Charms
It's all coming together dear readers. Eiri-san dry washes her hands. Muhuhuhahaha. "Don't bad guys usually say 'Mwahahaha' or something." Yusuke stuffed another hand full of cheeze puffs in his mouth and continued to push buttons on the ps2 controller. "Yeah I think so to." Keiko mentioned, concentrating on the game. Hey don't eat um' all! Eiri-san protested. My little brother will kill me if he finds you in here eating his snacks and playing his fighting games. "It's the least you can do for not including me in this story." Yusuke huffed. Eiri-san fumed. "I ran out of juice." Kuwabara handed Eiri his glass, not bothering to look up from his comic. Eiri-san sighed.
Chapter 16
"I'm sorry, sir." the old butler, Yuma served Kurama some green tea. "This is the only kind the master approves of."
"Green tea is fine, thank you." the red head took the cup graciously.
"I'm afraid I must also apologize for the wait. My master is very protective of his daughter Miku-san. She's such a treasure to this family. The only time I've seen him smile is at her." the man's wrinkles curtained to a smile of his own. "Her mother also was a great inspiration to him."
"Was?" Green eyes looked up from the steaming beverage.
"Yes." The man frowned. "I'm afaid it was too long ago since she's passed away. The master has never been the same."
"I'm sorry." Kurama felt uncomfortable, like he learned secret he shouldn't.
"No, no." the man stood. "As I said it was a long time ago, six years now." He took the small serving tray with him. "Please excuse me, I'll be right back with some snacks for you."
"Oh," the red head felt like he was imposing. "You don't have to..."
"I hope you like mochi." He left.
"Hai." green eyes searched the room. He'd been there for over an hour. He wondered if Daiki was with his sister now. {"I don't want to be alone." the strawberry blond told him.} //but should I go find him? Would I be intruding?// he rotated the hot cup in his hands.
Kurama felt guilty, not being with his friend when he needed him. //maybe I could just see if he's in a room near this one.// the red head placed the cup on the tatami mat and went to the sliding door. He felt like he was sneaking out of the room even though he was just walking. It was so quiet, save the rain.
This place was a mansion. Everything looked like it came from a bygone era. Wall scrolls of beautiful maidens, children, warriors and nature scenes. The storm darkened the world so many of the hall lamps were alight. It was odd seeing electric and oil lamps in the same hall. They had telephones, he knew that, because he had called, but he wondered what other mixes they might have had.
The smells in this place were so diverse the old lingering, sometimes shadowed by the new. Among the old smells was Daiki. It takes a true aficionado of scent to truely recognize a person's smell before puberty. //He was here as a child.// The wind batted at sliding door just a few feet away. Lightening flashed when he opened it.
The garden behind the mansion although wet and darkened, was clearly one of the most beautiful he had ever seen. Moss covered rocks let streams of water roll onto the lush vegitation around them. The monsterous trees, lots of flowers and a small bridge spanning the small stream. Kurama smiled imagining Daiki playing here as a child perhaps playing tag with other children.
The red head shut the door and heard the thunder clap. It shook a lamp near by. //The storm is getting closer.// He was prepared to go back to the room he had been waiting in. Yuma had surely brought him snacks by now. As he often does he glanced in the opposite direction before turning down the corridor. He spun around, realizing he had seen something.
The hall was unusually dark peering into the darkness was not easy when blinded by a lamp so close by. He turned it off. *click* He strained his ears for any noise beyond the falling rain while he let his eyes adjust. The lightening flashed throwing a shadow against the wall. Green eyes grew wide. The shadow moved fast before the lightening siluette had faded from the air.
Without thinking he moved forward, dashing after it. His mind hadn't fully recovered from the possibility of his presence and suddenly... Kurama's feet carried him down the hall and past a few blinding flashes of lamps that painted the way threw the house. Just when he thought he had caught up a door opened.
