Yu Yu Hakusho: The Next Stage - By Mayumi Takanashi
Prologue: The Prophecy
Yusuke and Keiko Urameshi stood together cradling their new baby girl. The moonlight shone through the window, reflecting off the baby's sleepy eyes. Although her eyelids were slowly closing, you could still see the pale blue iris, an almost unnatural color. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the little girl had inherited her raven-black hair from her father, the infamous Spirit Detective.
As Keiko sang a sweet lullaby to the baby, Yusuke lowered the infant into the cradle. Whispering, "Goodnight," to her, Yusuke bent down and planted a gentle kiss on the child's forehead. He led his wife out of the room, but not without a last glance to the sleeping baby.
The nightmare Yusuke had that night was only the beginning. It was so real, real enough to make the most powerful man on the earth afraid of a baby girl.
By simply raising her energy, Tokyo had been destroyed, exterminated, annihilated. The only thing the teen had left to do was to murder Yusuke Urameshi. Her eerie, unnatural blue eyes had a burning desire within them: The desire to kill. The evil fire in her eyes glowed brighter as she advanced, clutching a sphere of spirit energy in her palm.
"Goodbye, dear father," she snarled.
And with that, the teen shoved the energy into her father's heart, ruthlessly slaughtering the last man alive in the Living World.
Chapter 1: The Man She Never Knew
Mayumi was a small girl of about nine. Being the daughter of a spirit detective, she had a very strong energy level. Most of the boys at school were afraid to pick on her. This might have had something to do with throwing a boy out a second-story window when he pulled on her hair. Mayumi treasured that memory fondly.
Mayumi was extremely pretty for a girl her age. She had long, raven hair and mysterious, blue eyes. They had an eerie, unnatural quality to them, but that made her only more unique. Even though her beauty was unsurpassable, she was always quite the tomboy. She never wore skirts, always wore her hair pulled back, and her least favorite color was pink.
Mayumi never told anyone why she wasted her beauty like that. She wanted to be pretty like all the other girls at school. She knew that the kids talked behind her back. Deep down, she was wanting to impress one person: Her father, Yusuke Urameshi. She guessed that he had wanted a son, not a daughter. He had many friends who had boys, and he always took such great joy in spending time with them. They might have a football game or a boxing match, but whatever it was, Mayumi was never allowed to join. Her father never spoke to her. It was as if she wasn't even there. This made her very frustrated, but it also made her more determined to win her father over.
One time she had learned that her father was a huge fan of the Martial Arts World Championships. For two years she had saved up for two tickets to the largest tournament in Tokyo. After giving them to him for his birthday, Mayumi secretly hoped that he would take her along. It was a great disappointment when he took his close friend, Kazuma Kuwabara.
Yusuke never really took the time to get to know his daughter. This puzzled Mayumi greatly, and all her efforts to be with him were in vain. She knew there was so much to learn about him, but she never found out a lot. He was like a caterpillar in a cocoon; that was Mayumi's logic. The outer shell would be difficult to break, but once he was freed, he would be a beautiful, kind butterfly.
Mayumi had always admired her father, despite his indignation to her. He was her role model, her idol. She was very fond of him. He may be cold-hearted, but that could eventually be fixed. Her father was perfect: strong, intelligent, and never afraid.
That all changed.
One morning, Mayumi descended the stairs toward the kitchen. They lived above a restaurant, and she could always smell ramen in the house. As she started to pack her school supplies in her backpack, she heard a conversation flow from the kitchen.
"Yusuke, this has got to stop."
"Look, Keiko, what is it you want from me?"
"To love your daughter."
There was a pause.
"You never had the dream I had."
"Oh, not that dream again!"
"She destroyed everything! An unstoppable maniac!"
"Give me a break."
"She didn't show any remorse about slaughtering all those people!"
"You know what your problem is? You're going to let a stupid little dream stop you from getting to know her!"
"I spend time with her!"
"Do you even know what her favorite food is? Her favorite hobby? Her age?"
"Chocolate, putting make-up on, and seven!"
"No! French fries, training, and nine!"
There was another silence.
"You know what, Keiko? I don't want my heart broken. I think I'm-I'm afraid to get close to her, because when that day comes, I don't want to be disappointed."
"Oh, get over it. It was a dream, nothing more."
Mayumi could feel the rage surge through her body like an electric wave. How could her father, who was invincible, bold, courageous, let a dream scare him like that? Was that why he never liked her? All because of a dream?
She had heard enough. Grabbing her backpack, she stormed from the restaurant. She had no idea that it would be the last time she saw her home for a very long time.
His flaming orange hair shone brightly in the early morning sunlight. His blue eyes were as deep as the watery oceans. He took both these qualities from his parents; his hair from Kazuma Kuwabara and his eyes from Yukina. One distinguishable trait was his freckles bedecked on his nose and cheeks. He was also Mayumi's closest friend. Takashi Kuwabara stood at the end of the street searching for someone. A smile crept to his face as he saw a black-haired girl hurry up the sidewalk.
"Hey, Mayumi! I thought you weren't coming. Let's go, we'll be late if we don't."
He saw her flushed face glare at him.
"What's wrong?
She poured out everything that had happened, everything she felt. In the middle of the conversation, Yuki Minamino appeared next to them.
Yuki had inherited both his father's red hair and emerald eyes. He was the mirror image of Kurama. You would never have guessed that his mother was Botan, the chief supervisor of the river Styx. Yuki was also a close friend to Mayumi and Takashi, but his quiet, reserved nature did not quite put him in their loop. Unlike himself, Takashi was louder and slightly obnoxious.
They stopped at the crosswalk, but Mayumi kept walking.
"I hate my father!" she yelled at the top of her voice.
"May! Look out!" shouted Takashi and Yuki simultaneously.
It was as if a movie was playing in slow motion. She turned to the left to see a red sports car speed toward her. Closer it came, closer, closer...
Hadn't her father been hit by a red sports car, too?