Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, nope….
Summary: Yusuke and Keiko broke up, Kurama comes into the picture, Hiei also comes in to put some color to the plot, hm.. who else? Oh, also Yomi! What you think? Will this end YuuKu or HieKu? Hm... maybe YuuHie, or YoKu? :) Readers beware, you're in for a scare!
Scribbles: Hm… that was fast… Oh yeah, reposted the 3rd chap, made a lot of boo-boos…. Urgh… but the story's the same, just needed to change certain mistakes… ^_^ Oh yeah, if you forgot, Kurama's younger than the others, ok? Now, if only I could remember it myself… =p
Names to thank:
Clow Angel – This is for you… HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! *throws a birthday present* Hope you enjoy, made the deadline! ^_^
Prplpenguin56 – Urgh… I think surprises are inevitable – shocking as they will be fluffy @.@
Starflower Sakura – Will take a long time to happen, but maybe it WILL happen. Murphy's Law – If something should happen, it will. Or something like that =P
Skittles the Sugar Fairy – Yum! Do you know that candy, 'skittles'? Love it! ^_^
Kittengrl39 – Yike! Sori 4 u… L and thanks for the compliments. I think their relationship will become quite complicated… ^_^ Pokemon? Really? ^_^ Do I get to kill pikachu? =P juz kidding… ^_^
Hope you enjoy this second installment of 'White'! ^_^
There is nothing sadder
than seeing rain pelt
the sand castle you thought
no wave could reach.
Randomly
the saltless waters chip
away the fragile walls
you carved with the patience
of bare hands.
The tower you thought would last
crumbles at the rain's
slightest touch.
And you wonder
Why walls and towers will not stand
without the chemistry of sand,
moisture, hand.
If only the raindrops
were stones from the sky,
Then you would understand
this dereliction –
But they are soft,
transparent as your
tears.
~Rain watching, Neal Imperial~.
(that was long…)
Chapter 4. White (Part 2)Growling roughly, Hiei headed back to his quarters, quite exhausted. The meeting, which he was quite glad to have missed because of the 'Kurama – Yuusuke' incident (damn that Yuusuke!), had actually been extended. Not just for a few hours, but for a few DAYS. Hiei had successfully intimidated the more minor and weak officials to go their way, only to be surprised the next day that they were already opposing their propositions. Somehow, that damn bastard managed to turn their heads again and smooth-talked them over to Gandara's side. So they had to argue again and have endless debates, in which our side was losing. Even Mukuro, who was usually cool during such meetings, lost her temper! The 'murder' in her eyes was never as prominent as they were this morning. Enki was also obviously pissed as well. Incredibly pissed. If it were not only for his wife, who restrained him at the moment…
But there was nothing we could do – the majority was on Yomi's side.
That goat's really good at brainwashing… Unintentionally, the koorime's mind flashed a picture of Kurama. He shook his head. Only too good.
This was one of the delicate topics he has never cleared with Kurama. Why he still sided with the 6-eared youkai, he never found out. If their conversation somehow led to that issue, they'd end up not talking for a week, the worst being cut off from each other's mental links… The fire demon gave off another angry sigh. I wonder how that stupid fox is. Haven't seen him for a full day…
Resolve firm, although tired as hell, he took his katana and headed back to Ningenkai.
He arrived just in front of the Hatanaka residence, and sensed the stillness of the entire house. Hiei immediately headed towards the fox's window and found it unlocked. Not knowing whether to be annoyed or pleased, he settled for the thought, That stupid kitsune… Someone could have entered and stolen everything in your house…
The koorime didn't even take one minute to discover what he was looking for. It was placed neatly on the desk, a note for him that said:
Hey, the whole family's at the resthouse. Will be staying there for a week.
Drop by to visit, ok? Will miss you terribly ^_~,
~Kurama~
Hiei snorted, trying to suppress the weird fluttering in his stomach. He knew that the last line was just a joke, or the usual teasing Kurama throws his way just to get a reaction, no matter how small. So why was his stomach doing flip-flops? Dismissing them quite vehemently, he told himself, I'm just hungry.
Almost as rapidly, his runaway subconscious bit back, Hungry for what? Or should I say, for whom?
SHUT UP.
Standing quite rigidly atop Kurama's carpet, his eyes traveled to the redhead's bed. Immediately, he gave a low growl. In a flash, he was gone.
