Searching for Shelter

Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. They belong to their respective owners and I make no profit from my writing.

A/N: I love the response I am getting and am very pleased to have a story that’s even got my attention. Not that my others will go unnoticed, but this one really has me excited. ^_^ I’ve also taken into account the responses for a Hiei/Kagome story and Kuwabara/Kagome story. Not sure what I’m going to do in that department, but meh, I shall think about it. Maybe the muses will let me know what they have planned. :-D In the meantime, here’s another chapter for you all. Enjoy!

Searching for Shelter
Chapter 3: Shelter from the Truth


Kagome fell silent after an hour of talking and explaining. Kazuma had had many questions and she tried to answer them all as best she could, from Kikyou’s “re-birth” by the evil witch Urasuwe, to her friends Sango and Miroku and their pasts. He wanted to know it all it seemed, but she didn’t mind, in fact, she was rather glad. At least he believed her, and didn’t condemn her for dying in the end. She was never strong or smart like Kikyou, yet she managed just as the priestess did in the end-to protect the jewel in death.

She didn’t mention that to him, but concentrated on his freshest question. “What are you going to do now? I mean, do you know if that well works or not anymore?” he asked.

Looking up she shook her head. “I don’t think it does, but even if it did, I wouldn’t go back. How would you feel if you lost your friend and they came back from the dead?”

“I can tell you exactly how it feels. I was pissed off at first, when I found out Yusuke was still alive. I…” his voice faltered a moment before he said in a softer voice. “When I found out he was dead, I cried. It was like, someone had hit me over and over in the stomach, like it wasn’t real. And Keiko, Keiko was so upset, she couldn’t believe it either…” he trailed off.

Kagome fell silent, waiting for him to continue, she didn’t know what else to say. She hadn’t really had an experience where she lost someone dear to her, other than her father, and she was young when that happened. Standing from her rock, she moved over to sit beside the boy she had quickly befriended, before placing a gentle arm around him. Apparently in this dream world of his, she could touch him. “I’m sorry for bringing it up…I’m glad for you, that he was able to be brought back.” She said softly, looking up at his face.

Kazuma blinked, forcing down a blush as she placed an arm around him. He wasn’t used to physical contact of the gentle nature, and had to admit, it was nice. She wasn’t calling him weak for admitting his tears, or condemning him for his feelings, like his friends often did. He knew they were only teasing him, but still, it was nice to be able to share his true thoughts with someone. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around her in a gentle hug. “It’s alright, and, I’m glad too, that he got another chance…and you.”

She smiled at those words, leaning her head against him. “I am too, now.”

“Now?” he asked curiously.

She stiffened lightly in his arm, before saying softly, “I didn’t know if I really wanted to come back, because, I’m alone here. ‘No one else would be able to talk to me about my past.’ I thought. Until I met you, I didn’t know if demons even existed in this world, or if they were permanently separated from humans, and I didn’t know if I really wanted to face that existence, my existence, alone.”

He took in her words, and forced down the urge to hug her tightly and never let go. She was nice, and amazing, and strong, and, just, he had never met anyone like her before, and she seemed to be as lonely as he was. Finally finding his voice, he said, “I’m glad you’re taking up Koenma on his offer. I would have hated not meeting you.” He smiled softly, giving her a gentle squeeze.

Blinking, she looked back up to his face, before smiling. “Me too.”

Silence filled the clearing again as the two enjoyed the peacefulness of his dream, before she spoke up. “I should probably go now, and let you rest. Don’t worry though, I’ll come back and visit. I have some things to do for Botan though, and she trusts me to get them done.”

He nodded quietly, before saying, “Alright, Kagome, I guess I’ll see you later then. Let me know how it’s going, okay? I want to make sure I’m there when you wake up.” He smiled, standing before helping her to stand.

She looked up to him before grinning. “Alright, but you’ll have to go to the Reikai. That’s where my body is being held until I’m revived.” He was an amazing person, and would be one of her new friends. Life was starting to look up for her, and it made a bit of that spark that she had for life come back and shine in her eyes.

