There are some graphic descriptions in this chapter, so this is my fair warning to any who don't wish to read that. Also, this is the longest chapter I have written so far. 2,000+ words. Yay!
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Didn't you notice?
Chapter 6
He awoke with a start and immediately tried to sit up, but his first attempt was a failure. With a mixture of sharp pain and a tingling numbness his right arm gave out and he was once again lying on the futon. Taking a second to look around he realized that he was at Genkai's temple, and he was alone. After a few moments he tried again to sit up, this time using only his left arm. He folded his right arm in his lap and pulled up his sleeve to examine it. Apparently he had already been cared for; the old bandages had been replaced with bright new ones that showed no trace of the wounds that lie beneath them. The painful tingling was still there, so he gently massaged it with his left hand.
There's still so much I cannot explain. He closed his eyes and thought back to the last thing he could remember. The powerful demon they had been fighting had just chosen Yusuke as its target so he had tried using his rosewhip to intercept them. And that was when it had happened again. That same feeling, his whole body on fire...then it faded out and he had awoken here.
This is all connected. Both with the roses at the park and my rosewhip earlier today I had been manipulating my spirit energy... He took a deep breath and came to a conclusion that was very similar to the one Yusuke and Genkai had reached.
I am unable to use my spirit energy, for if I do that pain will return, and I've apparently passed out both times that has happened. He looked down at his arm, pausing to see if he could move it any better now. It was sore, but not too bad.
Something that I do not understand is causing my energy to react this way, and I believe my suspicions were correct and it was caused by that curious green demon we were sent after just the other day. Now the only question is: What can I do about it?
"Kurama?"
Kurama's head shot up and he opened his eyes to see Genkai standing in the doorway that separated the two rooms.
I didn't even realize she was there... "Genkai...”
Genkai held up a hand, stopping Kurama from whatever he had been about to say. "I take it you've already figured just about everything out by now?"
"I believe so. What I haven't figured out is what I can do about it." He looked down at his arm for a moment.
Or why this keeps happening.
"I'm sad to hear that Kurama. I'm afraid we're as confused as you are on that part."
Kurama nodded solemnly.
"Kurama. I need to ask you, do you understand why you cannot use your spirit energy even once until we solve this?"
Kurama closed his eyes and then opened them slowly. "Yes. I'm aware of the danger I would be putting myself in were I to do so."
"We're doing everything we can to figure this out Kurama."
Kurama nodded again. "Thank you Genkai."
"Now I know I won't be able to keep you here, I'm smarter than that." She smiled and Kurama returned the gesture. "But I want you to take it easy Kurama. I've called up your mother and she believes you are here with the others helping me to do some cleaning. That should cover you until you return home. You can stay here for as long as you feel like though. But I want you to meet me here tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to do some research and hopefully I'll have come up with something by then."
"Yes, thank you. Genkai, where are the others? Did everyone come out of the mission safely?"
"Some cuts and bruises, but we got off easy compared to you." Yusuke had just walked in and now sat next to Kurama. "How're you feeling?"
"I've felt better, that's for sure." He said somewhat jokingly. "Don't worry Yusuke, I'm fine."
Yusuke just sort of nodded, though the only noticeable changes in his expression were his eyes. "Hey, Kurama? I think I've figured out how this all started, I'm thinking that little runt of a demon did something to you when he attacked you."
Kurama smiled.
Of course. Yusuke always seems to be ahead of things at times like these. Heh, anyone else wouldn't believe he could be so reliable. "Thank you Yusuke. That is what I figured as well. I'm sure that will be of some help." He saw out of the window that the sun was beginning to set. "Yusuke, Genkai, I thank you again for caring for me. I think I'll be heading home now."
Yusuke and Genkai exchanged worried glances but Genkai nodded to him. "Kurama, you're not to use your spirit energy for any reason at all, is that clear?"
"Yes Genkai, you can be sure that I won't." He smiled to them both standing and stretching his stiff legs. "Thank you both, I'll see you tomorrow." And with a polite bow he left for home.
Yusuke sighed, turning to Genkai. "He'll be alright." He put on a fake smile. "I mean, he's Kurama! He's stronger than any of us!"
Genkai stared at her pupil and then stood and went into the other room.
Yusuke looked at the futon that Kurama had been laying in only moments before.
As long as he doesn't use his spirit energy, he'll be fine.
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{{{Okay, I have to interrupt for a second. My little disclaimer at the top comes into effect starting here. I get kinda graphic...}}}
Morning came all too soon for Kurama. He had arrived home at nearly eight o'clock, and had only eaten some of his dinner at his mothers’ request. What he wanted was sleep. He had gone to bed shortly after, annoyed that he was still this tired after having slept for the most part of yesterday, but the reason was obvious enough. Even when he did sleep he could not relax. He had been laying in his bed since just before the sun had risen, thinking all about what had happened over the last few days.
A stab of pain tore through his body and he twitched reflexively, putting a hand over his chest, the origin of the pain. Kurama turned onto his side with a grimace. This was a new type of pain. It was not like before, when it had flowed through his spirit energy, though that had been excruciating. This was a more concentrated pain. He could only lay there until about ten minutes later when the pain had passed.
