Under The Stars

[KuroRyuu]

I don't know how I started this story. In fact, I originally wanted to do a one-shot about my main YYH character, Kai. But instead I thought I would mess around with two of my characters, Aeris and Aera. This is just the prologue which is why it's so short. I might continue this story and post the chapters here.

Under The Stars[/b]

All of the pain.

All of the suffering.

All of the sadness.

Father blamed me for all of it. He always told me I was bad. He always said I should never have been born. He was ashamed of having a daughter like me. Or a daughter like my twin sister, Aera. Before we were old enough to understand, he blamed us. Saying we should just go to hell right now before anything bad happened. Now as I look back, I realize, he was right.

He is gone now. Mother sad he went off to a better place. She didn't know the truth though. She didn't understand that he was still here. Causing us all pain everyday. Only Aera and I knew the truth. Father was still alive.

The screams could be heard throughout the entire village. Day in and day out it was always the same. Someone somewhere was being killed. Or punished for something they didn't even do. It was how we lived. We were use to getting in trouble, even if we didn't do anything. Aera and I use to get into a lot of trouble. At the time, we were too young to understand what we were doing was wrong. And each time, we were punished. Never knowing what we did, we did it again, until we heard mother’s pleading screams the night. The night father supposedly died.

Now as I look back on those times we were punished, I think it wasn’t fair. We were just kids, how were we supposed to know we were doing something bad? Now I realize, most of the time it was my fault. It was my fault father treated us so badly. It was my fault father faked his own death. It was my fault that Aera was now dead. It was my fault father killed mother. I was the only one left, living with father.

I pray one day that someone will help me. Every night before I go to sleep in the cold, small room father called a bedroom, I prayed that I would be saved. I would finally be able to get out of the place I was forced to call a home. I would finally be able to meet people my own age. And not have to worry about father. My prayers were never answered. It amazed me though, I never gave up hope that someone would come and rescue me. If there was really a God, I hope he can finally answer my prayers. And maybe even bring Aera back. I still miss her, and blame myself for her death.

Now as I lay on the bed, I listen to the screams coming from throughout the village. I shivered and pulled my knees up to my chest, hoping that I would never have to go through the pain everyone else in the village went through. Out of everyone else, father said I was the lucky one. He said I didn’t deserve the life I was living. He said I deserved worse. And yet, he never did anything about it. I guess I can be happy about that.

[KuroRyuu]

Like I promised, here is the first actual chapter to the story. It's longer then the prologue this time.

Under The Stars[/b]

Koenma groaned as he continued stamping papers. This was not one of the best days. He looked up when he saw Botan walk into the room. "They're here, sir," she said.

"Very well, send them in." Koenma said he watched Botan walk out of the room only to come back in a few minutes later with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei behind her. They stopped in front of the desk, awaiting the reason Koenma had called them in. The prince stared at Yusuke, expecting the teen to complain about something. When that didn't happen, he pressed a button that turned on the big screen TV. "This is your mission." Koenma said as a map appeared on the screen. The map showed a small village on the outskirts of Makai. "You are to go to this village, and come back with-" he pressed another button revealing a girl. She had strawberry blond hair and forest green eyes. She had a cut that went from her left eyebrow to about the middle of her left cheek. "Come back with this girl. Her name is Erin, and up until just recently, we thought her sister was still alive. Not a lot is known about her or what role her sister plays in all of this."

"That's it?" Yusuke asked turning and looked at Koenma. "That's all you want us to do? You made it sound like such a big deal."

"Because it is a big deal." Koenma said. "Especially with her father. He plays a big role in that village. I can't really go into detail. Not until you bring her back here. "Just don't get caught in the process of bringing her back. Otherwise, you and that girl will be put to death. That's not my rules; it's just how the village is."

"Sounds like a mess up village if you ask me." Yusuke muttered.

"It is." Koenma said. "You are to leave here as soon as possible. Botan will set up a portal for you. It should take you as close to the village as we can get you without anyone seeing you." Koenma explained. "And don't let them know you're spirit detectives. That would only give them a reason why they should kill you."

---

"If you ask me he's making more of a big deal out of this then it really is." Yusuke said.

Kurama shook his head. "No Yusuke," he said. "It really is a big deal."

Yusuke turned to the kitsune. "You know something about this town, don't you fox boy?" he asked.

Kurama nodded. "I've been here before. And almost got killed." he explained. "Had I not been able to escape before the caught me, they would have killed me on the spot. All I can tell you about this place is that they do some strange things. They follow their own customs, which means sacrificing someone once every month."

"What happened to sacrificing someone once every year?" Yusuke asked.