“No problem. And Kagome, be careful, okay? I’m not sure what can hurt you, being a spirit and all, but still.” He shrugged.

She nodded before saying softly, “I will. Goodnight, and sleep well, Kazuma.” She briefly heard his reply of “goodnight” before she was back in his dark room, sitting on the edge of his bed as she had been doing before she went into his dream. She giggled softly at the look on his face. He was smiling softly and seemed to be at peace. That warmed her heart. Patting his forehead softly, she stood, and moved to leave his apartment, pulling out the folder Botan had given her. It would be a long night, but at least she had a bit of a spring in her step now.

~*~

Kurama and Hiei quietly ate dinner at a small restaurant in town, enjoying their time off from missions. Contrary to popular belief, Hiei didn’t mind going out with his companions, he only acted like it. His life had taken a definite turn for the better since he stole the Shadow Sword with Kurama and Gouki. He was glad that Yusuke had disposed of the other thick skinned demon, and helped him and Kurama find different paths for their lives. He was also glad that the spirit detective had helped rescue his sister, whom still, to this day, didn’t know that Hiei was her twin brother. The detective had become someone he could trust with his life, and he was amazed little by little at how much Yusuke proved him how valuable some relationships are.

Kurama watched the little hi-youkai eat, keeping his own thoughts to himself for now. The fire apparition really had changed in the past few years, and he was glad for those changes. He wondered though if maybe the hi-youkai wanted more. He seemed content with their friends and allies, and just being alive, as long as his sister was safe and happy, the fire apparition seemed to care less, however, he wondered if Hiei wanted something more tangible, such as a relationship of the romantic kind. He could hardly imagine the demon being romantic with anyone, but that didn’t mean that the demon didn’t think about taking a mate or having a female companion. He actually didn’t know what Hiei’s thoughts were on that kind of relationship, though Youko was constantly on –his- back to find someone to be with. However, he refused to be with one of the ordinary girls that threw themselves at him. He wanted someone who saw him for him, and not just another form of Youko, and someone who could actually carry on a conversation with him without stuttering and passing out. Sometimes, simple things like those were so hard to find.

Hiei looked over to his kitsune friend, wondering what was on his mind. He was unusually quiet tonight for some reason, and he wasn’t sure why. Usually, he carried on conversation and Hiei listened and sometimes commented on things he thought. Their relationship was unique and he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. The kitsune understood him and knew him more than anyone else in their little rag-tag group, and that was the way he liked it. He was a very secretive demon, and didn’t like others knowing about him or his past, for fear of a weakness being found and used against him and his sister, Yukina. She was his main objective and his main priority forevermore, and he would never let her suffer again like she had with Tarukane. However, this silence was a bit unnerving tonight, and he finally broke it by saying in a quiet tone, “Fox, what’s bothering you?”

Blinking at the sudden question, Kurama looked over to Hiei, before sighing softly. “I was just thinking, about a lot of things.” He took another bite of his food while Hiei questioned, “Like what?”

Apparently the little fire apparition was talkative tonight, and Kurama was kind of glad he was opening up further each day. “Like that spirit we felt earlier today. I am almost positive that it was putting off holy energy, but it didn’t feel malicious. I do wonder thought why it was following us.” He commented, taking a drink of his wine.

Hiei frowned. The fox had a point. The spirit had slipped from his mind and he hadn’t let it bother him too much, however, obviously the red-head had thought much on the spirit Kuwabara had felt. “True, fox. Perhaps it was just a monk or miko who was heading into the after life, though I’m not sure if it departed. It was still unusual. That baka seemed worried about it, though.” He replied, thinking back on Kuwabara’s reaction to the spirit.

“Perhaps, but I suppose we won’t really know unless it shows up again.” He shrugged his shoulders. Actually, he kind of wished it would, just to give a little excitement to their lives. Missions were all the same, being that demons were stirring up trouble, and they had to stop them, but dealing with spirits was something different.

Hiei almost smirked. The fox was obviously bored and wanted something different to do. He went back to his food and finished it, before standing. “Well, I’ll be going now.” He said simply as he put down the money to pay for his share of the meal and left without a goodbye. Kurama didn’t mind, because it was the way he always was. At least he didn’t leave this time without saying anything.

