_________________________________________________ 


Shonen

A Yuu Yuu Hakusho fic
By Chester Casta�eda
gab_ab@edsamail.com.ph 

Ah yes... the second chapter. Didn't think I would
make it... but I felt indebted to bring Yuu Yuu
Hakusho and its characters to life. C&C always
appreciated.  

A few more notes before proceeding: 

< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech
( ) indicates speech in writing 


_________________________________________________ 


Chapter 2: Seedlings

_________________________________________________ 
 



    "Where's Yusuke?"  

    It was a simple enough question. Simple,
straightforward, up to the point... if one could
ignore the subject in question. That would be about as
easy as ignoring a dancing pink elephant.

    "Hee hee! Pink ele... I mean, no. I haven't seen him."

    Keiko Yukimura tilted her head and stared peculiarly
at the silly, curly-haired youth. Honestly, sometimes
she simply could not understand what was going on in
that head of his. 

    Kazuma Kuwabara heaved an exasperated sigh at the
cute, brown-haired girl. Why was it that cute little
girls like her tended to be so slow on the uptake?
Wasn't it so obvious? There was only one simple answer
to her question anyway... Yusuke. Couldn't get any
simpler than that... Yusuke. 

    "Where could he be?" Keiko asked, a look of concern
over her face which she failed to hide. 

    "Keiko-chan, you have to understand that Yusuke's a
big boy now," Kuwabara said, gesturing his hands at a
wide arc to demonstrate his point. "He punches out
monsters like they were fluffy pillows... with frills!
He also discovered that he was a demon hybrid of some
sort... not just any demon, but the descendant of a
great Demon Warlord! Honestly, Keiko-chan... do you
really have to worry about him this much?"  

    Keiko was... speechless, to say the least. He finally
got his point across to her. Maybe a bit too well...
he didn't actually expect this sort of reaction.  

    Keiko carefully recollected the words. Demons...
monsters... warlords....  

    "IYAAAAHH!!! Kuwabara, what sort of a mission is he in
_this_ time?!?" Keiko... articulated, using even
wider, more threatening gestures at the big ugly
meanie. 

    "WHAT?!? I... w-was... Keiko-chan, p-please...
s-stop... s-shaking...." 

    The young girl relinquished her grapple hold of
Kuwabara. "Sorry Kuwabara... but don't scare me like
that!" She lightly hit the big lug on the shoulder. 

    "What? I was only... ah, heck...." Kuwabara simply
shrugged. Girls... who was to understand them? "Yusuke
can handle himself, you know that."  

    "I know, I know... but that won't stop me from
worrying," Keiko tentatively said, her voice subdued.
"He left without telling why... again..." she added
softly.  

    "I wouldn't know... he hasn't called me in yet. Not
that I'd care getting into all that trouble with him
again." Kuwabara said, with his arms folded to
indicate disapproval. He looked around his
surroundings... there was already a crowd piling up as
they approached the middle of the lunch break. "We
better go before we get crowded in." 

    Keiko simply nodded. <Yusuke... where have you gone to
this time?>  




*** 

 


    "MASTER GENKAI! KURAMA! I'M HERE!" Yusuke casually
yelled as he reached the top of the long stairs
overlooking the valley which surrounded his master's
mountaintop residence. As if in response, all the
various fauna nearby began scattering away from the
source of the raucous.  

    Genkai, master of the Spirit Wave technique and avid
lover of peace, shook her head. She was looking
forward to feeding her beloved sparrows and various
other aviaries which frequented her abode, only to see
them scatter away in fear of Anarchy made Flesh.
Pacifist as she was, she did what any peace lover
would do. 

    "OW! What was that for!?" Yusuke shouted, grabbing
hold of the lump forming at the back of his head. 

    "Yukina, would you please prepare some tea? We have a
visitor," Genkai said to the blue-haired koorime
sweeping the yard, totally ignoring the rambling
youth. The said girl nodded, gave a polite bow to
Yusuke, and then made her way into the house.  

    "Is Kurama already here?" Yusuke inquired, having a
change in mood with his sudden shift of interest. He
looked around the area for any sign of the kitsune...
he was certainly curious with what Kurama had planned
for having this so-called meeting.  

    "Yes... he's inside the dojo," Genkai replied,
motioning toward the patio. "I do believe he has some
interesting news for all of us... thank you, Yukina." 

    Yusuke kindly declined the tea the ice maiden offered.
"Do you have any idea what kind of enemy we're
facing?" 

    "All in due time, Yusuke... all in due time," Genkai
said as she took a sip of her tea. "The rest of the
Urameshi team would be coming soon, yes?" 

    "I don't know about that idiot Kuwabara, but I guess
Hiei would be hanging around," Yusuke shrugged. "Is it
important we're all here?" 

    "Yes," Genkai responded, slowly moving toward her
domicile. "But there's nothing to worry about...
they'll be here. We'll all be here."  




*** 

 


    "Yusuke... good. You're here," Kurama said, his face
barely seen but what little daylight was let in the
dojo by the slightly opened door. The kitsune-avatar
bore a somber statement that the younger spirit
detective had rarely seen outside of mortal combat.  

    "Yeah... what's up, Kurama?" Yusuke greeted, not
missing the serious look on Kurama's face. This must
be serious. "What's going on? Does the old woman know
anything about... him?" 

    "Master Genkai and I had a very interesting talk about
that... but let's wait until everyone's here." Kurama
said patiently.  

    With an exasperated sigh, Yusuke gallingly settled on
the dojo floor sitting cross-legged. The teen always
wondered why Kurama had to take the subdued,
beat-around-the-bush technique. He was more of the
straightforward, cut-to-the-chase type of character,
in fighting or in life. All this waiting, for him, was
more of a waste of time than anything else.  

    Kurama was always amazed at the amount of
impetuousness and obnoxiousness that Yusuke possessed.
He guessed that he must be irritating the hell out of
the impulsive boy with all this waiting... but it was more
than just for ceremony. It was all necessary in the
end... and if his approximations of the situation were
correct, then all would come to place at the meeting
later. 

    "Kurama?" Yusuke asked out of the blue, quickly
pulling Kurama out of his reverie.  

    "Yes?" 

    "Wanna play Last Caprice?" 