"Wait!" Kurama stopped in a room. He breathed for a moment sweating adrenaline. "What," his voice was small as he looked over the room. It was a girls room, probably, a feminine scent filled this space.
"Um." a small girl's voice alerted him to the bed behind a divider screen. "Yuma? Is that you?" A tiny animal sound like a purr but not like a cat drew closer to her. "Oh! It's you Hoyo-chan." she had a sweet voice, light and gentle. "Don't lick my face, Hoyo-chan." she giggled, but stopped suddenly and coughed.
"Are you alright?" The red head drew near.
"Who," she sounded insecure before she coughed again.
"Can I get you something? Water?" He offered kneeling by the screen and trying to sound as unthreatening as possible.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"My name is Shuichi Minamoto. I'm a friend of Daiki Hazama." he told her, hoping this would be acceptible.
"Daiki-oniichan's friend?" Any fears she might have had were replaced by excitement. She strained herself to sit up. "My...my name is Miku."
"Please don't push yourself," the red head insisted.
"Please, move the screen." she asked combing her hair with her fingers. "I'd like to see you." Kurama obeyed.
"I've never met a friend of Daiki-oniichan." She nodded to him, to weak to bow probably.
"Pleased to meet you, Miku-san." he smiled at the blue eyed, light brown haired girl. One hand was tightly cluched around the front of her yukata and the other was petting a small fluffy cat like animal. It had blond fur with an odd black pattern on it's cheek.
"Only Yuma-ojichan calls me that." she frowned.
"Gomen," The red head bowed, "Miku-chan." she brightened.
"That's better." the twelve year old girl was so pale and frail looking. But to pity her would be wrong, besides she seemed happy and well cared for.
"This is Hoyo-chan." she introduced the fluffy tailed rodent (perhaps).
"Hello." he smiled and was rewarded with tiny growl that wasn't so dissimilar to it's purr.
"That's not very nice, Hoyo-chan." she picked up the small thing. "This is a very important guest. He must be very special to my uncle because he's never brought me a guest before. And to get my dad's permission to see me," she smiled at Kurama, "He must be very special indeed."
"Uh, well," the red head scratched his cheek. He didn't actually have permission to be here. He wondered breifly what kind of punishment he might get for being here. Then he thought about Daiki. This was his house and Shuichi is his guest that means any punishment would be...
"Minamoto-san," the old butler stood in the door way, a bit out of breath. //I'm caught! Don't panic, play it cool.//
"Ah," he turned to face the old man, "I was looking for the washroom when..."
"I'm very sorry," the old man's wrinkles were in a frown. "I'm afraid you can't be in here. She's quarentined you see, any visitors...Ah! that animal is back." Yuma snatched the creature into his arms.
"No! Yuma!" she whined, reaching for him.
"I'm very sorry but any visitors have been strickly forbidden. You know that." he said gently, trying not to be the bad guy. "Please lay down and get some rest."
"Alright," she smiled at Kurama first, "It was very nice to meet you."
"Maybe I'll see you again." the fox demon smiled back.
"I'd love that, any time." she giggled, Yuma pulled the screen in front of her.
"Please come with me." Yuma bowed. Shuichi followed. They walked in silence. Kurama was starting to recognized the hallway. The room he had waited in was just a few doors down the hall. "Here is the wash room." he nodded to indicate direction, "and just there," he nodded again, "is the sitting room please return there when you're finished."
"Uh," Shuichi didn't acctually have to use it but, it was his alabi so, "thank you."
Even the washroom was huge, he shut the door, reentering the hallway. After a few steps he heard some talking from a slightly open sliding door. Recognizing one of the voices was Daiki's, green eye peered in.
"I told you, he's a friend. He would never..."
