Chapter One
Ever since he was fourteen, change became a normality in Yusuke’s life. Back then it didn’t bother him; he had welcomed it with wide open arms. Anything to get away from the hell hole he’s forced to call home. Lately, however, the very word was beginning to get on his nerves.
He had been ready to return to normal life after the dealings in the Makai. Perhaps ‘ready’ wasn’t quite the word, but he had prepared himself none the less. He wasn’t needed in the Makai and wasn’t needed to protect the human world any more. It gave him an odd sense of emptiness knowing he wasn’t needed to protect any longer.
In fact, he wasn’t needed by quite a few people anymore. Kuwabara was well on his way to getting into a collage to study veterinary, if anyone would be of any help to him it would be Kurama. Atsuko had found herself a steady boyfriend, surprisingly enough, the man wasn’t even a drunk and was able to keep Atsuko sober for longer than a day. Yusuke had only met the man once, but was pleased. The man would be good for his mother.
Even Keiko didn’t seem to need Yusuke anymore. Apparently she had met a young man whose future was cemented; Yokushima if he remembered the name right, he would be going to collage after summer. He planned on becoming a doctor just as his father and grandfather had before him. He’d be able to provide her the one thing Yusuke probably would never be able to; a steady life. Even though his life is slowing down considerably, it wasn’t like Yusuke to lead a normal life. Keiko had a feeling that another journey was beginning for him and didn’t want to stop him; whatever his path may be. She would rather worry about him as friends…nothing more. Hard though it was, Yusuke accepted her decision. As expected, he threatened Yokushima with mayhem and murder should he do anything to Keiko.
Yusuke sighed heavily as the bird on his shoulder gave a soft coo and nudged his cheek. Finding a job without a high school diploma was next to impossible; add that to his still thriving reputation and work was basically out of reach for him. He was eighteen, basically an adult, and yet he couldn’t find a job to support himself.
He played with the idea of going back to school, but his past experience with teachers made him think twice. A week after his return Genkai had come to him; she had been letting him stay with her in exchange for doing the chores around the temple and keeping up his training routine. She told him of a friend who owned a shrine on the other side of town, the man was probably as old as Genkai, but wasn’t a powerful physic. He claimed to be a priest, but he wasn’t strong enough to harm Yusuke...or a fly for that matter.
His family was living with him, for his sake, but the youngest; and only boy, wasn’t old enough to do the heavy work around the shrine like repairs and such. When presented with the idea of her old pupil coming to help them out, the old man had talked it over with his daughter. They both loved the idea; it would be nice to have someone strong help out around the shrine. They would provide him with housing in exchange for his services.
Yusuke could have leapt up the stairs with immense ease, but refrained. For some reason he felt like walking up the seemingly never ending steps. It was just as well too, the old man was at the top of the steps waiting for him. Giving the man a heart attack wouldn’t be a good first impression.
“You must be Mr. Urameshi,” the old man smiled warmly. His hands were clasped behind his hunched back. He looked Yusuke over for a moment before a light laugh escaped his lips. “With how Genkai spoke of you, I was half expecting a young whelp.” Yusuke opened his mouth to object before the old man spoke again. “Obviously that’s not what you are, good. That’s what we need around here,” the man spoke as he began to walk, Yusuke fell in step beside him. “…a good strong young man.”
Puu shifted on Yusuke’s shoulder uncomfortably. Yusuke knew he could sense the odd energy that flowed through the shrine, though he got the brunt of most of it. The energy seemed to be inspecting him, checking to see if he would be a danger to the family or not. He simply chalked it up to the old man being a priest, perhaps the energy came from him.
“Tell me young man, do you by any chance…believe in demons?” Yusuke stopped in his tracks, taken off guard by the sudden question. Grandfather Higurashi stopped and chuckled, seemingly amused by his reaction. “Well, do you?” He prodded gently.