The day can't end soon enough. I need to see Genkai. He got up and dressed, though measurably slower than usual. He was greatly fatigued. But as hard as he had tried to keep it hidden he could not hide that which is obvious.
"Shuichi? Are you alright? You look a little pale; did you not sleep well last night?" A very concerned Shiori asked when Kurama came into the kitchen.
"I'm fine Kaasan. I just had a hard time getting to sleep last night."
"Are you sure? You can always stay home, you know."
"Don't worry Kaasan, I'm fine." Giving his mother a farewell hug Kurama left for school.
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It was one of the worst days of school you could ever imagine. The stabbing pain in his chest continued throughout the day, and even started to worsen. He could hardly pay attention in class. At lunch he went to sit on the roof, hoping that he could compose himself enough to get through the rest of the day. His lunch sat untouched beside him, and while one hand remained over his chest, a useless reflex that he would only allow to be shown when no others were around, the other clenched the bars of the guardrail, his knuckles white already. He was having another spike in the pain at the moment, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide it. Then the situation only got worse.
"Shuichi? It's unusual to see you out here." Kaito had heard some students that had been saying that Shuichi had been acting strangely today, and had come to see for himself.
"Kaito? What are you doing up here?"
"I've heard from a few others that you didn't seem yourself today, I guess they were right. Is everything alright? The world in danger again?"
Kurama laughed, trying his best to hide his pain and discomfort. He had even removed his hand from the railing. "Always."
Kaito grinned. "So what's going on?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but there's truly nothing happening right now. Everything has been fairly quiet."
"Hm. So then why are you acting so strangely?"
"No reason. In fact I wasn't even aware I had been until now."
A bell rang, ending lunch and warning the students to head back to class. Kurama stood, packing his uneaten lunch back into his bag. Kaito raised an eyebrow, silently inquiring as to why it remained untouched. Kurama smiled, half pulling it back out of his bag.
"Would you like it? I had a large breakfast and I'm not hungry just yet."
"No thanks." Kaito raised a hand to enforce his answer. "I've had my own. We'd better get to class now."
Kurama nodded and packed away the uneaten food, and then he and Kaito walked across the rooftop to the door.
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It became more and more difficult for Kurama to handle the pain as the day continued. The fierce stabbing in his chest had become a constant pain, and he was starting to have difficulty breathing. He body was sitting at his desk, but his mind was lost in the pain. A brutal pang caused him to gasp, though he managed to keep quiet. A younger male student beside him had noticed his discomfort, though.
"Minamino-san? Are you alright?" He whispered from his seat directly to Kurama's right.
Kurama nodded quickly, trying to dismiss the unwanted attention.
This has gotten far too severe. I have to get to Genkai's, now. He stood up, raising his hand, and was about to excuse himself when another pain, this one even worse than the one only moments before, drew him to his knees with an audible gasp.
What's happening? I haven't used my spirit energy at all today. The teacher rushed over to him and the other students formed a sort of circle around him, nearly all of them voicing their concern at the redhead's apparent ailment. But Kurama was hardly even aware of them. He was breathing in short, quick gasps, as if he could not get a hold of enough air. The teacher knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, prepared to guide the teen to the infirmary. Kurama was hunched over; still on his knees but holding himself up with one hand while the other was clutched over his chest in a futile attempt to ease the pain. But he soon had an even greater use for this hand. Just as he was about to be guided to his feet the teen coughed violently, and then once more, this time vomiting blood. His hand dripped with his precious crimson life, which was forming in a puddle just beneath it. Much to the horror of the other students it did not end with that. He continued with his awful, hacking coughs, producing more blood with each one. Nearly all of the students had retreated to the walls, but a few still stayed anxiously around him, Kaito among them.
Darn it Shuichi, how is it that you always manage to fool everyone? Now no one knows what's wrong, how are we supposed to help? There were a few quick murmurs flying back and forth among those that still stood beside the redhead.
"Is it his heart?"
"Quick, we have to get him help!"
"What could be wrong with him?"
Kaito was stuck somewhere between being horror-stricken and panicked. You didn't need to be a doctor to understand that Kurama was in trouble. He was drawn from his stupor when, after a few more violent coughs that produced far more blood than most of the students had ever seen before, Kurama collapsed, his entire body just falling to the floor. Kaito was the first to act, moving even as Kurama fell.
"Someone help me, we need to get him to a doctor!"
He and the teacher carried the unconscious Kurama to the school infirmary where he would have to wait until an ambulance arrived. Nurses scrambled about, and one was about to put a breathing mask on Kurama when the teen burst out into more violent coughs, and the nurses were forced to turn him on his side when he again started hacking up blood. His mother had been notified and was even now leaving for the hospital to intercept the ambulance as it came. Kaito, knowing that he could do nothing for Kurama right now, ran for the phone and called up Yusuke, who had again been ditching, telling him of all that had happened. He hadn't gotten more than halfway through his explanation when there was silence on the other end of the line. Yusuke was on his way to Genkai's.
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-Huggles Kurama- I'm sorry! crying