Road Trip Chapter 14: On the road again!
Kurama: Solaris is off writing chapter 16, Foxglove is locked in a closet somewhere, and Hiei didn't want to, so I'm doing the disclaimer this time. Solaris doesn't own Yu Yu Hakusho or the characters therein, Dance Dance Revolution or any of the songs or artists, or laser tag. And now begins the end. –Sighs and pulls the cue cards from behind the desk and walks away-
"Well, I have to hand it to you. I didn't think you could fit all 12 of us in that dinky-ass car." Rooney laughed.
"Well, hell, five of us in the car, the other seven in the trailer. No sweat." Solaris grinned.
"Solaris, I feel like a sardine!" Foxglove whimpered. She was crammed between Rooney and Day. Solaris turned around in the passenger seat.
"Well, Hiei didn't want to ride in the car, so you were the only logical choice! Besides, do you really want to go to the hospital to get your intestines pieced back together and put back into your stomach?"
"No."
"Good! Then it's settled. Wherever Hiei is on the return trip, you're away from him." Solaris nodded and turned back around.
"Solaris, isn't that sort of cruel?" Raccoon asked from the driver's seat.
"Nah, it's justified. Plus I love to see her suffer." Solaris giggled evilly.
"Hey, watch what you say about the muse." Foxglove said angrily. "I got dah powah!"
"To piss me off?"
"Hey, let's chill! Turn on some tunes, would you, Jenks?" Raccoon asked. The pixy hopped down from the dashboard and hit 'play' on the CD player, praying it wasn't death metal in the player. Luckily, it wasn't.
--
"Wonder how the girls are doing?" Hiei asked.
"Aw, are you worried for Foxglove?" Kurama laughed.
"No, I'm worried for us! This doesn't look like the road we took coming here!" Hiei yelled.
"Chill out, Hiei," Melody said softly, trying to calm him. "Things always look unusual in reverse."
"Settle." Kara said, and left it at that.
"It's the scenic route. The four days and four nights scenic route." Azurite muttered to Ami as they looked at a map. (A/N: Kurama here again. Solaris is working on low energy, late nights, and little to no knowledge of Japan's roads. So, gomen nasai for the girl.)
"Doesn't kill me." Ami shrugged. "May kill him," she said as she jerked a purple-tipped thumb at Hiei.
"Now you have me wondering how the other girls are doing." Kurama sighed.
"I'm sure they're fine. They've got a combined age of, what, 600? With 6 centuries or more on their side, we're in good hands." Melody smiled.
"We don't know that for sure." Ami pointed out.
"And Solaris and Foxglove have the collective maturity of a six year old." Hiei scowled.
"Hiei, shut up. I think they've acted very mature this whole time." Kurama sighed as he laid back on the bed.
--
"Just when I think I'm winning
That I've broken every door
The ghosts of my life are wilder than before!" The girls in the car sang, laughing. Solaris and Foxglove abused the car, beating the rhythm out on the dashboard and the back of the seats, then it went off. (For names of songs, see the end of this chapter.)
"Damn. DDR music is way short. Oh, change it! I hate this one!" Raccoon said, and Jenks followed her instructions.
"Waka Laka!" Foxglove yelled. Hyperactivity abounded. Even Rooney got into the spirit of things!
"Hey, let's roll the windows down, it's Freckles!" Solaris suggested.
--
"It's getting warm in here. Can we open a window?" Ami asked. Kurama sat up and opened the window on his side of the trailer. Then he heard it.
"What the…" he muttered.
-I brushed against the freckles that I hated so
My life goes on and I heave a little sigh for you
It's heavy, the love that I would share for you
And it dissolved like it was just a sugar cube…-
"That's Solaris!" Melody gasped. She'd never heard the vixen sing, so she wasn't sure, but it sounded like her!
"Foxglove too!" Hiei scowled. "Damn, collective maturity of a four year old!"
"I thought you said six?" Azurite asked.
"It just went down." He replied.
"Sounds like the others just started in." Ami noted.
"Hm… not a bad sound. Y'know, for singing at the top of their lungs." Kara said grudgingly."
--
"Whee!" Foxglove laughed. Solaris was singing in an undertone now, what sounded like Pink Rose.
"So… have we created a monster?" Rooney asked.
"Nah, when she's drunk at a kareoke bar she's awful. She sings anything in that state. She sang some Spice Girls song drunk once, funny as hell." Foxglove laughed.
"Phew! Thanks, I was in songstress mode there." Solaris smiled.
"We need to stop at an arcade or something, get all this energy out." Day laughed.
"True. But for now…" Rooney smiled, then all occupants of the car yelled out:
"Break Down!"
--
"Jeez, maturity levels just sank below the floor," Hiei sighed.
"I'm actually glad that we're not in there. They'd kill us with the hyperactivity." Azurite said.
