1. Something Soft On The Wind Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Chapter Forty-Five: Something Soft On The Wind...
"Just a little there to the left..." "Urrgghh – it's so heavy!"
"Use your knees!"
"I don't believe we will all fit up there." "Too late! We're halfway up!"
"PUSH!"
The air exploded with several gasps and grunts until a loud roar of pain overpowered every other noise within the kitchen. It was thunderous, bouncing off the walls and making dishes tremble. It was high-pitched and ripping apart eardrums.
It was Kenji. "MY TOE!"
The entire room was filled with 'Kenji's' and the weight of the bed frame grew heavier
causing everyone to buckle beneath the weight. Kenji hobbled back awkwardly on one foot with a pale face, spitting out several curses that would cause many people to either blush or
gasp. Alone now on my side, I let out a screamed grunt at the increase of weight from the
iron-wraught bed frame and began falling back down the stairs. Shizuru and Yukina, who were holding the head of the frame facing up the stairs, heaved their weight back to lessen the weight on my end. It worked, but only barely. My arms shook with the effort to keep from
dropping the frame.
"Kenji," I panted. Glancing at Kenji over my shoulder, I yelled, somewhat in aggravation, "if you don't want to get squished, then move out of the way!" Kenji shot me an annoyed glare,
but made his way down the stairs. To Shizuru and Yukina, I said, "I can't hold it – gr-gr-ah
– let's... just sit it down... okay, yeah, lean it like that."
Carefully, we let the bed frame hit the metal casing of the stairs at an odd angle. Yukina swiped a wrist across her forehead while Shizuru muttered a few unintelligible words under
her breath. Turning away from them, I dashed down the stairs and headed toward Kenji. He was sitting in the kitchen chair and inspecting his foot with a grimace.
"Here, lemme see." I knelt down and peered down at Kenji's left foot.
Kenji's big toe was flushed red around the head of the toenail, but there was no swelling
anywhere. Sighing in relief, I patted his knee and collapsed onto my bottom to lean back on my hands.
"I think it's broken," mumbled Kenji with narrowed eyes.
Leaning back up, I reached forward lazily and swept a finger along the side of his foot. Kenji's foot wriggled violently and a strained gurgle emitted from his mouth.
"Nope," I commented with a sigh. "It's moving just fine and nothing looks out of place. I
think it just got nipped hard at the tip." Kenji raised an eyebrow at me, seeming to wonder
about my sudden expertise with broken bones, but I ignored him. "I'd get you some ice, but we don't have any until they turn on the dang power."
Kenji moaned and rested his injured foot on his right knee.
Having squeezed around the bed frame, Shizuru and Yukina approached us. Shizuru lifted an eyebrow at Kenji's moans and clucked her tongue in annoyance.
"Be a man," she grumbled at Kenji's display of fatigue and pain.
Sitting up straight, Kenji pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I just got my toe smashed and look," he swept a hand around him dramatically, "I appear to be the only man in this house! You guys have been working me ragged!" Crossing his arms, Kenji lifted his chin. "I demand respect!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Shizuru glared lazily down at Kenji. He shrank back, seeming suddenly afraid at the older woman's stern gaze. It was chilling, that look, and for a moment, the kitchen
felt deliciously cool. "Look, kid," she hissed coolly, "we've all been working 'ragged', so don't flatter yourself as if your the only one doing anything!" With that, she flicked
Kenji's big toe and he howled. "Maybe once you're a man, I'll show you respect!" She growled in deep disgusted annoyance. "You're just like Kazuma when he was younger –"
"Touch my toe again and see what happens!" Shizuru smirked and flicked his toe again. Kenji screamed.
Yukina and I eyed the heated argument that had erupted before us with lazy expressions. I
made a serious effort to break up the fight by lifting my hand, but thought better of it, and shrugged.
This is how the majority of the morning had been for us.
