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The Worthless Humans	By : Oreana Category: Yuyu Hakusho > General Views: 9953 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 33
- 34
- 35
Fifteen Years Later….

The sun disappeared behind the gray storm clouds
that
bellowed with thunder and were filled with rain. The last school bell
finally
rang letting out the students for the final day of the week. Looking
out at the
rain that threatened to pour, the fawned over redhead grabbed onto his
umbrella
he had packed for the day just in case it were to rain while he was
heading to
his house. On his way out of the school for the day, he ran into a
couple of
young women who couldn’t help but wave at him as he passed with a
giggle and
smile upon their face. The teen redhead offered a sincere smile as the
girls
walked by him while he continued down the hall that would lead him
outside to
the main gates. Walking past the gates of his school, he looked up at
the
thundering clouds above him as he headed down the sidewalk that would
take him
to his home.

The wind got a bit rough as he continued on home.
His wild
red hair blew about the wind as he kept the umbrella close by with his
book bag
flung over his shoulder. When he felt a raindrop grace his fiery red
hair, the
popular student didn’t hesitate to open the umbrella and protect
himself from
the oncoming downpour.

The weather sure has
been horrible lately, he thought as he continued on down the
walkway he was
heading down. As the rain began to tap furiously upon his umbrella, it
was hard
for him to hear for anyone that would be calling to him.

The rambunctious teen known as Yuske hurried
quickly through
the downpour that had come upon the area. He was breathing heavily as
he
hurried towards the redhead with a have of his hand. “Kurama!” He
shouted over
the rain. When he failed to get the redhead’s attention, he called out
to him
once again as he cupped his hand over the side of his mouth to get his
friend
to notice him. “Kurama!”

Hearing his name shouted over the falling rain,
Kurama
turned around to look at the running Yuske with his deep green eyes. “I
see you
are out and about, Yuske,” Kurama couldn’t help but chuckle a bit when
Yuske
finally caught up with him. “I hope you will be dried up when dinner is
ready
at my house.” Kurama had offered to invite his friends over to his
house for
dinner seeing as his mother did accept.

Yuske shook his head a bit as his hair was slicked
down upon
his face thanks to the rain weighing it down. Running his fingers
through his
hair, he managed to nod at Kurama. “Yeah, sure, of course I will be. I
was just
trying to catch up with you since I was wondering if it would be okay
if I
crashed at your place until after the dinner,” Yuske wondered as he
remained
there under the rain, soaking wet. “The last thing I want to do is go
home and
get chewed out by my mother for not attending school again.”

Kurama gazed at his watch for a moment before
nodding at
Yuske’s request. “Sure, I don’t mind at all. Just promise me you won’t
drip all
over everything.”

Yuske couldn’t help but laugh at the thought as he
snuck
under the umbrella to help lessen the rain that was impounding upon
him. “Yeah,
yeah, I will try. You are always so picky when I go to your house.”

Once the boys made it to the Minamino household,
Yuske took
off his jacket and shoes so he wouldn’t drip too terribly bad on the
floor. Wringing
out his jacket, Yuske entered inside of Kurama’s house after his friend
opened the
door for him. Kurama kept the door partially opened for Yuske until the
wild
teen finally let himself inside once Yuske felt he was dried off
enough. His
hair was still soaking wet and water dripped form his face as he
entered the
house, but he paid it no mind as he walked on inside to look at
Kurama’s house
he rarely saw.

“If you want, you can go upstairs and dry off
better in the
bathroom,” Kurama encouraged as he pointed towards the stairs not too
far down
the hallway they were within.

“Thanks,” Yuske replied as he jogged up the stairs
to get to
the bathroom to dry off from the rain.

Kurama let Yuske run on upstairs so he could work
on his
homework that he had for the weekend. After he took care of his
umbrella, Kurama
grabbed onto his schoolbag and headed on upstairs in his socks to get
to his
room. Walking down the upstairs hallway, the redhead turned into his
bedroom
where he tossed his bag there next to his desk before heading over to
his bed.
He was exhausted from the day and could afford to just relax for the
moment as
he lied out on his sheets to gaze up at the ceiling. His fingers
interlaced
behind his head upon the pillow, Kurama sighed softly as he watched his
ceiling
fan.

