Finally it's the last season in this series. I hope that most of you have enjoyed it, and pardon me for some typing errors. I am always too tired after typing around 2000 words to check.
Seasons Autumn
August
The wind blew across miles and miles of land, over the golden harvested wheat fields, the trees full of fruits, and vast grasslands with crisp brow grass, caused by bearing the rays of the sun for almost one year. Everything seemed ripe, and if not, all stepping on the path which leads to maturity. It was not as beautiful as the spring and summer, but had its unique charm, like the elegance and wisdom of a full-grown woman.
Thick green leaves were now tinged with bits of red and auburn. Like people, the leaves were getting old. With the accompaniment of the scarlet and yellow leaves, even the walls and roofs of houses seemed to have ashen with age. The world looked as if it was drawn out with one single brown colored pencil. Peaceful, but never lifeless.
"Umm . . . so you see, mother . . . Hiei and I are sot of, how do I say it, . . . in a relationship," Kurama explained hesitantly. Hiei looked on with interest as the usually calm fox fidget and stutter. He had to control himself form smirking.
Everyone had aged a year, and it was time for all the things to draw a conclusion. For those that should be continued, leave it for the next year. For those that had long stopped and you still couldn't let go, try to put it behind you. The end of something is just a period of time for you to prepare to accept the next beginning.
A long silence followed Kurama's confession, and Shiori seemed very thoughtful. Hiei sat in a very proper and formal position without a hint of impatience on his face, when actually he just wanted to break free the next second. Trying to ease his own tension, Kurama brought a cup of tea to his lips and took a sip, when his mother said, "So you two have slept together, haven't you?" Kurama totally chocked on the tea that was halfway down his throat, and started coughing madly.
Shiori chuckled, "I take that as a yes. I don't mind you two dating, as long as you are serious about each and every thing you do, and don't wear yourselves out too much. I t is time for you to have someone, Shuuichi. In fact, I was just wondering minutes ago that why are you still not having a girlfriend." Kurama gaped, and made a good imitation of a fish.
A while later, both of them were strolling on the street, when Hiei finally let out a laugh. "I have never seen you so chocked, fox. You spaced out for almost a whole two minutes."
"But at least it's over now." Then he smirked cryptically, "And it is your turn."
"My turn what?" Hiei narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"First, you have to tell Yukina that you're her brother, next, tell her about our relationship. Last, tell Yusuke and Kuwabara about us, though I don't think it's necessary. Depends on if you want to say."
"WHAT?! You want me to tell Yukina?!"
"I'm sure that she will be happy to know that you are her brother. Even if you don't say, I believe that she already has some clue. Didn't she say that 'if I could find my brother, he must be saying the same things as you'? So don't worry. At least having a brother is better than having none. It is nice to know that you are not alone, no matter how bad the other person might be. But I won't force you. If you are not going to confess, I am. I want you to be happy, and not hiding or moping around every time Yukina is near by."
"But . . . I mean . . . are you sure that she would be glad?" Hiei asked, now half convinced.
"Oh, you'll see," Kurama gave him a wink and started dragging him towards a carnival that had opened just a few days ago. Hiei had a vague suspicion that Kurama was up to something . . .
"Oi! Kurama! Shrimp! Over here!" cursing inwardly, Hiei turned towards that voice and saw none other than Kuwabara, with Yukina beside him. Paling visibly, he tried to back away, only to bump onto Kurama, who gave him a devilish smile (though I wonder if it was possible) and whispered, "There's you chance. Go ahead." Then he called out brightly, "Hi! Kuwabara, Yukina-san," and walked towards with Hiei in tow.
"Are you two here for a date?" Kurama asked with a sunny smile.
"Kazuma just said that this is a good place to have fun, so we came. Are you two on a date then?" Yukina looked right at Hiei, making him flinch away and lower his head. Finally, after eons of silence, he muttered, "Yes."
"I'm really glad to hear that, Hiei-san." Hiei risked a glance at her, then dropped his gaze again.
"Um . . . Can I talk to you about something?" he mumbled.
"Sure!" Yukian smiled encouragingly at him, then turned to Kuwabara, "Kazuma, can I meet up with you at that Ferris wheel after an hour?" Kuwabara nodded grudgingly, then trudged away.
Kurama slipped his hand into Hiei's and have a light squeeze to prompt him on.
"Well . . . You know that every time you tell me to find you brother, I can't find him?"
"Yes?" Yukina replied, though there was a sort of anticipation in her eyes which made Hiei more sure about himself. "You see . . . I can't find him . . . because . . . I'm your brother." He blurted out quickly.
"I know that this is a chock to you, and I kept it a secret because you must be full of expectations for a brother, and all I am is, or at least was a thief. I didn't want to break your fantasy, so I didn't ---˝ but before he could finish his babbling, Yukina had waked up and gave him a hug.
"I'm glad that you've finally decided to tell me. So can I call you Oniisan now?" She said through tears as she let go, then giggled when she saw the totally dumbstruck look on Hiei's face.