Today was the move-in day, which started off well enough. I had a good breakfast. I made out with Hiei for nearly half an hour. I shaved my legs, which was always a nice feeling. Then,
Gaston called and said there was a problem with the delivery of some of my furniture. This
dilemma left Kenji and I to have deal with moving the furniture that was already at the house until the moving guys and Gaston arrived back with the rest of the furniture.
Obviously, there were a few items that could not be moved with just the two of us, so I had to call in some muscle. Most of the guys were gone, which left only women. Not a problem, I had chirped mentally. Shizuru was a Kuwabara, which meant she was a strong, stubborn woman, with the belief that anything a man can do, she could do, too. Yukina was actually pretty
strong, too. I once saw her drag a heavy mattress all the way down the hall of Genkai's
temple with ease. She hadn't even broke a sweat! I had also called Keiko, not for any heavy- lifting, but just to join us.
Now, the problem today was the heat engulfing the house and having to lug around furniture in said heat. The utilities were not turned on yet, which was turning everyone's mood into dark, angry storm clouds. Heated arguments and glares kept erupting between us. Shizuru and Kenji
were fighting every few minutes, which was enough to rival Kuwabara and Shizuru's sibling arguments. Even Yukina and I were grumbling at each other about whose turn it was now to break up our friends fight.
"Do you mind cooling things down again for a bit, please, before they kill each other?" I asked Yukina. "I'm going to make some calls and see what's up with the power and stuff. It should have been turned on by now."
Nodding her head, Yukina's eyes lit up with an eerie blue light and the ground beneath her
feet began to frost over. I sighed at the cooling atmosphere, enjoying the abrupt coldness. I heard Kenji yell in delight at the feeling of immediate winter and Shizuru's grateful sigh of pleasure, something about 'better than a man's touch'. Shaking my head, I dug out my
cellphone and headed into the living room.
Normally, I'm rather polite to people. I like to think I have manners, even toward strangers, but utility companies were a hassle to deal with that led anyone to burst out in anger. I was growing aggravated at being put on hold for several minutes. Finally, when my call went
through, I hurried to state my case. The doorbell sounded behind me, as I was trying to understand why it was taking eons for the power to come to life.
"Yes, I understand that, but you told me that it would be on at ten this morning and that was nearly three hours ago!" Twisting the doorknob, I gave a growl of annoyance at the woman's
monotone explanation. "How hard is it to turn it on? Don't you just reach over and press a button? We've been cooking in this heat all morning! Now, give me the exact time of when it will be on – oh hello, Kurama!"
Kurama nodded his head in greeting and a charming grin spread across his face. I stepped back and swept a hand out for him to enter the house.
"Whew," he glanced around with a whistle.
"I know, it's steaming hot," I grumbled. Turning my attention back to the phone, I lowered my voice. "You hear that? 'Steaming hot' and it's nearly one in the afternoon! I've got a house full of people trying to help me move some furniture, which is completely impossible with
this –" Before I could finish, their was a whirring noise above me. I lifted a brow. "Okay, I think it's on now." I heard the woman set off into some sort of business tirade, but I
ignored her words. "Thanks for your help," I said dryly. "HELL YEAH!" Kenji yelled from within the kitchen.
Giving me an amused smile, Kurama nodded his head over his shoulder in indication to Kenji's excited prayers of cool air.
"Oh, the air unit is finally on. If you had arrived earlier, you would have been a witness to some epic fighting. It's nothing though, just everyone being cranky while moving furniture in this heat."
"I see. Who's all here?" He craned his neck toward the kitchen area. "Hiei didn't mention
that today was the move-in day when he stopped by this morning. If I had known I would have come earlier to help."
"No way! You just got back! You should be taking it easy!" Crossing my arms, I ignored the determined glint in his eyes. "C'mon, how about I give you a tour instead?"
Before we headed further inside the house, I was ready to give Kurama a much-needed hug,
seeing as he had just arrived back home not too long ago, but something loud groaned from the kitchen. It was like the sound of metal sliding against metal, and I tilted my head. There
was a scuffle of footsteps and a feminine shriek. "It's falling – Karen!"
