Kokoro No Kaitou : Search For The Past
Chapter 1 : Amaya's POV
~*~
Three months.
It's been three months since I met Youko, and came to live with him.
I had since befriended the koorime named Hiei, one of Youko's thieving partners. I was quite proud f this, because Kuronue, Youko's other thieving partner, had informed me that it had taken him over a half a century.
All in all, things seemed pretty boring after the defeat of Akira, my would-be husband.
That is, until one chilly October day…
~*~
On the morn of that day, I awoke to rainwater pattering on the ground above the lair. Now, the lair is an underground hideout for the band of thieves that belongs to Youko Kurama. It is a series of catacombs deep within the earth, and is nearly impossible to penetrate. There are hundreds upon hundreds of rooms, each with a different purpose.
I myself shared a room with the infamous thief himself.
After all, he was my koibito.
I groggily opened my eyes, and let them settle on him.
Youko Kurama, feared thief of Makai. He was a kitsune, or more specifically, a gingitsune. He had silver hair, which fell almost to his shoulder blades, and matching ears and a tail. His eyes were golden, though I couldn't tell at the moment because his eyes were closed.
He was a killer, and I had seen him murder before, but…
He was sweet, and kind to me. He was the one that saved me when I was going to be wed to the snake youkai named Akira. Well, it was probably more of a double save. I saved him from being executed, and he saved me from being eaten.
I think that's pretty fair.
I smiled, and pulled the blanket up to my nose. I was so incredibly lucky to have him…
Since when did I, a former princess, deserve this little slice of heaven?
He must have sensed me watching him, because his eyes opened. Those beautiful, beautiful golden orbs.
I blushed. "Gomen nasai, Kurama-kun. Did I wake you?"
He pulled me into his embrace, and I gladly sank into it. He was so warm…
"Of course not." He whispered, his voice still scratchy from sleep.
We were both quiet after that, and I started to fall asleep again, safe and content in his arms…
Then suddenly the door flew open. Youko immediately sprung into a sitting position, alert and tense.
"Sorry if I interrupted anything between you two." Hiei said sarcastically. "But we have a problem."
I peeked out from behind Youko to look at my friend. "Hiei-kun? Problem? Is everyone okay?"
He snorted. "Come and look for yourself."
He turned on his heel and walked outside of the room. I sighed, and Youko and I both stood.
"Kurama-kun, do you think that everyone is okay?" I asked. I straightened out my sleeping yukata, and stepped off of the futon.
He started to pull on a shirt. "Well, Kuronue is due back from his little raid today, so maybe it has something to do with him."
I froze, and he seemed to sense my distress. "Relax, I'm sure that he's fine."
I nodded, and we walked out of the room, to where Hiei was waiting. Hiei led us down several halls, stopping before a room. He pushed open the door, and entered. Youko started to walk in after him, but froze in the doorway. Of course, I couldn't see past him, so I lightly touched his arm. He snapped out of his daze, and moved aside for me to enter.
I gasped.
Kuronue was sitting next to the futon, with an obviously broken wing and several other injuries. He was also bleeding from the torso.
But what surprised me even more was the girl that was laying on the futon, unconscious. She was very pretty - she had long, wavy hair that looked as though it would reach her slender waist when she stood. It went from blonde at the roots, and as it cascaded down her back it turned into pink, orange, and finally red at the tips of her hair. She wore a torn and battered traveling cloak - I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be red, or if the blood seeping through the tears had stained it that way.
Kuronue gave me a weak smile. "Amaya-chan, you think you can heal her?"
I nodded. "O-Of course!"
I went to the girl's bedside and placed my hand on her forehead. My palm started to glow with a faint silver light, which grew brighter and stronger as it healed her.
When all of her wounds were gone, I removed my hand from her forehead. The girl's eyes snapped open, which startled me. Her eyes were red, like Hiei's, only the pupil was merely a darker spot in the center of her eyes.
Those eerie red eyes turned to me, and she seemed surprised for a split second. She suddenly jumped up, and threw me to the ground, and I felt a sharp pain tear through the back of my head as it hit the hard stone floor. I cried out, then realized that she had a blade to my throat as she straddled my waist.
"Who are you?!" She demanded. "And what have you done with them?!"
Youko pulled her off of me, and she struggled. Kuronue quickly helped me into a sitting position. The girl struggled against Youko, but he didn't have much trouble keeping her restrained. He was obviously much stronger, physically.
