Monday, August 30, 2004

   Suprise!
It's been a long time since I've posted, ne? Sorry about that, but I had to go home for the summer and the computer at home is crap, so I couldn't log in to my account. But now I'm back at college, and I have so much to catch up on. I'll answer questions as soon as I can; right now here's the long-awaited final chapter of Past Collides with Present!

Chapter 12: Partings and Beginnings

Kurama felt the steady rise and fall of Shiori's chest against his legs. This was the only indicator that she was still alive. Blood trickled out of the wound in his shoulder, but he wasn't even aware of it. All he could think about was somehow saving his mother's life. He laid her gently on the floor and tried to stop the blood from flowing out of her chest.

"Move," Yukina quietly ordered him. Kurama did, and he looked up to see Hiei standing there as well, still holding his shoulder. Yukina had healed the worst of his damage, but the cut in his skin was still evident. Yukina knelt down and placed her hands over Shiori's wound. She was tired from healing Hiei, but she still had plenty of energy left.

Touya came over, and the three men watched as the koorime worked her magic. Kurama held his breath as the blood flow began to slow little by little. Finally, Yukina sighed and turned to him.

"I'm afraid that's all I can do," she said. "This wound is just too much for my power."

Kurama nodded. "You've done enough," he said. "Please, go help Jin." He tore off his shirt and, picking Shiori up, carefully wrapped it around her. Then he lifted Shiori completely off the ground and surveyed the entrance hall. Puso laid about twenty feet away, buried beneath the gorgeous blossoms of the death plant. Kage also lay on the other side of the hall. Kurama breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the devil bird was dead. That was one less threat to Makai. He turned back around when he heard a soft thump.

Yukina was slumped over Jin, unconscious, having used the last of her energy to partially heal the wound in his stomach. Hiei walked over and picked her up.

"Well, it's been fun, but we've still got work to do," said Touya. He helped Jin stand up and supported his weight.

Kurama dipped into as much of a bow as he dared while holding his mother. "Arigatou gozaimasu," he said. "Now I owe you a favor."

Touya laughed. "Forget it. It was our job."

Hiei arched an eyebrow. "Job?"

Jin nodded weakly. "The Shinobi were asked to get rid of the Kage. We don't know by whom. We just received information that he was in this area and a load of money."

"So that's why you were hanging around here," Hiei said.

Kurama collapsed again. He was simply too weak to do anything. Touya walked over and picked up Shiori. "Perhaps I can help a little more before we leave," he said.

Kurama smiled gratefully and picked himself back up. The group began the trek back to the portal to Ningenkai.

* * *

The group parted ways at the portal. Touya and Jin waved good-bye from Makai as Kurama closed it, and then Hiei took off toward Genkai's temple with Yukina. "I'll meet you at the hospital," he told Kurama.

Kurama walked as fast as he could to his house, staying on his feet by sheer strength of will and carrying his unconscious mother. Without even bothering to go inside, he knelt beside the car and felt under the fender for the spare key. After finding it, he quickly unlocked the car, placed his mother in the passenger seat, then ran to the driver's side and started the engine. He backed into the street without looking first, and recklessly drove to the hospital, completely ignoring the speed limit.

When he got there, he drove straight to the emergency entrance. He hopped out and alerted a couple of nearby paramedics, who immediately grabbed a stretcher and took Shiori inside. Kurama parked the car nearby and walked to the waiting room. He was pleasantly surprised when he got there.

"Heya, Kurama! Took you long enough."

"Yusuke! How did you know-"

Yusuke clapped him on the shoulder as Kurama sat in the chair next to him. "I was at Genkai's temple when Hiei and Yukina got there. He explained what happened, then mumbled something about a report to Koenma and took off. Geez, if I had known about this, I would have come, too. How come no one told me?"

"I imagine there wasn't any time," Kurama answered. "Speaking of which, it's high time I called home. Hatanaka and Shuichi probably think I've been kidnapped, too, by now." Yusuke nodded, and Kurama went to a nearby telephone to place the call. When it was finished, he came back, sat down, and fell asleep. There was nothing to do now but wait.