    Kurama blinked at that. <That boy never fails to
surprise me...> he chuckled to himself.  

    "An RPG? Yusuke, I thought you were into fighting
games," the kitsune teased. 

    "I'm thinking that this'll be a long wait," Yusuke
said, unmindful of the mirth Kurama picked up in the
situation. "Ah, hell... maybe Master Genkai wouldn't
mind a few rounds of Hell Street 2...." 
 



*** 

 


    Hiei carefully replayed the events of the fateful
night. He and the fox demon were supposed to have a
meeting over the tree where he usually slept. Fact
was, an unknown presence suddenly crept nearby. Not
that the koorime sensed _him_... what was disturbing
for the fire demon was that the entity totally had no
energy in him. Even the weak and stupid little humans
at the very least had a bit of ki in them... but this
one... this one had none at all. Had Hiei not seen him
at the corner of the eye, the demon would have missed
him entirely. 

    "Minamino Shuichi is here, isn't he, koorime?" the
being had said, apparently lacking in feeling, as well
as merely assuming the presence of its opponent.  

    <Yet how in the world could he have known where Kurama
was otherwise?> Hiei brooded over frustratingly. It
made no sense... it was as if that thing was
second-guessing everything and was lucky to have his
gamble pay off.  

    But it was beyond that... there was something about
him that made the fire demon disconcerted. The
bleakness of statement, the dismal stare, the monotone
of his voice was irrelevant... it was the utter lack
of sense about him that irked the koorime. Yet despite
all that, or rather because of that, Hiei wanted all
the more to fight him. 

    But the fight confirmed his assumption... yet
ironically, instead of things finally making sense, it
added more to his confusion.

    <How could he exist? He has no soul!> 

    Hiei felt something cold on the nape of his neck.
Another one... repetitiously... <Humph... it's
raining.> 

    Hiei whisked through the treetops toward his
destination. He had already straightened his
dislocated bones, though most of his body still seemed
to ache like hell... he had also retrieved his katana
from the Minamino residence, <... stupid fox...> so
there was only one more thing he had to do. 

    Find something that was not supposed to exist. 




*** 

 

    Walking back toward the dojo for the umpteenth time
after playing 'Hell Street 2' for the umpteenth time,
Yusuke Urameshi opened the doors, slammed it shut,
moved toward Kurama, and, sitting cross-legged, asked
for the umpteenth time "Can you tell me NOW?"  

    "Not yet, Yusuke." Kurama said as patiently as only he
could, very much akin to a mother gently trying to
appease a tedious eight year old. He was tempted to
wave his finger a la 'kaasan' in effect, but laughed
at himself for the thought. He seemed not to have had
a childhood where his mother frequently admonished
him, but he had seen his mother angry before. 

    "Hello? Human World to Kurama?" Yusuke teased Kurama,
again in a daze. "We can't wait for those two
forever... 'sides, we are in another mission, right?
Yet another mission of dire importance that has a
deadline or else we're done for? " 

    "No... that is, I don't think so..." Kurama
tentatively said, more to himself than to Yusuke. "The
fact is, Yusuke... I don't think the supposed 'new'
mission was a mission at all to begin with." 

    "Come again?" Yusuke asked in confusion. 

    "The Spirit World assigned Hiei and I to a mission...
a vague reference for an investigation. Now, I'm
thinking, 'why would they do that, instead of
informing Yusuke outright?'," the kitsune expounded
further, voicing out his earlier worries.  

    "I see," Yusuke said, hand on chin. "Couldn't it
simply be like that time with Hiei? I mean, when they
gave that tape to him first so that he could forward
it to me so _he'd_ know it was his sister that was
kidnapped... we did already talked about this, right?"

    "There's more to it than that... then, Koenma had at
least the vaguest of ideas of what was going on,"
Kurama said, further going deeper in thought. He
remembers the last time Koenma had no idea what he was
getting the four spirit detectives into... it was
during the time when they fought against the Four
Sacred Demons. Koenma was in the Spirit World library
trying to find out more about their enemies when
Kurama caught him red handed. It was more than
upsetting to know that the Spirit World itself could
not handle such matters. 

    "What are you getting at, Kurama?" Yusuke asked,
curiosity getting the better of him.  

    "What if the Spirit World didn't know what was
happening this time? What if they have no idea as to
who this 'entity' is? This certainly wouldn't be the
first time," Kurama said, again coming out of his
daze. The more he thought about the situation the more
uncomfortable he became. In a perfect world, things
made sense... this was definitely not a perfect world.
 
    "So what you're trying to say is that we're on our own
yet _again_ with this mission?" Yusuke said,
processing the information he had just received. 

    "... and that the Spirit World doesn't think that this
is a mission in the first place." Kurama further
elucidated, idly holding the already-empty ceramic
teacup. "This so-called entity, for them, simply does
not exist." 

    "Oh. So if the Spirit World itself doesn't think that
that thing exists... man..." Yusuke shook his head. 

    "I know... it doesn't make sense, at times," Kurama
agreed. "We are looking for something we totally have
no knowledge about, something that may probably not
even exist, at least doesn't exist for the Spirit
World."  

    "No... I mean I'm sick and tired of all this 'entity'
crap! Doesn't he have a name or something?" 

    Kurama stared at Yusuke. Hard. Then he simply laughed
and sweatdropped. Yet another 'Yusuke-ism' that he was
yet to get used to... Yusuke's interesting in that
way. "We-ll... I suppose we could name him..." 

    "... Chuuku." Yusuke offered. 

    Chuuku... hollowness... emptiness... it certainly had
deepness to it... a feeling of symbolism and
representation. It can be applied to the enemy... a
faceless man, an unknown mysterious being. "Why
'Chuuku'?" 

    "It was from the mid-boss there in Hell Street 2!!! He
was so cool, and his final dark blood attack can
almost total your health points by ninety!" Yusuke
rambled on, while Kurama sighed in dismay. To expect
depth from Yusuke Urameshi was an absurdity.  

    "Besides... the way Hiei described him, Chuuku would
probably be an appropriate label." Yusuke further
commented.  

    "Hiei... talked to _you_ about it?" Kurama said, both
amused and bemused at the same time. "I thought he
would simply leave after waking up." 

