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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
- 35
- 36
- 37
Images of the past flooded Nari’s mind as she
remained out
cold from the overwhelming emotions that engulfed her in the hallway.
Every
painful cut and bruise she received hurt her once more as her body felt
as
though it was being torn brutally. She could see blood spilling upon
the ground
after every cracking of the whip she feared since she was fourteen. Her
face
contoured into discomfort there upon the sofa as she tried to rouse
herself
from the horrible dream she was having. Her fingers clutched into tight
fists
at every sound that echoed within her mind that reminded her of the
horrors of
Makai, Nari eventually shot up awake when something damp graced her
feverish
forehead.

Kurama jerked his hand away when Nari shot upright
in
surprise of the wet cloth he was placing upon her forehead. Sighing
softly, he
put away the dampened fabric he had within his hand so he could check
on his
former sex slave. “I am relieved to see you are okay.”

Nari looked to the young teenager beside her that
had been
by her side since she passed out. She panicked as she quickly moved to
the
farther end of the sofa with a fearful expression. “What are you doing
here,
Yoko Kurama!” She exclaimed in terror. “What do you want from me!”

“Nari, listen to me,” Kurama insisted gently as he
remained
where he was. He could tell she was awfully frightened and he didn’t
want to
corner her, fearing what she would do. “I came here to apologize for my
past
actions.”

“Apologize?” Nari scoffed as she stayed scrunched
up before
the arm of the sofa she was upon. “This is some sort of cruel trick,
isn’t it?
I thought you were dead! I was told you were dead!”

Thinking back on his death, Kurama hummed in
thought at the
incident. “I didn’t die. I saved myself by sending part of my soul to a
pregnant woman’s unborn son here in Human World where I became her
child.”

Nari shook her head wondering where this was
heading. She
dared not make a move in fear of angering the demon that used to
brutally slash
at her whenever she did something he didn’t like. Her breath was
quickening as
she watched his every move closely.

Seeing her anxiety level rising, Kurama raised his
hands to
try and settle her as he continued, “Nari, just calm down. I am not
going to
hurt you.”

Words didn’t convince her as she remained a safe
distance
away from the redhead.

“Anyways,” Kurama sighed, “I was reborn as Shuichi
Minamino,
the redheaded half human…who loves his mother more than any woman at
this
moment.”

Hearing an affectionate term in the demon’s
vocabulary made
Nari bitter as she turned her eyes away from Kurama. She refused to
believe a
single word he spoke as she pushed herself daringly up from the sofa
she was
sitting upon. “Love? Since when do you even know the definition of such
a word
let alone have the nerve to say it in front of me?” Cupping the side of
her
forehead, she tried her best not to cry as she focused more on her rage
than
any other emotion. “Now? You want to do this NOW of
all years to come to me and apologize?”

Kurama sighed softly in regret as he looked down
at his
folded hands within his lap. He knew he was in for it but he felt he
owed it to
her to listen more than ever.

“Yoko Kurama, you destroyed my humanity since I
was fourteen
years old,” Nari expressed as she pressed her hand to her chest. “I was
only
fourteen years old! You took the only purity I had and ripped it right
from my
body and just kept on ripping at me until—!” She paused as she ran her
fingers
through her layered blond hair. Her hands cupping her face to try and
hide the
pain in her eyes, she lowered her hands from her face to embrace her
shaky
form. “Look at me, Yoko Kurama! I want you to take a good look at what
you have
done!” Nari demanded through her quivering tone of sadness.

The ivy green eyes of the redhead gazed up at the
frightened
Nari with a shake of his head. “Nari, you are not the only one
suffering
through the pains of the past,” he expressed softly as he got to his
feet to
remain there before the sofa. “When I gained a heart and emotions that
I had
never felt before as the legendary bandit, you know the first emotion I
felt? I
felt regret, then sorrow, and then sadness especially when I dared
think of my
past in Makai.”

