All disclaimers are in chapter one.
AN Alright! I said I'd update sometime this weeked and I did! Horray! Anway, this chapter is way longer then I expected it to be. I hope it's up to par and that you all like it. Reveiws are greatly appreciated. Critiques, comments anything. ^__^ I hope you like. I'm almost done planning out the story too!
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Part 3: Running
"Runaway experiments." The words echoed through Yusuke's mind like a stone falling in a deep well. Just as the stone hit the water, Yusuke's eyes widened.
"E-experiments?" He asked in a completely shell-shocked voice.
"We ran away about a month ago," Kurama confirmed with a firm nod. "I'm not quite sure *where* we were exactly, location wise. But, our stories are quite different, it might take quite a while to explain."
Yusuke sat himself straight, determined to hear this story. "I have all the time in the world," he told the Fox... human... person.
Kurama nodded and sat down on the bed beside Hiei, who still refused to look up. "I was born in one of the labs there, we called it Hell." Kurama began after a moment of thought. "It was, if anything, very steril. They disinfected everything, no matter how small. But anyway they told me that my mother died as I was born. She only had time enough to name me... Shuuichi, she called me. What she named me mattered little to the doctors - they called me Kurama. But she died and the doctors took me. I was very weak and very cold, but I remember having a tail to keep me warm. For a very long time, I remained inside what you could call a nursery. I had an IV in my arm which served the purpose of feeding me, but also of putting chemicals into my body. Before I was even a year old, my tail and ears had vanished. I don't know much of my childhood after that. Only a few bits and pieces that Hiei managed to wrestle out of my memory."
Yusuke blinked at the strange comment. But Kurama continued talking before he could ask.
"There aren't many memories," Kurama confessed. "One is when the 'doctors' injected me with a chemical that messed with my mind. Some sort of hilucagent, I think. It caused a split in both my physce and my genetics. That is what allows me to change forms, you see. It's almost like having Split-Personality disorder except that in addition to different personalities, I had different bodies for each of them. There are four, you've seen three of them - my human aspect, my fox aspect, my half-and-half aspect. But the fourth is one I've only been a few times. Hiei calls it Youko, a fox spirit, I'm very powerful in that form and only when I am truely angry or distressed can I become the Youko. The other three are simple because I grew up being each of them. Anyway, after I recovered from the split, about four years later, I think... they moved me into one of the larger holding chambers. It was a big communal one, lots of gaurds. Later, I was moved to a private chamber because of violent outbursts from my most repressed personality, I dare say I could probably destroy the whole compound in that form if I so desired."
Kurama rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile.
"I was a decent age then, I'm not quite sure how old exactly though." He told Yusuke. "And it wasn't so bad. Testing in the day, recovering at night. That's when I met Hiei." The red head frowned thoughtfully. "The window of my chamber looked into his holding chamber. He was in a big communal one and was the only one strong enough to reach the window there. They were very high up, those windows. Their purpose was to let air into the rooms, not communication between the experiments. But, Hiei and I would spend our nights talking all the same. I think he noticed this as well, but we seemed to recover from the testing faster the nights we talked. I noticed that he would never sleep unless drugged. We told each other about our 'quirks', I guess you could call them. And about our hopes, thoughts anything that was running through our mind. He would insult me, I would tease him and in a way, we became brothers. Depending on who was feeling more vunerable, the roll of older brother and younger brother would switch. We grew so close that after a few years, Hiei discovered he could communicate with me telepathically and we came up with a plan to get out of Hell. To get away. But he told me that he wouldn't leave without Yukina, his sister. He told me that he had promised to protect her no matter what. So, we broke out of our chambers, got Yukina and fled."
Yusuke blinked. Kurama had ended the story rather quickly... but it had left a lot of things for him to think about. His life was nothing compared to Kurama's, he hadn't suffered as much pain or loss. He hadn't ever gone though anything like any of his three new friends had. The worst things in his life were a drunk and neglectent mother, a school that wanted to expell him, and a reputation as the worst deliquent in all of Tokyo. He was weak compared to them. And Kurama had mentioned 'quirks'. What did he mean by that?
"They... tested on you?" He finally asked.
"Before and after birth," Kurama confirmed. "They had been testing my mother since I was conceived... playing with genetics and such. They put fox genetics in me during the first trimester to see if it would take." He paused before adding grimly. "It took."
Yusuke's eyes shimmered in the light of the room. It was clear that tears were forming behind his eyes, but he was unwiling to let them fall. He wanted to apologize but knew it wouldn't be enough. Simple apologise would never make up for what the three had lost. They would never give back the childhood they had never had. Apologies would just be a waste of words that could be better used.
"How can I help?" He asked finally. "Can I help you in getting away?"
Yukina's and Hiei's eyes widened and they lifted their gazes to stare at the boy who was so like them in spirit, but unlike them in history. Then proving, for the first time in Yusuke's eyes, that they were twins... they broke into identical smiles and moved forward just enough to embrace him loosely. Yusuke shivered at the difference between them. Yukina's skin temperature was ice cold, if Yusuke could judge from her bed. But Hiei was burning hot, it was a wonder Kurama didn't melt away while he slept.