"LOVE SHINE!"
"Oh, god…"Kurama sighed. Ami was fanning his face trying to calm him down.
--
"Solaris, is that sake?" Day chided.
"No, raspberry flavored water." Solaris laughed. "Ooh, Obsession!"
"How come I must knowWhere obsession needs me to go?"
"If it's possible to get drunk off of raspberry water, I think Sol-chan just has." Raccoon laughed nervously.
"It's sugar high. We've been driving for an hour and a half and she's had two of those." Day rationalized.
"Gotta be. Whoops! One o'clock, nap time for foxes!" Foxglove said, then passed out.
"Someone shake my sister awake! I see an arcade!" Solaris yelled.
"In this wilderness? It's a mir-" Raccoon began, then saw it. "Or not."
--
"Hey, why are we stopping?" Hiei asked. As soon as he got out of the trailer, he saw the two-story arcade. "In this wilderness?" he questioned.
"My thoughts exactly." Raccoon said. Jenks fluttered to Hiei's shoulder and fell asleep. "He seems to like your shoulder." She nodded, her foxtail swishing. "Would you watch him? Thanks!" Raccoon hugged Hiei and ran to join the others. He stood there a moment, still surprised by the warmth. It wasn't unpleasant…
"But I still don't like it!" he muttered to himself as he joined them.
Solaris and Foxglove had just finished a round of DDR, pulling off poses at each opportunity. Hiei was trying a VR fighting game; Jenks tucked into a pocket of his cloak. Kara was winning at a motorcycle racing game, and Ami was losing to Kara by one position. Kurama was waiting to play against Solaris, and everyone else was on the second floor, playing laser tag.
"Hyperactive fun!" Solaris called as she put the game on 321 Stars. As soon as that was over, she dragged Kurama over to a Keyboard Mania game. "Let's play this!" she smiled. He laughed and paid; she would pay for the next game. The first thing she put it on was Heart of Sword. (A/N: I'm sure it doesn't really have that, but I'm inspired, so let me write.) No one gave much thought to the five people playing laser tag upstairs.
--
"This is nuts, man!" Melody cried out softly. The girls had gotten in there, and suddenly five opponents had appeared! Melody and Azurite were waiting behind a divider.
"No foolin'," Azurite nodded. "The screaming…" Rooney had been the first to take one out. Now she was sitting behind a very solid divider, in shock. The lasers were not just toys! One shot would take out anyone alive! Melody had been grazed by a laser on her hand, and she was finally regaining some feeling.
"Gus, I'm going." Day said stubbornly.
"I can take one out!" Raccoon insisted. She had been rubbing her lower leg, trying to regain feeling where a laser had gotten her.
"No, you stay and tend Rooney." Day sounded really determined. The remaining four opponents tried to sneak up on the divider. Day looked out from under said divider, and did something unorthodox: she jumped up and took out all four, rapid fire. When her feet touched the floor again and she heard the reassuring thud, Day blew on the tip of the gun, like in an old western movie.
"Now let's get Rooney and get going!" Day said. No one argued.
"Let's get outta here!" Rooney said when they reached the first floor. A voice suddenly rang out.
"You'll pay for what you did to Sota and Ai!"
"Not them! They haunt me yet!" Solaris growled.
"I thought it was too convenient…" Raccoon said. Each fox (and dog) ear was lowered in fury.
"The doors are locked!" Foxglove cried. Hiei was in silent shock; he'd never seen her cry in fear. Solaris, yes, even Kurama had seen that, but not Foxglove! Foxglove had only ever been seen crying in anger!
"Ooh…" Solaris growled.
"You'll pay!"
"Yeah, I get the damned idea!" Solaris yelled. "Where are ya, I'm gonna kill ya! No, better yet, you come to me!" Kurama held her back by the shoulders.
"Hey, quit the Inuyasha tactics! We need to get outta here!" Ami yelled.
"Fine, you want out before this creep dies, you'll get out!" Solaris shrieked, slamming her foot into a wall. The building shrieked.
"The demon is the arcade!" Kara said.
"I'm gonna need help. We gotta kick the glass out of the doors while everyone else beats the walls. Who's with me?" Solaris declared stubbornly. All but Foxglove nodded or said 'hai'. Foxglove was in frightened shock.
"Oh, snap out of it!" Hiei yelled as he shook the muse. "This is no time for fear! Now we need the normal Foxglove! Cry all you want later, buck up and help out now!" Kara went one step further: she slapped the girl.
"OW! That hurt!"
"Yeah, I meant for it to! And if you don't straighten up, I'll slap you again! Now are you kickin' glass or beating walls?"
"Wuh-walls…" Foxglove said in fright.
"Fine. I'll help kick out the doors." Azurite and Kara said at the same time.
