Well, this is it. The final chapter of Inside My Mind. O.o Can you believe it? I can't. (cries) I can't believe I finished another multi-chapter story. It's all because of you readers, too! I LOVE YOU GUYS!
Of course, now I get to work on the sequel. :D Joy is mine!
I ask you to enjoy the final installment of this fan fiction.
I dedicate it to you all!
BIG THANKS goes to my awesome sisterVickie (here on FanFiction dot net as CrazyMonkey Fox), who is my beta-reader. :D She made this chapter suitable to look at, lol! THANKS VICKIE!
Disclaimers and warnings have been said before!
It was either the fact that the emptiness in her mind was driving her crazy or that she missed them. Either way, Mika felt a deep hole in her heart that just ate away at her all through math and science class. Kenji waved to her in the halls, being the nice guy he was, but he didn't mention anything about the other night. So, everything turned out right. At least, logically correct.
"…Murasaki, sit up!"
Mika jumped up in her seat, awakened from her depressed thoughts. Her squat, angry teacher glared at her from her desk.
"Pay attention."
"Yes, sensei…" Mika muttered, pulling out her copybook. For the first time in a long while, she was becoming a poor student. Her grades dropped and at least three times that day she had been pulled out into the hallway for slacking off. What bothered her was that there was no annoying voice mocking her or telling her to pay attention.
What am I thinking? I risked my neck in order to get rid of those damn mind hijackers! She thought angrily at herself. Her thoughts bounced over the field in her mind, absent of its usual inhabitants. Her heart swelled. All she could think about were the good times. Like the time Kuronue 'accidentally' locked Karasu outside her mind…or the time they broke into the Vault. She scowled. I gotta stop thinking about them…
But her mind refused to let her think of other topics. All she could hear was Kurama's smooth voice or Kuronue's laughter. It made Mika smirk a little, causing some people to send her weird looks.
Suddenly, a small note landed on her desk. Mika opened it quickly.
"what the hell are you smiling at? --Ayumi"
Mika turned and saw Ayumi giving her an odd look. Mika scribbled on the back of the note and threw it back to her.
"Just thinking about the guys."
Ayumi was about to write some back, but a shadow fell on her desk. Turning, both girls saw the principal standing there, looking grave. He pointed at the doorway.
"Stand outside."
Glaring, both Ayumi and Mika slipped out into the hallway. Nobody else was there, so when they closed the door, they continued their conversation.
"You miss your mind minions?" Ayumi whispered, looking confused. "Never thought I'd hear that from you."
"I don't miss them!" Mika shot back, though a faint tint of red reached her face.
"You act like it. And to think we nearly died trying to get rid of them." Ayumi pouted. "You're so weird, Mika."
"I know. And I'm still demonic." Mika flexed her fingers and a ghostly aura of dark purple and black moved around them. "I still can't bring myself to let go of my powers. I wish I didn't have a choice and then they'd just disappear by themselves!"
"…only if you willed them too," said Ayumi softly, "Binkie said that only if you will them to go away, they would."
Mika stared at her hands. "…I don't mind having powers. I mean, if I ever get attacked again, I'll be ready. But…what's the point if I don't have a purpose now? I mean, the only reason I got these abilities was cause I was the walking trailer of a bunch of demons."
"Admit it. You miss them." Ayumi smirked.
"Hell no!"
"You miss them."
"I do not!"
"Then how come you keep thinking of them?"
"CAUSE I'M SO HAPPY THAT THEY'RE GONE, DAMMIT!" Mika shouted just as the principal came back out into the hallway.
"Murasaki! Detention!" cried the older man sternly. "Don't shout in the halls!"
"Sorry, sir," muttered Mika as she looked down at her shoes, scowling. Why did they even have to get involved with her life? They only made it worse...
'Actually…' she rephrased her thoughts. They had made it better. Her parents were a whole lot nicer and she even made more friends. She actually had a good time when they were there.
