|| A Bouquet of Red and White Roses || [Yu Yu Hakusho Fan-fic] {Edits}

Retracing Old Steps

Must we keep waiting for a time that'll never come ?

Kill them. Make them disappear. Become the child that you were 10 years ago. Don't hold back. 

Why are you lying to yourself ? This lie must end. End it all.

It's all over now. This is where it'll end.

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I'm not going to end this facade. At least not now. I'm just tired of all the blood.

When Luurè finally made an appearance, he didn't look that surprised. Surrounding me, the bodies of those Rank A demons. Luurè approached me slowly and glanced over them. "Hmm ?", he mumbled in a somewhat unimpressed tone. "So you're not going to kill them ?" I kept a fixed gaze on the ground. "I have no interest to", I replied bitterly. He chuckled. "Even if you say that", he was saying, "You'll be forced to eventually." I was growing tired. "What was the purpose of this second test Luurè ?", I asked sharply. "Was it to observe me in another surrounding ?" "Bingo." I slowly turned to face him. "Nothing will change", I told him. "I'm not going to kill anyone here." He seemed to understand what I meant because that faint smile of his disappeared and was replaced by a smirk. "Of course not", was his nonchalant response. "Beside, this is only the beginning. The real test begins after this. There'll be more things in store for you." "Oh ?", I asked, slightly beginning to scowl. "Like ?"

His smirk didn't fade as he turned away and looked up at the sky. "You're a naive human", he said to me. "A while ago, I got reports about a few guests that were spotted along another part of the base." I could feel my heart drop. "Since I couldn't check it out myself, I ordered a few people to look into it." Luurè looked over his shoulder and smiled at me sweetly. He was waiting for a reaction. "Though it could be a mere coincidence", he continued, "I assume that you don't have anything to do with them ?" I narrowed my gaze. Luurè was waiting for something. His tone was questionable. "What're you trying to do ?", I asked slowly. He chuckled and began to walk towards me. "Why, nothing really", his voice trailed off as he circled me, "..It's just that there's something that still needs to be determined." "Like ?" He stopped in front of me with a stoic smile. "You'll see very soon", he replied. "The third test will determine everything."

"What do you mean ?" Luurè sighed. I was taken by surprised when he scowled at me. His voice also changed. "Don't take me as a fool", he said sharply, "Ever since you arrived to this place, all you've been doing is waste time. I know there's something that you need from us. If it hadn't been the case, then you would've returned to the Human World with those other companions of yours without any hesitation." My eyes widened. Luurè smirked. "Once you step into Makai, you'll always be on monitor. Especially during the time you appeared. Of course I knew that something was up. What was the purpose of the decoyed guardian ? Why come to Makai ?" I took a step back. Suddenly, there was a rush of uncertainty. He took a step forward and without realizing it, he had brought a hand up to my neck. As a reflex, I brought both of my hands up and covered his hand. From my position, he could easily strangle me. A cruel smile appeared on his face. "Aren't you afraid of dying ?", he asked in amusement. "You take everything so lightly."

Don't give in to his words. This is also a test.

"Must I be ?", I asked faintly. I could feel him apply pressure on my neck. I winched at the pain and took a slow breath. "You know ?", he said, "If it weren't for something that we were looking for, then I could kill you right now. I could snap your neck right here and end it all. But there's something we still need from you." "Why not bother the other guardians ?", I asked softly. "After all, they should be more stronger than a decoy." Luurè let go of me, causing me to fall on the ground. I coughed a bit and reluctantly looked up at him. "It's easier said that done", he said bitterly. "Beside, they're nothing more that nuisances. They were getting too involved in trying to seal away the gateway that led into the Human World." 

I didn't respond. Luurè loomed over me and did nothing but stare. "Nee, decoy", he said after a while, "Do you want to know why we're doing this ? Why we're going through all this trouble ?" "If you're willing to say it", I mumbled, "Then yes." 

"Do you remember about the Council member named Kana I spoke of a while back?", he asked sternly. "Of course I do", I replied. "Well you see, before she died, she left the Council, dreaming about a place where Humans and Demons both lived in different places. To be exact, different worlds. From the view of a demon, it was easy to say that she was a fool to think of such a place. 'It was an impossible thing', was what they always said. However, it wasn't. It doesn't matter to me if you know this or not, but about more than 15,000 years ago, the Human and Demon World were both merged together as one place. Back then, Demons were the dominant ones, while humans cowered in fear for their lives. Eventually time passed and things changed. In the end, she succeeded. Those two worlds were separated and are now currently being protected by the Kekkai Barrier." He paused. "To put it bluntly, our aim is to destroy that barrier and return the worlds to how it once was before it was separated. That's why we created that prototype gateway to the Human World. It was just for a short time too, but judging from a few reports that I received, I heard that you had the ability to easily delay and close a gateway. Since that was the case, we knew that you were a threat to our plan."

"But even so, don't you know that the guardians also had the ability to close gates ?" "Who do you think I am ?", he replied coldly, "Of course I knew that. That's why we sent demons through the gate to lure you out. Since you were a much easier target to deal with, it made sense to get rid of you first. So once you were found, you were supposed to be brought back without any problems. But because of those worthless demons that were supposed to bring you back, they delayed and made things a bit more problematic. The day you finally appeared, they eventually gave in to your words and turned away from their original aim. Because of that, their only punishment was death. If it weren't for you, they'd be dead. However it's too late for that now. They're gone now. All because you saved them." "Is it wrong to do so ?", I asked slowly. "Even demons deserve to live." He chuckled.

"Or so you say", he sighed. "You know nothing about the life of a demon. You're just a naive human. What would you know ?" "I can say the same for you", I replied back without hesitating. "To demons, humans are nothing more than weaklings. What would you know about how they live when all you do is categorize them as an item ?"

Ara ? Have you finally found your voice Shiori ? She laughed. 

Luurè scowled at me, but I didn't falter. He must've realized. "You say things so easily", he said as he turned away from me. "But can you live up to the words that you speak ?"

"The next time we meet, it really will cost you your life."

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