:O Into the Twenties we goooooo! Lol, sorry for the update being so late in the afternoon. If it's any excuse, blame Band Camp.
"Omg, this one time, at Band Camp…"
Hahahaha! Not really though :]. But coming up, I'll be there from 8 in the morning to 9 at night until next Tuesday, minus Sunday. Yaaaay, Band Camp!... Blech. Summertime heat in the South :/ But hey, I'll keep you updated on just who dies from a heat stroke, mmkay? ;D
Enter the Insanity! I don't own YYH.
"I'd like to see Horawada Minoto, please." I said, placing the vase of flowers on the desk to give my arm a break from carrying it.
It had been a three hour trip here, to the St. William's Institution for the Mentally Disturbed. The lady behind the desk smiled, eyes crinkling at the edges. She then turned to her computer, typing in the name before clicking a couple times. After a few seconds of reading, she scooted away from the machine and pulled back a drawer that lay beneath it, fingering through the documents.
"Ms. Horawada is only permitted family and friends of, I'll need you to state your name and sign a document stating you are, indeed, a family or friend." She said as she picked out a single piece of paper and placed it on top of the reception desk. Then, grabbing a pen from behind her ear, she pulled it out and handed it to me.
"Of course." I said, a bit miffed I had to fill out a paper just to see somebody. But what had to be done, had to be done, and after a few seconds of scribbling away, I clicked the pen shut and handled both of them back to the receptionist.
"Thank you, Ms…" She scanned the paper for my name, "Yorusta. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. I'll have somebody escort you to room 213, where she's staying." She motioned to one of the guards that stood beside an iron door. He nodded, getting his keys and opening it. "I hope you enjoy your visit."
"Thank you." I nodded, grabbing my vase of flowers and entering the door. The guard shut the door behind me before locking it. Then, sending me an awkward smile; moved in front of me and started walking.
I followed closely, taking in my surroundings. The wall on my left was brick, and had plenty of windows that opened up to show a beautifully tended courtyard. Every other wall, however, was starched white, with horrid looking dark green painted metal doors that had little metal numbers glued on.
Eventually, after three or so minutes of walking and a few turns (two lefts and then a right, to be precise) the guard had led me to room 213, where Mama was staying. The guard reached for his keys at his belt, fiddling with them for a second before finding the right one and sticking it in the handle. He rasped on the door a few times as he unlocked it.
"Ms. Horawada! It's a lucky day!" He called, turning the knob and pushing the door open. "You have a visitor!"
I stepped into the room, eyes exploring it for a second before locking on the single person in the room.
The room itself was about ten feet by ten feet, to use the closest measurement. In the back right corner there was shoved a spring bed with metal railings. White sheets lay on top, perfectly folded with a single white pillow. To the left of the bed was a decent sized window, and yellow sunlight filtered in through the cracked blinds. To the other side of the window, a metal desk and fragile looking chair sat, with a small woman sitting on the chair. The walls were cracking past their wash-white, showing the brick underneath. The floor was cold, hard, speckled white tile.
The woman in the chair turned her head slowly, revealing an aged face with too many wrinkles, graying black hair pulled into a tight bun, and saddened, yet still living, blue eyes.
Yumi had, without any trace of doubt, inherited her eyes from her mother.
Her eyes widened when she saw me, recognizing me instantly. Yet, I couldn't say the action was mutual. For a brief second I wondered who this lady was, as my Mama was too young to have wrinkles, and her eyes were always happy.
Crazed at times, but happy.
My throat constricted as the woman stood from her chair quickly, showing that she was dressed in a simple white robe that fell to her withered knees. With one hand over her heart, and the other on her desk, we stood stock still, staring at each other.
"I'll be right outside, should you need me." The guard said, exiting and closing the door behind him.
My arms tightened around the vase of flowers. She blinked; eyes now curious as they looked to the vase, back at me, then to the vase.
"You should put those down, To-chan. It's unlady like to carry heavy things for such a long time, and I can see your arms are getting tired."
I swallowed, nodding, before stepping over to the desk and setting the vase down carefully. My eyes trailed along the metal top. On it was a notebook, with a pen laying on top, and a picture frame filled with a photo of everyone.
Everyone as in me, Yumi, Mama, Papa, Mom, and Dad.
I looked up to Mama, could this really be true? Could she have withered so much?
"Mama…" I whispered, followed by an uncharacteristically pathetic sniffle as my eyes began to water. She had faded so much… was it my fault? Because I never visited? She was suffering- it was so apparent.
"Oh, baby…" She whispered, eyes softening as she spread her arms open. I stepped into her hug, arms wrapped around her. My heart was pounding seventy kilometers per hour, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep the tears back.
"I'm so sorry… so sorry…" I whimpered, snuggling myself closer to her.
I was sorry. For everything. For not visiting, not sending cards. Not talking about her, or wishing her luck on mother's day.
For not saving Yumi, and putting her in this mess.
