MissTuffcy: Yeah this is a late Turkey Day fanfic! :P Second Installment of the Sticks & Stones series(?) I'm not sure what I can call it… But know there are a lot of future projects that I'm already working on….What do I call it? It's not trilogy because there is more than 3 works I have….Is it next installment to the series or the saga?
Summary: It's the week before Thanksgiving and Kurama and Shiori are getting ready for it. Yusuke, Atsuko, and Raizen are helping out too. They plan on celebrating the holiday together, but something goes wrong and their whole plan gets turned upside down. It doesn't look like they'll have that nice family meal at home like they planned.
Disclaimer: All Yuu-Yuu Hakusho characters, places, and references to the show does not belong to me. They belong to the sole creator/writer of Yuu-Yuu Hakusho.
Warnings: Language (I guess)
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Turkey Sandwiches & Cranberry Jello
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"Attitude of Gratitude, hmhmhmhmhmhm…" Kurama sung then trailed off into humming as he washed the dishes. Once he was done, he shook his hands dry and turned to walk out the kitchen but shouted in surprise.
"Heya, cousin!" Yusuke grinned. Kurama sighed heavily.
"Geez, Yusuke…You scared me!" Kurama pouted and crossed his arms. Yusuke chuckled and slung an arm around Kurama's shoulders.
"It's my job!" Yusuke snickered. Kurama smiled as Yusuke led him out of the kitchen. They stopped and watched Shiori busily dart around the room and then up the stairs before coming back down tying her hair up in a bun.
"Mother?" Kurama asked with a frown.
"I have to head into work for an emergency meeting tonight, sweetie," Shiori said as she stood in the mirror in the hallway to fix her make-up and hair. She smiled at Kurama. "Atsuko said you can stay with them tonight!"
"Oh, cool," Yusuke said with a grin. He grabbed Kurama's wrist and followed Shiori out the door. They followed her to the car.
"Yusuke…" Kurama started with a frown. Yusuke looked at him. "How exactly did you get over here?"
"I rode my bike!" Yusuke exclaimed with a grin as he jabbed his finger towards the green bike sitting against the side of the house. Kurama shook his head with a chuckle.
"Okay, you two boys get in the c-" Shiori was interrupted by a blaring horn. The three turned towards the street and Atsuko hopped out of the passenger side.
"Dear, kami, boy!" Atsuko screeched as she ran over to Yusuke and grabbed him by the ear.
"OW!"
"Don't you EVER do that again? Do you hear me Yusuke Urameshi?" Atsuko shouted.
"Leggo my ear!" Yusuke whined as he was dragged back to the car. She swung the door open and threw him in. She smiled at Shiori and Kurama who just blinked at her.
"Um…okay…"Shiori started slowly. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead then hugged him. "Be good at Aunty Atsuko's! I'll make sure to pick up something special for tomorrow night!"
"Can I join o that special dinner?" Yusuke piped up from his spot inside the car. Shiori chuckled.
"Sure, Yusuke." She hopped in her car and Kurama got into the car next to Yusuke. Atsuko closed the door behind him and sat in the passenger seat. She waved at Shiori as Raizen drove off.
"Hey mom, can I call them now?" Yusuke was currently bouncing around his mother as she flicked through the cook book to find something easy to cook tonight.
"Why? Kurama is here. Play with him," Atsuko grumbled.
"True," Raizen said from his spot at the table reading some large book Yusuke didn't feel the need to name. Yusuke groaned as Kurama walked into the kitchen with them.
"Yusuke, your room is so messy," Kurama commented.
"BUT DAD!" Yusuke shouted. Raizen looked up at him with a frown.
"But what? All I said was true…"
"I want to invite them! Today you said so!"
"I shouldn't let you do anything for running out the house, you little shit!" Atsuko growled and slammed the book closed. She sighed. "I'll order pizza…"
"PLEASE!" Yusuke begged. Kurama walked over to the cook book and opened as Atsuko flipped through the phone book for the number to the pizzeria.
"If it'll get you to shut up!" Atsuko grumbled. "Let 'em call the mongrels, Raizen." She said. Yusuke pumped his fist.