"Amaya, you're bleeding…" Kuronue said.
I gingerly touched the back of my head, and winced. I pulled my fingers back, and indeed, they had blood on them. But my wound would quickly heal.
Part of being a tennyo.
"Midori, stop struggling!" Youko growled as he tried to keep his hold on the now furiously resisting girl.
But the girl was hysteric, and wouldn't stop thrashing about.
Finally, Youko used a technique that seemed to knock her out, and she slumped over in his arms. He carefully laid her back on the futon, and then turned back to us.
He looked at me. "Daijobu ka?"
I nodded. "I'm fine."
I looked at Kuronue, who was still bleeding heavily. I quickly healed him, and sat back on the floor, exhausted from using up so much energy.
"Kurama-kun, what did you do to her?" I asked, my eyes drifting over to the girl on the bed.
"I knocked her out." He said. "She was too emotional to tell us how she got so injured…"
"You called her Midori." I said.
"That's her name."
"How do you know her? An old friend?" I asked. I had never met any of Youko's friends, that it, other than Kuronue and Hiei.
He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um, well, she's kinda…uh…"
I cocked my head to the side curiously. What was his problem?
"Midori is an old girlfriend of his." Hiei said.
Well, that was slightly surprising. Then again, what could I expect from the most known womanizer in all of Makai?
"Kurama, when will she wake up?" Kuronue asked, changing the subject.
"She should be up and back to her normal self in about fifteen minutes." He replied. He seemed to want to look anywhere but at me.
Kuronue nodded, and we waited.
~*~
Youko was telling the truth, and fifteen minutes later, Midori awoke.
She seemed considerably calmer than before, and sighed before she sat up.
"Midori." Youko said, which brought her attention to him.
Recognition flashed across her face. "Kurama."
"Midori, what happened to you?" Youko asked.
She blinked, then started to get up. "Where are they?!"
"Who?" Kuronue asked as he made her sit back down.
"Those two girls! The ones I was with!" She exclaimed. She seemed to be very panicky now. Her eyes suddenly landed on me, and they widened.
"Tsuki-chan?"
I blinked. "Pardon? I'm sorry, but you must have me mistaken for someone else." I said.
She stared at me for a moment before returning to normal. "No, I should be the one that's sorry. I thought that you Tsuki-chan. But I can tell that you're not. Tsuki-chan has longer hair, and it's darker. Jet black."
Hiei spoke up. "Are you going to tell us who the hell you were talking about, and what happened to you?"
She sighed. "We were all being tracked down by a Bounty Hunter by the name of Auron." She said. "He was hired to track down three kinds of youkai - koorime, phoenix youkai, and tennyos."
I tensed. Tennyos? A Bounty Hunter wanted to hunt down tennyos?
"Why?" Kuronue asked for me.
"Because the ningens that employed him want hiruiseki, phoenix feathers, and I'm not quite sure what he wants from the tennyos…" Midori drifted off before speaking again. "Anyways, what happened was he found me, and tried to capture me. However, I managed to escape, and found two other girls that were in the same situation. We all ran away together, and we started to head towards the Shinobi village. I have a friend there, and I knew that he would help us. But about half way there, we ran into some problems. Apparently, your friend here was stealing from the nearby palace, and we got caught up in the storm of guards. I got separated from them, and that's when Auron caught up to me and attacked. The last thing I remember is a scythe flying past me, and Auron screaming. Then I passed out."
We all listened intently to her story, and I began to grow worried. There was a terrible feeling deep in the pit of my stomach, and it made me feel as though I was going to heave.
"What was the name of the other girl that you were traveling with? And what was she?" Youko asked.
"A koorime by the name of Yukina." Midori replied.
Hiei tensed, and his eyes widened. "What?!"
Midori gave him an odd look. "I said a koorime by the-"
"I know what you said, damn it!" Hiei exclaimed.
He suddenly turned and stormed out of the room. I jumped up and ran after him, leaving Youko, Kuronue, and Midori by themselves.
"Matte, Hiei-kun!" I called as I ran after him.
He suddenly whirled around. "Look, I'm going to go find Yukina. Don't try to stop me, because nothing can or will."
"Do you know her?" I asked.
He was quiet for a second, as though he was considering something. "You have to swear on your life…that you won't tell anyone else about this." He said slowly.
"Oh! I promise! I won't tell a soul! Not even Kurama-kun!" I promised.
His jagan pulsed lightly from under the bandana, and then he nodded. "Alright. You check out."
