At Least We Have Forever 38 - Remnants Of Her True Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho and its characters. I do own the plot, Riya and other OC's of this story, though. I only write for pleasure and fun—but a few reviews would surely pay off all my hard work on this one.

Warning: The characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC.

NOTE for this chapter:

*This* means the vision

*This* means thoughts

-x-x-

AT LEAST WE HAVE FOREVER—Chapter 38: Remnants Of Her True Memories

"Riya…? How come you're… here?"

The said maiden smiled sweetly and did a curtsy before she spoke.

"I'm glad you finally made it here, Kurama. Although, I must say that this is a little unexpected," Riya said with a smile.

Kurama frowned at that. "What do you mean? And what is this place, anyway?" he asked in confusion as he looked around.

"Don't you remember?" she asked in amusement. "Try recalling because this place is somewhere that's significant to the two of us."

The red head gave her a confused look but nodded and did what she asked. And upon analyzing the whole place, his eyes widened as a memory had struck him so fast.

"This is where we first met… where everything about us began.." he said with a nostalgic smile, finally remembering that important memory. But then, his face turned serious before facing Riya. "But what am I doing here? And how come I ended up here? I was supposed to be at school defending… you…"

Riya just gave him a reassuring smile and lifted her hand to touch his face.

"Don't worry, this won't take long. I'm just going to show you something for you to completely understand what I have done," she said seriously. He frowned at that but before he could say something about that, he saw Riya held his hand and smiled. "Let's go."

"Go where?" he asked.

Riya gently pulled Kurama and he just followed her. They continued traversing the snow-covered road until they reached the end of it where a bright light—a portal of some sort—awaited them. Without a word, both of them entered as he was unmindful of his heart beating unusually fast though he knew it wasn't a bad thing.

Walls of crystals in blazing red color greeted them both as they exited the portal. It was a surprising sight for Kurama since that was the first time he saw something like that.

"T-this is…"

"The Fire Crystal Hallway," Riyareplied as they continued to walk hand in hand. "One of the seven special hallways of the Alyssum Castle, each of which leads to different rooms of this castle."

"Seven special hallways? You mean each of the hallways represents that seven Legendary Weapons?"

Riya nodded as an answer to Kurama's question.

"Then this hallway represents the Dragon Sword of Flame?"

"You answered it well," Riya said. "The Fire Crystal Hallway will lead us to the Sacred Heart Room."

"But what are we going to do there?"

The maiden smiled faintly. "Don't worry. It's just that there's something you have to see there."

Kurama didn't know why but he had this urge inside of him saying that he could trust her, though he knew that the Riya beside him right now was just an illusion. They continued to walk through the Fire Crystal Hallway until they reached the end of it.

But it surprised him to see Yusuke and the others waiting outside the room.

"Yusuke? How come they're here?" he asked himself but when he looked at it even better, that was when he saw that the clothes worn by the group were the same ones during the battle of the first full moon.

"Don't tell me… This is a vision of the past?" he exclaimed but more to himself.

Riya nodded. "You finally figured it out."

"But… what does this vision has something to do with me? And why were they here?" he asked in slight confusion as he faced the said vision. He saw Yusuke walked back and forth in front of the door non-stop.

"Yusuke-senpai, will you please stop walking already? I'll be having a headache just by looking at you back and forth," Yukari said as she rubbed her right temple. "No one will come out immediately even if you punch that door or walk in front of it back and forth."

"I just couldn't understand why Riya would only talk to Keiko if she could simply say what she had in mind to all of us," Yusuke complained grumpily.

"Not unless she was planning something and she figured that we'll stop her from doing so… whatever it is," Yumi commented nonchalantly.

Kurama frowned upon hearing that before facing Riya. "If this has happened after they defeated the demon shinobi during the first of the two parts of the final battle, then where was I during this whole time?"

"We're about to head there," Riya uttered. And with that, she gripped his hand and passed by the people of that vision.

He saw Keiko went out of the room with a grave expression on her face. When he and Riya passed by Keiko, he heard the words she uttered in which he somehow knew was referring to him.

"The second trial… I wonder how will he survive this…"

The second trial? But before Kuram could utter his concerns, he and Riya entered the room—or rather they passed through the door without even opening it. Though it caught him surprise, he didn't show it to his face.

