Title: Painful Memories V. 2
Author: Phoenix Kaen
Summary: Demon huntress, Ayane left her only child with Genkai and agreed to stay away from her one love, Hiei for family honor. When her bestfriend reveals that she may be having his baby, Ayane remembers all her painful memories. Can she really stay away from him even if her heart is slowly breaking? Can she escape from her family's legacy or will she collapse under the pressures of her difficult life?
Couples: HieixAyane(oc)xMizuki(oc) and KuramaxMizuki(oc)
Disclaimer: Yoshihiro Togashi owns the series Yu Yu Hakusho.
Chapter 2: Blood, Tears and Love
Past
Ayane spat out blood as her body lay sprawled on the floor, looking up at Lisa standing before her. Lisa had a pained but furious expression on her face. Lisa, who usually approves with her granddaughter's decisions and actions, was wondering how all these years of raising her. She never had to raise a hand on her. How did she get to be so rebellious? Whatever Lisa said, Ayane would always obey but now because of him, because of one word, love, Ayane would throw all reason out of the window. But, no, she is my successor, she can't possibly be with a demon. She can't bear a demon child; I won't allow it. Even if she says that she loves him, I won't stand for it especially when I know that he's just toying with her. All demons are like that; they all have no heart. That's why they all need to die. I'm doing this for her own good.
"How dare you! After what happened to my daughter and your father, you're still willing to fall for a dirty demon!" Lisa screamed as she slapped Ayane hard across the face. The impact made the latter spit out more blood. Her face looked paler as she panted. Ayane didn't bother to dodge Lisa's assaults; she just remained on the floor, allowing Lisa to scream, kick and beat her to a bloody pulp. The almost bloodied 17-year-old teenager thought that she deserved to be punished for being an unfaithful granddaughter.
Yes, I have to be punished. I fell for someone that I shouldn't have. Ayane thought as blood came from her sides. Sure, I could fight back but I know that I'm an embarrassment to my parents' memories now. The pain dulled and she hardly even noticed when Lisa wrapped her hair in her fingers and lifted her head up. Then she kneed Ayane hard on the forehead. Ayane was dizzy but miraculously, she survived the attack. She wished that she could pass out. Her eyes were unfocused though she could still feel the pain.
"Stop it!" Mizuki's voice suddenly rang through the living room. However, Lisa proceeded her assaults. She didn't care if someone witnessed her brutality, she had to punish her for her own good. Ayane's bestfriend had burst in from the open door and ran in front of Ayane's battered body. She used her own body as a shield against Lisa's assaults only then did the woman stop.
"Get out of my way, Mizuki-san!" Lisa screamed. "I have to punish her for doing such an idiotic thing! She let a demon defile her own body!"
"NO! I won't let you! Mrs. Anda, how could you! Look at Ayane, you could barely recognize her under all that blood!" Mizuki quivered, sobbing. She turned around to Ayane to wipe the blood away from her face. Lying in a heap, Ayane could barely take in oxygen.
"Mi...zu...ki...?" Ayane whispered uncertainly, her vision blurred. Her fingers reached out for Mizu's.
"Yes, it's me, Aya-chan. Don't worry, I'll take you to him, okay? I know, he won't say it straight out but he loves you," Mizuki said, smiling. She held Ayane's limp hand while a tear rolled down her cheek, landed on Ayane's blood smeared facade.
"Loves me?" Ayane whispered weakly. Her voice was beginning to escape her. Mizu nodded, Ayane's hand on her face.
"Yes, we'll take you away from this life so you can live a happier one with him...I promise, friend. So stay awake, okay?" Mizuki sobbed. She put Ayane's arm around her shoulder to lift her body slowly.
"You're not going anywhere with Ayane, Mizuki-san, especially to that fire demon. I'm Ayane's only living relative and her guardian. It's my job to ensure what kind of future that she will have and that future doesn't include that demon. If you don't stop interfering, I won't hesitate in hurting you," Lisa said. There was a kind of determined light that shone in Lisa's honey eyes. Mizuki's green eyes just glared back at her and continued to drag Ayane and herself to the door.
"Come on, Aya-chan. Be careful. We're almost there." Mizuki guided Ayane's limp body to the door. The stubborn Lisa won't give up so easily, however. Mizuki screamed, a dagger was embedded on the wall left of Mizuki, narrowly missing Ayane's shoulder.
"I warned you, Mizuki-chan," Lisa said calmly. She was holding four little daggers between her fingers, getting ready to throw another.
Why did Mizuki scream? Ayane was still half-conscious. Her body was numbing.