After the shock faded from the completely unexpected hugs, Yusuke turned his eyes back to Kurama's. "I'm probably putting myself in danger just by talking to you and listening to what you have to say... right?" The dark haired boy reasoned. "And besides, if you really grew up in Hell - you'll need somebody to help you blend into society a little better. And I might not look it, but I'm the best fighter in the city." He didn't say it boastfully, there was a truthful ring in his words... even if the smallest hint of pride and remorse hung in the air.
"You are in danger by being with us," Kurama said hesitantly. "But by going with us you run a greater risk... are you sure?" He looked deeply into the eyes of the boy opposite him and saw the already made decision. "Alright, we're planning to go down south further in two days."
"I'll need to go home to get some things," Yusuke told his new friends. "And I'll need a little time to cut off any ties I have around here. Is there anywhere I can meet you?"
Kurama shook his head. "No, Hiei will go with you - he knows how to find us." He smiled when Hiei scowled at him. The other side of having Hiei go with Yusuke was to give Kurama and Yukina time to do some shopping. They knew if Hiei went along all they would buy would be sweet food, unhealthy food that wouldn't keep for long periods of time. And the last time that Hiei went with them for new clothes, Yukina had nearly ended up wearing clothing that resembled a very large bag - so that no males would look at her wrong. Luckilly for her, Kurama had been there and made sure that the bag-like clothing at least looked nice.
"Where are you two going?" Hiei asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing to slits. It was clear he wasn't feeling too trusting at the moment.
"Shopping!" Yukina chirped with a wide, knowing smile.
Hiei grimaced. Shopping was not his favorite activity, in fact - it was his least favorite activity. In a sudden flurry of movements, he had jammed his hat over his head, shoved his hands into his mittens and took a firm hold of Yusuke's wrist, pulling him out the door. Then he stopped, returned to the room and gave Kurama a very quick hug, Yukina a kiss on the cheek and returned to Yusuke's side, dragging him down the hall. And all of that had taken place in about ten seconds. Even thought Yusuke was slightly surprised at Hiei's speed and choise of good-bye, he didn't say anything. So, with the child-like appearance firmly intact, the two took off for Yusuke's home. They passed very few people, for it was early on a Monday morning and not many people were awake yet.
"So," Hiei asked finally after they had been walking for twenty minutes. "What is your cover up story going to be?"
"Huh?"
"What are you going to tell your parents? You do have parents right? And your two friends, and your school?" Hiei scowled, "you'll have to have a good excuse for suddenly disappearing."
Yusuke grinned widely. "I'll think of something." He said jovially. He smiled down at his small companion and turned into the yard of his apartment complex. The house he lived in with his mother was very plain, but filthy. Even from the door Yusuke could smell the foul stench of ciggerett smoke and rotting food. Oh goodie, his mother was home.
"Kassan!" Yusuke called, strolling through the unlocked door and walking over the heaps of garbage and empty bottles that littered the floor. "Where you are? Are you drunk still?"
From one of the back rooms there was a thud, as though somebody had just fallen into a wall. A moment or two later a middle aged women with long brown hair emerged, stumbling drunkenly towards her son. "Ys'kay," she slurred. "Where've you been?"
"I spent the night at a friends house," Yusuke said, gesturing to Hiei.
The woman peered at Hiei, her eyes going cross-eyed as she fought to concentrate. "'Ello," she finally said.
"Mom," Yusuke said, helping to steady the woman as she lost her ballance and nearly collided with the wall. The woman was giggling. "I got accepted in the foreign exchange student program, do you remember when I applied?"
Yusuke's mother frowned before shaking her head. "Are you go'n away?" She slurred, loosing her ballance once again. She landed on the floor with an "oomph!" And remained there, looking up at her son.
"Yeah mom," Yusuke said calmly. "I leave in a couple of days but I'm supposed to stay at a hotel to learn about my placement and where I'm going."
Hiei snorted. So that was his cover up story, he had to admit it was fairly clever. And it was just his luck that his mother was so stinking drunk that she believed it. It also made Hiei wonder if Yusuke ever lied to his mother, as she so readilly accepted his story. The small singer watched curiously as Yusuke finished talking with his mother and stood up.
"Come on," he said to Hiei, stepping around his mothers now sleeping form. "I need to pack a few things and then we can stop by Keiko's house so I can officially dump her."
Hiei arched an eyebrow but followed his friend down the hallway all the same. "You don't seem to have the most responsible of parents," he spoke for the first time since entering the house. "I can see why Kurama wanted to sing to you."
Yusuke stiffened slightly. "She might be stinking drunk," the deliquent said, choosing his words carefully. "But she's still my mother so please do not insult her."
Hiei's garnet colored eyes widened slightly. "I didn't mean to offend you." He said in a gruff, slightly scorning voice that covered up all of his other emotions.