Nari still refused to believe such a thing as she
raised her
hands and threw them down as if to beat the words away from her. “I
don’t
believe you,” she said softly as she turned her back to him.

“Nari, I understand I put you in pain and all I
can say is I
am sorry,” Kurama continued regardless. “I know that a measly word such
as that
cannot heal the many scars I put upon your body in my ruthless ruling
in Makai,
but it is the only thing I can say to you to try and help heal the pain
I
caused!” When Nari continued to shake her head at his words, not
wishing to
believe him, he reached hesitantly over towards her to try and show he
meant it
only to have her jerk away from him quickly.

“No!” She exclaimed as she turned away from the
persistent
redhead. “Get away from me,” Nari begged softly once more as she shook
there in
the living room near the television that rested before her upon the
floor.

Kurama wasn’t sure what to say or do at this point
as he
brought his hand back to his side that he used to try and console Nari.
Remembering
about his old friend, Kuronue, he turned back to the formally abused
slave. “As
far as Kuronue was concerned, I never blamed you for his death,” Kurama
continued as he looked down off to the side so as to find the courage
to
express his feelings he hoped to never bring out into the open. “In all
honesty, I blamed myself more than I did you.”

Hearing of Kuronue, Nari turned to finally look at
Kurama
through her straight, blond hair. She never spoke of the bat demon in
years
though she was reminded of him through the necklace her son held around
his
neck. “How dare you do this to me now,” Nari scorned as she pointed at
Kurama.
“I finally find a time in my life where I am not thinking about Kuronue
and you
want to show up and start to play with my emotions and push my buttons?”

“I am not trying to hurt you, Nari,” Kurama
insisted as he
stayed put a few feet away from her. “All I can say is I am sorry for
what I
have done and I wish you would let me show that I am!”

“Listen to me, Yoko Kurama, and listen well,” Nari
growled
as she kept her furious sight set upon the demon. “There is nothing—NOTHING
you can do to show me that you have changed! There is nothing that you
can say
to make me believe you are sorry for all you have done to me!” The
feelings at
that point were too much and Nari couldn’t help but hide her face as
she sat
down upon the floor that was carpeted beneath her. Her palms caressing
the
tears she finally started to spill, Nari shook her head as her body
jolted with
heaping sobs.

Kurama watched as Nari made it down upon the floor
before he
boldly started making his way over to where she was sitting in her own
misery
that he helped egg out. Kneeling down next to her, he extended his arms
this
time and managed to embrace her in hopes of Nari not fighting the
affection he
was willing to show to her. His eyes closed to urge the crystalline
tear to
slip from the corners of his eyes. The single tear he unleashed curved
down to
the side of his face to hold onto his skin until it was weighed enough
by guilt
to drop down and dissipate upon Nari’s makeup concealed neck.

Feeling the small dampness of the tear crash upon
her neckline,
Nari stopped sobbing for a moment to feel the area with her fingers
wondering
what it was seeing as she never expected the demon to ever cry. Looking
over
her shoulder at the redhead, she could only express equal sadness as
she shook
her head with her tears continuing to flow from her equally green eyes.
“How
could you do this to me? How could you show up now and express sadness
for all
you had done to me?” She demanded to know through her tears. “I am in
my
thirties, Yoko Kurama, and I look as young as my son…how could you
curse me so
and decide to now, of all times, apologize with the tears you shed for
me now?”

Sighing through his nostrils, Kurama cupped the
back of
Nari’s head to bring her close to his chest as he wished to hide the
sadness he
felt though it was difficult. “The reason Botan wanted you to move out
so
quickly was because of me showing up and eager to apologize for all I
had done.
She knew you weren’t ready for me and I guess I didn’t want you to slip
away
again without me being able to speak to you and Okuro once more. The
guilt
lately has been too much.”

Nari rested her cheek there on his shoulder as she
looked at
nothing in particular with a quivering inhale and exhale. “Yoko
Kurama…it is
going to take some time to let me get better towards this. You have no
idea
what you have done to me.”

