Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yu Yu
Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.
Notes: Okay... I'm going to come
right out and say that I have an odd dichotomy going as far as my need for
manga and anime in purest form. While I love the stories that pull off
alternate pairings, universes, etc, I cringe at hearing dubs and seeing the
butchery of translation that happens to almost every story that comes to the
U.S. The main inconsistency seems to be that the American versions seriously
tone down the language and violence to make it more acceptable for kids, so pay
attention to the rating. I don't intend to make such alterations.
Other things like colors and
whatnot... (like Kurama having black hair in the manga and red in the anime) I'll
bite my tongue and go with the anime.
As for the rest of this... It's
going to be total creative license on the fanfic author's part, baby, just for
the enjoyment of the darling person who talked me into it. (This means
that OOC and plot-holes may be required as the bunnies command them)
Crossing over two series already makes it a bit A/R, so I'm just going to take
a liberty here and there as I see fit. So... my Christmas gift to a dear
friend who has been snapping at my heels to write a story with Kurama.
:coughKazusacough: I'll give it my best. *Salutes*
~*~*~*~
By Any Other Name
~Vigilant Moonlight~
Souta couldn't say what about tonight felt so much different than every other
night for the past four years, only that there was something in the heavy air
that was calling to him. The house was silent, almost eerily so, like the
world was holding it's breath as he made his way silently down the stairs and
pulled his kimono closed with practiced, expert motions. The more formal
robes felt more comfortable, more appropriate for the feelings humming down his
spine, and he couldn't help but frown as he tied the pale blue hakama in place,
Do you feel this where you are, nee-chan? Are you awake and sensing
such strange auras?
There was never any answer, not that Souta expected one from his long-missing
sister, but it comforted him to "speak" with her in such a way, imagining that
wherever she was, she was feeling the same things he was. It had been the
reason he'd finally started listening to his grandfather's stories more
seriously, asking his mother to start training to take over the shrine
someday. As expected, his grandfather had been in tears, and even his
mother had looked suspiciously shiny-eyed at the request he'd made, even more
so when he told them that when Kagome returned, he could help her. After
all, if she was a great miko, shouldn't her little brother develop his holy
powers as well?
He knew they didn't have any faith in his ability to develop even a fraction of
what his sister had under her control, but that wasn't the point. If he
closed his eyes when he was in training, meditating alone... he could imagine her
beside him, her voice coaching him through every mistake, every frustration
until he had felt something inside him shift and change. He could still
remember the day it happened, startling his old instructor with the way his
aura swelled and practically overwhelmed him.
Souta had never been more excited or proud when he heard the monks whispering
that such an awakening had not been common since ancient times, and never with
so little training. He'd spent most of that night in the well house,
sitting on the rim and whispering about his accomplishments in hopes Kagome
would somehow hear and know he could help her when she returned from the
past. His mother had to practically drag him to bed, scolding him the
whole way that the well would still be there in the morning and he could talk
to his sister's spirit all he wanted...
Souta shook his head violently, dispelling the old memories with effort and
blinking in surprise as he realized his hand was resting on the shoji of the
well house door, That's strange... I came all the way here without
realizing it? Is it something about the well? Something coming
through?
He bit his lip nervously, fingers curling around the worn wood and sliding it
open slowly before he stepped inside and reached for the matches beside the
entrance to light the ornate lamps. He closed the door to prevent the
soft glow from going farther than a few feet and possibly rousing the other
inhabitants of the house, respectfully bringing his hand up in a prayer
position for a moment before he walked down the familiar stairs to the empty
well.
Souta could feel his heart start to race, swallowing hard against the
inexplicable feeling of premonition, that twinge setting his hair on end with
the anxiety pouring through him, Kagome?
A firm push against his calf had him almost jumping out of his skin, dragging
an alarmed shout from his throat as he jerked around and found Buyo trying to
twine between his legs only to give up and rub against the outside again when
the hakama failed to part. "Goddammit, Buyo!" Souta let out an exasperated
shout, turning his back on the well and bending down to scoop up the rather
obese animal with a scowl. "Animals are supposed to be sensitive to auras
and feelings, how in the hell can you so casually break my focus like that?"
