Dc-chan: YAY! I love cookies!
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Chapter 4 of Define 'Normal'
Extinguished Flame
"Fire?" Kira tilted her head to one side before sniffing the air herself. "I don't smell any smoke or anything. You sure your nose is working?"
Kurama nodded. "I'm positive."
She gave him a doubtful look, it was clear that she had forgotten about his keen sense of smell.
Kurama rubbed his temple, "It all makes sense now…" For the past few minutes he had been thinking and now he realized what it meant. Kira's bad feeling, someone betraying them, the smell of fire…it all added up. It could only be one person who was behind this. "Hosaki." He muttered crossly.
"No way!" Kira snapped repulsively. "Even if she is a bit flaky and no one likes her much she wouldn't do this!"
He couldn't believe his ears. Was she actually defending Hosaki?
"Think about it," he said in a reasonable voice. "Who else would do this? You said that you got the feeling that we were deceived by someone who don't care much for…Hosaki kind of fits that profile, Kira."
"But…but…" Kira tried to arrange the thoughts in her head in an organized way while trying to speak. She looked at Kurama in confusion. "Why? Isn't she totally in love with you or something? Also, she knows if she'd pull a stunt like this you'd kill her!"
Kurama lowered his eyelids. In all truth, he knew the reason why Hosaki would be doing this. However he wasn't sure he wanted to share it with Kira…
Kurama had just dropped Kira off at her house after school. He was on his way back home and was staring absentmindedly out in front of him. Hardly taking notice of his surroundings. If he had been he would have noticed that it was a particularly nice day with a clear blue sky, but he was lost in thought. He was recalling how Kira had walked into a wall that day and how he had to restrain her from beating up a few kids who had laughed at her when someone called his name.
"Kurama! It's you!"
He turned around to see Hosaki darting down the sidewalk towards him. She flung her arms around him making his body tense up.
"I haven't seen you in such a long time!" Hosaki smiled kittenishly. She then giggled at his stunned expression. "Glad to see me?" Her ruby eyes scanned his face curiously once he didn't respond. She pulled away from him, her bright cheery eyes now glowering at him bitterly. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me Kurama?"
"I…" he trailed off not knowing what to exactly say. He had not expected to see her anytime soon especially here in Ningenkai of all places.
She jabbed his chest with her index finger, regaining her playful composure. "You've always been bad at conveying your feelings." She clasped his hands with hers affectionately. "I've missed you!" Hosaki gazed at him expectantly.
"It's…nice to see you too." Kurama managed to say politely.
Hosaki beamed, ignoring his strained voice. "I had to wait for Koenma to say it was okay for me to come here. Sorry to make you wait so long. After the Sage Youkai case I've been forced to stay in Reikai with Koyuki. It's so boring there. I'm so happy-" She arched an eyebrow as he withdrew his hands from hers. "What's wrong?"
"Hosaki," he started, "this didn't work back when I was Yoko Kurama and it isn't going to work now. I thought we had a mutual understanding that we would, you know, move on."
Hosaki blinked before shaking her head. "No, no! I thought…you're the one who took me back to Reikai! I thought you still cared!"
He sighed deeply at the crestfallen demoness in front of him. "I do, but it's complicated." How could he tell her that he'd didn't have the same feelings anymore? He was sure they had cleared this up awhile ago. Their relationship was in the past now. He wasn't the same youkai he was a thousand years ago.
She clenched her fists. "There's someone else isn't there? Some one you care for more than you ever did for me, isn't there?" She shouted at him, on the verge of tears. "Some one who means more to you than I ever did! Is that it?" She buried her face in her hands trying to control the rage and sadness consuming her heart.
Kurama looked away, unsure of how to answer. He never meant to hurt anyone this badly with his feelings, but it was true. He couldn't deny Hosaki's accusations. Kurama focused his green eyes on her and said softly, "Yes, there is."
She glared up at him, her red eyes flashing dangerously. "It's that girl, isn't it? What's her name? Kira?" She blinked back her tears. "Is she that important to you?"
Kurama gave a forlorn sigh, it was hopeless to explain the situation to her. She wouldn't understand, she never would.
"Yes." He replied quietly. "She' very important to me." He turned around and walked away, not wanting to discuss this any further with Hosaki. It was none of her business to know how he felt about Kira. He had already divulged more than he should have and part of him knew it.
"What's so special about that stupid girl?" He heard Hosaki yell furiously at his back.