I dashed off toward the kitchen with Kurama right on my heels. Yukina was all alone and
trying to brace her weight against the bed frame that we had set aside halfway up the stairs. Gasping, I hurried to help.
"See, exactly why you needed my help," mused Kurama with a laugh once we had successfully pushed the frame upstairs.
I met Yukina's amused smile and we both rolled our eyes.
Now that the bed frame was in place and ready for the mattress, Yukina and I stood there
looking at Kurama. His hair was long and overflowing, as he kept flicking his bangs out of
his eyes. I never realized it, but Kurama's hair kind of had a spiky look to it at the ends, almost in a rocker-like look. Also, the sun must have been brutal in Demon World, because his skin was much darker, but contrasted wonderfully with his fiery hair color. Still, he was
Kurama – intelligent, charming, and handsome.
Grinning, I hurried over to him now and hugged him around the waist. Yukina followed suit with a laugh and his arms came down around us.
"Whoa, Kurama, what's up," greeted Kenji, making his way upstairs. He pulled Kurama in for a one arm hug, both of them slapping each others' backs. "Welcome back, man."
The other occupant made her way up the stairs and when she reached the top, her soft brown
eyes traveled over Kurama's body in a lazy manner. Meeting Kurama's bright, emerald eyes, she leaned against the banister of the stairs and grinned over at him. There was a look of relief in her eyes that was brief and followed by contentment.
"Red," Shizuru drawled in her husky voice. "I think you're in need of a haircut."
Kurama reached up and fingered one of his long locks of hair, but his eyes remained locked with hers. "So it seems."
Kenji was patting the bed frame pushed up against the wall, completely ignorant to Kurama and Shizuru's greeting. But he was a boy, and it was in my opinion that boys hardly noticed
anything unless it involved them directly. Meeting Yukina's crimson eyes, I lifted a brow in question. She responded with furrowed brows to show that she was unsure about our two
friends. We continued to communicate with each other with various facial expressions. "Sorry I'm late, but I brought food!" yelled a voice from down below. It was Keiko.
Kenji zipped in between Shizuru and Kurama's staring contest, disrupting them, and hurried down the stairs to help Keiko. Thrown back into our world, Shizuru and Kurama blinked in
surprise. Yukina cleared her throat and grabbed my hand to lead me away from our friends.
Shizuru and Kurama stared after us with peculiar expressions while I waved at them to catch up with one another.
"Do you think...?" I whispered into Yukina's ear. Yukina leaned over to whisper back.
"What are you two whispering about?" asked Shizuru from the top of the stairs in a tone that caused our spines to stiffen.
Anybody who knew a Kuwabara, knew the tone, the tone that spoke of a warning of fists, and no one messed with a Kuwabara in that type of mood.
"Yukina, oh my gosh, Mom brought dorayakis!"
I dragged Yukina after me, as we fled down the rest of the stairs.
Without a voice, Naomi was a very observant girl. She had always been that way, seeing the
world through eyes that saw pink, puffy clouds instead of plain, white clouds that grown-ups saw in the sky. Sometimes, she liked to imagine that whales were swimming up in the sky and they were singing their long, mournful-sounding songs that echoed in one's mind for hours.
She liked whales. They were majestic and beautiful. They were almost unreal-like in their appearance, something odd and different from this world.
Looking down into her picture book, she traced the outline of a whale and smiled. A few feet away, her mother was talking on the phone.
As she traced the whale's body with a stubby finger, she heard the cries of joyous children. She glanced up and her six-year-old eyes took in the sight of her fellow peers playing on the different playground sets.
Naomi didn't know why her mother always took her to the park when she would never play like normal kids. She didn't see the fun in clambering atop the jungle gym or spinning round and round on the merry-go-round. She liked her books, because in them, her mind was her own
adventure. In her mind, her world was endless. In her mind, kids didn't regard her as weird.
Everywhere Naomi went, people somehow knew she was different. She couldn't talk, her voice
was lost, but mother said one day it might come back to grace the world with beautiful music. If her voice came back, Naomi would like for it to be of whale origin and then she could sing with her friends in the sky.
