A/N: Hello everybody! Here's the, regretfully, delayed chapter. My bad; I have a lot of issues right now. My father went through his intense open-heart surgery on April 30th so we're exhausted at my house. It's made him hard to deal with thus; my mother treats me like shit. I'm looking at apartments for sure now.
For the next few days I am making this fan fiction first priority. I plan on having two chapters up tonight. Chapter 10 will be up hopefully by Friday sometime!
Chapter 8: Unstable Interest
It was a bright day out this particular morning. Gym would definitely be held outside. The sunbeams warmed the room and the students within it. Little particles of dust revealed by the sun's rays could be seen floating aimlessly around in the air. Yoko sighed and continued to stare off during her class. To be honest, she'd been so preoccupied with looking out the window the demon girl couldn't recall what class she was supposed to be in. Yet despite what she was staring at, Yoko was concentrating on other things. She was off thinking about Akira's connection with Ali and En; and about her budding relationship with Akira.
'No,' Yoko told herself. 'Akira is my partner. And, he's a human. I'm a demon. It just … doesn't happen.' She became depressed as she continued on in her thoughts. 'It, we, can never happen.'
Her thoughts were cut off by a text book slamming itself on her desk. Uncharacteristically, Yoko jumped and almost fell out of her chair in shock. The teacher who had dropped the book looked at her with worry as she picked it up gently. Yoko took a deep breath and calmed herself.
"Minnamino-san, is something wrong? It is not like you to ignore a lecture or daydream during anything class related really." The teacher did seem truly concerned.
Yoko blinked and smiled at her gracefully. "Not at all sensei, I suppose I am just extremely tired. Studying for midterms is quite time consuming you know."
The teacher nodded. "Well this information will be on the midterm so do try to pay better attention." She walked away briskly.
"Don't worry sensei! I won't space out again." Yoko added attempting to sound optimistic. In reality, she didn't know if she could focus. So many new things were developing and practically threatening her carefully outlined life. She glanced over at Akira who was apparently staring at her. He panicked and practically threw is head into his notebook. Yoko couldn't help but laugh a little and smile.
The morning classes finished and Yoko made her way to her locker for her outdoor shoes and lunch. Upon reaching her locker she realized she had forgotten her bento box. She groaned. Yoko never forgot things like her bento. This was just turning out to be a day that she couldn't wait for to end.
"Missing something?"
Yoko knew that voice anywhere. She looked over to her left to see her mother, Hiei, standing there holding her wrapped up bento box. "Mom… thank you. I can't believe I forgot it."
Hiei handed it to her. "Neither could I. But this gives us a chance to talk so I'll take advantage of it. Let's go outside."
Yoko nodded and obeyed. Once Hiei found a spot he was sure was hidden he sat down under a tree. Yoko sat in front of him and opened her bento to eat her lunch. After letting her eat a few bites of rice her mother finally spoke.
"Yoko, I want to talk about Akira." Hiei said plainly.
'Here it comes.' She thought. "What about Akira Mom?"
He looked at her seriously. "Your Papa and I are aware that you have feelings for him. Don't try to deny it; we've been watching the way you two interact." He shifted to sit with his legs criss-crossed and arms folded. "You know that you being a demon and him being a human makes it impossible for you to stay together…"
Yoko winced. "Is there some kind of unwritten rule against it?"
"No, but the demons of the Makai will never let it go easily. My main concern is that he is a human. He will age and die thousands, maybe millions of years before you do Yoko." Hiei stated firmly.
The teenage demon stared at her lunch angrily. She had already considered that. In fact, that thought had been what was distracting her all day. Even if they stayed together no matter what in a few short decades it would all mean nothing. Akira would grow old and eventually die. Yoko knew she couldn't handle that fate.
Hiei continued. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do; I just don't want you to end up hurting yourself."
Yoko nodded. "I know but… I was already thinking about it. I know I can never be with Akira Mom. Besides… he has enough problems. I'd just make his life even more difficult."
Hiei looked at her disdainfully. "Look Yoko, I'm not trying to upset you or anything. I just don't want this ending in disaster when it doesn't have to. Understand?"
"Yes Mom, I understand." Hiei rose to his feet and turned to leave.
"Although I do want you to know," he added before walking away. "Your Papa and I already decided that no matter what your final decision is concerning that human, we will be on your side and support you."
