Life's Work, A Son's Love pt. 2
Tiredly, they walked home sore and in pain their shirts tied loosely around their waists as a cool evening breeze blew with the sun setting in the distance sending their shadows stretching across the fields and forests. Yusuke reached into his tattered pants pocket and pulled out small silver pieces.
"How much did you guys make?" he asked as he counted the small coins in his hands. "I've got three pieces of silver."
"Two silver coins," Shuiichi answered as he held his hand out revealing two silver coins shining in the leaving sunlight. "What about you Kurama?"
"One gold coin," Kurama replied tiredly as he flipped the small gold coin into the air and caught it in his hands. "We didn't make much again did we?"
The others shook their heads in reply.
"Well.." Yusuke began optimistically. "At least we can look forward to a decent meal when we get home."
"I'll agree to that," Shuiichi said a small smile playing on his face.
Kurama nodded smiling softly and tiredly. They continued their walk back home in a soft and comfortable silence.
"YOU WHAT?!" Yusuke cried out angrily as he reacted to his mother's news.
"MOM!" Shuiichi whined. "WHY?!"
"WE WORKED OUR BUTTS OFF TO GET MONEY FOR OUR FOOD!" Yusuke screamed in Shiori's face angrily. "AND YOU GO AND SPEND IT ON SOME STUPID PAINTING?!"
"Yusuke. Shuiichi!" Kurama cried sternly rushing to his mother's side. "Why don't we let mother explain her side of the story?"
"Fine," Yusuke replied grumpily as he crossed his arms.
Shuiichi sighed and sat down at the small kitchen table waiting for his mother's explanation as Shiori sighed.
"I was walking in the market today.." she began softly. "And I saw it.. I don't know what came over me.. But I just had to make a tapestry out of it.. It was so beautiful."
"May we see what it looks like?" asked Kurama kindly and curiously as Shiori's hand reached under the small table.
She pulled out the painting as she laid it down gently on the table for her sons to see. Blue, brown, and green eyes scanned the beautiful painting as they studied every detail.
"It's beautiful," Kurama whispered softly as Shiori smiled.
Yusuke and Shuiichi didn't reply.
"Fine," Yusuke said with an angry tone. "Do what you want.. But you will receive no help from me."
Yusuke turned away storming out of the small kitchen and into his small room as a loud slam resounded through the small cottage leaving the others in the kitchen.
"As with me," Shuiichi said glaring as he turned away as a loud bang echoed through the house.
Shiori turned her eyes downcast towards the table their dark orbs softly filling with tears.
"And you Kurama?" she asked softly awaiting her son's reaction. "Do you condemn me as your brothers have?"
Kurama knelt and turned her chin up toward him making her eyes lock with his. He smiled softly.
"No," he replied softly. "I will work extra hard for you mother... I know you can make this painting into something beautiful."
Shiori smiled as she pulled her son close a soft tear falling on his sweat-stained and dirty skin.
"Thank you.. My son," she replied softly. "Thank you."
Kurama smiled and gently pulled away from her.
"Get to bed," Shiori said softly smiling. "It's late.. And you're tired."
Kurama nodded yawning and stretching as he walked to his room and softly closed the door to his room. He walked to a small window nearby and looked deep into the starlit and moonlit night and softly smiled and turned away.
It was a small room with enough room for a window, a bed, and a small washstand. He walked to the washstand and cleaned his face and body as he dressed in another pair of tattered pants. He settled into his rough and uncomfortable bed as the Sandman's sand filled his eyes sending him into a deep tired sleep.
Shiori sat at the kitchen table still studying the painting. Standing, she walked towards a kitchen cupboard and pulled out a small basket filled with thread, scissors, and needles. Quietly, she took the basket and painting and walked slowly through the halls making her way to her room. She walked inside her small room.
It was a simple room filled with a small bed and simple red sheets and large loom in a dark corner lit by the light of a small lantern sitting on a table. She walked over to her loom and lit the lantern, the lantern's light softly lighting the corner. She set the basket on the table and pulled out her thread and quietly began to weave the tapestry throughout the night as she softly cried abandon's tears to the sound of the clicking and clacking of the loom.
