Father's Eyes Don't Work
By morgankit

August 2005

Warnings: Implied Yomi x Kurama relationship. And Shura being the cute little snot that he his.
Notes: I love Yomi, I really do… . Oh, and some of the descriptions of Gandara are mostly from my point of view, and nobody has to think that they're true.

You couldn't really tell it was nighttime in Gandara; the skyline was perpetually a hazy mauve and ginger, occasionally sprinkled with the horrid after glows of sudden lightening strikes. The main part of the city was filled with tall structures and blinking lights. Only a few kilometers east from the capital city, lay the cliffs that lead to Raizen's old plains.

Most nights, Gandara was dark and dank. The stormy skies never looked as if they would yield from bringing onsite of an everlasting downpour.

Horrific as it might have seemed, the inhabitants adapted to the muggy and hazy environment. Young Shura in particular, who had known this and only this dark and foggy city since his birth, became accustomed to his city and country. It's what he knew, and he loved it.

Shura, like his father, Lord Yomi, was not easy to please. Within the first few weeks after his exiting the artificial conception chamber, Shura clearly showed his resemblance to his mighty father and King, mentally and almost physically.

Shura was loud and brash when conversation shortened his temper. He showed etiquette and proper understanding once his father might have scolded him once or twice. Shura was book-smart and thought logistically through any battle. He remembered special techniques that his father taught him differently than any book.

Shura adored his father.

Yomi, at a time, wouldn't have cared any other way.

Once or twice, when Shura was so small after he exited the chamber, he would gaze up at this tall father, and try to touch his face. Yomi would immediately grasp the young one's hand and set it back down at his sides. Another time, when Shura was tiny and didn't follow many rules, he would stare at his father when both of them were still, perhaps seated, and the young prince would wonder in awe if his father was asleep.

It never occurred to Shura to try and ask his father why his eyes would never open.

It was days after the end of the Makai Tournament. Word around what was once known as Gandara was that King Yomi allegedly took his son out on a voyage into the wilderness, both of them training to become stronger and healthier.

And at that time, Shura had grown so much that he was bordering adulthood, at least mentally. As much as Yomi had taught him, he still could not even etch out his father's thoughts, or facial expressions. The tone of his voice was either gentle or harsh, depending on his mood. Shura's curiosity surfaced one night around the camp fire:

"Papa…?"

"Yes, Shura?" Yomi, sitting crossed legged opposite his son and sharpening a tool he used for tonight's dinner, responded gently as he continued to fiddle with the tool, and did not look up.

Something rose in the pit of Shura's stomach. Something heavy but empty, and he took a deep breath before asking softly: "Why… don't your eyes ever open?"

Yomi paused in his scraping for a moment, and Shura saw his brows furrow just slightly, before he kept on with his work. Shura couldn't take it back now, and he suddenly feared the wrath that his father might bestow on him in a second…

But his father's face when back to its everlasting placid state, looking always asleep, and for a moment, Shura was relieved he might not get the scolding he thought he'd get.

"What brought this on, Shura?" Yomi asked rather playfully.

His son looked slightly confused, and suddenly very shy. "You don't… you've never… opened them…" Shura said, hesitantly, but politely.

Yomi smiled just slightly. He stopped his work, and chuckled. "No, I haven't had the need to." He lifted his face to Shura's direction. "Even if I did open my eyes, I doubt you would like the image that that would bring."

Shura looked confused.

"My eyes had been ripped out of their sockets. If I opened them, there would be nothing but a gaping hole."

Shura's heart ached at his father's loss, and a new wave of curiosity came over him.

But he refrained from asking.

And then Yomi smiled. It was so reassuring.

"How… did that happen?"

Yomi kept his tools in his hands, giving him something to do. "A long time ago, someone came after me, looking for my life. He did not succeed, but instead, slashed my eyes." Yomi spoke with articulate words, calmly.

Shura's face contorted in confusion and awe. "Who?"

"It doesn't matter now," Yomi smiled. "I killed him."

"But… who?" Shura pressed on.

Yomi set down his knife, and slowly lifted an arm for Shura to move closer to him. "Some things…" Yomi exhaled and paused, searching for the correct words for Shura to understand. "are better left unanswered. From the amount of time that I've lived trying to make the correct decisions, I've learned, through very few people, that life is controllable. It is weather or not you can make the right decisions to go on with it.

"That's why I care for you so much, Shura. I hope that you'll be able to understand my teachings so you can go on to be so much better than I once was – than I am."

"I will be stronger than you, Papa!" Shura answered, wholeheartedly. "I'll understand you and be better than anyone else!"

Yomi felt the feeling of what being a father meant when he heard his son make so many endearing vows.

+end+

A/N: it was supposed to be short.

Please review!