Of You, Me, and Us

Summary: "I like you." When those words left her lips, Botan had expected to hear him utter words of apology. After all, she didn't think he felt the same way about her. She didn't expect Kurama looking straight at her in the eyes before leaning closer to kiss her. And although he didn't say anything, one glance at the expression on his face was enough to tell her: she was his now.

A/N: So I realize I should be updating Love Through Time lol. I promise I will later on. After posting this chapter, I'll get to typing the update for LTT (also after a little bit of rest lol. It'll probably be updated by tomorrow to be honest).

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter 49: Father and Son

"Stop stealing food from your sister's plate, Tsubaki," Botan articulated the gentle reprimand as she seized a benign but firm hold on her son's wrist to prevent him from sneaking one of Ume's pieces of ham into his silver platter.

He had taken the opportunity in Ume's momentary loss of guard whenever her newfound friend would proffer her a text. Ever since she had recently obtained a few peers here and there, his sister had become easily distracted with her phone.

His mother was the one who grabbed at his wrist, but Ume, upon discerning his devious schemes, was the one who flicked her hand at him to slap his away, a single thin line of muted chagrin latching on to her lips as she shot him a withering look. Tsubaki drummed an exasperated huff before eventually withdrawing his fork from his sister's plate. He had been certain that he would be able to craftily purloin another piece of meat from Ume's bowl.

"I can't believe that you guys are still fighting over food at this age," their mother vocalized in a rather frustrated but defeated tone as she continued to watch the twins throw excessive insults at each other and pull various attempts at snatching the other's food. She exhaled a soft but nonplussed sigh as her children took no notice of her comment before a mirthful, contented smile slanted at the corners of her lips. "I guess at its base, you two still take after your father's thieving habits after all. I must say, I do hope I don't end up hearing either of you looting anything in school."

The former ferry girl expelled a gladdened, short-lived fit of girlish giggle before the brief chortles soon subsided the instant she noticed the somewhat perturbed expression on her husband's visage. It was a rarity to find his composure ruptured, but Kurama looked to be considering some woes of his own as he idly traced the piece of ham in his plate with his spoon. Her delicate blue brows furrowed into a deep frown, concern perceptible in her refined features as she reached a hand over the table to position it on the back of Kurama's hand. Her fingers gave a light press on his digits and the fox appeared to have snapped out of whatever it was that was disquieting to his usual presence of mind.

"Are you okay, Kurama? You seem bothered by something," she questioned him, her timbre tender and inquisitive as a scintilla of worry was apparent in the tone she assumed. "Is it the food? I know I'm not much of an expert cook in the first place, but I've been trying really hard to get better at it. But if the food isn't to your liking-"

Kurama's slightly apprehensive guise faltered to give way to a doting smile as her insecurities rose to the surface, the inclining of his lips patently soothing as he maneuvered his fingers to bring hers to his lips. He placed soft, featherlight kisses all over her fingers as if to alleviate her self-doubt, the effect of the contact comforting as Botan slackened the tense muscles of her moderately rigid form.

"Nothing of the sort at all, my lovely. How many times do I have to tell you not to be so demeaning to yourself?" he murmured against the rosy tips of her fingers before eventually pulling her hand away from his mouth but not releasing the hold he had around her as he situated their joined fingers on the dining table. A gleam of mischief twirled in his radiant emeralds as he noted the flush of pink adorning her cheeks in uncurbed timidity. "Your cooking is remarkably mouth-watering. It's hard to believe that a few months ago you almost burnt the kitchen down."

The playful jibe at her past lack of cooking skills caused her cheeks to burn redder in increased shame and brewing irritation. Although, the tincture of annoyance was infinitesimal as it briskly dwindled to give way to a charming, impertinent grin as it curled at the edges of her pink lips. "I really don't know if you're trying to assure me or put me down, but nonetheless, you are always so cryptic in your ways."

A look of feigned hurt flitted over his features as her husband hovered his free hand over his chest as if to indicate forged horrified shock. "Goodness, it offends me so that you would think I would do anything to cause the decline of your self-esteem. I was simply trying to liven things up with a harmless jab."

An exuberant grin arched at his lips, the surge of passion perceptible beneath as Kurama eyed his wife bring their intertwined fingers to her lips to confer him a teasingly chastising nip at the warm pad of his ring finger. "Hush, you. We all know that your humor is as dry as a desert but we laugh at your unfunny jokes nevertheless."