I watched him expectantly, and he sighed.
"Yukina is…Yukina is my little sister." He said quietly.
"Little sister?" I echoed, slightly surprised. I had never thought that Hiei had any family.
"Yes. And if you tell a soul - even that baka kitsune - then I will kill you. You can rest assured on that."
I nodded. "Of course! Now, hurry and go after her."
He started to turn around, but I remembered something.
"Oi, Hiei-kun!"
He turned back towards me. "What?"
"Are you…going to come back?" I asked.
He was quiet for a minute before shaking his head. "No…I'm not coming back."
I nodded again, this time in understanding. I suddenly reached out and hugged him tightly, and he instantly tensed.
"Sayonara, then, Hiei-kun." I whispered. "I hope that you find her safe and sound."
He was still stiff from our contact.
"And…I want you to remember that you will always have a home here." I continued.
I let him go, and he stared at me in shock.
I smiled. "Go on. Go find her. She's going to need you."
He nodded, and turned to leave again. He stopped, and didn't look back at me. "Thank you…Amaya."
He dashed away, leaving me to be the one to stare after him in shock.
That was the first time that he had ever addressed me by my name…
~*~
Author's Notes : Waaah! Hiei's gone bye-bye for the rest of the fic. T______T How was that for a first chapter though? Oh, and each chapter is going to be from a different person's POV, so watch out for the heading to know who's telling the chapter.
Thanks to those who reviewed the last story:
Kagome0102 : I hope I cleared that up in my e-mail. Thanks for the review!!
Suzaku no miko : I read your fic, and I liked it a lot! Lilly is a really cool character! She made poor Kurama blush! ^____^ How kawaii! And to think, she and Kuwa-chan are related! LOL!
Story Weaver1 : Thanks!
FieryKitsune : LOL! No, I'm not Youko! But he's so much fun to write as! He's got some…interesting thoughts to say the least. Oh, and I really really like your name! It's cool! ^____^
miyako14 : Thanks!
Abby : Yeah, his is a little better, but it neither story makes sense unless you read its companion fic.
Katie E. : I'm glad that you liked it! I was just a little worried, because it seemed as though people stopped reviewing, which made me assume that people were losing interest in the story.
Review!!
Chapter 1 : Amaya's POV
~*~
Three months.
It's been three months since I met Youko, and came to live with him.
I had since befriended the koorime named Hiei, one of Youko's thieving partners. I was quite proud f this, because Kuronue, Youko's other thieving partner, had informed me that it had taken him over a half a century.
All in all, things seemed pretty boring after the defeat of Akira, my would-be husband.
That is, until one chilly October day…
~*~
On the morn of that day, I awoke to rainwater pattering on the ground above the lair. Now, the lair is an underground hideout for the band of thieves that belongs to Youko Kurama. It is a series of catacombs deep within the earth, and is nearly impossible to penetrate. There are hundreds upon hundreds of rooms, each with a different purpose.
I myself shared a room with the infamous thief himself.
After all, he was my koibito.
I groggily opened my eyes, and let them settle on him.
Youko Kurama, feared thief of Makai. He was a kitsune, or more specifically, a gingitsune. He had silver hair, which fell almost to his shoulder blades, and matching ears and a tail. His eyes were golden, though I couldn't tell at the moment because his eyes were closed.
He was a killer, and I had seen him murder before, but…
He was sweet, and kind to me. He was the one that saved me when I was going to be wed to the snake youkai named Akira. Well, it was probably more of a double save. I saved him from being executed, and he saved me from being eaten.
I think that's pretty fair.
I smiled, and pulled the blanket up to my nose. I was so incredibly lucky to have him…
Since when did I, a former princess, deserve this little slice of heaven?
He must have sensed me watching him, because his eyes opened. Those beautiful, beautiful golden orbs.
I blushed. "Gomen nasai, Kurama-kun. Did I wake you?"
He pulled me into his embrace, and I gladly sank into it. He was so warm…
"Of course not." He whispered, his voice still scratchy from sleep.
We were both quiet after that, and I started to fall asleep again, safe and content in his arms…
Then suddenly the door flew open. Youko immediately sprung into a sitting position, alert and tense.
"Sorry if I interrupted anything between you two." Hiei said sarcastically. "But we have a problem."
I peeked out from behind Youko to look at my friend. "Hiei-kun? Problem? Is everyone okay?"
He snorted. "Come and look for yourself."