    "Ah hell... he gave me a farewell present first."
Yusuke grinningly said, motioning toward the plaster
on his face which he got on his way toward Genkai's 
temple. "He was kind of worried for you... I guess
that was why he put up with me."

    "Oh... worried?" Kurama jokingly asked. But his
features showed that he was only half-joking.
"Whatever for, Yusuke?" 

    "He said that the guy was looking for you." Yusuke
said, also taking on a solemn statement. "The guy...
Chuuku... said 'It is Minamino Shuichi whom I want.'" 

    It was as Kurama had thought... and feared. His
premonitions from earlier... his worries for his
kaasan and his friends... had been confirmed. What he
most feared was not what could happen to him, but what
could happen to those who were close to him... that
they could be hurt just because of him. 

    "Kurama... don't worry about it. I'm sure everything
will work out," Yusuke said, consolingly. Sometimes,
he kept on getting the impression that the older boy
thought over situations way too much. "Don't take on
all the responsibility... you don't have to carry the
whole world on your shoulders. We're all here to
help."  

    "Thank you... Yusuke-kun," Kurama managed to say, but
his worry still evident in his everglade-green eyes.
<You're more perceptive than I give you credit for,
Yusuke-kun,> he amusingly added to himself. 

    A gentle knock was heard. The silence that ensued
allowed the soft sound to reverberate around the
almost-empty dojo. Both teens looked toward the door. 

    "Urameshi-san, Minamino-san... Kuwabara-kun is here." 
 



*** 

 


    Yukina sighed wistfully as she continued her labor.
She had been very thankful of Master Genkai's kind
hospitality, and continued to do so because of the
elder's silent guidance of the ways of the Human
World. Even after her kidnapping and her discovery of
how 'inhumane' humans can be, the old master had been
a sort of model of how virtuous humans can be.  

    It had been quite a long time since she had left the
Land of the Koorimes, her home, toward the alien Human
World. She had been very frightened of the prospect of
leaving her birthplace and home, yet she felt adamant
that she needed to go. She continued to miss everyone
she had left... the elders, her fellow sister koorime,
and... Rui. Especially Rui. 

    The young koorime girl suddenly shifted her pace and
finished up sweeping the patio. She had hoped her
menial toil would at least help take her mind out of
certain things, but the fact that the work required
little or no reflection had not helped in avoiding her
train of thought.  

    Rui... dear sweet Rui... her friend, her big sister,
her guardian... she had always been there for her,
supporting and caring for her ever since her mother
died out of grief for the lost stranger that was her
brother. Rui, with her own cross to bear, had looked
for solace and retribution through the ice maiden.
They were both lost and forlorn, wandering aimlessly
through the voyage called life. It was as if they
needed each other to fill in the gaps in their lives. 

    Rui... who was also the one who caused her to flee
from the icy region that was her home toward the
foreign land of the humans... leaving behind the woman
which she knew as family and the land which she knew
was home to find a total stranger. She held back a
familiar sense of guilt as she saw the strange mix of
hurt and acceptance in the older koorime's face as she
confirmed her departure. She had been obstinate about
it, but she just couldn't get over that sense of
regret and betrayal from her decision. But she
couldn't have done it any other way, especially after
learning the truth about her brother. 

    Brother... such a relative term. The young koorime
stared at the pile of leaves, looking intently at the
foliage but not truly looking at them in the true
sense of the word.  

    Her brother... the one that continued to be an enigma,
a puzzle to be solved. He continued to be a stranger
to her, much to her dismay. It was if she was always
kept at bay... it was as if she was constantly pushed
way... he was here, somewhere in the Human World, but
she had yet to truly reach out to him. No, she hasn't
found her brother yet. Not quite yet.  

    But she was sure he was a great koorime, a brave and
honorable warrior. That was her brother. He was
here... somewhere... lost, but shall be found again.
He was in a chasm deeper than the one he was thrown
into when he was a baby... a deeper, unreachable,
bottomless chasm.  

    She deeply misses her brother. If only he could
just... reach out... then he wouldn't be so lost.
Then, she would have truly found her brother.  

    "YUKINA-CHAN!!! WA-I!!!" was the scream the young
koorime heard from a distance. She looked toward the
top of the long flight of stairs that reached near the
open gates of Master Genkai's residence. She giggled
as she realized who it was. 

    "Kuwabara-kun, what a nice surprise," the young lady
warmly greeted. It was the silly yet adorable young
man Kazuma Kuwabara. She, for some reason, had always
been comfortable around the rambunctious but sweet
little human. "Urameshi-san and Minamino-san are
waiting in the dojo. Would you like a cup of tea?" 

    "I'm sure it'd be very delicious, Yukina-chan..."
Kuwabara grinningly said. He didn't quite know what
possessed him to go through another mission with
Yusuke... in fact, he was fairly certain that he was
very adamant about of not going the minute he read the
crumpled letter Yusuke left at his apartment... but he
did know for a fact that he won't let the idiot steal
the show and do all the cool stuff. Besides, this was
an opportunity to spend some time with the goddess
Yukina-chan. "Wai! Very delicious!" 

    "Yes! Master Genkai made the herbal tea, so I'm sure
it is." Yukina enthusiastically replied.  

    "Oh... of course... e-heh..." Kuwabara said with
several mumbles after recovering from his facefault.
He didn't notice the sudden uneasiness the ice maiden
felt all of a sudden. "Still, it would still be a
great treat by the mere fact that you're serving it...
eh, Yukina-chan?" 

    The young curly-haired boy merely rubbed his head as
he discontinued his discourse with the broom.  

    The ice maiden, on the other hand, was now trotting
toward the dojo to announce the new guest's arrival.
But she then felt another presence among the shadows
along the trees. She could have sworn movement over
her direction.  

    <Could it be...? > 

    After a brief pause, she continued on toward her
destination even as an orange-haired youth had begun
to clumsily follow her, professing something about
undying love.  

 


*** 

 


    "Urameshi-san, Minamino-san... Kuwabara-kun is here,"
Yukina very shyly said, as she realized she had
abruptly ended an apparently urgent meeting. "Sorry
for disturbing you both," she very quickly added. 

    Kurama waved a hand of dismissal. "It's all right,
Yukina-chan. Let Kuwabara... " 

    "YUSUKE, YOU IDIOT!!!" shouted a blue and orange blur
that suddenly appeared in front of the half-demon
human. "Why didn't you tell me that we were on a
mission?! Keiko-chan was so worried!" 