"Please, Mrs. Anda! You're acting crazy! AHH!" Mizuki screamed again. She ducked just in time as another dagger landed on the wall above her head.
'Mrs. Anda?' Grandma's hurting Mizu! Stop, don't hurt her! Ugh...I'm so weak now...I can't protect her. An overwhelming sleep came over Ayane though she did try to fight it, she could no longer avoid it. Her head fell limp on Mizuki's shoulder, unable to prevent Lisa's attacks.
Mizuki's legs froze as another dagger was aimed for her. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered Ayane but she was left wide open. Instead of feeling the dagger's pain, she heard someone's groan, she opened her eyes. They widened in horror. The dagger was embedded in Kurama.
"Why?" Mizuki whispered. Why save me after all those times of rejecting your feelings? She closed her eyes, tears came running down. Idiot. I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I fall for him instead? Why did I fall for someone who didn't care for me? I'm so so stupid. Why did he have to get hurt for me 'til I finally realized that he really cares for me?
Lisa was furious to know that even Mizuki was also associating with another demon. She tried to attack Kurama but he dodged. He created a diversion and they got away. Lisa didn't chase after them though she just stood there in anger. Meanwhile, the injured Kurama and Mizuki got Ayane safely at Genkai's. It was about a week later that Ayane finally woke up. It was about two weeks after that she found out that she was pregnant...
Present
"Mommy! Mommy!" Miru called her. Ayane raised her head and saw that Miru was on a swing. "Look how high I can go!" Ayane smiled as she watched the raven-haired little girl soared towards the sky with each swing. She was sitting on a bench aware of someone's presence, someone that was watching Miru and her.
"Be careful, Miru! I don't want you to get hurt, okay?" Ayane yelled.
"Okay, mommy!" Miru said gleefully. She continued to swing herself up again.
A light breeze started to blow; Ayane's long hair was caught in it. It sailed through the air while Ayane tried to push strands of hair back from her face. Her watcher thought of how beautiful she looked at that moment. "Today's a windy day!" Ayane muttered to herself.
He watched her as she struggled to keep her hair from blowing into her face. He leaned forward but hid behind a branch full of colorful autumn leaves. He knows that he can't see her anymore but he can't help it. For the past five years, he had kept a good front by pretending to not care about her. The struggle was the task itself; he wasn't able to erase Ayane's face from his mind especially when he looked into the face of his own daughter. Miru looked almost exactly like Ayane except that she had his red eyes. There were times when his heart would break just by looking at Miru; Ayane's face would just show up in his mind. Then every one of his memory of her would start to flash before his eyes. He remembered her happy face, her sad face, her angry face, her worried face and her other expressions.
Down below the tree, Ayane looked beyond the swing set and across the horizon. How long has it been since I decided to pick up Miru? Ayane looked at her silver watch and it read 8: 35. She sighed sadly. Miru's laughter was ringing in her ears. The night sky was dotted with stars. The crickets were playing their nightly song. It's past Miru's bedtime but I'm so selfish, I want to spend more time with her. I want to make up for all the lost time. Bored, Ayane sat up on the back of the bench and continued to watch Miru play. Then she started to hum a tune that herself and Hiei knew all too well. She knew that he was sitting on the tree right above her. He was respecting her wish of being far apart. She smiled happily. As happy as she was that his mere presence was there, she also wanted to cry. The three of them in the same place; it was like being one happy family. Though 'happy' wasn't exactly the right word to describe this particular family. The word 'estranged' came to mind when it came to describing this family. The mother and father wished to be a normal couple but that simple dream was impossible.
"Mommy, will you be here when I wake up?" Miru asked as Ayane stroked her forehead. Miru laid her head on a sky-blue pillow while Ayane was sharing a blanket with her. Her answer was a slight smile and a simple "We'll see."
"Now go to sleep," she said, pulling the covers over Miru. The child nodded and closed her eyes. Ayane was about to lay down with her when a small hand touched her wrist. She looked at Miru, who had tears running down her face but eyes still closed. "Please be here, mommy," she muttered softly, barely wrapping her tiny fingers around Ayane's wrist. She responded by kissing her forehead, wiped away Miru's tears and held her until she slept. Miru curled up to Ayane as if afraid she will never see her mom again. A figure stood outside of the room, a hand on the doorframe and watching the two sleeping in each other's arms. He could see Ayane's tears shining on her cheeks from the outside moonlight. If only he could wipe them away...
