(Standard disclaimer: I don't own YYH or its characters; they are the sole property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shonen Jump Comics Weekly, Studio Pierrot and Fuji Television)
Type in italics indicates 'flashback' sequence
Type in non-italics indicates song lyrics.
: blah; blah; blah : indicates dream sequence
Soft rapping on the door, followed by an even softer call – "Kaasan?"
Shiori looked up, automatically closing the book she'd been reading and placing it on the night table by her bed. Again the knock came, more insistent this time, followed by her son's voice…..
….."Kaasan, please?"
There was a sense of urgency in his voice, and she rose, wrapping her robe around her slender figure as she walked to the door and slid it open. Kurama stood there, his posture tense, his handsome features twisted in worry – and fear.
"What is it, Shuiichi?" she asked, distressed by the troubled look he wore. "What's wrong, musuko-chan?"
"He's sick, Kaasan," he replied, his voice trembling, "I've tried everything I know, even giving him some of my ki, but nothing seems to help."
"Who's sick?" Her voice was deliberately soft, filled with motherly concern as she sought not only to calm her son but to try and draw him out as well. And what's 'ki', she wondered but didn't ask, knowing now was not the time for idle questions.
"M-my friend, Hiei. Please, Kaasan," he begged, "I don't know what else to do – and Yukina's away!"
"Shhh, it's going to be all right now, my love," she smiled reassuringly then took his arm, turning him around and steering him back toward his room; again, wondering who this Yukina might be, but wisely remaining silent. "Together we'll take care of your friend; see that he gets well," she said instead.
Kurama nodded in relief, allowing himself to be led down the short hallway, but just as they reached his room, he stopped.
"Shu-chan?" She looked up, searching his face, puzzled as to why he suddenly seemed reluctant to enter the room.
"Kaasan," he replied, returning her gaze, his emerald eyes troubled, "before we go in, there is something I must tell you… about Hiei…" He paused, swallowed and looked at her a moment longer before he slid his eyes away to study the wall opposite. She waited patiently until finally, he tore his gaze from the wall, looking back down at her. "He isn't human, Kaasan," he said, "Hiei is a youkai – a fire demon… well," he allowed himself a brief grin, "part of him is anyway, the other is Koorime."
Again he hesitated, his eyes holding hers as he took another deep breath. "And there's more… something you need to know about your son as well… about his past… and the lie he's lived for so long now…"
Shiori reached up, placing her finger to his lips, stilling his voice. "It can wait," she said smiling up at him. "There'll be time for explanations after... What's important now is that we take care of your friend…Hiei did you say his name was?"
Hiei looked up as the door slid open, ruby eyes flicking from Kurama to the woman at his side then back again. He was shivering, yet even from where she stood, Shiori could feel the heat of his fever and in the dim lamplight, see clearly the flush of his cheeks, the sweat pouring down his face.
"Kurama," Hiei said, trying to stand, "why the hell did you bring her he….."
He had no chance to finish as a bout of coughing seized his small form. He sank back down onto the bed, bent almost double as the bout continued. Without hesitation, Shiori hurried to his side, sitting on the bed and wrapping her arms around him, supporting the shaking body until the fit finally came to an end.
"Get your hands off me," the Koorime demanded when he could speak clearly again, and wrenched himself out of her embrace. "I don't need help from anyone, least of all, YOU!"
"Hiei….." Kurama began, his soft tenor taking on a dangerous edge as he glared at the little youkai.
"Hn," Hiei retorted, returning the glare, his red eyes glittering dangerously.
Not offended by the rebuff, Shiori rose from the bed and went to her son. Putting her hand on his arm, she began to issue instructions. "Shuiichi, dear, please get your friend something warm and dry to change into then help him to bed. Hiei," she turned to the little demon, "I need to know your normal body temperature."
"Why?" he demanded.
"Because you have a fever," Kurama replied, shaking his head in exasperation. Pausing, he took a deep breath to calm himself then went on, "and Kaasan needs to take your temperature to determine just how bad that fever is. Therefore, she needs a point of reference."
Shiori smiled at her son, patting his arm. "I'll be back shortly," she said, heading out the door.
