Fox Song:
Chapter 5- Resolutions
"KURAMA!" Yusuke shouted as his head snapped up from the drowned youko's chest. With one fist he beat at the spot where his heart was and shouted his name again.
"Moron," Hiei said and shoved the Spirit Detective out of the way, kneeling down by his friend's side. "You're in big trouble," he muttered, before placing his mouth over Kurama's own and breathing life back into him.
Five minutes later, a pale Kurama sat by the small campfire wrapped in all their blankets and being yelled at by Yusuke and Kuwabara. The noise stopped for a moment as they waited for him to explain himself. Sighing as they started their tirade over for the third time after he did not answer, Kurama looked over at Hiei who was glaring at him with an "I'm-going-to-kill-you" look plastered on his pixie-small face. Wincing, he turned back to the two humans.
"So don't you ever do something that stupid again!" Yusuke shouted, wrapping up for the third time.
"Sure thing, Yusuke," Kurama answered quietly, staring into the fire.
"Why'd you do it in the first place?!" Kuwabara exclaimed, sitting down across the fire from his friend.
"I…Haven was…I saw Haven…" Kurama said brokenly, his voice even quieter then before.
"You saw Haven?" Hiei asked sarcastically.
"Yes! I did!" Kurama said sharply, glaring at his small friend. His tone surprised the others, and they all looked at each other warily before continuing.
"Are you sure?" Yusuke asked. "She…well…she's…dead, Kurama."
"I know that!" the silver kitsune answered, beginning to get exasperated with the seeming unbelief of his comrades. "But dead people can come back to life! You're living proof of that!"
"He's got a point, Urameshi," Kuwabara remarked thoughtfully.
"But that's not my point, Kuwabara!" Yusuke shot back.
He turned back to the fox, but Hiei cut in before he could continue. "The point is, Kurama, that Yusuke was an exception. Haven is dead. She's not a Spirit Detective, so she won't be coming back! You need to accept that and move on with your life! This is getting old."
"Yeah, what shorty said!" Kuwabara added.
With a glare that would have withered stone, Hiei stood up, sniffed and left the little camp, wandering off into the forest without so much as a backwards glance.
Sighing, Kurama put his head in his hands and let loose a low moan. Deciding it was best to leave the kitsune alone for a while, Kuwabara and Yusuke went off a little ways to the edge of the pond and sat on a large, flat rock that was hanging out over the water. Taking off their shoes and dangling their feet in the water, the two teens kept a sharp eye on the pond to watch for any more suicide attempts.
"Hey, Kuwabara," Yusuke said in a far-off tone.
"Yeah," the tall youth answered.
"Doesn't this…place remind you of that one pond where we spent the day with Haven? You know, the one where we all went swimming?"
"I remember!" Kuwabara exclaimed, memory rushing back. "And you tried to match Haven's dive and ended up doing a belly flop!" The orange-haired teen roared with laughter at the memory, while his companion looked on with growing annoyance.
"Oh, come on! It wasn't that funny!" he shrieked.
Back over by the fire, Kurama looked up at the sounds of Kuwabara's laughter and Yusuke's own half laugh, half shriek. Sounds like these hadn't been heard after Haven had died, up until this point there hadn't been much smiling either, or much joy. Little things failed to please them anymore, like they did when Haven was there. The littlest things, a soaring eagle, a blooming apple tree, or even the mere sight of the sun had made her overflow with happiness. She had truly enjoyed living, and sucked all others around her into her wild and audacious life.
She was just one of those people. When you were around her, one could not help but sharing in her laughter, her song, her magic. Even Hiei had come out of his shell and smiled and laughed for the first time in Kurama didn't know how long. She had taught them how to live for the moment, seize each day and live it as if it were your last. It was the beauty and the magic of the kitsune that was Haven.
But now, with the time since her death increasing, the magic was fading. The days without her seemed long and empty, devoid of any real meaning or beauty. The sun still rose in the morning and painted the sky with nameless colors, but Kurama failed to see the splendor anymore. Towering mountain peaks capped with sparkling snow had once taken his breath away. But now, he barely even spared them a glance.
And as for singing? He never sang anymore, not without her. When the golden kitsune was with him, the very earth around him had seemed to vibrate with its own rhythm, its own song. The air had hummed with music, enhanced by the natural melodies of the birds and animals it seemed a symphony fit for a god.
Nothing sang to him anymore. His world had fallen silent in her wake.
One lone tear slipped down his cheek and ran its silvery course. Flicking it away with one clawed finger, Kurama blinked once, twice and dissolved the rest of his tears before they could escape. No more crying, no more wallowing in his grief. No more temper tantrums, and no more chasing after mirages and dreams. Steeling his heart and clearing his mind, Kurama resolved this, and cracked his knuckles in resolution.
Standing up, he prepared to go look for Hiei and tell him he was prepared to move on. Tossing silvery strands of hair over his shoulder, he walked off into the dense foliage.
"But most of all," he thought to himself, "no…more…loving…"
Chapter 6- Specter
