Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Yu Yu Hakusho or anything related to it. However, the plot of this story, Erika, Mel, Lilly, Taro and all the other OC's belong to me.
Different
Chapter 7: A boy in white clothing
Shuichi opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. He was under the covers, on the mattress that his step-aunt had prepared for him.
The first thing his eyes noticed was the small black clock on the girl's desk. It read 6:30 in the morning.
Getting out of the covers he glanced at the bed in front of him. His step-brother was peacefully sleeping but the girl, Erika, wasn't there. He looked around, and finally found the human in her bathroom. He found her scent, an intoxicating mix between vanilla and chocolate. Getting up from the mattress he stretched his numb limbs, wondering how come he hadn't heard the girl wake up.
"Oh, you're awake" he heard Erika's voice and turned to see her standing in the bathroom's door, still in her pajamas. Shuichi wondered again how come he hasn't sensed her coming.
"Yeah" he answered her.
"I hope I didn't wake you up" Erika smiled at him and he shook his head. How could she wake him when he didn't even hear her move?
"Okay" she said and Shuichi watched her walk to the bed where his brother slept. He saw her bent down and pull her hair behind her right ear.
"Shu-kun?" he heard her whisper. His step-brother stirred, but nothing more.
"Shu-kun, wake up" she tried again and the raven-haired boy grumbled. He was visibly awake. "Come on, Shu-kun, wake up!" Erika demanded a little more harshly.
"No" the raven-haired boy muttered.
"Shu-kun, wake up!" Erika demanded harshly but the boy didn't even move. "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up" Erika kept going on and on and on, obviously annoying the sleepy raven-haired boy. The elder Shuichi saw his brother place his hands on his ears as the chocolate-haired girl continued her "wake up, wake up" song.
"Okay, I'm up; I'm up, just shut up!" the raven-haired boy yelled as he literally jumped out of the covers. The little boy sat on the bed facing his cousin, who looked really pleased with herself.
"Why am I in my jeans and shirt?" he asked curiously.
"Uhm, you fell asleep on my lap last night and with Shuichi's help I got you in bed, but I wasn't about to change your clothes!" Erika explained and the little Shuichi's ears got a little red. His elder step-brother chuckled, getting Erika's attention.
"What?" she asked curiously.
Before he could answer a knock on the door interrupted him. Cracking the door open, Shiori poked her head inside smiling widely.
"Good morning" she greeted them earning a smile from her son and step-son, but a fake one from Erika.
"Good morning, mom" Shuichi greeted back warmly.
"'Morning, Shiori-san" the little Shuichi said smiling widely at his step-mother.
"No need for 'san', Shuichi-kun. You're family now!" Shiori protested smiling. The gold daggers in Erika's eyes appeared just for a moment before turning back into green stripes.
"Good morning, Shiori-san" she greeted, her voice calm and normal, but the elder Shuichi noticed an almost invisible trace of bitterness. He didn't like it. What did this girl hold against his mother?
"Good morning, Erika-chan" Shiori answered back smiling at the girl. "Breakfast's ready so you three should hurry up, change and come join us, okay?" the woman announced and when she received three nods she smiled and left.
"I'm going to get changed" Erika announced after Shiori closed the door. Walking to her wardrobe and picking some clothes she disappeared into the bathroom.
"Ne, Shuichi?" the younger boy called his older step-brother.
"Hm?"
"What do you think about my cousin?" the raven-haired boy asked, his dark eyes locking with emerald ones.
"She's nice" the red-haired boy answered.
"She's great, that's how she is. She's the best person I've ever met" the younger Shuichi told his elder step-brother.
"You two talking about me?" a mocking voice stopped the two from talking anymore and both boys turned to see Erika, now changed, leaning against the bathroom door's frame. She was wearing dark denim skinny jeans, a dark purple long sleeved tight blouse with a white skull on the front and her hair was let loose on her shoulders. Her feet were bare.
"So? Were you two talking about me?" she asked them smiling sweetly.
"Not exactly. Do you mind me using your bathroom?" the little Shuichi asked and when his older cousin nodded, stepping aside from the bathroom door's frame, he vanished into said room.