That startled out a high-pitched chortle from the red-headed fox. "Well, now that's a simply downright offensive remark, my dearest peony." He gave a light tug at their hands to place another affectionate buss on the golden ring wrapped on Botan's ring finger. The aurelian material glinted in his view, causing a gratified smile to slope at the corners of his mouth.

Botan was about to sound out a snarky interpose when Tsubaki cut her short with a disgusted snort. The couple levelled him with amused, impertinent grins as they observed their son scrunch his nose in childish revulsion.

"Ugh. My eyes. Please stop," he implored them, his gruff voice heavily laced with exasperated embarrassment as he positioned a hand over his eyebrows and fixed his gaze downwards to the plate of food under his nose as if to obstruct his field of vision from catching more of the loving display. "I swear you two are going to end up giving me a sugar rush or something just from looking at you. Even I'm not that obsessed with PDA when it comes to my relationship with Ayumi."

"Be quiet, Tsubaki," Botan lightly chided at him despite the delighted guffaws that rumbled through her chest as salmon pink colored his cheeks to implicate his awkwardness. "I'm willing to bet a million yen that you're this lovey-dovey with Ayumi behind our backs. Perhaps even more, I must say, considering your avid interest in romance movies that you incessantly try to deny that you actually enjoy watching."

Her howl of laughter rose up a notch as Tsubaki's pink-hued cheeks soon elevated into a bright scarlet flush as the blood rushed to his face. She wasn't sure whether her remark about Ayumi or her not-so-subtle mention of his zealous fascination in romance comedies was what made him sputter incoherent jumbles but he did. It was a few seconds later when Tsubaki finally recouped at least a sliver of his composure - and male pride.

"For the last time, I don't like romance movies, okay? I'm not a wimp," he offered the lame excuse in a barely audible mumble despite his brain already distinctly putting up a reminder to save a recording of Pride and Prejudice later on. "And at least, I'm not trying to smother everyone with persistent public exhibits of affection."

"You know, if it weren't for your father and I being so in love with each other, neither of you would have existed," came Botan's swift quip, the implication in her words prompting Tsubaki to clasp his palms over his ears as if it would elude any remnant of embarrassing remarks from intruding his hearing senses.

"Too much information, mom," he grumbled under his breath, the heat of shame on his cheeks intensifying to a redder extent as Botan let out a burst of loud, amused chortles at his weak retort.

"What a child," Ume's condescending opine chimed in. She paid no heed to the icy glare her brother shot her as she brought her chopsticks to her lips and popped the tiny piece of ham along with the roll of rice into her mouth. Contrary to her twin's reaction, Ume was relatively calm in the presence of their parents' doting display. If anything, she would even admit she loved feasting her eyes on the sight simply for the daughter-type of content it evoked in her.

"At least I have a love life," Tsubaki interjected with barely contained sarcasm, mouth turning into a tight scowl of displeasure as his sister waved her chopsticks at him in a dismissive manner in return. "Ayumi's an angel. I'm so glad she's not a scornful little devil like you." He pointed his chopsticks at Ume for emphasis, to which his vexed twin slapped it away from its close levitation at her face.

Botan hadn't perceived her husband's response to the ruckus taking place around them as the twins proceeded to indulge themselves in another snubbing mouth-war. It wasn't until she felt a slight shift in the air as Kurama's demon energy emitted restless waves of tension did she finally notice the taut frown marring his forehead.

"You've been looking very distressed by something for a while now, Kurama." She was reminded of the previous air of dismay radiating off of his somewhat disturbed greens. If the look in his eyes didn't give it away, the strained muscles in his stiff jaws certainly was something to go by.

"I…" He took a moment to clear his throat as he realized that his timbre sounded lower than he meant it to be. Tsubaki's and Ume's adolescent squabble quieted down as the ambience modified into a more tense approach. A few moments of silence lasted before Kurama finally pinned a long, hard stare on Tsubaki. His features were unreadable, though his verdant-colored orbs harbored a stern edge dormant beneath the controlled peridots. His voice was cautious as he slowly verbalized the syllables, "Tsubaki, what if I told you that from this day onwards, I forbid you from seeing Ayumi ever again? What would you do?"

