AN/ Finally! It's Yuki and Shuichi time! I like the reviews I'm getting. Especially from my friend, DatenshiBlue39 ( I won't mention her name. That would not be wise…). She's a total Yuki fan and always teases me on how Yuki is better than Shuichi. And I always argue back that Shuichi can kick some major butt too! AINT THAT RIGHT, MISS FLUTE PLAYER! Tee hee. She may kill me for this. Hopefully not… - -; Anyway, I want to know from everyone reviewing my story who they think is the best! Is it Yuki? Shuichi? Or would you have to call it a draw? I won't get mad if Yuki gets more votes. He IS uber hot, I can't deny it. But Shu-chan's CUTER . So, I guess I'd say it's a draw… for ME that is. What do all of YOU guys think? Give me yall's opinion. Heh heh… this'll be fun.
Look! It's Kirby! (o)/ -"Hiiii!"
Breakfast consisted of the omelettes and some rock hard bread with water. Though Yuki wasn't sure if it was safe to eat the food, he determined that it would be rude not to eat what Mrs. Shindou had worked so hard to make… and luckily, it was pretty good. For the limited amount of resources they had lying around their…home, she sure did whip up a good omelette.
Later on, Mrs. Shindou told the author that she and her daughter were going to go look for some more shillings out near the cherry tree down the road. Yuki was a bit curious of why they thought they'd find money there (since he didn't know the story) but didn't question it. She also mentioned that Shuichi would be left at the house if the man needed anything. 'Oh boy…' Yuki thought. 'Now I get to spend time with that cotton candy headed, rabies infected brat.' He sighed glumly at the thought and bid the mother and daughter farewell for the day. Once the two girls were out of sight, Yuki wandered around their shack to see if they had any medicine for headaches he could take. After all that jabbering from the little sister of the family, he felt his head was about to burst. Of course, there wasn't any, and he was sure that he wouldn't be able to get any from these people (seeing on how poor they were). So he would have to live with this pounding migraine until he could go into town and get some pain killers.
While the blonde rested on the torn couch, he saw a shadow drape over his closed eyelids. Hesitantly, the man opened them and saw the Shindou family son directly in front of his face, causing Yuki to cross his eyes to see him, and adding more ache to his head.
"What do you want?" He asked coldly.
"I was just making sure you were sleeping. You looked like you were dead laying here." He stated innocently.
"If you really want to know, my head is splitting in two right now, so I don't need you invading my personal space right now." He closed his eyes once more.
"Oh! Your head hurts? Can I get you anything?"
"Not unless you people can magically spring me a bottle of pain pills that I can take, then no."
"Pain pills? Why would you want to bring yourself more pain?"
"Sigh…" The man furrowed his brow. Now his head REALLY started to hurt. "Look. I'm just trying to sleep here so I can forget about the pain. And you're not helping, so bug off, brat." But before he could insult him, the boy had left. "Hm. Must've heeded my warning." The blonde got himself comfortable as possible and began meditating again…… though it didn't last long until Shuichi came thumping into the room once more. "Ugh! What now!" He half yelled as a clay bowl was shoved into his face, smelling of something unbearably strong, like incense. "Are you trying to make my headache worse by putting that nasty crap under my nose?"
"No. This is the medicine you need."
"Huh?"
"This'll make your head feel better." He said a bit slower in case his migraine affected his hearing.
"What is it? Doesn't look like any medicine I've ever seen." He rubbed the back of his head in slight confusion.
"My mom makes herbs… you know… medicine. And I think this is the one for headaches." He pushed the bowl toward him more.
Yuki pushed it back. "You think… it's the right one?" The man eyed him cautiously.
"Well… she doesn't exactly keep these things labeled. I don't know how she can tell right off the bat which is which, but I'm pretty sure this one's it. And if it isn't, what's the worse that can happen? Their only medicine for helping others." He smiled dubiously.
Well, the boy was right. It was only a bit a medicine. What would it hurt to try it? But what if he really got the herbs mixed up and this so called "medicine" was going to turn him into some kind of mutated, epileptic, ravenous, pink-haired freak like him? Now he was definitely having second thoughts on taking the drug. But once he glanced up into those big pools of glistening violet eyes of the boy, he suddenly found it hard to say no to him. So, unwillingly, the man took the bowl of herbs in his hands, grabbed the cup of water Shuichi also had for him, and ate every last bit of it. After downing it with water, Yuki waited for the accursed changes to take place throughout his body. But nothing happened. There was no altering of hair colour, no deficit effects, no tail growing out of his butt… nothing except for the soothing relief washing over his skull, erasing all the previous pain he had away. Did this brat actually give him the right medicine? Once Shuichi saw the satisfied look on the author's face, he smiled sweetly and took the bowl and cup from him to wash them out in the kitchen. It was a mystery. Yuki never took a pain killer that acted that fast and that effectively. The boy's mother was practically a miracle worker! She should be getting GOBS of cash for this kind of thing! How come they were so poor! With this quick relief, even the nobles would pay for the poor woman's herbs. As the debate went on in the novelist's now relaxed mind, Shuichi bounded into the room and fell onto the arm chair. Enthusiastically, he asked…
"Well? Did it work okay?"
"Y…yeah. Your mom made that stuff?"
"Mm-hm. She sells it too."
"What! How come your so poor then!" Yuki almost yelled while clinging to the arm rest on the couch. The teen drew back in slight fear of the sudden outburst.
Realizing that he just called then poor, Yuki apologized. "I'm sorry. What I meant to say was… how come you aren't making enough money on this deal? Medicine is a huge thing in cities today. People are getting sicker by the minute. Is your mom selling it for free or something?" He asked, hoping the answer wasn't yes.
