Disclaimer- I give up. Completely. My parents won't take me to Japan so I can get Togashisama to sign YYH over to me.
AN- Ha! Four reviews! Eat that... umm… people who get a lot more than four reviews! Ch'… I guess I was spoiled by my years in the FY section, where I could just sit back relax, and get twenty reviews on a chapter. (That, by the way, is a lie; I only did that once and the fic was subsequently deleted by FF in a mind-bogglingly weird move).
The quote this time really suits the chapter, I think. I've always liked Ayu's lyrics better than her music…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
jibun yori mo fukou na hito o
mite wa sukoshi nagusamerare
jibun yori mo shiawase na hito
mitsuketa nara kyuu ni asetteru
dakedo kitto dakara tokidoki
dou shiyou mo naku
mijime na sugata ni ki ga tsuite
genjitsu ni butsukaru…
I'm a little comforted when I see
someone unhappier than me
I'm suddenly impatient when I see
someone happier than me
but surely that's why once in a while
I can't help but realize
how miserable I am
and I come into contact with reality
(end of the world (Ayumi Hamasaki))
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There is a word for what people thought Shuuichi was- saint. It wasn't conscious, but when somebody is "perfect", you just attach that to them. Maybe he was a saint. Who is to judge? But there was one thing he knew, and that was that his behavior toward Hiei was anything but saintly.
It had started all right. He had truly wanted Hiei to move up. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized it was just a pity project. A genius helping someone of lesser intellect, of no threat to his standings.
Then Hiei started to improve.
It had taken only a week for him to surpass many of those in front of him, which had further strengthened Shuuichi's opinion of Hiei as a former slacker. The boy was brilliant, even if he didn't show it. There were times when he found a solution faster than his tutor- the first warning sign.
Without perfection, Shuuichi was nothing. This he knew, and this he had told Hiei that first day. As the former delinquent moved up more and more, he began to pose a threat to Shuuichi's perfection. And Shuuichi, the kind, the considerate… he began to believe that Hiei had done it to spite him. Where once he had urged Hiei to try each problem, he began to subtly discourage the younger boy. He would wave off concepts as "probably not important", leaving Hiei in the dark. Still, even he realized that was the only thing keeping Hiei from surpassing him, and it made him angrier to think that the margin was decided by Hiei's ignorance, so easily remedied.
If only he'd known what Hiei went through every day. Then maybe he wouldn't have fallen into exactly the same bitterness…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"When do you eat?" Shuuichi asked Hiei casually, taking a bite out of his own lunch. "You never bring food here."
"So what if I don't?" Hiei snarled, mentally attempting to remember when he had last eaten anything worth mentioning. He had stolen… borrowed… a roll on the way home the previous day, had a vague recollection of some sort of fruit in the past week, and a definite memory of food at Shuuichi's. Although that had been a seriously long time a---
An apple fell into his lap.
"Here."
"Huh?"
"It's for you."
Hiei stared at it. He may have thought himself a worthless piece of pond scum, but he had pride, if nothing else. And if that pride meant he would starve to death, so be it. "I don't want it."
At that, Shuuichi grabbed his hand and forced him to take the apple. "Come on, you're completely anorexic. You should eat it, it's good for you."
"Oh, now you're my doctor?" But that food was looking so appealing… He shook his head and slammed his textbook open, pointedly starting on a problem. "How do I change sine to cosine?"
"Square root of one minus cosine squared," Shuuichi answered automatically before glaring. "Don't change the subject."
Catlike, Hiei leaned back and stretched. "What subject?" Damned if he was going to let Shuuichi poke into his life, which was quite undeniably none of his business. It just wasn't enough that the perfect, never-been-hit angel face had to be perfect and never hit. No, he had to rub it in too.
Shuuichi threw up his hands. "Fine! Be that way."
"I will, thank you very much."
"Absolutely hopeless."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The sun was bright that day, warming two boys sitting out on the grass, saving the world, one math problem at a time. The scene looked so idyllic, it would be hard to believe the unconscious animosity. Actually, in Shuuichi's shame over his negativity, he had quite gone over to the other side trying to overcome it.
"Ne, Hieisan?"
