Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Captured by a Rose ❯ Chapter 15 ( Chapter 15 )

Chapter 15

 

A few days later I said goodbye to Kurama by telephone. Our conversation went like this.

 

I said to him, “Kurama-kun, I'll miss you.”

 

“I'll miss you too, Yu-kun. Not a moment goes by where I don't think about you,” Kurama replied, his voice sunken in sadness. “You know that rose I gave you? When you get lonely, take it out, hold it, and know, you're holding me.”

 

“A-alright,” I said, twiddling the rose he gave me in my hands. “I will.”

 

The sound of his voice made me ache. I wanted to be with him more than anything. But now I have this stupid mission. Damn you, Koenma!

 

To find Genkai's place I hiked deep into the mountains. It was autumn. Gold fields stretched out into a valley below, where the canopy above turned red. All around the mountains as far as the eye could see red, orange, yellow, green and brown treetops burned in a fiery autumn dance. In the distance, a snow capped peak rose, white at the top, and a smoky blue, just under the snowline to its base, where bare rock shone in many shades from gray to dark blue. The lake below, crystal clear, captured every detail of the mountain's reflection in absolute perfection. It's so lovely, if only Kurama were here.

 

“Kurama-kun …” I said with a sigh. “Even if I hold this rose, its not you.”

 

* * *

 

Beyond the Human Realm there existed a world the sun ceased to set or rise, casting the in land in a sad and gloomy twilight. In this shadowy, godforsaken world, power struggles between various youkai warlords shattered what joy people clung to in life. Centuries after centuries of warfare and hell weighed heavily on the soul until it found no more, wandering in the darkness.

 

Youkai of the Demon Realm once heard of a heaven where the sun always shined called the Human Realm. So various inhabitants gathered in a place called the City of Beyond, ruled by the Four Holy Saint Beasts. The leader of those Four, a powerful youkai lord by the name of Suzaku promised his people, “Follow me and you'll find your freedom.” He amassed an army with it the youkai lord Suzaku planned to invade the Human Realm. Every day from the top of Maze castle, Suzaku and his Saint Beasts cast their magic in hopes of weakening the barrier that separated both Human and Demon Realms. In the Spirit Realm, this troubled Koenma, and so he decided that after my training at Genkai's, I'd travel to the Demon Realm to thwart Suzaku's efforts.

 

* * *

 

In the Makai, in a place City of Beyond, high up in its fortress a lonely melody drifted on the wind, beckoning to any who might listen.

 

“Oh, Suzaku-sama's flute! It's so beautiful!” sang Muruge, soaring towards the utmost fortress chamber where her master awaited.

 

She flew in to the large empty chamber where Suzuaku sat on his throne, eyes closed, his face hidden in shadow, lips pressed softly to his flute's reed as breath passed over it, escaping in his instrument through the uncovered finger holes in a haunting, almost divine melody from heaven itself. Pale white fingers maneuvered up and down over the various holes, the tune rising and falling with Suzaku's mood. As the final, lingering note died off in the silence, Muruge alighted on his shoulder.

 

“Suzaku-sama…that was divine…” chipred Muruge, nuzzling up against Suzaku's neck.

 

From the violet tuft of feathers on her head, to the emerald green plumage down her back, he stroked her affectionately. “Muruge dear, you always flatter me. My youkai minions find me bitter, sarcastic and psychotic,” Suzuaku said, his smile slightly as he treated his bird to a head scratch.

 

“How dare they insult my Suzaku-sama,” cooed Muruge in bliss. “I should kill them for saying that.”

 

“Easy now, Muruge…” whispered Suzaku, his violet irises reflecting Muruge's image back, in which she admired herself. “If we kill all my minions who will invade the Human world, once we thwart this barrier?”

 

“We do need an army after all. As stupid as they are, without them, Suzaku-sama can't expand his empire,” twittered Muruge quietly. “But why invade the human world? Humans are such defiled creatures.”

 

“As dirty as they are, I desire their world. I heard it's a paradise where the sun bathes the land in gold and people are free. It's the land I've dreamed of,” sighed Suzaku, visualizing the human realm.

 

“I want to see it so badly,” cried Muruge.

 

“Yes, my dear, I will show you.” Suzaku lifted a hand towards the magic mirror on the wall in front of his throne. “Mirror, reveal to me the beauty of the human realm.”

 

On the mirror's flawless surface an image of the human realm appeared. A breath-taking panorama stretched out in a full 360-degree view, spanning the horizon in a broad expansive arc. There, the sea and sky joined in perfect harmony. Their colors blended together in a shade of deep, cobalt blue. Near the coastline, the cobalt transitioned into a lighter azure, fading into a distinctive, bright aqua that boarded the shore.

 

“Japan,” said Suzaku. “Mirror, now show me the most beautiful thing in that land.”

 

The mirror's view zoomed in closer to the town, then the house where Kurama lived. Out in his rose garden, Kurama knelt over cutting off dead leaves on his rosebushes. Suzaku froze, fixated on his long flame like hair that flowed in the wind. His eyes shifted to the smooth, porcelain skin of his face, the soft jaw line too round and sweet for a boy, and those lips were so full and pink like rose petals, Suzaku yearned to kiss them. Kurama gazed up; his eyes wide open, batting his long, thick, black eyelashes. Rays of sunlight danced in his emerald orbs, eyes that Suzaku felt himself drown in. Amidst the enchantment somehow, the mirror managed to capture scent of roses in Kurama's garden, the sweet perfumed smell wafted through Suzaku's chamber. The youkai lord fell back in his throne, his senses overwhelmed, unable to breathe or speak.

 

“Suzaku-sama? Suzaku-sama?” Muruge flew by the mirror to catch her master's attention. He just stared out, focused on Kurama's image. “Are…are you…in love?”

 

To be continued…