shoulders,
holding her close in a short but fierce embrace - before letting go. 
Kalei finally turned her head, enough to give the Ferrygirl a small
smile as she took Kurama's hand in her own.  Gentle as ever, she placed
the aged hand in Botan's expectant palm.

/I hate this - but I couldn't let anyone else do it./

This was often the depressing side of her duties, visiting people who
were about to die.  Visiting the elderly was normally better than coming
for those who died before their time.  /But not in this case.  I'm
grateful that I can ease his suffering - but what will become of him
afterwards?/

Koenma and his father were the only people who cold answer that
question.  She didn't quite dare ask Enma what his decision would be,
and Koenma wouldn't tell her anything at all, simply turning aside with
a scowl on his face whenever she brought the matter up.

/We'll find out soon enough,/ she sighed mentally, watching intently as
Minamino Shuuichi breathed his last.  /We both will./

It was with a certain sense of relief that Botan beheld the youthful
appearance of the spirit that rose from the lifeless corpse.

"You kept me waiting, Botan," he said, a little smile softening his
words and his sorrowful green gaze.

"Ano, I' sorry - "

"It's okay," he informed her, shaking his non-corporeal head at her
apology.  "I've been waiting longer for another."

/What can I tell him?/  Botan bit her lip anxiously.

"He won't come," Kalei solved her dilemma for her.  "You know that."

"Ah," the red head nodded soberly at Kalei's statement, keeping his eyes
fixed on the pink-eyed girl.  "Will you take me to him, Botan?"  Her
eyes widened slightly at his request.  "Please?"

/It's against the rules - I'm supposed to take him straight to Reikai to
see Koenma!  But - /  His emerald gaze caught and held hers, pleading
quietly for her to help him.

"Kurama, I - "

"_Botan!_"

She almost jumped out of her skin as Koenma's voice shattered through
the air.

"Koenma-sama, I was just - " she exclaimed as she fumbled for her
communicator.

"_Get to the koorime's island _now_ - before Yukina succeeds in
committing genocide!!!_"

/_Nani?!!_/  His words shocked her mind, but her body responded
unthinkingly to the urgency in his command.  In barely an instant she
was on her oar, flying up into the Ningenkai sky towards the closest
gate to Makai.

She wasn't alone.

"Kurama!" she protested his persistent presence as he accompanied her to
Makai.

"Hiei will be there," the spirit insisted.

/I can't argue with him,/ she realized.  /I'll just have to tell
Koenma-sama that it was a mistake.../  It was the least of her worries,
after all.  /Why would Yukina do such a thing?  She's always been so
gentle and kind...  And what does Koenma expect _me_ to do about it?! 
Kurama seems adamant that Hiei will be there; why would she listen to me
if not to him?/

It didn't make any sense at all.  Fortunately she was making more head
way against the icy gusts of wind that were buffeting at her than she
was with her speculations.  /Almost there.../

"This way," Kurama urged in her ear, guiding her by what means she could
only guess at.  "There!"

She gasped aloud as they rounded the curve of the mountain to behold at
last their destination.  /Yukina - _fighting_?!  I never knew she was
that strong!/

Then she noticed the bodies.

/Oh, Yukina.../

Some were frozen unnaturally blue, some encased in crystal, some with
shards of ice piercing their flesh - and others completely unmarked. 
They littered the pathway the returning koorime had taken leading up to
and surrounding the only two youkai left standing.

"Yukina!" she cried out, only to have the name whipped away by the
chilling winds.  She saw Yukina laugh briefly then raise her hands,
cupping them as a small globe of shadow formed between them.  "Yukina,
no!"

Desperately she pulled her oar upwards as the air around her seemed to
chill even further.  

/She's drawing all the heat out of the area - all of it!/

>From far above the island, Botan watched in horror as what had seemed a
region of death just moments before was now rendered completely and
utterly lifeless.

There was only one exception.

"Yukina," she murmured, a tear spilling from her eye only to freeze
solid on her cheek.  She began a slow descent, only to catch sight of
one - no, _two_ - more figures moving below, signs of life in that
barren place.  The two were rapidly approaching the last of the
koorime.  The first was just recognizable as Hiei, while the second was
unknown to Botan.

Yukina was oblivious to them both.

/I have to tell her - I have to let her know - /

There was no warning, no time.  Her eyes widened - and it was too late. 
Yukina had thrown the tiny sphere of darkness, casting it a the ground
before her feet.