Yuske eventually opened the door to Kurama’s room
without
warning with a towel in his hands. Just drying off his coal black hair,
he
tossed the used towel over his shoulder with a loud sigh to break the
silence
within the redhead’s room. “What’s with all the rain lately?” Yuske
wondered as
he shook a bit to try and get the rest of the water off of his body.

Kurama looked out the window close to his bed with
a brief
smile. “They often say when it rains the battered souls in Spirit World
are
weeping.”

“Where did you read that?” Yuske wondered with a
smirk as he
sat down at Kurama’s desk.

Closing his eyes as if to avoid the question,
Kurama
reopened them with a smile pressed upon his face when he turned to look
at
Yuske. “I guess I should get started on my homework soon. I have a few
things
to study for.”

“And it isn’t due until Monday,” Yuske felt need
to point
out as Kurama got to his feet to chase him away from the desk Yuske was
sitting
behind. “You are such a nerd.”

“Well, it is one of the things I am good at,”
Kurama
chuckled as he brought his bag up to look through his books and papers
for what
he would need.

Seeing as the bed was open, Yuske headed over
towards it to
lounge upon it seeing as he wasn’t up for walking around. Besides, his
sleeping
time was rudely interrupted when Keiko spotted him skipping class.
Stretching
upwards towards the ceiling, Yuske brought his hands behind his head
where
Kurama’s once rested. “So, what is the deal with this dinner, Kurama? I
know
you—there is never a time you will get us all together unless something
is
going on.”

“I’ve been a little worried,” Kurama admitted as
he opened
one of his school books to begin reading. “I have been feeling a
demonic power fluctuating
around my school lately. It has been distressing me with all things
considered.”

Yuske cocked his brow in confusion as he sat
upright on
Kurama’s bed, “A demonic power? What class demon do you think it is?”

“I am not sure,” Kurama answered as he continued
splitting
his attention from his weekend school work to Yuske. “Demons can
suppress their
powers, you know.”

Yuske leaned forward with his hands resting upon
his thighs.
“What do you plan on doing? And, more to the point, what do you want us to do?”

“I just want you all to be careful,” Kurama
encouraged as
his ivy green eyes wandered over to an image of him with his mother.
The
redhead couldn’t help but take the photo he was looking at to gaze upon
it
before setting it back where he had placed it. “The last thing I want
is for
anything to happen yet again. And with you, Yuske, being the new Spirit
Detective for Koenma, you should be aware of the demons that have snuck
into
Human World.”

Yuske rolled his eyes at being reminded of his job
that
Koenma had given him. Waving off the thought so he could lie back down
lazily
upon Kurama’s bed, he sighed with a nod. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I will
look into
it when I can. The demon is hanging out at your school so just give me
a ring
whenever this demon shows up.”

Yuske’s laziness came as no surprise to Kurama.
All he could
do was offer a soft smile at his friend’s behavior. As he continued to
work on
his school work while Yuske lounged around, a knock came at Kurama’s
door
before it was slowly opened. Hearing the knock as well as his door
opening, the
redhead looked over his shoulder with a sincere smile upon his gentle
expression.

The young woman with brown wavy hair looked down
sweetly at
the young redhead she knew as her son. “I am glad to see you are home,
Shuichi,” the woman replied in a gentle tone. Her eyes looking over at
Yuske
who was resting upon her son’s bed, she couldn’t help but giggle as she
brought
her hand up to her mouth to conceal it. “I see your friend is here
quite
early.”

“Yes, mother,” Kurama chuckled just the same as he
looked
over his shoulder at her. “He was eager to come over and eat dinner. I
allowed
him here so I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s no problem at all, Shuichi,” Kurama’s mother
expressed
kindly as she looked over at Yuske who was kind enough to sit upright
to greet
his friend’s mother. “It is a pleasure to meet you again, Yuske. I will
go and
get ready on that dinner.”