    "Who said that we're on a mission?" the raven-haired
boy smugly said, but quickly adding, "What did Keiko
say?" 

    "What do you mean we're not on a mission?!" said a
thoroughly confused Kuwabara. Did that mean there
wouldn't be any fighting orgies? No pummeling of
monsters and various other demons into submission? No
fun? "Er... Keiko-chan said that you were an idiot and
that you didn't keep your promise or something." 

    "I kept my promise because we aren't on a mission!"
Yusuke nearly yelled, more to himself than to anyone
in particular. "She worries too much, that silly
girl... eh, Kuwabara? You ok? You seem to be shaking."

    "What... do... you... mean... NO MISSION?!" Kuwabara
said in deliberate slowness, putting a lot of emphasis
on the last two words. "What the hell did I come here
for?!" 

    "Who asked you to come? I didn't tell you anything
about this, and you're certainly not invited." Yusuke
shrugged. He meant to tell Kuwabara, but why bring
that up now? He was in a rush anyway as soon he read
the letter.

    "I did." Kurama said with certain finality. Both teens
immediately became quiet. "I also gave Kuwabara-kun a
letter." 

    "You did?" Kuwabara said, bewildered. "I didn't... oh,
the junk mail...." 

    There was a collective sigh from almost everyone in
the room. "Idiot." Yusuke affirmed, shaking his head. 

    "So how'd you know about this meeting?" 

    Kuwabara shrugged. "Your mother showed me the letter
while I was checking on your apartment... Yukina told
me to do so... call it dumb luck." He was treated with
a demonstration of collective head-shaking. 

    "Don't insult luck."  

    "Hey! It's not as if I get important mail everyday!"
Kuwabara said defensively. He was being humiliated in
front of the goddess, something he wouldn't live down. 

    "Yeah... who in their right mind would write to
someone as ugly as you?" Yusuke teased, having
suddenly decided to instigate a real fight.  

    "You jackass! I oughtta...."  

    "Oughtta what?"  

    "Enough... sit." Kurama said in deadly calm. The two
young detectives immediately complied. With a deep
breath, the elder kitsune said, " Yusuke...
Kuwabara... we can now start with the meeting.
Yukina-chan, would you kindly call Master Genkai? We
have urgent matters to discuss." 

    Yukina bowed politely to the three and then made her
way to Master Genkai. Yet another wave of familiarity
greeted her on her way out as she again looked toward
the movements behind the shadows of the trees
surrounding the compound. She paused for the briefest
of moments before returning to her pace. 

    "Eh... what about Hiei?" Yusuke asked, puzzled. He
thought everyone was supposed to be in the meeting. 

    "What about him?" Kuwabara harrumphed, not at all
liking the prospect of the proud, self-righteous,
know-it-all bastard in the same room with him.  

    "Oh yeah... you haven't heard the whole story yet,"
Yusuke smacked his fist to his palm as a gesture of
his realization. "Hiei got beat up badly." He simply
added. 

    "You're kidding me right? Don't tell me... it's
another powerful demon out for revenge on Hiei or
something?" Kuwabara said, finding the whole thing too
incredible for him to swallow. Though he didn't and
wouldn't actually admit it to anybody, he was a bit
uncomfortable with the fact that the master of the
Kokuryuha had been actually beaten up. Few people
could at this point of time... maybe Yusuke was merely
exaggerating.  

    Yusuke smugly noted the false bravado of Kuwabara slip
a moment at the mention of Hiei being 'beaten up.'
"Yup... he was beaten up like a little puppy... heard
that even with the power of the Kokuryuha, the little
demon was no match against the guy." 

    "What... what was he?" Kuwabara seriously said. If it
was another Shinobi Sensui or Toguro, then he was
definitely in, no matter what. He didn't notice that
he absently shuddered at the thought. 

    "No one knows." Yusuke said, shrugging. "He didn't even 
give a name. We're calling him 'Chuuku for now.'"  

    "Ok..." Kuwabara tentatively said, though he did have
a strange afterthought about fighting games all of a
sudden. 

    "I'll be briefing you with the details of our last
encounter, Kuwabara-kun." Kurama reassured.  

    "What about Hiei?" Yusuke insisted. It wasn't that he
wanted the violent fire demon with them... he just had
trouble of letting go of an issue once it was denied
resolution. 

    "He's already here." Kurama plainly replied, leaving
it at that. 




*** 

 


    From a distance overlooking the dojo of the old woman,
Hiei waited among the shadows of the woodland
surrounding the whole location. He knew the kitsune
was up to something, calling up this so-called
meeting. He wouldn't really care less about it... that
was, except for....  

    He tensed a bit as he saw Yukina approach near his
position. He was already on edge several times as
Yukina kept looking toward his direction, seemingly
aware of his presence but not actually acknowledging
it. He could not help but feel uncomfortable every
time he was near her. Did she already know? 

    Did she already know that her brother was... dead? 

    He silently banished those thoughts from his head as
he headed out nearer the dojo. The senseless talking
was about to start, but he knew what he was after...
and he was ready to get it, no matter what. 

    A strange deathly calm enveloped Hiei, his eyes
becoming two deep, dark pools of crimson that
reflected a quiet malice. 
 



*** 

 


    "Shall we begin?" Master Genkai, the former carrier of
the Spirit Light Gem, queried the three Spiritual
Detectives. "This had been dragging on long enough,"
she added with a smirk. 

    Kurama drew in an audible breath, seemingly trying to
find his center of calm. "Kuwabara, is everything
clear to you right now about the previous events?" 

    The orange-haired teen slowly nodded. "Er... we're
fighting some guy..." 

    "Chuuku," Yusuke corrected, with a strange hint of
smugness in his tone. 

    "... _Chuuku_, and he was powerful enough to wipe the
floor with shorty. Um... the brat with the
pacifier...." 

    "Lord Koenma," Genkai reproached disapprovingly. 

    "Yeah, yeah," the large adolescent waved his hand
dismissively, not particularly caring for that
specific detail. "Well, anyway, the Spirit World
doesn't really have a clue about him or it... big
surprise... so that leaves us...." 