She wondered why she didn't have friends. Everywhere she looked, kids were playing with each other, some strangers, and some not. She only had her mother and the lady that had held her in the dead of night long ago. She was a grown up, too, but a dear friend and Naomi's first.
Shizuru, yes, that was her name. Naomi had liked Shizuru. She was much like her own mother, brave and silent, pushing forth with inner strength.
Shizuru had used to come visit her and mother. Naomi and Shizuru would sit outside and read her picture books, eating popsicles for hours. Sometimes, Shizuru and her mother would play, too. They called it a whispering game. Naomi would watch as they would stand in the kitchen
whispering to each other, but whenever Naomi asked if she could play, they would say it was a game just for them. Naomi didn't think that was true, because they were always looking at her while she was reading her books.
They used to call her a 'priestess', but whenever Naomi made the signs for the name, the two grown-ups would say she had misheard them. She was a princess, they would say. She was a
princess of the whales. Naomi had liked that title.
But Shizuru had left to attend to some things and Naomi hadn't seen her for many months. She missed her friend.
Out of nowhere, a hand slammed down onto her book and Naomi watched her book hit the grass. The picture of the whales tumbled over and over, giving flashes of majestic grins and lonely
eyes, before coming to a stop a few feet away. Lifting her eyes, Naomi stared up at a raven- haired boy.
"You're really weird!" he yelled down at her with a twisted smile.
"Hey, why don't you come play with us?" asked another boy from behind his friend.
His voice was laced with distrust and vile. It wasn't a request for actual playing, but for
an evil game of ridicule. Naomi could sense their mischievous tricks in the air. It was thick and rotten. It burned her senses.
Shaking her head, Naomi stood to her feet to fetch her book. She bent down to pick it up when she was pushed to the ground. Grimacing, she rolled over onto her back and stared up at the
two boys. She couldn't really hear what they were saying, but she saw their stretched smiles and heard the cackle of boyish laughter. She was too focus on their faces, the eyes, of how wicked them seemed to be at a young age.
As she was watching them, she saw a white orb flying up in the sky. It was almost swimming in the air, so ghostly in appearance, that the bright sun nearly made it invisible. The boys
laughter faded completely, as if a door was shut and blankets were tucked into the hollow cracks. The entire playground became silent, like a play with the curtains drawn. It was
eerie for the laughter to have disappeared. Naomi's eyes widened. She didn't like this! She couldn't hear!
Then, she heard someone crying. It was quiet, a low murmur, a ghostly whisper above the treetops, but it grew into a gentle hum. Naomi's eyes locked onto the flying orb and she
frowned. That orb was crying! Yes, she could hear the cries of a little girl. She was calling for help! She was lonely and cold, her small frightened voice pleading for an ear to hear her pleas.
I'll help you, Naomi called back.
But she had no voice. She couldn't speak. No one could hear the little girl except for her and she had no voice. Naomi's eyes watered. She had never wanted to speak more than she did
now, but the frustration of being unable to say a single word made her eyes burn. She wanted her mother. She wanted someone to hear this poor girl crying. She wanted a voice. She wanted to scream.
Naomi's mouth worked furiously, making several hissing noises and grunts. The boys stepped back, eyes wide with slight fear at the little girl lying at their feet. She was reaching a hand up to the sky with a reddened face and spewing out unintelligible noises.
A woman pushed through the two boys and her form blocked out the orb above them, the orb that only Naomi could see. Naomi's eyes widened and she shook her head furiously at her mother
that was now looking down at her with concern. Behind you! Please, mother, behind you!
"Naomi," Yumi called frantically, trying to lift her child off the ground. "Naomi, what's wrong, baby? C'mon, baby, tell me what's wrong!"
Naomi struggled to point past her mother's shoulder, as the screams were growing quiet soon to be lost from the world. She tried several times to form the words with her hands, but she was too frantic with the need to make her point, she wasn't making any sense to her mother.