“Pleasure meeting you Miss. Minamino,” Yuske waved
from
where he remained there on the bed. When the door was closed, Yuske’s
russet
colored eyes looked over at the working Kurama with a hum of thought.
“I guess
the main reason you are on edge is because of your mother. I can
understand
that.”

Kurama pressed a smile as she nodded at Yuske to
express his
concern on the matter. “I worry for her with what all my past has held.
I don’t
want her to be mixed up in what I have done…”

Yuske knew of Kurama’s past as Yoko Kurama and it
surprised
him very little to know Kurama wanted to hide that side from his
mother. Pushing
himself up off of the bed, he sighed a bit at the thought of his own
mother
waiting back at home. “Well, I better go call my mom at least. I will
be right
back,” Yuske grumbled as he left Kurama’s bedroom.

“Sure,” Kurama answered as Yuske left his room.
Looking back
at his studies, he couldn’t help but gaze back up at the photo of him
and his mom.
She meant the world to him and he worried what this new demonic power
could
mean for either him or the others in his group.

--------------------------------------------------------

Kurama kept his eyes opened when he attended
school on
Monday. He could still sense the demonic power within his school and it
worried
him as he jotted down the notes he felt he would need in his math
class. When
the class ended, Kurama felt a sudden surge of the powers he was
sensing.
Turning his attention towards the door that would lead out into the
hallway
where the energy was coming from, Kurama was quick to pack up his
things so he
could track it down.

Excusing himself from class, he walked out into
the hallway
to travel down the school’s hallway to hunt down for whoever it was. The power keeps rising and falling,
Kurama thought with bewilderment. It is
as though the demon cannot control it. Turning the corner down one
of the
hallways into another, Kurama followed the force into the cafeteria
only to
lose trace of what he was hunting for with a sigh of disappointment.
Seeing as
it was time to eat anyways, the redhead dug into his bag to get his
food.

Grabbing his lunch his mother packed, Kurama
headed outside
where he enjoyed eating his lunch. The breeze was subtle that day as he
made his
way to the front of the school where he sat down on one of the benches.
Digging
into the brown bag he had with him, Kurama situated his food on the
bench that
he had all to himself. He enjoyed eating alone seeing as he was the
obsession
of some of the females in his school and the envy of some of the guys.
As he
was eating within the shade of the trees nearby, the branches began to
rustle a
bit and give signs that something was up above him. The leaves falling
from the
tree beside him, Kurama looked up into the branches that towered over
him to
spy the problem with a laugh.

“I see you are still hanging around out here,
Okuro,” Kurama
remarked as he shielded his food from the bits of leaves and bark that
were
falling onto his spot.

The elder student Kurama was talking to jumped
down from the
tree limb he was hiding out upon. Laughing softly as he joined the
empty spot
beside the redhead, the senior stretched upward in his white t-shirt
and pink
pants he was forced to wear when attending the same school as Kurama.
He didn’t
enjoy the color so he rid himself of the top shirt and stuck with the
pants. The
wild nineteen year old had soft blond hair that nearly looked white. It
was cut
closely to his neck except for his bangs that reached down to his
cheeks up front.
His mismatched dark blue with brown bill hat he was lectured
continuously for
wearing to school hid his hair everyday. Everyone questioned him
wearing such a
thing but he just popped out jokes about why he wore it. “Sorry about
that. I
didn’t expect anyone to be sitting here at all today,” the teen
explained.

“You know your mother is going to lecture you for
skipping
class again today,” Kurama warned. He tutored Okuro at his house after
school
from time to time seeing as the boy was almost twenty and still in his
senior
year thanks for the times he had been held back. He was desperate to
try and
help the guy graduate regardless of what it took to do so.

Okuro rolled his eyes a bit at the thought as he
looked
about the area to make sure none of the teachers were nearby to hassle
him for
it. “My ma will be okay. Don’t worry about her.” Digging into his
pocket, Okuro
pulled out a few pieces of paper to show to Kurama. “Look what I
managed to
snag.”