"Yay!"
"Aunty, how about this?" Kurama asked as Atsuko growled a 'fuck it' and threw the book in a random direction. She walked over and peered over Kurama's head. It was a recipe for French onion soup.
"Hmm….This looks easy enough." Atsuko mumbled. "Thanks, Hun," She ruffled Kurama's hair. Kurama smiled at her. Yusuke sighed and brought Kurama's attention to him. Yusuke handed Raizen back his phone and looked at Kurama.
"Come on K'rama! Gotta get my room all cleaned up and set up the Game System!" Yusuke grabbed Kurama by the wrist and dragged him up the stairs and to his room.
"You need to do more than just pick up things…" Kurama said with a slight disgusted scowl on his face as Yusuke picked clothes up and chucked it in the closet. He stopped and looked at Kurama. "You need to disinfect the room…it smells in here!"
"Well!" Yusuke snapped and glared at Kurama. "Maybe you can di-de…that word you used!" Kurama chuckled.
"Disinfect!" Kurama supplied as he went to Yusuke's closet. He pulled all the clothes out and picked up a black netted back. "I believe this is your laundry bag, Yusuke!" Kurama held it open. "You put the clothes in here and not on the floor!"
"Fine!" Yusuke grumbled in a huff. He picked up the clothes that Kurama threw out the closet first and put them in the bag.
"Under the bed!" Kurama motioned with his head. Yusuke crawled under the bed and grabbed a few pair of underwear and socks and chucked them behind him. He heard a cry of surprised as he tried to reach another pair farther back under the bed. He frowned and slid from under the bed and looked at Kurama.
"Watch where you throw these weapons of mass destruction!" Kurama cried as he threw the sock that had landed on his face on the ground. Yusuke laughed loudly.
"My bad, 'Rama!" Yusuke laughed.
"I'm happy you find my suffering to be amusing!" Kurama huffed. Yusuke's loud laughing settled down to low chuckles. He smiled.
"Of course!" Yusuke stood up and stretched.
"Are you friends coming over?" Kurama asked as he cleared off Yusuke's bed.
"Yup!" Yusuke answered. He turned from untangling the wires to his game to stare at Kurama. "Are you worried?" Kurama stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Yusuke with confusion. "Never mind." Yusuke stood up and helped Kurama make his bed. When they were finished, Yusuke stared at Kurama. Kurama looked up and their eyes met.
"What?" Kurama asked uncertainly.
"You know, if they're still bothering you, I won't hang out with them!" Yusuke said with a frown. Kurama shook his head.
"They aren't, don't worry." Kurama said. He smiled a moment later. "Thanks…though…"
"Anything!" Yusuke said seriously. He moved towards Kurama and held his shoulders. "If you need anything, remember you can ALWAYS ask me! Got it?" Kurama nodded. "If you have something to say, you know you can always tell me! Always! I'll always be here for ya, got that?"
"Yes Yusuke…" Kurama said with a chuckle. "I'll always have your back too!" Yusuke held up his thumb and winked. Kurama copied the motion and the both of them started laughing.
"Yusuke, your friends are here!" Yusuke hooted in glee and grabbed the laundry bag.
"Can ya take this down to ma so I can finish putting the game together?" Yusuke asked. Kurama nodded and took the bag from Yusuke and dragged it out of the room. He stopped and looked up at the three standing in his way. He blinked in confusion.
"Hey Kurama," The one in the middle said with a grin. "Yusuke in there right?" Kurama recognized the boy as Chu. He his hair shaved up into a long blue Mohawk standing up from his head. He was wearing a sleeveless black jacket and dark jeans. He didn't really speak to him and Chu never spoke back but he'd pass him on the playground from time to time and smile at him. That was even before Yusuke had come to the school. The other two were Zeru and Roto. The two were not very favorable people. They usually just followed the crowd.
"Yeah," Kurama answered. Chu smiled and nodded.
"Sup, Kurama," Zeru and Roto said as they followed behind Chu inside of Yusuke's room. Kurama tugged the bag down towards the steps. He stopped when he saw Raizen coming up the stairs.