Yumi finally scooped her up and rushed away from the park while Naomi cried silently in anger at herself.
Naomi's picture book was left behind, faced open, and the whales were singing to the tiny soul floating up in the sky.
I grinned in appreciation, as the vendor handed me a cup of red ice. Next to me, Hiei handed over the correct amount of a yen, a simple coin, and I sniffed my treat. I don't know why,
but I had a habit of sniffing my food before consuming it. It was as if I had to treat my
sense of smell before my sense of taste, just another way to enjoy the pleasures of food.
Using the small spoon, I scooped up some ice and stuck it in my mouth. The soft taste of watermelon filled my mouth. With the taste, memories of sitting outside with my dozens of
ever-changing orphan siblings and eating slices of watermelon in the summer made me glance down at my snow cone.
What lovely, lazy days...
"You don't like it?" asked Hiei gruffly at my silent look. "You were hounding me for one since we left your movie house."
"No, it tastes great! It's not too sweet, just right." I took another bite for emphasis that it was good. "I was just thinking about my childhood."
"Like what?"
The question was asked quietly, more likely out of boredom, as Hiei hadn't been too into the movie. I tried to pick a good action flick, but Hiei only scoffed at its low quality and poor acting. I thought it was a good movie and we had actually finished the entire movie this
time.
After successfully finishing with the move-in, save for the bedroom mattress, which would be delivered tomorrow, Hiei had picked me up. Entering Hakone, we had passed the movie house
when Hiei had said:
"If I take you, will you stop fogging up the windows?"
Of course, I immediately backed away from the window in excitement. I wasn't sure he was being serious until he had pulled into the parking lot next to the theater.
Unlike last time, I had only ordered popcorn and a soft drink, which I shared with him. He hadn't been too fond of the soft drink so I'd had to get him a water later.
Hiei didn't really like sweets, or any at all, but now and then, he would sometimes nibble on a baked treat. He wasn't a picky guy, but sweets were not his favorite. I knew for a fact he wasn't picky, because he ate enough burnt food to kill a man.
Night time had fallen upon the city of Hakone and we were walking along a boardwalk that
overlooked a small portion of Lake Ashinoko. Mt. Fuji was way in the distance and dim in the night sky, but still visible enough with its glistening snow cap. I munched through a
mouthful of my flavored ice.
"I was just thinking about when I used to eat watermelon with the other kids at the orphanage on nights like this." I held a hand out over the wooden rails and above the lake beneath us. "You know, all muggy and hot. We'd eat dozens of slices of watermelon and play with each
other until it was too dark to see."
Hiei leaned against the railings without saying a word. I loved that about Hiei. He never questioned too deeply. I know I said many times that he didn't listen, but sometimes, like
now, he really did just listen. I don't know if he heard everything I said, but it was nice to tell a story or two, even if it was embarrassing or boring.
"Want some?" I asked him while holding out my spoon with some of the slush. Hiei turned his head away with a curl of his lip.
"It's not all that sweet, I promise." I held the spoon closer, but he dodged my advances.
Rolling my eyes, I shrugged. "Okay, more for me. How do you know you won't like it if you've never tried it?"
"If it's anything like ice cream, then I won't like it. This world's sweets are disgusting." "I don't like ice cream either, but this isn't ice cream. It's not very sweet at all. Just
flavored ice, really." Thinking over what he had said, I asked, "does your world have sweet
stuff like this?"
"Something similar to what you are eating now." "Any others?"
"I wouldn't know."
I nodded to myself and munched through some more ice. I didn't know if I should ask any more questions about his world, but he wasn't grunting or telling me to drop the subject. Setting my cup down on the railings, I stirred my treat around inside the cup.
"I know that Human World and Demon World were once connected, but I was just wondering if your skies are like ours, too? Or is it slightly different?"
"We have a sun and a moon."
I mulled over his short answer, thinking that was the only explanation I would get until he continued speaking softly. I stared over at him, watching him stare out over the lake in the moonlight.