The late afternoon sun blazed down on Kurama's back as he swung his scythe sending it flying into the wheat and grain. As the golden brown stalks fell, he raised his scythe again and swung. He looked up as Yusuke and Shuiichi walked away, their day's work done.
"You coming Kurama?" Yusuke asked as Kurama shook his head. "You're gonna help out our old hag of a mother? Why?"
Kurama glared and let out a soft growl.
"Because I love our mother Yusuke," Kurama replied through gritted teeth. "And when you love someone you do everything you can to help them when they need it."
"Che," Yusuke replied as the sound escaped from his lips. "Whatever."
Yusuke and Shuiichi turned away as Kurama continued harvesting the wheat and grain as the sun began to set with the night sky's first stars kissing the heavens.
Hours seemed to pass in an eternity as Kurama worked late into the late afternoon as the last of the sun sunk below the horizon. He turned away and continued working into the night under the eyes of the curious field master as he scratched his head.
Tired and hurting, Kurama walked in the cottage door and quickly stumbled to the floor sending a loud crash through the small house. Quickly, Shiori came running.
"Kurama!" she cried worriedly as she ran to his side and helped him to his feet. "Where have you been? And what happened to you?"
She studied her son in the dim house light to find him covered with dirt, bruises, and wounds.
"I was working mother," he replied tiredly and painfully. "I had to.. I know you need the money for the tapestry."
"Oh Kurama," she whined softly as she pulled her tired son close. "I don't want you working anymore... Not if I have to see you like this every night."
Stubbornly, Kurama pulled away and shook his head.
"No," he said stubbornly. "You need the money."
Shiori stared down on her loom as her eyes filled with tears of worry for her son. Her small diamond tears trickled down her face and on to the fabric as her tears seemingly became the crystal stream in the painting and clear glass windows in the house. She winced as the loom pinched her fingers sending a small splatter of blood into the rose garden turning the roses and wild-flowers into a bright blood red as her small tears mixed with her blood turning some of the flowers into a light purple. Small beads of sweat fell from her face onto the tapestry as the small drops turned into the mist that covered the mountains and the bubbling foam in the stream. Her skilled hands wove throughout the night as she poured her life and soul into the tapestry determined to finish it.
The days turned to weeks as the weeks turned to months as Kurama spent many days and nights working for money for his mother's supplies. On the final night of the completed work, he stood behind his mother as she sewed the last stitch into her work. She looked up to her son and smiled happily. Her son smiled back.
"It's done," she said softly as she took the large tapestry off her loom.
"It's beautiful," her son replied smiling as he studied the larger version of the painting.
'It's so lifelike,' Kurama thought to himself quietly. 'Mother is quite talented.' Shiori's smile grew as she stared proudly at her work. 'It was worth all the pain,' he thought again as he reminisced the past months.
"Why don't you get to bed Kurama," Shiori said as she turned back to her son. "It's a late night, and you must be tired from the fields."
Kurama yawned and nodded as he turned away from her softly smiling.
"Goodnight mother," he greeted her kindly.
"Goodnight," she replied as she watched her son walk out of the room.
She laid her tapestry down on the small table and walked to her bed. She changed into a worn night shift. Tiredly, Shiori laid down in her bed and fell asleep to the softly singing starlight and moonlight.
The morning sun shined down into her small room as her dark eyes fluttered open. Outside, the small birds, sleeping and waking in the fields, began singing their morning song. She stood from her bed and walked to the small window the old wooden boards creaking under her feet. She smiled.
She turned to the small table only to find her tapestry missing. Her eyebrow furrowed with worry. 'Where...' she thought to herself worriedly. Then, she heard it. She turned to her closed bedroom door as she listened to soft murmurs coming from the kitchen.
"I say we sell it!" Yusuke cried enthusiastically as he and Shuiichi studied the finished tapestry.
"I agree," Shuiichi said as a spark of greed flashed in his eyes.
"WHAT?!" a voice cried out fearing what the two young men had said. "No! You can't!"
Yusuke and Shuiichi turned to find Shiori standing in the kitchen door fear shining in her eyes. The two young men glared.
"SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG!" Yusuke cried angrily. "YOU SPENT ALL OUR MONEY TO MAKE THIS THING, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA GET IT BACK!"