"No."
'Phew! Good.'
"But we only sell it in the suburbs. Like here, where we live."
"What? But the people here are… not wealthy either." He rephrased his sentence.
"I know. But they're much sicker than those upper class people. Since our living area isn't that good, we're prone to more disease and starvation here. So my mom tries to help as many of those people as she can. It's true we are paid little since everyone around here is poor too, but at least it keeps food on the table. Even if her medicines don't always work, our friends are still grateful for us trying." He said all this with a glazed look in his eyes, like he was thinking back to a certain time.
After he finished, the blonde started feeling a little bad for the Shindou's. Such a kind family didn't deserve such misfortune. Guilt rushed over him as he realized the way he'd been treating them… like an upper class snob.
"But… I won't give up on my mother. She's been working hard for us since that time, and I'm willing to put my heart and soul into helping our family grow in prosperity AND wealth (if at all possible)."
"What do you mean by 'during that time'?" The novelist tried to sound disinterested , but on the inside he was curious at what the boy meant.
"………A long time ago… if fact only four years ago… my father was taken by the tax collector when we hit hard debt for the first time. I remember it… when I was fifteen." Images of that night came back to him. "My dad offered that they take him to the King and for them to leave the rest of us alone. So, the guards took him down the road, out of our sights until we could somehow pay for the bail."
Yuki listened intently on the story. So that's why the father wasn't here.
"So I became the man of the house. I remember what my father said to me before he left too. He said………
FLASHBACK
'You have a destiny, Shuichi. But you also have a fate. I want you to choose which one you would like to follow. Remember, these two futures cannot control you if you don't let them. Make the choice you think is right… and cut through any evil that challenges you, even if you don't want to. I know you will be strong. I know that you will be… our salvation in the darkness.'
END FLASHBACK
A tear dropped onto the dusty floor, cleaning it for the first time in four years. Shuichi sniffed and wiped away the offending streaks. Yuki sat silent, trying to decipher the message his father last gave him.
"So…" The boy started. "I'm going to do what my father said. I'm going to be strong and support our family until the day we our all saved comes. Though I doubt I'll have anything to do with it like he said, I still want to try and find a way for us to keep living, and hopefully be able to live a normal life style." Shuichi forced a smile through his sorrow and rested his elbows on his knees.
Yuki could only stare at the floor, a blank look carved into his features.
"Is something wrong?"
"You don't want that kind of life style kid."
"Huh?" He sniffled. "What do you mean?"
"I'm saying… that you don't want a 'normal' life style. It's… too complicated. Believe me, I know." The author looked at him honestly.
"But… but of course I do. I want my family to have a good life here. I want to make something of myself and get a real job so I can support my mother and sister. I want to get a scholarship along with my sister like any other kid would receive. How do you think we can live like this for the rest of our lives! It's terrible! I'm afraid that if I see my mother cry one more night over our father I'm going to kill myself! Why did we deserve this? What have we done to earn this life style? I don't want any more losses in this family. I want peace and equality among everyone in Arbaphem. But I don't know how to achieve it! How can I live up to my father's words if I don't know which path to take!" The boy was shouting now, about to burst into tears.
"…" Yuki was just as quiet as ever. And after a moments pause, he spoke up. "Once you find out… which future goes with which path… then I think you'll be able to find the answer easily."
Shuichi ceased his sobbing and slowly lifted his head to look at the blonde. Which path… goes with which future?
"And then if you succeed…" He half smirked, half smiled, "… maybe you can throw that Aizawa guy out on his sorry, moneymaking ass."
The Shindou boy's eyes wavered, softened at what the usually cruel man had just said.
Yuki laid back down on the couch again. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to take a quick nap. So stop blubbering and go chop some wood, or whatever you do best." Back to the nasty comments. And yet, without warning, a large bundle of pink bounced onto Yuki's chest and latched onto him like a baby koala.
"What the hell! What are you doing!" He yelled down at Shuichi who was hugging him tightly. "Get off! What do I look like, one of your teddy bears! Now off!" A pulse throbbed on his temple.
"Thank you so much Yuki-san!" The teen squeezed him some more, but gently. The author was about to push him off, but decided against it for a few seconds and ruffled the boy's hair.
"Yeah. Whatever, ya little twerp."
"Tee hee!" He squeaked.
'Hn. Looking at the brat from this angle, he actually looks kinda cute…' Yuki sat there speechless at what he just thought. 'I REALLY need to take that nap now.' He pried the jolly lad off his waist and turned over onto his side facing away from the teen. "Sheesh. How old are you? Fourteen? You sure act like it."
"Me? Oh, I'm nineteen."
"I thought so. No wonder yo…..WHAT! Are you serious?"
"Um, yep!" He smiled.
"You're only four years younger than me!"
"I am?…Oh! I am!"
"Geez… I'm finding out everything about you today, aren't I? And it's only the second day I've met you!"
"Yup! Cool, huh?" Shuichi tilted his head adorably.
"Whoever knew that I, a famous travelling author, would end up here in this strange place."
"Uh-huh!….Wait… travelling author?"
"Yeah. I mentioned that earlier. Weren't you listening? I'm popular in America. Ring a bell?"
"…" DING DING DING! "AHHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "You're, you're th-that Yuki! The one I… that book was written by… you're the guy who writes romance… you're the guy that wrote 'A Spy For My Love'!"
"That's me."
"I LOVE YOU!"
AN/ That title, "A Spy For My Love", was a Weiss Kruez fan fiction DatenshiBlue39 wrote once. That one's for you girl!