It's storming right now. It's been storming all week, actually, always at night. Anyway, sorry this took me so long. I had a lot of problems with it, and I'm not completely happy with every part, but I think people will be happy with it anyway. It's gotten to the point that I can't look at this chapter anymore. Ha.
Seams
Fourteen
"Fox, what the hell is this?"
Shuichi frowned, the harsh tone startling him awake as something was dumped onto the bed. He blearily opened his eyes, feeling the effects of waking up suddenly as his pulse pounded in his ears.
Hiei was glaring down at him, a vicious glare that he wasn't often on the receiving end of. Curiously, he looked down at the bed sheets, before sighing. Hiei was holding an empty bag, and littered on his bed were pinecones and bags of birdseed. A quick glance to the floor revealed a container that had rolled across the wood floor.
"This. Is your idea. Of a present?" Hiei hissed angrily, crumpling the bag in his fist. "Birdseed and pinecones!"
"And oatmeal," Shuichi supplied weakly. Hiei growled in irritation, the bag bursting into flame.
"Hiei, don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Shuichi said calmly, carefully getting out of bed and scooping up the container. "You wanted to bring her birds, and this will, I promise."
The fire demon's mood didn't improve, and he stalked off, leaving the remains of the bag on the floor. Shuichi frowned, carefully gathering the items back up. Hiei must have gone looking for him and saw the bag.
Hiei's curiosity and general disregard for other's privacy was proving to be more troublesome than he had thought it would. He'd have to be more firm with the demon and his kleptomaniac tendencies from now on. Not that Hiei would really appreciate the effort to make him a better person.
He walked out of his room at a brisk pace, finding another bag and dumping his items into it. He quickly straightened his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair, musing again on the benefits of shorter locks. His last step was to hastily write a note for Rika, and he was off, heading to a bus stop.
Hiei was no where to be seen, or sensed, so he assumed he had gone ahead of him. Which was probably a good thing or the bus might have caught on fire. That was a mess that he didn't need to deal with.
He waited patiently, glancing at his watch, before he heard the familiar sound of the bus approaching. The passengers on the bus were a bit different than what he had seen last night; older women and mothers with children, teenagers that were probably skipping school. He wasn't sure why they would bother today. Sunday wasn't a full day of school.
The trip continued, and Shuichi sat placidly with his bag, wondering about the people he was sitting with before the bus slowed to a stop and he got off. He walked the rest of the way to Kuwabara's, hoping that Hiei's mood wouldn't ruin everything.
But he was certain that no matter how angry he was, Hiei wouldn't want to ruin things for Yukina.
And he was using that as reassurance as he walked up to the front door and carefully knocked. He only had to wait a moment before the door opened, Yukina offering him a kind smile. "I didn't think you meant so soon."
"I hope you're not busy."
Yukina shook her head. "No, of course not. Come in. Hiei's here too, in the kitchen. He seemed a bit upset."
Shuichi had to bite back a sigh as he stepped in after Yukina, listening to the sound of the door closing behind him. He slipped off his shoes and walked forward, Yukina following before she smiled, looking at the bag in his arms with curiosity.
"What's this?"
He managed a sly smile, his only answer on their trip to the kitchen. Yukina didn't press for an answer, but the curious look didn't leave her face. Hiei looked at him from his place at the kitchen table, scowling as he eyed the bag with subdued hatred.
"I know that there aren't a lot of birds around here," he said simply, setting the bag down and fishing out all of the items. Yukina's look became skeptical, not entirely unlike Hiei's. "But I couldn't just buy you a bird feeder. So we can make them."
"Make them?" the curiosity rushed back into her eyes, looking at the items with new appreciation. A quick glance at Hiei proved that he seemed to be switching sides.
Shuichi nodded, smiling. "It's something I picked up along the way," he said, gesturing that she should sit down. He waited until she was seated before setting a large pinecone in front of her and another in front of Hiei.
He carefully explained the general process as he arranged everything they would need: something to mix the oatmeal and vegetable shortening in, vegetable shortening, something to put the birdseed in, knives to spread it on the pinecones.
"You mix these two together," he said, tapping the oatmeal and shortening. "And it will get sticky enough to hold birdseed to the pinecone. You hang them in trees with string when you're done."