They reached Yusuke's room, which was noticabally cleaner then the rest of the house, and the dark haired boy told Hiei to sit down while he got some things together. Instead of doing as asked, Hiei took the moment to take in what a normal kid's bedroom would look like. There was a closet, which Yusuke was currently digging in, pulling out clothes and stuffing them into a decent sized bag, which seemed to be the most abnormal part of the room. Large posters lined the closet doors - Hiei assumed that they were posters of rock bands. The rest of the room was fairly plain, an unmade bed under the window, its sky blue sheets spilling over the side of the bed and trailing, just barely, on the floor. The window looked over the street and the few tall buildings around the neighborhood. On the other side of the room was a desk which was piled with text books but clear of any papers. It told Hiei that Yusuke never used that desk except to keep things out of the way. Also that, since the text books looked brand new, the boy never studied - which meant he probably didn't attend school all that often.
Hiei moved slowly to the pile of books and picked one up, cracking it open and letting his eyes take in the site of letters and words for the very first time. "Yusuke," Hiei said, his voice breaking the sound of the other boys packing. He didn't look at the teen though, his red eyes were still locked on the contense of the book in his hands. "Do you know how to read?"
Yusuke stilled and turned around. "Of course," he told the smaller boy, his voice surprised. "That was the first thing that Keiko hounded me on. She got me hooked on detective novels too - that was before the girl turned evil though."
Hiei frowned, his eyebrows lowering slightly. He suddenly snapped the book closed and turned back to face Yusuke. "Could you teach me how to read?" He asked finally.
"You don't know how?!"
"It was never important in Hell. All we needed to know was how to count to one hundred and how to survive without being beaten by the guards."
Yusuke flinched and shoved some formal looking clothes into his bad as a distraction. He finally turned aorund again, only to be attacked by Hiei's pleading, hopeful expression. "Alright... ALRIGHT! Just stop looking at me like that! I'll teach you how to read."
Hiei smirked and lifted the entire pile of books into his arms as though they weighed nothing at all. "Do you have anything I can put these in?" Walking around town behind a big pile of books would be a difficult thing to accomplish, especially for one of his size.
Yusuke blanched. "You want to read all of *those*?" He asked.
Hiei looked at him, eyes barely visible because of the sheer amount of books he was holding. "I never do anything half-way." He told him.
"At least take some novels," Yusuke argued, gesturing to the shelf at the foot of his bed where about two dozen books were neatly lined up. "Text books on math and science are boring."
Hiei looked thoughtful. "Alright," he said. "Take your favorite books too."
With an eyeroll and a sweatdrop, Yusuke complied, shoving the entirity of the bookshelf into a second bag and indicating that Hiei could place all the text books in there as well. As an after though, Yusuke tossed in a couple empty notebooks and a few pens and pencils, so that Hiei could practice his letters. Hiei placed his pile of books in the bag and lifted it as though it were full of pillows and not heavy books. Yusuke wasn't sure, but at that moment he would have sworn that he saw a warm purple glow emmiting from behind Hiei's head band - where his third eye was hidden.
"When ever you're ready to go." Yusuke told the other boy. Hiei nodded to him and began walking towards the door. "We have to talk to Keiko still, and my school." Yusuke added, following Hiei down the stairs and into the room where his mother was passed out.
===
The trip to Keiko's house, and then Yusuke's school afterwards were quick and pointless, in Hiei's oppinion. They stopped at Keiko's first, to which Hiei couldn't find a meaning other for Yusuke to say goodbye disguised as rubbing in the girls face the fact that he was leaving their dumpy life and she was stuck with Kuwabara. The trip to the school took just a little longer. The school principal didn't beleive that Yusuke had been accepted into a foreign exchange student program. The man kept trying to trick Yusuke into telling him the real reason for leaving the school.
The man then realized that he was late for a meeting and had to leave. But only after firmly ordering Yusuke to remain in his office until he returned. The two boys were off school grounds two minutes later. Hiei was once again playing his role as "little brother" clinging determindly to Yusuke's hand. It seemed that the smaller boy was afraid of crowded places, and the streets of Tokyo at noon were just that.
"So where are-"
"Shuuichi and his little sister were going to the park this afternoon, Onnisan," Hiei cut him off, using his best little-boy voice. "Can we go see them?"
Yusuke blinked in confusion but years of adapting allowed him to catch on fairly quickly.
"I don't know, Squirt," he said, rubbing his free hand through his hair, the other still being tightly grasped by a small mittened hand. "The last time we spent time with them you and Shuuichi's sister wouldn't climb out of the tree you had scaled." He was proud he managed to sound disapproving, like an older brother would.
Hiei sent him a curious look, obviously wanting to know why he had said that. Yusuke simply shook his head. He starting walking in the direction of the largest park in Tokyo, in which he and Hiei could begin the first of a long series of reading lessons. But upon arriving at the park, the two boys sat down under a tree - even though the group was cold and wet - and remained silent. Yusuke made no move to begin any lessons, and neither did Hiei, who seemed quite content to just share his warmth with his shivering friend.
They were both deep in thought. Yusuke's mind kept circling over the last twenty-four hours. How a simple night out to see some singers had changed his whole world. How just the day before he didn't even know who the person resting against his side was. How little he knew but how much he wanted to learn about the person who shoulders his arm had drapped across.