Kurama looked over at the papers Okuro had once he
took a
bite out of the food he had in his bag with the chopsticks his mother
placed in
there. His eyes widening at what the mischievous boy managed to steal,
Kurama
was quick to grab them from Okuro with a shocked expression. “Okuro,
these are
the answers for the upcoming test you have in your math class! Where
did you
get these? More to the point, how did
you get these?”

Sighing at Kurama’s reaction, Okuro snagged back
the papers
with a smirk. “Just like that,” he answered simply.

“Okuro, I swear,” Kurama sighed with a shake of
his head.
“If you are not stealing things that aren’t yours, you’re stealing test
answers. You cannot keep doing this or you are going to be expelled!”

“Please, you act like I am going to get caught,”
Okuro
gloated. He had been known for testing out his pickpocket skills on
everyone he
could. It was a way for him to survive when he was growing up and he
and his
mom had very little. Throughout his teen years, it was hard for that
part of
him to die and he continued to steal from others to get things he
wanted and
didn’t feel like really working for.

Kurama heard the bell ring to indicate that the
next class
would start soon. Looking at his watch, he packed what was left in his
bag and
got to his feet with an irritable sigh. “Look, I will just give the
papers back
to the teachers. They would never believe I would take them and you
will be
saved once again.” Kurama situated his bag over his shoulder before
bothering
to criticize Okuro with his expression. “And after school meet me at my
house.
You are graduating this year whether you want to or not.”

Okuro merely scoffed as he lied back against the
bench to
gaze up at the sky above. Confused a moment at what Kurama had just
said to
him, seeing as the last thing he remembered he had the papers, Okuro
began to
feel of his pockets only to find them not there. “Hey!” He growled
realizing
that Kurama had stolen the papers back from him. “Shuichi, give those
back to
me!” Jumping up from the bench, Okuro dashed after the redhead who was
quick to
take off to escape the angered senior.

Kurama refused as he dashed into the school
building with
the papers he cleverly stolen from Okuro in return. He was always
stealing
things back from Okuro to give to their rightful owners. Kurama had
tried
countless times to get the mischievous boy to stop his thievery but it
was a hard
habit for Okuro to break. Being a former thief himself, it wasn’t
difficult to
get things back from the wild Okuro seeing as he was a novice compared
to the
once legendary bandit Kurama used to be.

Okuro quickly ran into the school building to try
and chase
down Kurama who was quick enough to disappear down the many halls
within the
high school. As he was dashing through the hallways to try and track
down his
tutor only to be halted by the principle, who happened to catch Okuro
who
zoomed right by the room he had been visiting.

“Okuro Suzuki!” The principle shouted making
everyone
freeze, including Okuro. The stern, elder male headed down the hallway
in his
suit with a frown he often expressed to the wild boy. “It’s nice to see
you are
actually here. Too bad all your teachers found you absent today.”

A nervous smile made its way across Okuro’s face
as he
shrugged. “I got better and decided to come to school?”

The principle wasn’t above buying anymore of
Okuro’s simple
stories as he thumbed over his shoulder. “My office—NOW!”

Grumbling, Okuro followed the principle to his
office down
the hall. As he did so, he caught the redhead watching the event from
one of
the rooms he was passing by. Seeing Kurama there with a shrug at the
situation,
Okuro could only show his frustration as he was herded down the end of
the
hallway. I’ll get your ass for this, Shuichi.

Okuro plopped down in the chair opposite of his
principle’s
chair. Slumping down within the leather one he was given, he looked
unimpressed
to be where he was seeing as Okuro had witnessed the principle’s office
way too
many times. He didn’t like getting caught, especially when the day was
nearly
over.

“So, Okuro, what am I going to do with you?” The
principle
asked as he sat down to eye the troublesome teen’s record. “If you do
not
sharpen up and attend class as you should, you will fail once again and
be
forced to repeat your senior year. Are you willing to do that again?”

Okuro said not a thing as he looked unenthusiastic
with a
sigh through his nostrils.