"It's 100," Hiei muttered darkly at her retreating form and she turned, giving him a smile.
"Thank you, Hiei-san," she replied with a nod then turned, hurrying out of the room.
Shiori returned a short time later, a tray in her hands. On it there sat a digital thermometer; a small teapot, steam issuing through its spout; a cup and saucer; a spoon; and a bottle of aspirin. Placing the tray on Kurama's desk, she turned, smiling gently at the small figure sitting, propped up by pillows, in her son's bed, her heart melting at the sight. He looked, for all the world, like some forgotten street urchin in Shuiichi's too large pajamas. She smiled, too, at her son who had drawn his desk chair up to the bed and was now seated next to his friend; his quiet presence reassuring the little Koorime.
Picking up the thermometer, Shiori opened the case and took it out, pressing the small button on top to activate it, then stretched out her hand. "Place it under your tongue and hold it there, please, Hiei," she instructed, handing the instrument to him.
"Hn," Hiei grunted in response, obediently taking the thermometer and putting it beneath his tongue, his lips clamping down to hold it in place, his eyes intently studying the ningen woman as she turned back to the tray on the desk.
Shiori lifted the teapot, pouring the steaming liquid it contained into the delicate china cup on the tray. Setting the pot back down, she picked up the aspirin bottle, uncapping it and pouring two of the small white pills into the cap then dumping them into the cup as well. Picking up the spoon, she began to stir the contents, watching as the aspirin dissolved into it.
Kurama smiled fondly as he watched his mother, his keen sense of smell deftly separating the scents from the cup into separate parts: tea, honey, lemon, the aspirin tablets, and brandy – his mother's version of the Western 'hot toddy'. How many times had she plied him with the same remedy when he'd been sick – cold, fever and chills wracking his human body? It had always helped, bringing down his fever, soothing his aching throat; but he was, after all, half-human. Would it do the same for Hiei, who was a full-blooded demon, he wondered. He fervently hoped so as he watched her now, taking the thermometer from Hiei's mouth and putting it beneath the lighted lamp on his desk so that she could read the digital display more clearly.
"What is it, Kaasan?" he asked, seeing her lips draw down in a slight frown. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, dear," she smiled reassuringly at him. "Hiei's temperature is 110, and I'm not sure… A human's temperature can go as high as 105 before the body's natural defenses kick in to ensure that it doesn't go any higher. But with a demon… well…" again she smiled, putting the thermometer on the tray, "I'm afraid, as I've no experience in that area, we'll just have to wait and see…"
She picked up the teacup and saucer, holding the delicate china out to Hiei. "Drink it slowly," she told him.
"What do we do, then?" Kurama asked as Hiei accepted the cup from Shiori and took a sip of the hot liquid.
"Try to bring his temperature down… the aspirin I put in the tea should help – at least, I hope that it will. And rest," she said, "Hiei needs to stay in bed, not only until the fever has broken, but a day or two after that as well, so he can stay with us….."
"I'll be damned if I will," Hiei broke in, swallowing hard, his ruby eyes blazing over the rim of the cup.
"I don't believe you were given a choice," Shiori returned mildly, arching an eyebrow at him. "Now, finish your tea, lie down and be quiet, please."
"Bossy ningen female," he muttered, though he did as she bid, taking another sip of the tea.
"Irascible imp," she shot back, the smile in her words turning the retort into an endearment.
Hiei blinked in surprise then looked at Kurama, a slow grin spreading over his face, softening the sharp features. "She gives as good as she gets," he commented.
"Hai, she does," Kurama agreed, smiling affectionately at his 'kaasan'. He rose gracefully from his chair, winding an arm around her waist and leaning in, placed a light kiss on her cheek. With his arm still about her, he looked over at the diminutive fire demon, leaf-green eyes alight with mischief.
"She can be quite obstinate as well; especially if she feels she's being crossed. So I'd suggest you do as she says, Hiei," he finished, grinning down at his small friend.
"As well, she'd also appreciate it if you two would stop referring to her in the third person… as if she weren't even in the same room with you," she teasingly scolded, reaching her hand up and playfully tweaking her son's earlobe.
