Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Captured by a Rose ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

The sweet melody of songbirds greeted the rising sun, whose radiant light painted the morning sky, in a splash of brilliant hues, orange, pink, gold and red.

"Oh, what a beautiful sunrise!" exclaimed Botan in amazement. She threw open the curtains allowing the multicolored palette of light spill in to wash my apartment room ablaze in color.

"Light…too bright…" I murmured in my sleep. My eyes shot open. "Where am I!?" I cried aghast.

"Yusuke! It's all right," assured Botan's soothing voice. She sat at the head of my bed. "Last night, a boy named Shuichi-kun carried you home. You were unconscious then. He said you suffered from a concussion in the forest, and he brought you here."

"So it was no dream…" I whispered. Slowly, I sat up in bed, seeing my wounds all cleaned up. "Oww…" A slight pounding sensation racked my head. I felt a little dizzy, but way better than yesterday.

"Yusuke! You're ALIVE!" shrieked my mother, who hastened in. She jumped on me in a smothering hug that suffocated me.

"AIR!" I gasped in desperation.

A minute, she released me. "Yusuke, I was afraid you died again! Thank Kami-sama your alive!"

"Of course, Okasan," I grumbled. "And you don't smother someone who's had a concussion!"

"Like mother, like son. She's so much like you Yusuke-kun," chuckled Botan sweetly. She patted me on the head. I frowned.

"I'll make breakfast," announced Mother cheerfully. She headed into the kitchen.

"What're doing here, Botan!?" I said in a hushed voice.

Botan smiled saying, "I thought I'd make a good Spirit Detective's assistant, so here I am."

"Oh, right, Spirit Detective. The three artifacts of darkness, I have to find them!" I remembered suddenly. Just as I rolled out of bed, I tumbled onto the floor.

"Head…dizzy…" I mumbled in pain.

"You're not going anywhere with that concussion of yours, Yusuke. Stay in bed," advised Botan, helping me up.

"Oh no, I'm not!" I insisted back. "Concussion or not, I'm going." I grabbed a walking stick for support and headed to the door.

I scarcely made it outside when Botan caught up. Even with the stick's support, I found it difficult to walk, plagued by an acute sense of disorientation. Botan took one of my arms around her shoulder to support me. With the stick to prop me on my other side, I managed a slow, though reasonable pace.

"If you listened to others, you wouldn't be Yusuke," remarked Botan with a sigh.

* * *

"So Botan, how do we find the artifacts?" I asked, now quite tired from the long trek into the heart of the city. We relaxed at an outdoor café, situated on the corner of two busy streets, where residents bustled by, darting here and there to begin their day's errands.

"Let's see…" Botan shuffled through her pack, pulling out an odd trinket like a watch with the face of a small compass on it. "Spirit Detective item, the demon compass!" she presented, handing it over. "It detects the presence of a nearby demon with the artifacts telling us where to go."

I took it, fastening it over my wrist. "Nifty! This is how we'll find `em." No sooner than I fastened it, the compass needle spun wildly, pointing northeast into a crowd of shoppers.

The crowd parted to reveal a dazzling youth. His penetrating gaze fell upon me, drawing me in closer. His lips curved up into a slight smile, and in his eyes shined a twinkle of affection. It was the first time I ever saw a slight trace of happiness in him, even if it was for fleeting moment, like the dew that vanishes before the morning sun.

"Yusuke…" he whispered breathlessly.

"Kurama…" I said softly.