Sighing as well at Okuro’s impudence, the
principle grabbed
onto the phone to hand to the student. “Call your mother. You are going
to be
in detention after school with me for an hour all this week.”

Rolling his eyes, Okuro took the white phone but
not without
eyeing the principle with a raise of his brow. “Care to leave me alone
to do
so?”

It was always a request by Okuro to be left alone
to call
his mother. The principle never understood why, but he agreed to once
he dialed
Okuro’s home number quickly. “Make it quick. This isn’t a big house
call,” the
principle encouraged as he got up from his chair. “I should have your
mother on
speed dial with how much trouble you cause.”

Okuro watched as his principle disappeared for the
moment
before removing his hat he wore to reveal his coal black fox ears he
was
ordered to keep hidden from the world. The phone ringing at his house,
he could
only frown a bit at the sound of his mother’s voice at the other end of
the
line. “Hi, ma, it’s me,” Okuro began with a bit of a chuckle to try and
lessen
his mother’s angered reaction that would follow. “No, I was merely
trying to
skip classes today because—,” stopping a moment to listen to his
mother’s
lecturing, Okuro flinched a bit at her slight yelling. “—Why? Because
school is
boring, ma! Anyways, I have detention all this week after school and I
still
have to go to Shuichi’s house to study for math and science.” Okuro
paused once
more as he listened to what else his mother had to say to him while he
bit on
his nails. “I don’t know if I am going to make it back in time for
dinner. I
promise I will try, ma. Goodbye—I love you.”

Hanging up the phone, Okuro put his hat back on
just in time
as the principle entered the office once more. Sitting back down at his
chair,
he looked at Okuro with a shake of his head as he situated his phone
the way he
preferred it. “Alright, Okuro, go to your next class and I will see you
at the
end of the school day. If you don’t show up, I will be forced to
suspend you.
You are dismissed.”

Okuro excused himself with a grumble as he exited
the
Principle’s Office. Shutting the door behind him, he headed down the
halls to
get to his next class with his hands in his pockets. He was in no hurry
to get
to his next class so Okuro simply walked down the hall he was within to
get to
science.

An hour after school was over, Okuro was dismissed
from
detention and Kurama parted from the science lab he enjoyed working in
from
time to time. The two of them met up to where the two halls they were
within
joined to make the main entrance hallway. Kurama could tell Okuro was
displeased with getting him into trouble regardless but he said not a
thing. He
merely smiled as he nodded towards the doors that would lead them
outside and
to the gates of the school.

“Ready to go home and study?” Kurama asked as he
headed
onwards in front of Okuro.

“I swear, if I didn’t fear getting hanged for
beating up the
wonderful Shuichi, I would do it right now,” Okuro threatened.

“That’s awfully kind of you,” Kurama chuckled
softly as they
both exited the building late that afternoon.

The two boys headed to Kurama’s house that day so
they could
at least study for a few hours. Okuro refused to have him over at his
house due
to his mother’s paranoia in strangers being near her that she didn’t
know. She
was also extra cautious lately and would rather her son spend time with
his
friends away from their house than have them be invited over. Kurama
never
questioned why they couldn’t do this at his friend’s house but the
thought did
come to his mind every now and then.

Both of them studied in private there in Kurama’s
bedroom. Okuro
had to do extra homework for the classes he skipped intentionally as
part of
his punishment. The math homework and science was really testing his
nerves as
he tried to solve the equations given to him. “Man, this is really
putting me
to the test.”

“Well, seeing as you have a math test soon, I
would really
take an extra look at your math homework,” Kurama encouraged as he
continued to
work on his own school work.

His face meeting with the carpet Okuro was resting
upon, he
used it to muffle his groan he unleashed at all the work set before
him. “I am
never going to get through with this crap.”

Kurama looked over at Okuro with a bit of a smile
as he
shook his head. “I will go and get us something to eat to last us until
dinner.
You continue your work and I will be back in a moment. Is there
anything
specific you would like?” The redhead asked as he got to his door.

“Just get me anything with chocolate in it—do you
have pocky
sticks?” Okuro asked once he lifted his head off the ground.