He stopped mid-step and glanced over his shoulder grinning nervously. "I know she's a little quirky and eccentric, but it's just that those traits are what draw me to her. When you met someone like that Hosaki, who likes you for who you are, it helps you feel forgiven for past sins." And with that he continued walking home…
Kurama felt like hitting himself. He folded his arms over his chest. So this was Hosaki's revenge for him not returning her feelings? She wanted to get back at all his friends and probably save the worst for Kira. Knowing Hosaki how he did, she had something particularly nasty in store for the psychic and it was all his fault.
Just then he nose picked up a familiar scent of cinders and roses. He grabbed Kira's arm and pulled her our of the way just as a huge fireball came hurling at her.
"What the hell?" Kira cried as the ball of fire exploded, burning down the surrounding trees. She looked up at Kurama who had one arm around her protectively. She put her hands on his chest and pushed herself away from him. "You could just tell me that a swirling mass of fiery doom was heading in my general direction instead of grabbing me like that!" Kira took a few steps back from him.
"Kira?"
"What?"
"Another swirling mass of fiery doom is heading in your general direction."
"Oh, really? WHAT?" She jumped out of the just in the nick of time before another fireball scorched the ground. "Where the hell did that come from?"
Kurama positioned himself in front of Kira. "Hosaki! Show yourself!" He demanded angrily.
The fire demoness walked out from the shadows of a tree in front of them. "Why hello Kurama." She sneered before shifting her gaze to Kira. "Still protecting that little wench I see. Cute. Adorably, disgusting cute."
"Why you stupid bitch!" Kira shouted trying to get around Kurama who was blocking her path. "Trying to kill everyone just because you got dumped! You're so pathetic!"
"Honestly, wench! Do you have a death wish because if you do then continue to speak to me like you're so much better!" Hosaki spat dryly. "Quit protecting her Kurama. My main quarrel isn't with you, it's with her."
"Hosaki, don't push your luck." Kurama warned icily while narrowing his eyes at her. If he wasn't so busy trying to keep Kira at bay he would've already knocked the fire apparition unconscious.
"C'mon, Kurama!" Kira argued vehemently. "I can take that bitch on! You just go get Yusuke and Kuwabara!" She then hastily added, "And Hiei."
"No." He said in a sharp tone. "You go got them, I'll take care of Hosaki."
"Kurama we can argue about this all day, but they're gonna die unless you got over there and save them. Trust me! I can deal with Hosaki. Don't think of it as fighting, but as violently arguing and disagreeing about her wrapped view on the world and how she thinks everything revolves around her!"
Kurama scowled, knowing that the two females indeed had a score to settle. He also knew that Kira would probably win. "Alright," he said quietly, whispering in her ear. "But don't kill her. I'll go get the others."
Kira cracked her knuckles as he darted off in the direction where the smell of smoke was coming from. "Don't worry about it, it's in the bag! This ugly dragon's going down!"
"What's that?" Hosaki barked fiercely. "I don't think I heard you correctly, you dumb teenage punk wannabe!"
Kira's eye twitched. "What, you fire breathing reptilian bitch?" She flipped Hosaki off with both of her hands.
"You heard me! You're a perfect example of stupid teenage angst and your head's denser than any known metal in the world!"
"Oh yeah? Why don't you back those big words up with some action, you stupid pea brain! At least I got some color in my wardrobe! All you wear is red!"
Hosaki flushed as she was getting more and more peeved by the second. "Why don't you shut that annoying hole below your nose before I rip your head off!"
"I'd like to see you try! At least I'm not whining over losing a boyfriend!"
Clearly, this was going to take awhile…
…
Kurama ran through the forest as quick as he could. Over the treetops he could see the dark smoke from the fire billowing into the sky. He jumped over a fallen log and continued sprinting. Through the trees he could see the cave entrance and the flickering orange flames. He pushed branches out of his way as he made his way into the clearing right in front of the cave. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand, the smell of smoke becoming almost unbearable for his sensitive nose.
"Yusuke? Kuwabara? Hiei?" He shouted their names over the roaring flames, praying he wasn't too late to help.
"What took you so long?" It was Yusuke's voice, but it wasn't coming from inside the cave.
Kurama turned his head to the left to see the others there, covered in blood and slightly fringed from the fire, but alive.
Yusuke raised his hand, "Hey! I was wondering when someone was gonna show up. It's a drag carry Kuwabara around."
Hiei had his hands in his cloak and his head cocked to one side. "Did you already take care of Hosaki?"