    "On our own, apparently," Yusuke finished for the
curly-haired boy. "So, what have you two got for us,
Kurama? Master?" 

    "I thought you'd never ask," the elder woman said with
a smirk. Yusuke always found his master's smirk quite
disconcerting... particularly during the segments of
their training where she always wore that familiar
sneer every time she was up to something... well... he
just didn't like it. 

    "Grandma's gonna tell us a story," Kuwabara whispered
over Yusuke's ear before being promptly brained by
said grandma. Yusuke, because of his quaint snickering,
had his share of the blessing afterwards. 

    Kurama didn't seem the least perturbed by the two
human's antics. Instead, he wore his familiar mask of
calm, his green eyes becoming sharp slits of cunning
and intelligence. The same eyes darted back and forth
the wide space of the dojo time and time again,
evidently expecting something. Or someone. 

    The Master of the Spirit Waves coughed once to get
everyone's attention. Accomplishing this, she now
began her discourse.  

    "You know very little of this entity that had attacked
Hiei that fateful night... so does the Spirit
World...." She took a sip of her tea. "But I know some
information about this 'Chuuku,' as you call him." 

    "So... what is he? A demon? A gaki? I heard some of
those do make lunch out of souls," Yusuke inquired,
with him really getting into the discussion. 

    "Actually... no..." Genkai eyed Kurama a bit. The boy
showed surprising calm, even for him. Being the main
objective of an undead creature that lied in the
physical realm could legitimately warrant even a
little distress. "This being, as you're so fond of
calling him, is nothing more than a shattered soul." 

    Among those present, one absently winced. 

    "Come again?" Yusuke pensively asked. This was new. 

    "Shattered soul? Geez, ain't that from a lyric of a
love song or something?" Kuwabara asked in confusion.
It was something that seemed beyond him... demons and
spirits were one thing, but a shattered soul? It was
something he couldn't even begin to fathom. 

    "A shattered soul... our powerful new nemesis was
nothing more than an ordinary human... well about as
ordinary as any of you two, anyway..." Genkai bluntly
said. 

    "There has been a legend concerning our little
friend," Kurama said, out of the blue, finally coming
out of his silent reverie. "A legend about a man, a
miracle man that had powers to bring the dead out of
the grave." 

    "A... miracle man?" Yusuke asked, puzzled. "What do
you mean by that?" 

    "He brings people back to life," Kurama said, a small
smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. "Ironic,
considering what he is today." 

    "As the legend tells it anyway... we all know how a
word-of-mouth legend can stretch the facts out of
proportion," Genkai said, finishing up what was left
of her beverage before placing the teacup on the
floor. As soon as the sound of the ceramic clicking on
the floor became audible, Kurama continued the
tete-a-tete. 

    "But still, we believe that there's a grain of truth
within it." 

    The room was silent. Everyone was contemplating this
new piece of information. Kuwabara was still lost with
'shattered soul' issue... what a horrible thing to
happen to someone, even worse than death. Yusuke, on
the other hand, was intrigued with the fact that this
person may have actually been human, like him... well,
sort of... but still, it provokes some consideration.
Kurama was simply observing how the other two
detectives took in the facts. 

    "So what made this so-called miracle man become a
ghoul of death?" Yusuke forthrightly asked. 

    Genkai relaxed as she braced herself in telling the
whole story. Kuwabara, at the back of his mind,
remembered his 'Grandma's gonna tell us a story'
comment... he wisely kept it to himself. 

    "It all began in a village in the middle of a war, and
the person who was made legend because of it..." 
 



*** 

 


    A vision of carnage filled his entire senses... the
sight of dismembered corpses, which was a sight that
would induce humor because of its gratuitousness and
seeming exaggeration if not for the fact that all was
real... horribly real. 

    Body parts were everywhere; piled in such a way that
they seemed to be like some perverted meat section in
the marketplace. He wished he could close his eyes...
it wasn't that he was disgusted, for all he could feel
was pity... but it was not enough. If it had been like
a memory... only when did memories actually smelt of
rotting human flesh?  

    The thought of the stickiness of the ground to which
he stood only added more to his nausea. Different
liquids poured all over the surface of the ground
coming from the makeshift-piled carcasses... to what
constituted this disgusting solution he would not even
give a second thought about... in horror, not in
apathy. The wind was howling a hymn of the dead,
giving a haunting cry that also seemed to come from
the mishmash of cadavers, just like the various
liquids on the ground.  

    He could smell death... breath death... sense death...
touch death. It was death everywhere. He heard cries
from the distance... friends and relatives? It did not
matter. He was only here to do his work. It would be a
pity for everyone else but... if there was an off
chance that... there! 

    Among the decapitated, the mutilated, there she lay.
She couldn't have been anymore than fourteen, with her
short crimson hair. She was covered with blood, but
mostly from being piled with so many other corpses.
What was important was that she was perfectly
intact... that he noted clinically to himself. 

    He summoned from the crowd that was gathered around
him. One by one, each had a light of hope that the
corpse that he had chosen was one of their own. He
noted in pity the ones whose eyes were filled with
despair as they found the chosen corpse was that of a
stranger. Soon, the relatives of the girl were
acknowledged. He beamed with joy into seeing their
happy faces of what could have been either a brother
or a friend and a mother. He began the ceremony. 

 


*** 

 


    "He was a miracle man... actually a miracle child,
since he was nothing more than a little boy at the
time... who was given a special gift... the gift of
life. He had the ability to bring back people from the
brink of death back to life again with his special
ability. He was revered as a shaman and as a mystic in
his town, and all the people loved him. This was
because he lived during a time of war and death...
during a time where he could actually give a ray of
hope toward a bleak society of carnage and slaughter."
 



*** 

 


    A familiar feeling of warmth enveloped him and the
corpse. He felt a kind of peace that was indescribable
for him... incomparable to nothing. It was just beyond
him... the high he got was almost so comforting... so
delicious.  

    He metaphorically slapped himself for losing
concentration. This was for the girl's sake, of
course. 

    He spread the life force all over the young lady's
body... he noticed that the bloodstained kimono's
freshest source of blood came from her upper body. The
cause of the girl's death had been repeated stabs on
the chest. He concentrated the precious life source he
had gathered toward the aforementioned area and felt
it surge from his fingertips to the girl's body. 