“Yes but they are only in strawberry,” Kurama
answered at
the doorway.

“That will do.”

Kurama parted from his room to head down the
stairs to get
the food he had in mind. He knew his study buddy wouldn’t be able to
survive
without food in his stomach. Okuro was known to be a glutton at times
and
Kurama knew Okuro’s stomach growling would make things difficult for
the both
of them. Searching through the cabinets that had the snacks he was
thinking on
eating and sharing with Okuro, a demonic power attacked Kurama’s senses
and
froze him where he stood.

Spinning around when he could feel his body once
more, he
looked up at the stairs not too far away with nervousness. It’s
that same power again, Kurama thought as he hurried up the
stairs where he could feel it. The demon
must have followed me home! He hurried down the hall once he was
upstairs
to throw open the door to his bedroom where he felt the energy
previously with
a panicky look. “Okuro, are you okay!”

Okuro looked up from his book with a scoff as he
nodded.
“Yeah, what is wrong, Kurama? You look like the world is going to end.”

The more Kurama stood there, the more he realized
that the
power had gone down. The thought only worried him more as he quickly
parted
from his bedroom to head down to his mother’s door. Knocking on the
door for a
warning, he opened it to peek inside with fear written on his normally
calm
features. “Mother, are you okay!” He exclaimed in the bedroom.

Hearing her son’s fearful tone, the woman got to
her feet to
allow Kurama inside if he wanted to be. “Of course I am, dear. What
ever is the
matter?”

Placing his hand on his rapidly beating heart,
Kurama shook
his head with a sigh of relief. “It is nothing. I guess all the
studying
recently is really getting to me. Don’t worry, mother.”

“If you say so,” Miss. Minamino responded as she
watched her
son head back to his bedroom. Tapping her finger upon the doorway she
stood
within, she watched as Kurama disappeared into his bedroom without
another word.
She was still wondering what was going on with him lately. Ever since
he turned
fifteen it appeared as though he was really on edge. “I hope he will be
okay. I
wonder what has gotten into him,” she whispered to herself as she
closed her
door behind her.

The young Okuro was there upon the floor still
when Kurama
entered the bedroom once more still looking slightly worried as he did
before.
“Is something wrong?” Okuro asked once more with a light laugh
wondering what
could have possibly gotten to the normally calm redhead. “You came
flying in
here like the planets were out of line.”

“Nothing, nothing,” Kurama insisted as he headed
back over
to the desk to continue his homework. “I just thought—it’s nothing,
Okuro,
don’t worry.”

Okuro merely shrugged as he went back to his work
there
before him. “Hey, smart ass, get your butt down here and help me with
this
problem, will you?”

Regardless of the boy’s colorful choice of words,
Kurama
parted from his work once more to get down next to his friend to look
at the
problem there in the book. As he was doing so, the scent of a demon
wafted his
senses and caught his attention. Looking at Okuro’s side profile,
Kurama
furrowed his brow in interest. This
couldn’t be true…is Okuro a demon?

Wondering why Kurama went silent, Okuro gazed over
at his
tutor with a cock of his brow. “What is it? Why are you staring at me
like
that?” He suddenly felt very uncomfortable as he leaned away from
Kurama’s
piercing gaze.

“It’s nothing,” Kurama insisted as he looked back
at the
problem in the math book Okuro had out in front of him. But before he
could say
anything about the homework his friend was having issues with, the
clock within
the house rang to indicate the hour of the evening. Pulling back his
sleeve on
his shirt, Kurama checked out the time. “Well, it looks like it is
nearing time
for dinner. I guess it flies when you have to serve detention.”

Closing his books, Okuro scoffed at the redhead.
“Yeah,
yeah, well now I have to go home and hear it from my mother. I guess I
better
get home. I promised her I would eat dinner with her.”

Kurama watched from the floor as Okuro gathered
his books to
head on home. Gradually he pulled himself to his feet so he could help
his
friend to the door but as he did so, the nagging feeling about Okuro
being a
demon came back over the former fox demon. “So, Okuro,” Kurama began as
they
both exited his bedroom, “I don’t really know much about you or your
family. I
have tutored you for some time and not once have I ever seen your house
or
where you live.”