~*~^~*~
Just as he feared, the darkness was closing in again. Its dark tendrils, grouped in two, stretched to make him its own. They moved over his already scratched skin, harshly adding to the present patterns, slowly making their way down… He tried to struggle, as he did so, one of the clump of claws clamped down on his thin wrists. The cold clasp kept him down. He couldn't pull away because a heavy weight immobilized him His breaths came in short gasps. He wanted to scream, but a sharp slap stopped him, then a moist object covered his mouth. And then he felt it – that pain far beyond anything he had felt before.
He willed himself to black out.
~*~^~*~
Kurama looked up from his gardening. Tori was picking on his brother again, like he had been yesterday. The half-youko debated on whether he should reprimand the big guy – for the nth time – or not. He was thinking of how much his brother would hate it if he stepped in. Being the older, he felt that he had to be the one protecting the redhead, never mind his being the shorter of the two. Before he could come to a decision, however, the noise stopped. The half-youko heaved a sigh. He got up slowly, finally done with this task, and wobbled carefully towards the kitchen door. There was a lot more to be done. He winced painfully as he half-dragged his foot. Tori suddenly appeared, aiding him with his strong arms, "Hey, what happened to your leg?"
Quite touched by the bully's concern, he replied, "Foot actually. Bumped it into something sharp."
"And you're still walking around? You should have more fats on your leg (although I like it how it is already) so you'll have a cushion. Or build more muscles like mine."
Shuuichi suddenly burst into the scene and declared, "He's just trying to hit on you, 'niisan. Don't believe his good-guy a act for one sec."
The younger of the two gave a reassuring smile, Don't worry. I don't buy it at all A wink. "Tori, could you stop picking on Shuuichi?"
"Eh? But I'm not picking on you."
"He meant me, dumbass."
"Argh. Between the two of us, who's the dumbass? Whoever had that idea to name you both Shuuichi?"
Hatanaka just rolled his eyes, "'niisan, need help preparing dinner?"
"No thanks. Just relax a bit. " Translation: Bear with Tori for a little more while. "And Tori, leave my brother alone."
A chance, and Yuusuke's cousin jumped it, "I promise."
I sense a but coming.
"But, you have to promise to go with me to the town fair. It's just about thirty minutes ride from here. Today's our last day here, so I want to spend quality time together with you before I'll never see you again."
Shuuichi snorted, You just want to lay my brother.
Kurama, not taking the bait, busily responded, "I'll see, okay?"
Not quite satisfied with the answer, but couldn't do anything else, Tori proceeded to the living room and turned on the TV. Shuuichi was trying his best to serve iced tea (laced with sleeping powder *where'd he get it? *) to the bully. In the background, Kurama was chopping up vegetables, mind wandering to his fellow Reikai Tantei. Already, they were leaving at around 2 am, but he hasn't seen Yuusuke at all since the lake. Only his cousin popped up yesterday, told him that Yuusuke was nowhere to be found (never mind him, notice me). The whole day was hell, since the buff guy kept disturbing him from his reading, picking on Shuuichi, or simply being destructive. Good thing his father was out with a client, his mother, on the way to the market, or else… Hm… actually, it would have been quite interesting to see how they'd deal with delinquents. Inevitably, Kurama's thoughts strayed to Yuusuke, Where is he?
The soup was coming pretty well, the flames already turned off, the dessert, well and good, the main course, infallible. Only the family members were needed. Kurama looked at the wall clock. It read 4:45 p.m. As he finished arranging the table, he saw that Tori was heavily asleep on the couch, his brother, merrily drawing stuff on his face with markers. The redhead squinted to make sure. Yup, they're permanent markers, all right. He couldn't stop a smirk from escaping his lips. A voice sounded from his back, "What's so funny?"
Startled, the redhead drove a kick backwards.
"Woah! Stop, It's only me!"
Yuusuke adeptly brushed off Kurama's kick. A punch soon followed, but he caught it, flung the arm outwards while still holding on to the fist, twirled the redhead until his arm rested across the other's throat, effectively trapping him. He grinned, "Why so worked up?"
Ack. Kurama struggled as pain shot up from his injured foot. No matter how hard he tried to remain standing, his leg gave way, and he would have choked against Yuusuke's arm, or heavily fell, if it weren't for the other's support. "Hey, you okay?"