Kurama finished his meal too, before heading out and going to his mother’s apartment. He was in the process of finding his own place, but for the moment, he was staying with her. Unlocking his door, he walked in quietly and headed for his room, glad that no one was home. He took a shower and moved to sit on his bed only clad in a pair of sweats, working on brushing out his long, red hair. It took a lot of work to keep it looking great, but he wouldn’t cut it for anything, not that Youko would let him anyway.

~*~

Kagome snuck in quietly to an apartment building, coming to the number she was supposed to check out. There was a child held to the world of the living because of anger, and there were problems with new tenants and such because of that vengeful spirit. She hoped it would not come down to almost being taken into hell, like with a cute little girl she knew. She hoped that little girl was getting along well in heaven.

It wasn’t long before she found the little boy. He was killed because of abuse, and wanted to make sure he was remembered, so that maybe others would be good to their children. As often as a large blood stain was removed from the carpeting in the room he died in, it came back with a vengeance. The landlord even took all the carpeting out, but the stain became part of the hardwood floor. If they tried to cover it with a rug, the rug became stained with blood. After talking things over with the boy, he agreed that making things harder for others wasn’t nice, but that he would watch over children and try and help them if they were abused. At that point, Kagome suggested he talk with Koenma, and see if the demi-god could help him in his quest, and maybe work with Botan, like she was. Then, he departed for the Reikai, and she closed up his file, which instantly vanished to go to the spirit realm.

As she turned to leave, she slipped through a wall, not realizing where she was going, and ended up in another room. Looking up, she blinked, and promptly freaked. She was in one of those boy’s rooms from earlier today, and he was half naked!

Kurama looked up at the sudden chill in the room. A spirit was here, and his mind instantly flashed to this afternoon. Was it the same one? One quick assessment of the aura and it was confirmed. The holy energy was the deciding factor for him. Lazily, Youko poked up in the back of his mind. ‘What’s going on, Red?’ he voiced, his own aura feeling out for the strange spirit that was in the room with him and his avatar.

‘That spirit is back. It really was following us after all.’ He replied mentally, his eyes trained on the concentration of spirit that was deathly still in his room, right next to his desk. “What do you want, spirit?” he asked, his tone firm.

That only made Kagome shake more. ‘Damn, damn, damn! He isn’t like Kazuma, he can only sense me, and he’s not asleep, damn it, damn it, damn it!’ she cursed to herself, not sure how to proceed in this situation.

Suddenly, she heard a voice in her head say, ‘What do you want with us?’ The voice was soft, and silky smooth, making her almost melt, should she have not been so worked up to begin with. ‘W-who are you?’ she replied shakily, not moving from her spot, however, the owner of that voice, and the boy, both heard her thought. Youko’s kitsune abilities were at work, and Kurama was glad, at least now they could get some answers.

‘Youko Kurama, Miss Spirit. Now I will ask you again, what do you want with us?’ he asked again, trying to keep his irritation down. It was a girl’s voice he heard, so it was a little easier to bare.

‘I don’t want anything with you, it’s just, I felt you were a demon, and was curious, that’s all. Honest!’ she babbled, trying to calm down.

Youko sighed softly. It would be difficult to converse with her while she was in this state. She was obviously a human spirit, with holy powers, but she seemed to be telling the truth. ‘Calm down, we won’t hurt you. What is your name?’ he tried a gentler approach, aware that Shuichi was keeping quiet as he listened in on their conversation.

Kagome blinked a moment before worrying her lower lip. They wanted to know her name? Would they go after her mother and brother? Maybe just her first name then… “Kagome. My name is Kagome.” She replied softly, her panicked aura calming slightly.

‘Well, Kagome, it’s nice to meet you. I do wonder though, how you knew I was a demon. Shuichi looks every bit the human, but you could sense me in here. How?’ he questioned, his voice curious.

She paled. ‘Were you absorbed by him? Why are you inside him?’ instantly she got on the defensive, going to try and help the poor spirit if that should be the case. The thought reminded her too much of Naraku.

