| Matters of the Soul Part 2 By Keiko |
| Kurama's eyes narrowed. He didn't like where this was going. "No. I made sure of that." Botan's eyes widened, "You didn't push out a soul, did you?" Horror lined her voice. Behind her, Hiei started in surprise. Kurama rolled his eyes. "Of course not!" he snapped. "No one is as dumb as to break the most serious law in Reikai, regardless of whether you're a spirit or demon! I made sure there wasn't a soul yet before I entered the body!" For good measure, he glared at Hiei, who was careful not to look at him. "Oh. Well, then, this rather complicates things a bit," Botan cringed before going on, "because there's another soul right behind you..." Kurama froze. After a moment, he slowly turned around. "Um..." Shuichi looked bewildered. "Hi..." Kurama whirled back around. "How is this possible?!" he demanded. "That's what I'd like to know." Botan shrugged helplessly. Hiei looked just as bewildered as Shuichi. Botan began flipping madly through her Spirit Guide Manual. "Minamino Shuichi is not in the book of the dead. Koenma-sama checked before I left Reikai. However, Youko Kurama has been registered as a temporary spirit of Reikai, under the name of Minamino Shuichi, because of the human body he occupied. What should have happened when Minamino Shuichi's body died was that Youko Kurama's spirit would go back to Makai and out of our jurisdiction, and whatever defined 'Minamino Shuichi' should go with him." "What does that mean?" Hiei looked dangerous. "what is Minamino Shuichi defined as?" "Well, I mean that everything that's happened to Kurama while he was human will remain with him,things learned, memories, etc., whatever it is, he should be able to go back to Makai after the body dies just as if being Minamino Shuichi was another period in his life as a youko." Botan looked ready to faint. "But here he is, standing before us, retaining all of his memories, as we expected, but there's also Shuichi-kun standing over there..." she trailed off. Kurama looked at Shuichi, his face entirely devoid of emotion. "Do you know who I am?" he asked quietly. Shuichi nodded, eyes not leaving Kurama's. "Who am I?" "... you are Youko Kurama, demon fox. I am the human side, the one that appeared when you were with other humans. With your great knowledge, I was the model student, perfect in every way. We coexisted in the same body, so I was able to witness everything you did. At age six, you killed your first demon in the human body. At age 13, you met Jaganshi Hiei and saved Maya from youkai that appeared in your city. At age 16, you helped Hiei, and Gouki steal from the Reikai treasury in order to help Shiori... Mother... Then you and Hiei went on to help Urameshi Yusuke in his various assignments, one of which was the participation in the Black Arts Tournament, where you were able to manifest your true powers for the first time. You have also participated in the first Makai Tournament, though you lost earlier on. The only person you trust your life with is Hiei." Kurama's pale cheeks were tinged with pink. "That was more than I asked for!" he snapped irately. Botan let out a breath she'd been holding. Closing her manual, she looked up at Kurama and said, almost formally, "I believe that as a result of your merging with the human body in its fetal stage, and all these years of living a double life, a new spirit was born." Kurama looked at her sharply. Hiei stared. Botan cleared her throat. "The birth of a spirit is a rare thing. Shuichi-kun obviously remembers the events of his own life, well, his life that was lived by you, Kurama. This seems to show that whatever you had thought when you entered the body of the unborn child, you had not expected that a human spirit would manifest itself within the body, sharing it with you. A new spirit means that we can formally register Shuichi into our databases." She smiled brightly. "That would be no trouble at all! Problem solved!" "Wait." The red-haired phantom spoke up. "There's more..." he said softly, staring off into nothing. "You have survived hundreds of years in Makai. As a cub, you were hunted for your silver youko pelt. You were a thief, your talent being able to discern anything hidden. You stole for the first time at the age of five. You have killed many times and betrayed many, including Yomi, who is now a powerful demon in Makai. You made your first kill when you were nine, in revenge for the murder of your clan. You took shelter in Shiori's body when chased by a Hunter. That," he nodded towards the still body on the bed, "was the body you occupied for many years, as a human..." "Oh my." Botan breathed. "... you are also me." Shuichi finished, voice lowered to a whisper. Kurama was deathly white, his eyes wide with surprise. Tension marred every line of his body."How...?" Shuichi shrugged elegantly, "I told you. You are me. I am you. You know everything about my life, therefore it is only natural that I should know everything about yours." Botan, over her initial shock, went madly through her manual again. "There's no record of any such thing!" she wailed. "Leave us." Botan and Hiei started in surprise. "What?" Botan asked. "I said leave us." Kurama replied, his golden eyes locked on Shuichi's ghostly green ones. Shuichi returned his gaze calmly. "But..." Botan looked like she wanted to protest, but Hiei was suddenly between her and Kurama. "Let's go." Hiei said shortly, staring ahead. The two went out the window. |
| Keiko's rants: Yeah, it's just as simple as that. No Kurama having accidentally pushed out a soul or anything. No long epic fic. It was meant to be short anyway. I only thought of making it longer after I started posting, but by then the fic was already finished anyway. Sorry about the font. I had to shrink it so everything would fit right. Back to Part 1 On to Part 3 Main K & K |