"Why does he have you lugging this thing around?" Raizen asked as he came all the way up the stairs.
"He's setting up his game so I agreed to bring this down for him," Kurama said. Raizen shook his head with a chuckle.
"That boy.." He trailed off. "Let me do this before you end up falling down the stairs and breaking your neck," Raizen said as he took the bag from Kurama. "We don't need Shiori coming over here breaking our neck too," Raizen chuckled. Kurama smiled.
"Thanks!" He turned and walked back to the room with Yusuke and the other two just to see they had already had begun to play the game. "What are you guys playing?" Kurama sat down on his legs next to Chu and watched the 4 bang on the keys of the control.
"Dark Tournament," Yusuke said as he stuck his tongue out. Kurama was silent after that, just watching.
"Get your butts down here and eat guys!" They heard Atsuko's voice carry up.
"Geez…your mom has a loud mouth," Roto commented as they paused the game and stood. Yusuke laughed.
"Yeah, she really does." Yusuke said as he led the group out of his room.
After eating, they went back up in the room to finish playing. "Don't stay up too late!" Atsuko said. "Even if you have no school tomorrow, I don't want ya up at some ungodly hour! Kurama, I got the guest room ready for you,"
"Oh, thank you Aunty," Kurama said with a smile.
"But ma, where the heck are these loonies gonna sleep?" Yusuke asked as he leaned back on the bed when his person died. He looked at Atsuko who gave a thoughtful expression.
"Not sure…"
"Well, my bed is big enough for two!" Yusuke said. "But I ain't sharing with any of them cos their feet stink." Kurama snorted a laugh but stayed silent. Yusuke stuck his tongue out at Kurama.
"Well, one of them can sleep on the couch," Atsuko said. She looked between the three. "Roto, since you look the lightest." She left the room after that.
"So I guess I'll be sleeping here on the floor!" Zeru said with a nod.
"I'll sleep on the floor in the room with Kurama," Chu said with a shrug. "Now un-pause the game so I can finish kicking you guys' asses!" Chu exclaimed. Kurama chuckled as the others shoved him with either their hand or their foot (in Yusuke's case it was his foot).
"What are you guys eating for Thanksgiving?" Zeru asked. Kurama shifted his feet from under him and brought them up for him to hug his knees.
"My mother says that Aunty Atsuko is planning a dinner with us together," Kurama said. He looked at Yusuke.
"Yeah! Ma says she's gonna make some stuffin! I gotta say that's definitely the only thing she can cook right without burning!"
"What about the French onion soup?" Kurama asked.
"Yeah…Dad made it," Yusuke laughed. Kurama joined in as did the other three boys.
"I heard that, you little shit!" Atsuko grumbled. They turned to look at her. "Now it's bedtime for the lot of you!" They all groaned but Kurama stood and dusted his pants off. "Get ready for bed," with that she pushed off the doorframe and walked out the room.
The next day was uneventful. After Kurama had returned home, he had helped his mother plan what she was cooking for the thanksgiving dinner. "Oh, I've got a whole new, attitude, A life-time subscription to, gratitude," Kurama sung and then went back to humming it as he cleaned the table. Shiori chuckled as she pulled out the cake mix box.
"You really do love that song, huh, sweat-heart?" Shiori asked with a smile. Kurama nodded. "I think it fits well!" She giggled. Kurama smiled. Kurama placed the rag on the sink as the front door opened. They turned when Atsuko walked in, followed by Yusuke. "Good morning, Atsuko and Yusuke,"
"Morning~!" Yusuke chirped happily. Atsuko grinned at Shiori.
"How are my favorite Minaminos?" Atsuko asked. Shiori giggled.
"We're fine," She said. "We're just getting the kitchen ready for that special occasion.
A few days later found Shiori and Atsuko in the kitchen cooking. It was the day before Thanksgiving so they were doing some of the food today and finishing it tomorrow. "Oh, this is so exciting!" Shiori squealed. "Our first family dinner together in so long!" She exclaimed. Atsuko chuckled.
"Yeah, last time we were still changing diapers! And the diapers weren't even our kids," Atsuko snickered as Shiori laughed.