"They don't believe in that. They say if they sacrifice someone once every month they will 'please the gods' that's how they live. They have strict rules. You do something as small as drop something and they either torture you until you're barely alive. Or they kill you."
Yusuke shivered. The thought of having to live like that scared him. He couldn't imagine anyone wanting to live that life. If he had lived that life, he would have been dead long ago. He stared at the village, for the first time he had felt sorry. Sorry for anyone that had to live like that. He watched as both Kurama and Hiei started walking toward the village, and he and Kuwabara followed them. Yusuke stopped at a sign just outside of the village. He turned to Kurama and smiled. "It's been so long and they're still looking for you," he said.

Kurama looked at the sign and read the 'WANTED' sign. He let out a sigh. "And they never give up." he said. "All the more reason to get and out as quickly as possible."

"You sure you want to go in? After all if they find out you really are Yoko Kurama they'll kill you." Yusuke pointed out.

"Well, I'm not going to trust you and Kuwabara to go in alone. Even if Hiei is with you one of you is bound to mess up. That and I know the village better then any of you." Kurama pointed out. Yusuke nodded and followed the kitsune into the village.

It was strange to Yusuke to find that the roads were left empty. Not a single person was outside. Everything was quiet. Kurama explained to them that since this was the first day of a new month, they were sacrificing someone. Everyone had to attend the ceremony. “So how are we supposed to find this girl if for all we know she is at the ceremony?” Yusuke asked.
“Koenma told me she won’t be there. He said it had something to do with who she was. They didn’t want her at the ceremony. That and her father didn’t think she should go. Not unless she was the one being sacrificed.”

“That’s just not right.” Yusuke said. Kurama nodded and they continued walking down the street.

---

Erin sat on her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest. She could here them screaming. The ceremony had just started. She shivered from the lack of warmth and pushed back her strawberry blond hair. At least he wasn’t going to return for a few hours. But where did that leave her? She was locked in her bedroom, hungry, cold, and scared. She hated being able to hear all of them. She hated having to listen to it day in and day out.

The sixteen-year-old let out a small sigh and winced in pain as she did. If she didn’t know better, she had broken at least two ribs from what happened earlier that morning. She could hear the creaking of the steps. She closed her eyes. He couldn’t be back this soon. Please not him. Please. She thought to herself. The doorknob turned and her breathing slowed. Please don’t let it be him.

Her prayer that it wasn’t her father were answered. Slowly, Erin opened her eyes. Instead of the man, she had seen everyday for three years; she saw a rather strange group of people. The first person she saw had red hair with emerald eyes, if she didn’t know any better she would have thought that boy was really a girl. The next person she saw was a boy we gelled back brownish-black hair with brown eyes. She moved her attention to an orange haired boy but out of the corner or her eyes, she could see another boy. He was at least a foot shorter then the others. He had black gravity-defying hair that had a white going through it. He was wearing all black except for his bandana and his white scarf.

“Erin?” the boy with red hair asked. He took a step forward toward the girl. “I’m Kurama. These are my friends, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei.” Kurama said and pointed to each friend as he said their name. The girl didn’t reply. What could she say? She had four strangers in her house that seemed to know her. “We were sent here by Koenma.” Kurama explained. Instantly, Erin looked up at him, interested in what he had to say. “We’re here to take you away from this town.”

Her prayers had been answered! Someone was sent to rescue her. But there had to be a catch. What would Koenma want with her? Kurama walked over to the bed. “If you come with us we can promise you he won’t hurt you,” he said holding out a hand for her to take. She looked at all of them for a minute. She couldn’t go. He would find her. He had said it himself. He would come looking for her if she did leave. And when he found her, he would kill her. “He won’t find you where we’re going.” Kurama said as if reading her mind.

For a second, Erin was going to refuse. She was going to tell them she couldn’t go. Instead, as she shook, she took his hand and managed to get off the bed. Kurama smiled. What was it about him that made her think she could trust them? Without bothering to think about it, Erin followed them out of the small room, relieved that she wouldn’t have to stay another minute and here them all. Slowly, she walked downstairs with them, wincing in pain as she did.

They walked out of the house in silence. None of them dared to say anything. They were lucky enough they could get Kurama to convince her to come with them. The continued along the road in silence, Yusuke looked at Kurama who only gave him a worried look. They wouldn’t be safe until they were back at Spirit World. Yusuke led the way through the still empty town. From where they were, they could hear the screaming of people. None of them were aware of the fact that they had taken Erin.

Yusuke smiled as they walked out of the village. The portal shouldn’t be too far. They had done it. Managed to get Erin. One job done. Now it was time to find out why Koenma wanted her so badly.

[KuroRyuu]

Chapter two. I think this one is shorter then the other chapter. But it's not as short as the prologue which is a good thing.