“And for good reason,” Okuro was quick to express
once he
made it to the front door. “My mother doesn’t really like my friends
over. I
can’t say I blame her with all the things she has been through.”

“What happened to her?” Kurama pried.

Sighing at having to think on it, Okuro looked at
his
concerned friend with a shake of his head. “I cannot tell you. I am not
allowed
to tell anyone about it.”

Hearing such a thing probed Kurama’s interest as
he allowed
Okuro to leave his house without another word on the matter. Leaning
against
the door he closed once his friend departed, Kurama brought his hand up
to his
mouth to think for a moment. His hand soon grabbing onto the curtains
that
cloaked the windows beside the front door, he watched as Okuro headed
down the
sidewalk without looking suspicious. It
still makes me wonder…

The entire walk home made Okuro sigh as he watched
the sun
disappear to give way to the moon. To have to think on why his mother
had
become the way she was made his mood change into awfully melancholy. As
a
child, he could still remember bits and pieces of what happened to them
both in
Makai and it tore at him and gave him nightmares. There were times he
wished he
could have gone back and protected his mother, but he knew what was
done could
not be undone.

Making his way to the apartment his mother and him
had moved
into four years ago in Japan, Okuro jogged up the stairs to make it to
his home
with the keys in hand. Opening the door cautiously, he peeked around
inside to
look for his mother. “Ma?” He called as he closed the door behind him
and
placed his keys on the dining table that rested at the end of the small
hallway
from the front door he entered the apartment from. “Mom, are you home?”

The interior was different and not as grungy as
when Okuro
and his mother first started living on their own. They had a black
leather sofa
instead of the grungy green one at the old apartment in America they
kept for a
time and pressed against the left wall where a glass table was in front
of it
to give drinks and such a place to rest if anyone were to watch TV. The
television was at the opposite wall with the news channel running on
low as
usual. The kitchen was connected to the living room so Okuro could
plainly see
that she was not there as he made his way down the next hallway that
held two
bedrooms and a bathroom.

“Mom, are you here?” Okuro called once more as he
made it to
her bedroom in the very end of the hallway. Getting to her bedroom
door, Okuro
knocked upon it to try and get her attention before opening it to peek
inside.
“Hello?”

Nari’s room had one bed pressed against the wall
near wall the
door was and a small television to the right of it so she could watch
TV
whenever she felt the need to do so. A desk, where she spent most of
her time
writing small stories and articles that she would get published in
magazines
and newspapers, rested beside the television and held a black lamp upon
it and
a telephone close by. A bookcase was beside the desk and held many
books on
fantasy and demons seeing as Nari preferred to read to pass time and
help jog
her inspiration for the things she wrote about.

Continuing to look about the room, he saw not a
sign of his
mother. The sound of the front door opening caught Okuro’s attention as
he
pulled himself from his mother’s bedroom to go up front to greet
whoever was
there. It came as no surprise to see his mom as Okuro pulled his hat
from his
head to reveal his black fox ears. He saw his mother make her way into
the
house with a couple of bags of groceries she had obviously bought while
he was
at Kurama’s. “Hi, ma, do you need help with the groceries?”

Nari placed some of the bags on the dinning room
table. Her
layered blond hair was still the same as before and she looked as
though she
were around her son’s age if not a little bit older no thanks to the
injection
that still stayed with her. She was wearing a long-sleeved black,
v-neck t-shirt
with loose hanging white pants with black designs upon the sides. “Yes,
it
would be nice. Thank you, Okuro,” Nari responded, sounding quite
winded. “Put
your hat back on and here are the keys to the car.” Tossing her son the
keys,
she pointed at him after a snap of her fingers. “And when you get back
up here,
I want to talk to you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Okuro groaned as he took the keys to
get the
rest of the groceries.

Once Okuro and Nari both managed to get the
groceries in,
the two of them worked on putting them up. Nari was less then pleased
with the
news she was called with earlier dealing with her son. Slamming the
cupboard to
show her frustration, she showed Okuro her disappointment with her
hands
resting upon her hips.

