Road Trip: YYH Style!
Solaris: Okay, here's the last chapter to Road Trip. Thank you for hanging with me for 16 chapters of this insanity, and thanks to all the people who have reviewed and sent characters. You have made this story the most successful one in my books, though I'm still a little jealous of the people who get 50-100 reviews. Now, for the final installment of Road Trip! Oh, standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 16: Midnight Phone Call from an Unexpected Person
Solaris was driving, singing to the radio, which was playing "Never Ever" by Ayumi Hamasaki. Rooney was asleep in the passenger seat, and Foxglove had passed out in the back seat. 'Koori no Naifu wo Daite' played low, and Solaris turned down the radio to answer he phone.
"Moshi moshi, Solaris Moon here."
-"Moon-San? It's Minamino Shiori."-
"Oyasumi, Minamino-San! Nani ka atta?" Solaris asked, smiling. (A/N: Nani ka atta-What's up?)
-"I talked to Shuiichi today."- Shiori said, as if it were no big deal.
"Really? That explains the sent call." Solaris muttered. Kurama had not told her this.
-"I'm sorry to call so late, but I wanted to ask: is Shuiichi all right? He sounded so different today…"- Shiori hadn't heard Solaris's remark, some kinda miracle!
"Late? Nah. Midnight is my midmorning. And he was sorta ticked at Hiei for something." Solaris said.
-"No, my son didn't sound angry. Just… different. I guess a little calmer than I'm used to."-
"Hm… Vacations rock the mind. Or maybe it's cause we aren't far from home. Day and a half, maybe. Whoops! My bad! One day! Sorry 'bout that." Solaris laughed.
-"Ah… well, he's all right, and that matters. And how are you doing?"- Shiori's question threw Solaris for a serious loop. She hadn't expected the human woman, one she hardly knew, to be concerned.
"Me? A little stressed I guess, but Foxglove has the attention span of a hyperactive gnat, and that'll do it." Solaris explained. –Actually it's all the shit I've been through lately, but I'm sure Kurama's Okassan doesn't really want to hear that. -
-"I see. Well, you should come over for dinner when you get back. Maybe a couple of days after?"- Shiori offered. Solaris was beginning to get dizzy from all of the loops she was being put through.
"Uh, sure, I guess. I kinda want a couple of days to get back on my feet. Strange beds don't do anything for me."
-"All right. Well, get some rest…Oh! You're driving, I'll bet."-
"Yeah, but not for long. Foxglove is in for a rude awakening." Solaris laughed.
-"Okay, you get some rest, and have a safe trip. Ja Ne!"- Shiori laughed.
"Sure thing, Minamino-San. Ja!" Solaris blinked, and ended the call. Ningen were so confusing… (A/N: Cultural side note here. Japan doesn't add an 's' to make things plural. Cat is Neko. Cats is Neko. Just so you don't get confused.)
--
Shiori hung up the phone, then sat down to massage her forehead. A talk with Moon-San was a little unnerving. The way she spoke was so odd, like she hadn't lived her whole life in Japan! But Shuiichi had said Moon-San had lived in Japan all her life, hadn't he? She'd lived somewhere she hadn't recognized… well, no use puzzling over it tonight. They'd be home soon enough, and she could ask then. If she remembered…
--
"So, Tokyo is only a day away? Finally! Outta this looney bin tomorrow!" Kara yelled, the happiest anyone had seen her… ever!
"Yeah." Foxglove nodded. –Back to Tokyo and my pursuit of Hiei's heart! -
"Solaris? Solaris? Guys, I think she's ill." Day said softly. Kurama walked over and pulled an earphone from the foxgirl's ear.
"Not ill. Zoned out. Green Day from the sound of it." Kurama sighed. Suddenly the girl jumped up, reclaimed the ear bud, and pulled Foxglove over.
"Foxglove, take a listen to this!" she laughed and handed the headphone to her muse. Foxglove listened doubtfully for a moment. Half a minute later she and her pseudo-twin were leaning on each other laughing.
