Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Gypsy Curse ❯ Nostalgia ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I don't own Yu-Yu Hakusho Yoshiro Togashi does. However, please take note that the character Marilena belongs to me. This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or locations or people (living or dead) is entirely coincidental. This is going to be written from Kurama's point of view most of the time (Kurama POV's are in italics) so I'll try to keep him in character.

The bat is dun with wrinkled wings

Like fallow article,

And not a song pervades his lips,

Or none perceptible.

His small umbrella, quaintly halved,

Describing in the air

An arc alike inscrutable, -

Elate philosopher!

Deputed from what firmament

Of what astute abode,

Empowered with what malevolence

Auspiciously withheld.

To his adroit Creator

Ascribe no less the praise;

Beneficent, believe me,

His eccentricities.

- Emily Dickinson

Beads of sweat were dripping down my face as the soothing touch of reality struck me. Never in so many years have I been so horrified by what my mind and memories have conjured up to shake me from my sleep.

As my vision clears, I look around to better establish what I have just seen. I'm here in my home; my mother is sleeping in the next room as I wake fitfully and alone in my own. The midnight sky is overcast with clouds making it appear as though it is completely devoid of light.

I don't like it all.

The stars for some reason have always been a comfort to me and now that I can't find this consoling light I am filled with the childish urge to rush to my mother and wake her so that she may cradle me in her arms. And while wrapped in her warm embrace my fears will fade away with each time she whispers to me in that warm, loving tone, "Everything is all right Shuichi, it was only a bad dream."

Looking back on it, I know that indulging this whim would be pointless. For deep down in my heart I know that it was no dream. That woman was no dream…and her suicide after Kuronue's death was no dream.

Unfortunately, I can't recall her name. But I remember how consumed I was with lust as I watched painfully and jealously as Kuronue courted her in a universal tongue that she herself couldn't understand. After all she was only human. A human. Romanian. A copper skinned goddess that any woman would by envious of. Endowed with every gift of beauty, charm, and a sharp eye and wit that would've surely meant death or at least substantial injury had she not been filled with her own desire for Kuronue.

Now that they're gone…I can't bring myself to dwell on this subject any further.

+++

This city is crowded. If it weren't for my human mother, Shiori Minamino, I suppose I would've left this place long ago and returned to Makai the first chance I got. There are so many cars, people, and noise, it's like I'm being smothered.

I miss the freedom of being a thief. To take what I pleased and keep it for myself. Not having to share the beauty of the items I stole with anyone else aside from my partners…if I saw fit of course. I can still remember much of what I took before my rebirth as the human Shuichi. Weaponry, mirrors, sacred mandalas, jewels a plenty, gold, silver, money, and the lives of guards of such things if they honestly believed that they could fight me and live. Oh, how I long to rebuild my life as it once was. After all, the human world and its cultures have always shared a love of the arts and finery. There are many enticing pieces that I would love to have in my possession.

The young waitress returns, my ordered coffee balanced carefully on a circular black tray. She's a new employee. It's written all over her face. Beneath the practiced smile she's panicking, knowing that if she were to spill that cup, she could very well be fired for it. Funny, I remember Kuronue having a similar expression when we first broke into the palace in Makai the day that he died.

"You're coffee sir," she says relieved. "Enjoy."

She turns and walks away from me, her shoulders slumping as a sigh escapes her lips. I must say that she was quite the lovely young woman as well.

…Damn you Youko and your insatiable love of women!

Pouring a small amount of cream into the cup, I watch as the two very different colors swirl and cloud. Taking a drink, I recall yet another memory, this one a bit more pleasant, almost humorous. It was nearly four centuries ago - nearly to the day now that I think about it - and Kuronue and I were on the first of several future raids together.

Breaking into the fine building, we rushed unnoticed along the rafters, Kuronue occasionally glancing down at his feet to make sure that he wouldn't trip and ruin our chances at the prize at the end on this narrow wooden maze. Using a fine powder hidden well within my clothes, the two guards in front of the massive double doors silently fell dead to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The door hinges were well oiled and made no sound as he pushed them open, the wondrous statue glittering in our view. Kuronue moved to step forward but with a hand to his chest I stopped him.

I had seen situations like this before. All of this was far too easy, but then again, much about the life of a thief seemed easy to me. Still, instinct told me to hold my partner where he was till the source of my suspicion was found. Kuronue must has realized it too, for he drew a few small, round stones no bigger then marbles from his boot and rolled them across the floor. We watched as some of the tiles fell away into black oblivion while others remained in place. More of the tiny orbs revealed to us a winding path up to pillar were it stood. I must admit it was a clever idea.