Without even thinking about what he was doing, Yusuke's free hand reached up and softly felt the white strip of cloth covering Hiei's third eye. Hiei shied away from his fingers, ducking his head and pushing himself a little further into Yusuke's warmth.
"The doctors called it a Jagan." Hiei said, unexpectedly breaking the silence. "It was implanted as a test of my control. They had first modified me to be best suited for control over fire, I can create it from nothing and I'm completely fire-proof. But then they decided that wasn't enough so they injected me with a chemical to increase my metabolism so that I could move faster. It took me a very long time to recover and adapt to what they did to me, so long infact that they nearly forgot about me. I remained in the rehabitation chamber for a very long time, I don't even remember how long it was. But then they discovered the Jagan, and well anybody was a prime experiment at that point. They just grabbed a few people and tried to see if they would take. Anybody who could handle it was called a Jaganshi - a master of the Eye. The implanted Jagan was supposed to give the experiment telekenetic powers, and telepathic abilities." Hiei paused, his red eyes flaring with anger and resentment.
Yusuke belatedly relized that Hiei's skin temperature was raising like a bonfire, and that the "Jaganshi" was pushing himself further into his embrace. The smaller hid his face in Yusuke's arm, taking a few deep breathes to lower his temperature and regain his control.
"Because of the Jagan, I can't sleep at night. I went *years* without sleeping. It was so much easier after I met Kurama - he was the first person I ever let into my mind." Hiei yawned and Yusuke felt amazed that the Jaganshi, master of the Eye, trusted him enough to tell secrets and even sleep in his presense. Hiei's red eyes dropped closed and he seemed to become boneless, resting himself against Yusuke as he relaxed enough to not quite sleep, but rest his mind.
"Urameshi," a deep nasally voice echoed across the almost empty park. "What are you doing to that little kid?"
Yusuke looked up at the bulky form of Kuwabara. "Eh... my cousin arrived late last night... and he's a little worn out from the trip." He said, trying to come up with a good cover story.
Kuwabara snorted, bending his knees to get a closer look at the boy leaning against his friend. "He looks like a little punk... Heh! He must get it from you!"
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Did you *want* something Kuwabara. I'm waiting for somebody from the Exchange Student program. They're supposed to meet me here."
At just that moment, Kurama and Yukina walked up. "Yusuke Urameshi?" Kurama asked with a playful smile alighting his freatures.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. Kuwabara's mouth fell open.
"My name is Shuuichi Minamino, I'm from the Exchange Student program. This is my assistant Yukina Koorime."
Yusuke grinned, catching on. He stood up and tugged Hiei to his feet as well. "Nice to meet you, this is Hiei Jaganshi, he's supposed to be enrolled in the program as well."
Kurama nodded. "Of course, we were told that he would be waiting with you. Now, if you have nothing to take care of, Yukina and I have quite a few things to talk to you about regarding the program and the rules you will be following. Also about your host family and things like that... if you would follow me please?"
Yusuke nodded, leaning down to pick up his bag. Hiei grabbed the bag full of books, tugging his hat down a little lower over his spiky hair. Getting caught this far in the game, by a fool no less, was not in his plans.
"See ya, Kuwabara." Yusuke called back to the bewildered boy. The other's smirked and continued walking.
===
The next night, Kurama and Hiei once again sang at a local but dirty club. Yusuke posed as their manager, while Yukina sat in the crowd, hiddin in a dark corner booth, making sure that nobody from Hell was watching and waiting for the ideal moment to make a capture. They eventually left, the boys each with three hundred Credits more then they had started the night with, and Yukina with a handful of phone numbers scribbled on napkins.
Hiei didn't look pleased when he saw the sheer amount of papers in her hand. In fact, he was so enraged that he took them from her and set them all on fire. Yusuke blinked at the sudden black flames that sudden engulfed the boys hand. Yukina simply giggled.
"You're so protective of me, Onnisan!" She said lightly.
Hiei scowled at her and the group of four began making their way towards the Tokyo docks. Kurama had decided that the best way for them to travel was to take a boat. Their destination would depend on how cheap the tickes were. They could end up any where from Eastern Asia to an island in the south of Japan.
"It looks like going south is deffinetly our best bet," Yusuke said, reading the prices and destinations outloud to his three illeriate friends. He paused and turned to look at them curiously. "How have you been traveling if you can't read the traveling boards?"
The three blinked at him. "We had somebody else read it to us," Yukina explained.
Yusuke blinked right back at them before shrugging and shouldering his bag. "Ah, well. It doesn't really matter I guess. You got here, that's all that really matters. It looks like it will take two days before we reach the next port. Let's go get our tickets shall we?"
Hiei, Yukina and Kurama smiled, retrieved their own things and followed him to the ticket booth. They each paid for their own tickets, with the exception of Yukina, for which, Hiei paid. And then they boarded the boat. Then, tickets in hand they boarded the boat and moved to stand near the stern - to have the best view of the ocean as they left shore.
"They say that when you travel you leave behind everything." Kurama said softly. "Let's just hope we can also leave our pasts, and that they don't catch up to us."
Hiei snorted. "You stupid fox," he muttered. "Our pasts will always catch up with us. Hell has a way of finding its minions."