"Well, he'll be in there quite awhile. If you need me I'm on the balcony" Erika said and walked out on the balcony.
Shuichi saw her out of the corner of his eye crawl into her rocking-chair and picking a book from the cold concrete. Soon the chocolate-haired girl was consumed by the book's action.
The emerald-eyed teenager arranged the covers of his mattress, as good as his mother had taught him. When he was finished another knock was heard on the door.
"Come in" he instructed and his step-father stepped inside.
"Good morning, Shuichi"
"Good morning, Raidon-san" Shuichi answered and, when the man didn't make any move to correct him, saying that he should call him without 'san' he decided he'll stick to the 'san'.
"So, how'd you sleep?" Raidon asked the red-haired boy.
"Really good. The mattress was indeed comfortable" he wasn't lying. Okay, maybe just a little, but he had no intention of insulting his step-father's brother's wife. Shuichi was surprised when Raidon let a hollow laugh that sounded so much like a bark.
"You're too polite for your own good. I slept on that mattress once, when Erika was just a little kiddo. It's uncomfortable like heck!" Raidon laughed again and Shuichi allowed himself a small smile. "Talking 'bout the kid, where is she?" the older man continued.
"She's out on the balcony, reading" Shuichi answered.
"Oh, okay, and the other Shuichi?" Raidon asked, joking and Shuichi chuckled before pointing the bathroom. "Okay, then, hurry up and get to breakfast" the man said and walked out the room.
Shuichi didn't say anything as he turned around, admiring the girl's room. She had hand-made paintings on the walls, and the boy guessed that she made them. Walking around the room, the boy felt the fluffy creamy-rug beneath his bare feet and the room gave him an odd feeling of calmness. Shuichi sat back on the mattress deciding to wait for his step-brother.
Outside the apartment-building, a dark-clothed figure sat against the branches of a tree, hiding behind the leaves. His ruby-red eyes glinted in the daylight as he watched the object of his interest, a chocolate haired girl.
Hiei watched the onna read a book, he watched how her fingers would move along the side of each page and he heard the sound of paper when she switched to the next page. The demon boy was slightly curious regarding the blood-relations between the fox and the onna, but those weren't of his concern at the moment. He'd tell the brat later and he'd find out with all his Reikai influence and power. Hiei almost scoffed at the thought. The brat and his prince powers. It was almost amusing.
He looked back at the onna and found her still absorbed into the book. Hiei moved his gaze to the skies, his senses alert and he was watching the onna out of the corner of his blood eyes.
Back to the older Shuichi, we find him preparing to enter the bathroom, conversing with his step-brother.
"Okay, I'll be ready in a few" the emerald-eyed boy assured his step-brother as he entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
The raven-haired Shuichi walked out on the balcony.
"Hey, Eri-chan" he greeted and his cousin only nodded her head, not looking up from the book.
"This afternoon dad wants you two to go visit him" this perked the interest of the chocolate-haired girl, as she got her head out of the book and gazed into her cousin's eyes.
"He does?" she asked, her voice barely audible.
"Yeah" the younger boy nodded his head, shoving his hands in the pockets of his now black jeans. Erika noticed he had changed his shirt too and was wearing now a dark blue anorak.
"Then I guess we'll go visit him after school" Erika whispered to her cousin as she got up from the rocking chair. She walked pass the younger Shuichi not sparring him a second glance and entered her room again. The dark-haired boy sighed as he followed her.
They found the emerald-eyed Shuichi in the room waiting for them.
"Ah, finished talking?" he asked them smiling. Erika nodded smiling back, but she saw a glint in his eyes she hadn't seen before. She didn't pay much mind to it.
"Let's go have breakfast. We still need to get to school and it's already 7" Erika told them and the three went out the door of the chocolate-haired girl's room.
They found the rest of the family, still in their pajamas, sitting at the table and having breakfast. Erika and the two Shuichi's took their sits at the table.
Good morning's were passed between the family members and idles chat went on for a few moments, before Raidon just had to change the normal morning.
"Erika?" he asked for her attention from across the table.
"Hm?" the girl answered as she took a bite of her sandwich.
"I'm picking you after school" he announced and the girl nodded.