* * *

When the doctor finally came out, the crowd who was waiting on news had grown to include Hiei, Kuwabara, Yukina, Hatanaka, Shuichi, and Botan (who had been sent by Koenma). Kurama had had to endure several questions by his family. He had finally told them that the situation would be better explained when Shiori was awake, and they had grudgingly accepted this.

"You are Minamino-san's family?" the doctor asked.

All attention was focused immediately on him. "She's out of surgery now, and we believe she's going to be just fine," he continued.

Everyone broke into relieved sighs and cries of happiness. The doctor grinned, too. It was times like these when he loved his job.

"She's awake, and she keeps asking to see her son," he finished.

Kurama, who had just woken up, stood, and the doctor's eyes traveled to his shoulder, coming to rest on the bloody slit in his shirt. "You look like you could use some stitches as well," he commented.

Kurama placed a hand over it. "It's just a scratch," he assured. "Nothing a band-aid and Neosporin won't fix. May I see my mother now?"

The doctor nodded and led him through the hallways until he reached a certain room, and Kurama went in.

The sight of her took his breath away. Her bruises had deepened in color, and there were two IV lines trailing from her arms. Kurama walked up and took her hand in his. "Mom?" he whispered.

She opened her eyes. "Shu--Kurama."

"Oh, 'Kaasan, I'm so sorry this happened to you. This is all my fault-"

A gentle pressure on his hand. "Stop it, son. It's not your fault. It's their fault." She closed her eyes. "I just.wish.that you had told me sooner. About you, I mean."

Kurama nodded and sat down in a bedside chair. He sat there for a while, searching for the right words. Finally, he spoke. "I feel like my past is colliding with the present. I never meant for you to find out about me. I wanted to protect you, and more than anything, I was afraid. I didn't want you to stop loving me. It's true that I first came here hide and regain my strength, but as time went by, I began to want to stay, to keep my new life. I thought I could get away with it at first, but Hiei found me. He and an ally were going to break into a secret vault and steal three artifacts, and he wanted my expertise. I agreed at the time because you were so sick, and I knew one of the artifacts could heal you."

"Oh," Shiori interrupted with a short laugh. "I was beginning to wonder if you had had something to do with my cure."

Kurama nodded again and continued. "I've been serving my punishment for that crime since then, helping Yusuke track down demons and return them to Makai. I wasn't running from my past, but I never thought it would slap me in the face this way." He trailed off, studying his mother's face. She looked back at him.

"You're not leaving, are you?" she finally asked. "Going back?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

Shiori smiled, then groaned. "What are we going to tell Hatanaka and Shuichi?"

"The truth, I guess. Shuichi might like it."

Shiori laughed, and instantly regretted it as pain shot through her wound. "I love you, son," she said softly.

"I love you, too, Mom."

Kurama stayed by her bed while she fell asleep.

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Friday, April 30, 2004

   Past Collides with Present: Chapter 11 Part 2
*blinks* I said I'd get this out quickly, didn't I? My bad. Finals are coming up, and I've been incredibly busy. Sorry. Anyways, here's the update.

Kage continued downward, furtively pulling a feather out of a wing as he did so. Hiei was ready to block, but Kage swerved and headed for Touya instead. Touya jumped back and brought an ice-covered arm up to block, and Hiei dropped his guard in surprise. /There!/

Kage sent the feather hurtling toward Hiei. It plunged into his right shoulder before Hiei could bring his katana back up. He dropped his weapon, yelling in surprise and pain.

/One down,/ Kage thought. He had pulled away from Touya the instant he had let the feather go, and Touya was using the extra time to form a proper ice sword, knowing he was in big trouble.

* * *

Kurama heard Hiei's cry and whipped his head around to see what was wrong with his friend. Puso took advantage of this momentary lapse in concentration and leapt forward, dagger poised to plunge through Kurama's heart. Jin gave a yelp and sped down to land in between Kurama and Puso. The dagger plunged through his stomach, but unlike Hiei, Jin didn't make a sound. However, Kurama smelled the fresh blood and turned around. His golden eyes grew round with shock as he watched the doppelganger callously pull the dagger out of the Wind Master. Jin dropped to the ground, clutching the wound in his stomach. "I guess I win this time," Puso remarked.