Mizuki
As Mizuki sat in thought with chopsticks stuck from her closed lips, her bowl of cold rice sitting in front of her. Her older brother and her grandfather looked at each other then they both shook their head. Both of them then turned their gaze at Mizuki, who was staring up at the ceiling with vacant eyes. Ever since she came home from school that afternoon, she had been lost in a daze. Whenever they said anything to her, they only got a one or three word response. They felt her forehead to see if she had a cold but she felt just fine.
The chair scraped against the floor when Mizuki suddenly got up. Again, both her brother and grandpa looked at her. She told them that she wasn't hungry and left the dining room with her bowl and chopsticks in hand. She dumped them into the kitchen sink and ran up to her room.
The phone rang but as Mizu flicked on the light switch, she ignored the ringing phone. She flopped on the aquamarine bed with the lavender blankets and pillows. She buried her face in the comfortable pillows and let out all her tears. Mizuki was never the type that could keep her feelings for long. Her fists pounded the pillows as she wept. Her hot tears stained the pillow covers. She closed her eyes, embedding her short nails into the pillow.
Why wouldn't he just leave me alone! Why am I so angry when I should be grateful?
She could remember what had happened that day at school. The mere memory was embarrassing for her to relive it again and again. Though she couldn't help but run it over and over again in her mind. Her pain didn't begin that particular day though; it began the day when he told her that he didn't prefer her but somebody else. Then again, why did she fall for him instead of Shuuichi? If she fell in love with the latter, she probably would've been happy.
She closed her eyes and relived today's events again:
The bell had rang for today's dismissal. The students eagerly filed out of the room until no one except the teacher and Mizuki was left. One would've expected the twenty-years-old teacher to talk to Mizu about something important. Instead, she was pretty shocked when he asked her if she was doing something that night.
"Sensei?" She looked at him with distaste. Although, he was attractive and young for a teacher; no one expected him to do such a thing especially when he was so nice to everyone. He didn't appear to be a pervert in anybody's eyes.
"You're so beautiful, Mizu-chan," he said, reaching out to touch her face. Mizuki slapped his hand away.
"Stop it or I'll tell the principal," she said calmly, avoiding his gaze.
"I can tell that you're in pain right now," he said in a soft tone. Mizuki's eyes started to moisten but she wasn't about to let him see her tears. "Did somebody dump you? If you were, then whoever did was a fool."
She hastily wiped her eyes with her hands though her eyes were becoming puffy and red. "It's none of your business!" She yelled at him, running past him. Though he caught up to her and hugged her from behind. More than anything, all Mizuki wanted was to be held like this by someone that she loved. Why did he have to fall in love with Ayane, of all people? What did Ayane have that I didn't have? Of course, this 'he' that she was referring to was Hiei.
Ever since the first day she met him, she thought that he looked so lonely. Perhaps, it was his loneliness that attracted the caring Mizuki to him because from that moment on, she would try to catch a glimpse of him whenever she could. Sometimes she had prepared food just for him like a real girlfriend would do for her boyfriend. He accepted them the lunches gradually and he got used to her. However, her warm smile and mere presence wasn't enough to melt the ice around his heart. When her demon-hating bestfriend, Ayane discovered Mizuki's affections for the fire demon, she tried to kill him for 'Mizu's own good.' Mizuki refused to let her kill Hiei. The caring bestfriend didn't want to see Mizu cry so she let it go. Although, after that fateful meeting the fire demon couldn't quite get Ayane's angry look off his mind.
It was only two days ago when Mizuki had confessed her love for him, that she found out that his heart belonged to the angry demon huntress. She was more than crushed by his hurtful words. She had made a fool out of herself was what she thought. She had hoped that by trying to be with him everyday would get him to open up to her; maybe fall in love with her like she had with him. Now she knew that she was a fool to even think that. That's when selfishly, she thought if Ayane was never born then he would love her. She berated herself for thinking of such a selfish thing. After all, Ayane deserved to be loved by somebody especially when she's been through so much.
But what is it about Ayane that he likes? Is it because she's much more beautiful than me? Is it because of her lonely eyes or the sad aura that seems to surround her? In any case, after that day, Mizuki pretended to be her happy old self but the pain was killing her.
Mizuki was just a regular sixteen-years-old girl that only wanted that special someone to love her back.
"Mizu-chan?" His husky voice broke into her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?" His hold tightened but she didn't struggle. Another tear slid down her cheek. Was she this pathetic? It was funny how for one person, she can just throw out all her common sense for love.
"Why can't he hold me like this? Why can't he tell me that I'm beautiful? Why did he have to fall for her!" She screeched. The teacher took this to mean the guy who made her so sad.