"No!" Shiori begged as tears formed in her eyes. "I worked so hard on it! Please! Let me keep it!"
"FORGET IT OLD LADY!" Yusuke replied yelling. "WE NEED THE MONEY!"
Slowly, Shiori sunk down to the kitchen floor as crystal tears fell from her eyes. Then, a comforting hand fell on her shoulder.
Kurama awoke to the bright morning light and the loud screams and yells coming from the kitchen. Lazily, his eyes barely opening, he got up and headed for the kitchen to find his mother and brothers yelling loudly. His eyes went wide as he heard his brothers' news. Slowly, he walked to his crying mother and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Shiori looked up to him with crying eyes.
"Please," she begged again as she turned to her sons. "Let me keep it."
Her sons ignored her as they talked about selling her work.
"How much do you think it will fetch at the market?" Yusuke asked as he held up the tapestry to his brother.
"How much do you think the buyers have with them?" Shuiichi asked back smirking.
"I like how you think," Yusuke replied as the tapestry was snatched away from them by unseen hands.
"Yusuke. Shuiichi," Kurama said as he stared at his brothers in shock. "How could you do this to mother? She's work so hard on this."
"Shut up Kurama!" Yusuke cried snatching back the tapestry. "You're just a 'Mama's Boy' and nothing else. You let that old hag use all our money!"
"That's because I knew it was worth it!" Kurama yelled back.
"Oh yea?" Yusuke asked in a cocky tone. "I'll show you 'worth it.'"
Yusuke pulled his arm back and swung fast hitting Kurama hard in the face. Kurama stumbled backward clutching his face in pain. Yusuke rushed forward and landed another painful blow in his brother's stomach. Kurama doubled over and began coughing violently as Yusuke dragged him outside pulling his red hair by the ends of their roots. Kurama winced and cried out in pain.**
Shiori watched as her sons fought the youngest of them losing badly. Quickly, she and ran outside hoping to save her son as Shuiichi dropped the tapestry and ran out beside her.
Kurama lay on the ground crying out in pain as Yusuke kicked him hard in his stomach sending his loud painful cries out into the morning heavens. He coughed as small drops of blood fell from his mouth. Shuiichi quickly ran to Yusuke's aid. As Shuiichi held Kurama's weak form up, Yusuke continued his violent assault.
"YUSUKE! SHUIICHI! NO!" Shiori cried desperately as she ran to her weak son.
She stood blocking Yusuke's assault as a hard punch landed in her stomach sending her falling to the ground wheezing and wincing in pain.
"Take it," she begged and gasped painfully. "Just don't hurt Kurama anymore."
Yusuke and Shuiichi smiled devilishly. Quickly, Shuiichi dropped an unconscious Kurama to the ground and ran after Yusuke into the cottage.
'He's not worth it,' she thought to herself as she clutched her stomach painfully. 'I'd rather lose my work than my son.' Slowly and staggering, she stood and walked to her sleeping son's side as small diamond tears fell from her eyes. She kneeled by his side and pulled head into her lap his long red hair falling around his bruised and battered face.
"M-m-mother?" Kurama whispered weakly as he awoke. "Wha–.. Where's Yusuke and Shuiichi?"
Shiori looked up and watched as Yusuke and Shuiichi walked away smiling devilish smiles as they made their way to the market. Slowly and painfully, Kurama turned and saw the sight.
"Wha–.. Why.. M-m-other?" Kurama whimpered worriedly.
"They're going to sell the tapestry," Shiori explained sadly as a small tear fell.
Kurama's jaw dropped. He quickly tried to stand only to fall back into her lap wincing loudly in pain.
"We have to get it back," he whispered softly as Shiori shook her head.
"No. Kurama," she said sternly as her eyes filled with tears. "I'd rather have that tapestry lost than you.. It's not worth it."
Kurama stared deep into her eyes finding her hidden sadness as small tears welled in his emerald eyes. 'Mother..' he thought to himself. 'Why?'
** Don't kill me for writing that awful scene.. Believe me.. It was painful to write.. And I'm not saying "Kurama is weak" by him getting all the beatings.. It's just in this fic.. He's the youngest son.