"We're visiting him, right?" the girl asked, her voice barely audible.
"Yes. Melody can come if she wants to" Raidon told his niece.
"Guess so, but we'd have to get to her school to pick her up" Erika explained.
"I know"
While the two spoke to each other the rest of the people at the table were oddly silent. The older Shuichi and his mother were feeling a little out of place, because they didn't exactly understand what they were talking about. Shiori shifted a little in her chair as she took another bite of some food she had on the plate in front of her.
"So, Erika, you and Shuichi go to the same school, right?" Lilly asked her daughter who shrugged her shoulders before answering.
"I guess so. We didn't exactly pay much attention to each other, did we Shuichi?" when said boy shook his head, Erika continued, "But I think we have a few classes together"
"Yes, I think we do" Shuichi agreed with the coffee haired girl. Now that he thought about it, they did have a few classes together. It was just that they didn't pay attention to each other.
"That's wonderful! You two can go to school together today!" Lilly exclaimed happily and Ashley felt the need to roll her eyes at her mother's silliness.
"Eri-chan?"
"Yeah, Shu-kun?"
"Can I walk with you two till I reach my school?"
"Of course, silly! Who knows what kind of people are on the streets? They might just try and hurt such a pretty boy like yourself" Erika teased and the younger Shuichi's ears went slightly red.
"Erika, stop teasing the poor boy!" Lilly scolded playfully and Raidon laughed.
"Leave the two alone. Really, Lilly, you haven't changed a bit! Even when they were younger you'd scold Eri-chan for teasing the boys" Raidon said laughing, but his step son noticed the stiffness of his shoulders. He saw the same thing in Erika and couldn't help but wonder just what secret did those two share.
"Old habits die hard, Raidon" Taro, Erika's father observed wisely and his brother nodded.
"Dad, uncle, I'm sorry to interrupt your chit-chat, but it's already a little late. We three gotta leave for school" Erika replied and when the table turned to her seat they saw it was empty. The older Shuichi's eyes quickly found the human girl placing three pair of plates in the sink. He again wondered what this girl had so special that he couldn't possible sense her movements.
"Of course, of course, off you go now" Raidon dismissed them smiling.
Erika laughed and went to retrieve hers and the boys' schoolbags. When she came back she kissed her parents' cheeks goodbye and hugged her still sitting uncle. She threw Shiori a cold but polite farewell and her son frowned.
Giving the schoolbags to their respective owners and throwing her own over her head, Erika walked to the door and got her shoes on. After the two boys said their goodbyes, the group of three people went out of the door and down the stairs in a hurry.
Walking down the streets of the city, none were aware of the ruby-eyed demon that followed them.
"Why don't you wear the school uniform?" the older Shuichi asked raising an eyebrow while eyeing Erika's outfit.
"It's pink" came the prompt answer, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"It's not exactly pink" the boy replied eyeing the very pink uniform he was currently wearing and mentally sweat dropped at the mere irony of its color.
"If you say so" Erika giggled in a sing-song voice and both boys laughed.
Soon enough the younger Shuichi left them, taking a separate street so he'd reach his own school. He didn't leave before hugging his beloved cousin and wishing her good luck with the visit.
"It's a nice day" the remaining Shuichi tried to start a conversation when he and Erika resumed their walk to school.
"Indeed, but I'd prefer if the sun would go hide somewhere. It's too sunny for my tastes" Erika replied and Shuichi laughed. "What?" she asked looking at him pointedly.
"Nothing, just that I have a friend that hates sunny days too" Shuichi answered with a smile.
"Oh no, I don't hate sunny days" Erika contradicted and the boy looked at her questioningly. "If you say I hate them it's an understatement. I loathe them" the girl explained and Shuichi laughed again.
Soon enough they both reached the school. As they entered through the gates, Erika being painfully aware of the glares she was receiving from the majority of the female population. Looking at her step-cousin she couldn't help but wonder what was so handsome about him that would make the whole school drool. Sure, he wasn't ugly and his weird features, the flaming long red hair and mesmerizing emerald eyes, made him stand out, but still, people really overreacted.
"You're staring, you do know that, right?" she heard him chuckle and she laughed.