"Have you two finally lost it?" Ami asked.
"I'm the patron saint of the denial
With an angel face and a taste for suicidal!" the foxgirls sang out.
"Oh my lord…" Melody sighed as Solaris started head-banging and playing air guitar.
"Give her a few minutes. She'll be over it. And for the record, I'm not really related to her." Foxglove said, hiding behind Hiei and ignoring his angered glares and scowls. Rooney took a listen and smiled.
"St. Jimmy!" she yelled. That snapped the fox girl out of it.
"Yeah. Thanks! I do that occasionally. I'm more likely to when I've been cooped up for a while." Solaris grinned.
"I see… hey! You do know that it'll be Umi no Hi (Ocean Day) when we get into Tokyo, right?" Day asked.
"No…Oh man! I knew I forgot something!" Kurama said (uncharacteristically loud), as if it were something serious. Which, when he told them what, it turned out to be. "I missed Obon! I can't believe it! Kassan is going to be so mad!" (A/N: Okay, another culture note here. Obon is the three-day period in which dead relatives are honored. Sorta like Dia De Los Muertos, for the people who study Spanish. And it's held on July 13-July 16.)
"Kurama, she called me last night, and she sounded just fine. Besides, don't you celebrate it on the lunar calendar? You have a month, Kura-Kun." Solaris said gently. (A/N: Okay, I'll try to keep this the last one. Obon can also be celebrated on August 13-August 16. Which is when I'll be celebrating it, by the way.)
"Yeah, she's right." Rooney nodded. "It doesn't matter about the July ceremony. August is the way to go. Aren't the cemeteries in Tokyo crowded on July 16?" Solaris shrugged as Rooney asked.
"Beats me. I've only been there since the middle of May, and I don't have relatives buried there. My family, sans Foxglove, is in the Makai. My surrogate family, however…"
"Surrogate? Elaborate, please." Kurama said, calming down.
"Uh… Well, the Tantei and company are like family to me." Solaris blushed. "Stupid, yes, I know. But true."
"Y'know what? We need to stop. Take some time. Eat lunch outside for a change. Oh, Hiei, we'll still be in Tokyo tomorrow." Foxglove smiled.
"Yeah, an hour for the vixen and muse to calm down would be good." Hiei shrugged.
"Call 'em up and tell 'em it's lunchtime!" Day grinned amid cheers and two very disinterested 'Hn'-s from Kara and Hiei.
--
"Solaris hasn't been this bouncy since the time the coach got the trampoline out for gym." Kurama said quietly over lunch.
"She was bouncy? Funny. She seemed gimpy to me. Sore ankle. The muse knows these things." Foxglove laughed. "Of course, I wasn't there, I wouldn't know how hyped she was." Foxglove laughed a little more uneasily as Kurama got to his feet. "Hey, I was only kidding!"
"He knows. Look, he's getting Solaris." Day said softly.
--
Kurama had pulled Solaris out of the tall grass and wild flowers to a more secluded area-a bamboo grove.
"Solaris, none of your family has ever been here for long?" he asked. Solaris thought for a moment.
"Hm… Nope. Mom came to Tokyo once when she was younger, then when I got my car." Solaris said, then adopted a scowl. "Sin city then, hasn't changed a bit," she said in her mother's tone, and both teens cracked up laughing.
"That's Nohara all right." Kurama nodded.
"If this is about that Obon thing, I am uber-sorry! I don't know all the holidays and festivals, or I didn't when we set out on this trip. I sort of read up on them during our stay at the hotel." Solaris apologized.
"That's not it." Kurama shook his head. "I was going to ask… Are you going back to the Makai for Obon?"
"What days does it fall on?" she asked, then counted them off before Kurama could answer. "Friday through Monday, right? Take three days off of school to hear Nohara bitch and moan? No thanks!" she said, then made a disgusted face. (A/N: Final one, I swear! This is set in 2004, okay? Wish I had finished it last year, but that can't be helped.)
