Before we start this little oneshot of mine I'd like to, er what would I like to do… anyways I'm just gunna put a few really short notes under this one and at the end (please read them especially these up here).
Warnings
Small drug implications, biased angels, good advice giving devils, and this is a shonen-ai (there isn't much, but it is in here) so I'll give you the pairings so you'll know if this is a story you'd want to read- this is actually a three way thing Hiei/Kurama/Yuusuke to be more exact, but once again you only figure that out around the ending of the story and it's really only by word of mouth…
Um, please don't flame because of the pairings, if you don't like them then don't read this, other than that I don't mind criticism, actually I encourage it because it help me out with my writing. : )
And without further ado- the story.
Shiori's Discovery
Minamino Shiori sighed deeply as she placed her half-empty mug of coffee onto the dinning room table gently. The house was quite, the only noises to be heard were the dull thrum of the dishwasher, and her own soft breath as it entered and exited rhythmically through her nose. Her beloved son, Shuuichi, had gone on yet another trip with his friends, so she was all alone, in a house so totally and utterly dull, with nothing to do but sigh, and sip coffee.
Already she had cleaned the house- twice, and had rearranged the furniture several times before placing it back in its original state. The only room she hadn't touched was her son's, in fact she had only been in that room twice since she had moved here, and both times Shuuichi had been sick (though each time he had recovered the next day).
As she stared at the creamy, brown liquid swirling around in her brightly painted mug, she debated over if she should enter her boy's room and clean it for him, or if she should respect his privacy and leave it be. It took several minutes of arguing with the little voices in her head before the first choice won out and she quickly stood up, eager for some sort of distraction from her almost overwhelming boredom.
It didn't take her long to trek up the short staircase leading to the second story of her house, just as quickly she walked down the unlit hallway only stopping when she was nearly a foot away from a plain white door. Looking side to side, she turned the handle and pushed the door open slowly. Her heart dropped disappointedly as she took in the neat and tidy room, not a thing was out of place, not one thing!
Hold on, what was this? A pencil on the floor? Tsk, tsk, such a mess. Shiori grinned and walked over to the lone, pointed piece of wood tipped with graphite; picking it up gently she moved over to the well-organized desk and placed it there just as carefully. It was then she noticed one of the drawers was slightly ajar- YES! She pulled it open preparing herself for an hour of organizing and reorganizing, but what she saw made her gasp loudly.
The drawer was neatly organized, but its contents were the main factor in her surprised reaction. Neat, uniform rows of medicinal bottles filled with thick, multi colored liquids were pressed together snuggly. Each bottle was labeled in smooth cursive script; the words were in a language the poor woman had never seen in her life, and this on its own worried her.
She began to back away from the desk, prepared to walk away from the horrible discovery and pretend that she had never seen it, but the little voices in her head would have none of that.
Go on, you've come this far. A small devilish voice cooed. Just take a little peek; you do want to know what your son has been up to, don't you? Go on, you can do it.
Shiori gulped as she noticed the voice actually wasn't a figment of her imagination, nor was it in her head, but it was the voice of a demonic chibi version of herself on her right shoulder. She wore a slinky, red dress and black pumps; in her right hand was a sharp three-pronged pitchfork that matched perfectly with her pointed tail and horns.
"I can't, I've already done enough," she protested weakly taking another step back from the desk.
Good choice, Shiori-san, another voice congratulated from Shiori's left shoulder. The dark haired woman hesitated a moment before turning her head to take in the angelic version of herself warily. The chibi was clad in a flowing white dress, and golden sandals; in her left hand was a beautiful, golden harp that seemed to shine with its own light, just as the halo above her head did. Thick, lustrous white wings sprouted from her back and curled against the bare flesh exposed by the low back dress elegantly. He's your son, you should respect his privacy.
Bah! The kid is making drugs; she has every right to search his room! Devil Shiori snapped before lowering her voice seductively. Come on Shiori, he betrayed your trust first, don't you want to know what kind of son he really is?