    Slowly, steadily, a warm sensation began to tickle his
neck. Was it... breathing? It became fast and rapid,
almost panicky, as the color returned into the young
girl's face, soon regaining full consciousness. As
soon as her soft green eyes stared into his pale violet
ones, she became calm... the panic was no more. He cradled
her gently; smoothly stroking her fiery red hair, just
like the way a mother would cradle a newborn... which
was kind of how this situation was, in a sense. 

    Rebirth. Rejoice. A whole plethora of various emotions
tickled into his own body, seemingly seeping into him,
as if he was sensitive enough to feel what other
people felt, whether pain or pleasure. Still, it was
merely an outside sensation, a third-person awareness
he merely took note of... it cannot possibly compare
to holding a life force in his own hands, a spirit
with its own consciousness, its own being. He
dismissed the rest of his chain of thought as he
returned the revived young girl to her ecstatic
family. 

    He was exhausted yet happy... though he was also
filled with a cluster of other emotions he knew was
not his own. He merely shook his head in pity as he
sympathized with the rest of the unfortunate ones. Oh
how he wished that he could resurrect all those who
have died in the battle... but Lord Enma was a cruel
god. Not evil, yes... yet very, very cruel. He turned
his back from the jubilant folk... his job here was
done.  

    He then felt an intense sense of gratitude... which
was a natural thing, since he had just done one of his
"Great Miracles." Yet the intensity it held beckoned
him to turn around, even before hearing the words
spoken with equal intensity as the feeling that
enveloped him. 

    "Wait... " 

    He saw the young girl's eyes staring back at him...
with such vibrant life that made him cringe at the
thought of its fire ever being snuffed out. He didn't
quite understand what made him go forward, what made
him tilt his head in a way to gesture the girl to
speak. 

    "Thank you very much," the girl the said, courteously
bowing down. As she straightened she gave him a timid
smile. The blush in her cheeks was apparent, but he
set aside the thought as his own imagination... being
tainted by the range of emotions boiling all around
him, not knowing if it was from the general panic of
the families of the slain or his own anxiety. "May I
please know your name, sir?" 

    The miracle child didn't quite notice the mother
pulling the girl away from him and scolding the young
woman for her brashness while the elder herself
apologized profusely to him. Nor did he notice the
words that spewed forth from his mouth as he himself
spoke to respond to the girl's question... but he
forever etched into consciousness the next few words
the gentle, shy girl told him afterwards... 

    "I'm Asuka... Matsui Asuka. I hope to see you again
soon." 
 



*** 

 


    Within the room inside the dojo, one of its four
inhabitants held back a shudder. 

    "This guy fell in love with one of his... er...
patients? Is that right?"Yusuke said, with a look of 
disbelief and confusion."If he was so nice and great 
during his time, what's with his gothic shtick these
days?" 

    "He wasn't... isn't... exactly evil. Actually, I see
him as more of a victim of circumstance than anything
else," Genkai said, taking in a more regal manner as
she cleared her throat to speak. "Besides, I'm not
quite yet done with the story." 

    "What happened next, Master Genkai?" 

    "His crossroads, so to speak...." 

 


*** 

 


    Days went by... days became months, months became
years. Soon the reputation of the miracle child spread
all throughout the land. Thousands flocked to him
during those times of mysticism and spirituality. Many
claimed him to be hoax, a fraud... while others
attribute his powers to either that of the lesser
demons of the Spirit World or that of the Lord of the
Dead himself, Lord Enma. 

    Not that any of that mattered to the young prodigy. He
felt he was obliged to help people, and that he had a
natural affinity toward life and death, and that of
the human soul. But he also gave his blatant
disapproval of war and the slaughter during his time.
He simply couldn't understand what drove people to
destroy something so precious, so beautiful... as
life. He continued to criticize the war effort and
actively sought the more peaceful compromise in the
situation of the society of his day. His efforts were
highly praised... though, unfortunately, were also
ultimately futile. It was just human nature. 

    It saddened him that people treated him as a
miracle solution, while his calls for peace were just
at best tolerated, patronized but never took
seriously. All their words of praise and thanks, in
the end, were just that... words. The war dragged
on... for no foreseeable or logical reason except for
human pride and greed. Though in the end the
subversive rebellion... or so the propaganda of the
enemy called it... came to an end. There were no more
workers left to the field, and the general consensus
of the battered people toward their so-called leader
was that of mutual hate. It was a Phyrric victory in
the end. He had told them so. 

    There would be countless other rebellions, then 
countless wars... a never-ending cycle of mass genocide. 
It was as if the people had a natural berserk-trigger in 
them that sends them into a genocidal frenzy within the
guise of fighting for principle and honor.  

    How very, very sad. 

    But life goes on... he felt powerless because of the
circumstances surrounding the society he lived in, but
that was the way it was. People continued to flock
him, even as the war ended. He was even given
permission to visit the royal court, by the ruler who
instigated all the massacres he had healed before. He
still felt obliged to continue on with his
commitments, though he felt rather counterproductive,
since he neither truly helped the people, he was only
delaying what was inevitable in their nature. But
that was not the worst of it. 

    What was worse was that the people were soon becoming
anxious and irritable, blaming him for not having the
power to save their kind! Soon he was treated like
some sort of instrument, like a magical amulet of
mystical powers... they were addicted to him, like a
drug, soon even bringing in the sick and the elderly.
He was now being asked to cure a child of a mere cold,
while there were people lined up behind him with more
important cases! The people have become vain and
capricious, taking him for granted... it was quite
inevitable that soon it would take a strain on him as
well... 

    There was only one person in his whole village, in the
whole society where he lived, which truly understood
him.  

    Asuka. Asuka Matsui. 
 



***  

 


    Hiei tensed. A familiar presence was taking shape well
within his consciousness as the strange calm which he
felt before suddenly began to envelop him. He mentally
sneered. 

    <You....> 

    <You're in too deep, koorime.> 

    <Let's end this now, shadow man. Let's stop your
little puppet show.> 

    <This is no puppet show of mine, koorime.>

    <....> 

    And there was silence once more from the shadows
inside the dojo. 

 


*** 

 


    "Well?" 

    He merely stared at his childhood friend's mirth...
and her smile. 