"Oh… Kurama, we can make them now, can't we?" Yukina asked, finally looking eager. Shuichi nodded. "I'll find the string, for when we're done."
Yukina smiled, standing quickly and heading off to search. Shuichi waited, before smiling at Hiei.
"Bonding over pinecones. Only you would find this enjoyable."
"It will mean a lot to her Hiei."
Hiei scowled at him, eyeing the pinecone with distaste. When no further protests came forward, Shuichi guessed that things would be in the clear, and Yukina came back with string and scissors.
The moments passed with Yukina watching everything Shuichi did, possibly to store and retain the process for another time. Hiei, though not entirely interested, decided to feign that he was and watched as well, listening to the idle chatter the two others had picked up while tying string onto the pinecones.
It wasn't until she was carefully spreading the mixture over her own, large, pinecone that Yukina addressed Hiei. "Did you help Kurama with this, Hiei?" she asked politely, looking at him. He visibly tensed, nearly snapping his pinecone, before he nodded.
He kept his eyes trained on the table, trying to look engrossed in his work with the pinecone, but Shuichi could see the discomfort that came from Yukina's wide smile.
"Thank you Hiei. This is wonderful… it's almost relaxing," she muttered, setting the knife aside so she could roll the pinecone in birdseed. "And the birds will love it, I'm sure." She paused, looking at Hiei and managing to hold his gaze. Shuichi watched quietly as Hiei seemed to shrink away. "This was very thoughtful," Yukina said gently.
Hiei only nodded, his jaw clenched as he carefully set the knife aside. Shuichi hummed a bit as they smothered the pinecones in birdseed, coming away with large colorful spheres attached to string.
"Where should we hang them, Kurama?" Yukina asked curiously, holding her creation up.
Shuichi blinked, before standing up. "We'll have to look for a good place in a tree," he said, heading to the backyard. Hiei carefully stood up, following after his twin as they headed outside. Shuichi was carefully looking over each tree, and finally decided on a few good places to put them. He looked at Hiei smiling, which caused the demon to narrow his eyes.
A few unspoken words were exchanged, before Hiei sighed. "Here, Yukina," he murmured, holding his hand out. Yukina blinked, but handed over her pinecone before Hiei disappeared reappearing in a tree.
He was tying Yukina's pinecone carefully, making sure it wouldn't fall and that it would be easy for the birds to get to. His own pinecone was dangling precariously from his mouth, the string clamped between his lips.
Yukina watched, smiling faintly as he disappeared and reappeared in a different place, hanging up his own, before returning back to the ground. "Thank you Hiei. That's perfect," she said fondly, causing the fire demon more discomfort for the day then he was willing to put up with under normal circumstances. To cover himself, he gave a curt nod and grunted.
"And they'll definitely come?" Yukina asked, looking to Shuichi who was leisurely scaling a tree to hang up his own. He nodded confidently. Since everything about the pinecone was pretty much plant based, he could easily lure the birds and other animals by giving the pinecones a stronger scent.
"I wouldn't expect anything immediate, but they'll come." He paused, glancing at his watch. "But I should check in at home. I didn't make it back last night."
Yukina nodded and smiled with a simple joy that made Shuichi feel rather proud of himself. She seemed to hesitate, before looking at Hiei. "Hiei… can you help me make more?"
Hiei looked a bit startled, before frowning. "How many do you plan on putting in the trees?" he grumbled.
"Oh, not too many more. Please Hiei? I can't hang them myself."
Hiei glanced at Shuichi, who only smiled. He sighed, and gave Yukina a look of resignation. She looked pleased, before turning to Shuichi. "I'll –"
"That's all right Yukina, you don't have to show me out," he said, heading back inside as he inclined his head politely. She looked surprised, but nodded, turning her attention back to Hiei as Shuichi disappeared.
"Mother?"
"Oh Shuichi really, you could stop in once in awhile instead of using the phone."
Shuichi smiled wryly as he walked down the street, one hand in his pocket, his other holding the cell phone. He was headed back to Genkai's now, hoping that Rika had sobered up enough to fight, but not enough to change her mind.
"I know Mother, I'm sorry. Things keep coming up."
He listened to her sigh. "Dinner?"
"I hope so."
"Well, all right… call me, if you aren't going to make it," she said firmly.