No Shiori-san, he could have been influenced by those friends of his, they could be forcing him to hold onto their drugs from them! You just need to wait till he gets home. When he does you can have a nice long chat and figure out what is really going on here.
Shiori pondered over the angel's words seeing the truth that was there and horribly clear. But then again, the devil had made a point too- he had betrayed her trust first. He could have told her if something was wrong, not hide it and go on working for such sinful people.
Yes Shiori, it's all his fault, go on, check the rest of his desk, and quickly now. Shiori found herself walking closer to the desk now; her slender hand was outstretched and now wrapped tightly around one of the many desk compartments. With one last protest from the Angel Shiori, the real Shiori opened the compartment and truly wished she hadn't. Instead of bottles filled with unknown substances, there were unopened syringes, and lots of brightly colored pills packed tightly together; these too were labeled in the old flowy script of another land.
Now do you see why you shouldn't have looked? The Angel said coolly. Since you choose not to listen to me, I shall not waste my time here any longer.
And a good riddance to ya! The Devil exclaimed happily as the angelic Shiori disappeared in a small puff of smoke. Now how about we open the rest of these compartments?
Shiori nodded and began to pull open every drawer, gasping at the odd contents. Her curiosity and the soft coos of the devil kept her rooted to the spot shuffling through drawer after drawer, throwing out random objects to get a closer look at others; she only stopped when she came to the last drawer, where she hesitated for several minutes.
Taking a deep breath she opened it slowly, expecting to see a hidden stash of yen or maybe more pills and syrups, but instead it was just the normal everyday objects any normal teenager should hide away in their desk. A small hand-held pencil sharpener lay in the back corner, next to several black ink pens, and pencils; there were a couple of notebooks that had random school subjects scrawled on the front. She pulled these out and haphazardly dropped them to the floor, not really caring where they landed, and looked at the lone notebook that lay at the bottom of the drawer. On the front in curling silver lettering was the word Journal, a word that screamed normality, but at the same time it was foreboding.
Unlock it; take a look inside- Shuuichi will never know.
"I can't, no mother should ever read her son's journal!" Shiori said uncertainly, there was no tone of finality in her voice- it was obvious she didn't believe in those words.
It will have answers to so many questions; don't you want to know the life your son lives outside of the house?
"Yes, but—"
No buts. Open it now! Shiori sighed pulling the black and silver notebook out of the drawer, along with a set of miniature keys that could be used to unlock the tiny padlock that connected the two sides of the book together in a firm embrace. She walked away from the desk and made her way to Shuuichi's bed where she sat down heavily. Looking at the silver lettering the whole time she unlocked the mini padlock and flipped open the cover.
Hours passed as she read through each entry slowly, making sure to take in every detail, no matter how horrifying it may be. By the end of her read she had found out a few surprising, and utterly terrifying tidbits of information.
Now that was something I didn't think I was going to find out about that oh-so-perfect son of yours, he's quite impressive- I like him.
Shiori shuddered, of course the darker side of her conscience would enjoy what she had found out, but the angelic side was more than traumatized.
What do you mean by that! He's a thousand year old, homosexual demon for Heaven's Sake! How on Earth could you find him impressive!
"Bisexual," Both the devil and the real Shiori corrected one voice calm, the other shaky and meek.
I thought you said you weren't going to add your input anymore? You're the angel, aren't you supposed to be the unbiased one? The devilsmirked maliciously causing the chibized angel to 'humph' before once again disappearing, hopefully never to return.
"This is just too much," Shiori mumbled quietly falling backwards onto her son's bed. The devil version of herself hopped up off her shoulder and landed on her forehead.
Think of it this way, if you're ever in trouble he can help.
"I guess…"
You guess? Oh come now, this is great news! The devil chirped excitedly clapping her hands together; tiny sparks flew from them in a cheery flurry and landed as blackened ash on the exposed flesh of Shiori's forehead.
"I need some ice cream," the larger woman mumbled as she swung her feet over the edge of Shuuichi's/Kurama's bed and pushed herself up and towards the bedroom door.
Ice cream? What on Earth makes women think ice cream solves anything?