Kurama didn't reply. The youko, unlike Shuichi, had no intentions of dying here, and he knew he had waited long enough. He sent the silent command to bloom and let his death plant say what he felt about Puso's statement.

Puso's mouth dropped open as sudden lines of agony ran through his body. He looked down to see several beautiful flowers bursting out of his chest, then collapsed, dead before he hit the floor.

"I can't believe he was stupid enough to fall for that," Kurama muttered, collapsing to a sitting position. That trick had taken the last of his energy. He looked at Jin. "Are you all right?"

Jin looked up. "Don' worry 'bout me," he said. "I'll be fine."

"Perhaps," said Kage. "But will the human be fine?"

* * *

"Hiei!" Yukina rushed forward as Hiei collapsed. She fell on her knees beside him as he sat up and pulled out the feather. Blood began to gush out, and Yukina put her hand over the wound to start healing it. That's when Hiei noticed her.

"What are you doing here?" he gasped. "Get out; it's too dangerous!"

But it was too late. Kage had seen Yukina, but more importantly, he had seen Shiori. She was still standing by the door, staring at Kurama. She had realized what an awful mistake she had made when she had seen him in his true demon form. The memory of him carrying her through the forest had come rushing back, and she had started to cry. /I was so wrong to believe what those two were saying. Oh, Shuichi, I'm sorry!/ She felt it was too late to make up now. She began to walk toward him.

She didn't notice Kage as he swooped to a point near the wall and picked something up.

Touya did notice, and rushed to take advantage of the fact that Kage was now on the ground, but skidded to a stop when Kage brought up Puso's bow and pointed it at him, an arrow drawn back and ready to fire. Touya cursed his luck and tensed, waiting for the blow.

Instead of letting go, Kage trained the weapon on Shiori. He heard Jin's words to Kurama and smiled. "Perhaps," he called. "But will the human be fine?"

Immediately everyone's attention was drawn to the devil bird and Shiori. Shiori stood frozen, horrified. She had come this close to death only once before, and she hadn't liked it the first time. This time wasn't any better.

"If you truly want her to live, I suggest you rid yourself of your weapon." Kage glanced to
the side. "That goes for you, too, Ice Master."

Kurama and Touya grudgingly did as they were told. Touya's ice sword melted away, and Kurama let his whip change back into a rose before tossing it into a corner. His ears were laid flat against his skull, and he was growling deep in his chest at the threat to his mother. Not that he could do anything about it. He was too weak to try any kind of attack.

Kage immediately switched his target to Kurama and let the arrow fly. As soon as he did, several things happened at once. Jin yelled, Touya gave a shriek of rage, reformed his ice sword in an instant, and jumped forward, skewering Kage straight through the core while he was off guard. Shiori, who had been standing just a few feet from Kurama, threw her battered body into the arrow's path. She gasped as she felt the cruel tip rip through her lung. The force of the arrow carried it through, and its head struck Kurama in the shoulder, though it did little damage to him.

Touya stabbed Kage in the neck, just to make sure he was dead, then turned to see Kurama rip the arrow out of his mother and pull her into his lap. He was rapidly returning to his human form. "Oh, 'Kaasan," he moaned. "Why did you do that?"

But Shiori wasn't answering.

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Tuesday, April 20, 2004

   Past Collides with Present: Chapter 11 Part 1
So sorry for the delay in updating, but college is getting hard. I'll get the second half of this chappie posted soon, I promise.

Chapter 11: Hard Fight

Kurama brought his rose whip around in a slashing arc, only to divert it at the last second as he suddenly found himself staring into his mother's terrified face. He jumped back and cursed at Puso for pulling such a dirty trick. The shapeshifter merely grinned and attacked.

Kurama leapt out of the way, nettled at the image of his mother attacking him, even though he knew it was a fake. /Snap out of it, Shuichi,/ came a voice at the back of his mind. /Let me handle him./ Kurama gladly complied and finally let himself transform into Youko, still jumping out of the way of Puso's slashes.