"I'd say the same. So… if you're staying here, do you want to go…" Kurama paused, trying to make sense of it all. Here he was, about to ask a girl he'd known for only two or three months if she wanted to go to the cemetery with him and his family! It made no sense, but then she had an aura of insanity, so perhaps to her… "This is going to sound like Hiei's idea of a date, but do you want to visit the graves with my family and I?"
"Isn't that a family thing though?" she asked.
"You said I was part of your surrogate family, right? So why not?" he shrugged.
"Well… uh… sure, I guess. Why not?" she smiled. "I get to spend my first Ningenkai Obon with… hey, wait. They aren't really your family, so why?" Solaris asked.
"They are. Well, sorta. They're Shuiichi's real family, or mine so to say. Youko, well, I have no clue." Kurama said. Solaris bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry, that was a really impudent question! After all, you never asked me to explain my reasoning, and I should have done the same!" she apologized vehemently.
"It's all right, I wasn't offended. It's a natural question." Kurama smiled. "So we're on for August 16?"
"You bet!" Solaris smiled, and the pair returned to lunch.
--
"You did? Oh…" Kurama said dejectedly that night. He and Solaris were on the night drive shift, and Solaris had lent him her phone again to call Shiori.
"Hm? Nani?" Solaris whispered. Kurama put a hand over the mouth of the phone.
"Everyone else went four days ago, the day we left Kyoto." He whispered back, then spoke into the phone. "I know. The days just slip by. Wha- Yes, I invited Solaris, but now… Yeah, I guess I'll go alone in August. Well, not really alone, she said yes. Of course she knows what to do, she's Japanese. Right, Kassan. See you tomorrow. Oyasumi Nasai."
"Wow, I figured your mom had her doubts about me, but to think I'm a gaijin… I feel loved." Solaris's ears were flat on her head in embarrassment.
"You're as Japanese as I am, Kassan's just… unnerved by how you talk."
"How so?"
"You talk to her like you would another teen, only more respectfully. It's unusual to her."
"Well, what can you expect of a girl who lives with her twin sister?" Solaris laughed.
"Not much better," Kurama agreed, laughing.
"So it's just us for the 16th?"
"Yeah." Kurama nodded. They drove a little further before either spoke again.
"I'll be glad to see home again." Solaris remarked quietly.
"Yes, I agree. Hate to admit it, but I missed everyone." Kurama nodded. "Except the RFMSA."
"Nani?" Solaris asked.
"Rabid Fan girls of Minamino Shuiichi Association. They've named themselves now." Kurama sighed.
"What's in a name? That which they call an army is still pounded by a few demons. Or Godzilla." Solaris shrugged. Kurama laughed, if a little uneasily; was she talking ningen or Reikai Defenses? And was she serious? When she giggled, he decided she wasn't.
--
"And I believe that's a flush," Foxglove smiled as she put down her cards. Rooney looked, then slapped down four aces and a King.
"And I think I win." Rooney smiled.
"You have the devil's luck…" Ami sighed.
"Maybe not the devil's. Maybe something else entirely." Rooney interjected.
"Some kind of crazy luck, that's for sure." Ami sighed.
"Guys, you've been playing poker for the last hour. Can't you call it quits and eat dinner?" Day asked uneasily.
"Nah, not yet. My luck has to turn around soon." Foxglove protested. Hiei put a stop to the game by going to the table, setting his dinner down on a small pile of cards, and eating.
"Aren't you three tired of this? I'd like dinner this century!" Kara protested. She'd been keeping Melody, Raccoon, and Jenks quiet for the past hour by practicing her shape shifting.
"One more, please?" Melody asked. Kara sighed and Raccoon turned to Jenks.
"Last one, buddy, make it good." Raccoon said.
"Hm… Can ye turn into a bunny plushy?" Jenks asked. Kara groaned, but did.
"Cyuuute!" Foxglove cried. Kara turned back to normal.
"Okay, dinner!" Kara cheered and ran for it.
"We have got to get those two in here to eat." Day sighed.