He watched as the confusion around the dining table shifted into utter surprise. Although, in Tsubaki's case, the astonishment had quickly died down to transpose into fermenting ill-temper. His features grew fierce as a latent growl sounded in his controlled, but disbelief-tinted droned answer, "You can't be serious right now, dad. If this is one of your silly attempts at a joke again, it's not funny. For real this time."

He had expected his father to laugh at his expense for taking him too seriously, had even anticipated him shooting a few snide remarks here and there for being so easily angered. But the solemn look on Kurama's countenance remained as he took a minute pause before enunciating the drawled out words, "I am."

Tsubaki schooled himself before his voice could uplift in furious octaves as he sought to suppress the spasm of pain building in his chest. "But why?"

"Because she's not the right woman for you," Kurama's riposte was swift and sounded almost cold in his attempts at sustaining the emotions that nearly manifested in his timbre.

That struck not only a nerve in Tsubaki's forehead, but also sent a razor-sharp blade flying to the middle of his chest. His hunger immediately dispersed from his system as what took its place was budding violent bouts of rage and a profuse throbbing of ache. "Why? Because she's a human?" A low and dangerous snarl rippled out of his throat as his canines sharpened into cutting-edge fangs. "Grandma's a human. Uncle Kuwa's a human, many of your friends are humans. Up until a few years ago, you thought Uncle Yusuke was human too."

Botan didn't like where the conversation was heading towards. She had restrained herself from interrupting as she was aware that her husband had something relevant to say on the matter, but she could tell that Tsubaki was on the verge of uttering things he would regret later on. "Tsubaki," she drummed out his name in a warning edge.

Her son adamantly brushed her aside. His voice was heavily imbued with repressed ire as he pronounced the letters, "No, mom. I just don't understand. He makes it sound like humans are the problem even though he probably just doesn't like her."

The women at the table caught the loud, echoing blare of Kurama's chopsticks snapping into half as his own portion of brewing indignation shone through. His habitually gentle, reserved jaded irises were threateningly intense and possessed freckles of menacing gold as he aimed a bridled glare at his son. "Did I ever mention anything about her being human as the problem?"

Tsubaki's scoff was genuinely resentful, unlike his usual harmless sneering demeanor. "If you think I'm stupid enough not to know that it's a common concern for demons to fall for humans, then you're really just underestimating my keen intellect, dad."

Kurama wanted to snort back at him that he wouldn't have owned such a sharp wit if it hadn't been for his genes, if only due to the sole reason that his son had dealt a critical blow to his pride as a father and challenging his authority as a parent. But he held himself back at the last second, drawing his lips tight as he tried to utter his retort as neutrally as he possibly could with the current situation, "I find it difficult to take a liking to a girl who used to bully your sister. How you could even bring her here after what she did to Ume is beyond my comprehension."

He caught both the flicker of pained shock in Ume's pools of lilacs and the wrath-congested spikes of Tsubaki's demon energy as his wife attempted to smooth things out. "Okay, you two. This is getting too much. Let's stop before either of you say anything worse-"

But Tsubaki went on anyway, his own inflated ego and boiling hostility seeping through the growl that he bubbled out his throat. "Because I love her, dad. Why are you making things difficult?"

Kurama could list an abundance of reasons why he found it near impossible to accept Tsubaki's newfound relationship. The fact that the girl just had to be one of Ume's former bullies was one thing, but the rude conduct she exhibited towards his wife in the brief duration of time she had previously joined their family for dinner was another. And above all else, he had his own doubts when in regards to her own questionable honesty towards his son. Even if he had to argue with Tsubaki about it for hours on end, hell would freeze over before he would be able to pardon their romantic relations.

"Contrary to your beliefs, Tsubaki, I do not have a problem with your girlfriend being a human," he preachified in quelled spleen. "Humans are fleeting creatures, their lifespans are considerably shorter than ours. But if a human makes you happy then who am I to stop you from seeing her? No, Tsubaki, the reason I don't like her doesn't stem from the fact that she's human. But it's because she used to avidly make your sister's life miserable-

Ume decided that she had heard enough and tried to placate the growing tension in the air. "Father-"

But Kurama opted to continue regardless, "-and the fact that she is disrespectful to your mother. Those are not things I will stand. If you're planning to date her with marriage in mind then I don't condone your relationship."