Hiei caught both the gesture and the affectionate smile Kurama gave Shiori in return; his heart filling once more with the old familiar ache – the longing for a mother's love and to give that love in return. Gods! How he envied Kurama this moment! Quickly he ducked his head, hiding his eyes and the pain that had flared briefly in their crimson depths at the by-play between mother and son.
But a mother's eyes are quick and keen – a mother's heart even quicker, as Shiori caught the look; her own eyes misting with unshed tears. She blinked them back then looked up at her son.
"Shu-chan," she asked, stepping out of his embrace and going to the desk "be a dear and take this to the kitchen and brew another pot of tea for me, will you?" She picked up the empty teapot and turning, handed it to him.
"I'm forgiven then, am I?" Kurama grinned, taking the piece of crockery from her hand.
"Always," she answered, returning his smile as she blew him a kiss.
Kurama walked to the door, stopping to retrieve his robe and pajamas from where they lay, neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Sliding the door open, he stepped through, and as he slid it softly shut again, he felt a smile steal across his lips as he heard the words she'd spoken so often to him now whispered just as tenderly to his dearest friend…..
"Come now, little one, time to sleep."
Kurama paused just outside his door, the insulated carafe he'd poured the newly brewed tea into balanced precariously atop an armload of blankets and pillows, listening. He smiled as he recognized the song he heard his mother singing in her low, slightly throaty alto. Awkwardly shifting his load, he reached out, silently sliding the door open. He stepped through; sliding the door shut behind him, and stood there, his emerald eyes riveted on the tableau before him.
Shiori was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hand held tightly in that of the sleeping youkai's as she softly continued the lullaby Kurama had so loved as a child.
Is it underneath the willow tree
That I've been dreaming of?
Where is she,
Who I close my eyes to see?
Will I ever know the sweet 'hello'
That's meant for only me?
Who can say where she may hide?
Must I travel far and wide?
'Til I am beside the someone who
I can mean something to…..
Where…..
Where is Love
"It's been far too long since I've heard that," he said quietly coming to stand beside her as she finished the song. Placing the carafe on the desk and dropping the blankets and pillows to the floor, he leaned down, placing another feather-soft kiss upon her cheek.
Shiori looked up, watching her son as he went to his closet. "Ah," she replied, her voice taking on a gently teasing note. "Are you telling me then, that you're still not too grown up for a lullaby from your mother?"
His answer was the beaming smile he returned as he set about spreading the futon he'd pulled from the closet onto the floor and arranging the blankets and pillows atop it. Sitting down, he
looked up at her as she leaned forward to smooth errant, spiky black bangs from Hiei's forehead and laid her hand against it, feeling the dampness and heat of his fever even through the bandanna he wore.
"He calls you 'Kurama'," she said, removing her hand and sitting up straight once more. She turned slightly and looked down, meeting her son's wide, green eyes. "Is that your name?"
"Hai," he nodded, a sad light touching those beautiful eyes, "it was… a very long time ago."
"Tell me," she prompted, "I'd like to hear your story… and his."
"They called him the 'Forbidden Child'," Kurama began, nodding toward the little demon sleeping soundly in his bed. "His people are Koorime – Ice Demons. They are isolationists, living apart from the rest of the Makai – the Demon World – high atop a floating island. They have no contact with the outside world, indeed, it's forbidden by law for them to do so or to leave their island."
He paused a moment, emerald eyes intently studying the small figure in the bed. Shiori noted the sorrow in those eyes, the windows to her son's very soul, as he looked at the sleeping boy. He spoke again, and now she could hear that sorrow in his voice as well.
"But his mother dared that which was forbidden, and in so doing, she met someone, fell in love, and gave birth to twins – a boy and a girl – Hiei and his sister, Yukina. Yukina inherited all of the traits of the Koorime and none of those that were her father's. Hiei…" again his eyes shifted to the boy, "though his mother was Koorime, inherited the traits of his fire demon father."
"Was, Shu-chan?" Shiori asked.
"Hai," he replied with a nod. "Hina, that was her name, committed suicide several years after the birth of her twins."