A loud meow was his answer, and Souta felt his shoulders slump with defeat as
he muttered a few choice words under his breath and set the cat back down, only
to freeze when he heard a soft chuckle break the silence behind him.
Impossibly, a gust of cold wind seemed to wrap around him for a moment, tugging
at his robes as it curled and made it's way behind him, back to the well and
producing a hollow, sucking type noise very quietly with the pulse of an oddly
empty aura at the back of his senses, But the shoji is closed...
"I suppose some things never change," that quiet voice snapped his head up,
eyes wide and pupils contracting as he scarcely dared to breathe, fearful of
finding this another illusion, a meditative dream. "You should know
better than to come to the well at night unless you've somehow managed to stop
being such a 'fraidy-cat."
Souta turned back around ever-so-slowly, throat closing as he found deep blue
eyes laughing at him out of a painfully familiar and long missed face, older
now and much more serene than it had once been, but completely unmistakable,
"Ka-Kagome-nee-chan..."
Kagome tilted her head to one side, lips curling in a smile as the thick
curtain of glossy black hair shifted in that unnatural breeze, prompting her to
lift a hand and brush it back impatiently before she reached out and thunked
him on the forehead, "Hell, Souta, you look like you've seen a ghost."
If he hadn't been watching her so closely, he would have missed the look of
uncertainty that skated across her luminous eyes for a moment, testifying to
the almost awkward fear that she was going to be rejected. Kagome, his
time-traveling miko sister, was afraid of his reaction to her
reappearance.
This was no hallucination.
Souta felt the tears rise, tried
to blink away the way that warmly smiling figure blurred under the sudden
onslaught, but finally gave up with a wail that would have set birds to wing
had it been any earlier. He had flung himself forward the moment the sound
left his throat, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and burying his
face in her lap. It's really her... All this time...
Kagome felt a pang of remorse go through her, letting out a low sigh as her own
arms wound around her brother's shoulders and pulled him up for a more proper
embrace. For a long time they sat together like that, not speaking as
they let the reality of the homecoming filter into their stubborn heads and
erase the rest of their intangible fears. Finally she smiled, whispering
soothingly in his ear to try and calm him from the sobs that shook his entire
frame, "It's all right, Souta, I'm all right. I'm going to stay this
time. Really stay."
"They thought you died, Kagome!" he choked out against her neck, arms
tightening enough to make her grunt in mild surprise at just how much her
brother had grown in her absence. "They tried not to let me hear them
talking, but I did... but I never believed it! I knew you would come
home. I've waited... Did you hear me? I would come here; I
talked to you everyday so you wouldn't be lonely. Did you ever think of
me here?"
"I always thought about you, moron," she leaned back and ruffled his hair, eyes
searching over his face to take in every feature and laughing helplessly at the
way his words started to run together with his growing enthusiasm. "My
bratty little brother... When did you get so damn big and handsome, hn?"
Souta let out a rather watery sounding laugh, straightening with what could really
only be called masculine pride to let his idolized sister admire him, "I wasn't
going to be some little punk when you came home. You told me all those
stories about Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku... I wanted you to be proud."
Kagome closed her eyes for a moment, trying to hold back the wave of emotion
that swept through her with that simple statement and letting out a shaky
breath as she reached up to touch his cheek, "Souta."
"I've been training!" he shot to his feet, suddenly all energy as he gestured
to himself rapidly with his hands, letting the depression melt away.
"After you were telling me about Miroku and all the things he could do as a
monk, I asked Okaa-san and Jii-chan to help me find a temple and start
training. You're a miko, so why couldn't I have some skills too?
It's not like I could just up and be a hanyou, and no one's around to teach me
to be a taijiya, so... "
She lifted a hand to her mouth, eyes practically sparkling at seeing the
personality she remembered had lived on undistorted by maturity, "Really
now? Jii-chan must have cried." At least Miroku would have cried
to know he was the third choice in whose footsteps to follow.
"Constantly," Souta's grin was so wide she thought it might actually split his
face if he wasn't careful. "They're so proud! And the monks that
were training me... I had to stop going to that temple because they said they
didn't have the capabilities to handle what was in my soul."