Her heart tightened as she looked outside. Sighing slightly, she mentally wished they were there. I wonder what they're doing right now…
------Tokyo-------
For the first time in his life, Kurama hated being at school. Knowledge had always enchanted him. One could never stop learning and human studies were very interesting. Hiei called all of his lessons useless, but he did learn much from it all.
"Ooh, Shuichi, where were you last week?" asked one of the members of his unofficial fan club.
Kurama stared at the group in a bored way. "I was sick."
"You're all better then, right?" asked another, looking worried.
"Yes…" Kurama returned to staring out the window. It was turning into a nasty habit that had earned him lectures from his teacher.
'I wonder what Mika is doing right now…now that she doesn't have to worry about demons in her subconscious anymore.' He thought sadly. 'I almost miss their bickering.'
Suddenly, something black fluttered near the window. At first, Kurama thought it was Hiei stopping by for a quick chat. When the black thing landed in the tree, Kurama face-faulted.
"Hiya!" Kuronue waved from his tree branch, smiling like a four-year-old that just got a handful of candy.
"K-Kuronue!" Kurama nearly shouted, casting a nervous glance over his shoulder. Most of the students had left for another class. He sighed and looked back over the window. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he approached the window.
"Lord Koenma had my file fixed, and since we took down Aki, I got another chance at life!" Kuronue smiled happily. "Isn't that great?"
"Yes, that's wonderful!" Kurama moved over towards the window, smiling. "What are your plans now?"
"I dunno…me and Karasu are stayin' at Genkai's," said the bat demon weakly.
"Oh, that must be quite the arrangement," said Kurama, smiling with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Of course I hope you're behaving yourselves…"
Kuronue shivered. "I dread the day we really piss her off."
Chuckling, Kurama looked up at his old partner in crime. "So, what are your plans today, other than exposing yourself at my school?"
"Uh, well I need to bug you for an hour, then I have to hop back over to Master Genkai's to bug Karasu for a little and then Hiei's at the park so I gotta get over there too."
This made the kitsune sigh. "…I can't believe that being so spread out away from everyone would make me so depressed."
"Aw, cheer up, Kurama." Kuronue smiled again. "We're not that far apart."
"Do you miss Mika?"
That caught the bat demon off guard. "What do you mean? Of course I miss her. We had the best conversations. Do you miss her?"
"Yes…but I shouldn't be so emotional over the whole thing," Kurama scolded himself. "It's for the best. She was just an innocent girl who got mixed up with demons."
"But Koenma made that stupid rule…" Kuronue pouted and his wings folded over in sync. "We can't bug her or stay within close range with her at all! We can't do anything about it…so why are you bothering to be so sad? It's not like we have a choice in this."
Kurama opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped. He looked lost in thought, but suddenly he smiled. "I have an idea of how we can reverse that ruling."
"Mwa, Youko strikes again." Kuronue grinned evilly. "Do tell me, what's your plan?"
"Meet me in the Spirit World in an hour. Bring the other two." Kurama said, looking over his shoulder. "I'll skip my next class."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" Kuronue laughed and flew off towards the park.
Kurama sighed and went back to his desk to pack. "I can't believe I'm going to skip class for this…oh well…"
----Akita, 3:00 PM------
"Ooh, ice cream!"
"You're paying for it, Kimi."
"Fine, you penny-pincher."
Mika, Ayumi and their two friends Sakura and Kimi were enjoying a walk in the park. School had ended and they had the rest of the afternoon to themselves. Ayumi had to drag Mika along for some 'rehabilitation'.
"Want to get some, Mika-chan?" asked Sakura, smiling.
"Uh...nah." Ice cream reminded her of Hiei.
Ayumi rolled her eyes. "We're getting two soft serves, chocolate."
"I can speak for myself." Mika scowled, walking off towards the near-by park bench. Sitting down, she noticed how empty the whole park was. There was her friends, herself, and a few kids were playing on the swing set nearby. That was about it.