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AN REVIEW!
.
AN Alright! I said I'd update sometime this weeked and I did! Horray! Anway, this chapter is way longer then I expected it to be. I hope it's up to par and that you all like it. Reveiws are greatly appreciated. Critiques, comments anything. ^__^ I hope you like. I'm almost done planning out the story too!
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Part 3: Running
"Runaway experiments." The words echoed through Yusuke's mind like a stone falling in a deep well. Just as the stone hit the water, Yusuke's eyes widened.
"E-experiments?" He asked in a completely shell-shocked voice.
"We ran away about a month ago," Kurama confirmed with a firm nod. "I'm not quite sure *where* we were exactly, location wise. But, our stories are quite different, it might take quite a while to explain."
Yusuke sat himself straight, determined to hear this story. "I have all the time in the world," he told the Fox... human... person.
Kurama nodded and sat down on the bed beside Hiei, who still refused to look up. "I was born in one of the labs there, we called it Hell." Kurama began after a moment of thought. "It was, if anything, very steril. They disinfected everything, no matter how small. But anyway they told me that my mother died as I was born. She only had time enough to name me... Shuuichi, she called me. What she named me mattered little to the doctors - they called me Kurama. But she died and the doctors took me. I was very weak and very cold, but I remember having a tail to keep me warm. For a very long time, I remained inside what you could call a nursery. I had an IV in my arm which served the purpose of feeding me, but also of putting chemicals into my body. Before I was even a year old, my tail and ears had vanished. I don't know much of my childhood after that. Only a few bits and pieces that Hiei managed to wrestle out of my memory."
Yusuke blinked at the strange comment. But Kurama continued talking before he could ask.
"There aren't many memories," Kurama confessed. "One is when the 'doctors' injected me with a chemical that messed with my mind. Some sort of hilucagent, I think. It caused a split in both my physce and my genetics. That is what allows me to change forms, you see. It's almost like having Split-Personality disorder except that in addition to different personalities, I had different bodies for each of them. There are four, you've seen three of them - my human aspect, my fox aspect, my half-and-half aspect. But the fourth is one I've only been a few times. Hiei calls it Youko, a fox spirit, I'm very powerful in that form and only when I am truely angry or distressed can I become the Youko. The other three are simple because I grew up being each of them. Anyway, after I recovered from the split, about four years later, I think... they moved me into one of the larger holding chambers. It was a big communal one, lots of gaurds. Later, I was moved to a private chamber because of violent outbursts from my most repressed personality, I dare say I could probably destroy the whole compound in that form if I so desired."
Kurama rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile.
"I was a decent age then, I'm not quite sure how old exactly though." He told Yusuke. "And it wasn't so bad. Testing in the day, recovering at night. That's when I met Hiei." The red head frowned thoughtfully. "The window of my chamber looked into his holding chamber. He was in a big communal one and was the only one strong enough to reach the window there. They were very high up, those windows. Their purpose was to let air into the rooms, not communication between the experiments. But, Hiei and I would spend our nights talking all the same. I think he noticed this as well, but we seemed to recover from the testing faster the nights we talked. I noticed that he would never sleep unless drugged. We told each other about our 'quirks', I guess you could call them. And about our hopes, thoughts anything that was running through our mind. He would insult me, I would tease him and in a way, we became brothers. Depending on who was feeling more vunerable, the roll of older brother and younger brother would switch. We grew so close that after a few years, Hiei discovered he could communicate with me telepathically and we came up with a plan to get out of Hell. To get away. But he told me that he wouldn't leave without Yukina, his sister. He told me that he had promised to protect her no matter what. So, we broke out of our chambers, got Yukina and fled."
Yusuke blinked. Kurama had ended the story rather quickly... but it had left a lot of things for him to think about. His life was nothing compared to Kurama's, he hadn't suffered as much pain or loss. He hadn't ever gone though anything like any of his three new friends had. The worst things in his life were a drunk and neglectent mother, a school that wanted to expell him, and a reputation as the worst deliquent in all of Tokyo. He was weak compared to them. And Kurama had mentioned 'quirks'. What did he mean by that?
"They... tested on you?" He finally asked.
"Before and after birth," Kurama confirmed. "They had been testing my mother since I was conceived... playing with genetics and such. They put fox genetics in me during the first trimester to see if it would take." He paused before adding grimly. "It took."
Yusuke's eyes shimmered in the light of the room. It was clear that tears were forming behind his eyes, but he was unwiling to let them fall. He wanted to apologize but knew it wouldn't be enough. Simple apologise would never make up for what the three had lost. They would never give back the childhood they had never had. Apologies would just be a waste of words that could be better used.
"How can I help?" He asked finally. "Can I help you in getting away?"
Yukina's and Hiei's eyes widened and they lifted their gazes to stare at the boy who was so like them in spirit, but unlike them in history. Then proving, for the first time in Yusuke's eyes, that they were twins... they broke into identical smiles and moved forward just enough to embrace him loosely. Yusuke shivered at the difference between them. Yukina's skin temperature was ice cold, if Yusuke could judge from her bed. But Hiei was burning hot, it was a wonder Kurama didn't melt away while he slept.