    "What do you think?" Asuka pouted, indicating feigned
irritation with the mischievousness shown in her
bright green eyes. "Aw, common! We don't have all
day!" 

    He stated how heart-achingly beautiful she was with
her kimono, with her red hair shortened to the right
length shining in the pale moonlight, the way her
smile brightened and warmed the dark, cold night, her
girlish figure soon giving way to a more womanly one,
as she slowly grew up from mere prettiness to
stunningly beautiful... at least he tried, as his
words became a whole bunch of gobbledygook as he
blushed furiously. He settled for nice. 

    "Well, thank you for that vote of confidence!" the
young girl... woman... teased. Her bearing and overall
appearance showed her to seem older than she looks,
but she was just celebrating her nineteenth birthday
today. Today. And he... the eternal dunce...
completely forgot! Forgot the date of his best
friend's birthday! 

    "Come on! Are you just going to stare all day? We're
going to be late for today's festival." 

    Festival! Her birthday had coincided with the
festival! Of course, that was why she was all dressed
up... not that she shouldn't dress up in any other
normal birthday, but... this was going to be an extra
special occasion. He scolded himself for thinking of
something so woefully obvious as he joined in with his
best friend. 

    He didn't know how it started... Asuka becoming his
friend. She was supposed to be just another faceless
person of the countless of faceless persons that he
had saved from the blight of war, disease, or whatnot.
He had always been adored and praised by numerous
folk... but it was something different with Asuka
altogether. He remembered what she had said before,
about why she was so glad that he was able to save
her... 

    "Mother would have been so heartbroken... I couldn't
stand to see her cry." 

    That was when he realized how different Asuka was from
all of the others. From all of them. 

    "The fireworks are so beautiful tonight." Asuka said,
gazing toward the bluish-black sky filled with little
sparkling gems. The multi-colored spectacle further
highlighted the whole evening full of goods, games and
gimmicks... a whole evening of stealing a peek or two
of her soft, gentle, beautiful face without looking
like a pervert or a total fool.  

    They should be going back. The Matsui's were preparing
a special 'surprise dinner' for Asuka... well, would
have been a surprise if not for his big mouth. He was
such a terrible liar. 

    Asuka... the calm and gentle Asuka, someone compliant
and obedient, but not necessarily submissive... she
was a highly intelligent young woman. Yes, she was
traditional, but she saw fulfillment by leading such a
simple and normal life. It mystified him as to why she
still spends time with him... her ideal life and his
own life were complete opposites.  

    "Because you made it all possible... you gave me
another chance to live." 

    That was what she had said about it... or at least
that was how he remembered it. He had always felt a
certain responsibility for every life he had restored
back to the Human World, yet, strangely, he felt an
absolute and particular commitment toward Asuka
Matsui's life. But why? 

    He had felt all sorts of feelings all throughout his
life... though not necessarily his own, these emotions
were very real, and very intense. Sadness...
despair... hopelessness... fear... jubilance...
happiness... love. Of all the emotions, it was only
love that completely mystified him. Love was all about
pain, loss, suffering... and, strange enough...
contentment, delight and bliss.  

    Love was the single most emotion that contained all
aspects of life... love was all about life... the good
and the bad, the anguish and the joy, the negative and
the positive. Love beckoned a will in oneself... a
will to fulfill love in all its trueness. That was
what life was all about... being able to have the will
to make one's own choices. Life was about freedom.
Love was about will. 

    All of his life, it was about fulfilling the happiness
of others. It was never about him... his obligation
was with them, and not with himself. 

    And he realized how empty his life had been without
her.  

    It was only through his... his... love for Asuka that
he could finally find fulfillment for himself. 

    One thing he also learned about life was that she was a
total bitch. 

    "Oh Kami, what's going on? Taka-kun? YOSHITAKA-KUN!!!"

    Silence and emptiness abound the feelings of
discontentment... numbness... numbness.  




*** 

 


    "So, the legendary prodigy... Chuuku, the miracle
worker... had met up with an unfortunate fate. For
twenty years ongoing he had been saving lives by
manipulating the flow of life force... of ki... all
around him. He played god with his powers, and so in
the end, it was his own powers that ate him up." 

    "_Ate_ him up? Whaddya mean, ate him up? You don't
actually mean...."  

    "It was an inverse of what he used to do... for many
years, he had imbued to corpses new life by sharing
the ki of the surroundings and imbuing his own
powerful ki into them... soon, all his work has taken
its toll on his own person and soon it was his own
powers that began to suck up ki to support his own
life." 
 



*** 

 


    Death. 

    He could smell death... breath death... sense death...
touch death. It was death everywhere. 

    How long has he been unconscious? It didn't matter...
his heart palpitated to new life as he raced out of
the darkness of his near comatose to a startling
awakening of an appalling reality. 

    'He who brings life, takes away life.' 

    That was the belief of the various religions...
beliefs which tried to constitute a kind of purpose to
life, of some great creator, the ultimate puppet
master. He also played the role of puppet master. 

    He brought back life... and now he had taken it away. 

    His panic-stricken, maniacal wails filled the empty
court. The silent yet haunting cries filled in his
consciousness long after his tears had dried out. 

    The surroundings have took in a dullness in them... a
grim foreboding of what he feared the most. Various
corpses littered the landscape... happy merrymakers
had become mere corpses, what had been persons were now
mere lifeless objects. Things. What had him more
worried than the horrid scenario was the fact that he
had never felt more alive in all his life! 

    Silence. 

    He never knew that silence could be deafening... that
numbness could hurt. Even in the battlefield filled
with the dead, at least there were numerous mourners
filling his sensitive consciousness with various
emotions and feelings that assured him of... life.
Feeling something... anything... was better than
feeling nothing at all.... 

    Death was never much of a nemesis to him... he rather
saw death as an obstacle, an obligation... a job to be
done. Now he knew death as others knew it... infinite
emptiness. 

    No... no... death could not... could never... condemn
him! He was beyond death! No... he would bring
everyone back to life... he would do that to show that
not even death could defeat him! He was death's
master! 

    Yet he knew that that was just a mere lie. A
fraudulence. He knew the hunger that had welled up in
him eversince he took in the responsibility of
overcoming death. He knew that what he had given away
had took in its toll and now was seeking recompense.
What he feared even more was that he could not let go
of the life that he had took in....  