He raised lazy, crimson eyes. "Don't be so familiar." Shuuichi pouted, and he recanted. "What?"
"What is there really between you and Itetsusan?"
The unexpected question almost made Hiei fall over flat on the grass. "Huh?" Squinting, he attempted an estimate. "I'd say… a hundred meters, give or take a few hundred."
"Yeah, very funny."
"I thought so too."
"I'm being seriously here." Shuuichi looked at him straight on with innocent green eyes. "You're always watching her in class and stuff, and you look a lot happier whenever she's around."
"What's it to you?"
"I'm just curious. Come on, if you like her, I'd be happy to mediate for you."
One could have frozen flames with Hiei's glare. "I don't need your help, Minaminosan."
"Aha! So you do like her!"
"No!"
"The more someone denies it, the more in love they are!"
"I'm not denying it!"
"Uh huh."
"I'm not in love with her; she's my SISTER!" Hiei blinked. Had he let that slip? Eternal curses.
"Come again?"
"Nothing."
"No, really, did I hear you right? You're her brother? I distinctly remember she's an only child." Shuuichi thought very hard about this for a moment. His memory was impeccable. It was inconceivable that he would have forgotten or mistaken something like that.
Hiei mumbled something.
"Hm?"
"Isaidshedoesn'tknow."
That had been most definitely not what Shuuichi had expected to hear. He eyed Hiei with an expression that clearly told the dark-haired boy that he was stark, raving mad. "Why haven't you told her?"
"She's perfectly happy without a brother."
"She needs to know!" Shuuichi exclaimed indignantly. "If you don't tell her tomorrow, I will!"
"NO!" Hiei nearly yelled. "No," he repeated more calmly. "She doesn't need a brother, especially one like me. If she knew, she'd just hate me." Like everyone else. Who would want to be related to him…
"Fine. I won't tell." Shuuichi conceded defeat, fully prepared to tell Yukina or at least point her in the correct direction should the next day come without a revelation. He didn't understand, couldn't have understood, why Hiei kept such a secret. "But I think you should tell her."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hiei was cursing to himself as he headed home. It just figured he'd let it slip to Shuuichi, probably the only person who would have made it a mission to have the truth revealed. In fact, he was so distracted that he didn't notice that the apartment was silent once more until he opened the door and saw his father standing there, holding a letter in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. He forced himself to ignore it, carefully placing his bookbag down against the wall and changing his school shoes to slippers.
"How do you explain this?" Kizato waved the paper in his son's face.
"Hm?" Hiei picked it up curiously. Mail regarding him very rarely came. He skimmed it, confused. It was a letter from the school detailing his tremendous progress over the course of the last month. There was nothing negative at all, just praise for what he had accomplished. "Umm… what about it?"
"Don't give me that. If you could do so well before, why didn't you? School isn't free, you know."
A moment of shock preceded Hiei's comprehension of his father's statement. If that wasn't twisted, he had no idea what was. He knew where this was leading up to- a beating for the sin of succeeding. He couldn't have known that his father had just been fired (again) from his latest job for turning up at work drunk. That the school had also sent a letter that day requesting that tuition be paid.
"What the hell did I do to deserve a son like you?"
Hiei braced himself instantly. Already he was shuddering with the anticipation of the sensation of broken glass against his back. What had he done indeed…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Whoo. That was the chapter… I think it's a little rushed, but I wasn't sure what to put in between. The story's taken on more of a Stupid Humorous Conversation theme, which is all right for amusement, but kind of doesn't make things as happy… oh well. I'm having a lot of fun. This is going to be epic if I finish it, most definitely. If you haven't caught it, Hiei's becoming more Shuuichilike, and Shuuichi's soon going to head into rebellion. Both will become twisted versions of the other; that is, if I can pull it off.
Thanks for the reviews, to all, and really confused brownies to people who put me on their author alerts but have never reviewed my fics. Who ARE you people? Oh, and Pickles, the "mobius" thing is explained in chapter one… (that actually takes me a while to remember). Yareyare, please review! (Coincidentally, I've been applying my formula the wrong way… I've been updating everything three days early, but it doesn't really matter because I don't expect to get double digit reviews anytime soon.) Anyways, 'till the next chapter.