"Then . . . y . . . you have know long ago that I'm your brother? But how?"
"Of course, oniisan, but I can't explain how. I guess there was still a strange connection between people who are related by blood, and I happened to have sensed that. Besides, you eyes are so much like mine that they are a dead giveaway. Although I had known the troth long ago, I didn't not want to ask you before you are prepared, or else you would feel like you are forced to become my brother, and I won't want that."
Hiei continued to gape, until Kurama chuckled and shook him till he regained some sense. "It's your first day together as brother and sister, so let's make good use of the time, ne?" Hiei only managed to nod.
They met up with Kuwabara and earned many suspicious looks form him as his eyes darted between Yukina and Hiei. Then he put a protective arm around Yukina's shoulders, and immediately Hiei's katana was by his throat.
"Don't you dare touch Yukina!" Hiei growled.
"Hey, why can't I, shrimp? It's not like you're her boyfriend or something. You already have Kurama. "
Yukina smiled apologetically at Kuwabara, then gently pushed the blade away. "Oniisan, you know that Kuazuma won't hurt me, so you don't ---
"ONIISAN?!" Kuwabara shrieked and pointed at Hiei. "This shrimp . . . your brother . . . no, definitely not possible . . ." He looked as if he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and his face changed from pale to slightly greenish, then to red.
"Kurama, either call Yusuke now and let him pick up this oaf, or just directly call the hospital. I don't want a lunatic to be screeching by my ears on my special day." Kurama laughed dryly, then chose the first option.
Yusuke came in record time, and seeing that Kuwabara was sin such a state, he smirked and asked Hiei, "So, you have told her the truth, huh?" Hiei nodded. "And are you together with Kurama now?" Hiei blushed a little and nodded again. "Good. Looks like today is a pretty good day!" Then he glanced down at Kuwabara, now wilted into a heap onto the ground. "Well, maybe not. Anyway, enjoy your lucky day, guys!" With that, he dragged Kuwabara and went away.
"Oniisan, you know that Kazuma won't hurt me, so you don't have to be so fierce around him."
"Don't worry, Yukina-san. Hiei won't really cause any major injuries on him. In a way, he still treats Kuwabara as a friend. It's just that he's too protective. He always feels that the owes you something." Kurama explained.
"Shut up, fox," Hiei grunted and turned around.
" You know what, Hiei? You look so cut when you are embarrassed."
Yukina watched on with interest at the lover's banter, and silently mused to herself, "They have changed so much just around each other. Maybe because to them, the other person is special?" And she smiled to herself.
"Hiei, are you tired?" Kurama asked after they had walked Yukina to Kuwabara's home when the day of activities was over. They had practically gone on every ride in the carnival, and Kurama's knees had almost turned into jelly by the time they had gone through half. How the small bodies of Yukina and Hiei carried so much energy would forever be a mystery to him. Now he just wanted to crawl under the covers and sleep.
"What? Tired so quickly, fox? I thought that you had some other activities planned on . . ." Hiei smirked.
"I may have that in mind before, but now, I would be very lucky to be able to get home. I don't have the strength to needle you back anymore. By the way, the expressions you had when you confessed to Yukina was priceless. If someone told me that you can kill ten people in a blink of an eye at that moment, I would never believe him."
"Kurama, you just said that you don't have strength to needle me now."
"Oh, that wasn't needling. You're just too fun to play with."
Everything in the world was maturing, but when all of them had become totally ripe, then it would be the time to part. Ripe fruits would be picked away; totally red or yellow leaves would fall; grasses would wilt when they had finished the cycle of the year. Maturity is the most glorious of all the periods of our life, but it is also the shortest, just like the sunset. Despite this, people still wished for it.
They think that changes are good, because they never realized the happiness in stillness, in a period where everything just stands frozen. Only then your most precious thing would never leave you. When everything is frozen.
"Hiei, how do you feel?"
"What do you mean how do it feel? I'm not so easily tired like you."
"No, I mean now that your relationship with Yukina has changed, do you feel anything uneasy, different, or happy, you know? You can talk to me all you want." Kurama smiled gently and took hold of Hiei's hand.
"I should thank you, fox. If not, I never would have the courage to tell her. Now I don't have to hide in the shadows every time I look at her, or try to protect her. It is sort of a relief, but now I guess I have more responsibilities to deal with, and I will keep her away from harm as much as I can."
Kurama turned and pulled Hiei into a hug. "I'm gland that you are happy."
The weather was gradually getting cooler, causing tiny little changes in the environment, and thus, the way people behave. Girls knitting a scarf for their someone special, wives adding a coat for their husband as they leave the house, etc. Small as these actions are, emotions were still put into them. Notice more of the minute things, and you'll find that the world is still filled with love, even as people's hearts change.
"Isn't it such a coincidence that they were at the carnival too?" Hiei asked.
"Not really," Kurama said with a sheepish smile, "I told them to wait there for us."
Hiei glared and pretended to look angry, but gave up after a while. "You know me too well, fox."
Just remember that no matter how people change, and how things change, there will always be love in this world.