Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owner. That owner being the creator and company which has copyrighted it. ...Not me, for all the slow ones out there.
AN Here's another one-shot for all you people out there. I know I've said that I hate Kuwabara, but I've realized that you can't hate a character because of just their voice. Sure it's irritating, but the character himself is decent enough. I was listening to an old CD one day and came across a song that just screamed: "TURN ME INTO A FIC!" ...So I did.
Dedication: For Adria, because I wanted to write you something. I planned for something humorous, but I guess this will do.
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Unhappy Anniversary
The red haired man that walked down the street was visually depressed. His eyes were cast towards the ground, his feet were dragging and his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his pants. To the untrained eye, it probably looked as though he were merely deep in thought, but to those who knew better, the man was close to mourning.
This man was a fairly decent looking man. He was tall, and bulky. Clearly, he was a fighter. His angular face held a fair amount of scars and his eyes were dark but caring. His hands, though hidden, were rough and scarred much like his face. He had seen his fair share of hard times.
His name was Kazuma Kuwabara, formerly the second toughest street-punk. His best friend was the toughest, or had been the toughest. That boy, Yusuke Urameshi had left to pursue his own dreams and obligations. Kazuma also had two other close friends, however much he denied that fact. But those two boys had moved on as well, returning to their normal lives.
Kazuma lowered his head slightly, clenching his eyes shut for a moment before continuing on with a determined pace. He made it all the way to his destination, a fairly deserted park, and sat down on a bench there in order to think. He seemed to be doing that a lot more than usual lately, taking time out of each day to come to this specific park, this exact bench to sit and think.
It began to snow, small flakes at first before the real storm set in and the frozen moisture began falling in earnest. This simple change in the weather was enough to break Kazuma's heart once again. For that was his ailment, a broken heart.
He should have seen it coming.
=flashback=
"Yukina!" Kazuma called, waving one hand over his head, the other was clutching a bouquet of flowers. The small girl looked up, smiling at the site of the boy a short ways away. She stood up, brushing her teal colored hair out of her face with one dainty hand.
"Kazuma," she said, continuing to smile. "What a nice surprise!"
The teen jogged up to her side and presented the flowers with a smile and flushed cheeks. The flush brightened when Yukina thanked him and took the flowers with another smile.
"Are you here for a reason, Kazuma?" Yukina asked, looking up from the flowers with a curious expression.
"Well," the carrot top said, searching for a good excuse. "I just saw those flowers and they made me think of you. I wanted to give them to you."
There was a brief yet awkward pause before Kazuma decided to leave. He offered a brief excuse, his cheeks once again painted pink before hurrying away. The teen quickly decided that he liked the long walk it took to get back to the bus stop; it gave him time to think and wonder about the girl he loved so much. However, before he could get much thinking done, a flicker in his vision and in his conscience stopped him. For, where the path ahead of him had once been clear, now stood a short man with burning red eyes and a presence that would not go ignored.
"Stay away from her." The red eyed man growled, clenching his fists. His body temperature was very high, the only real evidence of his immense anger besides the clenched fists and narrowed eyes. "You don't know what you're getting into."
"Stay out of this, Shrimp," Kazuma shot back, doing his best not to show how intimidated he was.
The man, actually a demon by the name of Hiei, snorted. "She doesn't love you. She doesn't even know what love is. She's a demon, Baka, and no flowers in the world can change that. You'll only cause her tears."
=end flashback=
He should have listened. That wasn't the first warning that Kazuma had received about dating the cute ice maiden he had fallen so hard for. He had been warned many times; so many times he couldn't even count them all. Not all of the warnings had come from Hiei, either. But he was so in love, so convinced that Yukina loved him back that he wouldn't listen and wouldn't give up.
He had seen only what he wanted to see. He believed that Yukina loved him because she would only heal him. But that was only because he asked her treatment. She laughed when he cracked jokes around her, only because she was being polite. She only went out with him because she didn't understand the concept of a date, or what it meant to be more than just friends. Yukina didn't know what love was, she was a demon. The only things she showed love for were her long lost brother and making sure that her friends were safe and away from harm.
That's why it had hurt so much when she rejected him. Because he thought that she loved him.
It didn't just hurt, it was humiliating.
=flashback=
Kurama, a red haired boy who was much more elegant and tactful than Kazuma, frowned worriedly at his carrot topped friend. "You're going to ask her to marry you?" He repeated in an unsure tone. "Are you sure that's wise, Kuwabara?"
Kazuma scowled, snatching the small jewelry box that was sitting open in the palm of his friend's hand. He clutched at it possessively as though the boy sitting across from him would steal it, which wasn't unlikely. "Yes. I love her and she loves me."
Kurama bit his lip and looked down. "You're aware that Yukina is a Koorime, aren't you?" He asked finally.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's just - Yukina doesn't understand the concept of mating. If she agrees it's not because she loves you, it's because she thinks you're friends. Her being a Koorime has everything to do with this. She-"
"Look fox-boy, you're smart and everything, but this is just something you'll have to trust me on. Yukina and I are in love and none of your fancy words is going to change that."