Tiredly, they walked home sore and in pain their shirts tied loosely around their waists as a cool evening breeze blew with the sun setting in the distance sending their shadows stretching across the fields and forests. Yusuke reached into his tattered pants pocket and pulled out small silver pieces.
"How much did you guys make?" he asked as he counted the small coins in his hands. "I've got three pieces of silver."
"Two silver coins," Shuiichi answered as he held his hand out revealing two silver coins shining in the leaving sunlight. "What about you Kurama?"
"One gold coin," Kurama replied tiredly as he flipped the small gold coin into the air and caught it in his hands. "We didn't make much again did we?"
The others shook their heads in reply.
"Well.." Yusuke began optimistically. "At least we can look forward to a decent meal when we get home."
"I'll agree to that," Shuiichi said a small smile playing on his face.
Kurama nodded smiling softly and tiredly. They continued their walk back home in a soft and comfortable silence.
"YOU WHAT?!" Yusuke cried out angrily as he reacted to his mother's news.
"MOM!" Shuiichi whined. "WHY?!"
"WE WORKED OUR BUTTS OFF TO GET MONEY FOR OUR FOOD!" Yusuke screamed in Shiori's face angrily. "AND YOU GO AND SPEND IT ON SOME STUPID PAINTING?!"
"Yusuke. Shuiichi!" Kurama cried sternly rushing to his mother's side. "Why don't we let mother explain her side of the story?"
"Fine," Yusuke replied grumpily as he crossed his arms.
Shuiichi sighed and sat down at the small kitchen table waiting for his mother's explanation as Shiori sighed.
"I was walking in the market today.." she began softly. "And I saw it.. I don't know what came over me.. But I just had to make a tapestry out of it.. It was so beautiful."
"May we see what it looks like?" asked Kurama kindly and curiously as Shiori's hand reached under the small table.
She pulled out the painting as she laid it down gently on the table for her sons to see. Blue, brown, and green eyes scanned the beautiful painting as they studied every detail.
"It's beautiful," Kurama whispered softly as Shiori smiled.
Yusuke and Shuiichi didn't reply.
"Fine," Yusuke said with an angry tone. "Do what you want.. But you will receive no help from me."
Yusuke turned away storming out of the small kitchen and into his small room as a loud slam resounded through the small cottage leaving the others in the kitchen.
"As with me," Shuiichi said glaring as he turned away as a loud bang echoed through the house.
Shiori turned her eyes downcast towards the table their dark orbs softly filling with tears.
"And you Kurama?" she asked softly awaiting her son's reaction. "Do you condemn me as your brothers have?"
Kurama knelt and turned her chin up toward him making her eyes lock with his. He smiled softly.
"No," he replied softly. "I will work extra hard for you mother... I know you can make this painting into something beautiful."
Shiori smiled as she pulled her son close a soft tear falling on his sweat-stained and dirty skin.
"Thank you.. My son," she replied softly. "Thank you."
Kurama smiled and gently pulled away from her.
"Get to bed," Shiori said softly smiling. "It's late.. And you're tired."
Kurama nodded yawning and stretching as he walked to his room and softly closed the door to his room. He walked to a small window nearby and looked deep into the starlit and moonlit night and softly smiled and turned away.
It was a small room with enough room for a window, a bed, and a small washstand. He walked to the washstand and cleaned his face and body as he dressed in another pair of tattered pants. He settled into his rough and uncomfortable bed as the Sandman's sand filled his eyes sending him into a deep tired sleep.
Shiori sat at the kitchen table still studying the painting. Standing, she walked towards a kitchen cupboard and pulled out a small basket filled with thread, scissors, and needles. Quietly, she took the basket and painting and walked slowly through the halls making her way to her room. She walked inside her small room.
It was a simple room filled with a small bed and simple red sheets and large loom in a dark corner lit by the light of a small lantern sitting on a table. She walked over to her loom and lit the lantern, the lantern's light softly lighting the corner. She set the basket on the table and pulled out her thread and quietly began to weave the tapestry throughout the night as she softly cried abandon's tears to the sound of the clicking and clacking of the loom.