Truth be told, it was an issue that the entire family had avoided for so long in fear of hurting Tsubaki's feelings. Botan had turned a blind eye on Ayumi's ill-mannered bearing whilst his sister had extinguished her own torrent of pain as a result from the bullying in favor of salvaging her brother's happiness. So much had occurred in the extended three months Tsubaki had been seeing her, and the fox was at his limits. Furthermore, knew it had to be done at some point, especially if the girl in question displayed not even a splinter of pleasant virtues in his perspective. And there are things you have no inkling at all about her, Tsubaki. I wish I didn't have to be the one to disclose such tormenting details to you, but I am your father. It is my duty to protect you from causing yourself harm in the long run.

"Kurama, dear," Botan's voice was strained, breaking at the edge of her attempted reassuring timbre as she reinforced the hold she had around his fingers. "I really don't mind. And Ume is okay with Ayumi as well."

Kurama shot her a look then. He rarely ever proffered her dirty looks, but he did now as he levelled a displeased glower at his wife. He knew it was a lie; everything about Botan's faked acceptance of the girl and Ume's forced smiles whenever Ayumi stopped by gave away the bluff.

"Well, I do," he responded with a subdued baritone, stifling a growl as he continued, "Besides, there is also another rationale behind my displeasure with her-"

But whatever perceptions he had to vocalize failed to leave his lips as his words lodged in his throat the moment Tsubaki's aura conferred furious bristles of uninhibited anger. His son had apparently forgone all self-restraints and respect for his father as he echoed the spiteful string of insult, "Then are you any better, dad? Hearing that from someone who backstabs his friend and blinds him is beyond my comprehension." Sarcasm was palpable in his suppressed holler as he deliberately added the effect of repeating Kurama's earlier words in a way that he knew would get the fox more riled up.

Botan pinned him with a steadfast, disapproving gaze. Challenging his father was one thing, but purposely mentioning Kurama's gruesome past was another. "Tsubaki." Sprouting chagrin was evident in both her taut features and her constrained timbre as she propelled a warning glare at her son. She seemed to be on the verge of exploding as well as she droned, "Please don't start. That comment was uncalled for and you're going too far."

"I don't care, mom," Tsubaki almost bellowed at her before he regained a scrap of his composure, if only for a little. But this self-control and squashing down of his aggression was short-lived as antagonism dripped heavily in each syllable that passed his lips, "What right does he have to judge Ayumi, huh? It's not like he was any better. He went around killing so many people just because of his greed, even went as far as slaughtering innocent people for fun-"

"Tsubaki," Kurama started, his ego blown to bits and his feelings as a parent pricked with needles from Tsubaki's previous offensive remark. But the wrath had thoroughly abated from his system, replaced with an overbearing frisson of blended anguish and shock. "I didn't tell you any of that so that you could bring it up in this manner. I disclosed details of my past to you and Ume because I trusted you two not to do the same. It wasn't meant to be a material for you to use in your childish tantrum. If anything, those things I told you were supposed to be lessons, so that you don't repeat the same mistakes I made. I didn't tell you all of that to…" he trailed off, not wanting to continue on his emotional tirade anymore when his profuse bouts of sorrow became unbearable.

Guilt crept up from underneath his skin as Tsubaki discerned the genuine misery perceptible in Kurama's emerald-tinted orbs. The flattening of his father's lips from affliction left a remorseful tug at his heartstrings as a nauseating feeling of regret puddled in his gut.

And yet, still, he went on, his male ego compelling him to verbalize the words he didn't really mean, "I simply want to point out that she can change too. I know she did a lot of crappy things but it's normal. People make mistakes. I know you're not the same person anymore, dad. But if a person who used to be a shitty monster like you can change then Ayumi-"

But he didn't manage to proceed even further as a stinging pain soon assaulted his senses. A high-pitched, echoing slap painfully reverberated in the dining area as Ume's arm swiftly shot up to deliver a harsh, angry smack across Tsubaki's face.

Her brother's head was thrown aside from the brute impact, a red, furious imprint furnishing his left cheek in a telltale sign of Ume's pained thwack. His peridot irises were wide in surprise from the sudden strike, his mouth slightly parted open in muted shock before his rage instantaneously shone through. Startled jaded irises shifted to dimmed greens as his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, his lips clamping shut in silent disdain as he steadily whirled his head back to glower down at his sister, his glare icy and heated at the same time.

