Delicious Lies, Dangerous Memories :
Lies ... an assertion knowingly contrary to the truth. A human practice present since the beginning of time. Often used to camouflage insecurity, to deceive, control or in some cases protect and protect ourselves. However for whatever reason we lie, lies have always been seen as something abject and defying the principles of good behavior. Nowadays, most of our entourage move on in life and get what they want by distorting the truth, hiding under a roof of false and when we end up finding the rift in the roof, saying that people would like to see us disappear is an understatement.
A YYH AU fic
Disclaimer : I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho and its characters. However I own the OCs.
CHAPTER I : D LIKE DREAM.
"For the love I've always carried for you-"
"Take my hand."
"Don't listen to them."
"You won't find a better Paradise than the one I'm about to give you. "
"Tch, lies ... Don't listen to what they're saying."
"As if you were better, Botan take my hand."
"Botan, come with me, men are born liars, you know that ?"
"We are friends, right? In this case choose me."
"A friend don't stab you on the back."
"Botan."
I watched the scene that presented itself to me with heavy eyelids and a vision blurred by my current condition. In the depths of my mind, with the little awareness I had, I knew that I was in a delicate situation, a portal between life and death. My lungs and my heart were tightly compressed to each other, my breath no longer left my body and no matter how much I tried the oxygen couldn't penetrate. Everything that came into me was a strong pressure that threatened to explode all my being. I was desperately trying to grab my chest and throat, thinking that by squeezing and holding it then perhap that horrible feeling will fade away, but it actually did me more harm than good. I let my arms fall to my sides, the strength of which I have always been proud no longer there. Narrowing my eyes as best as I could, I tried to fuse all the different images that were superimposed in turn in front of me. On one side, all those hands without owners, straining resolutely towards me on this background as black as the abysses, on the other one, this light whose intensity was attenuated by what was doing me so much harm. Trying as best as I could to open my eyes I could hear again these voices calling me, a frantic and worried edge tinting them. However, I could no longer discern what they said, though absentmindly, I could still hear them scream my name but it didn't matter anymore when I felt death close its embrace around me. As the last drop of hope I had was leaving my soul, I saw one of the hands come down towards me. This one was thin and bloody, a frail look but the aura it had defied its appearance.
Instantly, I collected all remaining traces of my strength in myself and held out my own hand to the one who was coming closer and closer to me, defying all the dreadful voices around me.
"Botan don't do that!"
"I told you to choose me, what are you doing ?!"
"You're crazy, no!"
The moment our two hands came into contact, the voices ceased and everything was pushed to the bottom of my unconsciousness. Everything that happened after that was unknown to me.
I opened my eyes sharply, the alarm of my phone tearing me away from my disturbed sleep.
This dream again? It had been 3 months since the accident occurred and yet my nights were all full of images and identical sensations.
The doctor who was in charge of my rehabilitation told me that I had to try to work, fill my days with a lot of activities, go out and have fun. According to him the best remedies for recovering from trauma was to bury it, push it out of our mind with new memories, new emotions. It was partly true, I gave him reason, but only to a certain point. As I managed not to drown myself in my interrogations or to see danger in every suspicious person, no matter how much I tried, every time I closed my eyes, I could not find a soothing rest. It was just like all the beautiful memories I made for myself during the day were running away at night, like they were frightened by something in my unconscious.
Out of curiosity I asked a few people if they noticed anything abnormal in my behavior. I was surprised to know that apparently no. I should have known it though. I spent a large part of my life shaping a happy and lively personality, training as best I could to ban my face and voice from any betrayal of my real feelings. If people could have easily read through me I would have it taken really badly.
The incessant alarm of my phone tore me off my train of thought.
I let a frail, tired hand wander to the device grabbed it, turned it off and threw it into a corner of the room without worrying about where it had landed. It was old anyway and I was counting on buying a new one. Pushing on my arms to get up in a sitting position, I let out a small moan from the sharp pain I felt on my back. I gritted my teeth. Maybe I should have listened to Ayame, maybe I should have not missed my Tuesday sport session to postpone it to last night. But well, what was done is done, and now I should spend the day with this incessant pain as a reminder of my own stupidity and laziness.
With a little bit of difficulty, I threw my legs out of bed and slipped on my slippers while rubbing my right eye. Grabbing the doorknob, I turned it and came out of my room.
I let my eyes wander over the many decorations and frames adorning the corridor. Among them my attention was captured by a small frame hung near the bathroom. I approached closer and gently removed it from the wall. On the picture that was slipped there, several laughing faces were printed, including mine, Ayame and Tsubaki. Apparently this picture was taken 4 months ago during a picnic between "girls" that Ruka had organized to celebrate Tsubaki's fifteenth birthday.