"Daiki-kun," Fuyuki the master of the Hazama family spoke in commanding tones. His kimono was yellow with blue clouds. An orange-red ribbon wrapped his long raven hair tightly to his head. "I don't want to discourage you from making friends, however, don't you think it's poor timing. Bringing him here isn't wrong but Miku-chan's condition is serious. You know that. And you're friend's carelessness has surely betrayed his thoughtless nature as well." pine green eyes narrowed. "So I've decided, he will never see Miku-chan again."
"You're always like this." Daiki's voice shook with anger. "Shuichi-kun is not some stupid kid and Miku-chan is not you're property," he was shouting, "she's not some doll you can play dress up and hide away from the world like Aya..." Fuyuki's swift, pale hand struck his cousin's face. The boy was silenced.
"You will not speak to me in this manor!" his posture was proud but in his air there was pain and torment. "As long as I am the master of our family, you will..."
"Heh," the strawberry blond smirked. "Family? We're all dead soon anyway. Anything we do will just make this torture last for another sad year." he was speaking so softly Kurama strained to hear.
"Freak." The master's face twisted in disgust before he turned away from the young man. "Do you think you're better than us because our hearts are weak? You think you can lead this family?" he turned back with hate in his eyes. "If you hadn't survived that fire...you would have died as you should have, a worthless boy."
In the silence Kurama's heart sank. //Hikari-san.// Perhaps it was just jealousy but...Daiki wasn't fighting him, like he accepted Fuyuki's judgement over him. //It's not true.//
"Minamoto-san." Yuma said his name, just behind him. Horror gipped his heart when Daiki looked at his friend. Those blue eyes looking at him realizing what he knew, {"...died as you should have, a worthless boy."} //no//
"Hazama-san." the red head opened the door, fully, knowing that hiding could only make it worse. Daiki gasped a furious breath and ran out of the room through a side door. Moss green eyes caught Kurama's, telling him to leave him alone, let him be humiliated and waste away in his misery. Eyes like emeralds glared back refusing to allow this precious friend to suffer.
"Hazama-san!" The fox demon grabbed an umbrella on his way out and stole out into the night of rain, lightening and thunder in search of him.
It's all coming together dear readers. Eiri-san dry washes her hands. Muhuhuhahaha. "Don't bad guys usually say 'Mwahahaha' or something." Yusuke stuffed another hand full of cheeze puffs in his mouth and continued to push buttons on the ps2 controller. "Yeah I think so to." Keiko mentioned, concentrating on the game. Hey don't eat um' all! Eiri-san protested. My little brother will kill me if he finds you in here eating his snacks and playing his fighting games. "It's the least you can do for not including me in this story." Yusuke huffed. Eiri-san fumed. "I ran out of juice." Kuwabara handed Eiri his glass, not bothering to look up from his comic. Eiri-san sighed.
Chapter 16
"I'm sorry, sir." the old butler, Yuma served Kurama some green tea. "This is the only kind the master approves of."
"Green tea is fine, thank you." the red head took the cup graciously.
"I'm afraid I must also apologize for the wait. My master is very protective of his daughter Miku-san. She's such a treasure to this family. The only time I've seen him smile is at her." the man's wrinkles curtained to a smile of his own. "Her mother also was a great inspiration to him."
"Was?" Green eyes looked up from the steaming beverage.
"Yes." The man frowned. "I'm afaid it was too long ago since she's passed away. The master has never been the same."
"I'm sorry." Kurama felt uncomfortable, like he learned secret he shouldn't.
"No, no." the man stood. "As I said it was a long time ago, six years now." He took the small serving tray with him. "Please excuse me, I'll be right back with some snacks for you."
"Oh," the red head felt like he was imposing. "You don't have to..."
"I hope you like mochi." He left.
"Hai." green eyes searched the room. He'd been there for over an hour. He wondered if Daiki was with his sister now. {"I don't want to be alone." the strawberry blond told him.} //but should I go find him? Would I be intruding?// he rotated the hot cup in his hands.