"Oh no, not Solaris. Ever seen Fushigi Yuugi? Seen how Miaka eats, or at least the quantity? Solaris would be more than a match for Miaka." Foxglove said.
"The muse has a point." Hiei nodded. "She eats all the time at home. When she isn't in that studio, the basement, or elsewhere." Suddenly the trailer came to a stop. 'What the hell?' was a mass cry.
"Guys, on behalf of all we know here, I'd like to welcome you to Tokyo!" Solaris smiled as she entered. They all looked outside. It was about ten o'clock and in a rather quiet part of the city, but if Solaris had seen fit to turn human for it, it was definitely Tokyo. Kara pulled off one last shape-shift, making her look human, and hopped out. Foxglove tied a shawl around her waist to hide her tail and slipped a headband on, pushing her ears down. No one else really bothered to do anything short of get out of the trailer.
"Took less time than I thought." Ami nodded.
"Doesn't hurt that I drove like a bat out of hell to get here. Shaved a while off our time. And I sorta hit a freeway for a while." Solaris admitted.
"Whatever. Got enough room in your house for us?" Kara asked.
"Hell yeah. Six guest rooms for eight people, someone will just have to take the living room or the sun porch." Solaris nodded.
"Sheesh… big house." Jenks quipped sleepily.
"Of course, I could always share a room with Foxglove and someone could use my room." Solaris offered.
"You know I only bought a full-sized bed. Try elsewhere." Foxglove said.
"You bought a full-size bed for that huge room?" Hiei asked in disbelief.
"Well, the desk was huge, and I wanted room to do stuff." Foxglove lied.
"That desk is no bigger than mine or Solaris's, and you're always outside, in the basement playing video games, or doing something hyperactive and annoying. Besides, you…" Hiei began.
"Solaris has never slept in my room. And that nightmare she had back before school ended, I slept in her bed. So, ha, Mister I'm-Always-Right, stick that in your pipe and smoke it!" Foxglove crowed.
"I'm right most of the time, but even geniuses like Kurama have their off days!" Hiei yelled, infuriated.
"You two calm down. Solaris can stay with me. Or more accurately in my room. I'm going home." Kurama said. It seemed to calm everyone. "See? Now everyone has a room."
"Yeah," Solaris grinned, though inside she was confused. Why wouldn't Kurama stay? It was no trouble. Hell, she'd sleep on the couch if necessary! But if Solaris was stubborn, Kurama was ten times more so when he put his mind to it.
--
The car stopped in front of Sanctuary, and Solaris trusted Hiei and Foxglove to get everyone settled in. "I'm taking the trailer back and dropping Kurama off at his home. See ya in about 45." Solaris grinned. They had returned the trailer by 11, and by 11:23, Kurama was in front of his home.
"Hey, Solaris, why don't you come on in for a few minutes?" he invited, then opened Solaris's door as soon as she had gotten the seatbelt off. "Mom probably wouldn't mind seeing you. Hey… you look more tan."
"I guess, I spent a lot more time out, and I tan easy." Solaris shrugged.
"It's a good look." Kurama smiled as he opened the door. "Kassan?" he called quietly.
"Hm? Shuiichi? Home already?" his mom asked from the living room, then came into the hall smiling. "Welcome home, was it a nice trip?" Shiori noticed a familiar scent, and laughed. "Moon-San, I'm not angry. Just surprised you're home so early." Solaris moved out from behind Kurama's back.
"It was an interesting trip to say the least." Kurama laughed; no matter how often they could talk, Solaris was still shy around his mother in person!
"And you, Moon-San? Daijobu desu ka?" Shiori asked.
"Well as can be expected. Gomen nasai for dragging your son off for two weeks!"
"Oh, don't be. It's always good to get some variety. And if it was an interesting trip, all the better." Shiori laughed.
"Well, I'd best head home. Oyasumi nasai, and arigatou for coming with us, Shuiichi-Kun." Solaris smiled and turned to leave.