"Indeed!"
"MA!" Atsuko sighed.
"What is it, Yusuke?"
"Can me and Kurama go to the park?" Yusuke asked as he walked into the kitchen with Kurama following behind him.
"Eh…make your dad drive ya and I'll agree," Atsuko said. Atsuko looked at Shiori and Shiori nodded in agreement.
"Thanks!" Yusuke exclaimed as he turned and dragged Kurama out the kitchen by the wrist. "C'mon! Hurry K'rama before dad falls asleep! It'll take ages to get him up after that!"
"That boy is too much like his father," Atsuko grumbled. Shiori laughed.
"Are you sure that's Raizen and not you?" Shiori asked slyly. Atsuko huffed.
"Yeah and cats can fly!" As Atsuko said that, a cat flew by the window with a hiss. Atsuko and Shiori blinked.
"A cat flew…that means-"
"Shut up…" Atsuko grumbled. Shiori laughed.
It was already late. Atsuko and Raizen had returned home. They said they'd finish cooking up what they had and bring it to the house tomorrow. Shiori hummed as she pulled the cake out of the oven. She frowned as she grabbed the bowl of smashed sweet potatoes. It than dawned on her that she didn't even have pie crusts. "Oh shoot!" She walked out of the kitchen and stopped in the living room and smiled. Yusuke and Kurama were asleep on the couch with a comedy movie still playing. Shiori shook Kurama and Yusuke. The two opened their eyes to look at her sleepily. "You two get upstairs in the bed!" Kurama frowned.
"Where are you going?" He asked as he noticed his mother wearing her jacket.
"I need to go to the store and get some pie crusts." She said. Kurama frowned and looked out the window. It was raining pretty hard out.
"You should wait till tomorrow…" Yusuke grumbled sleepily as he stood. Kurama stood up with him and silently agreed.
"Don't worry, sleepyheads. I'll be back before you know it!" She said with a wink. Kurama frowned but nodded. Shiori walked over to the cordless phone and picked it up. She handed it to Kurama. It was just a habit of hers to give Kurama the phone whenever she had to leave the house for any amount of time. Yusuke grabbed Kurama's wrist and dragged him towards the stairs.
"C'mon…'Rama…" Yusuke grumbled sleepily.
"I'll be back sweet-pea!" Kurama nodded.
The next day, Kurama woke up slowly. He yawned and sat up. He looked at Yusuke still asleep next to him and he smiled. He kicked the other off the bed and he shouted in surprise as he hit the floor. Yusuke popped up and glared at Kurama.
"The hell ya do that for 'Rama?" Yusuke shouted. Kurama chuckled as he stood up.
"You were in the way, sorry Yusuke!" Kurama said as he walked over to his dresser. Yusuke grumbled something unintelligent. Kurama pulled out an outfit for him to wear and one for Yusuke. "Here Yusuke," Kurama said as he dropped the clothes on Yusuke's head. Yusuke pulled the shirt and pants off his face and glared up at Kurama. Kurama smiled innocently and Yusuke huffed. When the two were done getting ready, they walked down the stairs. There was a slight burnt smell downstairs.
"Mother, what are you burning?" Kurama asked as they made their way downstairs. Kurama frowned when they go to the kitchen to see it empty.
"Is she still sleeping?" Yusuke asked. He went back up the stairs to check as Kurama went to the oven. He coughed as he opened the oven to have a blast of heat and black smoke hit him in the face. He used the oven mitts to pull out the charred pan that looked to have had corn bread in it.
"Surprised this didn't catch fire…though also glad…" Kurama mumbled as he placed the burnt hot pan in the sink. He turned when he heard Yusuke running down the stairs.
"Kurama, she's not in her room! I don't think your mom ever came home last night!" Yusuke said in a panic. Kurama frowned. Kurama walked to the phone base and stared at the blinking red light. "I'll go get the phone." Yusuke rushed up the stairs and returned with the phone. He handed it to Kurama.
"Hello, this is Dr. Ruka here at Hearth Medical Center. I was calling to inform the household of Shiori Minamino that she was a bad car accident and was rushed –"
Kurama had dropped the phone before the rest the message had played. Yusuke frowned.