Kurama felt guilty, not being with his friend when he needed him. //maybe I could just see if he's in a room near this one.// the red head placed the cup on the tatami mat and went to the sliding door. He felt like he was sneaking out of the room even though he was just walking. It was so quiet, save the rain.
This place was a mansion. Everything looked like it came from a bygone era. Wall scrolls of beautiful maidens, children, warriors and nature scenes. The storm darkened the world so many of the hall lamps were alight. It was odd seeing electric and oil lamps in the same hall. They had telephones, he knew that, because he had called, but he wondered what other mixes they might have had.
The smells in this place were so diverse the old lingering, sometimes shadowed by the new. Among the old smells was Daiki. It takes a true aficionado of scent to truely recognize a person's smell before puberty. //He was here as a child.// The wind batted at sliding door just a few feet away. Lightening flashed when he opened it.
The garden behind the mansion although wet and darkened, was clearly one of the most beautiful he had ever seen. Moss covered rocks let streams of water roll onto the lush vegitation around them. The monsterous trees, lots of flowers and a small bridge spanning the small stream. Kurama smiled imagining Daiki playing here as a child perhaps playing tag with other children.
The red head shut the door and heard the thunder clap. It shook a lamp near by. //The storm is getting closer.// He was prepared to go back to the room he had been waiting in. Yuma had surely brought him snacks by now. As he often does he glanced in the opposite direction before turning down the corridor. He spun around, realizing he had seen something.
The hall was unusually dark peering into the darkness was not easy when blinded by a lamp so close by. He turned it off. *click* He strained his ears for any noise beyond the falling rain while he let his eyes adjust. The lightening flashed throwing a shadow against the wall. Green eyes grew wide. The shadow moved fast before the lightening siluette had faded from the air.
Without thinking he moved forward, dashing after it. His mind hadn't fully recovered from the possibility of his presence and suddenly... Kurama's feet carried him down the hall and past a few blinding flashes of lamps that painted the way threw the house. Just when he thought he had caught up a door opened.
"Wait!" Kurama stopped in a room. He breathed for a moment sweating adrenaline. "What," his voice was small as he looked over the room. It was a girls room, probably, a feminine scent filled this space.
"Um." a small girl's voice alerted him to the bed behind a divider screen. "Yuma? Is that you?" A tiny animal sound like a purr but not like a cat drew closer to her. "Oh! It's you Hoyo-chan." she had a sweet voice, light and gentle. "Don't lick my face, Hoyo-chan." she giggled, but stopped suddenly and coughed.
"Are you alright?" The red head drew near.
"Who," she sounded insecure before she coughed again.
"Can I get you something? Water?" He offered kneeling by the screen and trying to sound as unthreatening as possible.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"My name is Shuichi Minamoto. I'm a friend of Daiki Hazama." he told her, hoping this would be acceptible.
"Daiki-oniichan's friend?" Any fears she might have had were replaced by excitement. She strained herself to sit up. "My...my name is Miku."
"Please don't push yourself," the red head insisted.
"Please, move the screen." she asked combing her hair with her fingers. "I'd like to see you." Kurama obeyed.
"I've never met a friend of Daiki-oniichan." She nodded to him, to weak to bow probably.
"Pleased to meet you, Miku-san." he smiled at the blue eyed, light brown haired girl. One hand was tightly cluched around the front of her yukata and the other was petting a small fluffy cat like animal. It had blond fur with an odd black pattern on it's cheek.
"Only Yuma-ojichan calls me that." she frowned.
"Gomen," The red head bowed, "Miku-chan." she brightened.
"That's better." the twelve year old girl was so pale and frail looking. But to pity her would be wrong, besides she seemed happy and well cared for.
"This is Hoyo-chan." she introduced the fluffy tailed rodent (perhaps).
"Hello." he smiled and was rewarded with tiny growl that wasn't so dissimilar to it's purr.