The late afternoon sun blazed down on Kurama's back as he swung his scythe sending it flying into the wheat and grain. As the golden brown stalks fell, he raised his scythe again and swung. He looked up as Yusuke and Shuiichi walked away, their day's work done.
"You coming Kurama?" Yusuke asked as Kurama shook his head. "You're gonna help out our old hag of a mother? Why?"
Kurama glared and let out a soft growl.
"Because I love our mother Yusuke," Kurama replied through gritted teeth. "And when you love someone you do everything you can to help them when they need it."
"Che," Yusuke replied as the sound escaped from his lips. "Whatever."
Yusuke and Shuiichi turned away as Kurama continued harvesting the wheat and grain as the sun began to set with the night sky's first stars kissing the heavens.
Hours seemed to pass in an eternity as Kurama worked late into the late afternoon as the last of the sun sunk below the horizon. He turned away and continued working into the night under the eyes of the curious field master as he scratched his head.
Tired and hurting, Kurama walked in the cottage door and quickly stumbled to the floor sending a loud crash through the small house. Quickly, Shiori came running.
"Kurama!" she cried worriedly as she ran to his side and helped him to his feet. "Where have you been? And what happened to you?"
She studied her son in the dim house light to find him covered with dirt, bruises, and wounds.
"I was working mother," he replied tiredly and painfully. "I had to.. I know you need the money for the tapestry."
"Oh Kurama," she whined softly as she pulled her tired son close. "I don't want you working anymore... Not if I have to see you like this every night."
Stubbornly, Kurama pulled away and shook his head.
"No," he said stubbornly. "You need the money."
Shiori stared down on her loom as her eyes filled with tears of worry for her son. Her small diamond tears trickled down her face and on to the fabric as her tears seemingly became the crystal stream in the painting and clear glass windows in the house. She winced as the loom pinched her fingers sending a small splatter of blood into the rose garden turning the roses and wild-flowers into a bright blood red as her small tears mixed with her blood turning some of the flowers into a light purple. Small beads of sweat fell from her face onto the tapestry as the small drops turned into the mist that covered the mountains and the bubbling foam in the stream. Her skilled hands wove throughout the night as she poured her life and soul into the tapestry determined to finish it.
The days turned to weeks as the weeks turned to months as Kurama spent many days and nights working for money for his mother's supplies. On the final night of the completed work, he stood behind his mother as she sewed the last stitch into her work. She looked up to her son and smiled happily. Her son smiled back.
"It's done," she said softly as she took the large tapestry off her loom.
"It's beautiful," her son replied smiling as he studied the larger version of the painting.
'It's so lifelike,' Kurama thought to himself quietly. 'Mother is quite talented.' Shiori's smile grew as she stared proudly at her work. 'It was worth all the pain,' he thought again as he reminisced the past months.
"Why don't you get to bed Kurama," Shiori said as she turned back to her son. "It's a late night, and you must be tired from the fields."
Kurama yawned and nodded as he turned away from her softly smiling.
"Goodnight mother," he greeted her kindly.
"Goodnight," she replied as she watched her son walk out of the room.
She laid her tapestry down on the small table and walked to her bed. She changed into a worn night shift. Tiredly, Shiori laid down in her bed and fell asleep to the softly singing starlight and moonlight.
The morning sun shined down into her small room as her dark eyes fluttered open. Outside, the small birds, sleeping and waking in the fields, began singing their morning song. She stood from her bed and walked to the small window the old wooden boards creaking under her feet. She smiled.
She turned to the small table only to find her tapestry missing. Her eyebrow furrowed with worry. 'Where...' she thought to herself worriedly. Then, she heard it. She turned to her closed bedroom door as she listened to soft murmurs coming from the kitchen.
"I say we sell it!" Yusuke cried enthusiastically as he and Shuiichi studied the finished tapestry.
"I agree," Shuiichi said as a spark of greed flashed in his eyes.
"WHAT?!" a voice cried out fearing what the two young men had said. "No! You can't!"
Yusuke and Shuiichi turned to find Shiori standing in the kitchen door fear shining in her eyes. The two young men glared.
"SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG!" Yusuke cried angrily. "YOU SPENT ALL OUR MONEY TO MAKE THIS THING, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA GET IT BACK!"
