Ok this chapter demands a bit of an introduction. Kuwabara explains his father in this chapter, I felt like it was about time he opened up about it, I apologize if it feels a bit rushed and really friggen long with lots of monologue. Poor guy's kinda like a burst dam.
While writing this fanfiction, for many chapters including my profile sketch I've had the song "The Tide" by the Spill Canvas on repeat, which is where the quote from his father comes from.
Also I'm getting twice as many hits as reviews, review darn it!
I do not own yyh or the spill canvas.
A special thanks to:
nurdgurl714,
half-a-recess,
jiggysaw,
AH36,
Angelus1889,
cheshire-writer
You guys are awesome XD
CHAPTER 12
"Humans… are so strange."
"Hmm."
"You don't agree?"
"Well, Hiei, I've been living amongst them so long I've acclimated,"
Kurama and Hiei were sitting on one side of the clearing watching Yusuke and Kuwabara entertain the young girl, who was positively squealing with joy.
"…Why are they acting like buffoons? They're making complete fools of themselves! It's worse than when Kazuma talks to that kitten of his…"
"Kazuma?" Kurama thought.
"She seems to be enjoying it. " Kurama said deftly ignoring Hiei's use of Kuwabara's first name. "Humans aren't like demons; they would do anything to take care of their young, to see them smile, laugh."
"You're getting sappy Kurama," Hiei noted without looking at him; Kurama lowered his gaze and chuckled.
"Perhaps… it's hard not to once you're on the receiving end of that affection." He looked off into the distance pensive with fond memories.
A few silent moments later, the girl ran over to the two demons ecstatic to be in the spotlight of Yusuke and Kuwabara, but clearly hungry for more.
"You're hair is so beautiful!" Yusuke and Kuwabara who were curiously watching the exchange stifled laughter.
"Can I play with it?" At this point their cheeks were positively bursting with suppressed air. They both covered their mouths snickering. Kurama looked absolutely taken aback and blushed- before he could say anything Kuwabara decided to tease Hiei and get him in on the fun,
"Why don't you play with Hiei's hair?"
"Yeah," said Yusuke catching on quickly, "look- it defies gravity and everything!" Hiei looked absolutely seething,
"Detective," He began to threaten before he was interrupted,
"I can't go near him!"
The Renkai Tentai looked surprised for a moment,
"He has … cooties," she whispered.
Everyone except for Hiei burst into laughter; Yusuke actually fell backwards on his ass. Annoyed at not understanding the joke Hiei glared around him waiting for an answer. Kurama being the first to recover spoke up,
"Hiei don't worry, cooties are an imaginary disease made by children that only affects the opposite gender," he rolled his hand in the air trying to find the correct words, "it's like a game-"
Kuwabara whipped a tear from his eye and squatted next to Kin,
"Don't worry Kin, all boys get their cootie shots once they turn 13, it's a law in Japan."
Hiei muttered something about having to watch four children instead of one.
Kin, having the capriciousness of a child looked content with the answer. She then proceeded to sit in Kurama's lap and begin to doze off. Kurama, usually the model of propriety looked incredibly uncomfortable with a child snuggling into his chest.
"Perhaps not as acclimated as I previously fathomed…"
"Ahhh it's easy," said Yusuke rubbing his nose, "you just have to revert to your inner child, what would you wanna see if you were that age,"
"Easy for you," replied Kurama holding the child with the comfort of someone holding a ticking time bomb, "my childhood was hundreds of years ago…"
"Don't worry about it Kurama, she seems to be lovin' you, 'sides, all kids want attention from adults so they listen to everything you say like it's a set doctrine of beliefs." Kuwabara smiled pensively, "when I was a kid my dad was my absolute hero, he was invincible I did everything I could to be like him." He chuckled as he continued, "my dad used to do this thing that my mom hated, he'd put wasabi on everything she made, even if it was American like pancakes or somethin'… So obviously I had to have wasabi on everything. The second my dad sat down and pulled out that jar I'd slap it on whatever I had too." He laughed, "…Shit was disgusting- but I always ate it because he did."
Kuwabara looked up from his long speech. It was the first time he had ever spoken about his father and the group had been listening attentively. Kuwabara let out the cough of someone who realized that they had just said too much.
"Err... Maybe we should all make like this kid and get some rest. I'll take the first watch." He stood up embarrassed and walked away from the group to the edge of the clearing.
"I think we maybe have just experienced a break through," Yusuke whispered with his hands on his hips watching Kuwabara from across the clearing, "I can't remember the last time Kuwabara mentioned his father, but I know it eats him alive."
"What do you know about Kazuma's father?" Hiei inquired. Yusuke gave him a funny look for using Kuwabara's first name but continued,
"Well…. It's not really my story to tell. I don't gossip especially about my best friends. I just know it's partially thanks to his dad's death that I met him. He was such a wreck after his dad died he just kept looking for fights constantly, with everybody, when he reached the top he went looking for me. You know all that stuff he goes on about, being a 'man' and what not- I think he was trying to prove himself to his dad … but his dad wasn't there to see it anymore."
Night had fallen in the Makai. The team had decided to take the watches in increments of two hours, for a total of eight hours of rest.
Kuwabara sat against a tree that was probably older than Japan itself. The bark dug uncomfortably into his back but he used the sensation to keep himself awake and focused. He sat amongst its jaded roots, flicking the occasional ravenous parasite from crawling up his jeans. He gazed up at the starry sky unblemished by the pollution of the modern nigenkai and wondered how something so beautiful could shine upon something so deadly.