Kagome laughed at the way his chest puffed up, preening at having such
distinction and obligingly doing some heartfelt praising of her own, "I'm very
impressed."
"Probably nothing like yours, but still-!" he continued, gesticulating randomly
as he continued to rattle on so rapidly that Kagome had to stand up and remind
him to pause and breathe. That only lasted long enough for him to comply
before he started right back in again, but with his focus redirected at her,
"What happened? Why were you gone for so long? Did you beat
Naraku? What happened to everyone in Sengoku Jidai? Where's
Inu-nii-san? Were you hurt? Where's the Shikon-no-Tama? What
did you wish for? Did you shrink?"
That last one earned him a half-hearted smack upside the head, "I'm a girl,
Souta, I wasn't going to be taller than you forever unless you ended up being
very unlucky."
"Oh right," he rubbed at his head, smiling ruefully but with no less
excitement.
"You're the one who got big," Kagome's smile softened with a wistful edge,
brushing that sleep-tousled hair out of his face and just breathing in the feel
of her little brother so close. "And we won... but... there were things I had
to do before I could come back."
"The jewel?" Souta's brows rose.
To his surprise, she shook her head no, "I... well, that's a long story, but it
wasn't the jewel on its own that made me stay. It was something much more
important."
"Then what-?" he turned his head to one side, following her gaze in confusion
when she turned a melancholy, but almost regal smile back on the well. More
important? But... the jewel was what she kept returning for. The
reason she decided to stay in the past once she finished school. What
could be more important?
"I made a promise," Kagome murmured softly, almost too softly for Souta to
hear, and making him frown as he saw her hand curl into a fist against her
stomach, the other reaching out to trace the edge of the well with a slow
precision that spoke volumes. "A promise to a very, very dear
friend."
Souta was quiet a moment, regarding the distant look in her eyes curiously, but
respecting her lapse into silence to try and puzzle out what had put that old
knowledge in his sister's eyes without disturbing her, It was something
serious that happened to her since she went away. She looks... she really
does look like a great miko.
"But I'm back now,
Souta," Kagome's determined exclamation broke him out of his thoughts, bringing
his eyes up to the smile on her face just as she took a step forward and
wrapped her arms around his chest. "The jewel brought me back... We
couldn't use it until everything was ready. Just in case."
"Will you tell me about it?" Souta rested his chin on top of her head, well
aware he probably had the most ridiculous smile on his face and not giving half
a damn. "If you can't right now, it's okay, but... at least some
time? Please?"
She laughed and nodded, snuggling her face against him and pushing back the
rush of warmth reaching out for the power she could sense inside her little
brother, "I'll tell you... but Okaa-san and Jii-chan are coming. I
don't- I can't tell them this yet. I don't know how they'll take
it."
Souta was instantly nodding in agreement, his heart swelling with excitement at
being in close confidence, "I can keep a secret, I promise."
Before they could say more, the shoji was yanked open hard enough to snap
resoundingly against the wood as their grandfather managed to get one step
inside, lips forming the beginning of Souta's name. The moment his gaze
landed on the young woman practically burrowed down against his grandson's
chest, he faltered, the words dying in his throat in favor of a strangled gasp.
He didn't have the strength or the inclination to stop himself from going to
his knees when his daughter ran into his back, clasping her robe closed over
her night clothes and calling Souta's name in a voice heavy with fear until she
too was rendered speechless in shock.
"O-oh... my gods," she whispered shakily, reaching out to grip her father's
shoulder to support herself when her children leaned apart, Souta grinning like
he'd just hung the moon and- "Kagome?"
"Tadaima... Mama."
~*~*~*~
"If this is some sort of twisted joke that Youko half of your head cooked up,
you can tell him I don't appreciate his humor," Hiei didn't bother to open his
eyes or unfold his arms from behind his head as he lounged on the railing of
Kurama's balcony, senses open to any signs of disturbance in the almost
stagnant summer air.
"Youko happens to think it's pointless for me to even consider listening to her
wishes," Kurama shook his head, eyes turned up to the full moon with a touch of
irritation adding to the vibrant, emerald green. "He says it's a human
concern, and I'd be a fool to make myself vulnerable like that."