"Sorry, I'm not accustomed to you surprising me at my back… Kuwabara committed the same mistake, and he ended with an almost broken arm…"
The raven-haired youth let go and winced at the other's words, Broke an arm because he was surprised. Geez, scary… "Actually, I was asking about your foot."
"Oh, large book fell on it."
By this time, Shuuichi had sauntered over to inspect the food (he just missed the action scene), "Hm? 'niisan, I thought you bumped it somewhere…"
Swatting his older brother's hand away from the cake, he absentmindedly replied, "Ah, yeah. Bumped it on the falling book."
"Ok. Just one bite, please?"
"Wait for Kazuya-tousan and 'kaasan."
"You're still calling 'tousan 'Kazuya-tousan'. He won't like that…"
"Just keep forgetting…"
Yuusuke had just checked on his cousin and gave a thumbs-up at Shuuichi. The latter asked, "Hey, watcha doing here? Picking up your wasted, pathetic excuse for a cousin?"
"Nope, here to pick up your brother to go to the fair."
Kurama looked surprised, "Hm? But I haven't asked permission from – "
Before he could protest any further, Shuuichi had removed his apron, grabbed his jacket from the rack and placed it on Yuusuke's arm, "You deserve some enjoyment, 'niisan. You've been slaving away all day. I'll tell our dear parents."
When the two headed out, Shuuichi shouted out, "Don't you dare do ANYTHING suspicious, Urameshi!"
For an island that's so small you could walk from end to end in about 2 hours, the fair was quite big. It was 30 minutes from where the Hatanakas were staying, and you had to ride a bus to get here. The way was downhill, quite bumpy, and boring. Nothing much happened on the way. Tired from all the chores, the redhead had just fallen asleep on Yuusuke's shoulder, and when he woke up, he found out that the older guy had a stiff neck from trying to stay still. When he tried apologizing, Raizen's descendant just shrugged it off and pulled the taller into the numerous stalls inside.
"Yeah! Hit there! And there! And there!"
Yuusuke was expertly throwing baseballs at bottle pyramids, successfully toppling all three. The guy manning the booth looked awestruck, "Wow. You're great! Would you like a prize now, or just get tickets, save them up, to get a bigger prize at the redemption booth?"
"Hm… Save them up!"
Kurama looked amusedly at Yuusuke's childishness. Inwardly, he wished he could be like that… but he had to live up to this mask of the perfect student, and son. He jumped lightly when his friend approached, and dragged him to the roller coaster, "First to scream loses, ok?"
A serene smile, "I never scream."
"We'll see. Loser buys ice cream."
A few minutes later, Yuusuke bought the both of them ice cream.
For the first time in his life, Kurama felt like he was free. Inspite of his injured foot, he was kind of running around too, discovering every inch of the carnival, playing every game possible, laughing every moment. I wish… times like these could last.
He didn't know that his wish would almost come true.
Yuusuke noticed the dark clouds looming. He gazed at the redhead's smiling face. I wish… that smile would stay forever on his face. But, we have to go home… "Kurama! Let's go to the redemption booth! Rain's gonna fall, hard."
For a while, the grin faltered, but was quickly covered up, "Okay."
They both headed out to the redemption center and found out that they had enough tickets for a REALLY huge Cookie Monster ™, and a few bars of chocolate and sticks of lollipop. The stuffed toy ended up with the redhead, since Yuusuke didn't really want to bring around a large stuffed toy, and the latter took all the candy, since Kurama doesn't eat candy, except on special occasions. The rain started to pour strongly as they boarded the bus. Looking worried, Kurama put aside the stuffed toy and inspected his bandaged foot. Good, it didn't get wet.
"Anything wrong?"
"It's nothing. It's just that the wound shouldn't get wet."
"Oh."
It was getting quite cold, so Yuusuke handed him his jacket. One by one, the passengers of the bus got off, until only the two of them were left. The last stop was the station near where Yuusuke's cousin's house was, which in turn, was close to the Hatanaka resthouse. They rode in silence for a while. Seeking more warmth, Kurama grasped the large Cookie Monster ™, and drew it close. Sensing the slight shivers passing through his friend, Yuusuke drew him closer and hugged him. The redhead stiffened for a while before surrendering to the temperate sensation. Slowly, his eyelids started to get heavy.
"Hey, what's wrong with the bus?"
Kurama woke up, still within Yuusuke's embrace as he looked at his friend groggily, "Yuusuke? Where are we?"