"Hush. Whoever you're talking about is stupid to let someone like you go so choose me," the perverted teacher whispered in her ear. Those sweet but false words were enough to make her melt; she couldn't help but be so impulsive right now. She just wanted to feel better now.
"Huh?" She wasn't quick enough to comprehend what had happened. It had happened so fast. The next thing that she knew was that she ended up in someone else's arms and that the teacher was on the floor, holding his punched face. She looked up at her savior and saw a pair of green eyes that was glaring down at the teacher. Suddenly, she blushed. It was Kurama that was protectively putting his arms around her shoulders.
"Shuuichi-kun?" She said in surprise. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat.
"Are you okay, Mizuki-chan?" he asked with concern. She nodded slowly. "He didn't do anything to you?" She wordlessly shook her head. Then he turned to the teacher. "Sensei, you're nothing but a lecher. Don't touch Mizuki-chan again or the consequences will be dire." With that said, he walked out of the classroom with Mizuki, who was shaking. He thought that she was shaking with fear but it was from anger.
"Why did you save me?" Mizuki asked quietly with suppressed anger. She was acting like an immature brat but she didn't care, the last thing she wanted was for him to save her. She probably looked so pathetic and desperate to him right now. That was enough to make her feel ashamed of herself. She was really angry with herself than him. Being a human though made her blame somebody else even if it was someone who saved her.
"I already told you before, Mizuki. You're the only girl that I love. I wouldn't let anyone hurt you," Kurama said seriously, standing behind her. As soon he had said the word 'love', her face expressed pain.
This must be what he felt when I rejected him...I'm sorry, Shuuichi-kun. I feel awful. Before Hiei rejected me, I used to secretly tell Shuuichi that I loved his close friend even though I already knew that he loved me. Though he seemed so understanding of my feelings and even tried to help me with my crush. I'm such a bitch. I have no right to be angry him; he's the one that should be angry with me. She turned around and looked at him with tears in her eyes. Why am I so stupid? Even when he told me he loves me, she walked towards him, I coldly told him that I wasn't interested. He could've had any girl that he wanted but he chose me. Standing on her tippy toes, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. He wiped away her tears. She cried even more then she pushed him away and ran.
Looking back on it, Mizuki ripped her pillows sending feathers everywhere in the room. The phone rang again. She huddled in a dark corner of her room, holding her shaking form. The phone stopped ringing. Mizuki could hear her brother's muffled conversation to the person on the phone. Then his footsteps and his knocking, telling her that there's a phone call for her. She wiped her tears away, breathed in deeply and picked up the phone. She cleared her throat; she didn't want whoever it was to know that she's been crying. Her brother went back downstairs.
"Hello?" She croaked. It was Shuuichi. His gentle voice almost made her want to cry again.
"Hello, Mizuki-chan. You've been crying, haven't you?" His question was full of concern. "I found out what happened between you and Hiei today." Mizuki didn't say anything. "Remember when I said that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you?" He said sadly. "It's a bittersweet irony that I can't do anything to help you when I promised to make you happy. I can't help Hiei either since he has a deep attachment to Anda-san (Ayane). I care about both of you yet I still can't help you both."
She didn't respond. She just started to sob and he didn't say anything either. He knew it would be better if he just let her cry it out. He did wish he could just hold her and tell her everything would get better.
That was the first time that Mizuki started to feel something for Kurama...
Six years later...
She giggled as she surprised Kurama with a hug from behind. The latter turned around and kissed his lovely wife on the cheek then on the lips. Then he started to deepen the kiss, which made her blush (even though they've kissed like this before). They held each other tightly until Mizuki broke their kiss. "Welcome home," she said, smiling.
"I'm glad to be home," he said warmly.
Miru: Papa
Yukina managed to get the little girl to sleep but she still couldn't get the hurtful look in her copper eyes out of her mind. The little girl kept asking questions like: When will mommy be back? Did mommy leave her because she was a bad girl? Or she would just cry that she wanted her mommy to come back or that she wanted to go home. Either that, or she would just silently cry into her blanket. The snow maiden couldn't bear to see the fragile girl cry and tried to comfort her but Miru yelled at her to go away. Earlier that day, Yukina was sweeping the floor when Ayane and Miru came. Yukina watched Miru so Ayane could talk to Genkai in private. Miru was found to be a sweet, energetic and playful girl. She took a liking to Yukina, too. Ayane was glad to see that.