He made a faint sound of deprecating amusement, "Fox doesn't want to pass on
those nimble little fingers?"
'He liked those nimble fingers well enough in the past,' Youko muttered
in the back of Kurama's mind, taking offense to the little demon having fun at
his expense. 'Besides, what the hell would we do with a baby? We
still owe service to Rekai, and last I recall, human females don't particularly
like it when the male that impregnates them is always gone. There'd be
questions we can't answer, and all because your mother wants
grandchildren? You don't even have the time to find us a fuck buddy!'
Kurama could feel his eyebrow twitching, biting back a less than polite remark
when he heard Hiei tried to hold back a snicker, "Do you mind?"
"Actually, I do," he finally opened his eyes, slanting a smug look at his
friend. "I've been bored as fuck lately with how quiet everything's
been. So if that means I need to amuse myself by listening to Youko
lament your sexual prowess, then I don't feel a pressing need to give you
privacy."
"Why don't you go bother Yusuke or Kurabara?" Kurama braced his weight on one
arm and leaned up to frown at him. "I'm certain you could find something
entertaining about their interactions."
"They're human," he shrugged as though that made all the sense in the world.
"You're such a little youkai snob," he rolled his eyes and stared back out over
the quiet night. "One of these days I'm going to tell them how much you
talk when humans aren't around."
"Go ahead, they won't believe you," Hiei smirked, his tone full of
confidence. "Humans are stupid that way... Now as much as I hate to
agree with him, the fox is right. There's no chance for you to live a
normal human life, especially not with the way the two of you are blurring
together. You don't have a distinct separation anymore, and I bet in a
few more years you won't even have that obnoxious schizophrenic thing going for
you."
'He's right about that,' Youko offered a mental shrug. 'We're
blending more and more... sometimes I'm speaking and don't realize it's coming
from both of us until something calls our attention to it.'
"I'm aware of that," Kurama rubbed at his head, exasperated that both Hiei and
Youko seemed to think he wasn't aware of his own body or behavior. "Youko
and I both know we're the same person... just on opposite ends of the
spectrum. We have to mingle back together some time."
"So how would you explain that to a human wife?" Hiei pointed out. "Even
without working for Rekai, you have to find a girl who won't scream when she
wakes up and her husband has gone blond."
'Silver,' Youko growled.
"Same thing," Hiei's eyes narrowed slightly as he taunted the kitsune.
'That little-! Ooh! Hit him, Kurama,' Youko hissed out
impatiently. 'Silver is not so common and simple as "blond" and
he knows it!'
"Shut up," Kurama closed his eyes. "Both of you. You're not helping
my headache and I still have to figure out what to do about this."
'You could always tell her that you prefer the company of men,' Youko
pointed out a little too innocently. 'Hiei could pretend to be our
boyfriend and-'
"Don't bring me into
this," Hiei cut him off before he could really get going on that particular
idea. "I refuse to pretend to have romantic attachments just to save you
from your human expectations. If you're going to tell her that you'd
rather be with a man, find a man to be with."
Kurama just barely stopped himself from banging his head on the railing, taking
a deep breath and speaking as calmly as possible, "I have yet to find a man
that I'd like to have a long term relationship with, and frankly I'd prefer a
girlfriend, but apparently kitsunes don't really differentiate gender in their
desire."
'That's unfair discrimination,' Youko expounded on the topic happily,
glad to finally have his other half talking about his inhibitions and why they
were so ridiculous. 'If the individual is beautiful and desirable,
what difference does it make if they're a girl or a boy?'
"Procreation for one," Hiei inserted dryly.
"Stop it!" Kurama snapped out in a rare show of temper, smacking his
hands down on the railing. "We prefer women, stop being difficult,
Youko, or I'll see to it that the next thing you want to do never happens!"
'You can be so touchy,' Youko pouted. 'Who would have thought I
had such a prudish side?'
YOUKO! Kurama warned.
'All right, all right,' Youko acquiesced reluctantly. 'Maybe I
was worried that you'd decided to swing that way with as few partners as we've
had given your age. You have to admit that we're overdue for a partner.'
"We've been busy," Kurama defended.
'Not that busy.'