"That's not very nice, Hoyo-chan." she picked up the small thing. "This is a very important guest. He must be very special to my uncle because he's never brought me a guest before. And to get my dad's permission to see me," she smiled at Kurama, "He must be very special indeed."
"Uh, well," the red head scratched his cheek. He didn't actually have permission to be here. He wondered breifly what kind of punishment he might get for being here. Then he thought about Daiki. This was his house and Shuichi is his guest that means any punishment would be...
"Minamoto-san," the old butler stood in the door way, a bit out of breath. //I'm caught! Don't panic, play it cool.//
"Ah," he turned to face the old man, "I was looking for the washroom when..."
"I'm very sorry," the old man's wrinkles were in a frown. "I'm afraid you can't be in here. She's quarentined you see, any visitors...Ah! that animal is back." Yuma snatched the creature into his arms.
"No! Yuma!" she whined, reaching for him.
"I'm very sorry but any visitors have been strickly forbidden. You know that." he said gently, trying not to be the bad guy. "Please lay down and get some rest."
"Alright," she smiled at Kurama first, "It was very nice to meet you."
"Maybe I'll see you again." the fox demon smiled back.
"I'd love that, any time." she giggled, Yuma pulled the screen in front of her.
"Please come with me." Yuma bowed. Shuichi followed. They walked in silence. Kurama was starting to recognized the hallway. The room he had waited in was just a few doors down the hall. "Here is the wash room." he nodded to indicate direction, "and just there," he nodded again, "is the sitting room please return there when you're finished."
"Uh," Shuichi didn't acctually have to use it but, it was his alabi so, "thank you."
Even the washroom was huge, he shut the door, reentering the hallway. After a few steps he heard some talking from a slightly open sliding door. Recognizing one of the voices was Daiki's, green eye peered in.
"I told you, he's a friend. He would never..."
"Daiki-kun," Fuyuki the master of the Hazama family spoke in commanding tones. His kimono was yellow with blue clouds. An orange-red ribbon wrapped his long raven hair tightly to his head. "I don't want to discourage you from making friends, however, don't you think it's poor timing. Bringing him here isn't wrong but Miku-chan's condition is serious. You know that. And you're friend's carelessness has surely betrayed his thoughtless nature as well." pine green eyes narrowed. "So I've decided, he will never see Miku-chan again."
"You're always like this." Daiki's voice shook with anger. "Shuichi-kun is not some stupid kid and Miku-chan is not you're property," he was shouting, "she's not some doll you can play dress up and hide away from the world like Aya..." Fuyuki's swift, pale hand struck his cousin's face. The boy was silenced.
"You will not speak to me in this manor!" his posture was proud but in his air there was pain and torment. "As long as I am the master of our family, you will..."
"Heh," the strawberry blond smirked. "Family? We're all dead soon anyway. Anything we do will just make this torture last for another sad year." he was speaking so softly Kurama strained to hear.
"Freak." The master's face twisted in disgust before he turned away from the young man. "Do you think you're better than us because our hearts are weak? You think you can lead this family?" he turned back with hate in his eyes. "If you hadn't survived that fire...you would have died as you should have, a worthless boy."
In the silence Kurama's heart sank. //Hikari-san.// Perhaps it was just jealousy but...Daiki wasn't fighting him, like he accepted Fuyuki's judgement over him. //It's not true.//
"Minamoto-san." Yuma said his name, just behind him. Horror gipped his heart when Daiki looked at his friend. Those blue eyes looking at him realizing what he knew, {"...died as you should have, a worthless boy."} //no//
"Hazama-san." the red head opened the door, fully, knowing that hiding could only make it worse. Daiki gasped a furious breath and ran out of the room through a side door. Moss green eyes caught Kurama's, telling him to leave him alone, let him be humiliated and waste away in his misery. Eyes like emeralds glared back refusing to allow this precious friend to suffer.
"Hazama-san!" The fox demon grabbed an umbrella on his way out and stole out into the night of rain, lightening and thunder in search of him.