Though Kuwabara felt Hiei approach he said nothing allowing the fire demon to sit adjacent to him. When Hiei's hand snapped forward towards himself he was startled, but upon seeing the baseball sized insect wiggling its multiple legs in Hiei's unforgiving grasp he settled down albeit a little disgusted.
"Thanks… these Makai insects are like ticks on crack…" Hiei remained silent unsure of what a tick or crack was but assumed his statement referred to his dislike of them.
"When I was a child, and starving, I used to eat them." Hiei said looking down at the squirming form barely contained in his bandaged grasp. He let the insect go which frantically crawled up the tree across from them. Hiei then pulled out a small dagger and dexterously threw the blade so that it perfectly pierced the insect to the tree. It twitched pathetically causing the dagger to cut into it more, its green fluids oozing down the bark like sap.
Hiei relaxed next to Kuwabara whose stomach fluttered in response.
"Did you come over here to relieve me of my duties?"
"Not so much as to hope you'll accompany me during mine."
"Hmm…"
"Isn't that usually my line?" Hiei said to Kuwabara smirking. Kuwabara was surprised at his playfulness.
"Sorry I've just been thinking a lot…"
"About your father?" Hiei questioned. Kuwabara visibly flinched. Hiei waited patiently for Kuwabara to begin the conversation again.
"Yeah I mean… I was so mad when he died. I'm ashamed now because I wasn't even mournful or upset I was just angry… viciously angry. He was a cop." Kuwabara noticed Hiei's raised brow, "a police officer, someone who protects people. He got a call in one day to break up a street fight, and his back up came too late, my dad tried to wait but a stray bullet nicked his shoulder. He got out of the car, I'm assuming he didn't think he could drive with the amount of blood he was losing, and they pounced on him like rabid dogs. They beat him to death." Kuwabara's mouth went dry.
"I didn't believe it at first. I didn't think anything could take him down, he was my dad… I must have been what? Eleven at the time? Every night he would walk through our front gate, and every night I'd be waiting for him. On the night he didn't, it just hit me- he was never coming back.
I saw red. I don't remember anything for the two years until I met Urameshi but just blind rage. Every gang I heard about even the slightest rumor I fought them, recklessly. I got the shit kicked out of me more often or not," he chuckled, "but it didn't matter, I didn't feel anything but hate. Kids started following me around because of my fighting rep. Finally I heard about Urameshi, I thought he was the leader of a big gang from all the rumors and stories I heard about him- I couldn't wait to sink my fist into his face. But when I called him out he came out all alone. When we started fighting I couldn't lay a punch. Not a single one. Urameshi swears up and down it's because he's better than me. Maybe he is. But honestly, I think a small part of it was because I knew he was like me. He wasn't doing it for the glory. He was angry."
"We're just a bunch of fucked up kids…" Kuwabara shook his head in disbelief. Hiei remained silent.
"People used to tell me bullshit all the time, useless one-liners; euphemisms to try to comfort me. The only comfort was fighting. My favorite was, 'don't worry he's in heaven now'. That's how I knew they were wrong. Heaven's not a place that you go when you die it's that moment in life when you actually feel alive…well that's what he used to tell me anyway."
After another silence Kuwabara turned his head for the first time in a while looking at Hiei. One leg was extended before him the other was pulled up, wrapped beneath his left arm. Hiei's bangs fluttered occasionally over his blood red eyes. Feeling Kuwabara's gaze Hiei shifted his to lock eyes with him. Only Hiei's glance could make him feel like he was naked in front of a crowd. Him! Who was known for being completely shameless.
"Sorry about… yanno pouring out my life story…" He said a blush creeping across his face, "I realize maybe you didn't want to hear-" he was cut short by a kiss. Hiei's bangs tickled his forehead as he tilted his head to get a better angle. Embarrassed he pulled away slightly; prescient to Kuwabara's emotional exhaustion Hiei relaxed his kiss.
"I don't mind listening," Hiei said turning to face Kuwabara, he chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"It would have made the picture fiasco a little more understandable had I know this information about you previously.
I know what it's like to have someone taken from you and the consuming rage that follows. I killed everyone that took her, sparing only her main captor."
Kuwabara choose his question wisely, he understood Hiei never spoke about his personal history, and that he was purposely leaving the name and relationship of the person anonymous.
(A.N. its Yukina. Duh.)
"Why did you spare her captor?" Hiei sighed at the question
"I spared him because she asked me to." The simplicity of the statement stuck Kuwabara. It said everything. He felt an overwhelming compassion for Hiei; he reached out to kiss Hiei but stopped himself. The gesture did not go unnoticed.
"You can kiss me if you want Kazuma," Kuwabara blushed furiously. Hiei suppressed a devilish grin. Kuwabara was absolutely fetching when he was embarrassed.
"I can't help but get very shy around you. You're my first…male crush…" he shook his head horrified at his confession. Hiei reached one hand behind Kuwabara's neck and pulled him in for another kiss. He gently licked the outside of Kuwabara's mouth from crease to crease. Kuwabara shuddered.
"I can't wait to see how you respond when we do … other things." Hiei smiled into Kuwabara's mouth as his eyes widened.
Across the camp Yusuke rose grumbling to take his turn at watch. He scratched his back and stretched yawning. He began to walk over to the spot where Hiei was supposed to be, and promptly tripped over Kurama's outstretched foot.
Ahhh! Sooo long! Thank god for Kurama ensuring private Hieibara time. Hope you enjoyed it! Now we have to deal with Kuwabara's mommy issues. Fun fun!