"Ume! Stop it!" Botan shouted in a pleading voice once the acute upsurge of flabbergast ebbed away once she noticed the reinstated hostility in Tsubaki's tense stare. "I don't like all of this arguing. Let's just sit down and have a normal dinner, okay?"

Kurama's shock had also relented, giving way to self-condemnation as he downcasted his gaze in building disgrace at himself. "I'm sorry. It probably wasn't a good time for me to bring up the subject."

Tsubaki gritted his teeth, hands curling into fists at his sides as he sought to push down the wave of ire pooling in the pits of his stomach, but to no avail. Blood trickled down his knuckles as his blunt nails acuminated into razor-sharp claws. Before he could stop himself, he articulated the contempt-filled letters, "Yeah, like hell it was. For someone as smart as you, I would have thought you would know better."

He caught Ume's wrist before she could land another strike at his face. He was undeterred underneath her withering glare as she growled out her warning, "You talk to father like that then I swear I'll knock the teeth out of your mouth." The entirety of her pent-up frustrations and quelled emotions surfaced through as her tight voice echoed from the back of her throat, "I could have withstood you dating the girl who lowered my self-esteem if you were truly happy even though she was never really sincere with her apology. But if seeing her turns you into this kind of person who would purposely hurt father's feelings this way, then I want you to break up with her."

Tsubaki loosened his hold just in time for his sister to wrench her hand out of his firm grasp. His features were stony and his timbre was equally aloof. "You're my little sister. You don't have any right to lecture me."

"Oh, so because you're older I can't give you advice?" Ume's scornful scoff resounded like a second impulse as it came all too quickly. "Maybe if you actually acted like a big brother for once, then you wouldn't have to bear with the shame of having a younger sibling lecturing you."

The male twin reinforced the clenching of his jaws as his already boiling chagrin uplifted into newer heights from the sarcastic affront that rumbled through Ume's chest. "Shut up."

Ume's response was quick and sharp, as it always was. "What, can't stand having your ego undermined? Imagine how father must feel."

Tsubaki could feel the final residues of self-control he had left diminishing into thin air as the fire of antipathy burning in his chest reached a sizzling point and travelled upwards to his chest before leaving his throat with venom-coated words, "What, are you trying to start something? You wanna fight?"

There were a couple of pain-staking moments of animosity-stocked glares before fox ears sprouted from the top of the twins' heads. Bushy tails sprouted from their rear ends as tense rolls of demon energies spiked up in all-out anger and the air around them shifted with it. Blunt nails honed into claws and human canines sharpened into animalistic, glinting fangs at the siblings threw themselves at each other.

"Tsubaki, Ume! Stop! Stop it!" Botan beseeched at them in continuous loud, begging roars as she attempted to pull them apart. Kurama tugged her away in time for Tsubaki to deliver a sharp kick at Ume's ribcage, the force of his brute assault sending his sister flying across the room. Silver platters broke into small fragments as the table was knocked down and the plates collapsed to the floor as a result. It didn't take long for Ume to get to her feet though, and a full-blown bloody battle soon ensued between the brother and sister.

By the time the both of them had gotten tired of it, the entirety of the dining area and the living room connected to it, along with the kitchen that was nearby, were rendered into a mess of broken plates, torn couches and thrown about furniture. It hadn't even taken them ten minutes to thrash everything in the house, and by the time, Botan had followed them to the family space, Ume was already doubling over in pain on the floor, splashes of blood spurting out of her lips as she coughed out ichor after having suffered various blows from her brother.

Tsubaki stepped forward and the understandably frantic mother briskly tossed herself at her daughter, her arms wrapped around the convulsing girl as the warm tears she had managed to suppress eventually sprang free. "Please stop this, Tsubaki," she pleaded with her son, her voice breaking as her own choked sobs came through.

That was when he finally snapped out of his violent tirade, his eyes growing broad in horrified surprise at himself before a profuse torrent of shame washed over him, the sentiment further intensified by the propellant that was his overwhelming rush of remorse as he eventually noted the tears streaming down Ume's face in the midst of her still viciously rasping out a puddle of blood. What the hell am I doing? I made mom and Ume cry.

"Tsubaki-" Kurama's voice broke him out of his reverie as his father rounded the corner to enter the family room.