But he was even more surprised to see the vision upon passing through the closed door completely. He saw himself lying on a rectangular crystal platform, his chest wound bled too much. Beside that lifeless form of his was the mourning Riya. And he could feel his heart constrict at the sight of those dried tears on her cheeks.

"I was in deep denial during those times. I couldn't even tell how much I've cried for you," Riya said in a soft tone. "So despite the intense pain it could inflict to your heart, I made that decision. I thought back then it was the only way for me not to feel that pain in my heart… to shield that fragile part of me from being crushed even further which might drive me insane sooner or later."

Kurama didn't say anything with regards to that, though. He just watched the vision in front of him unfold.

He saw Riya (the one in the vision) slowly went to the platform and sat beside his lifeless form. She leaned a little closer before touching his cheek. And then he heard her speak softly.

"I'm sorry, Kurama…" Riya started, her voice began quivering. "I know you'll hate me after this. I can understand that. But… this is something I chose to do. So if you finally opened your eyes and see me once again, try to remain strong and live your life like you did before you met me. The only consolation I would get after this is that I won't know I will be the reason for the pain in your heart to exist by that time. I wouldn't know that I will be the reason for everything to change between us in a great deal. But please… Please try to understand. I'm only doing this for you. I'd rather lose you alive than dead…"

Kurama her tears fell once again with a pained smile on her face. She then leaned closer to his lifeless body's face.

"Just remember that I'll always love you, Kurama. No matter what trials may come to the two of us from now on, whatever circumstances that may come and separate us again, I know I'll always end up falling in love with you. But if that didn't happen at all, please… try to bear the pain alone and move on. Do it for me, for both of us… Okay?" Riya whispered before planting a soft yet long kissas her tears leaked to her face even more.

After that, Kurama found himself being drawn to the bright light in which it eventually engulfed him. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and found himself back on the field of snow—to the spot where he and Riya actually first met five and a half years ago.

He faced the maiden beside him and looked at her with questioning gaze.

"What was that? And why did you make me see that?" Kurama asked.

Riya looked at him sadly before she sat on the bench that he didn't know it was there. She heaved a sigh before speaking.

"Because I want you to understand the sacrifice that I've done just to bring you back to life. I know it was hard to accept but it's the only way," she said.

"I was trying to understand that but it's so hard," he responded truthfully and then he sighed. "By the way, what kind of dimension is this?"

"It's not a dimension. You're inside of her heart right now."

"Her?"

Riya nodded. "The me outside."

"Then this place is…"

"It was located in the deepest corner of her heart where she kept the remnants of her true memories. In other words, there's still a part of her that still remembers you and wouldn't let her forget about you completely. It was only sealed," Riya revealed that surprised him.

"So there's still a possibility that her memories will return?"

The maiden nodded once more. "Yes, there is. But you must find the one item which will become the trigger for those memories to return. And you must give it to her on the eve of this month's second full moon."

"You mean, before the predicted second battle? But the second full moon of the month will be… a week and a half from now."

"I know you'll find it. Just trust your heart."

"But how will I be able to find it?"

But the maiden just looked at him sadly and shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that. You must find it on your own. That is a part of your second trial."

Kurama sighed and sat on the bench before facing Riya. "If I can't give it to her by the eve of the second full moon, what will happen?"

"She'll never remember you anymore… along with the others. Along with that, all of those who knew her will never remember her at all. In other words, you'll be bound to forget her forever," Riya answered sadly.

Forget her? I'll forget Riya for good? No way! There's no way I'll allow that to happen. Not a chance! He thought.

"But how will I know if she finally remembered me?" Kurama asked after a few seconds of silence.

"She's calling you now by your human name and not as Kurama, right?"

Kurama pondered on it for a while and nodded soon after. "But how did that answer my question?"

"She wasn't referring to you as Kurama even though she has an idea that it's your real name. Somehow, she could feel that by mentioning that name would trigger something she couldn't tell yet. But here's something you must remember. By the time she would call you by your demon name will be the say she would finally remember everything else that is connected to you and this war."

"And that would be the time I gave her the item you're talking about?" It was more of a statement rather than a question. Riya nodded and then stood up.

"You have to go back now," she said.

Kurama stood up and faced Riya. "Riya… I…" But for some reason, he couldn't say what he wanted to say to her.