After the shock faded from the completely unexpected hugs, Yusuke turned his eyes back to Kurama's. "I'm probably putting myself in danger just by talking to you and listening to what you have to say... right?" The dark haired boy reasoned. "And besides, if you really grew up in Hell - you'll need somebody to help you blend into society a little better. And I might not look it, but I'm the best fighter in the city." He didn't say it boastfully, there was a truthful ring in his words... even if the smallest hint of pride and remorse hung in the air.
"You are in danger by being with us," Kurama said hesitantly. "But by going with us you run a greater risk... are you sure?" He looked deeply into the eyes of the boy opposite him and saw the already made decision. "Alright, we're planning to go down south further in two days."
"I'll need to go home to get some things," Yusuke told his new friends. "And I'll need a little time to cut off any ties I have around here. Is there anywhere I can meet you?"
Kurama shook his head. "No, Hiei will go with you - he knows how to find us." He smiled when Hiei scowled at him. The other side of having Hiei go with Yusuke was to give Kurama and Yukina time to do some shopping. They knew if Hiei went along all they would buy would be sweet food, unhealthy food that wouldn't keep for long periods of time. And the last time that Hiei went with them for new clothes, Yukina had nearly ended up wearing clothing that resembled a very large bag - so that no males would look at her wrong. Luckilly for her, Kurama had been there and made sure that the bag-like clothing at least looked nice.
"Where are you two going?" Hiei asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing to slits. It was clear he wasn't feeling too trusting at the moment.
"Shopping!" Yukina chirped with a wide, knowing smile.
Hiei grimaced. Shopping was not his favorite activity, in fact - it was his least favorite activity. In a sudden flurry of movements, he had jammed his hat over his head, shoved his hands into his mittens and took a firm hold of Yusuke's wrist, pulling him out the door. Then he stopped, returned to the room and gave Kurama a very quick hug, Yukina a kiss on the cheek and returned to Yusuke's side, dragging him down the hall. And all of that had taken place in about ten seconds. Even thought Yusuke was slightly surprised at Hiei's speed and choise of good-bye, he didn't say anything. So, with the child-like appearance firmly intact, the two took off for Yusuke's home. They passed very few people, for it was early on a Monday morning and not many people were awake yet.
"So," Hiei asked finally after they had been walking for twenty minutes. "What is your cover up story going to be?"
"Huh?"
"What are you going to tell your parents? You do have parents right? And your two friends, and your school?" Hiei scowled, "you'll have to have a good excuse for suddenly disappearing."
Yusuke grinned widely. "I'll think of something." He said jovially. He smiled down at his small companion and turned into the yard of his apartment complex. The house he lived in with his mother was very plain, but filthy. Even from the door Yusuke could smell the foul stench of ciggerett smoke and rotting food. Oh goodie, his mother was home.
"Kassan!" Yusuke called, strolling through the unlocked door and walking over the heaps of garbage and empty bottles that littered the floor. "Where you are? Are you drunk still?"
From one of the back rooms there was a thud, as though somebody had just fallen into a wall. A moment or two later a middle aged women with long brown hair emerged, stumbling drunkenly towards her son. "Ys'kay," she slurred. "Where've you been?"
"I spent the night at a friends house," Yusuke said, gesturing to Hiei.
The woman peered at Hiei, her eyes going cross-eyed as she fought to concentrate. "'Ello," she finally said.
"Mom," Yusuke said, helping to steady the woman as she lost her ballance and nearly collided with the wall. The woman was giggling. "I got accepted in the foreign exchange student program, do you remember when I applied?"
Yusuke's mother frowned before shaking her head. "Are you go'n away?" She slurred, loosing her ballance once again. She landed on the floor with an "oomph!" And remained there, looking up at her son.
"Yeah mom," Yusuke said calmly. "I leave in a couple of days but I'm supposed to stay at a hotel to learn about my placement and where I'm going."
Hiei snorted. So that was his cover up story, he had to admit it was fairly clever. And it was just his luck that his mother was so stinking drunk that she believed it. It also made Hiei wonder if Yusuke ever lied to his mother, as she so readilly accepted his story. The small singer watched curiously as Yusuke finished talking with his mother and stood up.
"Come on," he said to Hiei, stepping around his mothers now sleeping form. "I need to pack a few things and then we can stop by Keiko's house so I can officially dump her."
Hiei arched an eyebrow but followed his friend down the hallway all the same. "You don't seem to have the most responsible of parents," he spoke for the first time since entering the house. "I can see why Kurama wanted to sing to you."
Yusuke stiffened slightly. "She might be stinking drunk," the deliquent said, choosing his words carefully. "But she's still my mother so please do not insult her."
Hiei's garnet colored eyes widened slightly. "I didn't mean to offend you." He said in a gruff, slightly scorning voice that covered up all of his other emotions.