"It's soul food," Shiori replied simply and she descended the staircase at all but a sluggish crawl.
Soul food? Ice cream doesn't hold a candle to Devil's food cake, now that's real soul food!
"Figures you would say something like that." The dark haired woman actually chuckled lightly. She sighed after a couple moments of needed giggling and opened the freezer before her, pulling out a pint of ice cream, and the frosty spoon balanced precariously atop it.
Hey, is that chocolate?
"Yes. Why, do you want some?" Shiori offered flipping the top off the container and holding it up near her shoulder, where her Devil self decided to relocate. The chibi smiled happily and began dipping her pointed tail into the creamy euphoria and directed it to her mouth. Half an hour went by as Shiori shared her ice cream with her smaller self at the kitchen table; they talked a lot, and slowly the forty-year-old woman began to accept what her son was- at least he wasn't some drug addict, now that was something she wouldn't have been able to handle.
Speak of the devil, guess who's back? And he brought a friend. And on that note the she-devil disappeared in a black puff of smoke.
"Mother, I'm home!" Shiori sighed as she stood up from her seat; she grabbed the emptied pint of chocolate ice cream and tossed it into the trash bin before exiting the kitchen to greet her son, and whoever happened to be with him.
"Hello Shuuichi dear, it's nice to have you home again," she said sweetly as she pulled the redhead into a tight hug.
"It's nice to be back," he replied with a returning gesture.
"Hey Minamino-san, 'member me?" A raven-locked boy said from behind her son.
"How could I forget you Yuusuke? How have you been?" Ah, Yuusuke- one of the many surprises she had found in her son's journal, and one of the oddest kids she had ever met. He was sweet, there was no doubting that, but he wasn't the politest person and he had a habit of being a little too obnoxious.
"Fine I guess, you?" He replied stepping out from behind the taller boy in a quick motion revealing his slight, but well built form. He was smiling sweetly, and dressed in his usual white tee and ripped blue jeans, but for once his black hair was free of the excessive amount of hair-gel he seemed so fond of.
"A little tired, but otherwise fine." The dark-haired woman forced herself to smile benignly. "You two must be as well. Why don't you join me in the living room, you can tell me about your trip." But will it be the truth?
"Sounds like a plan," Yuusuke chirped grinning evilly at a suddenly fidgety Kurama. The duo followed the older woman into the afore-mentioned room and took a seat beside each other on the couch- Shiori occupied the recliner placed conveniently before them. There was an awkward silence as Kurama began to look everywhere but the other two occupants of the room, his slender hands tangling and untangling themselves in the poppy colored locks that hung just over his ears, refusing to join the rest of the beautiful mane, and his feet were tapping against the carpeted floor in a chaotic rhythm. Yuusuke on the other hand looked about to burst, his head tilted downward to keep the other two from knowing the mirth that danced behind his eyes. Eventually Shiori couldn't handle anymore, and was just about to say something to start up a conversation when the ebony haired boy took care of it for her by elbowing the redhead in the ribs just hard enough to draw the wandering emerald orbs back to reality.
"Ow, what was that for, Yuusuke?" He demanded rubbing his ribs gingerly; Yuusuke gave him a pointed look that caused Shuuichi/Kurama to sign in defeat to a battle Shiori never knew to have taken place. There was another pause during which the redhead was elbowed again, this time eliciting an annoyed grunt and with yet another strike, a statement. "Well, before we launch into the story of are trip, I have something I've been meaning to discuss with you for a very long time." Another pause and another grunt "I'm not really who you think I am, I'm—"
Shiori cut him off with a tired, motherly smile, "No need to explain, I already know Shuu… um, I guess I should be saying Kurama."
To say that the Youko was surprised would be the understatement of a lifetime- his usually quick mind went into a sluggish tumble eventually wiping itself blank in a wave of shock. Yuusuke sat beside him, his mouth cracked in a wide triumphant smile that didn't quiet fit the situation at hand, but Kurama seemed to notice it since he had snapped out of his momentary stupor to glare at the shorter teen.