I don't know how many times I apologized; all I know is that I couldn't stop.
"No, To-chan. You're here now. Everything's okay, you're here now." She patted my head, smoothing my hair back. I felt her pause, hand still holding a few threads of my hair. "Here, how about you let me fix your hair, and we catch up?"
I nodded, biting my bottom lip to keep myself from sobbing. It didn't, however, stop me from sniffling, or stop the tears from trailing down.
This heartache… was it what she had been feeling all these years?
All alone, with nobody to care about her?
She stepped away from me, walking around me to get the chair before dragging it by the bed. The chair itself sat slightly lower than the bed, which she sat on as the springs squeaked in protest. The chair faced the side, so the backing wasn't between us.
"Sit here." She instructed, motioning to the chair. I nodded, moving to follow out her instructions. As I sat down, I struggled to get myself in control.
I had to be strong. I had to be.
If not for me, than for Yumi.
"You always pull your hair back To-chan. If it's not a braid, it's a ponytail. Have you ever thought about just letting it loose?" She asked, pulling my ponytail down and running her hands through my waist-length black locks. I shook my head.
I never really had time to worry about looks. I was always doing something. Studying, training, playing music.
Music.
Why did that sound so foreign as I thought about it now?
"I bet you'd get a lot of attention from the boys if you did. You're so pretty, To-chan, you just never let anyone see it." Her fingers continued to run through my hair. It was soothing, I found. The feeling comforted me. My heart slowly started to stop racing, and I lifted a hand to brush away the last of the tears.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" She asked, taking a small section of hair right above my left ear and weaving it through her fingers, working out any knots in it.
I shook my head, biting my lips a little harder as the image of Kurama popped in my head.
"No, but, I do have a guy friend." I swallowed.
'Friend'.
It felt so odd to say, much less call somebody.
But, that's what we could be considered, right?
I had to start accepting my feelings. I will change!
"Oh really?" She sounded slightly shocked, but also at ease as she began to braid the small section of hair. Realizing I shouldn't nod as it might mess her up, I continued.
"Yes, his name is Shuichi-kun. Minamino Shuichi-kun. He's in my class, and almost my equal in intelligence."
"What school do you attend now? Grade? Exactly how smart is this boy?" She questioned, though her fingers never stopped moving.
"I attend Mieou Private High, and I'm graduating early in about one week. Like I said, almost as smart as me. Almost." I emphasized. I still had the highest marks in the school.
She laughed, making me smile. It was a comforting sound, hearing her laugh.
"To-chan!" She scolded, playfully patting me on the shoulder, "Your pride is as bad as a man's!"
I snorted, thinking of the males I knew. Hiei had to be the most prideful.
Perhaps getting his ass kicked by Yuusuke will provide him with a dose of modesty.
A tap on my right shoulder, and I turned my head to look at her. "Hold this." She instructed, handing me the finished braid. I nodded, taking the rather long, thin thing and clasping it between my thumb and forefinger.
"Well, it depends on the man you're comparing me to." I said, looking forward again as she took an equal sized part of my hair on the right side of my head in the same spot and began to repeat the process. She laughed lightly.
"What about your other friends, what are they like?" She asked. I shrugged, who else could I call a friend? Ryo, maybe. But, other than that…
"There's a girl, her name is Ryo. She's really talkative, kind of a punk. A real hardass, you know." I said, looking to my lap.
I could feel Ryo start to throw a tantrum inside.
"To-chan! Language!" She objected, but the scolding was lessened by her chuckle.
"Maybe you'll get to meet them, one day." I said, rolling my teeth over my bottom lip. Shuichi had introduced me to his sick mother, shouldn't I…?
"That would be nice, To-chan." She said, finishing up with the other braid. "The braid?" She asked, laying her hand open on my shoulder. I passed her the hair, which she pulled back with the other to tie somewhat loosely with my hairbow.
"There…" She said, running her hands through the ends of my hair. "Let me see."
I turned in the seat, giving her a smile as I tilted my head. This was nice. To be able to talk so freely with her, who I hadn't seen in years; when I had thought about coming, it was under the impression that everything was going to be awkward. That I'd have a hard time making conversation, and that she'd be completely off her rocker.
For once, I can honestly say I'm glad I was wrong.
"You're beautiful To-chan." She said, smiling at me in a motherly way. I was about to laugh, when the action stopped short and my eyes grew wide.
Hiei's aura hit me like a wall of bricks.
Cliffy!
What will To do? Will she leave her mother's side? Will she risk getting caught one last time? Just what will happen to Kurama and Hiei?
Found out in the next chapter of M.S.D.!
….Or you can think about it, too :P I'm iffy about this chapter. This change in To is really hard to write, but I think I like where it's going. I'm sorry about the length of the chapter, too. The next one is much, much longer, thankfully.
How many times must I say it? Torin, jj, Jasmin, I LOVE YOU GUYS! Thank you for being so friken awesome :] You guys rock my world ;]
Much love! Please review! See you next week!