He turned on his heel and walked outside of the room. I sighed, and Youko and I both stood.
"Kurama-kun, do you think that everyone is okay?" I asked. I straightened out my sleeping yukata, and stepped off of the futon.
He started to pull on a shirt. "Well, Kuronue is due back from his little raid today, so maybe it has something to do with him."
I froze, and he seemed to sense my distress. "Relax, I'm sure that he's fine."
I nodded, and we walked out of the room, to where Hiei was waiting. Hiei led us down several halls, stopping before a room. He pushed open the door, and entered. Youko started to walk in after him, but froze in the doorway. Of course, I couldn't see past him, so I lightly touched his arm. He snapped out of his daze, and moved aside for me to enter.
I gasped.
Kuronue was sitting next to the futon, with an obviously broken wing and several other injuries. He was also bleeding from the torso.
But what surprised me even more was the girl that was laying on the futon, unconscious. She was very pretty - she had long, wavy hair that looked as though it would reach her slender waist when she stood. It went from blonde at the roots, and as it cascaded down her back it turned into pink, orange, and finally red at the tips of her hair. She wore a torn and battered traveling cloak - I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be red, or if the blood seeping through the tears had stained it that way.
Kuronue gave me a weak smile. "Amaya-chan, you think you can heal her?"
I nodded. "O-Of course!"
I went to the girl's bedside and placed my hand on her forehead. My palm started to glow with a faint silver light, which grew brighter and stronger as it healed her.
When all of her wounds were gone, I removed my hand from her forehead. The girl's eyes snapped open, which startled me. Her eyes were red, like Hiei's, only the pupil was merely a darker spot in the center of her eyes.
Those eerie red eyes turned to me, and she seemed surprised for a split second. She suddenly jumped up, and threw me to the ground, and I felt a sharp pain tear through the back of my head as it hit the hard stone floor. I cried out, then realized that she had a blade to my throat as she straddled my waist.
"Who are you?!" She demanded. "And what have you done with them?!"
Youko pulled her off of me, and she struggled. Kuronue quickly helped me into a sitting position. The girl struggled against Youko, but he didn't have much trouble keeping her restrained. He was obviously much stronger, physically.
"Amaya, you're bleeding…" Kuronue said.
I gingerly touched the back of my head, and winced. I pulled my fingers back, and indeed, they had blood on them. But my wound would quickly heal.
Part of being a tennyo.
"Midori, stop struggling!" Youko growled as he tried to keep his hold on the now furiously resisting girl.
But the girl was hysteric, and wouldn't stop thrashing about.
Finally, Youko used a technique that seemed to knock her out, and she slumped over in his arms. He carefully laid her back on the futon, and then turned back to us.
He looked at me. "Daijobu ka?"
I nodded. "I'm fine."
I looked at Kuronue, who was still bleeding heavily. I quickly healed him, and sat back on the floor, exhausted from using up so much energy.
"Kurama-kun, what did you do to her?" I asked, my eyes drifting over to the girl on the bed.
"I knocked her out." He said. "She was too emotional to tell us how she got so injured…"
"You called her Midori." I said.
"That's her name."
"How do you know her? An old friend?" I asked. I had never met any of Youko's friends, that it, other than Kuronue and Hiei.
He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um, well, she's kinda…uh…"
I cocked my head to the side curiously. What was his problem?
"Midori is an old girlfriend of his." Hiei said.
Well, that was slightly surprising. Then again, what could I expect from the most known womanizer in all of Makai?
"Kurama, when will she wake up?" Kuronue asked, changing the subject.
"She should be up and back to her normal self in about fifteen minutes." He replied. He seemed to want to look anywhere but at me.
Kuronue nodded, and we waited.
~*~
Youko was telling the truth, and fifteen minutes later, Midori awoke.
She seemed considerably calmer than before, and sighed before she sat up.
"Midori." Youko said, which brought her attention to him.
Recognition flashed across her face. "Kurama."
"Midori, what happened to you?" Youko asked.
She blinked, then started to get up. "Where are they?!"
"Who?" Kuronue asked as he made her sit back down.
"Those two girls! The ones I was with!" She exclaimed. She seemed to be very panicky now. Her eyes suddenly landed on me, and they widened.
"Tsuki-chan?"
I blinked. "Pardon? I'm sorry, but you must have me mistaken for someone else." I said.