"Our air is more raw, cleaner than the smoke and smog that is in your world, but sunlight
varies from place to place." It was almost poetic, the way he was speaking. I was caught up in the flutter of his hair in the very light, muggy breeze. "The atmosphere is filled with clouds and storms that can hover for months at a time. The wind carries nature's scents and
the trees tower higher than your world's trees. It's the more ancient form of your world, but there are places that are modernized with technology."
His voice was deep and smooth, carrying over to my ears like soft music and when he was done, the slush from my spoon fell into the lake. I snapped awake and hoped he didn't hear the plop of my treat hitting the water's surface.
I glanced up at the sky and eyed the stars overhead. "Then you can see this world's stars
from your world, too?" I held a hand up and spread my fingers out. "I bet the stars there are brighter and there's probably more out there with dozens of different constellations, well," I gave him a sidelong glance, "when the sky is clear, I mean."
He watched me silently and I turned back to my stargazing with my outstretched hand.
"When I was younger, Maria told me a story about how when people die, they become a star. I
used to sit outside and pick a place in the sky for when I joined all those people up there."
I smiled a tad at the memory. My fingers traced a pattern up in the sky. "They were so
pretty, all those tiny burning lights. I wanted to be like that, just something beautiful and awe-inspiring."
Closing my eyes, I recalled Maria's words and my innocence as a child. Stories were real and magical, something to look forward to at night when it was time to dream. I hadn't dreamed
much lately, because Hiei was here in the real world. During those months apart, I had dreamed of him constantly, just imagining his face every night.
Opening my eyes, I spotted an inky area between two clusters of stars. I chased away those long months without him and focused on the present.
"I think it's nice to imagine that you become a star when your time is up." I pointed at the area above me. "I like that spot right there."
Grunting, Hiei pushed away from the railings. "Spirit World decides where you go." He glanced up at the sky. "Those are gaseous elements."
I sighed inwardly at his blunt statement. No matter. It was still nice to think that stars were something magical, like the souls of the world.
"Spirit World isn't deciding for me." I stubbornly joked. "I'm going right there with all the other pretty stars." Smiling at him, I grabbed my cup of ice. "If you want, you can share
that spot with me."
"And be a ball of gas?"
"Sure, why not? It's something more to look forward to out of life than just thinking you have this spot to fulfill." I winked at him and grinned. "But if you want to go to Spirit World, then be my guest. It's probably boring up there."
"Nonsense."
Laughing, I handed him my empty cup and he tossed it over his shoulder into the nearest trash bin. The silly musings of his world, my world, and where people go when they die was done and giddy with my time with him, I sidled closer to him. Leaning up, I teased him with soft kiss. When I pulled away, he ran a tongue over his lower lip to taste the flavor of my snow cone.
"See," I smiled bashfully. "I told you it wasn't too sweet." A slow, devilish smirk graced his lips and I shivered.
The ride home past in a blur. Hell, the walk up to the house past in a blur. All I know is
that I was plastered completely to Hiei's front, kissing him fiercely, as he pushed open the door to our soon-to-be former bedroom.
I couldn't remember if Keiko or Yusuke were home, but they must not be because we were making too much noise. I had kicked my bedroom door closed, knocking a picture off the wall. He had surprisingly knocked into the side of some of the bags I had packed and they crashed onto the floor. The bags fell open and a few articles tumbled out, scattering beneath our feet.
Making our way to the bed in the darkness, I bravely pushed him back onto the bed. It was
almost funny to have pushed someone as powerful as Hiei onto my bed, but his eyes darkened at my actions. His attention was completely on me, but I worried somewhat at my attire.
The only time he had ever really looked at me lately was when I was dressed up and showing as much skin as possible, but even then, it was fleeting. His attention never lasted long and I didn't know how to keep him entirely focused on me. I had never had this problem before in
our relationship. I used to find his serious gaze too embarrassing.
I was deliberating over my clothes nervously when he leaned up until he was sitting. Grabbing my wrist, he silently jerked my eyes down to his piercing gaze.