"Apparently, we're stuck. The water level's high, the bus can't pass through without harming the engine."
Suddenly regaining full consciousness, he sat up, "Really? How far are we from…"
"Around thirty minutes. But we can't possibly walk out, the rain's still pretty strong. Since this is downhill, we may get swept away by the current. And your wound shouldn't get wet."
"Ok." Kurama looked worriedly at his watch. It read 9:10. Kazuya-tousan will be worried…
Yuusuke could see the troubled look. Feeling guilty, he reached for his friend's hand and rubbed it reassuringly. The redhead smiled gently, "It's okay."
It was already past 11, but the bus still couldn't move. The water was still too high, about knee-deep, and the bus couldn't risk crossing, the engine might be clogged with water and stop in the middle of it all. To pass time, Yuusuke produced a deck of cards and they played a few rounds of poker, black jack, mahjong, and any possible card game. After a while, it got boring, so they set a bet. Whoever lost had to answer a question, no matter how personal it was.
"Question: Are you over Keiko yet?" "No. Heart still hurts."
"Question: Have you ever taken drugs?" "Hm… Yeah, unintentionally though. Thought it was just a stick of cigarette. Next thing I knew, I was flying in the sky. Resolved to never smoke."
"Have you ever done anything naughty as a human?" "Yeah, a lot of times." "Like?" "Only one question at a time, right?" "Argh."
"Hm… what else? Have you ever kissed a guy? You know, kiss as in…" "Yeah, I know what you mean." "So?" "Yeah. Was just a little bit curious." "You've got a weird sense of curiosity." "I'm a teenager. We're supposed to go through phases, right?" A light laugh. Both glanced at the driver. He was asleep.
"Did you ever have a crush on Botan? Or Yukina for that matter?" "Eh? Why do I always lose?" "It's luck. Now answer the question." "Hm… Nope. But had a crush on Shizuru." "Eh?" "I like strong-willed people. And I never had a protective elder sister, you know?" Snicker.
"Yeah! I won!"
Yuusuke paused, wondering if he should ask it. Kurama looked at him quite curiously. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "When were you and Hiei a couple? You know, when's you're anniversary?"
Obviously taken aback, Kurama protested, "That's a loaded question. Fallacy!"
"I don't know anything about fallacies, so just answer the question."
"But Hiei and I were never a couple. I mean, we're not romantically involved."
"EH?! So you mean you and Hiei are not together?!"
"Whoever or whatever gave you that idea?"
Yuusuke paused, stumped. The redhead proceeded to stare at him, his brows frowning together. Stuttering, the older replied, "But you two are always together! You don't exchange words, but you understand each other…"
"Yeah, we're kind of close. But not to the point of –"
"Hiei's possessiveness! He looks like he'll kill anyone who comes as close as one meter near you!"
"Really?"
"Hell yes!"
The half-youko paused for a while. His whole face was in a cloud when he said, "He was just being protective, not possessive."
"But – "
"Look, we're really not a couple. I assure you…"
Yuusuke couldn't understand the extreme relief he felt from those words. He looked outside the window and noticed that the strong rain had become a light drizzle. He grabbed Kurama's wrist and saw that it was almost 2 am. "We should start moving."
Kurama followed his gaze, "How?"
"Here." Yuusuke removed his boots and fitted them on the redhead. He walked towards the bus exit, Kurama in tow. Slowly going down the bus stairs, Yuusuke landed into the water that reached up until two inches below his knees. He unbuttoned his jacket, beckoned Kurama to the last step, and draped it on the half-youko's shoulders, then head. Kurama protested, "Yuusuke, you'll get sick!"
"Nope, I wont. Can't risk having your wound irritated."
He turned and proceeded to coax Kurama to allow him to be piggybacked. After a few minutes, the redhead was persuaded, and he clasped Yuusuke's neck by his arms, the latter's jacket still covering him, boots protecting his legs, strong hands supporting his legs. In front of the black-haired youth's chest was the blue stuffed toy, also held by the redhead's arms. Yuusuke waded into the water carefully, afraid of having his friend's injured foot submerged in water. Slowly, the water kind of receded, until it was only around the 18-yr old's ankle. He sensed that Kurama wanted to tell him something, from all the squirming he did on his back. "Yeah?"
"Uhm… Yuusuke, not to be a whiner, but…"
"Don't worry, you already have my boots and jacket. You're riding my back. My impression of you won't get any worse."