"Told ya K'rama! Nothing escapes your mother for long!" The raven-haired boy exclaimed in an oddly cheery voice.
"How… how did you find out?" Kurama's confidence as a master of deception was shattered into a million pieces never to be put back together correctly.
"Um… Well I." Shiori bit her lip effectively keeping the rest of her explanation away from both of the boys. But sharp witted and quick to fill in large blanks with minimal amount of information, Kurama soon knew exactly what she was keeping from him. He heaved a soft sigh before lifting his leafy green eyes to meet the dark ones of his human mother.
"You went into my room, didn't you?" His shattered confidence- one he believed to be gone for good- fixed itself good as new, if not better, and it was hard to keep their shiny new gleam from showing in his eyes. There was another unbearable silence, and once again Yuusuke was the one responsible for provoking the proverbial hammer into crashing heavily downward, breaking the asphyxiating blanket of silence into a thousand pieces. Loud, ineffectively muffled giggles spilled forth as the teen tried desperately to keep them under control with his strong, tanned hands. Ironically those hands could kill the strongest beast, but couldn't stifle something as innocent as a laugh and soon his chuckles grew into almost obnoxious peals of laughter that startled the other inhabitants of the room.
Shiori blinked a few times in surprise at the sudden outburst, but soon she too was laughing leaving the usually quick-witted redhead to ponder over the hilarity of the situation.
"I'm sorry but I don't see the humor in my comment," Kurama pointed out tilting his head to the side in a confused gesture that quickly cut off chuckles still racking Shiori and Yuusuke's bodies; Shiori blushed and looked down at her lap in what seemed shame while the raven-locked boy just grinned up at the human-gone-fox.
"Come on, this is probably the best thing that could happen, now you don't have to go through the awkwardness of explaining your history- but that doesn't mean your through talking." Yuusuke gave Kurama another pointed look and quick jab in the ribs that he accepted with a sigh and glare.
"I suppose you're right. Mother what all did you find out when searching my room?"
"Dude, skip that and just tell her, or I will!" Yuusuke snapped jabbing the redhead once again in the already tender, and most likely bruised, area of his ribs.
"Would you quit doing that? I probably have a large bruise there by now!"
"Tell me what?" Shiori asked, cutting them off before they could start up one of their usual arguments, but something in her gut (and her new found friend in her head) told her what they were getting at.
"You already know that I am Youko Kurama of Makai, correct?" His mother nodded, she definitely knew what he was getting at now. "Well in Makai taking a mate is… um… how should I put this?"
"You can have more than one mate and no one is biased about gender," Yuusuke put in bluntly, his straightforwardness was enough to draw surprised blushes from both boys and Shiori found herself thinking about how cute they looked.
"You could definitely put it that way," Kurama said for once not quite noticing the bemused expression his human mother wore, a sign that she was having a conversation with her little shoulder devil (her shoulder angel was still giving her the silent treatment). "And after saying that it would probably be the best time to admit that I am what humans call bi-sexual and I have taken Yuusuke and Hiei as, well in more human terms, as lovers."
Shiori smiled sweetly, truly appreciating her son's honesty (no matter how many times he had to be prompted into continuing), and without saying a word she stood up and pulled the other two off the couch and into a warm motherly hug—by the Gods, so long as her son wasn't a drug dealer she would support him one hundred and ten percent, even if it was looked down on by most. During her warm embrace she noticed a familiar presence on her shoulder and by the surprised looks on the two boys in her arms, they could see who she felt as well.
Let's have some ice cream!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Wow what a lame way to end that- oh well I ain't changing it, even if I could think of I better ending (I just wanted to get this out for Christmas, and it's almost midnight, so that wouldn't be very possible…)
Oh I said that Kurama and Yuusuke had usual arguments towards the end of the story, see Shiori is very used to them arguing silly little things, and they usual ended with Yuusuke pouting- or sometimes with a very large, evil smirk.
Well this is my Christmas/New Year/Holiday gift to you all and I hope to see you next year!
Catie-brie