A few hours later, Kazuma was forced to eat his words. Yukina hadn't understood what he asked her, and when he had explained what marriage meant to her, she had refused.
"Kazuma, I don't need you to look after me." The sweet girl said earnestly. "And I don't need you in order to bear children. I'm fully capable to do that myself."
=end flashback=
Those had been the words to strike him down. She didn't need him. He hadn't known that Koorime reproduced asexually, nobody had ever told him. Well, they might have told him but he hadn't listened. Not too long after that, his precious love had returned to her own world, leaving behind a hurt human boy. He wasn't allowed in the Makai, it was strictly for demons. He didn't have the connections it took to pull strings either, so visiting wasn't even an option.
Hiei had left, Yusuke had left, and Kurama had left. Kazuma was left alone. He didn't ever see any of his old friends, not even those who were human. His sister had moved out and away, Keiko - Yusuke's old girlfriend - was too busy to take time out of her life to spend a moment with him. The last time that they had seen each other, however, she had told him that she was going to be leaving the Ningenkai to live with her soon-to-be husband.
Kazuma was utterly alone.
Heartbroken and alone.
The Reikai Tentai, Spirit Detectives were gone. There was no longer a need for him. Koenma had most likely gotten somebody new, somebody who didn't throw themselves into the cases without a care, like he had.
===
There was a big clock a few blocks away from Kazuma's park, and it chimed at every hour. It was a beautiful sound. That was the sound that woke the carrot top from his memories.
Dong
Today was the anniversary of the day his hope had been crushed. The proposal had been stuttered and hope-filled. He had only set himself up for a brokenhearted.
Dong
This was the spot his heart had died. It had been slow, slowly ceasing in its beating. Each beat getting farther and farther apart until his whole heart died and Kazuma was left as an empty shell.
Dong
This is where he had stood while his love walked out of his life forever. His mind didn't comprehend her getting up and beginning to walk. She hadn't looked back.
Dong
His tears had landed where his feet were now placed.
Dong
He remembered the day he sat and listened to the clock chime to nothing but an empty soul. The sound had been rich and joyous; passerby had marveled over the sound. Kazuma remained like a rock.
Dong
He had finally stood on weary feet and begun to make his way home. Each step he took used more energy than he had. Each breath brought into his lungs seemed to tear through him like the edge of a knife.
Dong
The long trek had been halted by the presence of Hiei. The two had stared each other down, Hiei with a strange softness in his eyes, Kazuma with wetness dripping down his face.
Dong
The small demon had offered no words save a small: "I told you so." Before turning and returning to the side of his beloved little sister. Hiei had been the one to escort Yukina back to the Koorime Island.
Dong
Kurama had come across him next, with Yusuke just behind him. Neither boy could dredge up the courage to ask him why he had been crying. Neither boy wanted to open his already bleeding wounds.
Dong
They had come to tell him that they were leaving for the Makai, and wished him well. They didn't realize that their leaving was just going to add to the pain of their friend. They had left not too long after.
Dong
He wished he had listened to his friends. Then perhaps he wouldn't come to this park and sit until the clock chimed midnight. Then his dreams wouldn't involve a cute girl with aqua colored hair and innocent red eyes. Maybe he wouldn't be tortured by her rejection of him, her walking away from him. Maybe his life would still be together.
Dong
"I don't love you like you say you love me, Kazuma. I'm sorry."
He couldn't bring himself to hate the woman who had ripped out his heart. Her words still echoed in his ears as though she were constantly whispering them in his ear. As though she were taunting him. But that was absurd; Yukina would never intentionally hurt somebody she cared about.
He could never hate her.
He didn't feel enough of anything anymore to hate her.
//You ask me, how am I
Well I'm still standing aren't I?
That's something - that's one thing that's gone my way
It's so hard to go on like everything's okay now
When inside I still cry for yesterday
This is my unhappy anniversary
But I lie saying it's just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary...
I know it's so stupid to still feel broken-hearted
I wonder if you know just how much I hurt
I drink up and think up a toast to numb the hours
To get through without you is so hard today
'Cause it's
My unhappy anniversary
But I lie saying it's just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary
Wishing you were here same time next year
Now it's near midnight - a few more minutes and
I return, get back to my former life
Pretending our ending was not so bad I know that
It's time to escape you
When it's
My unhappy anniversary
But I lie saying it's just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary
But I smile like it's just another day
It's just my unhappy anniversary
It's just my unhappy anniversary.//
--Unhappy Anniversary: Vitamin C
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AN Now, don't get me wrong. Kuwabara is one of my least favorite characters, but that doesn't mean he's entirely detestable. I've been reading more stories about him lately, how he's always the fool. But he somehow always ended up with Yukina - it bothered me. This is how I decided to retaliate against it.
Dry a tear and leave a review.
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