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

Crossing Fields

[Oka POV]

As the nostalgic gates opened before us, I reminded myself to maintain a calm composure. Even if I hated how things were in the past, I was aware that things were much different now. I didn't necessarily hate this place as much as Shiori or Ciel did, but I hated it to the point where I had once lost my trust in people. Yes.. that was what it was. 

People loved you until you were no longer useful to them. After that, you stood alone.

It was quite lonely.

By the time the gates closed behind us, I glance over to Ciel to see that she was already frowning. "Displeased ?", I asked her with a slight chuckle. She grimaced and looked ahead. "More or less", she mumbled. I followed her gaze to see someone standing by the entrance of the house. I recognized who it was and smiled to myself.

"And you ?", she asked me, sounding a bit uneasy when she saw me smiling at him, "Are you going to be okay ?" I was aware of why she had asked me that. It hurt for a moment, but I pushed those feeling aside. There was no time to be thinking about the past. There was only the future now. The choice is all ours. "I've been ready for a long time", I replied, beginning to take a step forward. "We're not children anymore Ciel. Come, it's time to meet Grandfather."

Ciel gave me a dumbfounded expression before shaking her head. She grinned to herself and quickly followed to walk beside me. "Yeah", I heard her say. "You're right."

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[Ciel POV]

During our escort to Grandfather, it was awfully quiet between Mitsuru and Oka. Not one of them spoke to each other at all. Oka kept a carefree smile on her face and Mitsuru looked like he was about to snap. I'm sure that it's because of what happened to the both of them in the past but still..., I thought to myself as I followed after the both of them. The tension just makes it even weirder for me. I don't want to get dragged in. Their situation was even more worse than the situation between Sotaru and Shiori. I shivered at the thought as I stared at their backs. Moreover, they were both horrifying when they were angry. There was no argument for that.

When Mitsuru finally showed us to Grandfathers room, he turned around and looked at me as if he was about ready to take all his anger out on me. Again, I shivered. For a few seconds, he looked at me like that before walking past me in silence. I stared at Oka, feeling a bit relieved yet confused at the same time. I had a feeling she was going to say, "Don't mind him", but she didn't. Was the tension between them that bad ? I could only wonder. 

"Grandfather ?", Oka called out as she faced the sliding door that stood between him and us, "Are you there ?" There was the sound of rustling inside before he replied, "Yes, I'm here. Please enter." Oka and I exchanged glances before she nodded her head at me. I frowned and watched her open the door. Shortly after, I followed her inside and closed it behind me. To my surprise, Grandfather was still in bed. He was sitting up in his futon with a weary smile on his face as he greeted us. Nearby him, a small stack of papers. 

"Were you busy ?", Oka asked, probably noticing the stack as well. "No, not necessarily", he replied softly, "I was just checking some reports." I glanced around his room. "It must be hard", I mumbled when my eyes landed on a few picture frames, "To still be able to manage despite your age.." I quickly turned around and waved my arms. "N- not that I'm calling you old !" Grandfather laughed, but eventually began to cough. "It's fine", he sighed, now sounding a bit exhausted, "After all, I'm not going anywhere for a while." "Are you ill Grandfather ?", Oka asked. "You seem a bit.. tired. You don't seem to be as optimistic as you usually are." He turned to her, looking as if she had just found out his secret. "How did you know ?", he said. She smiled at him and walked over to his side. "Oh, a just a guess of mine..", she chuckled. "You really must be more careful. Even a simple cold can kill you if you're not careful.."

The both of them continued to have a conversation but I turned around to look at those picture frames again. There was something about them that I found interesting. I think that this was the first time that I've ever seen them in this room before. 

There were a total of five different picture frames. Each were different sizes and contained different pictures. One of the pictures in particular was an older photo of Grandfather, Hanae, Satoshi, and Shiori. I frowned and titled my head to the side. At the time, Shiori must've been at least three years old. There was a genuine, carefree smile on her face. A smile that no one really seemed to see on her anymore. Could we blame her ? No, I don't think so.

"And the reason for your visit ?", I heard Grandfather ask from behind me. "Well you see..", Oka replied, her voice trailing off. I thought about yesterday's conversation.

"What are you going to do now ?", I had asked.

"I'm going to pay Grandfather a visit."

"But why ?"

"I'm wondering if he has anyone stationed in Makai right now", Oka replied.

"But why would he wanna do that ?", I said. "Why station people in Makai if he has people protecting the Old Ruins ? That doesn't make any sense."

"Unless they were specific hunters", Oka mumbled, sounding a bit concerned, "I just need to make sure of it before we can move forward. I don't want to have to go into Makai and expect unnecessary trouble. Worrying about the council and what they'll do to us if we run into them is enough. The fact that they are involved in this makes this even more dangerous that it should already be. We don't have time for the things that we can simply avoid."

I sighed and turned around to face Oka and Grandfather. They were both looking at me with concern. "Is there something wrong Ciel ?", Oka asked me, "You're been sighing for a while now.." "Eh !?" Grandfather sighed. "If it troubles you to be here", he said with a sad smile, "You shouldn't force yourself." I shook my head. "No, it's not that", I replied, walking over to the sliding door, "It's something else. Believe me, it doesn't bother me that me to be in here." "Oh, I see", he replied, sounding a bit relieved. I opened the door. "Oka, I'll be around", I said as I stared into one of the the courtyards of the house, "Don't leave without me." 

"Understood. I'll come find you when I'm done." "Don't forget."

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You say that you're able to protect yourself.. but someday, when someone you care about so dearly is taken away from you.. will you be able to protect them ? If someone was trying to kill that someone, would you be able to keep them from dying ?

Those words echoed in my head as I looked into the small pond of the garden. I was standing on the red bridge, watching my own, desolate expression while I tried to figure things out.

After this, what will happen ?