He heard her sharp intake of breath and then the quietly asked question, "Why?" He looked at her for a long moment before answering, torn between anger and sorrow, his mouth twisting bitterly as he began to speak.
"Since Yukina had inherited all her mother's Koorime traits, she was considered by the Koorime Counsel of Elders to be of 'pure' blood, and they allowed Hina to keep her. But Hiei… they saw him as a threat to their way of life, to their very existence. And so they tore him from his mother
and his sister… casting him out; literally throwing him off their world and into the one below… just an infant and they left him to die!"
"H-how?" she whispered, aghast. "How could they do that to this beautiful child? How could ANYone be so cruel?"
Kurama couldn't help himself; hearing his mother referring to the surly little fire demon as not only a child, but beautiful as well – he smiled. Well, he'd always thought Hiei was beautiful! He wondered, though, what her reaction would be if he was to tell her this 'child' was actually far older than she. The thought amused him and he chuckled softly to himself.
"Something I said amuses you, musuko-chan?" Shiori asked testily, hearing his laugh.
"Gomen, Kaasan," he replied with a shake of his head. "I was just imagining what Hiei would do if he heard himself being called beautiful."
Shiori huffed. "I don't care how he'd react. He is beautiful." She looked down at the slumbering youkai again, and reaching out once more, she laid her palm against his pale cheek in a gentle caress.
"Shuiichi," she quietly said her son's name as she turned to face him. "His right arm is bandaged. Has he been injured?"
Kurama shook his head. "It's a ki ward, Kaasan."
"Ki ward?"
"Hai," he nodded. "Demons, and many humans, possess the ability to focus and manipulate their ki – their life energy, if you will. The bandanna on his forehead is also a ward, covering his Jagan so that it can't be seen, and thereby, injure an ordinary human. The one on his arm is there to keep the Kokuryuuha under restraint."
(Kokuryuuha… Dragon of the Darkness Flame?)
Seeing his mother's puzzled expression, Kurama hastened to explain, "by focusing his ki, Hiei is able to 'see' the auras of others, demon or human, with his Jagan. He also has the ability, again by using his ki in conjunction with the Jagan, to summon the Kokuryuuha, though doing so drains him considerably, and after, he's forced to sleep in order to regain his strength. Fortunately, he's such a skilled fighter he only uses the dragon as a last resort."
"I see," Shiori breathed turning back to the still figure on the bed. "He is much more than he seems."
"That he is, Kaasan," Kurama agreed.
"And you, my son... you also are more than you seem as well?" It was not so much a question as a statement of fact.
"Hai," he replied and seemed about to say something more when he stopped, merely looking at her with those luminous viridian eyes of his.
He gazed at her, this woman who was his mother – the only mother he'd ever really known. The one being in his long life who had taught him compassion, caring; who loved him unconditionally and taught him how to love that way in return. How would she feel, once she knew the secret he'd kept these last 17 years; the lie that had been his life… and, by extension, hers as well?
Yet he'd definitely heard the slight emphasis she'd placed on the word 'my'. Perhaps, then, everything would be all right. Perhaps she would still accept him as her own once he'd unburdened himself and she finally knew the truth.
"In another lifetime," he began, "I was known as Youko Kurama. Though my body is now human, there lives within the soul of a youko – a kitsune spirit, centuries old."
He lowered his gaze from her, intently studying the folded hands in his lap. "The life I lived then was not exactly admirable. To put it bluntly, I was a thief."
He looked up, meeting her eyes once more. "The King of Thieves some called me. Stories, some attaining the status of legend, abounded through the Makai – all attesting to my skill as a thief. And there wasn't anything I wouldn't steal. I took it all … from jewels and money to ancient artifacts to hearts as well as lives. If I wanted it, it became mine. The kitsune view life as nothing more than a game to be played, and I played the game to the hilt.
That is, until the day I got careless and was left to die in a pool of my own blood. I knew the wounds were fatal, but the kitsune in me refused to give up. I wasn't done playing the game, you see.
So I left my bloodied body behind, escaping to the Nigenkai in search of a new body; someplace safe I could stay until the time that my spirit was strong enough to return to the Makai. And I found just such a place: an unborn child… your child, Kaasan."