"No!" Shiori begged as tears formed in her eyes. "I worked so hard on it! Please! Let me keep it!"
"FORGET IT OLD LADY!" Yusuke replied yelling. "WE NEED THE MONEY!"
Slowly, Shiori sunk down to the kitchen floor as crystal tears fell from her eyes. Then, a comforting hand fell on her shoulder.
Kurama awoke to the bright morning light and the loud screams and yells coming from the kitchen. Lazily, his eyes barely opening, he got up and headed for the kitchen to find his mother and brothers yelling loudly. His eyes went wide as he heard his brothers' news. Slowly, he walked to his crying mother and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Shiori looked up to him with crying eyes.
"Please," she begged again as she turned to her sons. "Let me keep it."
Her sons ignored her as they talked about selling her work.
"How much do you think it will fetch at the market?" Yusuke asked as he held up the tapestry to his brother.
"How much do you think the buyers have with them?" Shuiichi asked back smirking.
"I like how you think," Yusuke replied as the tapestry was snatched away from them by unseen hands.
"Yusuke. Shuiichi," Kurama said as he stared at his brothers in shock. "How could you do this to mother? She's work so hard on this."
"Shut up Kurama!" Yusuke cried snatching back the tapestry. "You're just a 'Mama's Boy' and nothing else. You let that old hag use all our money!"
"That's because I knew it was worth it!" Kurama yelled back.
"Oh yea?" Yusuke asked in a cocky tone. "I'll show you 'worth it.'"
Yusuke pulled his arm back and swung fast hitting Kurama hard in the face. Kurama stumbled backward clutching his face in pain. Yusuke rushed forward and landed another painful blow in his brother's stomach. Kurama doubled over and began coughing violently as Yusuke dragged him outside pulling his red hair by the ends of their roots. Kurama winced and cried out in pain.**
Shiori watched as her sons fought the youngest of them losing badly. Quickly, she and ran outside hoping to save her son as Shuiichi dropped the tapestry and ran out beside her.
Kurama lay on the ground crying out in pain as Yusuke kicked him hard in his stomach sending his loud painful cries out into the morning heavens. He coughed as small drops of blood fell from his mouth. Shuiichi quickly ran to Yusuke's aid. As Shuiichi held Kurama's weak form up, Yusuke continued his violent assault.
"YUSUKE! SHUIICHI! NO!" Shiori cried desperately as she ran to her weak son.
She stood blocking Yusuke's assault as a hard punch landed in her stomach sending her falling to the ground wheezing and wincing in pain.
"Take it," she begged and gasped painfully. "Just don't hurt Kurama anymore."
Yusuke and Shuiichi smiled devilishly. Quickly, Shuiichi dropped an unconscious Kurama to the ground and ran after Yusuke into the cottage.
'He's not worth it,' she thought to herself as she clutched her stomach painfully. 'I'd rather lose my work than my son.' Slowly and staggering, she stood and walked to her sleeping son's side as small diamond tears fell from her eyes. She kneeled by his side and pulled head into her lap his long red hair falling around his bruised and battered face.
"M-m-mother?" Kurama whispered weakly as he awoke. "Wha–.. Where's Yusuke and Shuiichi?"
Shiori looked up and watched as Yusuke and Shuiichi walked away smiling devilish smiles as they made their way to the market. Slowly and painfully, Kurama turned and saw the sight.
"Wha–.. Why.. M-m-other?" Kurama whimpered worriedly.
"They're going to sell the tapestry," Shiori explained sadly as a small tear fell.
Kurama's jaw dropped. He quickly tried to stand only to fall back into her lap wincing loudly in pain.
"We have to get it back," he whispered softly as Shiori shook her head.
"No. Kurama," she said sternly as her eyes filled with tears. "I'd rather have that tapestry lost than you.. It's not worth it."
Kurama stared deep into her eyes finding her hidden sadness as small tears welled in his emerald eyes. 'Mother..' he thought to himself. 'Why?'
** Don't kill me for writing that awful scene.. Believe me.. It was painful to write.. And I'm not saying "Kurama is weak" by him getting all the beatings.. It's just in this fic.. He's the youngest son.