"HEY!" Ayumi plunked herself down to Mika, smiling. "What's up?"
"The sky."
"Seriously."
"No, I'm pretty sure it's up there."
"…Mika, you've gotta chill." Ayumi looked the other way. "We can always sneak a visit to meet them. I'll put a leash on you so they don't get stuck again."
"Ayumi, you don't get it." Mika turned around and glared at the taken-back Ayumi. "They can't come near me or else we could get mind-trapped again. Our moment as friends is over. You can visit them, fine. I can't and I won't."
Ayumi stared back, disbelieving. "That's it? You're never going to bother talking to them again? They're your friends! They saved your life and you saved them...kinda! They were in your mind for over a whole week, dammit, and you're going to act like that was nothing?"
"Yeah. It's better that way," said Mika as she turned away, hunched over. "Could you leave me alone for a little bit?"
Standing, Ayumi stared down at Mika for a moment. Then, shaking her head, she went back over to Sakura and Kimi.
With a sigh and a heavy heart, Mika sat back down on the bench. Her green eyes stared upward, emotionless.
This isn't right, but I really, really miss them. She finally admitted to herself. I'd do anything to talk to them again…just once…I wouldn't mind them being in my head again.
Then, the sun went out. Or that's what Mika first thought. After a second, she realized it was a pair of hands over her eyes. She sweatdropped.
"Guess who!"
The voice was familiar and it made Mika break into a huge smile. "Kuronue!"
The hands were removed and she looked up. The smiling faces of Kurama and Kuronue greeted her. Hiei was glaring a few feet away and Karasu was standing next to the bench.
If they expected her to be happy, nothing would have prepared them for her to catapult off her seat and barrel right into Karasu.
"HAPPY DAY! YOU'RE BACK!" she shouted, hugging Karasu fiercely.
"GET OFF ME, PSYCHO CHILD!" he shouted as he tried to pry her off. Then again, he did look a little bit more cheerful than his usual vamp self.
"Nice to see you missed us, Mika," said Kurama, smiling warmly, accepting her hug.
"Yeah, I sure did." Mika then grinned over at Hiei. "Miss me, midget?"
"As much as a thorn in my side."
"You love me, admit it."
"Hell no."
"I LOVE OUR LITTLE FAMILY CIRCLE!" Kuronue yelled happily, hugging Mika and Hiei at the same time. That of course was a mistake and soon all three were on the ground attacking each other.
"Guys?"
All five paused to see the amazed Ayumi standing there with two ice cream cones in her hands. She smiled.
"I see everything had been fixed," she said softly, grinning at the guys.
Hiei looked up with stars in his red eyes. "…Sweet snow?"
"Ice Cream." She held out her cone, raising an eyebrow. "Here, have it."
"What'd you do, poison it?" asked the demon wearily. His cravings did him in and in a quick flash he was eating the treat.
Ayumi was laughing. "Consider it a 'welcome back' present. I missed you guys almost as much as Mika did."
"I feel like a wrong has been righted. How'd you get Koenma to let you come here?" asked Mika to Kurama.
"A little debating on my part," replied Kurama, laughing. "I put logic on the table and he went along with it."
"Translation…?" asked Ayumi with a frown.
"He told him that even though we might be close to Mika, we can still resist the pull. Mind over matter," answered Karasu, brushing himself off.
"...wait, so if we just don't will ourselves to be stuck together...we won't?" asked Mika, confused.
"More or less," said Kurama, "yes."
Ayumi grinned and said, "Brilliant."
Hiei snorted and looked up over his half-finished ice cream. "Don't get too happy, stupid woman. Who said I'll even come near you fools again?"
Smirking, Ayumi leaned over and said simply, "You're here now aren't you?"