Under The Stars[/b]

"Back so soon?" Koenma asked without bothering to look up. Instead, he continued stampings papers. "Please tell me you were able to get her."

Yusuke grinned. "Yep." he said as Koenma looked up. He looked at Erin who was still standing next to Kurama. Her strawberry blond hair hid her forest green eyes. She was wearing a pair of ripped faded blue jeans and a black ripped shirt. "Before I say anything," Koenma said, he looked at Erin "there are some clean cloths for you to change into. I'll let Kurama show you the way." she barely nodded as Kurama led her out of the office.

Yusuke watched them leave. For once, he looked sad. He felt bad for her but at the same time he didn't. "She'll need a place to stay..." Koenma said.
"Why not keep her here? Isn't she safer here then anywhere else?" Yusuke asked.

"No." Koenma said. "If her father comes looking for her, he'll come here first. He knows I've been trying to get her away from him for a while now. She's better off in the Human World her father can't go there. We just need to figure out who she can stay with. I would hate to trouble Genkai so I'm thinking Kurama could watch her. "

"He's good with her. He was able to get her to come with us. Although I think she was happy to finally be away from him." Yusuke commented as Kurama came back into the office with Erin following behind him. Now she had on black jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail so you could see her eyes.

Koenma smiled. "Much better." he said as he looked at Kurama. "Would you mind keeping her at your house for a few days? I don't want to have to trouble Genkai with watching her. And I know Yusuke doesn't want to do it. Kuwabara can't do much of anything if her father does show up. And Hiei tends to wander." Koenma explained.

Kurama nodded. "That's fine. I'll just have to talk to my mother but I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Good," Koenma said. "I'll have some cloths for her when you guys get there. Now if you guys don't have any other questions, you may be dismissed." Koenma said. Not needing to be told twice, they walked out of the office.

---

Yusuke leaned against the railing of the porch at Kurama's house. He looked at Erin. She hadn't said a thing to them. "Do you talk?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he turned to Kurama. "Maybe you can get her to say something."

"Give her time," Kurama said. "You wouldn't want to talk either if you went through what she has."

"I suppose you're right. Well I'll stop by tomorrow sometime. Kuwabara and I might go see a movie. You guys are welcome to join us if you want." Yusuke said as he walked down the steps of the porch. With one last wave good-bye, he walked down the sidewalk.

Kurama turned back to Erin. "Let's go inside," he said. She nodded and followed him into the house. Kurama led her upstairs already knowing they were the only ones home. His mother had left a few hours ago to run some errands. He led her down a hallway and into the guest bedroom. "This is your room." Erin nodded and walked inside. She looked around the room. It wasn't to fancy. A bed on one wall, a desk on another and a dresser on another wall. The scent of roses caught her nose. She smiled. "If you need anything, my room is just across the hallway." Kurama said. Again, Erin nodded, signaling she understood. She watched as Kurama left the room.

He was nice. She had to admit that. But she still didn't know. She didn't know if she could trust him. The last time she had trusted someone was when her sister was still alive. She was the only one Erin could trust. And now she was gone. If she got close to anyone, they would just end up dead. She couldn't let that happen to Kurama. She wouldn't let it happen to him. But she couldn't go without talking. He had offered to let her stay at his house. And here she was not saying a thing. But she had always been like that. She barely said a word to anyone. Not for five years.

Erin looked around the room before finding the cloths Koenma had promised. She walked over to the pile of clothes and stared at them. She unfolded a shirt and stared at it before smiling and started hanging things up. "Erin?" the girl jumped and turned around to find Kurama standing in the doorway. She smiled slightly as she hung up the last thing. "If you're hungry lunch is on the table." she nodded and watched as Kurama started walking out of the room.

Now's your chance, say something, Erin! She thought to herself. She took a deep breath. "K-Kurama?" she asked, softly. The redhead turned around and looked at her, surprise could be seen in his eyes. "T-thank you." she said.

He smiled. "You're welcome." he said and walked out of the room. Erin sighed before sitting down on the edge of the bed. Well she had managed to say something to him. The most she had said to anyone other then her father. The hard part was over. Now all she had to do was learn to trust that not everyone would hurt her. She could tell Kurama wouldn't hurt her. He was the one that helped her. After a minute, Erin stood up and slowly walked downstairs, ignoring the pain that she had been feeling all afternoon. She walked into the kitchen and sat down across from Kurama. Wincing in pain as she did. Kurama looked up at her, concerned. "I'll have Yukina look over your wounds later. Maybe she can heal some of them."

"Thank you," Erin answered as she picked up the spoon and helped herself to the bowl of soup in front of her. Kurama watched her for a minute she was slowly coming around. All she needed was some time.