“I don’t expect it to be overnight, Nari,” Kurama
explained.
“I just want to work on healing the damage I have done.”

Nari didn’t know what to say towards that. She was
willing
to try and mend what had been ripped from her but it was hard for her
to even
be hugging the demon who caused it all. Wiping the tears that had
stained her
face, she removed some of the makeup on her features to hide the scars
that had
been permanently placed there by the Rose Whip. Seeing the skin colored
liquid
cover on her hands, she felt tempted to hide her face but didn’t this
time as
she slowly pulled her hand from her features. “Dammit,” she hissed
softly as
she excused herself from the demon’s embrace. “I need to put my makeup
back
on.”

“Why?” Kurama felt need to ask as he stood to his
feet with
her slowly. “Are you planning on going somewhere?”

“No, it’s not that,” Nari insisted with a sniffle
as she
moved some of her stringy hair behind her ear. “I just don’t like to be
up at
all without makeup covering up the scars you gave me years ago.”

Kurama watched as Nari started to head down the
hall to get
to the bathroom that was on the right. As he looked about the apartment
there
from the living room, he began to think on the many different plants he
had
within his possession. He gazed upon the walls to look at the pictures
that
were resting there before remembering something he often used upon
himself
whenever he got deep cuts from adversaries. “Nari, I think I may have
something
that can slowly heal your scars.”

Pulling from the bathroom door, Nari looked down
at Kurama
with uncertainty written on her expression as she shook her head
gradually. “I
don’t think so, Yoko Kurama…I am sorry, but I am not going to trust you
that
quickly.”

“Please, just call me Kurama,” he insisted as he
walked over
towards the coffee Nari left behind. “And when you’re around my mother
or
anyone from my school, please call me Shuichi.” Reaching into his red
hair, he
pulled a few of his plants from it as he arranged them to find the
right seeds
to use so Nari’s scars could gradually heal.

“Why do you have three different names?” Nari
managed to ask
moments later as she continued working on her makeup in the bathroom.

“Because I work for Spirit World and that is the
name people
know me as,” Kurama explained as he eventually found the items he
needed.
Crushing up the parts of the plants he would use and grinding them into
her
coffee silently, he kept looking over his shoulder to see if Nari was
coming. “How
about a cream I could give you to help you with the many scars you
have?”

“If it’s coming from you,” Nari called from the
bathroom, “I
still say no.”

Kurama couldn’t blame her as he finished what he
was doing
with her coffee just in time to see the young, abused blond coming from
the
bathroom once more. “I am sorry, I guess I expect way too much after
all we
talked about.”

Sitting back down at the table, Nari took her
coffee and
started drinking it once more with a slight nod. As her fingertips
tapped
against the mug’s sides, she looked up at Kurama with words that
threatened to
explode from her mouth. Swallowing them from time to time, Nari
eventually
couldn’t take it as she looked up at the fox demon. “If you want to
know more,
you can sit down. Besides, it is going to be awhile before Okuro comes
home and
he needs to know about this…seeing as you neglected him as your son
back when
you were old enough to be his father.”

Kurama took the seat he was within previously.
“Another
decision I regret,” he replied seriously. “While he may be wild, he is
still
someone at this moment that I would be proud to call my son.”

Bringing the coffee cup slowly down from her lips,
she shook
her head at him. “No, that is something you need to tell him and not
me,
Kurama. I wasn’t the one who dumped him and ridiculed him because of
his blood.
You were the one who made him into what he is to this day and you need
to
apologize for it. It took awhile to get some of that hate out of him.”

“I will when he comes home,” Kurama promised as he
looked
down at the table in shame.

Both of them were silent for a while as they
wondered what
to say to the other. Nari’s fingers tapped upon the cup within her
hands once
more. “Would you like something to drink, Kurama?” She asked
submissively as
ever.