They reached Yusuke's room, which was noticabally cleaner then the rest of the house, and the dark haired boy told Hiei to sit down while he got some things together. Instead of doing as asked, Hiei took the moment to take in what a normal kid's bedroom would look like. There was a closet, which Yusuke was currently digging in, pulling out clothes and stuffing them into a decent sized bag, which seemed to be the most abnormal part of the room. Large posters lined the closet doors - Hiei assumed that they were posters of rock bands. The rest of the room was fairly plain, an unmade bed under the window, its sky blue sheets spilling over the side of the bed and trailing, just barely, on the floor. The window looked over the street and the few tall buildings around the neighborhood. On the other side of the room was a desk which was piled with text books but clear of any papers. It told Hiei that Yusuke never used that desk except to keep things out of the way. Also that, since the text books looked brand new, the boy never studied - which meant he probably didn't attend school all that often.
Hiei moved slowly to the pile of books and picked one up, cracking it open and letting his eyes take in the site of letters and words for the very first time. "Yusuke," Hiei said, his voice breaking the sound of the other boys packing. He didn't look at the teen though, his red eyes were still locked on the contense of the book in his hands. "Do you know how to read?"
Yusuke stilled and turned around. "Of course," he told the smaller boy, his voice surprised. "That was the first thing that Keiko hounded me on. She got me hooked on detective novels too - that was before the girl turned evil though."
Hiei frowned, his eyebrows lowering slightly. He suddenly snapped the book closed and turned back to face Yusuke. "Could you teach me how to read?" He asked finally.
"You don't know how?!"
"It was never important in Hell. All we needed to know was how to count to one hundred and how to survive without being beaten by the guards."
Yusuke flinched and shoved some formal looking clothes into his bad as a distraction. He finally turned aorund again, only to be attacked by Hiei's pleading, hopeful expression. "Alright... ALRIGHT! Just stop looking at me like that! I'll teach you how to read."
Hiei smirked and lifted the entire pile of books into his arms as though they weighed nothing at all. "Do you have anything I can put these in?" Walking around town behind a big pile of books would be a difficult thing to accomplish, especially for one of his size.
Yusuke blanched. "You want to read all of *those*?" He asked.
Hiei looked at him, eyes barely visible because of the sheer amount of books he was holding. "I never do anything half-way." He told him.
"At least take some novels," Yusuke argued, gesturing to the shelf at the foot of his bed where about two dozen books were neatly lined up. "Text books on math and science are boring."
Hiei looked thoughtful. "Alright," he said. "Take your favorite books too."
With an eyeroll and a sweatdrop, Yusuke complied, shoving the entirity of the bookshelf into a second bag and indicating that Hiei could place all the text books in there as well. As an after though, Yusuke tossed in a couple empty notebooks and a few pens and pencils, so that Hiei could practice his letters. Hiei placed his pile of books in the bag and lifted it as though it were full of pillows and not heavy books. Yusuke wasn't sure, but at that moment he would have sworn that he saw a warm purple glow emmiting from behind Hiei's head band - where his third eye was hidden.
"When ever you're ready to go." Yusuke told the other boy. Hiei nodded to him and began walking towards the door. "We have to talk to Keiko still, and my school." Yusuke added, following Hiei down the stairs and into the room where his mother was passed out.
===
The trip to Keiko's house, and then Yusuke's school afterwards were quick and pointless, in Hiei's oppinion. They stopped at Keiko's first, to which Hiei couldn't find a meaning other for Yusuke to say goodbye disguised as rubbing in the girls face the fact that he was leaving their dumpy life and she was stuck with Kuwabara. The trip to the school took just a little longer. The school principal didn't beleive that Yusuke had been accepted into a foreign exchange student program. The man kept trying to trick Yusuke into telling him the real reason for leaving the school.
The man then realized that he was late for a meeting and had to leave. But only after firmly ordering Yusuke to remain in his office until he returned. The two boys were off school grounds two minutes later. Hiei was once again playing his role as "little brother" clinging determindly to Yusuke's hand. It seemed that the smaller boy was afraid of crowded places, and the streets of Tokyo at noon were just that.
"So where are-"
"Shuuichi and his little sister were going to the park this afternoon, Onnisan," Hiei cut him off, using his best little-boy voice. "Can we go see them?"
Yusuke blinked in confusion but years of adapting allowed him to catch on fairly quickly.
"I don't know, Squirt," he said, rubbing his free hand through his hair, the other still being tightly grasped by a small mittened hand. "The last time we spent time with them you and Shuuichi's sister wouldn't climb out of the tree you had scaled." He was proud he managed to sound disapproving, like an older brother would.
Hiei sent him a curious look, obviously wanting to know why he had said that. Yusuke simply shook his head. He starting walking in the direction of the largest park in Tokyo, in which he and Hiei could begin the first of a long series of reading lessons. But upon arriving at the park, the two boys sat down under a tree - even though the group was cold and wet - and remained silent. Yusuke made no move to begin any lessons, and neither did Hiei, who seemed quite content to just share his warmth with his shivering friend.
They were both deep in thought. Yusuke's mind kept circling over the last twenty-four hours. How a simple night out to see some singers had changed his whole world. How just the day before he didn't even know who the person resting against his side was. How little he knew but how much he wanted to learn about the person who shoulders his arm had drapped across.