"Sorry, it's just that our dear female schoolmates are imagining that they're ripping my hair out and I was curious of the reason. It seems it is you" she replied calmly and he nodded his head.
"Yeah, I don't even wanna imagine what they're thinking"
"I'd like to see their faces when they find out I'm your cousin" Erika smirked and Shuichi was surprised to see gold daggers burn into the soft brown of her eyes. It was the first time he noticed this change of color.
The school day passed fast for the two teenagers and, luckily enough, Erika didn't have any encounter with Shuichi's fan club, though the luck was for them. The girl with daggers in her eyes mentally laughed as she walked out of school. How much she would have enjoyed telling them that they're cousins and leaving them mouth-opened!
In front of the school she saw her uncle's black cabriolet car. Smiling she ran over there and simply jumped in the passenger seat.
"Hiya, uncle!" she greeted happily and the dark haired man smiled at her.
"Hello, kiddo. Ready to go?" he asked her.
"As ready as I'll ever be"
And with that, Raidon started the engine and the car began moving on the streets. It wasn't a crowded day, but they had to stop at Mel's school first to pick her up, so Erika's uncle had to drive slowly, simply because he had no idea where Mel's school was.
"Here you turn right…yeah here…and you can park now. I'll giver her a call and tell her we're here" Erika directed picking her phone from her schoolbag. Flipping the dark thing open the girl pushed some buttons before putting the phone at her ear, looking all business-like.
"Hey, it's me Erika" she greeted when Mel answered.
"Eri-chan! I just got out of school. What's up?"
"I'm in front of your school with my uncle. We're visiting him today and you're coming with me, ok?" she explained.
"Sure. Raidon-san's here? I hope he's doing okay. Oh, I can see the car!"
Indeed, Erika saw Mel too and waved at her from the car. Flipping the phone close and placing it back in her schoolbag she waited for her friend. Mel walked over to the black car and sat in the back seat.
"Hello Erika, Raidon-san" the blue-eyed girl greeted with a smile.
"Hello, Melody" Raidon smiled back looking into the mirror as he started driving again.
"Hey, Mel, how are you?" Erika started the idle chat and it continued till Raidon pulled to a stop in front of a hospital.
"Here we are" he declared as he, Erika and Mel got out of the car. After he locked the black automobile he guided the two girls inside the huge building.
There was a reception hall and the old woman behind the white desk greeted all three of them with a sad smile. She knew them so well. The first year they used to come so often people said they lived in the hospital, especially the chocolate haired girl. Now they came weekly, or at a few days and the receptionist woman couldn't help but notice the coldness in the girl's eyes had increased. She was going on, but the accident left visible marks on her.
"Hello" the woman greeted them.
"Hello" the three people said simultaneously.
"Is there any change?" Erika asked, her voice not betraying the hope she felt inside.
"No"
That was the word Erika hated most, the word that kept breaking her heart every time she heard it.
"Oh, okay" she told the old woman before turning to her uncle and Mel, "Would you like to go before me? I think I'll go last this time" she proposed to them and both agreed. Mel was the first to walk down the white hallway to a white door. She opened it and disappeared inside the room.
"You're sad" Raidon commented.
"You expect me to be happy?" she snapped at her uncle who shook his head. "This past days were different" the girl mused softly and Raidon snapped his eyes back at hers.
"How come?" he asked.
"It's as if he's coming back. I can feel him in my head. I don't know if you understand. I don't know if I understand anything myself" the girl explained and the man nodded.
Before they could say anything Mel came out with tears in her eyes. Erika hugged her and Raidon went inside the same room, closing the door behind him.
"He's so still, Eri-chan!" Mel cried in Erika's embrace.
"I know" the chocolate haired girl replied as she let go of her best friend.
"I'm sorry. I must be upsetting you more" Mel apologized wiping her tears away. Erika only smiled as an answer.
The two waited in silence for Raidon to come back and when he did even he looked a little shaken.
Erika was next to walk to the white door. She felt as if someone was calling her and when she opened the door her breath got caught in her throat.
There, on the bed with white sheets, dressed in white, was a boy with his eyes closed. The only sign that he was breathing was the rhythmic way his chest rose and fell.