“I would like that,” Kurama answered. “Just water
for the
moment, please.” The demon watched from the table as Nari did just that
without
hesitation. He could tell she was still slightly brainwashed into
believing she
was his slave. It pained him as he remained there at the table, waiting
patiently for his drink. This is going to
take just as long as it did for Yoko Kurama to break her.

The conversation between the two went on for a few
hours. It
was hard for Nari to recall the events that happened to her after she
escaped
Makai. She went from a horrible low to a steady crawl towards the
light, but
right now she was still crawling towards the only light she could see.
Finishing off her coffee, she looked over her shoulder at the clock
there upon
the wall to see it was almost time for Okuro to come home.

“Well,” Nari began as she checked her watch as
well, “it
looks like Okuro will be here soon with detention over. I hope you’re
ready for
his claws to come out.” Grabbing onto her drink that she had finished,
she took
Kurama’s as well seeing that he was done. “Okuro has despised Yoko
Kurama since
the day he was born so he tells me or, rather, told me.”

Kurama merely shrugged, “I figured that. He told
me what he
thought of his father and what he thought of Kuronue who actually
stepped up as
his dad.”

Hearing that Okuro spoke of Kuronue made Nari
pause after
she put up the glasses that had been used previously. “Really? I never
heard Okuro
speak a word of Kuronue in years,” she admitted while heading back
towards the
table. “I honestly believed after awhile that he had forgotten about
Kuronue.”

“I am sure your son hides thing from you because
he fears
what bringing them up may do,” Kurama explained. “He’s a lot smarter
than you
give him credit for.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that he is a clever
boy,” Nari
expressed as she cleaned up the table with a wet rag. “After all, his
father
was the cleverest and conniving demon in Makai.”

Kurama said not a word as the door to the
apartment soon opened
to reveal a weary Okuro. As the young adult closed the door behind him,
he
showed that he was more than surprised to witness Kurama there within
his
house. Kurama wasn’t sure what to say though he laughed nervously at
his son’s
expression.

“So this is where you ran off to,” Okuro grumbled
as he
dropped his bag near the door. “I went to your house, expecting you to
be there
seeing as you were absent and your mom directed me to my own home.”

“Okuro, pick up your bag and move it from the
door,” Nari
ordered from where she was standing within the kitchen as she hunted
for
something to make for dinner.

The young demon did as he was instructed before
turning his
attention back to his tutor. “So what the hell are you doing at my
house when
there was school today?”

Nari quickly intervened as she waved her son away
from
Kurama’s face. “Son, why don’t you go and get started on your homework?
Shuichi
will be in there in a moment to help you through it and explain why he
is
here.” She could see her son was hesitant to move as he probably senses
her
fear and anxiety, but she was quick to wave him onward regardless. “Go
on,”
Nari insisted quietly.

Okuro moaned in displeasure at being ordered from
the scene
but he listened to his mother and headed down the hall to get to his
bedroom on
the left.

Kurama and Nari both eyed one another wondering
how they
could tell him the truth. Nari knew it wouldn’t be easy seeing as Okuro
felt
the same way about the past as she did though he held a lot more anger
towards
it. “You are going to have to tell him,” Nari was sure to whisper as
she looked
to the redhead across the table. “I am not going to be there to hold
your hand
through the trouble you caused for him.”

Excusing himself from the table, Kurama headed
towards the
hallway. “I don’t expect you to and I wouldn’t want you to,” he
admitted as he
made it down the hallway to the boy’s bedroom door. “This is one of the
burdens
I have to carry on my own all the way to the end.” His knuckles rapped
upon the
wooden door in front of him before Kurama bothered opening it to let
himself on
into Okuro’s dark room. “Okuro, is it okay if I speak to you for a
minute?”

“About homework?” He wondered as he got to his bed
to sit
upon it hunched over. “Yeah, yeah, I have it all out and ready so I can
get
this crap over with.”

Kurama sat down next to Okuro as he shook his head
after
closing the math book that his son had opened. “It’s not about the
homework
right now and your mother knows it is not about the homework.”