Now it was his turn to be curious. First she feared him, now she sounded protective, and wondered strange things about him. He decided to put her fears to rest, but was now exponentially more interested in the young girl. ‘No, I haven’t been absorbed by Shuichi. I share this body with him. It is him who protects me, and I who protect him.’ He informed her.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. So it was a mutual friendship, it seemed. She could feel the demon’s curious aura and glanced up to the boy, who seemed just as curious. What was going on? ‘He can hear me too?’ she asked, hoping the demon was still willing to talk to her.

‘Yes, he can, and he’s most curious about you, Kagome. I think our first question is, what is that energy that you’re emitting? Are you a miko? Is that how you can tell I’m a demon?’ he asked, managing to keep calm. Already his warning bells were going off at the energy. She could easily purify him and that would be bad. Very bad. Not just for him, but for Shuichi.

She nodded softly, though he couldn’t see her. ‘I am, though, not a conventional one.’ She smiled weakly.

‘Oh? How so?’ he asked, his curiosity raised again.

‘I don’t like to purify demons on first meeting. Otherwise, I don’t know who I’m going to meet.’ She replied softly, smiling a little now. Should she have known she was a miko, and did just that, Inuyasha would cease to exist right now, and that was a sad prospect to think about. She could feel the confusion pour off of the demon, and she shook her head before elaborating. ‘I had demon friends in my past life. So, I don’t want to purify you or your friend.’

Shuichi looked like a fish at her, as did Youko. He couldn’t feel any deceit from her aura, and that could only mean she was telling the truth. How was that possible? All of her kind was supposed to destroy demons, no matter what, and this girl, had befriended them? It was a concept that was most difficult to grasp. ‘She is serious, isn’t she.’ Shuichi spoke to Youko, a thought that was replied to in the affirmative.

Kagome stood uneasily for a moment, watching the two, and hoping they would say something, anything, to fill the silence. ‘Why are you here now?’ Youko finally asked, directing his attention back to the girl.

‘I was helping a vengeful child’s spirit crossover for Botan. It’s all part of my ordeal.’ She said softly, hoping that they would understand. Though she learned a little about him from Kazuma, she still didn’t know much about him, and even less about this spirit inside him.

‘Botan? Why? And how do you know the ferry girl?’ he quickly asked, his attention peaked.

‘Because she asked me to help her, and I know her because I’m working with her and Koenma to get my life back.’ She replied, briefly wondering if she would have to explain herself all over again to this new person.

He seemed to take that in for a long moment before he replied, ‘Just a moment, I have to converse with Shuichi.’

Kagome shifted uneasily on her feet as she watched the boy seemingly talk to himself, though he didn’t say anything, and that made her a little more nervous.

Quickly the two talked about this girl, and Kurama recalled Yusuke telling him about his ordeal that he went through to get his life back. He also mentioned that no ordinary spirit would know about Botan –and- Koenma, so he deduced she was telling the truth, or telling them a very elaborate lie.

Turning their attention to her, she straightened up quickly, worrying at her bottom lip again, wondering what they would say.

‘You never answered me fully, Kagome. What is it you want with us? Besides your curiosity to be sated?’ he added with a sly grin.

She blushed lightly before stammering out, ‘Really, that was it…I…was glad to see there were still demon’s in this time.’ As she said that she gasped, before stepping backwards. ‘Forget I said that!’ she said quickly, waving out her hands in front of her.

Both kitsune avatar and spirit blinked at her. What did she mean by “in this time”? Wrapping his aura lightly around his counterpart, Youko shifted to get a better look at the spirit they were in contact with. Too bad he wasn’t a spiritualistic medium, or he could actually see her, for now, all he could see was a light white outline of where she was standing near Shuichi’s desk.

Kurama stood so Youko could get a better look at the silvery white mass in his room, and he briefly wondered what was going through her mind right now, but as Shuichi stood, Kagome stepped back, her eyes widening. What was he doing? Fearfully, she looked to him, not sure what he was going to do, and not wanting to take a chance of getting hurt. She knew basically nothing about this person and demon and she really wanted to come back to life now. She didn’t know what kind of powers he had or if he was a malicious person or not. Looks could be deceiving, as she had learned so many times first hand in the Senkoku Jidai.