"I know you can do it, Kurama," Riya said encouragingly with a smile as she lifted her hand and touched his cheek.

He covered her hand on his cheek with his own, tilted his head and kissed it softly. She smiled sadly at the sight.

"I know it's really hard for you. But I guess this might help you, so please remember. No matter how many times she will forget everything about you, in the end I know she'll always end yp falling in love with you… over and over. Don't worry. Even if her memories about the war did return, the curse of her powers would not. Just survive this second trial on your own. I know you can."

Kurama nodded and smiled. "I will."

After that, they shared a long passionate kiss as they sealed each other's promise to be together once again… no matter what it takes to do so…

-x-x-

Hanasakura Academy's school clinic…

It had been two hours that passed since they laid Kurama on the bed but until now, he hadn't woken up yet. Yusuke, Akane, Noboru, Hiei, Ayako, and Kuwabara were informed of the situation through Yukari's long-distance telepathy. After several minutes, the six aforementioned people arrived.

Riya, on the other hand, didn't bother to leave Kurama's side and she continued to hold his hand the whole time. Each minute that passed, she was getting too worried that Kurama won't wake up and afraid that his consciousness would be trapped in whatever dimension it was at the time.

Mizz Ryuuzaki already had an idea what happened to Kurama but she didn't tell it to the group yet. She needed to have a confirmation from Kurama himself with regards to her speculation.

All of them waited a few minutes more before Kurama finally regained consciousness. Riya was happy to see him awake and she couldn't prevent her tears from falling because of that. When he sat up, she jumped to his arms and hugged him tightly that surprised Kurama. Nevertheless, he hugged her in return.

"I'm sorry. I guess I made you worry," Kurama said in a soft tone.

"It's alright, as long as you're okay," she responed and tightened her embrace to him. Kurama could feel her trembling and so he kissed her hair.

-x-x-

After that, Riya decided to head home alone to secretly prepare for the date with Kurama the day after tomorrow. As for the rest of the group, they decided to head out to Miss Ryuuzaki's house which was just beside a shrine wherein the teacher was unknowingly working there as a shrine priestess (miko).

"Wow! I never knew a teacher like you would actually be a miko. But why did you bring us here?" Yusuke asked to the teacher as soon as they seated when they entered the house.

But instead of answering Yusuke's question, Miss Ryuuzaki looked at Kurama before speaking.

"What happened to you the whole time you were unconscious? I felt that, though you're alive here, your consciousness was driven somewhere."

Kurama sighed and it took him a while before he decided to answer the teacher's question.

"There's still a way to help Riya retrieve her lost memories," he said that surprised the group.

"This is… your second trial, Kurama?" Keiko asked and he nodded as an answer.

"Alright, you're losing us here. What second trial? And how will you be able to retrieve her memories?' Kuwabara asked.

But Kurama remained silent.

"Riya's postcognitive ability activated during the battle and your consciousness was sent to the past that she wanted you to see," Yumi said nonchalantly and the fox demon nodded.

With that, he recounted the events that happened the whole time his consciousness traveled using Riya's unstable postcognitive ability.

"An item that could become a trigger for her memories to return? What could that be?" Ayako inquired with a frown after Kurama finished his storytelling.

The red head just shook his head. "She didn't tell me. She said that I must figure it out on my own and give it to her on the eve of this month's second full moon… On the eve of our second battle with Erithea and the demon shinobi…"

And to think the second battle will happen the day after Riya's 17th birthday… What the hell was that girl thinking? Yumi sighed after that thought came to her mind.

"Did she say any specific description of the item you're looking for?" Soujiro asked after a few moments of silence. But Kurama shook his head sadly before he took a seed from his hair.

When he looked at it for a few seconds, that was when he thought of the answer to the questions that he had with regards to the item in question. And with that, he left the teacher's house in a rush.

Now he knew what he would give to Riya on the eve of the second full moon, though he wasn't sure if it would really return Riya's memories.

As for the others, they were looking at Kurama who suddenly rushed out of the house with a puzzled look on their faces. They exchanged glances at each other after that.

"What happened to him?" Kuwabara asked curiously.

The wielders, in turn, just shrugged when they couldn't figure out an answer to that.

-x-x-

Can you please tell me what you think about this story and this chapter? I need inspiration to write, that's why I want to know it through your reviews. Please? :)