“I’ve heard stories,” Yusuke shrugged casually. “But I don’t really think they exist, it’s too far fetched.” They began walking again.
“Really? Well my boy perhaps that may change…”
“What do you mean?” Yusuke asked, but the old man refused to answer.
‘Genkai said the old man was a priest, can he know I'm a demon?’ Yusuke wondered. He’d best keep his guard up around these people, something wasn’t right around here. It was as if some big secret was being kept from the world. Yusuke followed the old man inside the house; the atmosphere around there was comfortable.
“ Willow, this is Mr. Urameshi. He’s the young man Genkai sent to help around the shrine,” Grandfather Higurashi informed his daughter as they stepped into the kitchen. Willow put the dish towel aside and walked over to the two men smiling.
“Nice to meet you Mrs. Higurashi,” Yusuke said.
“As is you Mr. Urameshi.” Yusuke shifted a bit uncomfortably; he wasn’t used to being addressed so formally. He’d been called by his last name before, but not with such politeness behind it. Normally a hint of distaste would be within the speaker’s voice, but the woman spoke only with kindness.
“Uh, Yusuke’s fine,” he muttered. Willow chuckled under her breath.
“All right then,” she nodded. “Come, I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying.” She led him up the stairs, as they went he spotted pictures of the family. One of them in particular caught his eye; he stopped for a moment to look. Mrs. Higurashi and Grandfather Higurashi were in the back smiling; in the front were a young boy and a teenage girl. The boy was holding a rather fat cat. He saw no trace of a father in any of the pictures and felt a pang of sympathy. It was hard growing up without a father. He turned to find Mrs. Higurashi watching him, her eyes shadowed with sympathy. Did she know somehow? No words were exchanged between them as she led him to the guest room.
“Thank you Mrs. Higurashi,” he said as he walked into the room.
“You’re welcome; I’ll let you get settled in.” Willow closed the door behind her. Yusuke dropped his bag haphazardly on the ground and sat on the edge of the bed. Puu decided the pillow looked more comfortable than Yusuke’s shoulder so took up residence there. Yusuke looked at the room from his spot on the bed; the sunlight leaked in through the window. The room was spacious and was cleaner than his old room; he could bet that the desk was actually its original color. The colors of the room consisted of light blue and white, the furniture added shades of brown.
This would do for now, until he could figure out what he wanted to do with his life. At least he was doing something in the meantime. If any demons attacked the shrine he’d know what to do.
“Who am I kidding?” he groaned. That part of his life was over, he needed to bury it ten feet under and just forget about it. Though, it’d be much easier if he didn’t have demon blood running through his body constantly reminding him of what he truly is. “This is so stupid! I bet Koenma’s up there right now having a good laugh about all of this,” He grumbled as he fell backwards onto the bed and glared at the ceiling. Perhaps if he glared long and hard enough it’d get through to Koenma and burn a hole through his ‘important’ paperwork.
IIIIIII
Willow added a sprinkle of seasoning to the skillet as the meat on it continued to sizzle. She was fully prepared for Souta to follow the delightful smell of dinner, but hadn’t been expecting Yusuke’s pet to land on her shoulder and rub his head against her cheek. She laughed lightly and stroked his head, eliciting a pleasant sound from the odd bird.
She couldn’t quite figure out what type of bird he was. His feathers were a beautiful royal blue and he had short black feathers coming from the top of his head to the base of his neck. They were incredibly soft to the touch. But it was the, she guessed they were, ears that confused her. All in all he was a strange bird, his behavior even stranger.
He moved from her shoulder, which was far narrower than Yusuke’s, to the counter. He stayed back far enough where he’d be a harmless observer. Buyo, however, had other plans. Fat though the cat was, he still managed to be as active as a thin cat. Grandfather Higurashi would know; the cat could definitely run fast enough when in possession of one of his ancient demon artifacts.