When the transformation was complete, Kurama flicked his wrist, whipping his weapon upward and wrapping it around the fake Shiori's dagger arm. He pulled, and the doppelganger screamed in pain and dropped the dagger. He stumbled back and returned to his original form, gripping his nearly severed arm. Kurama held back and studied Puso carefully. He had wounded Puso seriously, but he knew that that hardly mattered. Doppelgangers weren't very powerful energy-wise, but their shapeshifting capabilities often allowed them to escape attacks that should have been lethal and deliver attacks that should be impossible. Most were also ambidextrous, which meant that Puso would still be able to handle his dagger very well. What's more, Kurama was still very tired from using Kage's cloud thingy, and even though he had more energy in his full demon form, he was limited to using only less powerful attacks.

Kurama was still running through this information and deciding how to proceed when a red and white blur flew by him. "I wouldn't do-" he began to call.

Too late. Jin tried to punch Puso in the face, but Puso grabbed his dagger with his left hand and brought it up to block. The blade sliced Jin's fingers to the bone, and Jin flew upward, clutching his hand and babbling something too fast to comprehend.

Kurama cursed mentally as Puso stood up smirking. "Your turn, kitsune," he said.

Kurama dropped to crouch as glanced up toward Jin. A plan had formed in his mind as he had watched the Wind Master's failed attack. He brought his whip to a defense position and focused half his attention on the demon above him. /Jin,/ he called with his mind. /Can you still fight?/

"Yeah-of-course-I-can!" Jin yelled out loud. "Wait-who-was-"

/Shut up and listen. I have a plan./

Jin listened, finally realizing that Kurama was communicating with him telepathically. Once the plan was explained, Jin grinned and nodded. Kurama sensed the affirmation and focused all his attention back on Puso, who had begun attacking him again. All he needed now was an opening.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiei and Kage had finally broken out of their sword-lock and begun an all-out battle. At first, the two seemed to be evenly matched as blurs marked the movements of the opponents and the constant ring of clashing swords sounded. However, when Kage jumped into the air, things took a downhill turn for Hiei.

The devil bird swooped gracefully through the air, almost as fast as Hiei's ground speed. He soared toward the ceiling, then pulled around and dove straight for Hiei, katana slashing. Hiei managed to block it..barely. Kage soared around in an arc and came back for another try, which Hiei blocked again. This carried on for several minutes, though Hiei knew that eventually Kage would get past his defenses and score a hit. Being in the air, he had the advantage. Hiei couldn't even try to hit him.

Touya could.

Hiei nearly ducked in surprise when several crystal ice shards flew by his shoulder on a direct path to Kage. Kage saw them coming and swooped left at the last minute, avoiding most of the shards. However, one managed to hit, drawing a line of blood across his cheek. Kage hovered in midair, wiping the blood off his face. He stared at it, then directed his gaze to Touya. He had never been hurt by an opponent before, and he wasn't taking it well.

Neither was Hiei. "Who asked you for help?" he demanded coldly. "Shove off, Ice Boy."

"No offense, but I think you need the help," Touya returned. "Think about who you're dealing with here. This demon is strong enough to nearly kill Kurama, and you can't use the Black Dragon here; there are too many people close by."

Hiei hissed a curse, knowing he was right. If he had thought he could use the Dragon, he would have. As it was, the room was too small, and the Dragon could easily consume everyone in it. Another swooping attack by Kage snapped him out of his thoughts, and he brought his katana up to block again.

Kage smiled cruelly. /He fell for it./

* * *

Kurama was trying to get close to Puso, but the doppelganger kept hopping away. He had his hands full with the Wind Master, and he knew he couldn't handle both him and Kurama. Jin was pulling the same swooping technique as Kage, only he was attacking with Tornado Fists instead of a katana. He kept missing on purpose, partly because he didn't want his other hand to be sliced by Puso's dagger, but mostly because Kurama wanted him to. All Kurama needed was for Puso to be distracted for two seconds. However, Puso was keeping himself in a position that allowed him to watch both his opponents at the same time.

Jin had noticed this, though, and had a little plan of his own. He charged Puso once again and swerved once again. This time, instead of soaring to the ceiling, Jin continued forward and twisted around, planting his feet on the wall. He pushed off and rocketed toward Puso from behind.

Puso turned instinctively to block the Wind Master's attack, and Kurama had the opening he needed. Reaching back, he pulled a seed out of his hair and threw it into Puso's back in about the time it would take to blink. Kurama sent a mental okay, and Jin pulled upward again. Now all they had to do was wait.

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