Hearing the seriousness in Kurama’s tone almost
paralyzed
Okuro as he looked at his friend with a bit of worry. “What is wrong?
Something
is wrong, I know it! I smelt it on my mom when I—I mean—God dammit,” he
hissed,
cupping his forehead in his hand.

“Okuro, you don’t have to explain,” Kurama said as
he
pressed his hands against his own chest. “Because I am just like you
and sense
the same things you do.”

Bringing his head up from his palm, Okuro looked
up at
Kurama confused and yet worried at the same time. He slightly moved
from beside
the friend he had since he moved to Japan. There was something about
him now
that seemed much different than before that made Okuro nervous.

“Okuro, I am a half demon as well,” Kurama came
right out to
say with his human heart beating wildly within his chest. “The reason I
am half
of a demon is—because I am the reincarnation of your lousy birth
father.”

Okuro didn’t want to believe that what he was
gathering from
Kurama’s words were true as he steadily got to his feet from his bed.
“What—are
you talking about, Shuichi?”

“Okuro, please sit down,” Kurama slightly begged
as he
reached for the boy’s wrist only to miss it as Okuro was quick to pull
it away
from his grasp. Seeing that the boy was growing upset by the moment, he
raised
his hands to try and explain. “I am—or rather, used to be, Yoko
Kurama…the
silver fox that you remember beating and raping your mother.”

“You bastard!” Okuro screamed angrily as he
charged at
Kurama to grab onto his neck in attempts to choke him once the
redhead’s back
hit the floor. His fingers still wrapped tightly about the skin of the
fox
demon’s neck, he narrowed his eyes angrily at the teenager beneath him.
“How
dare you show your face now! What are you doing here! Have you come
here to
torture my mother some more!”

Kurama gagged as his esophagus was being attacked
by the
outraged Okuro. His hands gripped onto the wrists of the other half
demon as he
tried to lessen the pain being dealt to his throat. “Okuro—stop! I am
not here
to hurt you or your mother! I came here to apologize,” Kurama stressed
as he
tried to get Okuro away from him without hurting the young demon. The
plants
that the demon could control listened to their master as the vines
crept up his
arms from his sleeve to embrace about Okuro’s upper arms and neck to
make him release
the tight hold he had on Kurama.

Feeling the plants creep up his arms startled the
half demon
as he jerked back quickly from Kurama’s throat to try and get them off.
As Okuro
fell backwards on his rear, the hat he wore flew off of his head to
reveal his
coal black fox ears he had since birth. Shaking his hands furiously to
try and
get the creepy, crawly feeling off of him, he rubbed his arms while
looking at
Kurama with his ears pinned flat against his head to show his anger
that was
still there. “You and your stupid plants! A reason I haven’t been able
to
handle plants since birth!”

Coughing, Kurama grabbed onto his throat gently to
try and
ease the pain that was there thanks to Okuro’s attack. “Well, you can
control
the same thing seeing as you came from my bloodline,” he explained with
a
wheezing sound. “Goodness, you certainly can strangle somebody.”

“Well, all these years I was saving it for you,”
Okuro spat
angrily as he ran his fingers through his stringy hair. “So what are
you doing
here? Why have you come back to taunt my mother again?”

“Okuro, I am not here to hurt you or your mother
anymore
than I already have as Yoko Kurama,” Kurama expressed once he regained
his
breath. “I came here to apologize and atone for what I have done to you
and
your mother.”

“Please,” Okuro jeered, “there is not enough words
in the
dictionary that you can put together that will atone for what you’ve
done.” His
arms crossed upon his chest, he walked over to the vanity within his
room to
look at his dragon candleholders so he could light the candles within
them. “Do
you have any idea what you did to my mother?”

“I have an idea,” Kurama answered as he sat down
upon the
side of the bed, realizing he had better keep a close eye on the half
demon
within his sight.