I say apparently because I do not have any memories of this event right now. It must be said that my accident left me serious aftereffects, I forgot approximately 6 months of my life, of course on the 17 years, soon to be 18 that I lived it may seem little, but it's a part of my existence. In 6 months many things, many happy, sad events take place. We learn a lot, we live a lot of sensations, we mature too.
Forgetting about your little sister's birthday was also quite depressing, we're 15 once in a lifespan.
Feeling the irritation and sadness accumulate in me, I put the frame in its place and headed to the living room. It was seven o'clock in the morning, it was too early to stave with a problem that nobody had the solution. Instead of moping I had to continue living.
As soon as I entered the room, Ayame's exasperated cries took me by surprise.
I sweat dropped in front of the scene I attended almost every day.
Sakuraba Ayame, 22 years old, my older sister, squatting on the floor with a mass of clothes and accessories dripping from her arms. Her beautiful face was contracted in a deep frown and her lips formed a pout. It was an expression that young children often did when they were upset. An expression that was definitely not matched to a young woman of her age but which remained all the same endearing.
"Ahh ... seriously what a mess."
And in case you're wondering, no, my sister did not deliberately put herself in this situation, she's not that kind of messy person either. Actually, all the articles she has in her arms do not even belong to her.
Ayame must have felt my eyes on her form because she turned her eyes where I was standing and gave me an embarrassed smile after letting the clothes fall to the ground. She walked towards me, opened her arms wide and then choked me with a big hug in which, I think, she pourred all her sisterly love.
"I didn't know you were awake, well slept?"
Well my lovely sister ... How can I tell you that 'I have absolutely not closed the eye of the night and that the only amount of sleep I was able to obtain was quite nightmarish' without you put your overprotective mode on?
"Oh as usual." Yes, we will arrange like that. Taking advantage of her surprise, I cleverly slipped out of her embrace and sat on one of the dining room chairs. I grabbed the cereal box and poured some of it into a bowl.
"What do you mean by as usual? Did you still have the same nightmare?"
A bitter smile crept on my face after swallowing a first spoonful.
"I wouldn't call it a nightmare."
"But yet you are drowning in it" Her mounth worked before her mind. She gasped immediately and slowly approached me, gently placing a hand on my head. She must have noticed that I had flinched at her words. She must have felt bad because of her slightly crude words "Oh Botan ... I'm sorry I didn't want to … Oh..."
An angel, it's what Ayame was, a pure soul and a tender heart. It would have been another person, I would not have received any excuses. Hell, even Ruka and Tsubaki would not have apologized. After all, it was the truth. I was the only one to veil my face.
As I opened my mouth and was about to reassure my dark haired sister, a velvety female voice was heard in the room.
"Well, I see that some people are hiding secrets in this house."
We both turned to the source of the voice to find a young woman with long, shiny red hair sitting on the couch, long and nicely-shaped legs crossed. She gave us a blank expression although we could faintly discern amusement in her brown pools.
"Hello to you too, Ruka." I gave her a teasing smile which earned me a roll of eyes of the beautiful redhead.
This girl is Akanishi Ruka, she is one year older than my sister and currently works as a nurse at St Luke International Hospital. We can say that she is a friend of the family, she lives with us in an apartment in Tokyo's center.
Ayame sighed "Ruka ... Since when are you here?"
"For a moment, actually," she glanced into her pocket mirror before continuing "I arrived right at the right moment to hear you complain about this mess." To illustrate her point she gestured to the many clothes on the carpet.
The dark haired woman face palmed and then moved dangerously towards Ruka, an exaggerated scowl on her face.
"Ruka how many times do I have to remind you that the dirty laundry bin is in the bathroom and that the living room is a place where we receive gests and not a dressing room?"
The redhead put her hands in front of her to protect herself from the negative waves (as she often says) of Ayame.
"Oula, calm down honey, I'm going to clean it, there's no fire."
"Now." Was the tern answer she received.
"Ayame. Look at my manicure, I won't risk damaging it just before my date for that. It took me hours." The nurse stuffed her hands in Ayame's face before the other woman shoved them away furiously to grab the collar of the redhead and shake her violently.
"I. Do. Not. Care, if you don't do what I told you now it's going to be very very bad for you my dear, understood? And you know that I don't make empty threat."
Catching the murderous glare launched at her, Ruka crouched quickly and began picking up what belonged to her.
I nervously laughed to try to dispel the tension in the room but my attempt was totally ignored by the two older women. Ending my breakfast in silence, a question came to my mind "Where is Tsubaki?" I looked curiously around the room.
Ayame turned to me "Oh ... She doesn't feel very well, I plan to call the school to let them know of her absence today."
" What happened to her ?" I asked surprised.
"Indigestion. She stayed awake late last night and ate a bit of everything, among the packages I found on the table were chocolates that had expired for at least two weeks."
Oh that's why. My little sister, Tsubaki, has always been a true glutton, a bit like me. It was not the first time such a thing had happened to her.