With the silence that followed, Yuusuke knew that Kurama didn't get that he was just joking, "Hey, I was just kidding. Really."
"Ur… Right."
"Well?"
"Um.. Can you put me down now? I can walk by myself already. Your boots will protect me."
"Hm? Why? You'll still wobble, then fall, then get wet."
"Uhm… coz it hurts down there."
"Hm? Where, your foot?"
"No! A bit higher… Down there!" Kurama sounded like he was whining, "You're holding me too tightly against you. You're squashing me."
It took a while for Yuusuke to finally get what the redhead was complaining about, and he laughed out loud when he did, "Oh, that."
(*For those who still don't get it… It's that THING down there. Don't know if this is accurate though. Sorry, leika does not have that thing to verify the correctness of this accusation. Am I being too vulgar? Sorry ~_~;;*)
He spotted a high bench, placed Kurama there, then promptly picked him up again – lover's carry style. The stuffed toy was cradled against his chest. The half-youko sputtered indignantly, "Yuusuke! I'm not some invalid – "
"You are and invalid."
"- all right, but I can still walk. Down, Yuusuke."
"I'm not a dog."
"You seem like one who just picked up a bone, and carried it off to bury it."
Yuusuke looked kind of serious, "Basing on your body structure, you ARE like one big bone. I'm not off to bury you, in fact I'm preventing your foot from being cut off and be buried. I'm just worried, can't you see that?"
The redhead shut up. The two proceeded to stare into each other's eyes, like children having a contest on who blinks first. Finally, Kurama turned his head and saw the roof of their house, "We're here."
Yuusuke noticed that the land was relatively dry already, then looked at his wrinkled feet. Kurama removed the boots slowly, then helped Yuusuke get into them. He also took off the jacket, and handed it quite shyly to his friend. The older aided him to the front door, where they both stopped. Hugging Cookie Monster ™ like it was a shield, Kurama stared at the ground and softly said, "Thank you. For everything. It was a fun day. I hope you have a safe…"
His voice trailed off when he saw how intently Yuusuke was staring at him. The younger stepped back a bit, only to hit a wall. Yuusuke walked even closer, his left hand stretched out to the wall beside Kurama, seemingly trapping him. Leisurely, their faces came closer, their breaths on each other's faces. The redhead's eyes were blinking rapidly, deciding whether to close his eyes or keep them open. Just a few more millimeters. Their faces were near. A little more, and a tiny bell reverberated in the house. It sounded like a doorbell. Kurama realized that the older guy had just pressed the doorbell near his ear. Looking quite disappointed, he slipped to his left, where he was free of Yuusuke's arm, then waved goodbye before the front door opened, "Thanks again. Be careful, ok?"
Yuusuke opened his mouth to speak, but his breath seemed to be caught in his throat. Hatanaka Kazuya stepped out, and took one look at his son's friend. Raizen's descendant thought he'd be reprimanded, but instead, the father spoke up, "Heard about the flood near the fair. Glad you made it back. Thanks for bringing him home safely."
Nodding wordlessly, he left.
Neither Kurama, nor Yuusuke noticed that Hiei had been watching them from the tree just directly across. The koorime flitted away quickly, leaving no trace of his existence.
Yeah, finished it! ^_^ The second to the last scene was inspired by My Sassy Girl. It's a good movie, watch it! ^_^ So, what do you think now? Is it still interesting, or am I becoming too vulgar?
Chapter 5 coming out in a few years… Too long? Ok, make that in five months… =p
Just kidding. Will update as soon as schoolwork allows…^_^
Please Review!
Chapter 5, Scorch Preview:
"Kurama, will you accompany me to see Keiko and his boyfriend? I can't go alone…"
"Um…. Let me think about it. Give me a long time."
"Keiko, was that Urameshi's new girlfriend? They really seemed close. Extremely close."
"That's ridiculous Jun, Minamino's a guy." But somehow, Keiko had this nagging feeling.
"What's wrong with you, Hiei? You've been having mini-tantrums around me. When you look at me, you either sulk or growl. Do you have a problem being around me?"
"No, it's just that I never thought you'd enjoy playing as a whore. There's Yomi, now you're giving yourself to Yuusuke. And worst of all, to your – "
A loud, resounding smack on the cheek stopped him.
"Get out!"
Hmm… quite a dramatic chapter, the next one…
Once again, please review! ^_^