“No you don’t!” He snapped as he looked over his
shoulder at
his tutor while lighting the candles within his bedroom. “You weren’t
the one
that had to watch her crumble every day. You weren’t the one who had to
reassure her that the legendary bandit wasn’t coming to kill her when
you were
only seven fucking years old!” Okuro growled as his tone got louder and
louder
upon every word he spoke. Turning around to face Kurama once he had the
nerve,
Okuro gripped onto the sides of the wooden vanity behind him so he
wouldn’t
attack the legendary bandit again. “You weren’t the one who had to
watch your
mother go further down hill and be the one to try and pick up after her
when
you were only a kid! You had a cushy ride through life, Shuichi
Minamino. I
didn’t and it is the one reason I don’t want to graduate to leave my
mom here
alone without me!”

Kurama felt a bit bad about the life he was given
when he
was nothing but a heartless demon back in the day. Thinking on his
son’s words,
he nodded at him before gazing at the carpet beneath them since he
hadn’t the
nerve to look Okuro in the eyes just yet. “To tell you the truth,
Okuro, I
didn’t think I deserved a wonderful mother like the one I have. She,
however,
was the first one to break the evil and deadly Yoko Kurama and all she
had to
do was protect me from the dangers that were within the house.”

“My mother showed you compassion on some occasions
and you
never took it,” Okuro hissed as he flattened his ears once more.

“She didn’t get marked up for my well being,”
Kurama
explained. “But I know, if I had treated her differently, she would do
so
without question. I know she would have done it for Kuronue if the
dangers in
Makai weren’t so overwhelming for a mere human.” Pushing himself up
from the
bed he was upon, he outstretched his arm towards his exasperated son.
“May I
see the necklace?”

Okuro’s hands wandered onto the necklace he often
hid within
his school shirt as he hesitantly removed it from his neck. “You better
not try
anything stupid, buddy,” he hissed bitterly as he handed over the
necklace. “I
treasure that thing seeing as that demon was my only father I ever
knew.”

“I understand,” Kurama whispered as he took the
necklace
from the mixed fox demon to look at the item. A smile eventually crept
across
his face as he massaged the gentle surface of the necklace he held
within his
palm. “It was the one thing Kuronue refused to remove. Sensui told me
that it
was because of this very item that his fate was sealed and he threw it
back to
me.” Sighing at the remembrance of that time, he shook his head.
“Please don’t
tell your mother that. She will blame herself for Kuronue’s death.”

Okuro looked at Kurama confused as he pointed at
the demon
across the room. “But you told my mom that Kuronue was already gone
when you
got there and that was all you found of him. You never told her that
part, even
when you blamed her.”

Kurama could only shrug as he handed the necklace
back to
Okuro with a sigh. “What can I say other than the fact I blamed myself
for not
getting you both out of there sooner.” His hands slipped into his
pockets of
his outfit as he watched his son put the necklace back around his neck.
“Okuro,
all I can say is what I said to your mother, and that is that I am so
sorry for
all I have done to you both. I wish I could take back the things I said
and did
but it is not that easy to go back in time and erase the scars of the
past we
all bare now. I am sorry I lacked the heart that I can feel with now.
If I had
it then, know that I would have not done all the things I have done.”

Okuro sighed as he looked off to the side as if
not wanting
to believe either the words Kurama was speaking like his mother before
him.

“But there is one thing I do not regret,” Kurama
expressed
softly, “and that is having you alive at this moment thanks to
Kuronue’s
stand.”

The coal black ears of the mixed fox demon stood
upright at
the words given to him before he bothered looking Kurama’s way. He
never thought
he would hear such a thing from the very man that damned him so long
ago.
Blinking a few times in bewilderment, he raised his brows at his once
friend.
“What did you say?”

“A part of me was proud that day you were a born
but I
refused to admit it,” Kurama elaborated. “I am glad that Kuronue stood
up to
take care of you when I was unable to.” Laughing a bit at himself, he
outstretched his arms before releasing them to his sides. “And I
obviously
still am with me being younger than you.”