/No - oh no.../

There was a sickening crack that sent a shiver down her spine.  It was
echoed from other parts of the island in a rapidly building symphony
heralding destruction.  Hiei had almost reached his sister when the rock
beneath her feet gave way, tumbling down into the darkness below.

"_YUKIIINAAAA!!!_"

He didn't hesitate, he simply jumped, following his twin as she hurtled
downwards to the distant ground.

/NO!/  She dove down towards the crumbling island, preparing to head
through the debris to catch the falling youkai.  /I can reach them both
- I can make it - I _have_ to make it!/

"HIKARIII!!!"

Startled, she flashed a quick glance in the direction of the shout - to
see Kireina holding back a tall boy who was struggling against her
grasp.  The blue-eyed youkai was doing her best to prevent a repetition
of what had just occurred with the youkai twins.

/Damn!/

Another glance showed the girl, pieces of rock pelting her unprotected
body, falling limply through the air - away from Yukina and Hiei.

/I can't save all three!/

There wasn't time for consideration.  She made her choice, and directed
her oar towards the girl.  Weaving and winding her way through the maze
of flying rock, she at last managed to come close to her, reaching out
with one hand...

/Not enough!/

She stretched out further, extending her arm to its utmost limit.  Her
fingertips brushed cloth, then grasped flesh, drawing in the small body
and balancing it over her oar.  She sighed in relief as she slowly
pulled out of her dive, trying desperately not to think of the other two
who fell.

Ice-tears melting on her cheeks woke the girl from her faint. 
"Grandmama," she whispered brokenly, before succumbing to slow, harsh
sobs.

/Yukina's granddaughter,/ Botan identified her at last.  /Poor child./ 
She tried not to disturb the girl as she brushed at her own cheeks.

"Hikari!"  The boy was at her side as son as she landed, Kireina having
released him when she ascertained that he wouldn't do anything rash. 
Botan passed his sister over to him willingly, feeling her heart clench
as she watched the human twins embrace each other for comfort.

/If only.../  She met Kireina's watery eyes briefly, then shook her head
sadly, gazing down into the depths of the valley far below.  /Wait a
minute!/  She spun around, looking this way and that for the spirit who
had accompanied her here.

"Something _else_ wrong?" Kireina asked quietly, her bitterly sorrowful
tones low enough to prevent the children from hearing.  Botan hesitated
only a moment before replying.

"Your father."

"Ah."  Kireina turned away, staring down at the remains of the koorime's
floating island.  "I hope they can be happy now," she sighed.

/I hope so too.  That hope is all they have left - all three of them./

Hours passed before Botan returned to Reikai.  Despite her own
misgivings, she assisted the other three in their quest to find any
trace of the koorime-born twins.  They uncovered numerous bodies - but
neither of the two they so desperately sought.  A combination of wanting
to comfort the young Kuwabaras and Kireina and simultaneously avoid
facing Koenma added to the Ferrygirl's delay, yet the demi-god did not
greet her with the reproaches she feared.  /And deserve,/ she whispered
silently in the corner of her mind.

He sat silently at his desk, his steepled hands obscuring her vision of
his face making it impossible for her to determine his mood.  Files were
strewn across his workspace - all koorime as far as she could see, with
Yukina's lying open on the top of the pile - but he ignored them all.

"I was too late," she confessed at last, unable to bear his quiet gaze
any longer.

He didn't reply, the silence lengthening once more.

"I lost Kurama," she admitted uncertainly.

Still silence.  What was he waiting for?  She hung her head, watching
him from beneath her lashes, letting him have his way.

At long last, someone else broke the silence.

"Koenma-sama?" George poked his head tentatively around the door.  "Your
father's back - and he wants to see you right away..."

Koenma placed his hands flat on the desk, pushing himself up slowly, his
eyes never leaving Botan's as a small, pain-filled smile was revealed on
his lips.

"I know," he answered at last.

***

Twice have I fallen from a height that may as well have been heaven.;
twice has that fall led me to the depths of hell itself; twice have I
survived to eke out my miserable existence.  Others might wonder at my
perverse persistence, but the answer is quite simple: I live only to
suffer - and to cause suffering, although I wish it were otherwise.

I don't mind my own pain now.  It's an old, old friend - my first friend
in fact, and my most faithful.  Pain is something I can always rely on,
something I can always believe in - it's what every other sensation
becomes at last, when the momentary brightness has faded and reality
sets in.