I heard Ayame nervously clear her throat and turn to the coffee table on which was a yellow folder. I saw hesitation in her movements and raised an inquiring eyebrow. When she said nothing, I decided to start the subject myself "What is it ?" To be honest I had a little idea of what it was and I could already feel my hands contracting impatiently to grab the object.
"Inspector Hanamiya passed very early this morning and dropped it in the mail box ... Surely a report of how the deal is progressing."
My eyes lit up and I rushed to the file, taking both Ayame and Ruka by surprise.
I sit on the couch and take a deep breath before opening it. I brushed back in their place the long strands of blue hair that fell on the sheets of paper between my hands, noting briefly to myself that I should soon cut the tips that began to deteriorate.
I devoured the rich in details paragraphs of the Inspector's written reports with hungry eyes and mind.
"What does it say?" Asked the redhead. Meanwhile she had resumed her place on the couch and was turned towards me, her chin nestled in her hands.
I cleared my throat and answered her question "Many things but basically they think they found a track and ask me to come with them this Sunday afternoon to introduce myself to a handful of people and see if I recognize someone."
Ayama scoffed "All that doesn't smell good in my opinion, I don't know what these policemen have in mind."
"Geez ... why are you so angry?"
My sister sighed then dropped into one of the black copper armchairs."They had the medical reports and know very well that Botan is amnesic and doesn't remember anything about the accident or the previous months. Ruka you work in this field, you should know the seriousness of the situation, it's not a simple temporary loss of memory, the doctor said it was for life."
Against all expectations the nurse let out a laugh "If I told you the number of times that doctors I worked with have made wrong reports during my training, we would spend the day here" She then turned to me a tender smile decorating her features "You should let her try by herself, she's no longer a kid."
It was so alike Ruka, in this kind of situation she always had my back.
I gave her a grateful smile and once again focused my attention on my sister who let a huge sigh escape her pink lips "Very well, but it's out of question for her to go alone. Botan, I'll arrange for Hiei to be glued on your ass."
"Literally ?"
"Hell no."
It was Ruka's turn to scoff "Please ... What's this grumpy dwarf going to be able to do for her defense? At worst this hideous drunk of Chuu is more useful as a protection than Hiei."
Chuu as a protector? Uh no. I do not think so "I would still prefer to have Shishi and Suzuka as a companion to be honest … No matter how annoying and self-centered they're, they're still less clingy than Chuu."
"Hold up, it's out of question that one of your depraved and crazy buddy spends one afternoon with my little sister, darling Ruka. I will simply not allow it."
I was diverting my eyes from the two women in full debate as they began to derail the subject. My gaze rested absent-mindly on the clock. I blinked. 7:30 ... I still had time. I blinked, once, twice. WHAT!? I have only thirty minutes to get dressed and go to school?!
With a speed that surpassed that of Yusuke and Hiei, I ran to the bathroom under the wide eyes of Ruka and Ayame before coming out and making a detour to my room to take my uniform and accidentally shoving aside my little sister who had just woken up (because of the screams of the damn women surely).
This day was going to be very hectic, I already felt it.
Author's note :
That's my first YuYu Hakusho Romance Fanfic Yay ! With my favourite character aka our bubbly grim reaper, our lovely and sweet peony !
Well actually I wanted to write a romantic fic for a long time but I didn't have a plot (Now I have one :P). To be honest I'm more into shonen and mystery animes/mangas than shojos.
However I came out with a nice idea and I had a lot of inspiration a few days ago so now I'm posting the first chapter of my second fic.
For this one I'll be using a lot of canon characters and really few OCs (I'm quite found of Ocs tbh, my other fic is full of them especially male OCs XD). The only OCs I'm thinking of in this story right now are Tsubaki and Inspector Hanamiya.
I'm aiming with this fic to go a little above people's exceptations (not for the story quality but more for the plot). There're going to be a lot of surprises and I hope I could take you all by surprise. I actually think, apart from really reaaaaalllyyyy biiiig fans of the manga, some of the informations in the storie are going to shock some of you XD
The fic is called Delicious Lies after all ...Well enough, that's too much hints already XD !
You'll also find out my favourite secret pairing in this fic ... And I hope there're people out there who have this (or those ?) pairings at their fav too hihi.
In case you're wondering what Tsubaki actually looks like, I imagined and writted her with Hunter x Hunter's Neon in mind (her 2011 styling, with blue hair and blue eyes)
Also since Ayame's and Botan's names are flowers (Iris and Peony) I gave to Tsubaki a flower name too. Tsubaki means Camellia.
This chapter may be a bit short but it's more of an introduction.
I will take a lot of time to post new chapters, however I'll try to be quick with my updates.
And lastly let me know if I did mistakes, english is not my first language and when I write I think in French and write it in English so the wording may be too complex or confusing at times, sorry for that T.T
Let me know if you have question about the fic ! I'll try to respond without spoiling XD