When 2 Lives Cross Chapter Four

Chapter Five "Don't worry; things will look better in the morning..."

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Somewhere, a rooster crowed. A television blared nearby.

Kurama refused to hear it. Instead, he clapped both hands to both sides of his head and tried to drown out the sounds with silence. He couldn't move; it was almost like there was something heavy on top of him. His head throbbed. His eyes were burning like fire. His limbs ached; everywhere ached. And he didn't know why.

Or to better phrase the latter comment, he knew why, but chose to ignore the fact. Dimly, he remembered spending a lesser part of the night trying to see to a comatose Yuusuke, and then the bigger part trying to win a sake-drinking contest with Ryouga. Wait, Ryouga? He didn't recall the other boy coming in before their impromptu match.

Thinking hurt.

With a loud groan, Kurama clamped down harder on his ears, willing the world around him to shut up.

Hiei had much the same problem. It felt as if his head was being used in one of those ningen basketball matches. Whimpering, he struggled to curl himself up in a fetal position on the floor, concentrating on making the pain go away. Damn.

He tried prying one eye open, and was immediately blinded by the bright morning sunlight that flared through to an open window he happened to have been sleeping under. He squeezed it shut again, tried opening the other eye, and got the same results. He whimpered again, silently cursed himself for sounding pathetic, and did it again. Damn, he sounded like he never made it to pouring hot water all over herself the night before.

Damn the sake. Damn Kurama. Damn everybody. Damn Kuwabara, she added, out of habit.

Hiei's head connected with something soft. A pillow. Immediately, Hiei burrowed her face into it, in the hopes that some obscure miracle would happen and bereft her of this pain when she does so. It did nothing for the steady beat of drums trying to ingrain itself into her brain, but at least it was much better than the cold hard floor.

The door to the room slid open. "Hey, sleepyheads! Serves you right for drink--- holy......!"

Kurama opened his eyes, winced and narrowed them into green slits. "Whu?.... Shizuru-san? Owwwh...."

Hiei growled, face still buried against the pillow. "Who was making all that damned racket?"

"I.....I....." Shizuru took in the scene before her. Hiei lying facedown, face buried against Kurama's chest. The implications of a major hang-over, with the smell of cheap wine still lingering in the air. Their clothes.

Or lack thereof. Or at least from what Shizuru could see that hadn't been covered by a large woolly blanket they had gotten from one of the rooms.

Shizuru blushed and tried to think of something to say. What the hell had they been doing last night??? "I....uh, breakfast is ready when you want it." She finished lamely, then quickly slid the door back shut.

The word breakfast finally managed to get through to Hiei's hazy consciousness. Damnit, she was never going to touch that stuff again. With an almost superhuman effort, he placed both hands on each side of the floor and pulled herself upright.

And found herself face-to-face with Kurama's face.

For what seemed like an eternity, they stared at each other, drinking sprees forgotten. And then, they reacted.

"HIEI?!!!"

"KURAMA?!!!!"

"What?!.....What?!......" Kurama took in their semi-naked state, turned beet red and started to push Hiei off his chest, frantically searching for his clothes.

Hiei was quicker. She was off his chest in a heartbeat, then out of the room in the next, clothes already on. Kurama stared after her, at the new veranda Hiei had sliced off of the wall that was no longer there, the only evidence of Hiei's hasty departure. He buried his head in his hands and groaned again.

What had he done last night?

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Kuwabara woke, disoriented. The light hurt his eyes. Go away, she willed, squinching them shut. Go away go away go away go away.......

A shadow passed through, and the sunlight lessened. Thankfully, Kuwabara creaked one eye open.

And stared into Kuno's adoring face.

"My love!"

Squirrels rustling for acorns in a nearby forest were treated to a view of the back of the Tendo Dojo bursting open like a ripe plum, and to Kuno flying out of the newly created hole, crashing into a tree and upsetting the nest of a family of birds. The fowl, reading this foreign object as a threat to the safety and security of their home life, immediately flew into action, squawking angrily and pecking Kuno at whatever bodily appendage they can reach.

"My looovvvveee......" Kuno crooned.

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Keiko was near tears.

She watched Yuusuke happily consume a bowl of noodles and egg rolls, and wondered if things would ever be the same between her and Yuusuke ever again. There had been a lot of rough spots in their relationship, but they had quickly smoothed it out as best they can. And it *was* a relationship; no matter what Yuusuke thought about it.

But then again, Yuusuke couldn't think about it now. Amnesia tends to do that to people sometimes.

"This is great, Miss Kasumi." Yuusuke said happily, holding out his empty bowl to refill. "More, please!"

Not to be outdone, Botan held out hers as well. "Me too, Miss Kasumi!"

"Oh my. You've both got as much appetite as Ranma and his father does." Kasumi commented. "Where is everyone, anyway? Their food might grow cold."

"Getting over last night, I suppose." Nabiki replied dryly. "I imagine a lot of them took to the sake."

Akane sniffed disapprovingly. She cuddled P-chan close to her chest. "I'm glad there's some SANE people still living in this house." The little black pig squirmed.

Botan glared at P-chan.

Akane caught the look. "Er....Botan-san? Is something wrong?"

Botan blinked, then settled back into her seat. "Ohhh...oh no! I think I had something in my eye." She looked, purposely, away from Akane's pet. Strange. The little black pig they had seen in China had turned out to be Akane's pet after all. Botan herself had thought P-chan adorable at that time.

So what was wrong with her now?