With that last statement Hiei vanished leaving Yoko under the tree with the bento she barely touched in hand. She placed the lid back on her lunch and stuffed it into her backpack as the demon stood. An uneasy sick feeling began to twist Yoko's insides around. A romance with Akira was out of the question. Yet… thinking of never being held by Akira again like the other night, brought out a whole new surge of emotions.
'If we could never kiss again… What if all I could do to comfort him was a hand on the shoulder and a smile? That's not enough! I want to share his pain… I want to…' Yoko's thoughts began to cause her physical pain. Her lungs refused to take in air as her mind raced. 'Akira and I… can't be more… He'd be in more danger… But if I can't have-I can't have him…' Heart swollen and shoulders stiffening from sharp pain began to weigh her down back to her knees. She felt her knee caps slam into the pebbles and dirt below her. Her fist clutched the clothing covering her breasts as though trying to take hold of her now pained heart. 'I- I need him… I can't have him, but I need him! Why? I- I can't…' Her mind was spinning; every time the young demon thought of how she couldn't have Akira she felt another shot of pain course through her veins making her feel as though they may explode causing her to bleed from the stress.
Everything about her felt hot. The grass felt icy to her hand as she tried to stabilize herself. Hiei's words echoed in her mind, "You know that you being a demon and him being a human makes it impossible for you to stay together…"
It all became too much. Although Yoko was a demon… humanity had an effect on her heart whether she liked it or not. And her human heart was in pain. She allowed herself to fall over sideways as she pictured Akira's face in her mind. Her eyes jammed shut as Yoko clutched her chest in emotional agony. After a few moments of trying to shake it off Yoko finally broke. Hot wet streams of tears began to flow down her cheeks. The tears collected on the ground as they transformed into smoky hiruseki stones.
Minnamino Yoko cried through her next class and stayed motionless on the ground for the one after that.
/Scene Change/
Hiei went to see Kurama who was talking with Yusuke and Genkai at the moment at the temple. He had seen his daughter's breakdown through his Jagan eye and decided that something needed to be done immediately. The fire demon entered through the window and stood in front of them all with a look on his face that meant business.
"We have a situation with our daughter. I talked to her after dropping off her lunch like I said I would." Hiei began.
Kurama sighed. "Did she try to fight you on it? It's merely infatuation we knew it would happen…" He stopped abruptly when Hiei shook his head.
Hiei looked off to the side. "No, she agreed with me. But I checked up on her with my Jagan after I left. Kurama, she was beyond distraught with the thought of not being with Akira romantically. Her thoughts hurt her so intensely that she felt physical pain and fell over holding her chest. She couldn't move… it caused her such pain that she cried in broad daylight without hesitation!" Hiei himself felt almost hysterical. His daughter had never acted in a manner such as that before.
The other three in front of him looked at him in shock. Yusuke cleared his throat.
"Then it's love, the real thing. I didn't see THAT coming necessarily."
Genkai crossed her arms. "You got that right. Then again, I can't picture our Yoko with a demon. They'd either look down on her or she'd feel the need to constantly prove herself to be the stronger one in the relationship."
Kurama sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose with his index and thumb finger. "So, should we try to help them be together? Yet the entire demon world will be after them for it, if the human world ever found out the two of them would be completely segregated from society, and Akira is still human. He will grow old and die unlike Yoko."
Yusuke looked at Kurama. "But those two would fight off anyone who tried to break that. And as for the human and death thing, they should focus on now. Just because you two," he pointed at Hiei and Kurama, "are demons it doesn't mean something can't go wrong and one of you won't be killed today or tomorrow. So it's a little different, but death will be in every relationship in the end won't it?"
Everyone blinked. Genkai laughed. "Yusuke, that was too astute for you. Don't do that again dumb ass. Besides," she said looking at Kurama and Hiei. "That girl and that boy have been drawn to each other from the very start. It's too late to try and avoid this now. You have very little control over this situation no matter what you would like to believe."
Hiei grunted and looked into Kurama's eyes, almost as if he was telling him his thoughts by looking at him. Kurama stared back and then turned to look at Genkai. "As much as Hiei and I hate to admit it, you are right. We should just… step aside and help them fight for each other."
His fire demon lover nodded and stared off out the window.
/Scene Change/
Yoko never returned to class. She actually left without Akira long before school hours were up. The distraught girl had been wandering around the city for a few hours. She wasn't even deep in thought anymore, Yoko felt absolutely blank.