"Well, actually, Kira's taking care of her as we speak." He said in a relieved voice. "How did you guys get out?"
"It was pretty easy." Yusuke answered, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. ""Hosaki must think we're all super lame or something if she thought that her stupid fire would keep us trapped in that cave. Without a doubt, she underestimated us."
"Agreed." Hiei said.
Kurama sweatdropped. So all that worrying was really for nothing then. He then saw Kuwabara's body on the ground behind Yusuke and Hiei. "We should get back to Kira, just in case she's having difficulties. I'll carry Kuwabara."
…
"Why don't you cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it!"
"You've got some nerve for a hanyou! Why don't you crawl back under the rock you climbed out from under, urchin!"
"How about you shut the hell up? Or is that too hard for a big mouth like you?"
"I don't see why you were so worried, Kurama." Yusuke said, holding back his laughter, but finding it hard to. "They're still arguing."
Kurama, who had Kuwabara's arm slung over his shoulder and his own arm supporting the body, was even more relieved now that Kira and Hosaki hadn't torn each other to pieces while he was away.
"I see I'm not needed here anymore." Hiei snorted before disappearing, feeling that he should leave before the display of stupidity before them became amusing as amusing to him as it was to Yusuke. He really didn't want to get involved with any of this.
"I think we should stop them before this escalates." Kurama said to Yusuke as he laid Kuwabara down on the ground.
"Good idea."
…
Kira sulked on Kurama's bed while hugging a pillow to her chest. "I don't see why you had to stop it just before things got interesting." She glared at him intensely with her brown eyes. "At least Hosaki is in Reikai prison where she belongs."
Kurama, who was sitting on the other side of the bed, looked up at her from his homework. "You really wanted to fight her, didn't you?"
She fluffed the pillow she was holding diligently. "Of course! What she needs is a good pounding! You know, knock some sense into that hot head of hers!"
"You hate her?" He asked, putting his schoolwork next to him on the bed so he could give her his full attention.
"Well…no…yeah…" Kira trailed off while furrowing her brows. Hate was an awfully strong word to use. Hosaki did try to kill her, twice now. Although the second time probably wouldn't count to some people as they spent that entire encounter calling each other names and flinging insults back and forth. "I suppose I do. She's just so frustrating. It bugs me when people can only think about their own problems and don't care how much their revenge pisses other people off."
"I see." Kurama rested his chin in the palm of his hand. Maybe Kira wasn't as unobserving as everyone thought.
"I don't get why she wanted to fight me though." Kira said suddenly. "I thought it was you she was after. Do you know why? When you think about it, what the hell did I ever do to her?"
Kurama stared up at the ceiling in his room so he wouldn't be looking at Kira, afraid that his eyes might tell her the reason. "Maybe she was jealous of you…"
Kira stared at him deadpan. You could see the clueless ness written blatantly on her face."Jealous of me?"
He put his arms behind his head and leaned back on his bed, letting his legs hang over the edge. "You've got a lot of things going for you, you know?"
She 'phffted' at this. Why was he talking about now? This was probably going to turn out like those confusing conversations they had when they were younger. A discussion filled with hidden meanings on his part and unashamed bewilderment on hers. She decided to play along this time. "Like what?"
"You're smart, outspoken, funny, athletic, determined, a bit cynical and cute." He let the last part slip out.
"Cute?" Kira blushed a deep shade of pink. He thinks I'm cute! She then put the pillow down and lowered her head, moping. Great, the very bane of my existence is cuteness. Perfect. She felt like being called cute was worse than him calling her K-chan. Especially when there wasn't anything remotely cute about herself.
Kurama propped himself up on his elbows. "I didn't meant to upset you." He said with concern, eyeing her gloomy expression.
"Do you really think I'm cute?" She inquired shakily, her hands trembling as she held tightly onto the hem of her school uniform's skirt. Her crimson bangs hanging over her half-closed eyes.
"Yes, I do." He smiled uncertainly at her, hoping this was the right thing to say, but immediately he knew he had made a mistake because she stood up, her eyes focused on the carpeting in his room.
She ran a hand through her hair and grinned at him like he hadn't said anything at all, like nothing had happened. "I'll see you tomorrow at school." She left his room hastily. He heard her walk into a wall in the hallway because there was a loud THUD! sound.
He flopped back down on his bed, but with his arms and legs spread out, his red hair pooled around him. He couldn't help but wonder why she had reacted like that. All he said was that she was cute. Maybe that was being too forward? Did she suspect his feelings now? A million questions started popping in his mind, each more complex and unanswerable as the next.