"What are you thinking, Karen?"
Chewing my lip, I fingered a button of my shirt. "I'm not very... appealing right now. The only time... you only look at me lately when I'm dressed nicely."
"I've been trying to keep my hands off you until the time was appropriate, but you've been
making that quite difficult this past week." Speaking softly, he grabbed my hands and placed them on the lowest button of my shirt. "Trust me, Karen. I do look at you." Hiei pinned me
with his eyes. "Undress for me."
Maybe it was the color of his eyes that kept me mesmerize and distracted from feeling nervous at undressing in front of him, but the buttons were coming undone quick enough beneath my
steady fingers. Safe in the darkness, I let my shirt fall from my body and pool onto the floor.
"Take your shirt off," I demanded quietly.
Very slowly, eyes nearly blackened with his arousal, Hiei reached over his head and yanked
his shirt off with ease. Drunk off of something in the air, I allowed Hiei to tug me forward by my short's belt loops. He was kissing my abdomen softly, licking and nipping, as his
fingers undid the button at the front of my shorts. The zipper was being pulled down and the metal teeth hissed loudly in my ears. He tugged the denim down my hips until they fell at my feet. Stepping out of them, I straddled his waist and clutched him to me tightly.
Skin against skin created an intense heat that made my flesh flush and I pressed myself more intimately against him to kiss him deeply. I could feel his hardened chest and taste the
lingering salt of popcorn on his tongue. It wasn't unpleasant, the taste, but exotic and
real. My body trembled in response to the groan rumbling from his throat. Spurred on by that grunt, I clamped my teeth gently on his lower lip and suckled softly. His response was to
scoot us further up the bed and roll me beneath him.
"Fuck, Karen," he pushed his hips into mine with a growl. "When did you become such a good kisser?"
I moaned at the feeling of his weight atop me. "I-I had a good teacher."
Wanting to feel more of his body, I decided to imitate him by taking off his pants. My hands traveled down between us. Catching onto my intentions, he lifted up slightly and waited
patiently for me to reach for the band of his pants. It was kind of awkward to take off his
pants while lying on my back, but I found the button of his pants easily enough and proceeded to undress him.
Hearing the muffled 'pop' of the button, I reached for the zipper. I pulled down to lower the zipper, but something wasn't right.
Great, I grumbled. It was stuck!
Not to be thwarted by a zipper, I furrowed my brows and tugged down on the metal tab. This is embarrassing, I thought with a blush. Everything was going great until I decided to act
promiscuous by undressing him. After a good ten seconds of tugging, my frustrations spiked
into the air. I pulled hard, jerking the tab down and Hiei moved with it. He grunted above me in question to my actions and possibly from the tug of my hands.
"It's stuck!" I whispered furiously.
I gave one last tug and there was a 'ping' sound. My hand shot back, smacking down onto my thigh. There was an object between my fingers and I rolled it over in my hand. Bringing my hand up, I peered closely at the object. A blush quickly heated my face and I wanted to
shrink away into the mattress.
This is unbelievable! This can't be happening! Please, dear god, tell me this has happen to some other girl or guy before in the acts of intimacy! Honestly, not only was I awkward in daily life, but now sexually, too!
"Oh my god," I muttered in horror. "I broke your zipper!"
It was silent for an entire, long minute. I could hear my startled breathing and Hiei's calm breaths against my neck. I was afraid to move. I hadn't meant to utter my mistake out loud, but there it was, just ringing in the air like wind chimes. Done for, I closed my eyes in
embarrassment.
I expected to hear a snide remark, but in it's place was a low chuckle. It was raspy and
dark, something ancient that had died long ago, but was now awakening with a gasp of air. It grew louder, emerging from a darken cavern.
Staring up at the ceiling, I blinked in surprise. Hiei's face was buried into my neck and
muffled laughter was pressing into my skin. I could feel his body trembling above me and my neck tingled from his chuckles biting into my flesh.
He's laughing at me...
He's laughing at me!