It was the late evening by the time the park came into view. The sky was orange and yellow. The setting sun was blended into the surrounding colors so well that the faint crescent moon was easier to find as it appeared. Yoko sighed as she took in the scenery. It was so calm and quiet. After a moment or two she found her way to the swing set and dropped her bag next to her. Yoko just allowed herself to sway gently back and forth. For the first time all day she didn't feel any pressure, no pain, and the ten thousand voices in her head finally stopped screaming at her from all different angles. Yet this blank calm feeling was not as good as it seemed, for long.
Almost in an instant Yoko felt a bone-crushing blow to her back when she was least expecting it. Before she could even react she was raised in the air being choked by none other than Ali. She gasped and forced the heel of her foot hard into his face causing him to release his grip. Just as the teen's feet hit the ground En had her claws digging into her arms causing blood to seep through her school uniform. Yoko couldn't free herself as quick as she should have. Ali slammed his fist into her diaphragm causing her to lose the ability to breathe. Her eyes widened and she attempted to recollect herself.
Everything stopped as soon as it started. It would have to be the only time Yoko would perceive Yusuke's obnoxious voice as music to her ears.
"Two on one isn't fair…" Yusuke snarled. "Then again, neither is three on two but I never said I fight fair!" He punched Ali out of the way and began to fight him one on one.
En jumped up into the air still holding the shocked Yoko. Her eyes focused and she realized that below her dangling feet were her parents. A knot in her stomach doubled, no tripled at the sight of her parents having to save the day. Just like when she was little. Ali and En were right, she was an abomination, and she was a sad excuse for a demon. Maybe blood and race weren't enough to qualify as a demon. Kurama looked on calmly and Hiei flicked his katana out of its sheath with his thumb placing his right hand on the hilt.
Yoko finally snapped out of her stupor and pulled a hiruseki stone of hers from her breast pocket. She smirked and closed her fist around it. Before En even noticed she had something a smoky silver crystallized blade slashed through her stomach. Yoko was released and landed on her feet, sword in hand.
En held her abdomen as she bled from the wound. "You bitch! Where the FUCK did you get that?" She screeched shakily as she stumbled out of the air.
Yoko grinned. "Oh this? Well I just use the same technique Papa uses to manipulate his plants but instead I manipulate one of my own hiruseki. It's strong, sharp, and ice cold on anyone it cuts. But the best part," She continued with a low growl in her voice. "Is that I am the only one with such a weapon so my opponent never knows what could hit them."
En growled in response. "You know, you think WE'RE a problem? Now all you've done is prove our lord needs to take you himself. Huh, that's even worse for you."
Hiei snapped, "Well we'll be ready for him!"
Kurama seemed to be the only one to get her meaning. "What do you mean he'll come take her himself?"
Ali laughed in amusement. "We're here to take Yoko with us. Our lord decided she's too valuable and too desirable to leave her alone."
Yoko blinked. "Desirable?"
Ali was beside En in an instant. "Well you'll find out the hard way. We'll kill that human of yours… and our lord will come for you Yoko."
Panic took hold of her as she screamed. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HIM OR SO HELP ME I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE AND TEAR YOUR INNARDS OUT PIECE BY PIECE!"
As they flew into the air running away again En threw something at Yoko that hurt worse than any punch could. "Just face it Yoko, you CAN'T have a human as a mate. Yeah, we've noticed the way you look at him and worry about him. We've been watching. Get used to the thought that he will die and leave you behind. Humans and demons don't belong together, ever…" They vanished with a gust of wind.
Yoko stared in shock at the spot they had just been in. The words echoed in her mind. 'Humans and demons don't belong together, ever…' The pain in her chest returned full force and she dropped her sword.
'You know that you being a demon and him being a human makes it impossible for you to stay together…' Hiei's words were the same as En's in the end.
Stiff pale white fingers clutched their own chest painfully tight. Knees buckle and the weakening body begins its descent to the ground. The sound of Hiei and Kurama's worried voices as they caught the broken body of what used to be the strong and formidable Yoko blended together.
Much to everyone's shock… Minnamino Yoko blacked out right there in the park.
A/N: Wow… finally. Two months later. I officially suck. I have the next chapter outlined and it will be up later tonight! I swear!! It's all I have to do after work for once so I can concentrate. Please read and reviews! Reviews encourage me to write faster!!