But before the fox could even attempt to cool his son down, Tsubaki dashed past him in a black blur, leaving in his wake only the sounds of his speedy, distraught steps as he sped up the long stairs. The sound was soon accompanied by the loud slamming of his door, the clamorous echo ringing painfully in the other three's ears as Tsubaki opted to close himself off in his room.

Kurama expelled a deep, defeated sigh as he ambled towards his wife and bent to his knees in order to give her a soothing, featherlight kiss on her hairline. "I'll talk to him. You stay here with Ume," he attempted to console her so that her concerns were alleviated as he noted the intense frown of concern etched on her forehead. He briefly turned to his daughter to check if any serious injuries had been inflicted on her.

"I'm alright, father," Ume quickly reassured him, stopping him half-way in his tracks as he tried to reach out and help her stand. She breathed out a shaky breath before forcing herself off her knees and flipping on her butt on the wooden floor. "At this point, I'm used to being pummeled to the ground by Tsubaki. Well, I let him win this time though. You should check up on him instead."

Her father proffered her a tender, doting smile before giving her a gentle kiss on the top of her head.


"Tsubaki, open the door," Kurama implored as he tried once more, the knuckles of his right fist bumping against the timber-materialed door as he knocked twice.

"No. Leave me alone," Tsubaki's voice was muffled from the other side of the door as the reply came almost instantly, sounding regretful and resolute at the same time.

The fox waited for a few moments for either signs of Tsubaki sliding the door open or even any snarky remarks but nothing came. He craned his neck slightly to the side, seeming to consider something before he let out another heavy, bemused sigh. Well then, I guess you leave me no choice...


A tide of fused astonishment and perplexity coarse through the self-loathing recesses of Tsubaki's mind as he caught the glimpse of vines slithering out from underneath his bed. The shock briskly abated though, giving away to a frustrated but knowing huff as he watched them crawl along the carpeted floor before gliding upwards to the doorknob. Damn old man… He mused in a grudging inward as the vines turned the knob sideways before prying the door slowly open.

"Since when was it legal to implant vines in your son's room?" Tsubaki idly threw the question out in the open in an absent-minded manner. He scooted away from the door enough to sanction his father some space to slip through when he felt a small, cautious push against the muscles of his back. He didn't look up as Kurama's soft, thudding footsteps dawdled into the threshold of his room.

A splinter of sunset-colored ray of light peeked through the moderate creak as the door was probed open before the orange hue faded in the twinkling of an eye as Kurama shut the door close behind him. His room was dimly lit, jet-black with shadows covering parts of the ceiling and wall as the fluorescent blue of the moonlight emerged through the 8 ft double panels of his windowpane. Regardless, the sapphire tinge was enough to shower over him as he laid his back against the wall at the side of the door.

Kurama perched himself on the floor beside him and that was when his son finally spun his head around to peer at him. His face was as serene as ever as curtains of long, lustrous scarlet forelocks cascaded down his chest, the gentle fondness in his olive greens tangible as he met Tsubaki's equally jaded gaze.

"Just a precautionary measure, I can assure you," he eventually answered his previous inquiry as he motioned a finger for the vines to once again disappear under the bed. Tsubaki stopped himself from asking when his father had seized the leisure time to secretly station his vines in his room.

"You know, you always like to run to your room whenever you fight with Ume," Kurama remarked more to himself than to his son as a wistful smile slanted at the corners of his lips. "Don't fret her wounds. You've done more damage to her before everytime you two argue about the Harry Potter series," he inspirited as if he had been perceptive of the iota of concern, coupled with the trace of penitence in Tsubaki's peridots-tinctured irises despite his attempts at maintaining a neutral guise.

Tsubaki drew his lips tight as he realized that his act had been broken through. "I just think the Percy Jackson anthology to be better," he murmured under his breath as if the topic was really all that significant. There was a half in his sentence, the ambience around them quietude for some minutely moments before he finally voiced out his fears, "Are you angry at me?"

Kurama's eyelids fluttered slowly up and close in a steady, thoughtful blink. He tilted his head slightly to the side in masqueraded pensiveness before swiftly dropping the simulated act as Tsubaki's ripple of fidgety demon energy rotated off of him in stronger streams. He conferred his son a consoling, affectionate pat on the top of his head. The fox ears had long since disappeared - such as the theme whenever Tsubaki's bouts of rancour had finally lulled into reinstated composure.