Youko could quickly detect a change in her aura, and blinked before saying, ‘Shuichi, stop! She’s scared of us, so don’t go any closer!’ while he said to her, ‘Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. I’m not sure there’s a way to hurt a spirit, but I promise you that we won’t harm you.’

Kagome stopped her retreating footwork, wondering if she could trust them or not. Her caring nature wanted to trust them unconditionally, but she could only guess that because her situation was so precarious, it was making her think differently. Trying to calm her racing heart, she moved back to her original spot by his desk, and started to shift on her feet again, waiting for him to break the unnaturally heavy silence that surrounded them.

‘Kagome, if it’s not too personal, may I ask how you died?’ Youko spoke up, curious about this young spirit, and also wondering what was so special about her that Koenma and Botan knew her and were willing to help her come back to life. There had to be a reason, or the demi-god wouldn’t bother. Yusuke was a special case, and he figured that this girl was special too, the only question was how.

An uneasy silence filled the kitsune spirit’s mind, before she replied softly, “I…wasn’t strong enough…or pretty enough…or smart enough…” quietly, he watched as her form sat on the floor, leaning against one of the walls in Shuichi’s room. He wondered what she meant by that.

Kagome was losing her bit of resolve that was recently gained. Suddenly, being asked how she died by this demon, made her think about the circumstances leading up to her demise. If Inuyasha had not gone running to Kikyou’s un-dead clay form, he would have still been fighting, and they maybe, could have won the battle without her death. Shaking her head fiercely, she hissed to herself, ‘Quit thinking selfishly! He was never yours, so forget about it!’

As she sat there, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the little spirit egg she was nurturing, watching it glow slowly. Suddenly, it started to warm up, heating up to the point of burning, if she were in human form, that is. Standing quickly, she looked to Shuichi and Youko, her eyes wide as she looked back to the egg, seeing it darken to a deep blood red. Before she could say anything, a sharp, piercing pain ripped through her body, making her feel more pain than even Naraku had inflicted on her. She could only scream as she was pulled from the room, her hand clutched around the small spirit egg for dear life, and her spiritual form feeling as if it were being torn apart.

~*~

Youko looked to her as she spoke to herself, peering again over at the girl. She was confusing him, and he would rather she just tell him what was going on, instead of talking to herself. A bit of irritation swept through the kitsune, but before he could say anything more, Kagome’s scream filled his head. He watched as her astral form disappeared through the window, leaving him and Shuichi dumbfounded.

“What the hell just happened?” Shuichi whispered aloud.

‘I don’t know, but it looked as if she was heading for the Reikai, maybe we should go check it out?’ he suggested, somewhat interested, but not so much that he would rush to her aide. He barely knew her, and it wasn’t any of their business. However, Shuichi was more than a little freaked at her sudden departure, and her scream continued to echo in his head.

“We have to go then! She may need our help!” he exclaimed, jumping up.

‘Do you even hear yourself, Red? She’s a SPIRIT…how can you help her?’ he rolled his eyes at his counterpart. Normally, they got along well, but other times Shuichi’s human nature was just annoying…like right now.

“I don’t know, but if we don’t even try than I would feel bad. She was nice, to both of us, and she seemed upset and scared. Even if you don’t want to find out what happened, I do!” he countered, before throwing on a shirt and flipping open his communicator. He didn’t expect to see the scene he was given a glimpse of.

Botan looked disheveled as she hastily snapped, “What is it?!”

Eyes widening, he spoke quickly. “Botan?! What’s going on there?”

Her eyes finally focused to see who it was before she broke down into tears right there over the communicator. “The girl’s body…she was trying so hard too…and Koenma promised to take care of it…there are bodies everywhere…doctors and nurses…” she was rambling, the situation finally getting to the spirit woman.

Facial features hardening, he said, “Open a portal Botan, I want to see what’s going on.”


~*~


A/N: Sorry for the cliffy, but I wanted to get this one up for you all. Please Read/Review. It makes my muses happy. ^_^