One More Week
A YYH fanficiton by Sir Psycho Sexy
A/N: Another fic with Samuko in it. I wanted to elaborate on her personality a bit more, plus show her in a serious fanfic. I also wanted to humanize the stock fanfiction role of "evil homophobic bitch", so that you could see her side of the story as well. People and characters usually do things for more complex reasons than they appear to be at first glance, so thanks for bearing with me.
-SPS
Shinobu sat anxiously on the couch in the living room by the front door, waiting. Waiting for someone, be it his mother coming back from the hospital with her test results, or Itsuki chasing after wanted Reikai criminals.
His mother and his lover were at odds; Samuko, not two weeks before, had announced that she planned to kill him and dispose of the body. However, Shinobu countered that his Tantei partner was as strong as he was, and therefore could not be killed by gunfire. Samuko conceded and sulked for the rest of the day, counting the number of dishes in the dish cabinet, grouping them by sevens.
Shinobu just wondered what was wrong with his mother, why she overreacted so damn much to everything having to do with him. He thought she would have gotten used to it by now- he and Itsuki had been together for a month now. But she still panicked whenever the turquoise-haired demon entered the house, even if it was just to converse, or even to borrow an egg to make tamago-zushi.
The teenager heard the door open and slam against the wall. In walked his mother, with a very disgruntled expression on her face.
"Mother, what's wrong?" he asked.
"EVERYTHING is wrong!" Samuko screamed and held her arms tight against her body. "You're wrong, I'm wrong, your…your…friend…is wrong…The world's going to get screwed over, I tell you!"
"Ca-calm down," stated Shinobu. "What do you mean?"
"First off, the darn doctor says I have an inoperable tumor, and I'm going to die within a week. Tell me that isn't getting screwed over! I always have the worst karma! First your father, then you, now me…." The petite woman seemed close to exploding.
"What did Father do?" Shinobu was curious; he had never ever heard his mother speak of his father, besides the fact that her son was without one.
An awkward silence filled the room.
"Shinobu…I've never told you this…" Samuko started crying. "Your…your father…he left me…for a man…right before we were going to get married…" She knelt down on the floor, her skirt covering her household slippers, and bawled her eyes out.
Shinobu just stared at her in shock. She continued: "I found out just after I found out I was pregnant…Hiroshi was hanging around this seedy bar where a lot of foreigners were going, and something in my gut told me to follow him the third time he went out there…I saw it with my own eyes! He was kissing some…unclean American fellow! I was so very angry, and I tore into him with all I had, and he…he got with his …friend…and put a restraining order against me. I had no choice left but to…to…stalk and kill him…"
Shinobu went over to where his mother was. He felt an odd affinity with his absent father; they were going through the same crisis of identity. "Did…did you kill him?"
"N-no…" Samuko sobbed yet again. "I had really poor aim because I was so nervous, and I had to polish the gun barrel seven times before I shot at them. They-they survived…and moved to the United States…" And then, under her breath, she muttered, "I'm hoping that new virus gets them…"
"Why would you say something like that?"
"Because, Shinobu, honey…he betrayed me. Every man I've ever known and loved has betrayed me…even my OWN SON!"
"I-I…didn't…"
"Yes you did. You have a-a…friend…like your father did…I thought you'd be different! I was so happy after that time when that…demon-thing…almost killed me when you were four…and-and you saved me from it…and you got the job with Koenma. I thought you were a god because of that, a real live god! I was so happy with that thought of my son being a beacon of divinity, of justice…I know you mean well with Itsuki, but my feelings…they say I've been betrayed again…" Samuko stood up, leaned into her son's chest, and cried until her eyes turned puffy and red.
Shinobu had no clue what to do at this point. His mother was clearly being irrational- perchance a characteristic of her sex?- but also, here in front of him, was an attempted murderer who was of his own blood. A woman who was angry at the world, angry that, even with the insurance of having a Reikai Tantei for a son, everything would seem so bleak for her and her family.
Reluctantly, he embraced her. He forced himself to; the woman only had one more week to live…
FIN
A/N Part Deux: About the "new virus" bit…this story takes place in the early 1980's, so, yes, the "new virus" is AIDS.