He drew his hand apart to situate it on its original spot on his lap once he felt Tsubaki's uneasy aura simmered down. "Why would I be?" Kurama responded with another question, though the tender forgiveness in his voice was palpable and ample enough to answer.

"I was being an asshole and said a lot of awful things." Tsubaki's mumble was barely above the octave of a hushed whisper, thundering out of him in a guilt-ridden murmur.

There was a meticulous pause as Kurama mulled over the right choice of words. The rich, smooth baritone of his timbre was compassionate as the letters rippled out his throat, "Even though you've only been alive for a year and a half in human years, you've already entered teenagehood in demon terms. Your slowed age compared to humans really just started a year ago. It's understandable for teenagers to have mood swings like that." There was another fraction of a second of respite as his lips curled upwards into an impish, lopsided smirk. "Although, I would admit I thought your sister would be the emotional one."

"I know I'm not the perfect son," came Tsubaki's exasperated scoff as the inferiority complex he had against his sister which he tried to obscure from his parents reared its ugly head. His response stood at a standstill for a short-lived moment to repress his displeasure before supplying a barely audible rustle, "But I can't be Ume 2.0 for you guys."

"We never asked you to be like her," Kurama quickly retorted in a benign, reassuring tone as the paternal love was patent beneath. "Your mother and I like the both of you, just the way you are - with your own individuality. "Admittedly, back when you were still a pup I was a little bit worried that you were using...rather coarse vocabulary. But growing up, I accepted it as who you are."

It was comprehensible after all. It was not a scarce occasion to have his three best friends visit them unannounced to see how they were doing. Even as their twins took immediate liking to all three, Tsubaki was considerably closer to the pair Yusuke and Kuwabara while Ume preferred to linger around Hiei's less energetic vibe. Their acumen intelligence aside, one of the many attributes Tsubaki inherited from Kurama's side was his violent tendencies and unwavering pride as Youko. This male ego was further compelled by the fact that he also took after his mother's propensity to follow her sentiments. He was a contradiction to the cool tranquility Ume assumed after her father. Nevertheless, they were, at heart, still youth who were easily influenced and swayed by emotions. Wherein Botan was old and wise enough to know when not to let her feelings get the better of her, Tsubaki did not. And in some cases, the same lack of restraint mirrored in Ume's rare tantrums as well, though hers was understandably out of her brother's constant provocations. In Tsubaki's case, it was more prominent as he tended to display more of Youko's demeanor than Kurama's.

"I don't think breaking a lot of their bones and rendering them almost comatose in the hospital is a 'little bit worried', dad," Tsubaki's equally playful jibe sounded in the air as his mind flashed in remembrance from the time his mother had laughingly told him how Kurama had vented his discontent at the trio for swearing in front of little him in the most vicious method possible.

The skittish ambience around them shortly withered though as Tsubaki was all of a sudden painfully reminded of the current circumstances. He had really made a mess of things this time. "Is Ume and mom really all the reasons you don't like Ayumi?"

He detected a sliver of reluctance, coupled with a speck of hesitance, as Kurama took another minute pause. "The bullying and not respecting your mother aside, I actually found this." He slid one hand into his right back pocket before gradually retrieving what seemed to be a photograph and handing it over to his son.

Tsubaki's eyes scanned over the details in the picture in a swift sweep. The long-haired brunette with one hand tucked in the crease of a blonde male's arm could only be recognized as his girlfriend, Ayumi. The beautiful blush adorning her ivory cheeks was similar to the flush that would elicit male pride in his heart whenever he knew he was the source of such a pretty sight, but he knew he wasn't the cause of it in the photograph. He didn't need to ask what the image meant as the implication was too clear-cut to deny.

And yet, for some reason he was not surprised at all. Although the pang of intense hurt striking at the middle of his chest was unmistakable, there was no upsurge of shock in his system - not even a scrap of it. "You're stalking her?" he opted to throw the harmless barb at his father instead.

His response startled out a laugh from Kurama. "Good lord, no. How horrible of you to assume your father to be a sick and twisted lecher who takes photos in secret for his own pleasure."

"...Still, that's a pretty detailed description," Tsubaki muttered under his breath, but let slip a small smile as Kurama's attempted humor reduced the spasm of betrayal in his heart a good tenfold.