But not clever enough.

With a smirk on his face, I bid Kuronue to be the first of us to walk along the pathway. Leaping up the stairs, he stepped away from the statue, allowing me to inspect it. The best security measures are the ones closest to the bounty you see. None were to be found and like children in a candy store, we grabbed the heavy statue greedily.

Not even thirty minutes later, we were back to the shack we called home, stolen treasures hidden beneath the floorboards and in the rafters. Setting our latest prize in the center of the room to admire it, Kuronue sighed heavily and suddenly broke into laughter. I looked at him a bit perplexed, sure that the stress of that raid had made him insane.

"I fail to see what's so funny, Kuronue" I said.

"Ha ha ha ha! - it's because - ha ha ha! - because we're - ha ha ha ha ha! - oh god - ha ha! - it's because we're alive, dammit! We're alive!"

He was leaning heavily on my shoulder nearly choking, happy tears running down his cheeks. Clutching his sides, he fell to the floor; his face was as red as any typical, horribly drunk, demon. His laughter slowly came to a stop, and as he lay on his back, gasping for breath, he kept repeating the same words over and over again.

"We're alive, Kurama. We're alive."

Lifting the coffee cup to my lips, I realize that while lost in my memories, I had already finished my drink. Pulling my sleeve away from my wrist, I stand quickly, my knees painfully hitting the table with a thud, my chair toppling behind me. I have only a few minutes to run to the train station, according to my watch.

"Sir? Is something wrong?" the waitress asks.

"Check please!" I shout in reply.

+++

I've never really been fond of riding on these crowded trains. There are far too many people in each car, to the point where personal space becomes an uncommon luxury. I must admit that this is often overwhelming for me as well as for Youko. Neither of us enjoys this feeling, as if we were trapped and left to die in some desolate prison cell in spirit world. It's becoming more and more difficult to breathe, and I can feel my fragile human body beginning to bruise as someone else's brief case pushes against my back.

Stepping forward as much as I can, I shift into a somewhat more comfortable position to think.

The soft warmth of nostalgia washes over me. The sounds of the bamboo forests whisper softly to me. I can feel Youko stirring, writhing really, against the bonds of blurred memories and hidden pain. As he is a part of me, I feel it too; both the pleasure and agony of realizing that the past is resurfacing. I only hope that this new mission will take my mind off these things. I must block them out, as I have been for hundreds of years.

But hers is a face that cannot be forgotten.

My mind suddenly floods with images, both from the now hazy dream and the reality, merging in torrents of color, sound, smell, even taste and touch. With my senses overwhelmed, I drift idly about my own world, my own mind. It's a rare occasion for me to be given the opportunity to drift like this. It's as if time has stopped and I am lost at sea, sailing toward a world of dreams.

Dreams where she belonged to me. Not him.

I hear her now. Her soft voice calls out to me, speaking in that unfamiliar language.

"M-am ratacit!" She cries. I can smell her tears. I want so badly for her to appear before me, so that I may kiss the crystal drops from her cheek. If she allows it, I want to brush my lips against hers and along her slender neck, just as Kuronue did.

I must be dreaming. She is gone from this world. She eloped into the afterlife with Kuronue centuries ago.

+++

Looking out over the surrounding forests from atop the stairs of Master Genkai's compound and breathing deeply the pine scented air makes me appreciate this world and the people in it. Makai, for all of the freedom it gave me was a violent world of wars, liars, and battle. Compared to it, this human world is nothing more then an ideal, a romantic's hope for a peaceful Makai that they may never see.

And yet…I thirst for it. I know that I would be able to thrive in it…as Youko, and as Shuichi Minamino. I blame Koenma and the spirit world for these inhuman - almost sadistic - desires of the chaos and discord of Makai. For with each passing mission, normal life loses more and more of it's luster and I have found myself growing restless as of late, longing for something far from my reach, something that will provide for me a challenge, a game of sorts.

Does such a game exist? I do enjoy a good contest of strategy and wits. They are the most entertaining for one can't rely on luck or their physical strength to pull them through. Please, let this mission be one of strategy. I don't think I can bring myself to focus on another stop-the-villain-and-save-the-world endeavor. They're beginning to bore me.

Well, that's it for the first chapter. Review on your way out okay?