She stared at me for a moment before returning to normal. "No, I should be the one that's sorry. I thought that you Tsuki-chan. But I can tell that you're not. Tsuki-chan has longer hair, and it's darker. Jet black."
Hiei spoke up. "Are you going to tell us who the hell you were talking about, and what happened to you?"
She sighed. "We were all being tracked down by a Bounty Hunter by the name of Auron." She said. "He was hired to track down three kinds of youkai - koorime, phoenix youkai, and tennyos."
I tensed. Tennyos? A Bounty Hunter wanted to hunt down tennyos?
"Why?" Kuronue asked for me.
"Because the ningens that employed him want hiruiseki, phoenix feathers, and I'm not quite sure what he wants from the tennyos…" Midori drifted off before speaking again. "Anyways, what happened was he found me, and tried to capture me. However, I managed to escape, and found two other girls that were in the same situation. We all ran away together, and we started to head towards the Shinobi village. I have a friend there, and I knew that he would help us. But about half way there, we ran into some problems. Apparently, your friend here was stealing from the nearby palace, and we got caught up in the storm of guards. I got separated from them, and that's when Auron caught up to me and attacked. The last thing I remember is a scythe flying past me, and Auron screaming. Then I passed out."
We all listened intently to her story, and I began to grow worried. There was a terrible feeling deep in the pit of my stomach, and it made me feel as though I was going to heave.
"What was the name of the other girl that you were traveling with? And what was she?" Youko asked.
"A koorime by the name of Yukina." Midori replied.
Hiei tensed, and his eyes widened. "What?!"
Midori gave him an odd look. "I said a koorime by the-"
"I know what you said, damn it!" Hiei exclaimed.
He suddenly turned and stormed out of the room. I jumped up and ran after him, leaving Youko, Kuronue, and Midori by themselves.
"Matte, Hiei-kun!" I called as I ran after him.
He suddenly whirled around. "Look, I'm going to go find Yukina. Don't try to stop me, because nothing can or will."
"Do you know her?" I asked.
He was quiet for a second, as though he was considering something. "You have to swear on your life…that you won't tell anyone else about this." He said slowly.
"Oh! I promise! I won't tell a soul! Not even Kurama-kun!" I promised.
His jagan pulsed lightly from under the bandana, and then he nodded. "Alright. You check out."
I watched him expectantly, and he sighed.
"Yukina is…Yukina is my little sister." He said quietly.
"Little sister?" I echoed, slightly surprised. I had never thought that Hiei had any family.
"Yes. And if you tell a soul - even that baka kitsune - then I will kill you. You can rest assured on that."
I nodded. "Of course! Now, hurry and go after her."
He started to turn around, but I remembered something.
"Oi, Hiei-kun!"
He turned back towards me. "What?"
"Are you…going to come back?" I asked.
He was quiet for a minute before shaking his head. "No…I'm not coming back."
I nodded again, this time in understanding. I suddenly reached out and hugged him tightly, and he instantly tensed.
"Sayonara, then, Hiei-kun." I whispered. "I hope that you find her safe and sound."
He was still stiff from our contact.
"And…I want you to remember that you will always have a home here." I continued.
I let him go, and he stared at me in shock.
I smiled. "Go on. Go find her. She's going to need you."
He nodded, and turned to leave again. He stopped, and didn't look back at me. "Thank you…Amaya."
He dashed away, leaving me to be the one to stare after him in shock.
That was the first time that he had ever addressed me by my name…
~*~
Author's Notes : Waaah! Hiei's gone bye-bye for the rest of the fic. T______T How was that for a first chapter though? Oh, and each chapter is going to be from a different person's POV, so watch out for the heading to know who's telling the chapter.
Thanks to those who reviewed the last story:
Kagome0102 : I hope I cleared that up in my e-mail. Thanks for the review!!
Suzaku no miko : I read your fic, and I liked it a lot! Lilly is a really cool character! She made poor Kurama blush! ^____^ How kawaii! And to think, she and Kuwa-chan are related! LOL!
Story Weaver1 : Thanks!
FieryKitsune : LOL! No, I'm not Youko! But he's so much fun to write as! He's got some…interesting thoughts to say the least. Oh, and I really really like your name! It's cool! ^____^
miyako14 : Thanks!
Abby : Yeah, his is a little better, but it neither story makes sense unless you read its companion fic.
Katie E. : I'm glad that you liked it! I was just a little worried, because it seemed as though people stopped reviewing, which made me assume that people were losing interest in the story.
Review!!