When Ayane was done talking to Genkai, she went over to Miru. "Miru, are you having fun with Yuki-chan?" Miru nodded with a sweet smile. "Would you like to play with her some more?"
"Yep! She taught me a new game, mommy. You wanna play, too?" Miru asked cheerfully. Ayane didn't respond, she hugged her, gave her a kiss on the head and left. Miru chased after her and called her but Ayane pretended to ignore her. She didn't have a choice. It was either leave her with someone trustworthy or have her child killed by her grandma. This way, Hiei could see his daughter whenever he wanted.
"MOMMY! Don't leave me! I love you, mommy!" Miru cried. She tripped. As she laid pathetically on the floor, Ayane biting her bottom lip reluctantly went on. "MOMMY!" Ayane kept telling herself 'don't turn around. Don't turn around.' If she did, then coming here to ask Genkai to watch Miru would've all been in vain.
"Mommy...Don't leave..." Miru pleaded quietly. Yukina held the crying child.
The next morning, Miru woke up to inaudible voices outside. Kicking the blanket aside, she rubbed her sleepy eyes then walked out of the bedroom. She followed the voices til she came to the main tea room where she saw an old lady with wavy hair and a strange man with black hair and red eyes stopped conversing since she slid the door open. The strange man seemed to survey her then he turned away from her; she thought that he looked a little sad. Because of manners that Ayane had taught her, the little girl bowed nervously and said good morning to the two.
"Obaa-san, do you know where my mommy is?" She asked.
"Your mother isn't coming back any time soon," Genkai said bluntly. "Instead, I want you to meet your father. Hiei, meet your daughter, Miru."
Genkai's first comment upset Miru. "You're wrong! Mommy's going to be back for me!" Miru yelled at her, forgetting all her manners. She wiped her fresh tears with her tiny hands. Hiei didn't really know what to do in this situation. He was not exactly good in comforting crying girls. With Ayane, he could just say some a normally hurtful comment but since Ayane was different from most girls, she would just smile at his brash comments. He looked to Genkai for help but she pretended to be busy drinking tea.
He got up slowly towards the crying girl. She didn't notice him. He petted her head, which got her attention, she looked up at him with curious eyes. Then she whined and pushed him away. She continued to whine for her mommy. He could almost laugh; this was how Ayane used to act when she cried. Once Hiei actually thought that by petting Ayane's head, he could make her feel better, she just whined and pushed him away (with much more force than Miru). Then as a last resort; he lifted the whimpering girl in his arms and held her. At first, she fidgeted in his foreign arms but she relaxed. She closed her eyes and in no time, she fell asleep. Secretly, Genkai smiled. Yep, she could tell that Hiei was going to be all right.
A few weeks had passed, Miru had acknowledged Hiei as her dad. Though one question burned in her mind:
"Daddy," Miru said one day, sitting on the grass with Hiei lying next to her. His eyes were closed. He grunted to acknowledge her. "How come mommy and you don't live together?" He opened his eyes. The little girl looked at him expectantly.
"We just...can't." He looked sad again, Miru noticed. With that, he got up and walked away. Miru got up and followed him. Hiei looked back at the smiling Miru, Ayane's smiling face suddenly appeared. Someday when Miru grows up, she'll be as beautiful as her mother. He's going to have to protect her from the wrong type of guys. For now, he'll just protect her from the loneliness and the painful truth.
One day, I hope I can hug mommy and daddy at the same time. And that mommy and daddy will smile at the same time, too and that they can both sing me to sleep. Miru smiled sweetly at the hopeful thoughts.
Yep, one day mommy and daddy will hold my hands and smile at each other.
A/N: I didn't intend for Mizuki to look so pathetic in this chapter. Since she's supposed to be a typical teenage girl, I just kind of made her irresponsible and willing to sleep with a random person to lessen her pain. She is usually responsible but love really does change a person so...I'm also hoping that nobody finds this fic too sappy. Miru is so cute especially when she's sad and just needs someone to hold her.
Oh, one last note: I would like it if reviewers would comment on which original character they like so far: Ayane vs. Mizuki and why. Which part they liked better: the Ayane part, the Mizuki part or the Miru part and which particular scene they liked. Was Hiei or Kurama believable or were they out of character? Seriously, this shouldn't be too hard for anybody to do so please do what I ask. I'm desperate to know if my story telling skills and characterization are any good.
My personal favorite is Ayane just because she's more like me than Mizuki. Mizu is more cheerful; I would describe her as the average teenage girl. Her looks are more innocent while Ayane's looks are more womanish. Ayane is the type that keeps things in while Mizu likes to let it all out.