"Shuiichi, if you want to go to Sanctuary, then go. One more night is just fine." Shiori smiled. Kurama quickly hugged his ningen mother and ran off, shouting 'domo, Kassan!'.
"Shiori, who was that?" Kurama's stepfather called from the living room. Shiori rejoined him.
"Shuiichi. He and his friends are back from their road trip." She smiled.
"So where is he? Asleep?"
"No, he decided to go back to Solaris-San's house." Shiori laughed; she understood why he had done that, even if her son didn't fully get it.
--
"What changed your mind?" Solaris asked as Kurama drove toward Sanctuary. Her face was turned toward the window. "Not that I'm complaining."
"According to you, you never complain. I'll take your word for it though." Kurama laughed. "I decided… well, you sounded disappointed. Besides, I wouldn't leave you alone with those psychos."
"How do you know I'm not psycho?" Solaris laughed.
"You passed psycho long before I met you." Kurama smiled. "You're just you." They got to Sanctuary and entered to find a flurry of people.
"It's a mad house! All five bathrooms are taken!" Foxglove gasped.
"Hey, who likes to feel like pond scum?" Day asked. "Thought not." Foxglove hadn't heard; she had run off to claim the bathroom down the hall. It was about midnight before everyone was ready to sleep. Solaris grabbed her pillow, a blanket, put the plushies on a shelf, and turned to Melody.
"Here you go. See ya in the morning." Solaris smiled. She was well on her way to the stairs when Kurama passed her.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked.
"Sun porch! Melody's in my room." Solaris explained. Kurama caught her wrist.
"Didn't I say you could sleep in my room?"
"Well, you're here and I don't think…"
"Solaris, you steal my shirts, you took that blue one for a week, remember? If that's appropriate, I'll eat that beret of yours." Kurama sighed.
"No you won't. And that's not as inappropriate as…"
"Solaris, no one really cares. Your mom's in the Makai, your dad is God-knows-where, my parents are at home, and no one cares." Somewhere along the line, he had decided that it was too late to mess with letting her sleep on ground level, with the doors open, even when she knew there could be murderous ningen and youkai after her hide. Getting out of bed to make sure she was alive and safe didn't sound fun or restful.
"I kick in my sleep." Solaris lied. It was late, and even the world's most gullible person could have seen through that.
"You do not. Don't worry about it. "
"Okay, I think Youko took over somewhere during this." Solaris tried to grin.
"No, but he's just as frustrated. And muttering something about a pencil." Kurama scowled. Solaris hadn't ever seen him glare at her like that.
"Fine then." She capitulated and walked silently behind him. "I'm sure this is wrong!" she protested one last time as the final door on the second floor closed.
"No one cares. In fact, Foxglove took it for granted. Made some really wrong joke. Hiei popped her over the head, I think; I was leaving the room." Kurama sighed.
"Foxglove thinks every girl should be as batty over guys as she is." Solaris rolled her eyes as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Kurama laid down, back to her. When she made no move after a few minutes, he sighed again.
"Whenever you decide to go to sleep, just turn the light off." He quipped.
"Well, it's just unnerving to me!" Solaris said in a huff.
-That's amusing. She can baby sit a wolf cub for a week, kick butt on her old boss and secretly save several people, but it's unnerving to sleep in the same bed as a guy. That's funny.- he thought. "I'm sensing issues here."
"The Shonen Jump has nothing on me! If you had a boss who tried to seduce you at every turn, and you kept a frying pan under your pillow to fight him off with, you'd have issues too!" she cried.
"I'm not Joshi. So just go to sleep. It's funny how you can fight anything except spiders and snakes, you keep Hiei from killing Foxglove, and eight unexpected guests don't worry you, but sleeping by someone who won't try anything is scary." Kurama smiled, turning to face her. Solaris huffed, then laid down, her back to him and her tail in her arms.
"That's really juvenile." Solaris said angrily.
"It worked. Good night." He smiled and reached over her to turn out the light. She suddenly grabbed his arm, snarling, then snapped out of it.
"Sorry, conditioned reflex."
"Good night, Solaris." He sighed as he laid back down.