"I will. I'll talk to you soon Mother," he said pleasantly, before hanging up and tucking the phone away. A frowned crossed his face as he continued his trip, running through how he thought this whole mess could turn out. There was a very slim chance she would win.
But then what would happen after that?
That was the only thing that was bothering him, the only scene he couldn't play out or figure. It didn't make him feel very good. Unknown elements never settled well with him.
It was all he could think about the entire trip back, and it had settled so uncomfortably in his stomach by the time he reached the stairs he felt too much like a teenager for his own good.
Rika, to his dismay, was sitting on the porch that wound itself around the temple, waiting. She didn't look any better than he felt, but there was a determination in her eyes that comforted him for some reason.
Never mind who he was fighting, or that anything could go wrong. Who cares what happened after? She wanted to fight him, to prove herself. That was appealing. That was unbearable. And if he was Yoko he would have been thinking about the sex that could come out of this.
Though, he was a teenager, so it was in the back of his mind.
She stood up when she spotted him, clenching her jaw as he walked over. They looked at each other in silence, before Shuichi gestured for her to follow him. They headed back to the clearing in silence. Everything was silent, except for her breathing.
Even but deep. She was trying to calm down.
He watched her as she broke away from him, circling the clearing until they were facing each other. He smiled slightly.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
He wasn't going to give her any chances, and he didn't. He immediately reached into his hair and pulled out his whip, lashing it out at her. He was holding back to some degree, because he didn't want to kill her.
And he never started a battle fully anyway.
His eyes tracked her movements as she darted away. She was fast, but he'd dealt with faster, so her movements seemed to be dreadfully slow. But when they locked eyes he recognized the look; she was waiting too.
He'd never seen Rika fight before. He wasn't even sure if it was something she did often. But she knew enough to wait and figure what your opponent might do. For some reason, he felt proud about that.
They skirted around each other for a few more minutes, testing and drawing back, before Shuichi finally decided that he knew enough. He felt himself return to his cold hearted roots as his eyes narrowed, his whip moving with precise intention.
Rika had to fall on the defensive, caught off guard as she desperately tried her best to keep away from the weapon. Shuichi smirked, continuing the game of cat and mouse before snapping his wrist back decisively.
Shrieking, Rika was pulled roughly off her feet, before she fell hard back on the ground. Shuichi frowned as he eyed the cut whip, before returning his attention to the culprit. He knew she'd have bruises starting. He also knew neither of them was close to tired, and he was anticipating a few of the wounds they would have after this.
The whip regained its lost appendage as he leapt back, carefully avoiding the blade of a knife. She continued after him, trying her best to get a hit in, but she wasn't fast enough. Shuichi wondered if she had been training at all when she nicked his arm.
He was surprised, but he smiled, lashing out at her again. The whip didn't wrap around her this time. It hit her middle, which sent her flying back and landing roughly against a tree.
For a moment, Shuichi was worried he had been too rough when she crumpled at the bottom of the tree. But then he remembered she was trying to prove herself and he wasn't supposed to hold back.
He went in for his second attack, and winced when it connected. The whip lifted her off the ground again, sending her flying before she landed on her back with a thud. She was still, and judging from her breathing was trying to get her wind back.
Shuichi walked over to her and lifted her up by the front of her dress. She wheezed, wincing, before coughing and doubling over as best she could. He set her on her feet before moving back.
Even when she couldn't breathe right she was still willing to try and hurt him. He had a nice cut on his face for his kindness. But that was fine. He abandoned the whip, stowing the seed back in his hair. He'd fight her hand to hand from now on.
Rika was caught off guard by the sudden change of pace, dropping the knife she had been wielding in favor for blocking a kick.
The fight, for Shuichi, continued in a flurry of punches and kicks before he finally tripped Rika up and had her pinned against a tree. They were both panting, and Shuichi could feel the sheen of sweat on his forehead, and see it on hers.
He blinked, licking his lips slightly. He became hyper aware of how close she was, felt her chest just slightly as it rose and fell with each breath. "I think I won," he said finally.
"Shut up," Rika muttered. They fell into silence, staring each other down. Perhaps it was the last stretch of the fight. But the fox in him wasn't going to let this all go without some sort of prize.
With that in mind, Shuichi carefully moved forward, catching Rika's lips with his own.
The spark flared violently back into existence.
That's so cliché.
But I couldn't resist.