    He couldn't. The precious life force in him was the
only thing that separated him from the cadavers that
surrounded him... he feared the emptiness, he feared
the silence... he feared that they would come to eat
his own person, just as it did with these people. He
was afraid to let go, for he knew the reason why this
had happened. He himself was dying. 

    But it was wrong! He had no right to take in the life
of others so as to prevent him from his own demise... yet
the thought of how much he had given to these foolish
people and how logical a reparation from them would be...
no! This cannot be... but why couldn't he bring himself 
to return the life he had stolen? 

    Because it belongs to him! For once in his life, he
need not be used, he need not be taken for granted...
he would make his own decisions... his own will... his
own volition... his own choices... his own love.... 

    Asuka. 

    He could not bear himself to look... he could not bear
to see her as he had when he first saw her... pale,
gray and... dead.  

    He already couldn't forgive himself for killing...
murdering so many people... yet he would condemn
himself to a fate worse than hell if ever.... 

    He felt the hunger again... it ravenously ate up the
ki that was welled up inside him. It horrified him
further that he consumed such a precious thing like it
was mere fodder. He dared look at his friend... his
only friend... for one last time. 

    He made his decision then and there.  




*** 

 


    "Chuuku returned the stolen life force that was in his
body, as his powers ate up his own ki. Even though
most of the villagers had their life forces returned
to them, some were... not so fortunate, as the
voracious hunger that was inside the him had made it
too late for them. He, who was once the savior, now
became a danger to the community. Thus Chuuku...
humiliated, despised, and dying... was banished from
the village. Only one person dared go with him...." 

    "The Asuka chick, right?" 

    "Yes... and so here is where the many legends
surrounding Chuuku begins... 'he who escaped death for
he has no soul.'"  
 



*** 


 

    "Taka-kun?" 

    Asuka... she dared deny her own future, her own
happiness... for him. He wished her to stay in the
village, to avoid harm and scorn, yet... he knew it
was selfish... yet he still wanted her to stay with
him. 

    "Taka-kun... are you alright?" 

    He has murdered... murdered in order to live. What was
once his gift was now his curse... he was a living
plague, destroying all that lives. Whole forests were
turned into decaying marshes, grasslands into
veritable deserts. No living creature was spared by
his hunger... all except one, the only one who gave
meaning to his existence. 

    "Taka-kun... no...." 

    He was tired... sick and tired of his existence. He
was glad that, even for a short while, Asuka would be
with him... till the very end... 

    "Taka-kun, you have to eat! You can't die now!" 

    What irony for her to refer the murder which he did
as consumption... he couldn't kill anymore, he didn't
see any purpose for it. It had to all end sooner or
later. Retribution was now at hand for the one who had
played god for so long. What a fitting end. 

    "No... you can't...." 

    Asuka... dear, sweet Asuka... he had done nothing but
make her suffer eversince his powers began to
degenerate... even if he had saved her life, it
couldn't make up for all the suffering that he had put
her through. And now he was going to make her suffer
more. But it was for the best. 

    "I won't let you die!" 

    There was nothing she could do for him... it was his
time. It saddens him that even in the end he would end
up hurting her, yet he was glad. Glad that she would
care so much for him.  

    There was a nearby village from where they were
standing. Maybe she could go there and forget all
about him... live the normal, stable life that she
longed for... he knew... _felt_ how it nearly broke
her heart to have left her mother and brother like
that back in their former village. Now, this way he
wouldn't be hurting her so much... yes, this was for
the best. 

    "I won't... l-let... you... die! Even if...." 

    The darkness was so... welcoming. Maybe the emptiness
which he feared for so long wasn't so terrible after
all. Actually, it felt rather peaceful. For once in
his life, he felt peace.... 

    "Even if I have to sacrifice myself for you!" 

    No. She shouldn't... she should stop this
foolishness... she couldn't... she couldn't.... 
 



*** 


    "Asuka Matsui made a self-sacrifice of herself to give
Chuuku a few more minutes of life... and she did it
with no qualms nor second thoughts," Genkai said,
wearing a bleak look on her aging features. "However
thoughtless or foolish it might have been... she did
it." 

    "So from there, Chuuku became Mr. Gothic Darkness,
ne?" Yusuke supposed. 

    "From there, no one knew exactly what happened.
Perhaps due to what happened, Chuuku befell into a
miscreant, falling into a maniacal madness that drove
him to...." 

    "... shatter his own soul." Kurama finished. "From
there, the legend of the soulless immortal human who
stole life began." He breathed an audible sigh. He
looked at the two younger spirit detectives... they
seemed to be taking the story quite well... it did
quiet them down for a while. 

    "So..." Kuwabara started, intending to break the ice.
"... what does this have to do with us? I mean... what
does he want with you?" he shifted toward Kurama, with
meaning apparent in his eyes. 

    "I don't know," Kurama admitted, giving a token smile
acknowledging his lack of knowledge. "For all I know I
could be another victim... a kitsune's soul could
probably prolong his life considerably... who's to
know?" 

    "I don't know about that... I think he'd be sick and
tired of living that way... why would he prolong his
suffering?" Yusuke considered, getting into the heat
of the conversation. 

    "Because he wants to punish himself," said a familiar
voice. 

    The four resident spirit fighters froze from their
place. Kurama was the first one to speak. "Hiei...." 

    From out of the shadows, the koorime halfling came out
into the light. His katana shone a bright orange-red
glint, while his crimson red eyes wore a look of
blankness and emptiness. Before anyone could react, he
had already moved.... 

    A bleak darkness and flashes of blue replaced the
mellow light of the candlelit room. The fight had
begun.  
 



***




To be Continued... 

Next: A confrontation with the soulless. 

Note that I put in the title _Shonen_ not _Shonen-Ai_.
Shonen-Ai (male-male relationship) and yaoi are just 
not my cup of tea. This is dedicated to Chimamire 
Kitsune for giving me the inspiration to write this fic...
wherever you are, this is for you. 

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save
some others) are the rightful property of Yoshishiro 
Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV and St. Pierrot. Don't sue 
me please, I'm very poor. 



Ja ne!

C. Casta�eda 






__________________________________
www.edsamail.com

__________________________________
www.edsamail.com
	     .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'