"Shuichi?" His mother knocked on his door. "Can I come in?"
He sat up, "Yes." He put his arms behind him so he could slightly lean back.
She opened the door slowly and walked in holding a hamper of clothes under one of arms. "Kira comes over a lot, doesn't she? I asked her if she wanted to stay for dinner, but she said she couldn't. She seemed a bit flustered. I hope you didn't do something too forward with her." She gave her son a suspicious look.
"I didn't, at least I think I didn't." He felt awkward talking to his mother about Kira.
Shiori winked, "Don't worry. She'll come around in time and in the future you both will give me adorable little grandchildren, right?"
Kurama blushed a little. "Isn't it a little too early to think about that?" He chuckled anxiously. She couldn't be serious about something like that. It was far too early to even consider such an inane idea.
"Oh, but I am." She said putting her free hand on her hip. "Kira's turning into a fairly attractive young lady and I think I know my own son. It's hard for me to imagine you wouldn't notice that with all the time you two spend together." She laughed softly at his mystified expression. "Kira aside now, are you free on Saturday night in two weeks?"
He nodded, wondering why she had asked.
"You see," she continued, "Kira's mother is getting engaged and that night they're having the engagement party at their house."
"Really?" said Kurama in surprise. "Kira didn't mention anything about that."
"Rika-san wants it to be a surprise. Although I told her it would be better to tell Kira sooner because she seems like the type to overreact." She put her fist under her chin thoughtfully. "Oh well, Kira will find out eventually beforehand. Rika-san was never good at keeping secrets."
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Dc-chan: KH2 bitches! I've been playing it since I got it! The opening graphics are amazing although I like the Japanese version of the theme song much better, but it's still really pretty!
MCT: You haven't beaten Chain of Memories yet, have you?
Dc-chan: -hits MCT with a fan- Quiet you! Now for something I haven't done in a LOOONG while…AN OMAKE!
--OMAKE THEATRE 1--
BLOOPER REEL TIME!
Kira: -reading Satsuki's mind-
Satsuki: First I'll cut off her limbs and feed them to piranhas. Then I'll skin her alive very slowly so I enjoy her tormented screaming. Afterwards, I'll dip her bloody body into a pool of salt water and laugh while she screams in agony. Then I'll throw her into a molten pit of liquid hot magma! MUWHAHAHA!
Kira: Eh…that's slightly disturbing…
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Youkai: It's a shame to waste such a cute thing such as yourself, but orders are orders.
Yusuke: Are you making a pass at me?
Youkai: …maybe -grins evilly-
Yusuke: Well, I have news for you moron! I DON'T SWING THAT WAY ALRIGHT?
Dc-chan: -talking through megaphone- Oi, Yu-kun. You're ruining the scene, you've got to learn to be open minded about these sorts of things.
Yusuke: Says the biggest closet pervert in the world!
Dc-chan: -blush- You're FIRED YU-KUNNNNN!
Yusuke: You can't fire me!
Dc-chan: I just did now, ahem…SECURITY! GOT THIS PUNK OFF MY SET!
Note: due to Yusuke's lack of cooperation with the original script this part of the chapter had to be re-written when Dc-chan found out that she couldn't actually fire him because too many people would complain. xD
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Kira: Maybe I do need to throw up…
Kurama: We'll get off at the next stop then.
Kira: I don't feel well, I think I'm really gonna puke. I don't think I should've had that strawberry mochi for a snack.
Kurama: Eh? This isn't in the script.
Kira: Blehhhh
Kurama: Dc-chan! Kira's really sick! I think it might be food poisoning.
Kira: x.X
Dc-chan: OKAY! WHO THE HELL PUT OUT STALE MOCHI ON THE SNACK TABLE?
Random stage hand: My bad.
Dc-chan: YOU'RE FIRED!
Yusuke: You like firing people, don't you?
Kuwabara: Too much of The Apprentice, I guess.
Dc-chan: Have you two memorized your lines for the next chapter?
Kuwabara and Yusuke: …
Dc-chan: SLACKERS! YOU'RE FIRED AS WELL!
END BLOOPER REEL
MCT: Running low on funny juices, ne?
Dc-chan: Bite me.
NEXT CHAPTER: Trouble On The Horizon
Rock on and LOVE AND PEACE,
Dc-chan
p.s. THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!