Okuro’s palm met with his forehead as he expressed
a swear
word under his breath. “Kurama, what the hell am I going to do then? My
mom
cannot handle this world any better than she could Makai! She freaks
when she
has to deal with a new face and she has severe panic attacks that I
fear are
going to kill her one day!”

“What do you want me to do, Okuro?” Kurama asked
somberly.

“Just tell my mom that this isn’t what she wants!”
Okuro
insisted. “She has convinced herself that this is the life she wants to
lead
but she is miserable every day of her life; especially without somebody
close
by to help her with what she is going through. I am about to graduate
if I do
well on all my work this semester and I will be forced to leave her
here…alone.”

Kurama cupped his chin in thought as he listened
to Okuro’s
pleading words. “Are you sure she will be fine anywhere else?”

“Do you honestly think she will be fine here?” Okuro wondered as
he was persistent to have his mother live somewhere else. “Kurama, she
may not
look it thanks to your injection years ago, but she is tired and she is
a lot
older than she appears. Even if she is only thirty-five, those years
down in
hell really destroyed her and made her grow up a lot faster than anyone
would
care to. The same can be said for me. We just want to retire now…we
just want
to go somewhere where we won’t be bothered.”

Kurama was quiet for a moment as he continued to
think on
the situation silently to himself. “How about I talk to Botan and
Koenma? The
only places on earth you can truly send your mother as well as yourself
are
either up in Spirit World or back down to Makai,” Kurama motioned as he
explained. “Now, I know Makai isn’t an option, so I will see what
Koenma will
say about Nari going back up in Spirit World to remain. I am sure he
won’t mind
seeing as it was his intention from the beginning to keep her up there,
I
wager.”

“That is all I want for her,” Okuro exhaled with a
bit of
relief. “She cannot stand it down here. She has fooled herself into
believing
this is what she wants and it isn’t.”

Kurama waved his hands gently to simmer down the
upset
Okuro. “Alright, alright, I will go and talk to them as soon as I can.
The
answer you will get will probably come tonight.” Heading for the door,
he was
stopped by his son when Okuro’s hand met with his shoulder. “What is
it?” He
asked once he gazed at the young mix-breed.

“If you can get my mother to move from Human World
to
somewhere where she won’t be a nervous wreck the rest of her life,
maybe then I
will feel some sort of acceptance of your apology,” Okuro explained.
“But you
better not just disappear from my life when I have you right where I
want you,
Yoko Kurama. You are not just going to spout apologizes and leave us
both
again, right? You have an obligation to be with us with Kuronue gone.”

A soft smile crept across his face as Kurama shook
his wild
red hair out of his face. “Okuro, that was never my intention. My
intention was
to make up for all I have done and that involves a lot of time with you
both.”
Looking over at the floor where the schoolbooks were left, he chuckled
for a
moment with a shrug. “I am sorry, but I cannot help you with your
homework
right now. I have to go and talk to the Spirit World leader. I will try
and be
back in time to do so.”

Without another word, Kurama left the room and
headed past
Nari to let himself out to do such a thing in hopes of at least
redeeming
himself.

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

Nari remained at home that night as she flipped
through the
television channels that were paid for. Not many held anything
interesting as
she eventually found herself turning off the TV to look over at her son
who was
working on his schoolwork there in the living room as well in front of
the
sofa. Tossing the remote on the opposite side of the sofa, Nari reached
down to
shake her son gently.

“It’s time to go to bed,” she said softly over the
rain that
was pounding against their windows. “I will wait here for Botan to
return with
a message from Koenma if such a thing will be delivered tonight as you
said.”

Closing his books he had out before him, he
gathered them up
before sitting down next to his mother. “I may trust the creep as far
as an
anvil can jump, mom, but there is still part of me that believes he
would be
doing this for us, and I guess a part of me wants to believe…he really
meant
the words he said.”