"Hey, wall people. Lasers?" Day smiled. All eight of the wall people took a laser and started shooting; surprisingly, they worked!
"On my mark! Ichi…Ni…San!" Solaris yelled, and on 'san' the three girls kicked out the glass. "Now! Run for it!" she yelled.
"But Jenks!" Raccoon yelled, almost in tears.
"I've got him, come on!" Hiei yelled, grabbing hers and Foxglove's wrists and running. Solaris grabbed driver's side this time and Kurama hopped in the passenger's seat. All others ran for the trailer.
"We won't make it!" Ami shouted to Melody as they ran. Melody's tail and ears had popped up, and Ami's hair had a silver cast to it, like she was ready to transform.
"The hell we won't." Melody said, then pushed Ami in reach of the trailer. Day pulled the half-faerie girl into the trailer, and Melody put on the speed. She almost didn't make it, but Hiei jumped out, grabbed her by the waist, and jumped back in. When the door was securely closed, he sighed and sat down. Melody collapsed in relief.
"10. And the ringleaders are in the car. That nut. She nearly left two of us." Hiei scowled.
"She wanted out of there as much as we did." Rooney rationalized.
"Jenks! Where's my pixy?" Raccoon cried. Hiei reached inside a cloak pocket and pulled out the pixy, laying him on a pillow.
"Slept the whole time."
"Thank you!" Raccoon cried happily, hugging the fire demon again.
"Personal… No, go ahead. If it makes you feel better." Hiei sighed, thinking better of pushing the girl away.
--
Late that night, as Hiei was just about to fall asleep, Foxglove spoke. "Th-thanks for saving me. It was really brave. And a noble thing to do for a loved one."
"Do I need to wake Kara up to slap you again? I don't love you." Hiei's crimson eyes shone in the darkness. "I don't even like you as a friend. I only tolerate you for the sake of living in a house."
"Hiei, deep down I know you like me at least a little! Maybe not like-like, but at least like!" Foxglove protested.
"You picked up on that confusing ningen slang too quickly." Hiei scowled before falling asleep.
--
"I'll drive in you want…" Kurama offered.
"No! I'm getting us to Tokyo as fast as I can, no unnecessary stops, nothing! I don't want another arcade incident on my hands! I didn't tell you… or anyone this, but…" Solaris sighed, rallying her courage. "I didn't tell Koenma that we were leaving."
"WHAT! You specifically said…"
"I know what I specifically said! And now I'm telling you what I specifically didn't say. Or do, to be more precise." She sighed again, deciding to be open. "I didn't want a set time of return. Road trips don't work like that, so far as I know. So I didn't tell him and I didn't answer when he called." She took her hands off the wheel and ran them through her hair. "If he doesn't revoke my parole, I'll be amazed."
"I didn't think you had to check in. I mean, ningen parole and all…" Kurama trailed off, then sighed. "I thought it was something like nine and Hiei's."
"It is, in the sense that I wronged the Reikai and got sent to the Ningenkai. But when I go out of Tokyo, where there's a chance I can get lost from one of the Tantei, I have to call in." She would have dearly loved to slam her hand on the car horn, but she didn't. "His last message… he sounded really pissed."
"I would be too." Kurama sighed, then pulled her cell phone out of a small black leather pouch. "Call him."
--
Koenma was raging around his office, ignoring Botan and Ayame's attempts to calm him. It was 11:30 PM, it had been almost two weeks, and neither Solaris nor Foxglove had called in!
"That girl is…!" he began, his rant left unfinished when the phone rang. He snatched it up. "Yes!"
-Sheesh, chill. I'm checking in.-
"Solaris! Where are you and what have you been doing!" Koenma yelled, infuriated.
"You'd think her call would calm him down a little." Botan muttered. Ayame nodded.
-Uh, let's see… somewhere in Shizuoka prefecture, the middle of nowhere, and I've been touring Kyoto. Picked up a new friend… or eight.- Solaris sounded so calm! –Took care of three demons for you. Human eating, as far as I can tell.-
"Stop the devil-may-care attitude! You sound like Yusuke!" Koenma yelled. "Why wait until now to call!"
-Kurama told me to. Oh, and let the devil care! I sure as hell don't!- Solaris laughed.
"I thought you had religion!"
-Nah. Went agnostic after the nun thing. Figured I don't hit the church, why say I have religion?- This was new. –Y'know, maybe I'm not agnostic. What's something that's not atheist, but non-worship?- She asked.
"Does that matter! Lemme talk to Kurama!" Koenma demanded.
-Yes?- Kurama asked.
"Had any problems with her?" Koenma asked. Kurama was knocked for a loop. He had expected a 'you let her go to Kyoto!' fit or an 'it's your fault!' at the very least.
-Uh… no. No problems. She went on a ninja fit, but that passed in a day…No, Solaris, I will not let you forget that. Hey! Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel! No! Not there!- Kurama yelled, then the call ended.