"What? What happened?" Yusuke asked. Kurama dropped to his knees and stared ahead of him. Yusuke snatched up the phone and replayed the message and his eyes widened. He looked down at Kurama with a frown. He hung up the phone before calling his mother and telling her all that had happened.
"She's not in critical condition anymore," The doctor said, but Kurama drowned him out as he fiddled with his hair, tears at the corners of his eyes. He looked up when he felt a hand on his arm and another take his hand from his hair. He looked up to see Raizen and Yusuke. Kurama sniffled. Raizen pulled the younger to him and Kurama buried his face in Raizen's chest. Yusuke looked up when Atsuko walked back over to them.
"Kurama," Atsuko called. Kurama looked up at her and pulled away from Yusuke and Raizen. He stood up and literally collapsed into Atsuko's arms. Atsuko rubbed his back and shushed him. "It's alright, Hun. She's okay!" Kurama heard Atsuko asked the doctor something and then was led away. They walked into the room where Shiori was being held. She was sitting up against the pillows in the bed. She turned her head and smiled at them.
"Mom!" Kurama cried as he ran into the room and hugged her as best as he could without disturbing the IVs.
"I'm fine, sweat-heart." Her voice was a little rough and raspy. Kurama looked up at her and frowned.
"I told you not to go!" Kurama cried. Shiori nodded.
"I'm sorry, sweetie….I should have listened to you and Yusuke…." She said sadly. She sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry I ruined this whole thanksgiving plan…" She had tears in her eyes. Yusuke and Atsuko came closer to her while Raizen left the room.
"That's not important," Atsuko and Yusuke said at the same time. "We're just glad you're okay…." Atsuko whispered with a smile. She held Shiori's hand and smiled. "That's all that matter, ya know!" Yusuke nodded in agreement as he placed a hand on Kurama's trembling back. They looked up when they heard Raizen's voice.
"Well….We're not getting home anytime soon but that doesn't mean we can't have a thanksgiving meal," Raizen mumbled. They looked at him in confusion until they saw the sandwiches wrapped in plastic and the little containers of Jello. "It's no giant Tom the Turkey(1) or the good canned…magenta stuff but it's something, eh?" He asked. They laughed.
"Magenta stuff?" Yusuke asked as Raizen handed them the Jello and sandwiches.
"Cranberry flavored Jello? They have that?" Atsuko asked. Shiori smiled at them.
"Turkey sandwiches, sweet!" Yusuke grinned.
"Well…Thanksgiving isn't all about the big dinners anyway," Shiori whispered. They all looked at her as she stared down at the sandwich and Jell-O. "It's about spending time with family…and expressing what you're thankful for…the fact you are possible to have a big dinner on this day is something one should be thankful for…" She looked up and looked between her small family and chuckled through her tears. "I'm thankful for you all….for those I can call family….And I'm thankful for my little boy," She hugged Kurama to her.
"I'm thankful for you too mom…" Kurama whispered.
"Even though you're a pain in my ass, I love ya son…and I'm glad I had you…" Atsuko said with a grin. Yusuke glared at her for her first comment but then smiled.
"Back atcha mom!"
"Same here," Raizen said.
"Now let's eat!" Yusuke cried as he opened his sandwich. Everyone laughed and opened it as well.
"Itadakimasu…" They all said before taking a bite of their sandwich. One by one their faces scrunched up in disgust before they spit the bite out.
"Ugh! This is nasty!" Atsuko gagged.
"I'd rather eat your cooking!" Yusuke yelled which Atsuko glared at him.
"There is nothing wrong with my cooking!" Atsuko yelled. Raizen, Yusuke, and Atsuko began to bicker as Kurama and Shiori sweat-dropped and watched.
"It was almost a perfect family moment…" Shiori whispered.
"I blame the fake turkey in the sandwich…" Kurama whispered back. Shiori snorted a laugh.
"Hospital food for you…"
Owari!
Happy belated Turkey Day? :D
1: That was what my aunt named our turkey. Lol Tom the Turkey.