Buyo simply watched Puu, eyes concentrated on the single feather that hung off of the edge. His tail twitched in anticipation as he crouched down getting ready to pounce. He meowed in obvious disappointment as Souta sauntered in and picked him up; destroying his previous plan.
“Who’s the bird belong to mom?” Souta asked as he looked at the unfamiliar bird Buyo had just tried to pounce.
“He belongs to Yusuke,” she replied as she turned off the heat beneath the skillet. “The young man arrived while you were at practice.” Souta let Buyo go once away from Puu; he could have sworn the cat pouted as he slinked away. “How did practice go today?” She asked as she began to place the food on the table with Souta’s help.
“It was okay, but the grass was soaked from the rain last night.” He inwardly winced as he remembered the number of times he fell victim to gravity just as his fellow teammates had. He wouldn’t be surprised if his knees or rear end sported bruises tomorrow. “Buyo, I wouldn’t if I were you!” Souta warned as he spotted the cat trying to pounce the poor bird again. Puu suddenly called out his namesake and flew across the kitchen to land on Yusuke’s shoulder; who had just barely entered the doorway.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding out eh buddy?” Yusuke’s hair was tousled, indicating he had been snoozing. Despite the number of times he ran his hand atop his hair it would not smooth out. Upon waking he had immediately noticed the lack of Puu’s presence. In unfamiliar territory Puu would usually hang around Yusuke, but to be venturing around already the Spirit Beast must feel comfortable.
Dinner was fairly quiet, save for the occasional question tossed in Yusuke’s direction or vice versa. Grandfather Higurashi contemplated the young man’s quiet and well mannered behavior. Genkai had clearly described her former pupil as a delinquent, hard headed, and loud mouthed. However, he hadn’t seen any indication that this boy fit any of that. Had she sent the wrong boy perchance? He then inwardly shook his head; Genkai only had one pupil as far as he knew. Perhaps, once he’d been there a fair amount of time, his true personality would shine through. Yusuke did, after all, look the part of a delinquent. No doubt he had the personality to match.
“That bird of yours is certainly exotic,” the old man pointed out. “Reminds me of what I imagined a phoenix to look like…for the most part,” he chuckled.
“Yes, he certainly is beautiful,” Willow added. Puu ruffled his feathers a bit and puffed out his chest in pride.
“How did you come across such a bird?” Grandfather Higurashi inquired.
“A friend gave me the egg before it hatched,” Yusuke explained. “He didn’t say where he got the egg or what kind of bird he is.” He didn’t lie completely, there was nothing wrong with a half truth now was there?
“What’s his name?” Souta asked, momentarily forgetting about his dinner.
“Puu,” Yusuke replied. “When he hatched he would say that sometimes, somewhere around there it sort of stuck,” he explained when questioned about the origin of the name. He conveniently left out the part that Puu had once resembled a squashed penguin with long bloodhound ears and Yusuke had been far from pleased. Thus he hadn’t cared what the blue puff ball was called.
“I didn’t see you bring in a cage for him,” Willow said.
“He never needed one,” Yusuke gave a half shrug.
“So he’s a trained bird?” Souta’s face lit up.
“I guess you can say that.” Souta spent the remainder of dinner bombarding Yusuke with questions. Not only about Puu, but about whatever question happened to pop into his mind. Some of Yusuke’s answers had been vague or seemed like he was trying to bend the truth, but he was never questioned about it….or the rambling boy just didn’t notice. Either way the questions continued, Yusuke began to see no end to the now seemingly endless line. They only stopped when Souta was forced to finish his dinner and then go upstairs to do his homework.
After dinner had been cleaned up and the dishes put away, Yusuke had been bombarded by yet more questions. It was understandable, seeing as they knew little about him despite all of the questions Souta had asked. As before, he was vague with touchy questions he thought too personal and bent the truth more than once. The old man continued questioning long after Willow had stopped; most of his questions, Yusuke soon found, revolved around demons. His suspicions about the old man only strengthened; perhaps he was more aware than Genkai knew.
