A Forest on Fire (KuramaxOc)

Ch 22: Moving forward

Yumiko groaned as she became aware of a slight tingling sensation across her back. It was slightly cool, and did wonders to reduce the pain that still lingered. Pain? Oh, right... the mission... THE MISSION!!!

Two yelps sounded in the room as Yumiko's eyes shot open with a gasp. She tried to sit up, but pain lanced through her spine, and she felt gentle but firm hands push her back down into the bed. She blinked several times as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She was in a hospital room, surrounded by familiar faces.

Suni and Botan were the sources of the yelps, and both stood a bit away from her, hands lifted to their mouths in surprise. Genkai and Mako stood just to her right, watching her with wary, but relieved eyes. Koenma stood in the doorway, but most important was the one who's hands were still pressed to her shoulders, gripping them lightly.

She turned her eyes towards him then, and felt her core calm as she gazed into those intense emerald orbs.

"It's alright Yumiko, try to relax." He told her with a calm, caring tone. Removing one hand from her shoulder, he tucked a bit of hair away from her face. For a moment, she just stared into those deep, caring eyes, then nodded.

"Can I sit up?" She asked in a hoarse voice. Her throat hurt as if she hadn't spoken in some time. She could see him thinking it through until he finally nodded, moving to place a hand under her shoulder. He was careful not to go too low, not wanting to brush too much of the still tender skin from the healing process.

"Alright, but take it slow." He instructed gently while the others watched in silence.

Mako did his best to hold his tongue. Shifting his weight back and forth, he tried to stay put, and not intrude on the moment. Genkai raised a hand to his wrist, holding it in a grip far too strong for a lady of her age, just in case he tried to do anything stupid.

Yumiko whimpered as Kurama helped her move into a sitting position so that she could look at everyone. Every little movement hurt, but not nearly as bad as what she had felt in that dark place. To be honest, half of her wanted to believe it had been a nightmare, but the worried expressions on the faces surrounding her little bed broke that illusion at once. Slowly, her eyes came to rest on Kurama's face. As they did, tears began to stream free.

"I.... I'm sorry..." she started, breaking eye contact to stare at her hands as the tears spilt over. "I ruined the mission..."

Her voice was so small, so tremulous as she spoke, that it broke his heart anew. From his peripheral, he saw Mako's throat bob, and Genkai's eyes narrow. Suni and Botan had let out a small whimper at the sound of Yumiko's sobs, and Maru closed his eyes against the sight as Lord Koenma remained perfectly still in the hallway.

Inside his head, Yoko released a sigh. 'You might as well get used to this, boy. Sylphans are... peculiar, when it comes to perceived failings.' He thought in a way much more gentle than his usual demeanor, and Shuichi found himself wondering.

*Did Tsume react like this?* He asked the demon in earnest.

Yoko snorted, and shook his head, a wistful emotion shooting through their shared core. 'When she was at her peak she was a blazing inferno, that would even burn me if I wasn't careful, but whenever we actually failed a raid, even if she had performed her part flawlessly, it was immediately, clearly her fault...'

He chuckled inside their head before continuing. 'To combat it, I created a handful of little games. Minor punishments really, that could still be quite fun for us both, and would often lead to her forgetting why she was upset to begin with. I could show them to you some time... the memories..'