"What do you suppose that was about?" Ayame asked. The other two occupants of the room…er, office merely shrugged.
--
"Solaris! Stop!" Kurama was trying to move away. He had hit 'end' just as Solaris began trying to grab his sides and reclaim her cell phone. "Ten and two!"
"Actually I think it's nine and three now, and it's a straight stretch so get used to this and thank cruise control, love!"
"Seriously, quit!" He started laughing; she had succeeded in grabbing his side.
"Not until you return the Nokia!" Solaris giggled; torture had never been so fun! Of course, torture is always more fun if you aren't the one being tortured.
"Here, take it!" he choked out between laughs and handed her the phone. She put it back in the case, laughing. "You are one evil creature, you know it?"
"I try." She smiled, finally putting her hands back on the wheel.
"Do you want me to take over?" Kurama asked.
"Nah, I'm good until the next prefecture." Solaris smiled sleepily.
"You look tired. We could pull over…"
"NO! What if another demon comes? I can't sleep!" Solaris yelled. Kurama just barely saw tears falling. "I don't wanna fight anymore! But… a demon living in the Ningenkai… it's hard not to!" She was all out sobbing now. "How you've stood it… my arts have failed me, I've buried myself in translating a Spanish book to English, and I still wanna get out and get into a major back alley fight!"
"Solaris, pull over, okay? I don't sense any strange demon energy." Kurama insisted. This time, Solaris did what she was told. Her head was on the wheel as she sobbed.
"I dream of fighting the most unlikely of people! College students, Mitsuo, strangers, Foxglove, Hiei, Yusuke… even you! Going all out and fighting is what I want so badly to do! But I can't let myself, because if I do, then…" She drew her breath unsteadily. "Then I jeopardize the knowledge of the three worlds. And should some ningen find out… I wouldn't be here anymore, I'd be nowhere, I'd be dead, because Koenma would kill me."
Kurama pulled her into an awkward one-armed hug. She had seemed so down a few days before they left, but he thought she was over it! She had done a good job of hiding it. "Do you really want to keep going? At the rate we're going we'll be back in Tokyo in no time." He held her close, wishing that all her tears could evaporate, and the old bubbly Solaris would be back again. "I'll wake one of the others up; Hiei's wanted to try driving for a while." He offered.
"No, no, that's okay. I don't want anyone else to wake up on my account. I'm so… childish!" she cried, nearly gasping for breath.
"You aren't. You have your immature moments, but that's all right." He slowly rocked her back and forth, soothing her. "Shh… Shh… all you need is some rest. You've had the bat out of Hades drive since we escaped." He calmed. Suddenly, there was a rap at the window.
"Hey, hate to interrupt this sweet moment, but… are we going? That estimate was driving all day and night…What's wrong with Solaris?" Azurite asked, oddly alert.
"Break down." Kurama explained.
"Want my muse…" Solaris muttered.
"I'll drive, you take here to Foxglove. And get some rest yourself, you've been awake almost 24 hours straight." Azurite said. Kurama didn't question, he just got out of the car and carried the foxgirl to the trailer.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Foxglove asked, yawning. Hiei turned over to watch.
"She had a nervous breakdown." Kurama said as he set the foxgirl down.
"Sis!" Solaris cried as she ran over to the futon. This time, Foxglove had the duty of calming the nervous wreck. In no time the motion of the trailer had them soothed to sleep. Kara had gone to make sure Azurite stayed awake, so Kurama got a futon.
"They're sorta cute asleep." Hiei mumbled reluctantly.
"Yeah." Kurama nodded. "I don't get it. One minute we were joking, she was trying to steal her cell phone back, the next she was crying."
"She doesn't take teasing well?"
"No, not that, she was having a blast then. I suggested we pull over and she started crying about how she didn't want to fight." Kurama explained. "She dreams of fighting anyone. And I do mean anyone."
"Hn." Hiei scowled. It translated to 'I knew she was crazy but…that girl needs therapy.'
"And if she did go to therapy? It'd be more lies, she'd have to hide her true pain. How would that help?" Kurama asked angrily.
"…I knew it. She's special, isn't she? Something else?" Hiei asked quietly. Kurama didn't answer, but turned his back.
"Hiei, you may be one of my best friends, but I don't have to answer. Now good night." he said icily. Hiei shrugged it off. It was only exhaustion and stress. Come morning, the fox would be fine.
Kurama: And that concludes this chapter.
Solaris: -From another room- Hey! Song list, buddy!
Kurama: -Stressed look- Fine! The songs in this chapter were:
Ghosts-Vincent DeMoor Remix, Waka Laka, Freckles (English version), Pink Rose, Break Down, Love Shine, Obsession , and Heart of Sword.
That's all. Review, please.