As the night wore on and the talking continued, Willow noticed the mental exhaustion in his eyes. While the trip there hadn’t been tiring, figuring out how to answer each question was draining. Especially when the topic was demons; he couldn’t give too much information, but couldn’t refuse to answer the question. He had to decide when to bend the truth, lie outright, or give a very vague answer. Willow put her hand over her fathers, causing the old man to stop speaking.
“We should retire for the night, I'm sure he’s tired,” she said calmly. Yusuke mentally thanked her, but the relief in his eyes indicated thanks enough. He yawned as he closed the door behind him and stripped off his shirt and jeans before pulling on a pair of pajama pants. Puu, who had gone back to the room halfway through Grandfather Higurashi’s questioning, lay curled up next to the pillow sleeping. Yusuke slid beneath the covers and fell asleep almost instantly.
IIIIIIIIIII
The mid-afternoon sun was highly unforgiving as it bore down upon Yusuke’s exposed back. Occasionally a stray cloud would cover the sun, thus relieving Yusuke from its rays if only for a few minutes. Though the cloud would pass by and the sun would once again be revealed.
Yusuke paused in his hammering to sit back on his haunches and wipe the sweat from his brow. He had been repairing the well house roof since Souta had gone off to school, which had been fairly early in the morning. He had to replace most of the aged wood with new slabs that would most certainly hold for at least ten or twenty more years. Unfortunately taking apart the roof, getting the wood, and cutting them to fit had taken up the morning and part of the afternoon. He’d probably be finished with the roof by nightfall, sooner if he was lucky.
Yusuke looked around wildly for a moment as a sudden chill ran down his spine. Everything on the shrine grounds, however, was calm. Nothing out of the ordinary could be spotted or sensed. Perhaps he was just getting jumpy. He shook his head and continued his hammering; a harsh wind suddenly blew around him nearly knocking him off of the roof. His eyes narrowed, that wind was not natural. Suddenly a bright blast connected with the roof sending both him and the unfinished roof down into the well house.
He cursed violently as he pushed a few stray boards of wood off of him. Hours of work utterly destroyed in seconds! When he looked up he could see a female form standing on the remainder of the roof. She held a fan before her face, hiding half of it from view. Her crimson eyes looked down at his fallen form, various parts of his body bleeding from shallow cuts caused by the wood. He could feel his demonic healing begin to kick in, soon the cuts would become nothing more than a memory in a short hour or so. She chuckled as he stood with clenched fists, looking ready for a fight. The woman gracefully landed in front of him, never saying a word.
Yusuke’s fists glowed with his spiritual energy; this woman was going to regret attacking him by the time he was through with her! Before he could react she had pulled something out from her pocket and jammed it into his forearm, a pale green liquid drained into his veins. His eyes widened in pain as the liquid quickly took effect; electricity seemed to be running through his body quicker than it should. His vision began to blur and his mind could not process a single coherent thought.
The demoness simply smirked as she folded her fan, her job was done. She looked at his glazed eyes, whether he still knew she was in front of him she didn’t know. Nor did she rightly care. She placed a hand on his chest and pushed the young half demon lightly. Due to his state, he easily lost balance and soon felt himself falling backwards. He felt the back of his head smack against the lip of the well; no doubt that would turn into a headache.
The female turned to leave, but stopped when she saw light explode from the well. It had a reddish glow to it, sparks of light shot up from the well going at least twenty feet into the air. She threw her arm up to cover her eyes as the light intensified, going from a deep red to a blinding white in seconds. Just when she thought the well would explode it suddenly quieted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
She slowly lowered her arm and peered into the depths of the well. All she saw was darkness and remnants from the roof. Perhaps whatever had happened to the well had incinerated the boy in the process. She turned to leave the disastrous scene behind; whatever had happened to that boy wasn’t her problem.