"It has been quiet, Kurama," Hiei's expression stayed perfectly bored as
he added to his friend's little torment. "Maybe you should make your
mother happy and take the edge off Youko's frustration... find yourself a
girlfriend."
'Your frustration too,' Youko reminded him. 'Everything will
look better once we've had a nice, relaxing fuck.'
"Should I leave you two alone?" a smile tugged at the corner of Hiei's mouth.
"If I say yes, will you go?" Kurama muttered out, folding his arms and taking a
step back until he could rest his chin on them and still keep his back
straight.
"No."
"Didn't think so."
'Maybe if we-?' Youko started.
"No," Kurama definitely felt an eyebrow twitch that time.
'You didn't even listen to what I was going to suggest!'
"I can imagine," he let
out a heavy sigh, burying his face in his arms. "This means a lot
Okaa-san, but... I don't know how to pull this off. How do I find a girl
who'd be willing to put up with all the Rekai nonsense when I can't tell her
anything about what's going on?"
'And we still have to like her.'
"And that," he shook his
head.
"Relax, Kurama," Hiei cut in, a hint of disgust coloring his voice. "You
realize that you're getting carried away, don't you? Human girls are
always falling over themselves to have a chance with you, you just have to
convince one of them to have a child for you. It shouldn't be that
difficult."
"I grew up around them, Hiei, I know a little more about what goes through
their heads than you do," Kurama shook his head, glancing back at the shorter
demon. "If I want a baby, they want a commitment that I can't give
them. That's a mess waiting to happen that I refuse to put my mother or
myself through."
"Hn," Hiei shrugged, leaning back more comfortably and turning his own gaze up
to the sky. "Then what do you intend to do?"
Kurama was silent for a long time before he finally sighed, "I don't know."
'You're serious about this?' Youko sounded more than surprised at that.
I wouldn't be so stressed out if I wasn't serious, Youko, he frowned,
closing his eyes and trying to take some measure of comfort from the light
breeze that picked up. She's our mother, and this means a great deal
to her. Besides, aren't you old enough that it's time for us to think
about kids and a wife? Or at least a serious girlfriend?
'That's boring,' Youko
snorted. 'Why would I want to participate in something that detracts
from my fun? There's too much responsibility for me in starting a family,
and it's too complicated being like this to find a pretty girl we like who we
would trust to have a kit for us.'
You're making yourself sound lazy, Kurama pointed out dryly.
'I have high standards,' Youko gave every impression of turning up his
nose primly. 'Especially if you expect us to actually breed with
her. We have to be even more selective with whomever we select for the
other half of our offspring.'
Youko, I know you like kids more than you pretend you do, Kurama accused him in
exasperation.
'Maybe if it was mine and I could teach it what I wanted,' he replied
thoughtfully. 'But I don't know, I've never really been around
them. Isn't it supposed to be some weird bonding thing when you make it
yourself?'
Kurama slanted a curious
look over at Hiei, arching an eyebrow and making a slight sound of contemplation.
"I am a bad example," Hiei informed him in a bland tone. "Even if the
mother rejected a child with your blood, you would still take it to
raise. You can't make a comparison."
"True," he sighed again, shifting his weight again on the railing. "And
my mother would be more than happy to take care of her grandchild when I was
away on... 'business.'"
"Hn... " Hiei opened his eyes again, staring at Kurama for a long moment before
he sighed and looked up at the sky again. "I suppose there's not going to
be a way that I can talk you out of such an asinine pursuit."
'He's just jealous because our offspring would be more attractive than his,'
Youko scoffed. 'If it would mean so much to her, I suppose it's the
least we can do... And you're the one with more control of our body so
far.'
"Right," Kurama rolled
his eyes. "I know it's a human thing, but I've made up my mind.
She's never asked us for anything, never asked questions... she's always been there
for us, Youko. She wants to know that we're going to have a family and be
happy."
Hiei could feel himself starting to smirk again, cocking his head to one side,
"So when are you going to start looking for a suitable human girl? We've
been in and out of Ningenkai so often that you've lost touch with even your
former classmates."
Kurama set his jaw, hands curling into a fist against the railing as he pushed
himself back up to stand, "The sooner I find one, the sooner this will be
over. I'll get started as soon as possible..."