My eyes narrowed into anger and I pushed him off me. Sitting up, I threw his broken zipper piece down at him and he batted it away with his continuous, dark chuckle.
I think he gave an honest effort at trying to quit laughing, but one look at my face, and the laughter continued again. Humiliated, I batted away his hand that reached for me and crossed my arms over my nearly naked body.
There was no way we were doing anything more, as I had dug myself into a pit the size of
Europe. I didn't think I had it in me if we were to go any further and he were to burst out into laughter halfway through our intimacy.
"When you're kindly finish laughing, will you please get off my blankets?" I asked through gritted teeth.
He lifted up enough to where I could tug my blankets out from underneath him. Crawling
beneath them, I fumed silently with a red face. I flattened the blanket down over my chest and kept my arms crossed atop them.
Wow, I sure know how to ruin a moment.
Aside from the occasional chuckle, Hiei's laughter finally died down. He remained sprawled on his back and staring up at the ceiling. I was glaring at the ceiling. Finally, he scooted
over to me and pressed his face against mine for a kiss. Maybe it was an apology, or just a goodnight kiss, but when I turned to meet his lips –
He erupted into another fit of quiet chuckles. Unable to help myself, I began laughing, too. I also threw in a couple of slaps to his head for good measure.
Yusuke struggled with the bag of baby clothes Mrs. Yukimura had given to him at the
restaurant earlier. He didn't know how such tiny clothes could weigh so much, but the bags handles were cutting into the flesh of his hands.
Beside him, Keiko walked silently while massaging her stomach. He eyed her plump form warily, his eyes zeroing in on her stomach, before tearing away to stare ahead. She just kept
growing! Everyday, Yusuke wondered how much bigger she would get, but when he thought it
would stop, she would come waddling out the next day appearing even bigger than before. It was starting to freak him out.
Hopping the steps, Yusuke shook off his wild thoughts and tried the doorknob. It was already opened. Good. He hated opening doors. Besides, Hiei was more than capable of detecting a
break-in, plus they had guards hovering around outside in the forest. Pushing the door open, he kicked his shoes off inside.
Just as he set the bags down on the floor, Yusuke heard muffled laughter from upstairs and glanced upward at the ceiling. Karen sometimes talked to Kenji late into the night and for some reason, no matter how many times they talked, they always found something to laugh
about, but this laughter was different. There were two different laughs, but one was so
quiet, it almost wasn't there. It was low chuckle and kind of creepy, too. Yusuke had heard such a laugh once, but from who?
"You hear that?" asked Yusuke to Keiko, his voice a whisper.
Instead of answering, Keiko gave an all-knowing grin and shuffled past Yusuke. She ignored
Yusuke's question and nodded toward the kitchen. "Come help me make some tea. I'd like a cup before bed. Oh! And some daifuku!"
Yusuke hated being ignored, but he grudgingly followed his smaller wife with a scowl. Daifuku actually sounded pretty good, but he really needed to cut back on the eating. If it wasn't
for the training he did daily, he might have started resembling Mr. Yukimura with his pot belly and muscular arms.
Still, he couldn't forget that ancient laughter... It couldn't be Hiei, could it?
A/N: Hi, everyone! We're like half way through the sequel now! Pretty sweet, because there are a lot of things coming up that I've been working on for years. I'd say buckle down and
prepare, because it's going to be quite a journey. Don't hate me for what comes in the future, that's all I can say.
Hope you guys had a good, safe Fourth of July if you're from the US of A. I had a blast!
Thanks to all the lovely reviewers! You guys really gave me a good kick in the ass to keep me motivated, as I was kind of losing interest lately. Because The Great Wall of China wasn't
built in a day, as HazelxLashay told me. Damn, just imagine if it was! Thank you,
**akasoeki**,for all that you do. Poll is still up! Oh, and if you like Gaara, my sis drew a pic of him. It's on my deviant art page. Love you guys!
P.S: Daily snippets on my profile page. I'll change them out everyday. Just one or two lines to see where I am at with the chapter... yeah, I'm bored.