"Only because you implied it," came his father's witty remark, before the roguish smirk lingering at the corners of his lips eventually wavered. A solemn expression took over his visage as he discerned the suppressed billow of sadness rather conspicuous in the water welling in his son's eyes. "Yusuke ran into her while shopping with Keiko. Fortunately, she didn't recognize him. He took the liberty of taking the photo when she didn't realize it." He allowed himself another second of respite before going on, albeit reluctantly, "Did you already know? You didn't seem startled at all."

"In a way, I guess I kinda expected it," Tsubaki's reply came out in a low-octave drone. He cleared his throat minutely when he perceived the slight breaking in his voice. "I mean, my senses were telling me that she's hiding something from me for a long time. I simply chose to disregard my intuitions because I was too in love with her." He shook his head to get rid of the self-demeaning thoughts perturbing the recesses of his mind as he placed the photograph on the blue-carpeted floor and slowly skate it back at Kurama's direction. He couldn't bear to look at it any longer. "I guess part of the reason I snapped at you and Ume was because I was trying hard to deny it. I didn't want to believe it could be true, but when you started expressing your dislike towards her, I figured it was time for me to finally face it. I got angry because I didn't want to accept it as a reality. I was being a dumbass as usual."

Kurama instantly went to offer him comfort. "You're not a…" he trailed off for a moment. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't utter such a crude word, "...half-wit," he settled instead before releasing a soft sigh. "You know, I could have accepted her if she hadn't been faking being nice around Ume and being so ill-mannered around your mother. I could have accepted her especially if she hadn't been cheating on you the entire time."

"...I know." A sniffle finally rumbled from the back of Tsubaki's throat as his tears finally sprung free, trickling down his cheeks in rapid, uncontrollable waterfalls. "I'm sorry," the apology left him in a choked sob. The dam inside him finally broke as he at long last decided to let go of the repressed whirlwind of emotions coiling around his heart.

The fox hooked an arm around his shoulders, his hand skirting upwards to proffer lulling pats on Tsubaki's cerulean mane, fingers ruffling his son's blue locks as he delivered a tiny, soothing peck on Tsubaki's hairline. Tsubaki's bangs were split in half in the middle, just like his mother.

"Even after our differences, Tsubaki, you take after my knack of being a crybaby everytime you make a mistake with the people you love. I guess, we're still like father, like son after all," Kurama had tenderly uttered, love perceptible in his voice in the midst of Tsubaki's savage lament and continuous convulsions. "Well, as long as you apologize afterwards, then it's fine. We're your family, Tsubaki, and I'm your father. I'll forgive you no matter what."

Then, after an hour of bawling his eyes out over a girl he realized wasn't worth his time and affection, Tsubaki had ashamedly stumbled into the living room where his sister and mother were at. His eyelids were swollen from the intense crying session and after a whole sixty-minute period of, embarrassingly enough for his male ego, wetting his father's shirt with his tears. Botan had instantly taken her into her motherly embrace, though not soon after he was kicked in the gut by his sister in what he could only assume was either a form of sisterly love or her getting back at him for the damage he inflicted on her. And just when he thought he wouldn't burst into childlike weeps all over again, he did.

Kurama had laughed the entire time the scene transpired as Ume, being the somewhat tsundere twin sister that she was, proceeded to stop her brother's tears by offering a condescending remark.

Tsubaki's face as he laid his head on Botan's thighs, parched tears on his cheek and a contented smile on his lips, looked like he'd cry himself to sleep on his mother's lap. Like a little boy.

And like father, like son indeed.


A/N: I was actually debating whether to type this or Love Through Time first. But I chose this one lol because the prospect of developing a father-son relationship was more appealing to me. Not sure if I did a good job on it though. I'll be updating Love Through Time as early as tomorrow so please do forgive me lmao.

saillovelypines- I swear, it's so motivating and exciting at the same time to read your reviews again and to see that you're back to updating. Welp, scary mother Botan is about as scary as Botan can get XD. That's a scene I'll explore in later updates, among many others lol. (Jokes not aside, an angry mother can really wreak havoc to unassuming bullies lmao.)

kyoandyuya- Yomi interacting with the twins will be featured in the next installment of this fic, to be honest XD. I think with him having Shura, he can relate to Kurama a whole lot really.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I somehow vaguely remember that the Filipino dub made him seem like he was disguising himself as a girl the entire time? Lol, I'm really gonna check that out if only to laugh at Kurama's expense for once again being mistaken as a woman by an entire Philippines studio XD.