Without even thinking about what he was doing, Yusuke's free hand reached up and softly felt the white strip of cloth covering Hiei's third eye. Hiei shied away from his fingers, ducking his head and pushing himself a little further into Yusuke's warmth.
"The doctors called it a Jagan." Hiei said, unexpectedly breaking the silence. "It was implanted as a test of my control. They had first modified me to be best suited for control over fire, I can create it from nothing and I'm completely fire-proof. But then they decided that wasn't enough so they injected me with a chemical to increase my metabolism so that I could move faster. It took me a very long time to recover and adapt to what they did to me, so long infact that they nearly forgot about me. I remained in the rehabitation chamber for a very long time, I don't even remember how long it was. But then they discovered the Jagan, and well anybody was a prime experiment at that point. They just grabbed a few people and tried to see if they would take. Anybody who could handle it was called a Jaganshi - a master of the Eye. The implanted Jagan was supposed to give the experiment telekenetic powers, and telepathic abilities." Hiei paused, his red eyes flaring with anger and resentment.
Yusuke belatedly relized that Hiei's skin temperature was raising like a bonfire, and that the "Jaganshi" was pushing himself further into his embrace. The smaller hid his face in Yusuke's arm, taking a few deep breathes to lower his temperature and regain his control.
"Because of the Jagan, I can't sleep at night. I went *years* without sleeping. It was so much easier after I met Kurama - he was the first person I ever let into my mind." Hiei yawned and Yusuke felt amazed that the Jaganshi, master of the Eye, trusted him enough to tell secrets and even sleep in his presense. Hiei's red eyes dropped closed and he seemed to become boneless, resting himself against Yusuke as he relaxed enough to not quite sleep, but rest his mind.
"Urameshi," a deep nasally voice echoed across the almost empty park. "What are you doing to that little kid?"
Yusuke looked up at the bulky form of Kuwabara. "Eh... my cousin arrived late last night... and he's a little worn out from the trip." He said, trying to come up with a good cover story.
Kuwabara snorted, bending his knees to get a closer look at the boy leaning against his friend. "He looks like a little punk... Heh! He must get it from you!"
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Did you *want* something Kuwabara. I'm waiting for somebody from the Exchange Student program. They're supposed to meet me here."
At just that moment, Kurama and Yukina walked up. "Yusuke Urameshi?" Kurama asked with a playful smile alighting his freatures.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. Kuwabara's mouth fell open.
"My name is Shuuichi Minamino, I'm from the Exchange Student program. This is my assistant Yukina Koorime."
Yusuke grinned, catching on. He stood up and tugged Hiei to his feet as well. "Nice to meet you, this is Hiei Jaganshi, he's supposed to be enrolled in the program as well."
Kurama nodded. "Of course, we were told that he would be waiting with you. Now, if you have nothing to take care of, Yukina and I have quite a few things to talk to you about regarding the program and the rules you will be following. Also about your host family and things like that... if you would follow me please?"
Yusuke nodded, leaning down to pick up his bag. Hiei grabbed the bag full of books, tugging his hat down a little lower over his spiky hair. Getting caught this far in the game, by a fool no less, was not in his plans.
"See ya, Kuwabara." Yusuke called back to the bewildered boy. The other's smirked and continued walking.
===
The next night, Kurama and Hiei once again sang at a local but dirty club. Yusuke posed as their manager, while Yukina sat in the crowd, hiddin in a dark corner booth, making sure that nobody from Hell was watching and waiting for the ideal moment to make a capture. They eventually left, the boys each with three hundred Credits more then they had started the night with, and Yukina with a handful of phone numbers scribbled on napkins.
Hiei didn't look pleased when he saw the sheer amount of papers in her hand. In fact, he was so enraged that he took them from her and set them all on fire. Yusuke blinked at the sudden black flames that sudden engulfed the boys hand. Yukina simply giggled.
"You're so protective of me, Onnisan!" She said lightly.
Hiei scowled at her and the group of four began making their way towards the Tokyo docks. Kurama had decided that the best way for them to travel was to take a boat. Their destination would depend on how cheap the tickes were. They could end up any where from Eastern Asia to an island in the south of Japan.
"It looks like going south is deffinetly our best bet," Yusuke said, reading the prices and destinations outloud to his three illeriate friends. He paused and turned to look at them curiously. "How have you been traveling if you can't read the traveling boards?"
The three blinked at him. "We had somebody else read it to us," Yukina explained.
Yusuke blinked right back at them before shrugging and shouldering his bag. "Ah, well. It doesn't really matter I guess. You got here, that's all that really matters. It looks like it will take two days before we reach the next port. Let's go get our tickets shall we?"
Hiei, Yukina and Kurama smiled, retrieved their own things and followed him to the ticket booth. They each paid for their own tickets, with the exception of Yukina, for which, Hiei paid. And then they boarded the boat. Then, tickets in hand they boarded the boat and moved to stand near the stern - to have the best view of the ocean as they left shore.
"They say that when you travel you leave behind everything." Kurama said softly. "Let's just hope we can also leave our pasts, and that they don't catch up to us."
Hiei snorted. "You stupid fox," he muttered. "Our pasts will always catch up with us. Hell has a way of finding its minions."
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