Nari looked over at her son with a laugh she
suppressed with
her lips tightly pressed together that made her body shake with the
laughter
she had contained. “You are so damn gullible, son.” Reaching over, she
moved
some of his white, blond hair out of his face with another brief smile
she was
willing to share for him. “But that is only because I am as well. I am
glad if
anything, you came out right. Out of all the hell that went on in
Makai, you
were the light in my life down in the darkness.”

“Mom…you were always so sappy. It is one thing I
am glad I
never inherited from you,” Okuro joked causing them both to laugh
quietly
within the densely lit room.

The laughter over for her, Nari leaned over to
kiss her son
on his cheek before pushing her hand against his back. “Alright, smart
butt,
off to bed with you. I will wait here for Botan.”

“Alright,” he grunted as he hefted himself off of
the sofa
he was sitting upon. “Goodnight, ma, and I love you. Please, please
consider
the offer to move from Botan.”

Nari raised her hand slightly as if to stop Okuro
from
begging. “I will think about it, son. Just go to bed. It is not certain
what we
will do just yet.” Watching her son as he headed for the hallway, she
smiled
for a moment. “I love you too, son. Sleep well tonight.”

Hearing the door close later on, Nari waited in
the living
room nervously for Botan to arrive. Keeping herself warm in the blanket
that
was often draped over the leather sofa, she walked over towards the
windows to
look out at the city that was about her, covered in rain and darkness.
The very
look of it made her tremble in anxiousness. Even after living in the
world for
fifteen years, she still had a difficult time accepting the people she
often
was around; especially if they were male given the abuse she was dealt.
A part
of her knew that her son was right in believing living somewhere else
would be
best for her, but another part conflicted with that and wanted to try
and
regain her humanity there on Human World.

As Nari remained there at the windows before her,
they began
to rattle slightly. Keeping her sight fixed on the darkness about her,
she
spied through the night the messenger girl heading for her windows to
relay a
message from Koenma. Nari worked on the latch that kept them shut, her
hands
pressing against the glass so she could open them for the flighty Grim
Reaper.

Botan wasted no time to enter the apartment window
that was
opened for her. Once she entered the room, she made her ore disappear
before
turning to Nari with a thoughtful expression. “I heard what Kurama did
and
said…though the boy did it against my word. I guess I cannot blame
him,” she
responded with a gentle exhale of air. “As for your situation—tell me,
Nari, do
you want to be up in Spirit World?”

Nari shook her head in thought as she looked down
the
darkened hallway where her son left. “It is my son’s idea. He believes
that I
will be better in Spirit World.” Pausing for a moment she fidgeted with
the
tassels on the blanket. “And I guess a part of me believes it would be
best
too…”

“Just so you know, Nari, it isn’t a problem that
you come
stay with us in Spirit World. There is plenty of room for you up
there,” Botan
assured her quickly so Nari wouldn’t change her mind. She and Koenma
were both
desperate to have them move somewhere other than Human World given
their
special case. “If you ever get bored and need something to do, you can
be
another of Koenma’s messenger girls.”

“I don’t know, Botan,” Nari whispered as she
thought about
what she would be gaining and giving up. “It’s—it’s hard to even think
of
living at a certain point. I wish I could do it for Okuro and him
alone, but it
is hard to go on when the one you love died trying to protect you.” Her
fingers
ran through her stringy hair during her next pause in words. “The only
main
reason I stayed alive was not only for Okuro’s life but to get revenge
for
Kuronue’s death…I apologize. I am selfish, I know.”

Botan tapped her fingers against one another as
she thought
on Nari’s words. She knew of whom she spoke of seeing as the demon’s
name was
on top of everyone’s mind when he was held prisoner in Spirit World
until
finally released. Botan knew she wasn’t supposed to tell Nari or Kurama
of
Kuronue but she began to wonder if that would be such a bad thing now
with what
Nari expressed to her. Placing her hand on the distraught woman’s
shoulder,
Botan hesitated in speaking but did on the sake of being a hopeless
romantic. “Nari,
I have something to tell you…”
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The Worthless Humans