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

Time's Standstill

"The Guardian's name was Anzu. Apparently she was associated with the Maeda Branch."

Anzu hmm...?, I thought as I looked through the papers that were from the envelope. It was just as Koenma said. The Guardian at the time was associated with a Hunter Group. I slight smirked at the thought of it. It was amusing to me. Who in the world chose the successors for the Guardian System after I disappeared? Guardians weren't supposed to get involved with the things that went on in the world that they were appointed to. They were only supposed to watch from afar. And if something really did happen, they would take care of it without letting themselves get noticed. I was drawn away from my thoughts when Oka placed something in front of me. It was the sketch of the ring that the stone was said to be on. 

"The ring is going to be handed down very soon", she said with a subtle frown, "When that happens, I think we can go and take it." I stared at her and slightly titled my head. "Considering how I have no place to pry.. could it be that you got this information by someone associated with the Maeda Branch?" Oka nodded her head and smiled at me. "One of my childhood friends", she replied. "I asked him about it." "Was he suspicious?", I asked. Oka slowly looked away and stared at the papers. "I'm sure he was..", her voice trailed off. "But he didn't ask about it." I grinned and stood up. "Then he must trust you very much", I replied.

"You're leaving?", I heard her ask. I looked over my shoulder and raised my hand. "Errands", I replied as I left. "I'll be back in a little while." "Oh.. alright then."

When I closed the door behind me, I stood there for a while. It had been an excuse to leave. Something was bothering me. Then again, I didn't necessarily have a reason to worry about it. Or did I? It was worth considering. I took a deep breath and sighed.

It looked like I wasn't the only one who was holding back. 

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"So tell me, have you decided about what you're going to do Shuichi?"

His scarlet colored hair danced as it was caught in the slight gust of wind that blew by us. It reminded me of glistening flames. "I have", he nonchalantly replied. "I've decided that I'm going to help you instead of just standing around." I smiled at him, content with his answer. "Good choice", I replied and walked over to him. He stared at me, unsure of what I was going to do. That was when I held my hand out to him. A dumbstruck expression appeared on his face. "From this point on, things are going to get much harder", I said. "Are you willing to sacrifice even more?" He appeared hesitant at first, but eventually nodded his head. "Yeah", he replied as he shook my hand. "I am." I grinned. Things were slowly beginning to fall into place.

"Shiori would be happy to hear that you know?", I mumbled as I took a few steps away from him. Shuichi slightly smirked. "I'm sure she would. Knowing that girl.." "It may not seem like it now but, I have a feeling you'll see her again." "What do you mean by that?", he asked. I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. "Soon", I replied. "It won't make any sense to you now but soon, you'll understand what I'm talking about."

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That evening I ran into Ciel. For some reason she was standing near the entrance of the Old Ruins. Well, at least of what was left of it. There appeared to be a look of distress on her face. However it disappeared the moment she noticed my presence.

"What are you doing here?", she hostilely asked. She didn't even bother to turn around to face me. I couldn't blame her. "You seem to forget that I don't happen to stay in one place", I nonchalantly replied. "If so, then why come here?", she said. "There are other places to go." "Am I not allowed to?" Ciel slowly turned to me with a sharp glare on her face. "Why do you appear around me?", she bluntly asked. "It makes me sick." Her words amused me. "Am I not allowed to?", I asked again. She didn't reply. 

"I don't understand why the others trust you", she said after a while. "Nothing about you is trustworthy. So many things have happened yet all you can do is evade all our questions. Don't we have the same goal? All we want to do is bring Shiori back. Why are you making it so difficult Kana." "Me?", I asked, almost in a laugh. "You believe that I'm making it difficult?" "Why else would I say this?", she scoffed. "It's your fault that we're in this situation to begin with." "Is it really?" I slightly lowered my head before breaking out into an amused smirk.  

"I don't know which one is worse", I mumbled as I raised my head and stared at her. I narrowed my gaze at her. Ciel slightly raised her guard. "To have such a stupid, naive guardian who doesn't even know what she's supposed to do with a diminishing world or to burn in hell?" "What!?", she snapped. "What did you say!??" "Oh? You heard me?", I apathetically asked, "I'm soooooo surprised!" "Quit testing my patience Kana!", she hissed. "What patience?", I bluntly replied with a sneer. "As far as I know, you have no control over any of your emotions. What makes you think you have patience?" And just like that, Ciel suddenly appeared in front of me.

What a fool.

I caught her fist and smirked. "What is this?", I asked. "It seems like you're forgetting whose body this is. Don't tell me that you were willing to injure it just now?" I took a step back and kneed her in the stomach. Of course, she didn't catch that on time. Ciel slowly fell to the ground, clutching onto where I had kicked her. "Damn you..", I heard her say. I knelt down in front of her and smiled. "Know your place", I said before standing up again. "Honestly", I sighed as I shook my head in dismay. "Out of the three of you, I think you're the most useless one. You're so stubborn. Why are you even a Guardian? Were you chosen by mistake?" I paused and glanced over at her. "Guardians are supposed to be open minded. But you? What a joke. Someone who judges a person by their past doesn't make them any better than a human who assumes that all demons are bad. Do you think you have the right to blame me for this situation that we're currently in?"

Ciel didn't reply. "Think about it Ciel", I mumbled. "Because you seem to be missing the point. To bring Shiori back. Isn't that our goal? It's that simple. But how do you plan on doing that if you're just thinking about yourself in this situation? There are a lot of things that you don't seem to understand. It's not that easy. You can't bring Shiori back without my help. So open your eyes before you do something irrational. Got it?"