“Okuro, what am I going to do with you?” Nari
asked angrily
as she gathered the items she would need to make dinner. “With how many
times I
have gone to your school, I am surprised I haven’t gotten a perfect
attendance
award!”

Okuro sighed as he sat down at the dinning table,
removing
his hat so that his ears could breathe. “Ma, I am sorry! I just wish I
could
get a job like you did without an education!”

Having to think on the school years Nari missed
out on
pained her and angered her at the same time. Leaning against the
kitchen counter,
she frowned at her son’s choice of words. “So are you telling me you
would
rather be a sex slave for the rest of your life and hope to come back
to find a
paying job?” Nari wondered furiously. “Okuro, do you not recall that we
came
here with nothing and we were practically broke for a year or two?”

Okuro raised his hands as he realized he hit his
mother
rather hard with his choice of words. “I am sorry, ma,” he apologized
sympathetically.

Massaging her forehead, Nari pointed down the
hall. “Just—go
do your homework. Dinner will be ready in a little while.”

Before Okuro could hope to leave and do so, there
was a
knock at the door. Looking at his mother, he placed his cap on with a
tilt of
his head. “Were you expecting company?”

“You know I don’t invite guests, Okuro,” Nari
answered with
a shake of her head.

Hurrying over to the front door, Okuro answered it
only to
be surprised who was on the other side. Keeping the door cracked
slightly so
that nobody could see in the apartment room very well, he glared at the
redhead
he was shocked to see. “Shuichi, what are you doing here!” He exclaimed
softly in
wonder.

“I came by to hand you your science book you left
at my
house,” Kurama answered as he showed Okuro his book he had indeed left.

Okuro was quick to snatch his science book with a
nod.
“Thanks, Shuichi, now leave.”

“Okuro,” Nari began in disappoint from the
kitchen, “that
isn’t very kind of you to say to a friend, let alone your tutor!” Nari
knew who
‘Shuichi’ was when it came to Okuro’s time at school. While she was
nervous at
the thought of him being nearby, Nari felt it wouldn’t hurt to let just
him
inside for a moment or two. He had taken care of her son and helped him
survive
school since they met.

Looking back at Kurama, he sighed a bit with a
roll of his
eyes. “Thanks, Shuichi, but now I have to go do the rest of my work.”

Kurama kept the door from closing completely as he
slipped
his foot in the door’s way. “Actually, if you and your mother don’t
mind, I
wouldn’t mind staying to try and help you out further.”

Nari heard the redhead that she could hardly see
as Okuro
was blocking her view from where she stood. “Okuro, that sounds fine
with me.
It would help you with your study habits you are so horrible at.
Besides, you
are being punished at the moment for getting into detention.”

Okuro could only groan as he opened the door the
rest of the
way, “Come in, Shuichi.” Watching as his tutor walked on inside, he
hissed
silently within his ear, “I’ll kill you for this later when there are
no witnesses!”
Guiding Kurama on inside the rest of the way, he waited for his mom to
turn
around so that he could introduce the two since she was getting dinner
ready.
“Mom, this is Shuichi Minamino, my tutor and Shuichi, this is my
mother.”

Nari finished breaking up the pasta she had in her
hands
before turning around to greet the friend of her son’s she didn’t know
was her
former master. Managing a nervous smile upon her features, she extended
her
hand to Kurama’s. “Welcome to our home, Shuichi.”

Kurama on the other hand recognized Nari right
away seeing
as she hadn’t changed one bit from when he last saw her in Makai. His
entire
body went numb as he took Nari’s hand loosely to shake it in return. Oh my God…Nari Kudo…! Looking over at
Okuro, Kurama tried to keep his surprise in check though it was awfully
difficult. No wonder he smelt like a
demon…Okuro is a demon! He is a half demon! Pressing a smile on
his face,
the redhead managed a nod for the two. “Thank you, Miss. Suzuki. It is
a—pleasure to be here...”
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The Worthless Humans