Again he lowered his gaze to study the hands in his lap. "I never considered what I was doing was wrong, taking your child's life and making it my own. I never thought…" he swallowed, and Shiori watched him clench his hands until the knuckles of the slender fingers shone white in the dim lamplight. "I had never known the love of a mother for her child; my own mother had abandoned me centuries ago. I'd never known what it was to be cared for; to be the sole reason for another's existence… until you." He looked up at her, leaf-green eyes shining with unshed tears. "I didn't want that kind of life, or so I told myself. And yet, I found myself being drawn inexorably to it. So much so that I wanted to give back to you some measure of what you'd given to me. I wanted, no needed, to be loved and to love in return. I needed to love you, Kaasan, and I did, with no thought of myself… and this in itself was new and frightening, though wondrous at the same time; that I, the selfish, self-absorbed kitsune could feel this way for another!
And then, when you became so ill, I found out just exactly what I would do for my kaasan. I remembered rumors I'd heard of an artifact, the Forlorn Hope, it was called: a mirror that, when gazed upon on the night of the full moon, granted its user one wish… One only, because you see, at the moment the wish was granted, the Forlorn Hope took the user's life in payment for that wish. But I didn't care. I decided to steal the mirror and use it to wish for your life, Kaasan, in exchange for my own. It was the least I could do after all you'd given to me. And so I readily agreed when Hiei approached me with the idea of breaking into the vault of King Enma, the ruler of the Spirit World, and stealing the three artifacts stored there. I knew that one of them was the Forlorn Hope. I stole it and did, in fact, make my wish… but the mirror didn't take my life.
It should have… I'd fully expected it would, so I hadn't bothered covering my tracks when I'd stolen it. But I lived… only because of the intervention of one very stubborn and persistent human boy. I was caught and sentenced to work with him as part of his team, as was Hiei. And somewhere during all the time we spent together, he and I moved beyond being mere team mates. We became friends, Kaasan, and that's where the story ends."
As her son finished his tale, Shiori reached out with her free hand, softly caressing his cheek. "I think you're wrong, musuko-chan," she said, "the story doesn't end there. In fact, I believe it's just beginning."
Kurama's hand went up to cover hers, pressing it into his cheek then turning his face slightly, he placed a kiss on her palm. He'd expected anger, rejection but instead, felt her overwhelming love, just as he always had.
"Kurama," she smiled at him as she spoke, her voice soft, almost musing. "It's a lovely name."
"Thank you, Kaasan," he breathed, kissing the hand in his again.
"You're welcome my beautiful kitsune." Pulling him to her, she leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Now," she said, "it's late and I think we've talked enough for one night. Time you were asleep, love."
"Hai, Kaasan," he replied, returning her kiss before settling himself beneath the blankets on the futon. "Good night."
"Sweet dreams, my son," she said and softly began the lullaby once more.
:He was falling… falling…
…into nothingness…
…fear… uncontrollable fear…
…and he was crying but there was no answer to his frantic cries…
…just the falling into nothingness and the overwhelming feeling of…
…abandonment…:
Hiei moaned, caught in the grip of his fever-induced nightmare.
"No… please," he muttered, "not again…"
"Shhhh, little one," Shiori soothed gently reaching out to stroke the small face. "It's all right."
She continued her caresses, murmuring softly as she tried to soothe the little demon into sleep once more. Hiei heard the soft words; felt the cool hand on his face.
"Kaasan…" he muttered.
"Hai," she assured him thinking he'd muttered the appellation only in his sleep. "I'm here." She reached out to touch his cheek again but stopped as she realized he was fully awake, half-lidded eyes watching her.
"You won't leave me, will you?" he pleaded fiercely, the grip on her hand tightening.
"No," she replied with a shake of her head. "I won't leave, I promise you. Now, close your eyes and go back to sleep."
"Arigatou, Kaasan," he mumbled, closing his eyes and settling his head on the pillow once more.
"You're welcome, my beautiful demon child," she said and leaning over, placed a soft kiss on his forehead; and with that kiss, claimed him as her own.