I couldn't bear witnessing their pain, even though I was the cause. 
Especially so.  Their open wounds caused those in my own heart to
fester, as I was unable to heal them - any of them.  Removing myself
from proximity to the two I cared about was the only solution that made
sense.  They would forget about me in time, they would stop hurting for
me eventually, or so I thought.

I was wrong.

They both died because I was wrong - the two people who were most
precious to me in all the worlds.

Now, after years of being alone, there is one more.

Hikari named her Yui.  It was another reminder.  Not that I needed it. 
Her appearance alone is a painful remembrance of everything I had ever
held dear - and lost.

It isn't just her emerald green eyes - although I could drown in their
mysterious depths as easily as be whisked into the sky with their light
laughter and joy.  Nor is it only her gentle touch, her care and
compassion for all those around her no matter their identity or even
species.  Everything about her simply draws me in, like a moth to a
flame.

Will she burn me, too?  Or will I burn her?

I try to stay away, but every so often I succumb to the urge to watch
over her, the need to protect her.  I can only hope that she can protect
herself from me if needs be.  So far she has, my darkness not tainting
her light; but then, children are easy to please.  Even now she is
playing with the teargems my mother and sister shed, finding some tiny
piece of joy in their sorrows.

Kireina catches her at it, playing games with the Kuwabara's heirlooms. 
Yui can't understand what the fuss is about - to her they are simply
pretty baubles - so Kireina tells her a story.  She tells Yui of how the
pearls were made by women who were so sad that they couldn't contain
that sadness, expelling it in their tears, then freezing them colder
than winter ice so that no one else would ever know that sorrow.

It is a fitting story, but I can't help but be annoyed that Kireina had
spoken of such suffering to Yui - she's still very young, and there's no
need to take her innocence from her just yet...

I clench my fists as I see the liquid pool in her eyes, wishing that I
dared confront Kireina about it yet unwilling to leave the concealing
safety of my perch while the tear spills down her pale cheek.

And solidifies.

********
End Winter Pearls
********



Teardrop

Song by Massive Attack from the album Mezzanine



Love, love is a verb

[Kurama tilts Hiei's face upwards gently]

Love is a doing word

[Kurama and Hiei locked in an eager kiss]

Fearless on my breath

[Kurama speaks of his love to Hiei as they lie entwined together on a
bed]

Gentle impulsion

[Hiei is grudgingly coaxed into replying in kind]

Shakes me makes me lighter

[A dazzling smile evokes a reaction in its recipient]

Fearless on my breath

[Kurama laughs joyfully, while Hiei tries to conceal his tiny smile]


Teardrop on the fire

[An older Kurama faces Hiei somberly]

Fearless on my breath

[Hiei shakes his head in shock and denial at Kurama's explanation]


Limelight of my tear

[Hiei looks down from concealment in a tree]

Black flowers blossom

[Kurama kneels in the garden, cradling a black rose in his hand]

Fearless on my breath

[Kurama calls out to Hiei, tossing the black bloom to him, his eyes
hopeful]

Black flowers blossom

[Hiei stares at it, shuddering, before destroying the delicate flower]

Fearless on my breath

[Hiei turns his back on Kurama, words of negation floating behind in the
air as he leaves]


Teardrop on the fire

[Kurama gazes after him longingly]

Fearless on my breath

[The red head bows in acceptance, and slowly the red is bleached to
white]


Water is my eye

[Yukina is sitting by a pond; she reaches over, touching her fingers to
the surface.]

Most faithful mirror

[The surface reflection shows Hiei watching Yukina from an overhanging
tree briefly, before ripples from Yukina's fingertips disrupt the image]

Fearless on my breath

[Yukina calls for her brother; Hiei hangs his head and flits away]

Teardrop on the fire of a confession

[Yukina deliberately cries a single tear, clenching it in her fist]

Fearless on my breath

[The teargem is left with a note saying it's for Hiei]

Most faithful mirror

[Yukina's determined expression is doubled by reflection in a wall of
ice]

Fearless on my breath

[Yukina whispers her condemnation of the Koorime]

Teardrop on the fire

[Hiei picks up his sister's teargem, clenching it in his fist as his
eyes widen.]

Fearless on my breath

[Yukina smiles, her lips mouthing a goodbye as the island freezes over]


You're stumbling in the dark

[Hiei staggers a few steps in the darkness, falling to his knees before
a young girl with light blue hair and emerald green eyes, her cupped
hands held close to her breast]

You're stumbling in the dark

[Yui stretches out her arms to him, opening her hands to reveal the pale
teargem she has shed.  A matching dark tear slides down from Hiei's
anguished eyes.]

***********

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