Staring at her, speechless, Hiei had a blank look on his face as he realized that he had no comeback. Kurama smiled and Kuronue snickered. Karasu rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Come on..." Mika began, grinning. She grabbed Kurama and Karasu's arms. "Let's go chill at the arcade!"
"Why the hell would I want to go...wait, what's an arcade?" asked Karasu angrily.
"There's this shooting game I bet you would love."
"Shooting?" Karasu suddenly perked up. "As in, exploding gun shooting?"
"And so he goes for violence," murmured Kurama. He smiled in defeat. "At least its better than arguing."
Kuronue and Hiei were walking after their companions when they heard Ayumi shout:
"HOLD IT!"
All five demons stopped and turned around quickly. Ayumi was grinning and holding a rectangle shaped object. Mika laughed. It was a camera.
"What the hell is that?" demanded Karasu.
"A camera!" Kurama replied, confused. "Why?" he asked.
"You all remember when Mika asked for a picture of you all together?" Ayumi said, laughing. "Well, prepare to get your picture taken!"
Hiei sneered. "You have to be kidding me."
"Oh, shut up and smile, Hiei!" Kuronue chided, grabbing the small fire demon by the collar and pulling him closer to the group.
"GET OFF ME, BAT!"
Kurama and Mika laughed at the sight. Karasu, still perplexed at what was going on, shrugged. Finally, all of them squeezed together a few feet away from Ayumi. Hiei couldn't get away with both Kurama and Kuronue holding his shoulders, so he just averted his eyes. Mika was stuck between Kurama and Karasu, but could see over Hiei's head. It was very funny to look at.
Ayumi grinned and held the camera up to her eyes. "Say cheese!" she laughed.
The camera flashed, causing Kuronue and Karasu to shout in surprise.
"What the hell?" shouted Karasu angrily.
"Aha, you guys are wimps!" Mika teased, laughing with Ayumi.
"Well, you're stupid!"
"Stupid? Well, you're GAY!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"
"YOU HEARD ME, GAYLORD!"
"THAT DOES IT!"
"It's so nice to see them all back to normal," Ayumi said mostly to herself, watching the two demons in front of her chasing each other and shouting death threats.
Kurama heard her and smiled. "Yes, it does feel good, doesn't it?" he said softly.
Kuronue suddenly jumped in front of Ayumi. "Hey, that's gonna be put on paper right? The image of us together?" he asked.
Ayumi nodded. "Yep, it'll be a direct copy of you guys."
"Gods, will that be a horrible picture," complained Karasu from a distance.
Mika, after successfully getting away from the crow demon, walked over to the main group with a smile on her face.
"I think it will be a great picture," she said happily.
"Sure." Hiei sneered.
Mika just smiled happily and looked up at the clear blue skies. The others chatted around her, content and cheerful in at least a little way. Sighing happily, the teenage girl felt completely at home. The lonely ness that had plagued her all day was gone.
"It'll be a great picture," she whispered. "Because it's not just a picture..."
It was a family portrait.
The End.
-"so he just averted his eyes." it's a myth that if you look into a camera directly, your soul will be trapped in the picture. Hiei's superstitious! XD
So there. That's it.
HOT DAMN!
I had sooo much fun writing this story, seriously. I'm kinda sad I can't continue with it, at least this plot line. MWAHA, BUT NOW THERE IS THE SEQUEL! "IMM II, The Hogwarts Invasion". :D New adventures, new friends and much more humor and violence...coming soon! Lol.
BTW, there will be another little treat for you all (and myself!) coming soon. It's not related to this plot line OR the sequels' plots. Its kinda like...a neutral funny series. Completely random, featuring our beloved IMM crew. XD Look for "Adventures of the Mind Minions."
That picture that Ayumi took? I'm gonna try to make a fan art, so look for it on my profile someday soon. :D
Well, I guess that was my last random shout out for Inside My Mind. (sniff) Oh well. I gotta go start on the sequel! (runs off)
JA NE, MINNASAMA!
-AD