P-chan wiggled his ears anxiously, sensing Botan's antipathy.

Keiko sighed. She, Nabiki, Kasumi, Botan, Akane and Yuusuke were the only ones present.

"I hope I'll meet them later on." Yuusuke said, digging into his second helping. "Still don't know why I don't remember any of you guys. Heck, anything of myself, too."

Sadly, Keiko watched him eat. The old Yuusuke was brash and abrasive, liable to say what he meant without giving thought to tact and consequences of his actions. The new Yuusuke was a different person altogether; polite and respectful, almost the perfect gentleman in fact. Keiko could never get over the change in him.

As if reading her thoughts, Yuusuke looked up and gave her a warm smile. To her mortification, Keiko found herself blushing. "You did promise to tell me all about who I am after breakfast, hai Keiko-chan? I'd like to know more about me." Realizing that that sounded silly, he flashed her a sheepish grin.

"H-hai. I did promise, Yuusuke!" Keiko smiled back. Best not to let Yuusuke see her worry.

"I'm not late, am I?" Shizuru slid into her seat, a touch breathless.

"Nope." Botan said cheerily. "Where's Kurama? I thought you were supposed to wake him."

Was it Keiko's imagination, or did a faint flush steal over Shizuru's cheeks for a second? "Ahhh.....he's still sleeping, and I didn't realy want to wake him. Looks like he's gonna be having one heck of a problem for some time."

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Ranma was in a bad mood. The girl made a fool of him last night.

"Run 'round the room wi' some underwear 'r sumthin' on yer head."

"What??"

"It's part o th' technique! Y' wanna learn, dontcha? *hic*"

Ranma seethed. He was going to learn the technique even if he died trying.

Ranma was in a bad mood.

Perhaps it was because he woke up this morning with those blasted pair of boxer shorts still on his head.

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Kuwabara scowled. His head felt a lot better now; he must have taken less sake than he had thought. And a hot shower had done him a world of good. More refreshed than he had been the morning before, he sauntered down the hallway, already wearing a fresh shirt and pair of shorts, and a towel slung over one shoulder.

The idiot Kuno. What the hell did he think he was, sneaking up on him like that? True, he was absolutely gorgeous in his female form, but that didn't condone the situation. As long as the bastard kept his mouth shut. His stomach growled, demanding fulfillment.

En route to the dining room, Kuwabara encountered Yukina. As usual, the green-haired Koorime was adorable. She was just stepping out of her room, kimono and obi neat and clean, hair perfectly tied back. She was wearing a pretty new trinket on the edge of her kimono too; he didn't recall ever seeing that before. He felt his smile grow wider. Yukina-chan was so beautiful.

"Y-y-yukina-chan!" Kuwabara blabbered happily.

Yukina stopped, and turned to look at him, with no expression on her face.

Kuwabara's smile wavered. Yukina had never looked at him this way before.

"Y-yukina-chan? I was thinking....if we could walk together to the dining room, if you want."

A pause. Yukina appeared to consider it, stepped closer. Looking up at Kuwabara's face, she smiled.

Kuwabara relaxed. He smiled back.

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A sudden loud explosion made everyone seated at the table look up, just in time to see Kuwabara flying through the door and into the garden outside, where he promptly landed with a loud splash onto the pond within that territory.

"Kazuma?" Shizuru cried out, startled, moving to stand up and aid her brother.

Akane was on her feet as well. "What's going on?" She demanded, eyes flashing. "Ranma? Kuwabara-san is a guest!"

And from the doorway where Kuwabara's flight had begun, a voice spoke up.

"Idiot." Yukina said calmly.

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He stumbled about; for a moment he was unsure of his surroundings, unsure of how he came to be here in the first place. Where am I? He thought dizzily, leaning against a post for support. Damn it, he knew he shouldn't have drunk so much the previous night; he had never been able to fully digest sake into his system, godling or no. He'd have to freshen up, or his father would kill him once he reached home, if he smelled sake on his clothes, on his breath.

Panting slightly, head still whirling, he leaned against the doorframe again, trying in vain to adjust to his surroundings, unfamiliar as they seem.

Then his eyes dropped down to one object that was familiar, and he gasped in shock.

Genkai lay spread-eagled on the ground, unmoving, eyes closed. She didn't look like she was breathing. Next to her, the locked cabinet where the Dimensional Crystal had been was smashed into several pieces, its contents missing.

Immediately, the sake was forgotten. He dropped down to his knees, crawled desperately to where Genkai lay. "No...." he whispered hoarsely, praying to his father, to any god. Fingers stretched out to the side of her neck, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Faint, but it was there. A steady pulse, beating and fighting vainly to stay alive.

It was his fault. He shouldn't have stayed the night with the Reikai tantei and their friends; he should have gone immediately to Reikai and bolted the Crystal into the Reikai vault, where it would have been safe and sound form all enemy hands. But he didn't, and Genkai had almost paid for it with her life.

He shouldn't have had the sake.

Once upon a time, Genkai had died; killed by her former friend and comrade, Togoro Ototo. But then, Yuusuke had beaten Togoro Ototo in the Ankoku Bujutsukai tournament, and as his prize, wished for Genkai to return from the dead, just like he had when he became a Reikai detective.

Once upon a time, he heeded Yuusuke's wish; he was the Prince of Reikai after all. A few changed papers, and Genkai was made mortal again.

Slowly, Koenma bowed his head, crying quietly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Genkai never heard him.