--
Hiei breathed a sigh of relief. Finally those two shut up. He turned over to try and get some sleep, but someone was in his doorway.
"Uh, Hiei? I wanted to say arigatou for saving Jenks and making sure I was all right on the trip, and not getting angry when I kissed you that time. Oh, and for letting me cry." Raccoon whispered.
-You walked all the way upstairs for that!- Hiei thought. "You're welcome, I was doing my job, and I didn't get angry because you were drunk." Hiei sighed. "Now good night, Raccoon." The girl didn't leave, though.
"So, who cooks around here?" she asked.
"Solaris. Foxglove can't cook worth a damn, and the fox isn't here in the mornings usually." Hiei sighed. "Now can I please go to sleep?"
"Sorry, am I keeping you awake?"
"YES!"
"Oh. Night then. Or is it morning? It's after midnight…"
"Contemplate that on your way downstairs." Hiei growled and closed his eyes.
--
"One more game…" Foxglove asked, no, pleaded with Rooney.
"I've beat you twenty times already. Call it quits." Rooney sighed as she shuffled the deck and put the cards away.
"Are you a thief or a card shark?" Foxglove asked.
"Mostly a thief, sometimes a card shark, both if needs be." Rooney smiled tiredly. "I'm also pretty damn good at Odds and Evens too. Now go on and go to sleep."
"Fine. Night." Foxglove sighed and left for her room next door.
--
The next day, the eight guests set out for parts unknown.
"Well, I gotta jam. My heart's telling me to head out. That and I got a gig at a café tonight." Melody laughed, tapping her guitar case with one finger.
"Well, I'm looking for a shop. Alchemy's my trade, I ought to at least make a few yen off of it." Azurite smiled.
"Wait up! I can cast spells and charms and things. We should go into business together." Ami said. They left, discussing names for the business as they went.
"Cyrus is probably wondering where I am. I'll see you. If she doesn't kill me." Day smiled as she set out for her friend's house.
"I just want to get out of this looney bin. Thanks for the ride." Kara said, a little more easily than she would have the previous week.
"Places to go, pockets to pick. Cool knowing ya!" Rooney laughed as she waved.
"Nice ta meet ya!" Jenks smiled, sitting on Solaris's shoulder.
"We have to get back together soon. Dinner in a week sound good?" Solaris asked. There were cheers and nods.
"Okay then, you know how to find us!" Foxglove laughed.
"It was nice travelling with you. Interesting, at the very least." Kurama smiled.
"Whatever." Hiei rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Raccoon walked up to him and kissed him full on the mouth, for the second time the whole trip.
"Thanks." She murmured. "Come on, Jenks, time to go!"
"Aye, lass. Ye take care o' yerselves. And Solaris? Dun worry too much, he feels the same way." Jenks smiled and flew off to join Raccoon. Everyone but Kurama, Solaris, Foxglove and Hiei had left by now.
"What was he talking about, Solaris?" Kurama asked. The girl turned as red as her muse's hair. Which, by the way, is really red.
"Nothing of importance." Solaris said as she retreated to the house.
"Tell me!" Foxglove pleaded.
"You blabbermouth! No way!"
"Let her keep it a secret, no skin off my nose." Hiei shrugged. He wasn't too curious; he could always figure it out when he felt like it. Or when it was a slow day for torturing the muse.
"It is mine. What was it?" Foxglove begged.
"Sheesh! A guy I have a crush on! Jenks has powers! Figure it out yourself!" Solaris blushed deeper, if possible, and left for the backyard.
"Love spell?"
"No, divining feelings. Maybe you should have asked about Hiei." Kurama remarked.
"He'd just tell her that I hate her, she already knows that!" Hiei quipped. And so normalcy was restored.
OWARI
Solaris: That ends that. My next fic is called "Return of Rose". Pretty obvious what it's about, but here's a teaser:
One dark stormy night, a girl from Kurama's past returns. Has Solaris met her match? Or has her newest rival bitten off a bit more than she can chew?